ARROW GOLD FIELD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 549, 21 September 1863, Page 5

ARROW GOLD FIELD.

(FKOsr'oua own . correspondent.)" !

Arrow River, 10 tlrSept.-1863.

Since my last letter we have had great alienations of climate, and a great di al of snow has fallen on the ranges. To-day the weather appears tD have settled, in fair again, if we may judge from a cloudless sky, bright sunshine, and light northerly airs. Ihe rains of the past week having been precipitated in a frozen state on the-mountains, ■ have 'ha i little or no effect upon the the volume of water in the rivers, ,bnt apprehensions of an .impending Spring i 'flood,' sooner' or • later, ~to a great ■ extent; , are still paralysing the efforts of the miners, more'especially tho.^e holding river bed c'aims; the burnt child dieads the fire, ami men who have once or twice seen all their costly ma-hineiy swept off like chalf before the umcls, ar" naturally fearful of the ri-.k, and prefer waiting a lew weeks even, it'iiece-saiv until-all dansrer is over, before trusting their wheels and pumps to the tender u,ei cies of tiie stream. ;-n the Arrow at one point four unities are to "my knowledge thus holding on, having all the machinery ready but keeping it for the present well out of harm sway. The beach and'tunnel claims'on this river are in full work, and accounrs of a very satisfactory nature have come in; the re is no doubt a large quu.tity of go.d has been obtained during # the last ten clays a very small proportion ot which has yet been disposed of, in tact Buccsbfal diggers no', unfrequently keep ba^k what they do not rtquiie to tiispose of for tuck<r, not bang anxnus to pub ish their good foituue, and m.? tae ips anclro"Sbs about the ground. The Township F-ar, or Fox's Flat, as ie is called, soili remains in statu quo, though there ,is now a hope of speedy settlement of the diputts which have mainly ten k d to this ruinous inactivity. A case W£- v' 1 ,lv J he Warilen's Court, on Thursrlay last, which brought the ma..ter fully before the public. Two parties sued the flit-or-Miss Company for .-'l ge *' urging as a complai.it that tho company which diverted Bush Creekhad failed in canstructing a secure channel, consequmtly complainants claims were flooded out. Solicitors employed on both sides, and many witness, s .were examined; in accordance with the summing up of the Warden, the Jury returned a verdict for the coraplaiuants, damages L2O. Notice of appeal to the auprem= Court was given by the defendants Solicitor. A very awkward, fact was elicited by Mr Haughton in cross-examination of several members ot the Hit or Miss Co., via , that they ho (1 an extravagant quantity of ground, several thousand square Uet more than they were eatitled tc. Now. as this company has be=n for some time playing dog m the manger" with regard to the whole adjacent diggings, so good an opportunity was not to be lost, and application toon came into the Warden to have their ground measured. The arrival of .the Mining burveyor for ti at purpose yesterday, seems to hare had a saUtary effect upon the obstreperous 'member oi the Hit or Miss, who that morning seemed inclined to come to terms with their neighbors, and go to work themselves, allowing their large tail race to be made use of for the g<.nei\.l good. Sluicing has been commenced on the terraces below the rrow Camp ; two large races being iv full play with heavy falls of water. As yet no prospects are reported, bufc of course a great deal of surface has to be washed away before reaching the auriferous soil. Early next weet:, without doubt, the question will be solyea, whether this work is payable or not, it is to be hoped it will be. For this a great spurt will be given to the whole neighborhood, and every available pond of water will soon be appropriated and turned to a productive purpose. Up the river Arrow, as before reported, sluicing is also just about to be commenced at several various points, and on a large scale. The Four Mile Rush has not turned out well, most of the men having left after only very partially trying the ground. The truth is that the' diggers have not the means to try experiments; and as goon'as they see it is a matter of deep sinking, off they go to try somewhere else. It is a great pity that some enterprising fellows, with a little money, do not take the matter up, and thoroughly prospect the °ullies about the Kawarau, where certainly, there exists somewhere a lead of/gold, if we could only find it. A new rush, likely to turn out of considerable importance, took place On Saturday last near the Upper Shotover. ;The locality is the Deep Creek, a large ravine running down into the river, with as its name implies, a stream' of.water down' the centre. Two Maoris were the original prospectors; they were finally tracked and discovered at work, and soon bundredswere oil' the ground. . The whole extent of the yiver is thought auriferous, and parties are sinking in every, direction. Various reports are current as to the prospects obtained, some stating lj oz. to the dish. 1 believe, however, 2 dwt. is nearer the average, and is sufficiently promising. The sinking is snallow. Deep Creek can be reached from Queenstown via Maori Point, a long distance froiu'the; Arrow Township, across the t ranges, it is nol more than six miles, but the track'is a very difficult one and at present impeded by snow. ...-.•'■ Another rush has taken place to-day in a northerly direction from here, not tar out of the line of the Dunstan + road A ; projector's claim has been granted to William Andei son and party, con^t ing of three men. It is describ^ « f iSoz to 4 by ,3 feet of ground. -J he length of the Ta ley. is about one mile, of a flat nature a sTreamcf itl IT'! thr°Ugh c^tre r depih of sinTini^ &to blest A communication has just reached us i™nv ShotOVeri t0 the efect that 3 mfnisS.v rivet * fct P™^^ satisfactorily all along that nver , though, as before stated, few, if any river'hp-i' claims are in work. At Stony Creek a f wnarlks tiveill <?, ? ef h 1S near]y complete; it is fli§il

with, but cannot, from the paucity of funds set apa- c ior it, be_ expected to be very complete, even win re famsned, it we may be allowed an Hio t rniauisra. ?0 news of a»y importance from Que«iiSfcoHr<!.- Mr Kees has lost some thirty-three btiiiocks atoiw fell Tl'i° P' t dvmii was braug"t by land femtue foot of the Lake on their track a fearfal precipice, for it •is nothing else, called the Devil's Staircase, has to be descended: one beast, rather wild, leapt out of this path an 1 sprang O var the clift, soon followed l.y thirty-two tpmua Much sympathy i, felt for ilie owner, who thus suffers a Io?s of some LI 2'!o This gentleman being deservedly most popular, h'avin* ever been foremost m every good work in .the neighborhood,and wrll known for a thousand secret acts of charity and kindness.