TRIP TO THE RIVERS BULLER AND GREY.

[The following information is extracted from the journal of Captain Fearon, who, believing it might contain matter interesting to our readers, kindly placed it at our disposal] :—: —

On the 9th February, at two, p.m., the schooner Gipsy, Captain McCann, set sail from Nelson, conveying Messrs. Rochfort, Hacket, Groom, and myself in the cabin } Messrs. Staples, Webby, and Eden, being also on board with us. We proceeded cheerily along, and at nine, p.m., the wind being off the land, we stood to the west side of the bay; and ran down, but at eleven, p.m. the vessel having been incautiously steered too near to the Una, she struck a reef off Tonga point. Our kedge was immediately got out, and we soon hauled her off again, and ran for Fisherman's Bay, which we reached about eight o'clock the next morning. On examining the Gipsy, after she had been put on the beach, we found that her false keel was shattered. At eleven o'clock we again got under sail, and made for Riwaka, which we reached that morning, and there we remained until the 16th February, as we were only able to work at the repairs of our little vessel When the tide was out. At noon on the 16th we again left Riwaka, the wind being then moderate, but towards evening . it increased and blew a gale from the north-east, with thick, hazy weather. We rounded the east end of the aandspit at midnight. On Wednesday, the 17th, the wind being still in the east, we had a strong gale with a heavy sea running all day, we however managed to sight the sandspit, but could not distinguish any of the features of the land. The weather still continuing stormy, with heavy rain and lightning, we stood off a bit, and at about nine, a.m., on the 18th, got sight of high land near Rocks point : the wind moderating, we came up with it at about six, p.m. At nine, p.m., the wind, which had continued light and variable, backed to the nor'ard, and during the night increased to a gale, accompanied with heavy showers of rain, with lightning ; the sea was now running very high and across, but our little craft skipped along the tops of the waves, and through what was really a very heavy cross sea, like a little fairy, taking in not a drop of water. The breeze continued all night, moderating a little after seven in the morning, and then gradually subsided into a perfectcalm. About ten o'clock we sighted the high land of Karamea, and the wind having veered round, it was now blowing a gentle breeze from the north-east ; we then steered for the mouth of the River Buller, but the weather thickened, and conceiving that we were close in shore, we kept the lead going. In the first cast we found eighteen fathoms, so still kept towards the shore until we reached seven fathoms, and could then distinctly hear the surf breaking, but the weather being too thick for us to see the land, we tacked, and stood off and on. In less than half-an-hour the weather cleared up, and before us we saw the mouth of the Buller, distant between half. a-mile and a mile, but, perceiving that a heavy surf was breaking over the bar, we deemed it prudent to wait until morning before entering the river, and so came to ah anchor at about two miles and a-half off shore, under the black reef. Early the next morning we ran into the Buller, with a light breeze ; not much surf on the bar ; we sounded continually as we passed over it, and found nothing less than ten feet; this was at about half tide. The Buller has two entrances ; we went in by the southern one: the north-west channel is considerably deeper than the one we passed through, and affords good anchorage inside. A lagoon channel communicates with two or three branches of the river, and affords excellent anchorage for small craft, which, if necessary, can here lie high and dry ; or, if it should be preferred, they can anchor and remain in deep water. The rise and fall of the tide at change and full appears to be at least ten feet, and from the large body of fresh water continually passing down the river, there must always be a deep channel here. The land on the north side, as far as can be seen from the entrance of the river, is heavily timbered, and cohiiats of a large quantity of flat rich land. Looking «t

