THE WAKAMAARINA GOLDMELDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1241, 26 May 1864, Page 2

THE WAKAMAARINA GOLDMELDS.

(From the correspondent of the Otago Daily Times,) Wednesday, 10th May. lam once more on the gold fields. lam in.the very heart of them. I write in a small calico t&nt which overlooks the Wakamariua river some two hundred feet below m'e. The forest around is so dense that I have only partial daylight. A huge fire blazes near at hand, at which scores of diggersstop to light their pipes as tliey pass along, making for ground which has not been worked out, for claims many a long and weary mile up the river; and which forms, near to its source, a " fork," and .afterwards runs into slender fingers of creeks, twisting and turning through as wild a country as was ever prospected by-the hardiest and most adventurous of diggers. The tent in winch I have taken up my temporary quarters is owned by a brother of the press! He was sent-up as special reporter for one of the provincial journals, but finding the sale of nobblers more profitable-if less congenial to his taste than-penning correspondent's letters, he has adopted this peculiar pursuit. May he prosper; for verily what with the fear of police visits of inspection, and having to deal with inebriated men who jisist upon being Supplied with drink upon the most unsatisfactory, not to say indefinite terms of credit, he has hard times of it. It is early in the morning, and the hoar -frost is- still white upon the ferns which cover the hills from their summits to the river's edge; but I have partaken of my morning meal, which consisted of fried wild pig and paste, the latter being meant for bread, but having been subjected to the fire for a few minutes only by an intemperate cook, it had not matured. Tea was offered me, and I made an effort to swallow a little, but was unsuccessful. I had brought no pannikin of my own, and could buy none. The tea was served me in the lid of a w billy," which had covered a vessel the night previously in which fresh wild pig had been boiled. It gave the beverage the flavour of tallow, which wais in no manner improved by the. half-handful of coarse brown sugar which was dropped into it by a " mate," and which, as it dissolved beneath, sent floating to the surface numberless pieces of stick and fibre, which the individual who was kind enough to do the sweetening assured me was only sugar cane. : Last night I had the good fortune.in being permitted to sleep on six halfhundred weight bags of flour, which kept me dry below while my blankets retained sufficient caloric to keep me warm above. Most of the flour, has since been sold. How Ishali manage to-night I can only conjecture. My impression is that I shall have to take to two sides of bacon to keep me oiF the ground. I hope they may not be sold before nightfall. Since I commenced this letter I have only had one occupant in the tent, or rather that portion which is curtained off from the business part of the groggery—l think; that should be its proper name. This occupant is a sawyer, who is maudlin drunk. I have, at his earnest request, shaken hands with him at. least a dozen times within the last twenty minutes. He insists upon professing the kindliest feelings towards, me, which I cannot reciprocate. He always concludes the handshaking by hoping that no offence has been given. - lam getting tired of this sort of thing, and inform him that at present lam engaged -in writing, and beg of him to allow me to proceed. He is completely dumb for the matter of two minutes, when he approaches close to me, his breath foul with the smell of rum and onions in combination, and informs me it must be a fine thing to be a scholar, to which I nod an impatient assent. He retreats to Jiis: corner and an empty keg, where he remains Apparently in deep meditation for nearly five minutes when he again comes forward and inquireis how much I will take to ieaehhim to write. I can stand this uo longer, and so placing pen, ink, and manuscript between the folds of my blanket, I walk into the open air and am lost in wonder arid admiration at the magnificent giants of the forest, whose earlier growth must have began ages previous to a white man treading the tangled soil.

