GOLD FIELDS OF OTAGO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1168, 29 September 1865, Page 4

GOLD FIELDS OF OTAGO.

Haying now treated pretty mlly on the history of thegradual develnpuent of "the Gold Fields of that portion of thej Ero- - Tince; which" first" attraetedibfir diggers to.Otago, it remains for us,, to- extend oar observations to subsequent discoyerie3, It must, However, be admitted, that the district of conntry to which, we are abbut to call attention, has offered more serioui difficulties to tbepro«res9q46jimng operations, j , r than have b^e^i^j^liaied in the several ( ' mining' survey djstncjja desdribe'd. - ; Oac that, account, thexefore, it must be ex-, ' peoted < that the steadiness ■•characteristic [i tot 'Gabriels; fer«ad r'^iofr r,the' 'great • basin of t^ejMolyne«Cs, ia^nota marked element, " in thfe*ipdrSuK oifiKora^orkings in the vi-' 1 cinity ,of Lake Wakatipu, on the banka of 1 the Shotover and on those of the Arrow. £ The prospect of the Wakatipu district ■ during the early part of the preceding year - \ ir&a an that could be desired; bat the con-*

stant recurrence of floods on the river* -„* the jmportatrtP discoveries of gold on t, West 6oast of Kelson and Canterbury fit the tffbct ot causing the mining pomtfaS to leave the Queenstown districtin* numbers. We are informed by Mr MS? i Surveyor Wright, a gentlemi *&* penence on the gold fields of Victoria £ r ? Otago has extended over thirteen ™ that the rush to the West Coast^J2* complete stampede, and that in the «£ , t of his recollection he comd iS °Ie ' one single "rush" that w ,° n°me j ductive of anything approach^ P^T ! equal amount of excitement. Neverth l ' instead of working which tV « might account for so wild an excitom 5 3 both the Escort returns as weS ?^ Wardens' reports, show that in the wh i districts, but especially on the Arrow »nl J Shotover rivers, gold could be go^Sv 1 for the trouble of picking it up It is opinion that the large exodus of di-Jr* 1 from th 2 Wakatipu and its environs »« ! almost entirely due to the firm beli»f ente/ I tamed by themselves and the biwW l people in those localities, that because «oM ' was found on the -t astern ba*e of°th7 Southern Alps, extending from the Wanak* to the Wakatipu Lake, therefore it rou£ necessarily occur in larger quantities in the ■ interior of the ranges, and on their western base. Whether or not those dreams will ever be realised, is a. question too bold to be positively answered with our present comparatively limited .knowledge of the distribution of the gold-bearing rocks among the chaotic pile of mountain-fast-nts>es between those lakes and the oceai>~ We are. however, of opinion, from the prospects that have been made, and Irom an intimate acquaintance with a large tract of the country in question, that the open-ing-up of payable ground is exceedingly questionable. ■ . Referring to the official report of Mr Wright to the Secretary for the Gold Fields, we find that in December, 18C-J, there were 2145 miners employed in the Queenstown division (comprising the Arrow, Upper Shotover, and localities in their neighborhood); nnd in the March following, there were only 1229—making the large decrease of 916. The total approximate value of the mining plant used by the 1229 is estimated at L 66,348, which gives to each miner in the district plant to the valne of L 53 193, the largest amount per head of any of the gold fields of Otago whicli have come under our observation. Of the 1229 digger? alluded to, there were 8 cradling, 618 sluicing, 185 ground sluicing, 48 using- the hydraulic hose, 135 tunnelling, 15 quartz mining, and 220 using other descriptions of mining appliances. The very large avernge per head to each miner, for mining plant, is easily accounted for, when it is stated that among this comparatively small number of diggers there are 33 hydraulic hoses in use, SOU sluice boxes, 68 water wheels, 358 pump*, and that 279 miles of water races have been constructed. Those who have preferred quartz crushing, have supplied themselves with two 12-horee power Cornish stamps, and one hand stamper. An examination of these figures is quite sufficient indication of the confidence placed in the god fields of this part of the Province, by the people who have wrought on them ; while at the same time it renders the reason for the allurement by new "rushes" still more anomalous. The information gleaned rehtive to wages on all parts of the Queenstown diggings, is of a remarkably promising character. In many places wages as high as L 5 and L 6 per week have bi'en declined, and the result has been, tnerefore, that many companies have become'broken, and abandoned most valuable work* that were very nigh completion. Several claim?, however, are still represented by wagesmen, the shareholders intending to return in the event of new fields-not turning out equal to their expectations. To *he deserted terrace workings in the neighborhood of Queenstown, a large number have returned, and 'this is especially toe case in the deserted terrace workings at Moke Creek, the Twelve Mile, and the Arrow. At Bracken's Gully Mr Wright reports that the holders of a claim informed him that the claim, was yielding Ll2 per week per man. This being the case, and we have no right to doubt the authority quoted, there can be little fear entertained as to* the remuneration which might be obtained when this large extent of terrace drift is worked upon x large scale. As we have said, the great obstacle to be contended against by the diggers on the Shotover,. is the constant recurrence of floods, which, submerge the claims, fill in tail, races, and sweep away in its wild impetuosity wheels and gear of every description. In many instances the operatives on this river haveobviated the latter difficulty by the erection of a block and tackle ap aratn?, b]T* which, during the. flooding of the stream* the wheel is hoisted above the surface ot: the water and in this manner protected. The company deserving of the largess amount of praise on the Shotover, for theeystematic manner in which they carry on their operations, is undoubtedly the Criterion Company. They, ha»e been employed for a considerable length of time on the sevea acre lease of the river, which had prove** impracticable to all other* who:: ha* attempted to. drain it. The method they adopted for preserving their machineryfrom the floods is deserving pf notice. They have constructed a big. wueet twenty-four feet in diameter, with * smaller wheel attached to the drum-axle* The big wheel is suspended, clear or the flood line, and with the assistance <* the smaller one, which receiv.es. the w»«J after passing the big wheel,, effectually drains the ground. With, regard to tw other portions of the machinery, *» Wright's professional description will«» » value, not only to those conversant *»>» .mining appliances, but also to wo» ignorant as to the extent to whicrt w* -workings are prosecuted- on this ditnem river. " The Criterion Company's wm»» consist of the usual line of crates and p«» dawn the middle of the stream, the y°iaaZ. so cut off being forked. with, a iacc « fifom CO to 80 feet in width; the pimps'"" standing in a paddock-which is psEm^Jel^ and is .fitted witn .hatches that: can screwed down when reqqued j ana we race , .flows into .it-.; through -a <»v" cujvert .ofstone andthnber, with Cached, jjR. which arrangements, on occurrence of a fresh, the wholf,fA m i uninjured/* So. successful have the w» c pauy been in this undertaking that time, ago the, whole of the works was merged, and after the space of two ««J vu ia fcOl working order ag"B*