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Updated: May 16, 2025
A Queensland drover once took a big mob from the Gulf right down through New South Wales, selling various lots as he went. He had to deliver some to a small sheep-man, near Braidwood, who was buying a few hundred cattle as a spec. By the time they arrived, the cattle had been on the road eight months, and were quiet as milkers.
"Get up to the windows now; use the escape," said Mr Braidwood; and as he said this he passed through the doorway of the burning house. Some of the men rushed up the escape and let down a line, to which one of the branches was made fast. "Avast pumpin', number two!" shouted Baxmore from the midst of clouds of smoke that were bursting out from the window. Number two engine was stopped.
The wall bulged out at the same time; and one of the firemen, seeing that Mr Braidwood was in imminent danger, made a grasp at him as he was springing from the spot; but the heavy masses of brick-work dashed him away, and, in another moment, the gallant chief of the Fire Brigade lay buried under at least fifteen feet of burning ruin.
"Why, there's nearly three fires, on the average, every twinty-four hours in London, an' that's about a thousand fires in the year, ma'am." "Are you sure of what you say, fireman?" "Quite sure, ma'am; ye can ax Mr Braidwood if ye don't b'lieve me." Mrs Denman, still in a state of blank amazement, said that she did not doubt him, and bade him go on.
And here the value of organisation was strikingly and beautifully brought out; for, while the crowd swayed to and fro, now breathless with anxiety lest the efforts of the bold conductor of the fire-escape should fail; anon wild with excitement and loud in cheers when he succeeded, each fireman paid devoted and exclusive attention to his own prescribed piece of duty, as if nothing else were going on around him, and did it with all his might well knowing that every other piece of work was done, or point of danger guarded, by a comrade, while the eagle eyes of Mr Braidwood and his not less watchful foremen superintended all, observed and guided, as it were, the field of battle.
Having done this, he continued to superintend the men until the fire was got under, which was soon accomplished, having been attacked promptly and with great vigour soon after it broke out. "You needn't wait, Mr Dale," said Braidwood, going up to his foreman. "It's all safe now. I'll keep one engine; but you and your lads get off to your beds as fast as ye can."
The owner of the shop came up in a frantic state, and corroborated this statement. "It'll blow the house to bits, sir," he said to Mr Braidwood. "Of course it will," remarked the latter in a quiet voice. "Come here, my man," he added, taking the shopkeeper apart from the crowd, and questioning him closely. Immediately after, he ordered the engines to play on a particular part of the building.
When they came close we could see how it was, Sir Ferdinand and three troopers on one side; Inspector Goring, with two more, on the left; while outside, not far from the lead, rode Sir Watkin, the Braidwood black tracker the best hand at that work in the three colonies, if you could keep him sober. Now we could see why they took us in front.
Thus we find that no straining of the imagination is required to conceive of this mode of formation for the huge masses of gold found in Australia in particular, such as the Welcome Nugget, 184 lbs. 9 oz.; the Welcome Stranger, a surface nugget, 190 lbs. after smelting; the Braidwood specimen nugget, 350 lbs., two-thirds gold; besides many other large masses of almost virgin gold which have been obtained from time to time in the alluvial diggings."
"We might get on the roof now, Mr Braidwood," suggested Dale, touching his helmet as he addressed the well-known chief of the London Fire-Engine Establishment. "Not yet, Dale, not yet," said Braidwood; "get inside and see if you can touch the fire through the drawing-room floor. It's just fallen in."
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