CHAPTER XXVI.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3097, 8 September 1899, Page 6

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE QUEST. After taking his long survey, Trenowetb descended from the mount and began bis ■sarch. Like an experienced miner, as he was, his climb had not been for mere spectacular purposes. He wished to see tbe trend of the watershed of Mount Bißchoff and the neighboring hills, for he well knew that stream tin, like alluvial gold, would lie in the lowest levels of the alpine gorges. After hisjirief survey of the surrounding scenery/hV therefore turned; his attention to the formation of the underlying country. His practised eyes soon rested on a ravine which appeared to him worthy of investigation. ■ ■•' "".";' .. ' '■ ""■•'. .■-.;..'■''• " It w*» »t the foot ot Bisehoff, »nd » huge hill reared itself on the opposite side to the. height of nearly a thousand/feet. The place was thickly overgrown with a dtnse Vegetation, out of which great bare rocks peeped. > Edward concluded that the ravine was the natural drainage of the bills, and formed a» elonirated basin.

As he descended the mount he took particular notice of the staniferous indications, and the result was supremely satisfactory. It is almost superfluous to tell latter-day Australians that all minerals come from a matrix. ■ . Until a few yean ago, this point was disputed. Places like Baliarat and Forest Creek (Castlemaine), where the richest alluvial deposits in the world were found, were supposed to be independent of reefs: but subsequent, working has conclusively proved "that _ the enormous " gullies " and " leads " of gold were simply debris from the action of water. So with tin. In Cornwall Trenoweth worked a lode* but long ages before the alluvial, or stream, tin had been, exploited. As the young man noticed the favorable indications of a matrix, he became more than ever convinced that be was at last on tbe right patb. Selecting a suitable place in tbe ravine, tbe seeker pitched his camp, for he meant to give the plane the fullest trial. Tbe spot Where he bad the year before found the favorable indications was about a mile further north, but in the same trend of country. It was near this place that the smoke from the other prospectors' fires rose, So far, he bad not seen the first comers, but he intended going to their camp the following day. Though alone in the gloomy forest, Trenoweth had no sense of lonl' ness such as Bat upon him like lead in his Australian bnsb wanderings. The feeling that human help waß near if required gave him a sense of security unknown in that awful journey he had made until the face of Kailakoo looked down on him on the Barrier reef, That particular episode in his life seemed blotted out, for the tablets of his memory were unconscious at the time, and tbe impression, like tbe sensitive plate of a camera, had not yet developed. After a hearty msal, the young man took off bis pilot coat and commenced his woik of prospecting. A limpid stream ran down the centre of the ravine, and wbere — as frequently happened — miniature waterfalls occurred, Trenoweth lifted the bottom strata and in every instanae found magnificent ruby tin. Step by step he followed up the rivulet, and dish after dish that was washed only emphasised the fact that the surrounding area must be staniferous. At last he came to a spot in the gorge wbere tbe vrater coursed down a sloping shelf of rock some twenty feet broad. The water, which was clear as crystal, wa 9 only a tew inches in depth, for it spread out at the top by means of a sort of natural gutter. Trenoweth's first glance at this place was a revelation to him. Tbe bed down which the water flowed was black at jet, and gave a peculiar appearance to tbe water. Tub western sun was striking directly on thesballowcasoade.anditsscintillatingbeamß were reflected in a thousand shapes from the bed on which the water flowed. In his excitement Trenoweth tried to climb tbe surface of the slope, but the effort was a failure, as it was as slippery as a sheet of glass. Finding he could not get to the summit in that way, he stood and gased at the sight before him, rapt in an eostacy of astonishment. The broad lead on which the water ran was simply a solid rock of almost pure tin ore. The shinißg black prisms reflected back the beams of the sun dancing through (he crystal water, until the light almost dazzled tbe spectator's eyes. Probably no foot of white man had ever trod that spot before ; certainly, no Cornish man bad looked on such a sight. If so, Biichofl would have been discovered at tbe time. It is somewhat surprising to reflect bow few people,even in the mineral land of Australia, know certain minerals in the native ore. Out of a thousand educated men it is safe to say that not one balf could identify tin ore if they saw it. Unlike tbe shining white metal in its pure state, the ore is jst black, and bears no resemblance to tbe tin of commerce. It is almost a natural faculty with a Cornishman to perceive staniferous indications. From the days of the Phoenicians until the present tin has been a staple of that rugged end of Britain where Edward Trenoweth bad been reared. Never, in the best parts of tbe west drive of the Wheal Merlin, had tho young man seen such a rich deposit as that which he bad just dropped on. A great wall of tin ore lay in front of him, and be knew that at last his quest had bean fruitful. For a few minutes be looked as one fascinated at the shining black slope, and then, as if seized by a sudden impulse, be ran to tbe side of the running water and oommenced to dig away furiously at tbe rank vegetation which fringed the side of the lode. Yes I tbe ore extended, as he thought* beyond the bared surface of the cascade. Gradually be cut a path through the scrub and then, in pager haste, made a shallow excavation along from the water's edge. Tbe black deposit was unearthed the whole way, and then, out of breath, the young prospector rested, Going round the bead of tbe slope a few minutes afterwards, he attacked the opposite side, and here he found that the lode went down. Thoroughly satisfied that it was permanent, he climbed on a rock a few yards up the ravine, and took a survey: of the place. His previous knowledge of Tasmanian mining regulations had been of benefit to him, and he was now thoroughly conversant with tbe rights under the act. . : During tne interval of a year in which he bad been absent the mining regulations bad been much liberalised, as tbe Circular Head offioial bad foretold, and tbe rights of prospectors had been secured. Indeed, it bad ; been decreed 'by the legislature that a man who opened up a hew mineral field was a public benefactor, and stringent regulations were laid down conserving to 'ituo'b pioneers certain rights and .priTilepeß; : .' "" • A scale of distances was drawn np, in Which it was provided that the f urtheraway from an existing field a discovery was made the larger area would be the prospector's This wise provision was no doubt inserted with a view to open up the unexploited districts of the Island.

