THE GOLDFIELDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 232, 17 September 1862, Page 5

THE GOLDFIELDS.

Golj> has now been discovered, in remunerative quantities, over an area extending from the Mataura River on the west, to the valley of the Wakouaili River on the east, and from Tokotnarairo on the south to the margin of the great lakes in the far interior. Recent discoveries leave little room to doubt that the greater part of this vast belt is more or les3 auriferous; and the 'most sceptical are now convinced that Otago will ere long attain a prominent position among the gold producing <;onntrie3 of the world. The principal fields for mining operations at present, are Tuapeka, including the Waipori, WooUhcd, . Wethurston's and Waijahuns, Shag Valley, on.Highlay,* the Dunstan oiggings, and those on the Nokomai River. The two latter have only recently been opened up, but they promise very rich results. The Tuapeka guld field includes Gabriel's, Wetherstoae's and Monroa' Gullies," and the workings on the Tuapeka River, "Waitahuna River, and its tributary gullies; the Woolahed diggings, and the branches of the Waipori River. From this district alone, 408,547 ounces have been sent down by escort since the first discoveries in 1861, a period of thirteen months. Of this the various divisions of the Tuapeka gold field contributed as under:—• Tuapeka proper 323,394 oz. Waitahuna 76,013 „ Waipora 6,165 „ Woolshed 2,975 „ Total 408,547 -„ The Shag Valley, or Waikouaiti diggings Comprise .a number'of partially developed fields in the vicinity of Mount Ilighlay, at Deep Dell and Fill}' Burn branches of the Taieri, at Coal Creek ; andon the head waters ci the Wakouaiti River. No escort having hitherto been established from this district, it is impossible to estimate with any accuracy the quantity of gold derived from these localities. But the Customs returns show that the amount of gold exported from the Province from Ist August, 1.861, to 3lst August in the present year, has him 477,870 ounces, of the gross* value of £1,900,000. In addition a considerable quantity remains on deposit at the Treasury, and in the hands of the banks and private holders, bringing up the total of the wealth extracted from the soil of Otago, in little more than a year, to the handsome sum in round numbers, of 2,000,000 sterling. Taking into consideration the comparatively small population engaged in mining pursuits, averaging during the period referred to certainly less than 9000 persons, this is a rrngnificent result, and will bear favorable contrast! with either Australia or California; showing, as it does, an average weekly wage of L 4 per head. y ..'..*■ I. ■■ The workings are as yet entirely alluvial, and are of the easiest description. Mining operations are conducted in the beds of the gullies, on the slopes of the hills, and the banks of the rivers. The "wash-dirt" is ; gravelly, and therefore quickly worked, and the sinking is mostly shallow. Water is everywhere abundant, and iv the older districts this J, is turned to advantage, sluicing operations on lan extensive scale being now carried on. At 1 the Dunstan, the gold is obtained from the \ rocky bars which intersect the river, and this is such an easy and profitable process, that the " made-hills'* and alluvial terraces around, • all presenting highly auriferous indications, > have not yet -been "disturbed.by .the miners. i Auriferous quartz reefs have been discovered i at Waipori. the Tokomairiro plains, and : Mount Highlay, but machinery for crushing > the stone has not been introduced, and, ■*© , therefore, are not in possession of any ruliabb t information as to their richness. Much of the gold of Otago 13 of an exceed--3 ingly fine character, but from Waipori, from > the Ilighlay diggings, and from the new field j just opened on the banks of the Nokomai river, ) large nuggetty gold is obtained, resembling in » appearance the gold of the Australian fields, , and of excellent quality. The same may be i said of that found at the LindiS digging"} in the r Dunstan Mountains, the earliest discovery of a s practical character, and which still retains a :. small mining population. ■> -On the whole, then, we are smtinfied that i Otago only requires an increased population to -. develop the auriferous treasures wherewith the s soil abounds, and this we expect to obtain c during the coming summer. Numbers left the s country on the approach of winter, not because the known gold fields were exhausted, but on account of the presumed severity of the climate which they liad been led to believe excessive 0 But experience has demonstrated the fad c that, with even slender provision against tin weather, the winter is far from unendurable and that mining operations may be conductct ? from January to December with but slight in terruptions. We subjoin a list of the principal localitie where gold mining is now being prosecuted: Tuapeka, Weitahuna, Waipori, the Wool 9" shed, Mount Ilighlay, Coal Creek, the Dun stan River, the Lmdis, the Clutha, and Manu herikia Rivers, and the Moa Creek. Nokomn ...-. River.'. *;*;.. ; *' ■ ■ -.*• ■ .'•■..* •.''