A WARNING VOICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7757, 1 October 1886, Page 6

A WARNING VOICE.

SCENES ON THE ROAD. Wyndham, Attest 22. Seeing such numbers of New Zealanders continually Arriving here, I consider it my duty to warn them against being led away by this Kimberley affair, and what £ tend you can rely upon as being born, fide facts. 1 tru*t you will also, as a kindness to your fallow-men, and to miners, give it the utmost publicity. I am sorry to say, Kimberley is a downright fraud ; one of the greatestswindles in the history of gold rushes. Of course I do not pretend to say but that something may eventually turn up. There is an enormous traot of country unexplored, but so far nothing has been found to warrant the least excitement. It ie a threat "sell," and the men that are at the bottom of it all deserve—well, rough handling at any rate; and indeed from what I hear, I consider myself safer in my own •disappointed shoes than I would in theirs. The now famous O'Donnell (who is only a land agent interested in the district, and acts as a paoker and guide), is in town, but he is very " scarce," afraid to face the enraged diggers, who nearly " scragged" him last night because they consider him one of the men to blame.

There is nothing bub disappointment on every face; tbe town is swarming with diggers, over 500 having arrived during the last three days. Scores are already disheartened, and are preparing to clear out at once. There are al*o Urge numbers in from the field weary and disgusted. A few of us will go back again, and stay to eat the proviniona we already have up there. After that, unless something ie found I'm off, because op to how there has been no payable gold found. An odd one now and again makes two or three dwte. in a week, barely enough to buy damper and tea; and, poor fellows, they look like it too, and the hardships already encountered in reaching this luckless field are simply dreadful. After the first 60 miles the road is strewn with drays, harness, tools, and dead horses; some parties lost all their horses, and were left almost helpless 100 mile* from the so-called field. A man's packhorse drops, he hauls his burden a little on one side of the track, digs a hole, and buries it, placing a headstone above it. It is a fact that the road to Kimberley is lined with graves like these; and very soon, when the heat increases, and the water holee dry up, it will be lined with graves of another kind, because the water, plentiful up till now, is getting scarcer every day. Some people that have not seen the country are under the impression that matters will improve when the Wet season begins, but I cannot see that it will as far as washing gold |is concerned, because there is no washdirt there. The country is bare slate, no more soil than on the bareat scoria about Penrose, and the little gold that has been found was got on the surface from crevices in the slate. Diggers that have not seen the country cannot form any idea of what it is. I need not say » word with regard to climate, track*, provisions, prices, &0., &0., because every man that will take my advice will never dream of coming to euoh » place, Bat a» I previously stated, something may be found, because there we some good men in the district now, and an immense amount of prospecting will be done. So far, K.im« berleyi ea fraud.-lam,C^ ajoHNs<