CHAPTER VI 
Letter VIII. Myola. — Muldiva Mine — Chillagoe Cattle Station — The 
Caves — Unspeakable solitude — Herberton — A dying child — Mount 
Albion — Watsonville — A romantic view — Nightmare — A welcome 
voice — Fire — A wonderful deliverance — The “ Speaker ” — Caught in a 
whirlwind — An unpleasant outlook — Mrs. S.’s meal — Crossing the ford 
— Georgetown — Inquiring children and an independent black. 
Myola. • 
BEFORE leaving Muldiva I was anxious to see the 
much-talked-of mine which promises (so many people 
say) to be hardly second to Broken Hill. 1 I cannot, I 
fear, give you a very clear account of it ; but it consists 
of a number of contiguous “ claims,” extending over 
a considerable area of hilly ground at the back of the 
little settlement. Rocks crop up here and there 
through the barren soil, and there is nothing that I 
could see to distinguish it from any other hill about. 
In some places drives go into the side of the hill, in 
others shafts are sunk right down. The morning 
before we left, the manager took us all through most of 
the different claims of the Company. Every tunnel we 
went into had rich silver -bearing stone, some of it 
giving over 500 ounces to the ton. 
At one shaft, the “ Paisley,” we went down a 
perpendicular ladder 180 feet, which I did not quite 
enjoy, though at first it looked as if it would be so 
1 It has since that time not realised such high expectations. 
