THE WEST CANTERBURY GOLDFIELDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1714, 14 June 1866, Page 7

THE WEST CANTERBURY GOLDFIELDS.

By the Overland Mail we have received our flies to June 11. We extract the following from the West Coast Times .

Mr. Douson.—We regret to have to state that the most serious apprehensions arc now entertained as to the fate of Mr. George Dobson, who was last seen on tho Arnold Eiver, and declined a proposal made to him to return with a party by a boat to the Grey, Stating his wish to examine the Arnold track, which may be remembered was cut originally under bis supervision. We learn frbra the Grey that the impression prevails that Mr Dobson has met with foul play at the hands' Of some of the desperate fellows who now infest that district. It is rumoured that a storekeeper who intended visiting the Arnold, to buy gold, received information that there was an intention of sticking him up on his way back, and that he succeeded in securing the services of aconstablc as an escort, spreading the report that he should return by the track. Having thus, as he supposed, put any intending assailants on a wrong scent, be tame back by boat, instead of by the track, and arrived iu safety. It is known, as we hare Baid, that Mr. Dobson declined to come by the river, and the conjecture is that on his way back by the track, he was mistaken for the storekeeper by parties lying in wait, and that he was either robbed, and in the discovery of their mistake by his assailants detained, or else that a worse fate befel him. One man has already, we understand, been arrested on suspicion of having some complicity in the foul play, if such has taken place. He came to the camp at Greymouth, ■volunteering some information as to parties lying in waiting on the road ; but the circumstances under which he made his statement, and the manner in which he made it, were 80 suspicious that be was detained in custody. A party of police are out searching for Mr. Dobson, and also Mr. Harman and' Mr. Bold of the survey department; but neither has yet returned; nothing is now left but to hope for the best. The latest Greymouth intelligence has been placed at our disposal by a gentleman who arrived in town late on Saturday night, By him we are informed that the search after Mr. Dobson is being actively prosecuted, but so far unattended by success. Fresh parties have started, one consisting of Mr. Muller (of the Survey department), attended by a party of Maoris, and another headed by Mr. Bain, who is accompanied by a very valuable and sagacious dog of the retriever breed. Strong hopes are entertained that the remains of the unhappy gentleman will yet be found; hut very few people anticipate he will ever be seen again in the flesh. The majority are of opinion that he has been murdered, and the body buried. In such a case the services of a good dog would be most effective, as these sagacious brutes usually give mouth on scenting a dead body. An Exhibition— The first exhibition in Westland of figures in wax-work was thrown open to the public on Saturday night, and to judge by the attendance during the first hour we should imagine it was duly appreciated. At the end of that period, however, a most extraordinary and unexpected scene occurred, which, although it somewhat abruptly terminated theevening'samusement, afforded no slight diversion to the qn-lookers. Among the figures advertised to be seen were two—one representing the notorious Bertrand, the other that of his victim the unfortunate Mr. Kinder. From what we can gather, it appears that Mr. Wood (the father-in-law of the latter), at present residing in Hokitika, considered the exhibition of his relative as most unßeemly, and was heard to declare that if it was persisted in he would stop it in a manner but little anticipated by the proprietor. He kept his word by arming himself, with a heavily-mounted whip, and quietly mingling with the crowd, suddenly to the horror and amazement of the showman made a most murderous assault upon the cast of Kinder, and demolished it. Tiie attack was so sudden that he effected his purpose ere any one had time to prevent it; but immediately afterwards the police made their appearance, and the offender was at once arrested and conveyed to the lockup. He was, however, bailed out by somesympathising friends. We believe the case will be heard this morning in the R.M.'s Court. Road Communication. The work of opening up the West Coast, and intersecting it by tracks, is being quietly and surely proceeded with by the Surrey Department—one, by the way, that we hear but little of, but which is nevertheless doing a considerable amount of necessary but most disagreeable work. Hitherto, we have understood that it was not the intention of the Government to spend any money upon public works •in Westland, and we were therefore somewhat surprised to hear that survey lines are being cut parallel to the coast, a mile distant from each other, the first to be situated one mile from the sea teach. On inquiring into the matter, we were informed that unless a countermanding order was issued these lines would be extended close up to the hills, and that transverse tracks w.mld be cut two miles distant from each other. Thus the whole country will be divided into blocks, two miles by one mile in extent. Very earnestly do we trust that this most necessary work will receive no check, as it will prove of incalculable benefit, by affording such facilities to prospectors as are likely to result in the discovery of many a rich goldfield, at present inaccessible, through the impervious nature of the bush.