My last letter was written from Picton, ■whence I had "gone to post the earliest intelligence for your columns. Having been informed that some parties had successfully prospected the valley of Waitohi and the Tuamarina River, I determined on reaching the diggings via Blenheim, which though a long detour would take me through the localities which were alleged to he so highly auriferous. It is . a lovely valley is the Waitolii, and the Tuamarina river, which runs through the upper part of it, is of surpassing beauty. By making inquiries I succeeded in meeting with two men who had tried various parts both of the valley and the river. The "colour," they informed me, might be seen any where, but up to the present time they had not struck a.ny ground which promised to be payable. They the that by crossing the stream and striking into a harrow gorge which was pointed out to me, I should fall in with a liut, the owner of which would be aole to give information worth having. .1 proceeded as I had been, directed, when in about an hour I fell upon the track which led to a small slab dwelling. It was the loneliest and wildest spot for a habitation I think I ever met with. I was very sorry I had ventured so far, and I felt that I should be well satisfied if I was again on my road. Blenheim-wards. I was met at the door by an aged female, having her left eye deeply ecchymosed, and presenting above and below and around the orb of vision, all—and more than all—the hues of the rainbow, intense black being, however the predominant . color. I made inquiries, after her husband, but received a very curt, not to say surly, reply. She did not know where he was; he never told her when lie went out where he was going; and she never asked questions. Did the lady know whether her husband had seen gold where he had been prospecting ? The lady knew nothing whatever; or, if she did, declined to state what it was. I fel* myself snubbed considerably, and turned my horse to push once more through scrub, creepers, forest trees and dead timber. It is possible some of the ladies belonging to your favoured province may read the columns of the Daily Times. If «uch be the case, I desire, for their information, to etate the following:—The hut I called at, and the •woman I addressed, both presented an appearance of almost sqdalid poverty. There was scarcely an article of furniture in the room; the walls showed daylight through many a chink, and I am sure the roof was neither-wind nor water proof. The woman herself boasted not of shoes or stockings. She was miserably clad outwardly in every essential of female attire; with one most striking exception, and this was an enormous and, I think rather expensive crinoline. I may also mention that she wore nothing over it. My own opinion, after witnessing what I have related, is that crinoline, like thistles, will never be eradicated, no matter -however strenuous the efforts made towards these en

In due time I arrived at the raiii./ ancient .town of Blenheim, situated inlandi, but receiving water communication by means of a small river, : the name of which I have not heard or have forgotten. Here I remained all night, and in company with a pleasant companion, journeyed on the next day in the direction of Havelock. During my short sojourn in Blenheim I had heard a great deal of some excellent prospects which had been obtained by a party jof men in the Kaituna Valley, We determined to enquire for ourselves as we proceeded, along. From only one person could we obtain any information. This was from a very respectable man, who had seen another man, said also to be very respectable, who had taken 2 oz. of gold for a day's searching on the banks in the bed of the Kaituna River. We did not see the gold, and you now know quite as much of the matter as I do. The Kaituna certainly shows all the auriferous indications as in the case of the Wakamarina, where it has been found in such large quantities. On the afternoon succeeding the day on which we left Blenheim we arrived at Havelock— the chief city—in prospective—of the Marlborough Province. Here we found numerous buildings in the course of erection, proceeding with that extraordinary rapidity you have been accustomed to witness in the townships of the golden districts. The day was Sunday, but I saw no cessation of all that constitutes every-day labour. Your correspondent does not feel himself called upon to express an opinion ypon such desecration. He certainly would much rather not have witnessed what he is here called upon to relate. There can, I think, be little doubt of the future of Havelock. I was informed that many of the Dtmedin merchants and traders had purchased and intended to commence building forthwith. The Provincial Government ire; I think, inclined to recognise Havelock as its importance desires ; but its powers are limited, and its means %efy small. I think, however, that its positicrtras a eentral depot for the diggings will cause it to gp a-heiid on its own merits. The owners of allotments have considerably abated in their preposterous demands, when offering them for sale. I remained in Havelock but : a short time, when, man and horse 'having been duly refreshed, I rode on to Wilson's accommodation house, where ! remained all night The next day I reached my present encamptalnt; in th 6 heart of the diggings. And these are the latest particulars I have obtained respecting them: -There are.now neaxly ; thre 3 thousand men on the ground, alt Actively engaged figging. Of these fully three hundred arrived yesterday and two hundred toSav Whtfe lam writing there are over thirty men ffiVontiPf . the stpre. Some of these are seeking information, others nobblerizing, and the remainder Sing round the fire and smok.ng their pipes There *ho«e too returning : wJ»o h»ye met with

