SKETCHES ON THE SHOTOVER. (BY OUR LAKES CORRESPONDENT.)

Otago Witness, Issue 1242, 18 September 1875, Page 16

SKETCHES ON THE SHOTOVER. (BY OUR LAKES CORRESPONDENT. )

Pabt 11. TISIOTifcr o'cHEB CHEJ&

An Irish Mongolian or a Mongolian Irish' man, is an anomalous being people may scarcely be induced to recognise ; but that great leveller of distinctions, the goldfields, has learned ns to become so cosmopolitan ia priaciple that we have grown to estimate* everybody by their individual worth, and, sinking all distinctions of clime, creed, and. colour, acknowledge tho moral philosophy taught by Scotland's greatest bam, that "aman's a man for a' that." But Timothy O'Chee Cheo is scarcely a man afc All, being what is generally understood in nursery stories aa a hobble-de-hoy, neither a man nor a boy. He is, however, a fine, open, contented, intelligent-looking lad—* true Chinese, as a matter of course — but, being brought up mostly along with Euro* peans, has fallen into their ways and habitsy is both frank and generous, and has a plea' sank smile for everybody, as becomes a»y native-born English lad. Except thstr Timothy O'Chee Chee keeps his pigtail neatly cuned up under hia cap, he dresses in every r-spect like an European ; he has » good word to say to all comers, and all corners: have a good word to say to him consequently ho has become quite a favourite, especially among the Hiberaiaji pppalatipn, wittt wton* ,

he is brongbt largely in contact, and who salute him with morning" or "Good evening, Tim," in jusc the same familiar tone as were he one of themselves, Timothy O'Chee Chee always smilingly returns the compliment, and in the b3Bt conceivable Irish brogue that possibly could be uttered by<a Chinaman who — excuse an Hibernianism — "was not to the manner born," bids them a second good morning or evening, as he addresses himself to Dennis, Michael, or Patrick, as the case may be. • v Timothy O'Chee. Chee is no idler, but works hard for his living, his bmployer being a large storekeeper on the banks of the Shotover. No plate-glass windows are necessary to attract customers in this outlandish region. Many people deal' at one particular store' over a series of years without even so much as visitiog ib, while some may never have visited it at, all. The nature of the country is too rugged, and travelling much too laborious to make going a shop--ping a pleasant pastime, customers in such a case not caring tor this indulgence ;' the shop for all practical purposes ' 'is consequently made to go to tbem — that is, everything is conveyed to them on horseback, be it beef, bread, tea, matches, or tobacco. The sys- j tern of business pursued is that customers i eend back word by the storeman's packer, when he delivers one lot of gjods, what he shall bring them tho next, and as these visits are made for the most part weekly, and upon stated days, no confusion arises. Under these circumstances a sharp trustworthy lad like Timothy O'Chee Chee is a valuable servant, and knowing as he does every track and path on the river, and being a light weight in the bargain, he suits the job admirably, and the job suits him, and you may see Tim on his errands riding up and down precipices where, at first sight, it would appear almost impossible that a goat could obtain foothold. Timothy O'Chee Chae was upon one occasion persuaded to try jockeying at the local race meeting, and being mounted on a good horse, it was calculated, from his well-known honesty, that he would win if he could ; the betting, therefore, ran high upon the steed Tim rode; but, alas for the mutability of human calculations, the favorite mare of Barney O'Doolan was much too fast and frisky for poor Timothy O'Chee Chee to manage, as, when all the horses started for the race, Mr O'Doolan'a marc started too, bat she refused to be controlled am further, and made the running on her own account, when, in aptte of Tim's tuggings and haulings he was borne clean off the course, coming m last instead of being the winner. Barney O'Doolan .was, however, satisfied that all was square, and the only fault he could find -with Timothy O'Chee Chee was that he was not strong enough to control the mare, and Mr O'Doolan resolved to make good the next day the £15 ha had lost upon this. He, therefore, secured the services of a more competent rider and backed his mare to win, in which calculation he was not disappointed. What will ultimately become of Timothy O'Chee Chee I can scarcely tell. He will most likely save up his money and return home to the Flowery Land, and there take unto himself a wife, and get into some busir ness, as any person speaking English and Chinese passably well, and able to write tjither, as is the case with Timothy O'Chee Ohee, cannot fail to make money in China. A wonderful similarity exists in one respect; "between Irishmen and Chinamen, and it is this : That both dearly loye their native country, while they, at the same time, equally possess a sense of deep veneration for the old home and those they left behind them in a far-off land. FKHING UP GOLD. There are scarcely any difficulties but what can be surmounted by the golu miner when he feels satisfied that the precious metal lies waiting to reward ihis labour. Scientific men and newspaper writers are ! oftentimes apt to attribute to the poor, delver in mother earth a want of the necessary knowledge to prosecute the business with advantage, sufficiently to acquire the desired result, while they chide him for his rigid adherence to "the rule of - thumb." But 'they do not understand the capa* bilities of ( the miner for invention, and turning things to account, or they would speak less unkindly about him, while they would also appreciate his abilities to a much greater extent. So far as my experience leads me to form an opinion, I have always found the miners much more troubled about/ | the absence of gold than any meanß of reachiug it. Let the coveted metal be wherever it may, hid fathoms down deep in the heart/ of some great mountain, or buried heneatlt the waters of a great and rapidly flowing river, it is all the Same to the miner, he will scarcely fail to possoes himself of it. T)redging for gold, or more plainly speaking, fishing up gold from the bottom of a river, is the latest novelty in auriferous mining, and Otago can safely lay claim to the honour of this invention. California and Australia are credited with a very great deal of superior knowledge as regards gold mining, but ifc is, my firm opinion that we posseps in New Zealand equally as good men as ever lived in those countries, while many of our Provincial mining operations are conducted upon a scale of equal magnitude and ingenuity ; but they have not been as systematically and sensationally chronicled by the representatives oi the " fourth estate." ■ A snort distance above a rather uninviting looking locality termed the Sand Hills, just where the country bordering the Shotover begins to open out a little, lies aeourely anchored in the stream, and, further, to pro* vide against any possibility of breaking away, likewise securely moored from the shore, is the dredge Invincible, owned by Messrs Ash worth, Greaves, and Co., a very enterprising party of miners, engaged in the semi-aquatic occupation of fishing up gold from the bed of the Shotover with a '« spoon," and who successfully perform this operation, notwithstanding that a current of some 6ft. of swiftly running water covers it, while the gold itself is buried up another 6ft, further beneath the gravelly bottom of the river. The " spoon" of the Invincible is a no mean sort of spoon, and with its movements di- , rected by eight men, assisted by a large I double-purchase orab-winch, it is a very J prodigy of strength, and it brings up from the depths below its bowl or bag full of the gravelly bottom — usually about two barrow* loads — every four or five minutes with sur. prinicg regularity, The Invicciblo is a fiat'

