The Romanes of Mines

Inangahua Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1202, 17 April 1897, Page 4

The Romanes of Mines

A goldfield, as a locality, ia ofteu o* ft very commonplace order, with nothing Tory b.autiful about it, and a good deal 'bat 13 disenchanting. Yet tbe Rom-i'io* of the Mm ■*, when written, will— if well sod truly written — be an all-absorbing book. There iff, for example, the site of a quartz mine at Bendi *o, on which in 1882 stood Lord Fob * Ceil, now Prime Minister ol p Tb claim was thai of a. one-a-uned m^n named Hustler, who was then worth £80,000. Some yearg afterward*" there were nnmistak able indioati .ns that the al'uvial deposits in that region -as well as several other rf-pnons-- were becomirjg exhausted; and, at this time two 1 gcntlr-men. no' -4 » 1 connected with the mir-ingindustry, persirteutlymain„tai ed, in th fate of mucti ridicule and incredulity, that where alluvial gold was there, or thereabouts, also were quartz lodes which were worth seeking for. The two persons referred to wpre the editor of the Bendigo Adve ii* r and the mining reporter of the Journal, who wan also at the time correspondent of the Melbourne Argus. Jn conpt-quenct' of these representations and others, a company was formed to work tbe oaim known as Hustler's as t quartz mine—- Hustler having by this period In-u all his money, and tha claim beiog cold by the Sheriff it fetched £1 at auction. In 1872 a portion of this claim produced tbe three largest cakes of geld ever seen in these colonies, or perhaps anywhere else—viz., 28990z, 8002oz, and 8900oz, making a total of 9301 oz. During the two months of November and December, 1872, this company crushed 1107 tons of stone for a yield of 11,0870z gold, being an average of lOoz to tbe ton. This waß the Great Extended Hustler's Tribute Company. The parent company, the Great Extended Hubtler's, experienced many and singular vioiasitudes. In 1871 its market value was £14,000. -Next year it was talue'd at £560,000, and then it fell to £3500. A depth of nearly 2000 ft was reached before the company exp?rienced a revival; but wb6n »n 1891 gold wa9 struck at 1860 ft its market value again rose to if 178.500. From the reef at 600ffc the company, oo a called up capital of if 17,200, paid £368,000. About 200,0000s of gold altogether have been sbtaincd from the parent company's area, and the Tribute Company— portion alflo of 'ost er's o;aim - produced 01871 and 1872 18 cakes aggregating fo 48,082 z ■•■ go.'d. Up to a r csnt date tbe Tribute Company alone paid in dividends 010-p on £200,000, and the parent company double that sum. •- nd where is the discoverer, tbe original owner, all this time ? He is in the Bendigo Hospital, it might have been answered, and presently he will die there, a pauper, utterly unknown and forgotten. And yet not altogether quite forgotten. For the lucky holders of the Hustler's fcrip have always observed in one corner the figure of a one-a mcd man, holding in his single hand a pick. That man has been a - uz*f c to cuu '.tlbss persons through whose hands the Hustler's shareß *. as ci. ;iu' - on y an odd man heie and •^-ere t- day ki-ows t ai is ti>e present--1: v.- •• •'. • st er the quartz pioneer — Hu r. .r ,l died % pauper, and has fonnd a pauper's grave- Wellington Post.

Do your eyes fill op with water, Is your nose running red, Do yooifeel the goose flesh growing, * Do ybu "sneeze twixt each word said, Do you feel banged np all over, Ift<;oU-' temperature Jbigh, '"••■• v-u o gh fr. m ge'tmg up time, 'i'lii its t-m« to go bye bye. If he-o urebut yonr symptoms, You may thea be sure as sure, Yon only want a dose or two of Woods' Wonderful Pepperment Cure. ■ ■ '— T The entry of the squadron of Maoris and half castes into Wellington was a sight to be remembered. They were mounted on a variety of horses, some fair to middling, others of the " five bob a leg " order of mamma'ia. The cavalcade was led by Col. Fole Penton, and the leading file had a stock.whip held over his right shoulder at the slope ; the next man held a hunting crop in an aggressive fashion, then came a cavalryman or two with axe-handles, and the rear was brought up by a burly tangata with a tomahawk ornamented with feathers. Should Colonel Kaakowiski of the Cossacks of the Don see these warriors in London, he will undoubtedly advise the Tsar to leave New Zealand severely alone in the event of war.— Exchange.