." *". , iS The population of the gold fields, which, ii , c July, had decreased to 7,600, has -again risen Id It is estimated that 10,000 persons of hot! ts sexes now reside on the gold fields. Ofthes a. about two-thirds are actually engaged ii h., mining. .;, ;; .■: ■■■■' ■ ■''■ -.> ■"-.>■■.. .-.* be Our last summary for England, which wa *' published on the 18th August, contained th :** startling news of the arrival in town of tw ? s men, bringing with them eighty-seven pound Jj weight of gold, which they stated they ha obtained from an entirely new field discovere as by themselves. At the time of the closing c he the mail the negotiations between them an ck the Government; for the reward which was 1 le- be the price bf their disclosure of the localit ice of their discovery, were not brought to a cot nd elusion; but just as the mail steamer wi on leaving the port, the arrangements were a ™" made, and the same day we were able^to pui lish, in the foray of an extraordinary,' a fu mi account of the conditions that had.been agree 'upon between the prospectors and the G< a^ vernmeiit, together with a copy of the stat *^[ment of the men as to the place where th« ree [lars respecting their discovery which we necessary to enable them to claim the r v ward.---- -.■-■..'-.: '.■■■;-■ •.■v;;v-:;' t-'--;■:; -.- -- ■~- ="-■■;•■. .These particulars may be briefly stated follows. The new gold- field is on the Riv *£.. Clutha or Molyneux, * large and rapid rivi aff" which, taking its sources irora the system ior- lak^s in the centre of the island, flows k rto southerly direction right through the pr. fed vince for a distance of nearly two hundr 3is- miles, the gold having been obtained at aps ust of the river between where it receives t :iga waters of the Kawarau, on the west, *.ai lble v?here theManaherikia flows in, on the east, tl of is to say for a length of nearly twenty mi 'J 3O along; the river, The conditions •X" the reward, agreed upon; between 1 ;" c Provincial Government and the prospect* v£e Hartley and Reillyi Sv^re that the discover. &; should receive $ reward^ of -JU2OOO on the-,i idre ceipt in three; months ofl 16,000 oz. of go in tie produce of the locality; the gold-field «4 be not less than, fiye i^ile^ 1 distance from a

place wbere lOOtjrainera were working ;?ahd if the place had been"discovered and worked by any other party before the date of disclosure of the discovery, the reward to Hartley and Reilly to lapse. These preliminaries having been duly settled, the discoverers made the following statement:— - STATEMENT OF THE MEN. We started on a prospecting trip about the Ist of February last, crossing the Molyneux at Oliver's, and striking it again about twenty -wiles above Pinkcrton's. We here obtained sufficient prospects from the banks of the river to justify iw in believing that we should find rich diggings higher" up the stream, or as soon as we came to a favorable : place, rAbout twelve or fifteen miles below the junction of the Manuherikift we first obtained payable prospects. We tried a nnmber of small bars that we thought would payaboutan ounce a day by working with a cradle. The river was very high at the time, and but little, of the bars being out of water, we could not tell much about it, but the diggings on this part of the river will not possibly be of much extent. There ars, however, for ten or fifteen miles below where we obtained our prospects—fiats, and what appeared to-bo old channels of the river, some of them several miles in length. We attempted to prospect several of them, but having no bucket or rope, and basides having the misfortune to break our shovel so as to render it valueless for sinking, we were not able to bottom, and were obliged to push on. The rich part of the river where we obtained the gold is between the Manuherikia and Upper Clutha Valleys. By the time we arrived here our provisions were exhausted, and our tlu dish broken by a fall on a hilUside, so that we could only wash a few handfuls of dirt at a time. Wo bought a little flour, and borrowed a tin dish from one of the stations in the Manuherikia Valley, and panned out forty ounces in about a week. Wo then went up the river as far as the junction of the Kawamu, and having satisfied ourselves that thero was plenty marc gold to be had, we started for Dunedin to get pack-horses and &n outfit for a winter campaign. We returned by the way of Waikouaiti and the Shag Valley. We did uot cross the river at the old place, as we wished to avoid the ! people at the station, who had seen us beford. Our object was to work only tha richest spots, as we did not know how soon we might be discovered and •• rushed." For the first month or six weeks, we were well satisfied with two or threa ounces a day each, but as the river became lower, arid wo learned more of the nature and extent of the diggings, we did not wash anything unless wo thought it would pay about a pound weight a day—that is, six ounces each. The best dirt we found was the surface dirt on the bars. We did not usually wash more than from there to six inches of the top dirt—a loose sandy gravel easily washed, but ia- some places we took from one to two feet of it. We had nothing to do but