bottomed decked barge, of aboift 30 tons burthen,- having securely set in' the bows the crab-winch as previously described. On the starboard side of the vessel, about amidships, is fixed a very strong iron " davit," with a cathead and sheave — much the same, only of larger proportions, as would be used on board of a ship for lowering boats. Passed through the catheads and over the sneave is an iron cable chain", one end of which ia secured to the winch, irotn the other is suspended a strong iron disc, about two feet in diameter, and provided with a steel lip for entering the ground. The disc in its turn is fitted to a pole, or staff, some twenty feet in length, and which implement constitutes the spoon, or dredge. Everything being in ■readiness, and the crab winuh fully manned, the staffs-man seizes' hold of his pole, and thrusts the spoon, epd forward, against tho current, into the river, while as it naturally swings back with the- force of the water, to the stern of -the vessel, he presses the disc firmly down to -the- bottom/ until -all the slack of the caMe ,has been run ou b ; then taking a torn with a small rope round the staff, so as to prevent.it from r.sing, he signals to- the men at the winch to "heave away," which command .they immediately obey, when, after a grunt, a groan, and a lift from the barge, caused by the excessive strain, up cornea the spoon to the surface with its leathern bag filled with gravel and stones, and dripping with water, and which is instantly landed on the deck and emptied of its contents, which are in tura operated upon by the men at the sluice bed, the gravel, relieved of its gold, passing over the side of the vessel into the river again. The water for the sluice box is either pumped up from the rivor by hand or by means of a current wheel as circumstances may permit. Oftentimes some very rich patches of gold are struck. Upon one particular occasion the crew of the Invincible managed to steer their bark upon some, prolific gold-bearing ground, and in one week they managed to fish up from the watery depths below £1800 worth of gold ; a second week brought them 17Sozs 12dwts, and during one single day upon a third they realised IlBozs. These bplendid finds were all obtained from a soft crevice ia the hard rocky bottom, with a depth of between thirteen and fourteen feet of water running over it, such situations bein™, as a matter of course, most favourable for containing gold in quantities. At last the crevice became so narrow that tbe disc could no longer enter it, and resolving not to be beaten by this seemingly in&Urmountable difficulty, Messrs Ashworthi Greaves, and Co., purchased one of Helnke's patent india-rubber diving dresses, with all the attendant necessary apparatus, while fchfey also secured the services of an experience I diver. But their calculations and preparations proved futile, tlie diver, weighted ever so heavily, could not be kept down on the bottom, as, when once fairly in the embrace of the rapid-flowing river/ he beoame as a mere pigmy in the hands of a ghnt, and was borne away by the fioodj in spite of himself. The intrepid diver 1 tried' again, time after time, and actually moored himself to large rock? sunk for the purpose ; but it was all in vain. The ■ combined strength and cunning of 'man proved in this particular instance no match for the angry water gods, who carefully guarded the trea sure he sought to invade. ;. The project of diving for gold, after incurring an enormous amount of expense; was consequently abandoned, or another branch, of mining might have been recorded to the inventive genius of the JNsw Zealand goldseeker. As an instance of pluck and pei*severancp. I perhaps need only mention that when Messrs Ashworih, Greaves, and o'd, had just completed the building of their first; and previous dredging machine, l&h& which ojcupied nearly the same site as.tll§ -present, an accident occurred thus : jtisi , as everything was in readiness for starling to work a sudden flood camp, and the whole apparatus was swept atfAy, and not one single stick was ever : recovered from the wreck. B'lt this catastrophe did not daunt the courage- of this enterprising party, and they, at once ! set themselves to work and constructed the present Invincible. So far as previous experience has improved their knowledge, Messrs Ash worth, Greaves; and Co., have provided against the possibility of another wreck, and the improved system of anchor* ing in the stream, assisted by moorings from the shore, appears to provide sufficiently against accident. The Invincible has, for the last five years, proved more than a match for the angry waters of the Shotover, rage they ever so fiercely the vessel rides upouthe flood unharmed. It has now been proved that there id an immense area of highly auriferous ground covered up by the rapid waters of this wonderful river, and -which is available to 'the enterprise of the miner by the system of dredging ; and it is really somewhat surprising that, seeing the success attendant upon the operations of Messrs Ashworth, Greaves, and Co., other parties do not seek to emulate their example.