little or no success, and speak of the ;K diggiiigs in terms of bitterest inch of the river bed and b&th banks rxre taken up. Those who cannot work their claims for' the water are closely shepherding them, although I think the river lq^fas it Is, likely to be this Winter. Many of tjfe claims are proving wonderfully rich ; otliers arfetuttiing <jiit satisfactorily, but .the great bulk yield little more than fair wages!- The river is overs iittßhed, : «md * I think its riches Some who are working- > are doing well, but the most have obtained little more than the colour. Deep sinking has not yet been tried, but three parties intend to commence tomorrow morning. I have been some distance up the river to-day, but men are very chary in affording information. The escort passed by here yesterday for Ticton. The Chief Constable in charge refused to state Jiow much he had in his possession. I have no doubt he acted very properly in withholding from me what he knew." The escort consists of four, policemen with their chief ;at the head. They proceed 011 foot along the track, enquiring of the diggers and at the various stores for \ gold. There is no receiving office, and the diggers do not, appear disposed to place, their gold in such very inadequate custody ; for two ruffians might at any time stick the escort up, and carry off every ounce of gold into the bush, without any fear of being traced or captured, You may form some idea of the estimate in which the escort is held by the miners, when I tell you that it was " joed" yesterday for a distance of a quarter of a mile along the river. Of the finds recorded—Henry Nilson and party divided two hundred ounces for their week's work. Rutland and his party disposed of eighty ounces of gold for the same period., Three men, in falling a tree at the edge of tlie~ river in .order to work their, claim,: came suddenly in a pocket, from which in a few hours they ; washed thirty ounces of gold. Matthews; an old man, with liis two sons, obtained eighteen ounces of gold near the "Fork" in four days. Many others have been more or less successful. These are the' iortunate ones, but I could not tell you how many men I have spoken with who have been hard at work' for many days—ranging over from a week to a fortnight—without obtaining an ounce of gold. I know of several who have spent tlieir all in fitting themselves out with tools and provisions for the diggings, who have gone back from whence 'they; came* ruined men for the time being. The Otago men, so far as I can learn, have been very unsuccessful, owing, I imagine, to having come late upon the field when all the good ground was taken up. :But tliey represent,! think, the pick of the diggers, and they have undergone too many hardships dt the Dunstan and Sliotover to be easily disconcerted. They are certainly a lively, jolly set, for. so soon as nightfall sets in and they have had their supper, singing, laughter, and jollity, is heard from every tent. Provisions cannot be taken beyond four miles up the river. As many of the men are working sixteen miles up, it takes those at the " Forks," and beyond it, two days to go and come with provisions. Nothing can be worse, than the track which they are compelled to pass along:. At every quarter of a mile or so there is a steep gully, or a deep ravine to cross. A - strong; man, carrying a swag, cannot travel more than a mile and a half in the hour. . Many do not accomplish as much as this. The weather has been remarkably fine for: a fortnight past. Should heavy riains set in, I am quite certain men would not be able to travel the track/ Most of them confess to this. The consequence will be that the miners high up on the river will have to forsake their claims and go to. Havelock, Picton, or some other place until; fine weather again sets in. It will be utterly impossible for provisions to be conveyed on the : ground. The Government are doing nothing to improve the track nor up to the present time, so far as I can learn, do they express any intention in this dirgction. Provisions continue'scarce, and'are very high iii price, perhaps 25 per cent, more than the quotations in my last letter. Those of the Dunedinites who recognise me here iuquire anxiously for Dunedin papers. I have not seen a copy on the ground. Many of the diggers' who have determined to winter here: are building themselves rough slab huts, which for winter campaigning possess so many advantages over canvas tents, but few are availing themselves of the pre-: sence of timber, than I thought would have been the case. ;

I Have just tins moment been told of a rush which has taken place about five miles from here. It is situated on a dry creek. Several claims have been marked out, and numbers are proceeding in the direction of it. Should I be unable to obtain authentic particulars, I shall proceed myself to the spot early to-morrow. Several public houses are spoken of as likely to be erected along the river, but I do not conceive ' any person will be foolish enough to erect expensive buildings until the permanency of the gold fields have been ascertained, and the Government have made a road on which drays may travel.,,

A company is' being constructed to form a wing dam, by which a portion of the river may be diverted from its bed <>n a spot surmised to be exceedingly rich. Thei work will; not be one of very great difficulty, unless the ri ver should rise very high, as at the.part proposed to form the dam the water is very shallow. Nelson still continues to monopolise the principal portion of trade done with the stores, as well as to carry off most of the gold. Blenheim does not appear to derive the least and Picton .but very , little beyond the small trade done by supplying passengers with their requirements as they pass through, on their way to the gold fields. And now my letter is finished, my difficulty will be to get it forwarded to the port. It is not impossible I may be compelled to ; J convey- it to Picton myself. There is no Post-office nearer than Havelock, which has only a bi-monthly delivery.