The Totara.—Mining in the Totara district is in a healthy state, notwithstanding that the deep lead at Koss Town,wliich has given rise to such sanguine anticipation, is at a stand still. Almost a certainty, however, exists that steam power will be shortly introduced by the Scadinavian Company, which, we think, deserve direct encouragement by the Government to vigorously carry out their undertaking. The old workings on Jones' Creek are beingre-worked by sluices, and even yet yield good wages in many instances, as parties who' will work systemaliwllycan make from £4 to £lO per week each man. The population of Jones'Creek'proper, including the town of Rosa, is estimated at 1500. From the outlying gullies the accounts are very favourable, "DonohogueV especially being held in estimation by the miners. Clerical—The Anglicm Bishop of the diocese, the Right Reverend Dr, Harper, will hold Divine .Service to morrow morning and evening, at the Court House, according to the forms of the Church of England. The Rev. John Campbell, Presbyterian M inister, will, at the same hours, preach in the large room of the Fire Brigade engine-house, which his congregation have, Ave believe, engaged for a period of three months, for Sunday services. At the Catholic and the Werleyan Churches service will be conducted as usual. The Kanieri.—The Kanieri Steam Drainage Company have at last succeeded in getting properly to work, in a manner which does credit to their energy and perseverance j and notwithstanding the several disappointments which this Company have met with in its great outlay of both time and money, their confidence in the ground—which htn prevailed throughont—has been augmented by the fact of their having obtained, even earlier thayhey, expected, a very encouraging prospect, which bids well to carry out their most sanguine expectations. The expensive machinery which they have erected would well repay a visit to the ground, it being probably the finest of its kind ever seen on the West Coast. The pump, we may state, is o£ a very powerful description, it being calculated to throw upwards of .1000 gallons of water per minute. The dimensions of the pump (Californianl are lSiti. x 4Jin. inside measurement, and of the extraordinary length of fifty feet. THE UPPER.GREY DIGGINGS. The following account of new rushes is furnished by the correspondent of the Grey River Argus, and published by that journal on June 9:-

Caledonia Creek.—This creek is situated about one mile aboue Moonlight, and after running in the direction of the Grey River for about two milts, takes a northerly course for about 15 miles, the bush on its bunks is thin, with little or no underwood, so I found no

difficulty hi reaching the prospecting claim, which is situated night milts «,-, On arriving on the ground upwards of forty claims Imd been bottomed, mid in no single instance did I hear complaints of the prospects obtained, -which averaged from one to three grains, with little or no stripping, in cases up to n pennyweight to the dish. The terraces nlso, which range from six to fifteen feet, had come in for their share of observation, and the metal found in payable quantities. There will, however, be some expense attached to working them, as the ranges lie far hack and water is scarce up on so high :i level. Altogether I formed a good opinion of this new district, and believe hundreds will eventually make decent wages there. - Wtnduam Cheek.—[ next turned my footstep* in this direction. The creek is situated up Hed Jack's Creek, distant from Carter's excellent hotel about three miles and a half, being altogether about five miles from this town. The prospecting claim is at the foot of the creek, and not more than four hundred yards foom the packing track. It is only a marvel this splendid creek should have remained so lons unexplored. When the claim was applied for our Warden before granting it puid a visit to the spot, and personally tried several dishes of wash, the average prospects were as high as three grains to the dish. Since, however, more claims have been bottomed, and as much as two pennyweights to the dish have been known—this of course is a rare exception, The creek is gorgy for about a mile, it then opeus out into an extensive swanviy fiat, which extends towards Nelson Creek. As much as four grains to the dish may be found there, but the water will not allow of easy working, and parties setting in will require to expend a note or two before getting any return. This is about all I know of these two new rushes; by the time, however, I write again, I will endeavour to giean more particulars.

