AN OLD NELSON DIGGER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 235, 5 October 1896, Page 4

AN OLD NELSON DIGGER.

INCIDENTS IN BIS LIFE. By Kiwi. (Written-for the Nelson Evening, Mail.) M • VIIL At The W akamarina. We left The "Grip at half-past three intthe morning, and got off the track vowing .to heavy fog in the Buller Jalley, and lost about an hour. Ifc*v.as top dark to go over the hill 'to the Rainey River, so we had to go the Big Bush road. We arrived at Fo.xhill at nine ,at night, haying walked eyery step of 50 miles that J day. Gaukrodger's was always celebrated for its splendid feather beds, but we had not been used to this sort of thing, and were unable to sleep, we were tired out. Nekt morning we walked to the Wakefield Arms, aud took the coach, arriving in Nelson about 11 a.m. There were rumours of gold being found up, the Maitai, at Wakapuaka, th,e Tinline, the Pelorus, in laet it was Supposed to be everywhere. However, as some gold had actually come from Wakainarina we meant going 'there, We were told that BR.re_>"cbuld not be got. fast enough, and we' had better take somo with us j so we made up heavy swags and .started, that afternoon, intending to £0 as far, as the foot of. the Maungatapuand camp, ready for an early *|»rt in the morning. We kept on going thinking to find a quiet place so that we could get a good sleep, but people were camped all along the rSftd. . We at last thought we were sife. t.nd settled down, when a party of Germans came along and stopped by us, talking incessantly. -So eventually i*t*e struck the tent and sfctttiatted.along.all n-ght. We caught up to a man having a rest with Bis swag. He was a market gardener ofi'the Wakapuaka IfoaidyYand afterwards he attained setae .fame in Nelson. Ho complaint of the weight of the swag he had. We said it did not feel extra heavy. He enumerated the things it_cpntained. There were tea, sugar, biscuits, ' cheese and soap. We reckoned the soap would not make much difference, when he told us he had^ two ' bars. We asked what he wanted, with such ia lotas that, when, without a smile, he calmly told us that he had seen in the papers that 89-jnttch ..gold had been washed out at the , diggings by different parties, and he reckoned that' if he got any he wquld have enough soap to wash hjs.iVi*itiL ' Wp gave him up as a hopeless' case *gd went on our way. 4rriving in :,Canvasfcpwn about 11 o'clock,. ..we. met an old digger ac-•qu-dptanj-e. who'said the whole thing was a fraud and that the "Cockatoos" had got it up as thoy wanted to get their bush felled cheap. Asking him if he had been up the river, he said he had only just looked around.. '•,Does-it. look a likely-looking country for 4 gold f •' Not me-; I'm off to Collingwood. Good-bye "' ■We got something to eat in West's . restaurant and started off up tfie riv6r. We had a look at Wilson|s claim and got a good impression. We put down our swags here went -down on vacant ground and did some fossicking, and got about 7ozs. in' about two hours. The river was rather high and there was a goodlooking'..crevice running into deep, water, so we pegged it out. My mate pitohed the tent and 1 wont up the river with some tucker and two blankets. Most of the accessible pairW of the river were pegged out, but there were a few deep holes and bare rocky, patches available. It was fetting dark and raining a little, so .went up the lef t-hahd branch and made a tent of one of the blankets, toiled the billy, and being thoroughly knocked up fonvan tof sleep, reckoned 4>nhayingi-Jongnighr, I had several invitations to £top the night in tbe way 'up, but it w*s sleep I wauted. it was not to be yef, however, for the.-party that had the claim at the forks came along and asked me to buy their claim. I had no interu<tionf'buying as I thought it very likely I should find one myself. However, it ended m my giving •them an order on Nelson for £15 •as 'payment for tent, tool., flour, baoon, in fact about a fortnight's •atorej. for four men, and the claim ■given, in, I promised to be along early in thf* moraing to take possession as they wanted to start for Nelson. The rain increased and when they left me I rolled myself in my blanket and the last I remember was the rain drippiog through my blanket tent. Ths? first thing in the morning [ went arid took possession of my purchases. .'! he river was rising, but I went down on to ths claim the men had been working at and tried a pruspect from a likely looking spot and in tbe first dish got about/five ounces of gold, ihe river rose rapidly and I went to the tent and did some cooking. In the afternoon it cleared up and I went np the left hand branch and fossicked on the rocks #nd got several pieces of gold like pumpkin seeds. JNext morning the river was down and I spent as much of the day as I could panning ont •dirt, It was very rich, but ifc would not do fo' let everybody ■know and when anybody came along I had to sit and yarn till -they left, and as J was well known it may be guessed that I did not do muoh. I was in a quandary how tq get mj mates together. Tho two we left up -the Buller had arrived in Nelson. •One had gone fco Wakapuaka after some imaginary find, a»d the other «p the Pelorus river o» a fl-jnilar errand. There were a lot of men pasu.ing'ugand down the river. I had three men's ground pegged out, and fcadto show the pegs every now and then and account for the other mates. The tools I had brought helped me -somewhat as I used to lay them about on th^ claim and pointed to them as evidence of my mates' vicinity. Another trouble was that at the top end of the claim the gold was shining among the gravel in about 2ft _.f • water and I expected some one would see it. One afternoon I washed a dish of dirt close to a slab of loose rock, and got over 80oz in it. That night I went down the river and found the mate I had left at the likely-looKing crevice. Our German mate had arrived that evening, and we all returned up this river next day. Wo worked round tki rdck and the German and J tried to. lift it to turn it out oittelway. It was very heavy, and we bad got it nearly on a balance -when he exclaimed •" Mein Gott ! ' and let go, with tbe result that I • e-Wfy'a- flattened finger to this day, Ilauppose I made use of some exprevious (in Latin possibly), when he said 'he had caught sight of Jthe . bottom,. and ttiat . it was paved *witl_| ; "SMiJ-0> >$'* ; " as he let 8°: i

To my mind there did not seem mnoh logic in his reason. When we did get it turned over it was certainly very rich, but it hardly came np to "his description. Our mining mate came along that afternoon, and we decided to clean and weigh the gold that night and get it away to Nelson for safety, aa matters at Canvastown and on the river were getting a bit rowdy, for there were now more men than there were claims for, and the police forco waa not much iu evidence. (To be concluded in our next.)