PROSPECTING DAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 249, 20 October 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

PROSPECTING DAYS.

BACK TO WAIHI.

►VBHTiraJBS ni THE TnT.T.g

FIGHT "WITH WILD BULL.

(By'W.'S. CL NICHOLLS.)

After we \ left the Indian ; River, witL ts grim sentinels in the deserted graverard,Vwe made a raft and poled it to the vest ' side of the lake and made our way a> the police camp at the head of the ake. We had to walk on a network of lead trees lyii*g 10 or 15 feet deep in a sonfosed mass, with .young green trees poftriqg up thick together. We got lalfvwayupand found a bit of clean ground and we lit. a ifire and cooked a feed' of bear, ham. . When we had it :ooked two Indian women sat down in front of usj; it seemed to us that they liad dropped from the clouds. We didn't see themtill they were right on us, we could not make them understand oui language;' w« offered; them some beai ham and they offered usan animal like a.squirrel, butmuch-bigger;we didn't want it as we had plenty of meat. Thej roasted "two of these animals and thej were* yery fat, they were only hall cooked when we started to eat them. 11 struck me that : they miglit have fount out that.wehad; been tampering wit! their graveyard and tracked us till thej found us, we could/riot dearn anything fromthem. They finished their feast andstartedoff. We readied the policc camp on the, opposite side of the river at dusk- > We hailed them, and we had quite a lot of talk before they would agree, to bring us across to ; the camp They< lefeus sleep In an empty bell tent and gaVe us a mug of coffee in the morning; Then we saw the boat steaming uj the -lain.; When she arrived we got aboiid of her and landed at the head ol Lake Bennett and walked the White PaestoSkagaway; the trail foi miles' was strewn with dead horses anc pigs in many places; there were heaps ol them lying dead. When we got t< Skagaway we took the boat to Van &ja*er, :I* parted wia Walmaley hen and took boat for ; New Zealand, poorei i than'l left it Wafaaafeyweftt to Britiil

■ Great Change in Waihi. When I returned to Waihi, I found ;■ a great change, the township had;trebled its population, and the shares in . the mine had,reached £10; the company had started to erect a battery of 200 head of stampers, and mining in the surrounding districts was panning : oiit'well. I went straight to; the boys as soon as I got home. I 'couldn't leave them to go prospecting,', so I had to go to-work in the mine to make a living for them&nd myself. ■ .<

I In the "month of' February, '1927, 3 started out. to prospect the eastern if the. range from Whangamata alonj 0 Waihi; one .of the Robson boys volun eered to help me to cany 'my outfit t< the place where I intended tc amp. We started off to cross the rang< follow a leading spur down into ..the Vaiharakeke stream, half way betweei be top of the range and the coast. Aftei ight hours' solid going we readied th< •lace where I had intended to camp. ] lad intended. to pitch my. camp and eturn next morning, and bring in e nonth's supply of grub so I only brought wo small loaves -of bread and tw< lounds of bacon and one of butter, Wher opened up my pack I found one oi he loaves all in crumbs, so I had only >ne two pound loaf, left, and the crust 1 the other to live on till-I got out gain. I boiled the billy s and made some ea and gave the . boy a slice of the baf and some tea, and he - started , ofl •ack home while I rigged up a .camp. I tarted out next morning to prospect he head water, of the main branch of he Waiharakeke stream, and raked the reeks and gulleys for five days without inding a trace of gold. But this had only one. thin slice of bread, and was twenty miles from where I could ;et any; eo I had to be 'satisfied with • drink of black tea and a smoke for upper, and save the slice of bread for •reakfast and lunch. After boiling the ally and roasting two rashers of bacon ate & fourth part of my slice of: bread •nd one of the rashers, and saved the •alance for luhcle I started to strike •ut for Waihi.and to find the Whare-:erau-punga-Waihi track. I was told hat the farmers of Waihi. drove their :attle along the track, and 1 thought it rcrald only be a cakewalk going rbund by yaihi compared with ousting the range, started at daylight in the morning and ranted around for the track forlialftan lour before I found it. It had a thick nn»e of scrub growing over it, and I lad to burst my .way through it as jest I could. After battling along for ;wo miles I came to an open space in he forest of about 60 awes, with two »g outcrops of quartz running parallel ;o otheiv striking" two points, east >1: jwruu L TI» biggest one measured 'bout ISO-feet- in width and the smaller gfrqycaa be traoed-aloag

for about 20 i chain b. The one carried -about 15 feet of mineral on its eastern wall, bo X thought that it was likely that it might cany values, and decided to give it a go and sample it, when I got back. I continued to burst my way through the jungle until one o'clock, before I struck a bit of good travelling, and 'my legs were getting down to bedrock with weakness ana pains. I only got along the clear trail about ten chains when a big beast's footprints appeared on the track.

