THE DUNSTAN DIGGINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 233, 18 September 1862, Page 5

THE DUNSTAN DIGGINGS.

(PROM OUa SPECIAL feKPORTER.) Manuherikia, September 11, 1802.

During tho last few days the population has sensibly decreased, bub tiioso remaining on the field, are, for the wndt part, at work; and there is none of that rushing hither and thither which characterized the first nnivalj. Tho number of persons on the field I estimate at about2,ooo, but os they are withered over a distance of forty miles along thq rugged banks of the Molyncux, crowded in little nooks and crannies that arc almost innceeanblo ,orperch<jd oujed^cs oftJe ciilf-i, tfiLs calculation fa of necessity a rough one Cradl»s, and even an occ:wional" long torn," arts busily at work^ on both sides of the river, and tho amount of gold obtained is very encouraging. As a rub, the miners nre making more than wages, ■while not a few are wishing, out'two anil tn»e'ounces per mi» daily. One party of three that I cam© acroasi showed me a p.ir.-iei of thirty ouncei, tha reiuJt of about flva dav»' washing. TJiis is not nn isolated instance of «ic««3, there are many who are daing equally well. The principal portion of the gold obtained from this field 'is finding Us way to Tuapeka, very trifling quantifies 'being st present offered for sate.;; The price offerol by the representatives of the Banks h £3 -10*. per ouuee.'."and as this fo^ considered'- by -the wPew to be a low figure, thoy *w\ll only Mi such quantises na wiil enable them to purchase necessaries. An advance in liriee would uo doubt bring a consiiderablu quantity of gold into the market; The excuse at present iuad«j by the gold-buyew for the low price-is, tluit the Dunstim gold has not been a^ayed, and that they aro unacquainted with its red value. Wo are, however, informed that the gold Jins been assayed by at least two of the Banks, but the quality is kept secret, in ordkr, I presume, to facilitate the purchase of the metal tt the present rate. On tlie discover)' of a «i°w gold field, the Government should have the gold assayed, and the result made public ar once. An authorised assay would define the relative position of tho prwlucer and the purciiwer, aad it wouUl then he seen whether, as has bc«n insinusted, th-s'Batiks are taking an advantage of tlie imiucr, and to whit extent. It is certainly luvrd enough for the miners to liave to pay an advance of from fonr to five hundred por cent, for tho ordinary necessaries of jite without in addition being done out of a portion of the value of their earnings. Two small townships have sprung up since the date of my last letter—cue ai Coal I'oiat, near the mouth of the gorge, the other about two miles lower;. down '..the river; tjeveral stoi-cs have been erected ia both localities: tfnd urovi&iow*, althoagh by no means plentiful, are to be bad at a price. Flour is still selling at 2i. per lb., sugar ut 2t ; bacon, 3i.; mutton and bsef at Is, 3d, A bakery has also been constructed, and there la the usual number ot refreshment tents^ alias ely grog shops. Medicine is represented by-four or fiv«s professors of the art of healing, while the upper township U favorsd with the presence ot ihnr prototype—an cnterjmang barber. Neither place is Hkety to prove attraetivo to men of business, owing to the population being so wide'y scattered, aud the difticulty of conveying goods from one portion of the digging* ts another. A host of small stores will be tmattere I along the river, j«nd ual&w the flats I formerly referred to fthould turn outr to be auriferous, they will do whatever busiufc* ia to be done. Stiauld tbe Mnneuhrik'iA Valley prove* auriferous—a« yet it has not beentriea —a large population wonli be concentrated on the flat, and an opportimitv aßorded to such storekeepers aa are being crowded out of Dunedin to start afresh on this gotU-ficlU. Imay mention, while referring to this undeveloped ground, thnt several holes have been commence! au«i abnudouo I. One shaft was sunk to a depth of thirty feet, but as the tiden began to cave in, it had to be given up. The other shafia w«re abandoned for V>e same reason, notwitb«»tan«iing th :t gold was found in the gravel all the way down. Oi course it was scarcely to be exjxjcted that while gold was to be obtained with such «jasa on the banks I of tlie river, parties would go to th« expense and j ironble of trettin^ timber, without which it Ujmpos-' sibla to bottom this d(;ep ground, on the chance of! find ing a, payable Uepu&it of the precious ine'aJ. Gold is obtained here with''greater ease than, perhaps, on any field ever discovered/ Alt that requires to be done ia to pluco your cradle on ths eilge of the river, *kirn off about a couple of feet of sand and! grave), throw it into the hopper, rock away until the slides require clearing, pour off the cra<Uin*g*, aod repsat the process ad iujinitu/a. The result ot a day's work may vary from a few dwte to several ounces. Two punts lJAva been plaoed on the river by Mr. Hill, of Hill and Smith ; ami passengers are cou- i veved across at the rate of sixpsnee a head. Accommodation of this ktml is very much wanted in the vicinity of the Knwarau,—the di^era in eoroe awes preferring to risk their lives in swiasming acroaa rather ihau walk to the present ferry.' A. stop baa, however, becu put to thia by the drowning of a man named Andrew Muirhead. It appears that several cf hb mates were working on the opposite side of the river, and that Muirhead aud another of tho party determined to cross the river for tbe purpose of jolnintr them. Muirhead, who was sow© distance ahead of hi* mate, plunged into the river, an 4 was seen to swim steadily across, until he reached the middle of the sireaai, when, utterutt; a loud cry, he sank and wai not again wen. His mates imagine he must have be*Mi seiiicd witii cramp, as the deceased was n strong and powerful swimmer. The body Ims not jet been recovered. •