I Bis praotical knowladge told him as lo th r most likely trend of the ore, and after along look he descended. It was an easy matte* t a get stakes in the neighborhood and, making his way through the dense Bcrub, he soon bad an approximate area marked out. ..,_.;■, ../' Tearing leaves out oS his pocketbook, he marked bis name in lead pencil, with the necessary particulars, and^ secured them to each of the four posts. ;•- . ■'- ;•' This done, he again made bis way hick to' the slope and mounted bis rock^ feeling sWewhat like a Robinson Crusoe, as be proudly glanced round at bis newlyVacijuired possession/ ■'■■ ': ;: '■''■. ■-■■■■-■■ ; He, of course, did hot know the exact extent or value of his find, or bad he done, so he might have justly felt prouder than be .'did..: ;, ■._..; ... .' '. J \[. '"■■;. .; , 17.,' For the first time since the, earth was young the wondrous riches of Biscboff had been laid bare to the vandal band 'of the white man. For centuries, noVdoubt/.the sable, owners of the soil had clambered np that watery slope and bad seen their hideous faces re> fleeted baok from the sombre cliff; but to them it had no charm. It perhaps struck them as congenial. The organic and the inorganic bad the s»mehoe, and if a soul did not quicken those.wond* rou3 prisms of ebony yet their dead eyes gave back glance for glance of the living dead. Trenoweth sat for a considerable time in self satisfied contemplation, and then it struck him that be would go down to where a thin column of blue smoke rose straight, like Abel's sacrifice, to heaven. It was a beacon that told him that a peaceful invasion was taking place in that wild district. The men below were, like himself, in the Wake of Fortune —oh, no I not now in the Wake, thought Trenoweth, but rather in the Van. He smiled to himßelf, and then a shade of gadness crept over him, which he speedily banished. It is idle to Bay that he did not think occasionally of Inez, and, of course, his mother was enshrined in his heart. Yet his regret about Inez was not so poignant as it formerly was. In the altar of his heart & new image was unfolding itself, ami henceforth he would worship at a new shrine. Hiß thoughts soon fled, and dropping from the rock, he got his swag and went down the ravine. When he came to his camp he left hie Bhovel and other impedimenta aud took hie way in the direction of the smoke. Soon be came on a rude clearing, which apparently had not many weeks heen denuded of the sylvan giants which surrounded it. He saw four men working on the watercourse—or rather beside it—that ran down from the slope he bad left. A couple of others were engaged ontsida a tent, cooking. A3 the prospector walked out of the belt of timber which fringed the clearing he wa6 immediately observed, and k man who was in the act of lifting a huge can off the fire called : •'Hello I mate."