[ A Lively Encounter. It »m ahead of me, and the marts ; were freshly made. I was getting played ■ out ;by this, so I had a rest for about > half an hour and a smoke. While thinking what; was best to do—turn back or > face the bull, I saw him rounding a > bend- of the as I was lighting my i pipe* and luckily for me the wind was blowing from him, or the fight would t have been short. : ' I gave-him half as . hour to get well ahead of me, thinking he would go off the track and leave it clear for me to go on. When I started and got round the bend 1 came face with his lordship. He nosoouer saw me than the lowered his head and. eocked his tail, and came straight for me. 1 let him come close before X stepped aside. I made a lunge at him with my sword bayonet and, missed him; luckily, he hit a small tree with his forelegs, and he tripped, and the speed he was going landed him over on his back, and before he righted himself ;I-got up on to a fallen tree.: He no pooner got on his feet again than he came ..straight f6r me, and started horning the tree under my-feet. I tried to pith him with the bayonet, but the point was too blunt to enter his hide. - . I managed to get a good blow on the tip'ofhishorn, and it seemed to start Mm thinking for a few seconds, and he tuniedi and went away from me about'fifteen yards and came straight for me and jumped the tree, but I managed to sidestep • him before he hit me. He repeated this three times before he saw it waß no tise,: then he reared up on his hind legs and tried to horn me, resting his forelegs on the tree. While he was cutting this caper I put in quick work on his with the sword bayonet and I managed to get the, point of the bayonet into one of his eyes, and a hard ; blow ron his knee, which lamed him before he cried "a go." ;Be fell from the log and got away at a limping run; ■ . ; v • v •• I • bid lii™ good afternoon and continued on my journey., I. thought the track would be clear for the rest of the way and that I would be able to get out of the bush, before dark, but after I got along for about five chains -the: tangle of the jungle was the worst I had met with on miy jonniey. I struggled along it for two hours over slips and fallen

*od then I came in sight of a *nd thought I Was safe, but > e ?. it I found it was lull of blackberries fifteen feet high, and growing as thick* through the bush as they were In the open, so I was hung up with them. I had nothing left to do but to get back tocamp as best I could. I knew that I could not reach camp before dark in my weak 'state, so I managed to struggle back to where I crossed over a tree that had fallen on the track, and broke its btandies up small enough to keep a fire going for the night. I managed to reach it before t_ and a fire going and pulled my breeches and shirt and; boots and socks off, and hung them up to dry, and took two bits out of my crib, and put the rest away for the morrow. The night was very warm and cloudy, and I *as expecting it to rain heavy any minute, but luckily it kept up till daylight before it burst.

A Battle for Life. Just as I was about to start back t camp after taking two more bites ou of my crib, the rain came down in tor rents, and I had the worst battle t save my life that I ever had durinj my sixty years of experience as a dig ger. I battled on for eight hours am then I lost the track; a tree had fallei on the track at this place, and covere< it. f I hunted round to find it till mj legs refused to go further, then I thought I had company with me, urging m< on and telling me not to be a cowan: or the pigs would eat my corpse if ] died there. There was pig rooting al about there, and the thought of then tearing my corpse to pieces, and the contract I would have to collect it on the Judgment Day, gave ma fresl courage. I got up and started uphill After I had gone a chain I struck the track. The rain and mist were so thick that I had a hard task to find it. Aftei I had struggled along for about half a mile I "nine to the clearing where 1 found the quartz outcrops, and this gave Ime courage. I knew -I could make the camp in half an hour. When I reached it I found a parcel tied to the ridge pole of my tent; it was-a loaf of bread and a pound of sausages. To.find the greatest gold mine on earth coul<* not put me in better spirits than this loaf of bread and pound of sausages did. Mr. Ronald Robinson had sent one of his brothers in to see if I was all. right, and v he brought the bread and-meat in with him. He got to the camp six hours after I left it on my Waihi journey, and found the ashes in my fireplace warm, so he knew I was still alive. I wasn't long in getting my dry clothes on and the billy boiled, and two rashers of bacon roasted on the coals, and with a mug of tea and a slice of bread I made a good meal, and thought myself .* lucky nw*. pec tor. ' m. ■ - ;