Nelson Creek.—The late heavy rains have been a serious drawback to the miners on this locality, most of whom are working the original bed of the stream, which they have diverted, water being always therein abundance, even during the driest part of the summer, so the yield of gold is not as plentiful as I have known it. The storekeepers nevertheless packing goods up without intermission—a certain sign of prosperity. OKAMTA. (From th Westland Observer, June 9.) While there is nothing specially exciting, there is a good deal that is interesting as to the future of the diggings in this neighbourhood, in the news which lias come in from different quarters during the week past. Gradually, but surely, the proofs of the auriferous character of the surrounding country are accumulating, and there is an increasing amount of reliance placed upon the probabilities of the interior proving a remunerative field for mining operations as soon as the rich workings on the beach are to any extent exhausted.

The party of Italians and Frenchmen who lately brought in a rough sample of gold from a tributary of the Wailio, aud avlio at that time Bpoke hopefully of their prospects, have again been in town, and, although gossip has considerably exaggerated the accounts which they give, the sample of gold they brought and the statements they make, sufficiently justify the belief that in their neighbourhood good gold, and to some amount, will ultimately be obtained. The remoteness of the locality and the peculiarities of the ground require, however, strong, and well-provided parties—the place at which they are at work being about ten miles up the Waiho, and in a creek in which blasting powder and heavy hammers areas essential as the pick and shovel. Their object Jin visiting town was to procure fresh supplies, which they packed out on Wednesday, and to make application to the Warden for a water race, which was granted them. According to the description given in making this application, the intended water race is to be on the second creek from the junction of the Waiho on the left hand branch, the head commencing a quarter of a mile from the mouth of the creek on the right hand side going up, and terminating on a claim in the terrace on the bank of the left hand branch, left hand Bide, of the Waiho river; its length to be about a quarter of a mile, and its intended course southerly. Three or four ounces shown as a sample of their prospects exceeded in roughness most of the gold that has yet been obtained in the ranges. Other parties are spoken of as about to set to work in the same vicinity, and strong hopes are entertained that the Waiho will yet be found to fulfil all the speculations which have Been formed as to its gold-pro-ducing capabilities. From Gillespie's we learn that, not disheartened by the sad experiences of the hundreds who have on two occasions rushed to Bruce Bay, there is again a movement southward, caused by some rumours as to the success of parties prospecting the Pareka or Paringa river. It will be remembered that when the Bruce last sailed from Bruce Bay, some parties who might be sincere in their statements, or who might be "stringing" the storekeepers, had left the Bay for a spot Borne distance up the river, where they had obtained good prospects. The story is that the party, among whom were some Maoris, had again come in with gold, and, either the story or the gold getting up to Gillespie's, a proportion of the population there set off southward, to make another venture in the tabooed district of Bruce Bay. From what we can ascertain, gold in small quantities has undoubtedly been got, but that there is anything to encourage the return of population to the district, where the local supply of provisions is both small and high-priced, is extremely doubtful, There may be a possibility of some finding employment on Hunt's Beach, which is distinguished from the other beaches by its shallow sinking and the constant reproduction of gold in the sands below high-water mark, but better authorised accounts from the Pareka must be received before a rush can be justified. from the northward, there are still accounts of the Maori parties at work on the Waitangi, or its branch, the Wataroa, getting gold in payable quantity, notwithstanding the extreme difficulties of reaching the ground, and the lack of energy which, compared with the average of miners, the party display. .Several of them were in town last week, and, with a fresh supply of stores, they have since started for their old ground. From the Lake we have information of considerable damage having been done to the creek claims of the few parties by the sudden freshes caused by recent rains, The freshes have been unusually high, and have levelled most of the work, defacing paddoclcs and tail races, and carrying away boxes and pumps. Thus interrupted, and wearied with the vagaries of the creek, some members of the parlies have betaken themselves to prospecting the terraces. From the Beaches the usual favourable accounts are received as to the high value of the great majority of the chums which are being wrought.