THE LAKE COUNTRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 403, 6 April 1863, Page 5

THE LAKE COUNTRY.

GOOD ACCOUNTS FROM THE HEAD OF THE LAKE.

ANOTHER TRIP TO THE WEST COAST.

(fbom oub owx correspondent.) Queanstown,- 3rd April, 18G3. X am

The accounts from the New Rnsh at the Nokomai are conflicting, anl the mnjority are returning. The ground i-< very w>t entitling consMerahle expense to work. Me Wilson, to \vho*e celebrate 1 claim ,o i the Shotover I hive before referee 1, visited the Rush oa my accoun'., atid returned yes'erday from it. H ■ r-ports, "That the ground for which the p'ospectihq; cla:m was obtained was close to ground already worked, anl at the foot of one of the spurs that descend into a long gully not a flat as represented. That a'lout a hundrel feet higher up on the spur upon which th». prospectors sunk their hole, some previous surfacing work had been done, and a former prospecting claim been granted and abandoned. The hole from which the pr jsent prospectors obtained their ' show" bad been sunk for them some lime ago for about ten feet TheysußdeedeJinbotfcominsrhtlftlii-ihole.nnd I b'lieve they obtained the prospects represented, the other half of the hole dips very suddenly, a'li this they cannot touch. Thoir claim wos jumped, but the panics left it. There was a good deal 'of fighting for claiTS for tlie first two days, but all the claim* have bee i t'a*t abandoned. It will be impossib'e to work this giou d without either hirse or steam power, and this would have to be done on ' spec,' as the deep ground li-n not' baen tnunherl. Looking at tlie (act that ill: deep ground in Otaso is generally the po irest, much inducement is hot ottered for taking it. T^ie shallow ground tripd during my pres( ni'e was not very encoura!»i> g The only way this ground can be worked and will pay, will be under a system of extended claims or leaser, which would ' encouragj the investment of capital. I know several who wouli go into it if they got this inducement,:ami t myselt would go into it very fast, if I got say about an acre of ground, but Ifhonld usl; steam power, It is more of a creek or gully working than ii fliUi In piacs it U twenty y; rls brood, in others a hundred, with a creek running throughout. It cannos pay individual parties of miuprs. as they would 10-e more thin they woulii gain. "The place was being quite d sert"d." ; This is the report of an intelligent praotical miner, one of the shaieh ilders i-i the richest claim that the

; Shotover lias yet produced, itinay be faithfully relied upon. From the head of the Lake brilliant glowing accounts are coining in, and we have another ru-h in this direction. The report of the discovery of a pound and a-lialf weight nugget is spoken of, but I have not seen it, though others assure me they have. If not perfectly certain on this matter, I can vouch for numerous nugget* from one to ten ounces each. The gold, as it is being traced to the westward, is, ns; before i ointed out, increasing in coarseness, and the color of fine gold is not obtainable in more distant and recent discoveries,, and very few of the grains are under quarter of a pennyweight. J,arge numbers are leaving for this new winter's diggings, and a week or two will prove whie the new; depot at the head of the Lake will be established. This is also an agricultural riis'rict, and will soon require to be elevated into an independent gold fill. To ihe boatmen, the steamers, the booking agents, th"se rushes are a rich harvest, and good temper and jollity abound amongst our sea-faring population: We are fast becoming a marine population and must necessarily become more so. The establishment of a Marine '"Insurance Company has beeir mooted, and will probably be taken into "'hand" b.fore long :Mr inspector Morton has obligingly favored me' with the following extr ict from report from Constable .Emerson, .who has been appointed to visit the head of our Lake gol I districts :—" The popitlationj,\v-it!i-out reference to the Kees and Dart river, is.atiout >50 .-miners, of whom 250 are'working on.the. Sackleburn ;Ureek. .On the Bacteburn several claims arepaying ..twenty to thirty pounds sterling a man weekly., The gold is very coarse; pieces weighing trom half to •two ounces being' obtainable.,. One siiiiciiig party of five (f>) in number have completed, their .water-racel nnd commenced s'uicing.on.the!. 24th'inst.j the i-esult jof-whicb they, haVf represented .to -me as. having obtained one ouuee tor each hour ~they have i worked. This creek is .tabo'ut twelve miles lin length, but at present, it cannot ail be worked ;in consequence of the water being too, high, y. t it is dajly becoming lower, and tfie.-miners are in lii,'li spirits as to.1- their future prospects. Verylittleis : known of the miners who' are working on the D,irt • and liees' Rivers, but several large pieces' sire being brought down" from tjiat lacality" Those, who are working" there"als6 ?ompTain"6t\the"watgr being too lijgh jto enable thVm ftp w,ork;to, a Ivautugej yet the greater' portion' of those^vlidcomo^dp.wn^itprpyjs'onSyjsny it is]ike|y ; tojuru out^y^y' good and remunerative ' winter "diggings. Five licensed storekeepers are still residing at this placv four of whom are localed on the beach, close to Mr Kees' out-station, and the other at J3ui:kleburn Creek.