to set the cradlo at the edge of the river, and keep it goinx from morning to night, as one could get dirt and feed the cradle an fast as the other could wash it. The gold is very fiao, and accompanied by a great quantity of black saud, from which it is difficult to separate it. The gold we got on the bed rock is heavier, but wo did not work any scarcely after the: first month or so, as we found that we could- not expect to mako moro than from oae to iour ounces » day, although we did find several good crevices, from one of which we took over twelve ounces in a few hours, There are high terraee-Uke banks or bars on both sides of the river, in some places several hundred yards in width, and composed to'a great extent, of washed quartz gravel and boulder*. In several places there appear to be old channels of the [ river,someofthCTVof considerable length. We ' did not work above the junction of the Kawarau, but there was every indication of rich diggings t on the Upper CluEha Valley, and on the hill sides i there are numbers of large quartz reefs. Vt-ry ; little rain falls in this part of the country; we ► did not lose more than two days altogether by i wet weather. The winter is the best time for ► working along the banks of the river, as it is highest during the spring and summer andmany 1 of the places that we worked will bo underwater. 1 The best way to get there is to take the Shag . Valley lioad from Waikouaiti to the Manuherikia j Valley, but persons on foot or horseback can g<s 1 by the West Taieri, Campbell Thompson* und ; Vaipy'*. This is the way we camo down, and ia 3 much the shortest. * The publication of this statement, as nwj be supposedy caused a tremendous excitement Public attention had for days before been on | the stretch to catch the faintest whisper tha) might afford a clue as to the locality of the ' new discovery, and the moment it was mad« 1 public there was a rush such as has hardly \ been known before in Ota™, everybody being c eager to Imj the first at the new El Dorado c Diggers, tradesmen, clerks, farmers, all sorfc a and conditions of men hurried off, some start' a ing by land while other* took steamer t( Waikouaiti, intending to travel up the Sha; River, that being understood to be the easiesi 0 way to reach the new field. Many left wit! c scarcely any stock of provisions, and stil n worse provided in the way of tools, thci c whole idea being merely to get early on th c ground. It was in vain that'the press raisa n its warning voice, telling the people that i was madness for them to start on a journey o "' over a hundred miles through a wild country without at least a fortnight's supply of footi ie and that it was useless to go with the in | tention of mining, unleaj they had tho prope appliances for the work; the fever was at it l* height, and argument was useless. Even th Government, stepping out of the ordinar 29 routine, felt itself called upon to caution thos . who were bo eagerly and inconsideratel rushing upon dissapointment, a°d issue ** large placards which were conspicuous! . posted about the town, pointing out the folly < ni starting without proper preparation. Still tl rush went on. Horses rose to an unheard of pr tn mium; pack saddles became worth fabulous snm n. the dealers in mining tools drove a roaring trad th and all day the streets were thronged with, peop se with swags on their shoulders and leading pac ; n horses about to get loaded preparatory to a stai Of course the storekeepers must be in the rus ag tho more ospecially *as it was known that t! ,_ locality was a wild district, far away from towj ships or stores. Cartage came into demand, ai as the road was almost unknown, beyond the & ia ofitsbeiug difficult and dangerous, the rates d ad nnnded were very high. £150, and even £200 ed ton was asked and paid; and one waggon, wi of seven horses, started off with a full load at t ad rate of 2s. a pound, the total freight amounting to over £800. ty With the clearing out of the rashers the exrii v- ment in town abated, and in a few, days a s< ras of collapse supervened, the place being as dull all just before it had been lively. All was m t b anxiety to hear from those who had set ofF wi u ]j the first rush, but it was not until tho Ist S< j tember that any official report was publish l fl _ This report was from Mr. Keddcll, the pol y"; officer, in charge of the field, and was to the eff llr" that hei had arrived in safety, and:that thi icy. were about three thousand people onthegroui :ir that there was an absolute want of stores, tl jre most of the people had arrived almost totally \ re- provided with tents and provisions, that there \ great distress and disappointment, and that lai as numbers were leavmg, but that the aspect of i 7et country, and the accounts of the few men v rer were properly provided, all went to confirm ' lof °Pm>on that the river would pay well for work! n a ®oon the reports of disappointment were confirn by the appearance of a harge number of retun ro" diggers, who had retreated with the same prec re" tate hastens they had started, the great majoi art not having got sp far as thcjjold field, but hay the returned discouraged by the accounts they he md from others, and by the'conviction of their c hat folly in starting without a 'stock of food. T iles the Bafiferingfi of many were real enough, tli £p can be no doubt-, ..the: difficulties of the roid i t j l( i the want of fuel being added to the want of fc tors ~^°* a evr &*!?*■ the.rush back seemed almosS refa ea*l ai! Ma^ heen the rush to the diggings; soon this* abated^ and as one report alter anot fff was: received, eacK more encouraging than p*"» last, the public anxiety became allayed, and pa Ito settled down quietly into rtbe belief that anot my good gold;fieldha4 beea added to the ntooi