the country from the mouth of the Buller, it presents that low yet beautiful appearance to he aeeu at the northern portion of the River Mississippi, though the land certainly would seem liable to flood during heavy freshes. We anchored the Gipsy inside the south point of the Buller, where we had from two to three fathoms of water at low water, and we then moored her, head and stern. We then passed up the southern side of the Buller in our boat, going through the lagoon channels for about three miles, and passing through the bush, came to some open country, say about 8,000 or 10,000 acres: the soil appeared very good, though its vegetation consisted of low, stunted, yellow fern, with moss and rushes. On rising a terrace, we saw about 20,000 acres of perfectly level land between us and the sea ; and looking south, we saw an opening of a width of from ten to fifteen miles across, leading to the River Grey. The weather still continuing very bad, and thinking we could reach the River Grey overland sooner than by the Gipsy, we made up our minds for the walk, and on the 23rd February we started (Messrs. Rochfort, Hacket, Staples, Webby and myself, accompanied by two Maories). After rounding Cape Foulwind, we had to wait seven hours for the tide to go out, before we could get round the focks, having to pass for some little distance through a cave in the rocks, which is covered at highwater ; and even when we passed through, it required some agility and foresight to avoid the surf, which occasionally broke in upon the pass. Having got safely through this, we rounded two or three rocky points, and then reached a nice sandy beach, about twelve or thirteen miles in length. That night we reached the Wai-takiri river, on the banks of which we camped. A projection of the land is found here, which apparently would afford good shelter from a south-west wind, though it is open to the north-west. There are rocks all round the point, and three large rocks stand out of the water in a line with the river at the bottom of the bight. The river at low water has about two feet on the bar ; the entrance is narrow, and leads through a wooded gorge for about half a mile, when there is found a beautiful little basin, where craft might lie, sheltered from every wind ; but of course they could only get in there at high water. The coast for some distance from this point is rocky, with several small streams running into the sea; and then is seen another sandy beach, with another projecting point and harbour, at Poti-kua. Here there is an immense cave, with chambers about thirty feet high, and entrances on three different sides; in this we supped, and slept for the night. The cave is dry, except during the prevalence of north-west gales, when the tide washes the greater part of its floor ; we obtained here a famous feed of cray-fish. From this point many rocky places have to be passed, while occasional streams flow across the shingly beach, until Ti Miko cliff is reached, and this we had tCv ascend in a most primitive manner; a ladder of supple-jacks and vines taking us to the top of this perpendicular cliff, a height of about seventy feet, and we then had, as in many other parts, to continue our journey by pulling ourselves up by the flax and shrubs growing near us. The whole country here is densely wooded, and in some parts is thickly netted with kiekie. We next had to pass through a dense nikau bush for about three miles ; which had not been made more easy for pedestrians, by the recent storms having torn up large trees by their roots, and scattered them over the track, which we here had great difficulty in distinguishing. The country now began to alter ; vegetation was very rich, but entirely different to that in the part through which we had already walked. In passing down to the coast again, we reached a most extraordinary place formed by the limestone cliffs : the track was very narrow, and at our feet, directly beneath us, in a perpendicular line, was a chasm of about sixty feet deep ; while on the other side, the hill steeply sloped to the sea : we descended this steep cliff by two pieces of supple-jack, and soon after reached Wai-mataku, where we had again to wait, as at a previous part of our journey, for the tide to recede, before we could pass the rocks. Previously to our reaching the beach, here, we saw some country a good deal broken, with little open patches, and on ascending a hill to view it, we looked back, and saw the level country about the Buller quite plainly. The coast-line range up to this point is not Bteep, the hills being about the size of the Nelson port-hills, but they are thickly wooded. We soon reached the Wai-mataku, and at the bottom of the bight, where the river is, the country opens right to the Grey district; there is also a good deal of flat land here, with a large lagoon. At the end of the limestone cliff there is to be seen a very conspicuous point, of use to vessels making the Grey: it is a projection of limestone rock, easily visible from the outside, with the gorge of the Grey to the southward just opening, and distant some four or five miles. There is here a nice shingly beach, and on it we drank our last drop of brandy, naming the projection " Brandy Point." As you now advance to the Grey, the flat land visibly widens, from a depth of say half-a-mile to a mile, but all densely wooded. Here we saw Mount Cook, with his frosty white nightcap, and the distant hill range along the coast, all wooded with the exception of a peak near the Grey, and that appears to have a barren rocky summit. We arrived at the River Grey at about seven, p.m. on the 26th February, where we found a native village ; we cooed, "and soon had a canoe to take us across the river, our arrival there being most lustily cheered by the assembled natives. We here met Dr. Mackley and Mr. Crichton, who had previously walked overland. The natives soon bustled about and prepared us a good hot meal of eels and potatoes. The following day, two or three natives went over to Tera tnaka, to apprize the other natives of our arrival, and on the following morning several of them came over, who all expressed delight at seeing us. We had some talk with Tere Puhi the native chief, and found' that on the week preceding, he had seen a bush fire a long distance up the Mawhera, or Grey, and that he had been up there and left some provisions, as he thought it was Mr. Mackay, who, he considered, was at least a week distant from where we were. We said wa ihould like to go at one« to meet

