Waihao.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXIV, Issue 7499, 24 April 1899, Page 4

Waihao.

(feom oob own cobbespondent.) The bachelors of the Waihao held their annual ball on Friday night. The weather was splendid—a mild clear evening with a moon nearly full. The attendance was numerous—too numerous for the capacity of the schoolroom, which was packed to the door. A public hall will Boon be a necessity here. Meantime the promoters of balls will have to be careful that their invitations are not too many for the size of the room they are to use. A crowd of lads with no outlet for their exuberance are apt to become rowdy. The music was supplied by Messrs Myers and Wilson's stringed band, while Mr F. Drayton acted as M.C. These gentlemen gave every satisfaction, and bat for the numbers and the too robust temper of aom6 of the youths, the ball was a thoroughly successful affair. Mr P. Henderson, our well-known blacksmith, and chairman of our school committee, had, last San Francisco mail, a letter from his father, Mr D. Henderson, who left Waimate for Klondyke about the same time as the late Mr A. Hayes, and was, up to the time of his lamented death, in communication with that gentleman. Born in the early thirties, Mr Henderson is now nearly 70 years old, but, as you will see, he is still strong and hearty and has not had a day's illness since he left. Having 1 ved about 20 years in Waimate his many friends and acquaintances in South Canterbury will be glad to hear of his welfare, and will read with interest what he says of his experiences. He says: "My mate and I have been about 20 miles up Henderson Creek, representing two claims for half an interest. That; is, you have to build a log cabin and sink one hole and live on the claim for three months. Last year you could get lOOOdol for representing, now you cannot get half that. My mate and 1 sank five holes and got nothing. 1 made a sleigh and started to come down. The trail was bad and I had a big load. On Christmas Eve it came on to snow and the trail got blocked so thab I could not move the sleigh. I got up on the bank of the creek to try if I could see any cabins. There was one about 100 yards from the creek. I had no bread, only a piece about the size of my hand ; but I had rice, beans and bacon and a good stove, so I took all the things off the sleigh and carried them over. When I got in the first thing I saw was two 501b bags of flour in a bunk. It was not long till I had a loaf baked. Ton would think it strange co see a man prepare a pot of soup or boil a pot of beans, freeze them in a lump, shove them into a bag and take them with him along the trial. If you take a lunch with you on the trail you must keep it in your breast between your shirt and flannel; in the open air it would freeze as hard as a stone. One day lasb December a man and I came down here for tucker. When we got to the door my hands were quite warm. I took off my mitts co get the bey from my pocket, but had at once to put them on again before I could get the key out. I had to make the same attempt three or four times before I succeeded. After we got in and had the stove going it was nearly an hour before we could get our mufflers off. Our mufflers and whiskers were one solid block of ice. Your eyelashes will freeze together so that you can hardly see where you are going. Two men were frozen to death this winter coming from Dawson; they were found sitting on their sleighs dead. They had the wood all ready to put a match to ic, and one of them had a match in his hand but was not able to strike it. The lowe3t the glas3 has bean this winter is 58 degrees below zero. When it gets below 45deg. you are not safe on the river if there is any wind. There is no house to beat a good log cabin for heat. We have a good one here. When we have on a good fire, though the temperature outside be at its lowest, we have to open the door a little from time to time to cool down. I have a claim where our cabin is. It has once been the river bed ; 1 am sinking on it now. I think I shall have to go down 40 or 40 feet. The miaing laws here are bad ; it costs 10 dollars for a license, 15 dollars for recording, 10 per cent royalty on obtaining a certain quantity of gold, and 20 per cent on a certain higher quantity, and every 10th claim has to be left for the Government. They say Dawson is a terribly dirty place—a regular swamp in summer and no closets, so you will have an idea what it is like. Gambling there never stop 3, from 12 on Saturday night till 12 next Saturday night they are at it all the time. I have not been there yet, and I do not intend going if I can help it. I believe 15,000 or 20,000 came here last summer that never put a pick in the ground. They sold their outfit and went straight back. If you had been in Dawson last winter and "had sheet steel and iron you could have made a fortune making stoves. But the companies rushed them in and now they are selling at half the price they sold at before. Potatoes are selling here at IJdol. a pound, and eggs are sold it one dollar acn. A man, a girl, and myself were one day in a restaurant having breakfast. We ordered ham and pggs. *is the waiter went to serve us another man called him back and asked how many eggs he had. " Sixteen hundred/' said the waiter. " All right; I take the lot at a dollar each." He managed to make the rest of us go without one.

'J. he letter is dated Stewart River, 27th January, 1899.