Un the opposite side of the Lake forty sawyers are at work, and a saw mill is to be erected.

Boais are daily plying to und from this place, for he conveyance of njiners and Btores.

Af the result of exertions' in the'same direction, Vtr- Ahearn hassujipliel me with the fo'lowiug account .of Mr .Hartley's proceedings, who /visited .Queenstows during roy ab^euce.. ,1. nnderstiind this rentleman started .singly and alone upon this expedition. ■ ,

; On the 18th March, 1863, Mr Hartley left Queens-' town, J.ake Wakatipu, and procefidod up to the head if the Lake, and then to.theheadof the-Dart liiver,' .'struck ..off .by..one of the ..western branches ~of,the. i»me river, crossed .the main Sriowy Ganges, then, irossed smother range of,'mountains, which he'culls r.he Main Ranee, which Btemed to be the dividing i-ange, crossed another range and came on the Chores' if the Awarua, Kiver, .which he - *:ates that :Dr; 'lector, calls .facksoti's River. Ho. did not,follow •lown the main stream. Crossid several, small , tributaries to U, but. went so' far'-'.that ho could seethe sea coast, distance about ten miles; lwl ;to '•eturii in consequence of provisions falling short. The.' country -Js very.'rnjrse'l and broken, and covered,with1 ; i dense scmb nearly two-thinls of the w*ytoth^toj)sof the cnpwv Hinges the top of the injuntains being rnthing btif barren rocksVgrratm-isses of snow beitig jon; the top, and glaciers of ica being:nearly :a1 'mile 1 >n|£ He had seen a fall of a glßcier which as well an he could think, should be about 500 feet; tliia cau's?d a trenieudous Crash, and awakened the echoes of the surrounding hi Is. " Mr H.rtley' does not think that this route is the best';: he convid;;is tha.titis barely possible fur a man top;iss that way, and'he won da,vi cno one, to go that line again. ',■ He met pleuty "f Of wild duck, some pigeon', ad n ffi-ont< number of kaka's, and some green parrots. It rained i-very day for the first week after startihgl, anil more or iess. lip fcrhis return to the hea;l of. the Lake.' - ', ' y ' '■.'■'■ .' "' "