him, but the chief said he could not go until he had mended his canoe. The following day we assisted in repairing the canoe, and on the Ist March, with two canoes, started up the Grey. This river at its mouth is about a mile wide, and at the gorge has narrowed to within a quarter of a mile ; it runs for about a mile and a-half in a circuitous manner to the eastward, then sharply turns and runs about due north. As you round the gorge, a considerable piece of flat land is visible on the Nelson side, where could be formed a very large township with good deep water close in shore; there being from eight to ten feet of water over the deep part of a fall close to the gorge ; a steamer could easily run up and down this river for a considerable distance. We passed through a gorge between hills about forty feet high, with bold precipitous faces, and washed by deep water. At about five miles and a-half from the entrance of the Grey, a coal seam is visible on both sides of the river. The coal crops out, and theseam appears to be aboutsixfeet thick, with a dip at an angle of about twentyfive degrees south. There can be no doubt that this coal seam covers a large area ; it has sandstone beneath it, and mica slate above ; this description applies to the Nelson side of the seam. About two or three miles farther up, the country opens out and is flat as far the eye can see. To the north, and to the east, the hills seemed forty to fifty miles distant, bufthe whole country is wooded. From here we passed up the river, which still winds occasionally, so that we frequently got out of the canoes, and walked across the necks of land round which the river winds. The first stream we passed on the south of the Grey is the boundary of this province, and is called the Kotuhu-wakaoho ; it runs into a lake described as Lake Brunner : next is the Alaura, and the country all around here was on fire, having been burned by Mr. Mackay in his progress down the Mawhera, or Grey. We camped between two rivers, and saw Mr. Mackay' s fire at a great distance. Next day, at about one, p.m., we met Mr. Mackay, and for the moment our spirits were dulled, as he saw but four of his party, and knew that he had set out with five in all; this feeling was, however, soon dissipated, on our learning that Mr. Mackay's cousin had returned to Nelson. Mr. Mackay had a very bad leg, and had been detained several days in consequence, but he had easily reached the place where Tere Puhi had placed his provisions. On meeting Mr. Mackay, old Tere Puhi was so delighted that he refused to proceed further with us, and receiving a very good description of the country from Mr. Mackay, we consented to return with him to the mouth of the Grey. Our canoes were then lashed together, and we ran down in a few hours, over what had taken us two days to ascend. On our return we were again received with great cheering and dancing on the part of the natives. The coal taken from the Beam before spoken of burns well, cakes beautifully, and possesses not the slightest sulphureous smell. Mr. Mackay informed us that no difficulty exists iv the way of making a good road, and that a comparatively level one, from Nelson to the Grey, although the whole district is heavily timbered. I should estimate the valley of the Grey to be from thirty to fifty miles wide. Before proceeding up the River Grey, we had erected a beacon to guide the Gipsy in, and had requested the natives, in the event of the weather being rough when she arrived, to light a fire on shore in a line with our beacon ; but this was unnecessary. On sounding the River Grey we found nine fathoms of water from the bar to the gorge, and continuing up the river it varied from three to one and a-half fathoms at low water : but on the bar, which is very narrow, the least water obtained inside, and on coming out, was three fathoms, and there must be a considerably greater depthinthe channel close to the north shore, but we did not pass through it, as there was too much surf on. In coming out of the Grey on our return, the tide had ebbed an hour, and it was also low neap tides, yet we found nothing less than three fathoms, so that at high water spring tides and in heavy freshes there must be from nineteen to twenty feet of water on the bar. We particularly asked the natives respecting the ,river ; as, having in view the recorded fact, that a gentleman had waded it some years since, we particularly wished to know if its features had altered ; but the natives assured us that withintheir recollection therehad been no material alteration in its course, or its depth. On the south side of the spit the water breaks a good deal, but on the bar we were informed that the water breaks only at long intervals, and while we watched it, there was no break in the channel visible for several minutes, which showed that there must be a considerable depth of water. In a southwesterly wind the entrance to the Grey presents a dead lee shore, so that it is only safely open for craft in a north-westerly breeze, but as soon as the bar is passed, you are in still deep water, and any moderate sized vessel, with a good strong breeze, could go in or out easily from the river. Knowing that the land question was not settled, and the Maories not wishing us to dig for gold, we abstained from so doing, not being desirous of creating any difficulty. The whole country around the River Buller, is, I think, auriferous, but below, near the valley of the Grey, the country so much alters in its features, that I am strongly of opinion that no gold will be found to exist there ; nevertheless, the land bears rich promise of becoming a good agricultural country, but this of course can only be after a long term of years, in consequence of the heavy timber to be cleared.

We left the Grey again on our homeward trip on Tuesday, the 13th of March, at three, p.m., crossed the bar at half-past three, over which was beating a nasty surf and a heavy- sea, and we all expected that here we should receive a good ducking, but not a drop of water did the little Gipsy ship. When we were outside, we found it blowing a gale, with thick squally weather, which lasted until between four and five, p.m., the following day, when we were off Cape Farewell; the windthen gradually diedaway into a calm and disappointed us, as, had the wind held, we should certainly have reached Nelson thirty hours after leaving the Grey. We had a good view of the coast on our return trip, and it seems remarkably bold and conspicuous ; so much so> that mistakes could

hardly be made in running down it. In my opinion this coast is not so hazardous and dangerous as the east coast, as a vessel bound down, and having a south-westerly breeze, could, in the event of its being required, easily make one of the several bays to be found here, and hold their position until the wind changed or moderated ; while with a north-wester they could stand off, or a smart seaman, like the captain of the Gipsy, could easily take the Grey or the Buller. The courtesy and great kindness received from the natives really surpassed our expectations ; they seemed very desirous that white people should go and settle along the coast, and were certainly very willing to trade.