THE COOLGARDIE DIGGINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9398, 3 January 1894, Page 6

THE COOLGARDIE DIGGINGS.

— >♦— I ■ The Wellington Press publishes a letter from a New Ze&lander now on the Coolerdie diggings. He states — "Dear Jack : I hare intended many times to write to yon, but in the day time the flies are so bad ib is impossible to write, and at night, in the tent, it is too windy to keep a candle alight; bub to-night is an exception, and a beautifully calm night. The last three months seems like a dream ; four weeks of it were spent in travelling 520 miles, walking after a waggon, and sleeping every night under a tree. Then the camps here are unsettled, and during the last six weeks we have been here. I have only slept about half the time in a tent. The alluvial fields in this neighbourhood are completely worked out, and men have been driven in from all the other places on account of no water being obtainable, so just now there are some 1500 men here turning over oldworked ground, and nob 50 of them are making tucker. The Government have granted protection to all reefing claims for three months, to January 31, so the only p. reef in the country now being worked is Bayley's, and there they have not 50 hands at work. Men are hanging on in the hopes of rain ao that they can leave for good fields further inland. The nearest water is 35 miles towards the coast, through a sovonmile sandy plain, and practically no feed for horses on the way. Water is sold at from 9d to Is per gallon, and at that price it does not pay; bub excessive competition among the carriers keeps it down. About threequarters of a mile from the town the ~- _ Government have a well sunk on salt, water, V"~ and/that is charged from Id to 3d per gallon according to the supply and demand ; it is grand for porridge, damper, and washing, BO my mate and I are doing on 1J gallons per day the price just now is Id for salt and 9d for fresh water. We have made two unsuccessful attempts to get to a new field; the first we went to in a round-about way go as to get water on the road ; the distance was supposed to be 80 mil- 35 to the water and 45 afterwards. It turned out to be 70 miles from the rush, and it was impossible for the teamster to carry enough water for men and horses, so we came back. On the next trip the teamster had a black gin as a guide, who knew of water 30 miles from the goidfie.ld, but ib was no good. On the first trip we went 60 miles each way, and were a fortnight away ; the next time we went; 25 miles each way, and were a week away each time. We were left in the bush three nights and two days, while the teamster went back for more water. The experiences of both trips are beyond description ; the first was * big rush, and we were amongst about 1000 men the report was that there was water at the field, and the most daring were so impatient in the delay of the teamsters that they took their awaga, and with; a gallon bottle of water each, struck through the bash, many retting lost and returning to the teams with staring eyes and blackened tongues, with nothing on bub shirt and trousers, having thrown everything away. There were three bodies found and buried on the track, and it is believed many more perished. There must have been 500 horses on the road, and it was pitiable to see them struggling in to where the waber was, most of them being two days without a drop; the Government sent out relief camels and - rescued a great many men. The second rush was, if anything, worse, only on a much smaller scale, and no lives were lost. There are some great fields 30, 46, 70, and 90 miJes away, bub the nearest water is 35 , miles in the opposite direction, so no tearns can cart such a distance, but when rain comes ibis expected there will be gold for «-rerybody. I am getting awfully full up of it; we have had a solid week of 'dry blowing,' and between the two of us have only got 3s worth of gold. Ib is tantalising to see the men coming in with full pouches and hearing of the gold they had to leave behind; the So* Lakes are absolutely dry, and our condenser is useless. A camel train has started carrying water to Hannan's, 30 miles distant, and the carriers are selling it at Is 6d per gallon, so we have arranged to go tomorrow afternoon ; this is now the only way of getting about. There are about 1500 camels in the district, and it is 'peculiar when sleeping under a tree by the roadside to hear a camel train of 30 animals coming along. ;