The following is an extract from the Extra of the Marlborough Press of the 21st iqst.:—Havelock—On Saturday last our reporter paid a visit of observation to this township, now rapidly rising in commercial importance. Buildings were in the course of erection in all parts of the township, and were proceeding with a.rapidity almost marvellous. There are not the slightest pretensions in any of the stores, shops and tenements to .architectural effects or. embellishment. Every building is composed of light quartering for joists; studs and rafters; and weather boards,for outside and inside linings. Time is too precious, skilled labour too scarce, and material, excepting timber, too far distant for any better attempts being made for the present. The greater proportion of the buildings are slight, frail, and temporary, but amply sufficient to subserve the business purposes they are intended for. Several restaurants, accommonation houses, stores, and shops are fast approaching completion. The owners of plades only partially finished have, laid .in large supplies of provisions, general stores, spirits, beer, wine, &c,, and all appear to be driving a very thriving trade. There is. a bakery already established there, butchers' , shop, a shoemaker, and shortly there will be.opened a "monster clothing establishment." Vessels had arrived in the. bay bringing large quantities of goods, boats w.ere plying on its waters, rafts of timber were being floated to the beach, and everything breathed of active life and commercial enterprise. • , The correspondent of the same journal writing on the 18th inst., says " It is with extreme regret I am compelled to witness the large number of arrivals, which every day pour into this gold field. I am sure', had the letters written by your correspondent been read by the diggers, many of them would have paused before the came on to the ground. I shall here once more repeat what I have so clearly and emphatically stated on previous occasions—the Wakamarina gold field is only rich as respects the river bed and a portion of its banks. It. is true that some of the gullies and creeks have been found to contain good claims, but at present only to a limited extent. The river is now quite taken up from near its source to where it debouches Into the I'elorus, Those who come now, and hundreds of those who are already here, will have to look to other 'rivers in other localities for paying claims. That they will be found no doubt whatever is expressed ; but the same tiling happens here as I have witnessed on other gold fields. Everybody is waiting for everybody else to prospect new ground, when all are quite ready to follow upon any success which have been obtained by others.. When the diggers are tired of fossicking along the banks and in untried crevices of ,the rocks—when they are in fact compelled by necessity to try what alluvial sinking will'do for them, then will the real value of the Wakamarina be ascertained, and not until then. We have had much rain lately. The river risen very considerably and many of the best claims are under water. In fact the river, except in a very few favoured spots, cannot be worked. Still many are doing well 'arid making payable finds. The track is in some parts almost impassable. The ground is knee deep in mud, arid the roots of the trees lying under the ooze and sludge trip you tip, when an unpleasant immersion in puddle happens once or twice in every mile of ground which huis . to h.e traversed between Canvas Town and the Fork. Provjsjops high up the rivei* are not to be obtained. Competition among the stores has had the eflect of somewhat prices, but necessaries of every description are still very high—higher, indeed, than the diggers at present can afford to pay. Many of the miners have determined to winter up here, and are preparing themselves < for a long sojourn. Timber for, slabs can he had anywhere in abundance, ae also, of course,

for fuel; but I can assure you it is no easy task on these wet mornings to get ti fire kindled. Once in a blaze there is no difficulty to keep it going. There has been one or two small rushes near the Fork, but I have not hoard with what result. Very' soon we shall have several gold buyers on the ground but until the gentlemen who represent the gold buying interest can secure more comfortable quarters they will not remain on the field." The Fatai, Stahiiing Cask at Nulson.—The murderer of William Burkett, who was stabbed while the mail steamer Auckland was lying at Nelson, lias been found guilty and condemned to death. Both men belonged to the above vessel.—Marlborough Press, May 21. ; > IftSH.—T}ia ? fishernieu engaged in . pursuing .their calling in our waters complain that, although the prices they ask for fish are extremely low in comparison. to .what they .wpuld fetch in other;provinces, s'tilL they can only find a very small market for them. Several of the. men now propose;,to form anew article' of export. It is proposed to cure and smoke large quantities of the best description of fish, which are so abundant in tho Sound, and Li,an forward them on to Christcliurch for sale, where are both scarce and liigh priced. It is to",be hoped.,o:ir fishermen will find the speculation profitable.—lbid..