of the" Province^ It would weary our readers' were we to attempt .jto give anything like a detailed summary of the reports that have been received. _ suffice it to , say that it is now proved beyond a doubt that the richness of the river workings was not exaggerated by the prospectors. From the junction of the Manuherikia np to the Kawarau, a distance of between fifteen and twenty miles, almost every available piece of the river's bank is taken up on both sides, and men are busy washing the shingle and sand in which the deposits of the precious metal are found. In some ilaces the rocky precipitocs banks leave no space ,for the collection of the auriferious drift, but in .others, largo bars exist, and wherever the washstuff can be obtained, the miner who has a cradle can earn from £1 a day and upwards. Provisions have been poured in from every quarter/ and although, owing to the high rates of carriage, everything is exceedingly dear, famine is no longer to be dreaded. In the absence of any "escort, it is impossible for us to say what amount of gold has been obtained, but several parcels hava already found their way to town privately, and we learn that one buyer, who has-just gone up, has already purchased about 800 ounces. The Bank of New Zealand has sent a gentleman to establish a gold buying branch on the new field. The Provincial Government deserve much credit for the energetic measures it took to provide for the consequences of the first excitement. A notice was, aa already stated, issued, warning the miners of the absolute scarcity of food they would have to encounter, and Mr. Kcddell was at once sent oft' to represent the Provincial Government as Acting Commissioner, and in charge of the police force for the district. The Chief Commissioner of Police made hia arrangements with exceeding judgment, not to say with military skill. He threw out patrols from different stations in every direction towards the diggings, and gave instructions both for maintaining order, and for assisting those suflering from want of food. The Police charged with the duty, acted with infinite judgment and forbearance, escorting the drays to their place of destination, and abatiogon the other hand the iv many coses extortionate demands of the owners of the stores. We should not omit to mention in the highest terras the conduct of Mr. KeddelL This gentleman had a most difficult task to perform. Without authority to act as a justice of the peace, and with only two or three men at his disposal, he liad to maintain order amongst a large and discontented popu- j lation. Ho had to adju Jxcatc in cases of dispute, and to give decisions without the power of enforcing them. The success wliich has met his ! efforts, is as much to his credit as it is to the orderly tendencies of the miners who aided him i to maintain his authority. j Scarcely had the excitement caused by the discovery of ths new diggings on the Ctatha, or the Danstan gold field as the locality ha« been styled, from its vicinity to the Danstan Mountains, subsided, when information was received by way of InvcrcargiU, that another fresh discovery had bsen made, the locality in this instance being at the head waters of the Dtmstan Biver, on a small creek running into the Nokomai. The report was that a party of miners, who had been prospecting the locality, had brought down 2lbs. 4335.1 ldwts. of gold, and tliat they reported haviog found a p%jrable gold field- Although the news came by way of Southland, yet the new gold field, it appear*, is in the Province of Qtago, and the prospector* have applie J for, and obtained from the Otago Government, a grant of an extended claim of 40,000 square fuet, in lieu of any money reward. Moa Creek, where the gold was obtained, runs through a gully three miles in length, extending from the Ikst Dame Mountain to the Nokomai River, and it is presumed that tho surrounding country will be found to be extensively auriferous. The discoverers have named the place the Victoria Diggings. The Commissioner of Police is gone up from Dunedin to see which will bo the test route. No rush lias yet set iv, as so much uncertainty prevails m to the raute, nnd the Dunstan has drawn off raoit of the untettled spirits. The effect of the Danstan rash, has been to cause a groat depression on the old galdfieids, by taking away so large a proportion of the population, but those who remained are understood to be doiug well, an.i the deficiency in nambjra is already being supplied by tho arrival of others to teke the places of those who have left.