PRESERVATION INLET.

Otago Witness, Issue 838, 20 December 1867, Page 8

PRESERVATION INLET.

In resuming the discursive narrative of what was done and seen by the West Coast expedition, let me premise that the mere configuration of the country, and its geological structure, are the subjects to which, probably, the least reference will be made. These are matters in relation to which any visitor to ,the SVest Coast, ambitious of excelling in descriptive, will find himself to be anticipated both in pointof time and skill. The "New Zealand Pilot is an unpretending digest of sailing directions; but its merits exceed its pretensions. It is a comprehensive description of the coast-line, tersely written ; and it is not destitute of elements of the graphic. The Provincial archives also contain— it may rather be said, conceal — Dr Hector's exhaustive account or his observations of the geology of such parts of the coast as he had visited. I say conceal, because that is really almost all that is achieved by printing, in such unpopular form as that of a Provincial Gazette, information, which should Ye as accessible to everybody as one of Johnston's maps or Murray's guides. With these two authorities — the " Pilot" and Hector's report — and with an elastic conscience on the part of the compiler, your columns might teem for days with not uninteresting information ; but it really would not be new. All that I can venture to do is to ])ut into something like shape a heap of disjecta 'membra — the fragmentary entries of a note-book as to each day's proceedings — most of them personal, a few of them touching on the- picturesque, and as many as possible aiming at the practical. About six o'clock on Saturday evening, December 6th, we got as far as Puseygur Point, the southern limit of Preservation Inlet. Almost before we passed it, for it is a low sloping promontory, we had a view of the southern arm of the Inlet, known as Otago's lletreat, not from any reference to the political state of the Province, but, because, at the time of the survey, a schooner of that name attached to the service, found it a convenient shelter in an hour of peculiar need. Through this vista we had the first glimpse of the scenery with which in a few days we became — I dare not say wearied, for that would be irreverent, but I may say, figuratively — and as far as the figure can go — overwhelmed. The sun was reaching the horizon, and its evening light enhanced, the comparative liveliness of the foreground, for, even here, the vegetation partakes of the characteristic richness of the northern parts of the West Coast, and the cliffs present a picture with which nothing on the east coast can compare. | The ornamental shrubbery — including veronicas, olearias, and others, the mere names of which, however elegantly strung together, would convey little information, — are especially beautiful, and are a distinguishing feature of the scanery of all this coast line. Behind the long stretch of deep green foliage, rose big brown hills, darkened by the shade of others intervening between them and the setting sun ; and behind them again were the snow-clad summits of such hills as Solitary and Forgotten Peaks, standing close on 4000 feet high. I find that, at this point, I have left three 1 blank pages in my note-book — no doubt with the laudable ambition of filling in a sketch of the phantasmagoria — for there is no other name for it — of a sunset over this same scene ; but procrastination, and the succession of positive wonders in the way of scenery which we afterwards witnessed, have bedevilled that intention ; and, were it otherwise, cvi boao ? There is suggested just oir> little moral. Let I no man say that th > imagination of the I artist, the extrav. gances of the scenepainter, or the ingenuity of the pyrotechnist, with his bluest and reddest lights included, is likely to produce what, in some one or other of Nature's phases, does not find a parallel. There is a belief prevalent that the scene-painter is usually I very careful to avoid a breach of the Second Commandment by painting his scenes as \mlike as possible to anything " that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth ;" but so -extraordinary are the pictures which Nature herself here presents, that one cannot resist the conviction that, if he were desirous of doing what Nature cannot do, it " would give him some trouble to do it." Within a gunshot of Puseygur Point is Coal Island, which presents to the sea a front of a mile and a half, and is about 2£ miles long. Its highest point is 850 ft, but at the seaward end its height is less, and it presents a considerable area of table land, the soil upon which, we were told, is of the very best. Of course, at present it is — as is all the West Coast — covered with heavy and valuable timber. In its proper place, I shall refer to the different descriptions of timber which are here and elsewhere prevalent, and to

