RE POSITION OF 'ELECTRIC EXTENDED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11797, 28 July 1900, Page 9

RE POSITION OF 'ELECTRIC EXTENDED.

TO THE EDITOE.

Sra,— Haying noticed through your columns a shareholder of the' above claim inquiring as to its position, onisoking round Cromwell with a gentleman'who thoroughly knows the position of the "claims in' the surroundings, 1 made special notice of the Electric Extended claim; an 3 find that the Junction Electric' No. 1 is working- on the' top boundary of the above claim;° in fact, when the Junction Electric No. 1 started it is questionable whether her buckets were, not ill the Electric Extended's claim,'-as from looking where the Electric ExtSfulecl peg is in one side of the riyer to the other *>ep -'on-the other side, one can see in the direct 'line where the Junction Electric No. 1 worked. _„,.,,, ' I may say the Richard's Beach is abreast of the Junction Electric N0..'1.' I think this ought "to. enlighten shareholders to the whereabouts of their claim.—l nuT, etc., ' Crcmwell, July 23. " VxsiTOK.

THE ELECTRIC EXTENDED CLAIM.

TO THE EDItOB.

Sir,—-In your issue of, the 20th inst. there appeared a letter Signed " Kawarau," asking for information irom the directors in regard to the'above-claim, oil a point, of very great un-portd-nce to the general body of shareholders— namely, a's to' the exact' spot in relation to the Electric Exies-ded' claim, where the Junction Electric No.Titf setting heir present very satisfactory returns. I'say •"very satisfactory' because wheri" it is considered that the Sxo. 1 drecjge was built about seven years ago, and that she has Itean'in constant work, with the usual interruptions;/ fever since on a reugli river like the Eawarau, fi«l it is a 'well ' known fact in the district that ftlis is continually under repairs, it may l>e-:left tc the imagination what the returns' would be wfrh a Ranfurly working the same grdtmrt. At any r«jfce,''l have been told on'excellent authority that there weuld be some more record" breaking—-a bit of information which ought to be kept steadily in view by Electric .Extended shareholders, as it ought to kiyve the effect of making them "git tight." Now, fi» to the" information asked for by " Kawarau/' in.respec.t of which I ma-y sxiy that I am writing' whereof I know, the lower boundaryof the Junction Electric upper claim join* the upper boundary of the river portion of the Electric Extended cla'iui, formerly known, and now mai'kad on most maps of the river,.as the Record Reign, and-it is on this boundary of the two" claims thai the Junction No. 1 is getting 'her present returns. She was shifted down to this part of the claim only a few weeks ago, "and struck the gold the very first day she worked there. ' So much, in answer to " Kawarau " ; but, Sir, there is another point in connection with what may be'called composite claims like the Electric Extended-,. by which" I mean claims that are part bank and part riVor; It is a -point to which the investing public has net given its proper weight, and that is the advantage which these composite claiavs will have in the near future bv?r purely river "claim's on rivers like the Kawarau, Clutha, and Melyneux, on which rivers, as is'well known, the' -drisdges are for neariy one-half the year idle, or doing work that is comparatively profitless—iv. the first case, owing to'the height of the riveiy .and in. the other ewing' to the travelling drift, which has to be contended against: ■ • Now, Sir, given a dredge design eel and built with the view of working both'bank and river— and, I think, it would be a libel on our presentday consulting engineers to "say that such a dredge could not be done, as witness the progress raade'in. this direction within tne last three years—and given a little more liberality hi the way of a'redgemastorfl' salaries, with tne view of keeping good, capable, and experienced dredfemasters-in the district, I say ttiat this dredge must come out on top in the way of average'weekly returns from year's end to years end, in comparison with a dredge working on a purely river claim.—l am, etc., . ■ Chas. Holden.

Cromwell, July 25.

A NEW TRACK TO THE WEST COAST: ' ■ A COREECTIOiT." TO THE EDITOE. Sib,—On the 12th inst. you published •. a paper read by me at a' meeting of the Otag° ■ Institute,"describing a new track to the West Coast; . I have since learned that Iwas very, far astray'as" to Mr Wilmot's* connection with the pass to Deep Cove, and failed to do justice to his persevering and successful' explorations in this neighbourhood. An aCr. count"of- these in the annual report of the Lands and Survey department, 1896-97. (p.p. 119-22),' will be found very interesting, and is accompanied by a map and reproductions of'some excellent photographs taken "by Mr \ Wilniot from mountain peaks and' passes in the heart of the southern ranges. He spsnt nearly'three months in this most magnificent, but particularly uncomfortable, region, during which' time he made a topographical survey of about 200,000 acres of the country between Lake ]$anapouri, Smith Sound,- and Dusky Bay, cut' and blazed tracks up the Spey River, over Murrell's and Mackenzie s tracks, and down the Seaforth Eiyer to Supper Cov^j Diisky' Bay, with various branch lines, visiting and building cairns on many mountain tops. ■ . He went up the Grebe River, from the south arm' of Manapouri, and also up the Takahe (Dashwoodj Creek, over the pass described by me, which, I find, is known as "Wilmot's Pass," and thence down.to Deep Cove. He estimates the height of the' pass to be under 2100 ft, and says: 7" I have been'very confident that this will be ultimately the tourist route." A few extracts from Mr Wilmot s diary will be to the point: — "1897, January 23. . . Went up Leaning Peaks. . . . Could see the ocean to W. or N.W., probably through Doubtful" Sound, and' saw what may prove to be a pass from the Dash\vood Stream to the Lyvia River, running into Hall's Arm. (Note. —This is judging by old maps. I found the river to run into Smith Sound.) This is to the N.E. of Queen'of Sheba's Breast." "January 30.: —-Started for the top of the hill (Pahirhi Peak), to the north of our Dash-' wood oamp. ... Were rewardedJsy a fine clear sight all round. Our supposition of last Saturday,' as to a pass at the head of the right branch of the Dashwood, or Takahe Stream, proved to be correct. There is a pass there some 400 ft or 500 ft below bush level, and very easy of access from this side.'! ...

"February I.—This morning being fine, all hands started for the pass. . . . Reached the saddle a little after 4-. ... The pass is harrow—perhaps 100 yards wide—and nearly level for about a quarter of a mile." . . . "February 2. ... Dense fog. Started at 8 a.m., taking a. tent-fly, just enough tilank'ets to do us, and tucker for two days. . . .

Found the' scrub very hard to get through. The fog was so dense that we could scarcely see where" we were going, and I had several times to refer to the compass. . . . A little'after 1 we struck the Lyvia River, just at the' junction of a large creek, which I suppose comes from Disaster Burn Saddle (the place were Miirrell crossed). . . .' We continued down the river nearly a mile, and then a river flat opened out, and half a mile brought us to the'sound." ... Tt thus appears that although this pass had been .4een'by many, persons from the west side (I believe it was the objective point of Maiuwarinpr 'Brown and party), and also by Murrell and Barber, from the mountain top just above it, no one had reached Jt, or fixed its position from the east side, unrtl Wfl: mot took his narfcy'im the Diishwodd Stream, over the pass.' and thence down, to the sea, in February, 1897.

My apologies nre due to Mr Wilmot for the misleading references to him in my paper. Being, as I have already en id. a more amateur,' and, therefore, plentiful!" ''sr.cvapt of my subject, I was'not awnre of his exrJorations and report. Had I be"ii, T tloiibt if T should have ventured to rpfo!l a c'ovy hp. had told so well, and so much earlier.—l am, etc.,

O. "W. Chameerlaix.

Dtmedin, Jn-y ?.]

*Mr E. H. Wilmot, District Surveyor, Queenstowii.