MrHa'-iley intends to start for Duncdin,; via the. Diinstan; and stales that he will start again f.i;-tht VVesl Co'ist better prepared, ami by quire a different' route altogether f- pinthe la*t:. Mr Hartley rctur.in-ii1 lr> Queenstoivn on last nisht, 3ist '.Marten," 1803,: after being absont only . ,18 days, nnd performing :a ,'feat on ' foot which' few 'men could do We have had quite a commotion 'amongst the bnnkenj' ,in cdn«eqnence.ofthe police refusiritf liny: lonsrer to take charge of their tr. figure, i'e., notes. ' Itseeijls to ,liave been the habit for the bankers at the', Arrow .to1 iniiike safes of gin boxes,'vith a; padlock,'andI put: thrir gold and notes into these, leaving .their safe 'ciisv toly anil allre-uipHsibiiityupoti.tlie police.!. Serjeant Lynch informed me that the manner one oF'these. pad'-1' locks was fastenftl was simply turning up,: arid the' bolt ' slid'.r'.into'..'! the- chamber ;. to ;o.pen it, a reverse action'•' was : only necessary" In cpn«equence of some'- dispute ' about ' a basr .ot gold some time ago, the police Telt. or thought;,' !they wouM get into S, scrape, under these, cir uui stari'ces.if anything went wrong, as a number of notes •; were missing. ; Mr. Inspector.' Morton,' as. I] am in•formed, at the urgent entreaties of the police, relieved them "from the onerous position they were placed in..' When Major Richardson was up, here last February/he wa&astounded in hear;that uptfaris of .LIO'O.OOO lay in those saddle bags, on the' fljor ofa small cilicb tent, with only the otderly of the camp, wiio dil the cooking arrangements, to stand' guard over such vast temptations,, both to the men of the. service or. others. 'From saddle bigs however, a greater precaution was adopted in,thV shape of boxes with pidlocks, a$ described. To the police, in the absence of iron cnestv this wasa heavy responsibility and encumbrance, and it cannot be considered strange .they .'should desire to relieve 'them-; selvesfrom this dead weight As long before explained, the Arrow people, bank>rs' (with the' exception of the Union) storekeepers an-1 others, seem.and do content themselves as they first started^ with calics tents. More gold has gone from the Arrow, and they finding themselves upon the business they do, and yet it is calico banks, calico stores, calico, hotels. No change, no improvement. The course of action pursued by the police refusing any longer.to bear this repousibility, has created quite a tempest in our local teapot circle. Another change of importance is the action taken in regard to the illicit sale ot liquors,. 6r sly grog selling. The police have given warning to all parties not duly licensed, that they will proceed under the Goldfieids Acts to confiscate all liquors ex-. posed for sale, thus avoiding the troublesome and indefinite results that usually follow, the aotion of rev'-nue officers. It is a step iv the right direction, and I mis approve of it. .... .The weather is 'delightful, and we have summer again the«e last few days. The thermometer rang: ing from 70 to 90 degrees. It is not so h.it as before, but stili warm. The. Like is , calm, aerene, and lively; the g«utlest of all gentle ripples, telling of: peace and rest. ' Ths road made now as fer as Arthurs Point, is already a su-cess, and we are getting, quite full o< packers. It is being proceeded with on to Skippers" Gaily. ' \ , ".'■'■ '■'■' Another raid is on the tapis, to be. farmed "by. private enterprise between this tiwiiship aril Praiik' ton. Several have put down their name* fortwenty p mnds each subscription- If this is curried out. tl:e people here expect they will be able iq over mutch the. natural resources of Frankton, ami successfully com- ' pite . with thit latter place. Kirlv lasc month. I mentioned the delay and procrastination wuld prove the salvation of Queenstown as a centre, and; ref rring to my letter devoted ti» the " KoyalOity," ihe result is gradually b jing attaiue.l groat now is. the con 5 lence in this township's fuiuve oareer, th'it permanent buildings are rapidly going'.up.'\.,The township is also increasing;, an t being 'alsi. j'udidoubly made—is giviiig greater, csnfi leucethan ever. It will be difficult for a.riyal to overcome" these stroijg advantages; they have grown up, taken' ;rooti wliile oi hers looked on.' . ' ■''" * ' '".'."'[ "r

<>ne hundred arid.-'fifty pounds-is subscribed for racea and sports at b"i-,iuUt«n on Easter Monday.. We are,/perhaps, overdoing this kind of tiling. : ".'.., ■ No p-iut office he e>et, or, any signs of one. The people are moat indigna-it, and justly so.' . t is rea (y,:, disgraoeful, and if the in-ignated who ivjlethese things' could hear the unpleasant truths uttered, they) would reptht of their stupidity arid slowuess.. , I 'forward' thw per "favor of the Royal .Mail; Kxpress Coinpuny, . aud if the fact is worth any sig'iiticanej, 1 would just mention, that of all the numerous letters I luive had the honor to? coii-' tribute to your journal..' »iot one of" tliera hiis been forwarded through the Post office. Rowley, the. Royal Mail JSxpress, Cobb ant Co., arid strauges' bound i\jr Daneji'ii,'luive .been my meiins of commuiiiculion, and so far have uKyays succeeded in anticipating the.p'ist. and 00. go now. toi Kiugstowrf" a cringe is going to take pljice, but stjll we urgently require a Post Office. Shall we ever get one? is the auxiuus enquiry. The district 13 peaoeuble again after the loe titi'ii out. Tne Shiitover is g'ing a-bead pormapently. . The escort ,will leave'to-morrow,,';"-'