.their probable uses ; for, we subsequently met with one who is a good authority on these subjects — I mean Mr Beverly, of Dunedin ; and his presence on board the steamer, at a later stage of the voyage, constituted, in itself, a considerable accession to our sources of information. The sandstone formation of the island ib very visible, despite the rich clothing of shrubbery on the cliffs, and it is an observable feature that the strata are more horizontal than at Puseygur Point, or in the country to the eastward, which, on the suspicion of coal existing there, well deserves prospecting. A noble harbor opens between Coal Island and Gulches Head, and this is Preservation Inlet — a mile and a-half in width, and more than twenty miles in length, with the usual characteristics of the inlets of the coast, the soundings being shallowest at the entrance, and towards the head deepening, and dt'ex-uin.c still, until the surveyors avc content vjch putting down tiie duptli tic iiftj 7 , or .< !i\udred, or hundreds of fathoms, and ' : no bottom." Without any theoretical disquisition as to the formation of these inlets, it may merely be said, as a guide to subsequent references, that the accepted opinion is that they are no ordinary excavations of the sea, but the valleys of a country once much more elevated than it even now is, and which, in consequence of their depression at some period, and of Nature's abhorrence of a vacuum, became filled with the waters j of the ocean. Steaming close by the northern shore of Coal Island, we could see some relics, in the shape of woodwork, of the visit of the cutter Pilot's party of coal prospetors, and on the first beach inside of Gulches Head, on the north side of the Inlet, we could distinguish a beacon which we accepted as an index of the presence of the coal-miners from Dunedin ; but we could then see nothing of the party. Fronting us was Cavern Head — one of the several promontories which, with as many or more islands, distinguish the inlet from others to the northward. In the words of the schoolgeographies, this head-land "derives its name" from a square aperture fronting the sea — the doorway to the home of soina amphibious mountain giant, or to the boudoir of naked naiads, just according to the direction of one's imagination. | We fondly anticipated that some human form divine, rather than mountain or marine divinity, would present itself upon the beach, but the whistle of the steamer produced nothing but empty echoes until a look-out in the rigging distinguished the Lapwing cutter, moored by ropes to the shore, in a quiet cove, in the shelter of Steep-to Island ; and even then humanity, in the persons of the mate and a man on board the cutter, partook of the pacific disposition of the elements on that particular evening. It was only when a boat went alongside that they emanated from their refuge from the sandnies, and looked upon the face of six anxious inquirers, who desired to know something of coal, Coates, Hutcheson, and Cuttle Coye — our anchorage for the night. The corner in which the cutter lay is safe enough, and a usual resort with Maori boats, as it once was with the boats of whalers, but it is comparatively exposed, and scarcely capable of accommodating more than one craft. Ashore there is a little patch of what was once a clearing, but what is now a cheerful shrubbery — the spot whereon +he whalers had erected i their try-pots, and revelled in rum and blubber. We received the information that Mr Coates and party were at D.vggs Sound, prospecting ; that the coal-workers had bored through seams of various thickness ; that the Airedale had lately sought the shelter of the Inlet, &c. ; and, thus fortified, we returned to the steamer, and the steamer steamed across to Cuttle Cove, the second anchorage on the northern side, and another resort of the whaler in " ancient times. " In this crescent bay, distinguishable by a small circular island on the margin of the anchorage, the steamer dropped anchor in seven fathoms water ; but she might have gone closer in, for the whalers were in the habit of lying so near that you might adopt that nautical means of mensuration — " toss a biscuit on shore." It was the first impulse to proceed at once up the Inlet, and to camp out for the night ; but superior judgment, and a rapidlyvanishing twilight, had their influence ; and " eager for the fray" as everybody was, the alternative of being on foot and in his place in the boat at two o'clock in the morning was accepted. I believe it is the impression of some people that the rapid passage of the Geelong involved but a small amount of personal fatigue, or practical results. This may excuse me for saying that whatever work was done, in the way of boating, was done by the passengers — no boat's crew having been shipped, as was intended ; and I might be permitted to add, that if every lavender satirist had to reduce his sleep to the same minimum, and extend his arms to