The diggings up to the present have been extremely nniet. the small lovm of-notice stationed here, under Air. In-peetcr Keddell, being sutlfcwnt to repress the property-acquiring teudenci&j of tlie m««iwj mjet* known to be cm the gold fields. Some, I believe have had an intimation that their presence is required elsowher^ while one or two, whose idea* as to the distinction between meum el tuum in the way of horse llfih arc of a very confused character, hare been sent to Dmml'w, ia ora«r that the exhliarmujg atmosphere of a gaol may help to claar the|r clouded faculties. The e*'tablisbinerit of a meaqa of communication with Dunodin is anxiously looked forward to. Mr.lnspeetor i Mot-ton has,.l believe, inspected the road between j this and Tunpcka with the view of ascertaining if a practicable route could bo opened up. != Mr. Morton anivod here to day, but I havt, not been able to ascertain tho result of his journey. * 1 believe with a verylittle expense a good road could ba made from Tuapeka.: A bridge and catUngat thoTeviot nra the only works of auy importance, and as the present track taken by drays, is for the most part along high leading rMges, the routo is free from bogs , and side .lings. The track across the Knobby ranges formerly supposed to be the most difficult portion of the journey is, by making n trifling detour, easily accomplished. There are quite aa many difficulties, if not more, to be contended with on the road; from Dunedint«) Tuapeka, n» there are from the latter place to the Manuh.-rikia valley. There are so raaijy advantages to be derived from one trunk line of road connecting the metropolis with the interior, that I trust the Government will see the propriety. of obtaining reliable information as to the practicability of the route I have indicated, before committing themselves to' the formation of a road via Waikouaiti or e'sewhere. > ./

; Bpcakingof the rich reef lately discovered at M'Cul. lum's Creek, the Maryborough Advertiser says :-- ---" The news of the discovery of some wonderful quartz at M'CullumV Creek flew like wild-fire about Maryborough on Monday moraing, and on making inquiry we fiud tliat some highly auriferoua hajsbeen hit upon near ihe creek, at some seven miles from hence. One piece of stone, if it can be to called, weighing twenty■four ounces, hadi bad knocked out of it with a hammor twenty ounces of gold; .The ground all abaut the scene of discovery has .been: taken up, and no doubt will be indußtriously: worked, when we shall be able to give an account as to the probable extent of rich slone and its further yield," ;; At present there is much excitement upon the subjpct.!' ■•. ! /T o»vino in. — Mr. 4King's, prospecting claim (Poverty Reef) Euddenly, caved-in a few days smca from theJßurface,icarrying' away about 500 tons of mullock, and literally filling up the n xt shaft (Mr. i Hammond's); so that it is necessary for i that gentleman to sink another sh.-tft 350 fe«t, ai an expense of about £1,0,00. i The accident occurred soon after ihe men returned from dinner; fortunately the manager of Hammond's^laira?^^ bai^ thaitnpenidiingdanger, «nd r warued the, ineij a few minutea previous to the occur-; rence, thu^giv ug them time to escape, or no doubt several liyes would have^beenv toitfv The loss sustained by, Measra.Kinff and Hammond is something <^nßldewble^--^d»enfw^}Au«ust 25. ? t 7 ■