THE BENDIGO GULLY QUARTZ REEFS.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2031, 8 November 1869, Page 2

THE BENDIGO GULLY QUARTZ REEFS.

(from our own CORRESPONDENT.) Cromwell, 4th Nov., 1869. The events of the past few days have been of t e most exciting character. It canhardly be said that the district has been taken by surprise ; at the same time the fact, as coni urn a ted, has created a commotion which, un ler the circumstances, can scarcely he called extraordinary. The fact that reef workings had been going on in the neighborhood for years past, was perfectly ■well known. They were first taken up by M r G. W. Goodger, of Cromwell, ai d to the indomitable perseverance of that gentleman and his party the Province is indebted for the recent discovery, a discovery which th -re is every r.-ason to believe will work an entire revolution in the prospects of Otago. The circumstances under which the discovery was first made have already been dcta le I in the form of an extra printed by the Cromire’l Guardian, and forwarded to you by the Tuapdca mail. Since then the reef has been visited by large numbers of people fr.an Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, and the neighborhood ; and more,specimens of quartz have been brought in. Amongst others, your correspondent has been to the ground, and although he cannot testify to every bit of stone exhibited, enough came under his own observation to warrant him stating that areefof extraordinary richness has been found. As yet the prospectors of the reef, ( 'olelough and parity, have only got to the top, wl,i,h crops up to within six inches of the surface, free altogether of rock casing. To explain this further. The reef is lying under a covering of six inches of soil, and the sjrecimens brought in by Colclough on Tuesday afternoon were broken off that part of the vein. Since then a number of other specimens have been broken off, consequently the reef may be said to have been now got into. I am venturing upon a very safe statement when I say that down from the surface the stone is equally rich with the surface. In f act, it is richer, and some of the most extravagant estimates have been made as to its probable yield. At present 1 am not prepared to repeat them ; at the same time I am forced to admit, that so far as matteia have yet gone, there is some coloring for them. I have brought down a few pieces of stone, and these will be forwarded to Dunedin for inspection, by the very first opportunity. My intention is to make the collection as complete as possible, so as to be able to describe it as the richest and poorest stone the place has produced. There is one matter upon which I have no doubt but that your readers will feel deeply interested, viz., the prospect for incomers. Now, that is a point upon which I would desire to be very cautious. That there is a good shew for the capitalist I have not the slightest doubt, and that money will be lost and won in that way is equally plain to the meanest intellect. So far as Oulelough’s claim, or rather reef, is concerned, it is yet in its infancy. It promises something extraor I inary, but then only the surface has been tested. It may he all right and it may be all wrong : that is a question that will have to be decided by patience aqd p irseverance. Goodgcr's and the Aurora, on the other hand, situated ou the same range, only a very few yards distant and running in the same direction, are now entitled to be regarded as established facts. Each crushing

has shewn up better than the other—the last having been the best of all. Heferring to this reef some time ago, Mr Warden Fyke predicted a glorious future, and gave it as ins opinion that it run from Skippers down by Drybread and the Hogburn to the Maercwhenua. Well, supposing such opinion to be correct, there is a pillar of gold to be developed which will support thou ands that are not yet in the Province. In fact, there is abundance of room for prosuectim'; and with such a find as that of Colclough's’before them, I have little doubt that the miners will take advantage of it. Already the sharp youths of the district have been doing a little bit of speculation, just by way of preparing for the future. Shares that would not have changed bauds at almost any price a week ago, met with purchasers on Friday night at say LhO. By daybreak the following morning a number of Civile gentlemen put in an appearance, and a LIUO was then talked about. As the day wore on, the market seemed to go up at a hop-step-and-jump pace, and five and six hundred pounds was freely Six hundred was, I know, refused, aßjjh down to the present time I have of L7OO (the reserve price) having been, offered. In fact, speculation last night appeared to drag rather heavily, and I don’t think many shares changed hands. To-day we have had fresh accessions to the incomers, and this morning at breakfast time cpiite a cavalcade started off for the reef. In all probability we shall have something new to-night, and should it be of consequence, you will have received it by telegram before this appears 121 print.