MR. HOUGH'S PASS TO THE KARAMEA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 142, 20 June 1867, Page 3

MR. HOUGH'S PASS TO THE KARAMEA.

To the Editor of the ' Nexson Examiner.' Sir — Having just returned from a trip to the Karamea bend, which I undertook with a view of ascertaining which was the more likely pass, Mr. Groom's or Mr. Hough's, to carry a road over, I have come to the conclusion that the former is quite impracticable, it being so excessively steep on both sides as to suggest a tunnel as the only means of transit; Mr. Hough's i pass is however, quite accessible. That gentleman's proposed dray -road line would not be feasible,as the upper partof it con- j sists of a sideling along huge rocks loosely i piled on one another, and looking as though if one were moved all above it would come down. However, along the southern bank of the Sk'eet River up to the source, and from thence by a spur leading right up the pass, a bridle track might be made at a slight expense, and with an easy gradient. The distance from the Baton store to the top of the pass is probably six miles. We were three days in and about the Skeet valley, and we ascended the mountain boih on the north and south sides of the pass, so we had a very good view of the general lay of the country. I was agreeably surprised at the accessibility of the pass, which I should estimate to be 500 to 600 feet below the general level of the range. From the pass the Nelsou l ; <rhthouse bears E.N.E., and the Bend, W.N.W as nearly as we could judge. I thought I could see the western ocean, but as some of the party were sceptical on this point, I may have been mistaken. Our road then lay down a wooded spur which runs into a branch of the Kararnea, but not to the Bend, as supposed by Mr. Hough, for all the spurs from the Mount Arthur range which we could see run S.W. This stream, which I called Crow, runs two or three miles towards the south, and so far there is no difficulty -whatever in making a bridle track, nor, I should think, a dray road. Then it bends round to the west, and runs through a gorge perhaps two miles in length. This gorge struck me as presenting the only real difficulty in the whole route. Ido not think that a dray road could be made through it but am pretty sure that a bri'ile track could. After passing the gorge the Cvow takes a N.W. course, aud the road would run principally over flat raised terraces intersected by three streams, which mijiht have to be bridged, and would join Mr. Eochfort's cut track at the forks of the main Karamea. One of our party, Mr. George Snow, was familiar with the valley of the Crow, having prospected there on a previous occasion. He said that he had found gold in payable quantity. Mr. Snow having had much experience in road-making through the bush, expressed his opinion that a. bridle-track from the Baton store to the Forks, including the worst part through the gorge, might be made *t from £40 to £45 per mile. From the Forks to the Bend, a distance of about five miles, the road would be easy, there being a great deal of flat land in that part of the valley. The soil hereabout is very rich and heavily timbered with pine, totara, and birch, and the width of the valley in some places "is half a mile. I estimated the amount of flat land there at 2,000 acres, without taking into account the flat terraces on the banks of the Crow, which consist mostly of poor soil. This route, •which appears to me to be the most practicable one, though circuitous, could not be more than 25 miles long from the Baton store to the Bend, and would have the advantage of opening out a (possible) new gold-field in the Crow, or eastern branch of the Karamea. From the Bend we started up the Leslie, ■which runs from N.E., in order to get to Mr Groom's pass. The lower part of the Leslie valley, for some four or five miles, consists of rich alluvial soil covered with dense bush ; it is bounded on the south-east side by tremendous lime-stone precipices. Through these we penetrated by means of a 'gorge or cleft, and on arriving at the top found an undulating forest country of considerable size extending to the base of the main range. The ascent was then gradual until we cleared the bush ; above i

that the mountain side is very steep. On arriving at the top of the proposed pass, I was at once obliged to dismiss all idea of any sort of road being brought that way. The descent into the Baton is really precipitous, and we had much difficulty in getting down at all. From the head of the Baton river to the Baton store was a severe day's journey, though I suppose not more than seven or eight miles. There being no one at the store, we were most hospitably entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, who reside close by, and I am very glad to take this opportunity of publicly acknowledging their kindness. As I do not wish to trespass too much on your valuable space, I will now conclude, but shall be happy to afford any further information about the route which I may have unintentionally omitted. I am, &c, A. S. Collins. Nelson, June 19.