; bhe same maximum, as these passengers, | he would, in the event of his surviving it, Ibe the better for it. The practical results I of the expedition, I have no doubt, will discover themselves in proper time. What remained of daylight, was taken advantage of by the party landing on the beach — some- penetrating the bush, some exercising their amateur skill as geologists or botanists, and some devising means of protecting themselves from the attacks of I sanclfiies by enveloping themselves in clouds of tobacco and drift-wood smoke. I must confess that the contributions to our stock of information during these two hours were inconsiderable. Those who remained on board and fished, were best i rewarded, for blue-cod, trumpeter, and crayfish came up from the depths, and in over the side, with nn ease and rapidity which almost signified that they wither liked it. Our geologists (of ch.'isjo I except Mr Wright) were not h ir;>y in thai 1 choice of spocim«ns. ''.'..■ro v.m*. one mo^t confusing specimen. It was decided to be metamorphic. It is difficult to say to what age and class of rock it was not attributed, but I know that it was ultimately affirmed by the voice of all but the discoverer, that it belonged to the whaling period ; that it was of clay formation; that, when in situ, it probably underlay a try-pot ; that it was, in fact, a common brick disguised by the mould of years. This was a rad discomfiture at the beginning of the expedition, but it was got over ; and it must not be supposed, from the fail-ire of a first amateur effort, that there was not a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the geology of the coast, for Mr Wright was able to accumulate a varied and valuable collection. Back among the woods, where was once the beach, or ground cleared by the whalers, were found literally tons of iron-hoops and debris of a whaling station ; and at very short distance from the shore were specimens of the timber of the country which might well make one wish that there were enterprise and trade to encourage hither, as the successor of the whaler and his harpoon, the woodman and Ms axe.

There was incidentally gleaned much that was of practical value with regard to the coal, timber, and cultivable character of cleared ground in this neighborhood ; but we had " further advices" on our return trip, and I leave particulars until then. I know that there were some animated discussions generated by the facts ascertained, among M!.P.C.'s, on such sub-

jects as the Land, Immigration, and Marriage questions ; and "that a definite conclusion was come to on the Sunday question. It was considered that the early hours of the day might be worse spent in slumber on board, or idleness on the beach, than in seeing the marvels of Creation in Preservation Inlet ; and, as His Honor did not refuse the use of one of the boats, a party started at two o'clock in the morning to the head waters «jf the Inlet.

The Inlet is studded with islands. Some of these, with the facilities for fishing by which they are surrounded, afford ample space for comfortable homes to even more dainty people than the hardworking and hybrid race who, in the Northern and Western Islands of Scotland, are content, or compelled, to dwell on a patch of peatmoss, and to obtain a precarious livelihood from the resources of a rougher sea. Others are mere miniature islets, or mammoth flower-pots such as lend a quaint charm to the scenery of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence. The smaller of them are almost level with the sea— the very peaks of hills protruding above the water-level ; and though apparently liable to the surge of the ocean, concealed in a covering of vegetation — usually shrubbery of every variety, but often a group of the birch trees, distinguishable by their candelabra branches, or the iron- wood, at this season as easily distinguished by its attractive scarlet flower. They were just tipped with the first streak of daylight, as we passed up towards the shaded and frown- - ing cliffs of the upper waters of the Sound. To reach there we had to row towards the south side of the Inlet, where the clifis descend almost precipitously from the high terrace-land beyond. On the north side, the hills are not actually precipitous, but their slope is of inconsiderable value, so far as affording a footing for man, or the implements of agriculture, even if the bush were not there. After two hours' pulling between cliffs on the one side, and on the other side the densely wooded shores of a peculiar peninsula by which the Inlet is divided, wo reached a spot marked on the chart as Sandy Point. The name is not exactly descriptive of the beach, for it consists of yellowish granite gravel, of almost uniform size and angular form — not by any means a bad substitute, if it were within reach of a City Inspector, for the best screened road metal that he could procure. It was half-tide when W9 landed, and the beach — welcome to ua by its very exception to the prevalence of the perpendicular in every object

around—was so well 'defined by tlie • vegetation, and the water of the Inlet, and so sweetly kept by the ripples of the tide, as to look more like a well kept drive in a nobleman's policy than the debris of a stream, which, with 400 or 500 acres of bush behind, it evidently is. Leaving one or two of the party at this spot, to " boil the billy." we pulled still further up the Irlet till we entered the waters of Long Sound — darkened by the influx of the stream at its extremity, and the shade of the surrounding hills, 2000 and 3000 feet high. To the practical man, the aspect of this locality is not an enticing one — the hills high and precipitous, so bare of soil upon tHeir sides as to defy the growth of vegetation , and with grass growing only towards the summits. Nature, with a due regard to decency, endeavoring to cover its own nakedness, wherever a rag will hang. The whole formation is apparently granitic.

