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| ‘But strange and pathetic cases are occurring at the diggings every day. Mr. Gilbert, now the Commissioner of Forest Creek, was relating numbers of cases of men who came there, fill ill, died, and were buried without any clue being obtained as to who they were. He spoke particularly of a German, who was evidently reduced to great distress. he had only a piece of canvas, which he threw over a trunk of a fallen tree, and lay under one side of it, while his cradle, spade, and pick lay under the other. He was found lying there extremely ill - indeed, in the last stage of exhaustion - and it was reported to Mr Gilbert, who immediately went to him - but it was too late. He was too far gone to give any information regarding his friends, or the place whence he came. But it was clear that he had left a family, somewhere, for he continually repeated to hemself, ‘Meine arme frau! Meine arme kinder!’ His name was found written in a small pocket-book, but not address, and there were no papers to disclose it.’ |
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