the mob dispersed, while a few miners who
had not been at t he bonfire or had played a
shrewd Ananias game displayed their pa
pers at the supreme moment, and the com
missioner and his police and armed sol
diery marched back to camp rejoicing.
Tin* miners lost no time in replying to
this raid by a declaration of war. The
lone Exile of Erin, whom fate had made
the John Hancock of the Declaration of In
dependence, was elected military dictator,
and for the space of forty-eight hours, more
or less, signed himself “Peter Lalor, Com
mander in Chief of the Diggers Under
Arms.” An insurgent camp was pitched
on a height overlooking Ballarat, known
as Eureka Hill. Horses, weapons, ammu
nition, provisions ami even recruits were
impressed by the simple edict of "Peter
Lalor,” etc., and the hill was fortified by
means of a barricade and stockade com
bined. The work of intrenching wasunder
taken in a hurry and every hour added
some new device for obstructing and harass
ing the enemy’s approach. As fast ns t hey’
could be procured slabs were imbedded at
one end, stakes were driven, ropes were
stretched, carts and other bulky obstacles
were overturned ami toall was added earth
embankments, for the diggers hadn’t for
gotten their trade. The strangely com
posite intrenchment enjoyed ephemeral no
toriety as the “Eureka Stockade.”
The warlike preparations of the insur
gents went on for two days and three
nights undisturbed by the government.