Returning, we pulled in towards a bare granite clift", andtriedit with the hammer. There was one grand mass of it free from vegetation, and in form somewhat resembling a man's head and shoulders — it might be Atlas himself holding up the world. Where his feet were was as much a mystery as it has ever been. They were ■deep down among the dark waters, for the chart showed here fifty fathoms, and no bottom at that. We had not time to immortalise ourselves by inscribing our names upon his breastplate, but we took the liberty of chipping off corners of his epaxilettes or shoulder blades, and that was just as much as could be done. Had time permitted, and had we been possessed of the proper implements, both the time and the implements might have been Trell employed, here and in other places ; for it is no great stretch of the imagination to believe that if a few blocks of this granite, or of other descriptions which abound upon the West Coast, were landed on Melbourne or Dunedin wharf, a lively interest would be excited as to their utilisation for building or for monumental purposes. It was only a few days ago that headstones and memorial monuments of Aberdeen granite were received in Dunedin. Here there is as much granite as will build all the house*, pave all the streets, contain the records of all the good qualities of all the good people in all the cities of New Zealand ; and it is an important item, in the considerations of profit and loss, that in all situations, it can be had free of land carriage. It is a beautifully mixed granite, and, if the quarryman could but find a market, he could almost, without lift 'Or purchase, slide it from its natural bed to the vessel's hold. It is not impossible that a calculation as to the cost of working it, compared with the land carriage and shipment of the Oamaru stone, would prove to be in its favor as the cheaper material of the two. As we were situated we could only look at it and speculate, and from the resemblance of this mass of it to the granite of Bon Accord, we took the liberty of christening it "Lord Aberdeen." Alongside of it was not altogether the situation for reverie, for, as we lay on the oars, big drops of water fell from the overhang of tie cliff, striking one's skull, if he was fool-hardy enough to leave it bare, with the hard crack of a piece of the granite itself. At one part, a stream trickled down the face of the stone, giving it an almost artificial polish ; and both up and down this same branch of the Inlet, there Avere a few picturesque waterfalls, like diamonds in the -emerald sides of the hills.

The beach of Sandy Point, to which we returned to sit for half-an-hour around our "billy," pendant from a birch-tree branch, is, though pretty, rather a monotonous one, being destitute of shells. Under water, however, we could see cockles, clams, and mussels, though only of the common sort. Small dark wood-hers gazed at us from the beach till we closely approached tham, and then tripped into their leafy boudoirs, undisturbed. This was not so, however, with a more attractive little bird — a "crow" or a "jack." It excited the curiosity .of the member of the party who had, if anything, a fancy tor natural history, without reference to any particular department, and there was a lively pursuit, in which, I judge, the bird had tlie best of it, as it was not forthcoming, and because the natural historian, as he re-ap-peared, did so with the extremities of his shirt-collar at an acute angle to his ears, and his hat "void and without form."

Some of the party had, in the interval of our absence, landed at the coal-work-ings near Gulches Head, and simultaneously with them landed Mr Coates, Mr Hutcheson, and Mr Beverly, after an eleven days hazardous journey of exploration northward. In the afternoon, these gentlemen came on board the steamer, and we got an accession to our yot trivial collection, in the form of a ELakapo and a Toke-weka— a bird larger

than the common Kiwi, resembling an Emu, and accepted as probably a lineal descendant of some branch of the family of Moa. They had with them a dog, which bore xipon his pate traces of an encounter with a " wig-seal " — a father among seals, five of which the party had killed. This was not his first encounter with seals, as he had been previously the associate of Maori sealers, and ho was received by his owner with all the attention due to a conquering hero.

Properly, this had been a dies non ; but it had not been unproductive of some substantial information, which must form another, and, I hope, more interesting chapter.