A PROSPECTING TOUR IN THE HAWEA DISTRICT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1540, 14 May 1881, Page 26

A PROSPECTING TOUR IN THE HAWEA DISTRICT.

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' ' Above the waterfalls I again obtained gold, fend »Ibo. farther 1 J pp; but lie're' my ( progress yfa sttip'fcied by 1 an iey 1 , barrier? "It Wojlll' ; be sis well he 1 re to state that all, the creeks and >ivers flowing from' Ben <WyvW' and 1 the Skeleton and Fork Ranges Into the^ lake contain , gold/ which' Fis terrqed; iteejß gold, : and exists in.brevioes'and.patohea.u)iThi3 auriferous 1 country [ extends frpnjl the< head of the Hunter .river; W}d;B,outherly^p ;i the base, of Mount -Maude.fi I heard'irpni an rp^t .settler that the.iamed.^rospeotoy ;jSUI party, struck heavy/ g&ld.urj^ shape of halt dunce pieoeß up the Hunter 'river many y^ars ago, tyit Yhile'down country :fbr^p'rovisiona & heavy' fall r of Bnb¥ buried J ;their tents,, forcing'them'toi abandon^ the ground. G-ol(VWndt beenJfoufadfoh'thd otheVside.of the lake. ■ > The obstacles 1 prospeotors r would h%ve ;fco encounterrin ■ theae< localities ,'are Multiform and of a formidable nature. . < 1 - ! ""i'.'i- A' t TffiRMBLB 'KSPBBiENOB; 1 1-i'i.vf M While burning the- or'eek^near' its r tdeltft I was ; '- attacked- by that most 1 terrible of all cutaneous diseases, called the -bush or birch itoh from the roots of the birch trees, ,< ; J, had (gathered armfuls of ;mqsß • to; tighten {the dams, bo that the front .part of .my^lothing ; was ; always wet. (; ,Now this, moss swarmß with 'myriads of insects' not' perceptible to the qaked,eye. ■ I was first aware of.'a 'burning, heat in the lower $ktb of my 'biJayi', then ' a fearful itohing in/the 'burning' 'jja'Ws ' whloh i&mtfpn r in 'attacks! fr> 3lest was' 'impossible, : ahd.like''6ne I ''distrabteda'tora' myself^and Jwlttf the f blood (Streaming off my! 'body I left • everything and jranffrom the' spat. . ffeeling (relieved, jl resumed) work, .but after a time .the i disease returHedrwitbt teri-fold viplenoe, .and theiaaeota peeled the (skin from off, my body as^ou t w,quldj>ark { a /tree. to, the , (tattlers, jl ; Qb|ame,dj ; oatton i clothing, .fyh'ich i/sajturated, wlth'i'a mixture of/ salad oil, hogs' lard, wore' continUally.th/s r wet a'ni icy' boVe'ririg, although it'was.tlie 1 wititer' t tim > c: ti 'Fw,aß' J at la%t reducedtb'such/'an extremity* that I had to crawl to, the waterhole on> all fours with the billy in my teeth, and with* mind / deranged, and the skin flayed from my body. "(From tnychestito my knees. it hnngiin shteds beneath the. coldolothing^jand^bor^ering.on ,a, sta^e of.fre,nzy, .£!m«|e. a gr,eaij .effort^.got my swag into, a boat, ,;and, fled Vs if. from a pestilence^., Some. /persona, cannot go' into a birch bust, or'eye'nliandle birch wood,"without getting ' affected with" J disease 'j 1 ' while others' work' m th'e'bush with' impunity. It is not infectious. "' My description •iß'vweak, but my body 1 will long retam'the-s'ignß 'of 1 its unwelcome raid, and I, shudder at' the bright of a blroh tree. After lying for six jweeks I become convalescent and-, resumed my rambles. Hounding Mount Maude I'.traveraed a glen aptly termed. Quartz, preek. for ..quartz greets, the eye jeye'ry where., JLa'tyie delta between Mount Madde ( 'and Mount' Brown there is a fertile' Valley;' Which', without a doubt/ls, ' ! • \"< : ' y ■'"" j "j L THE ANCIENT :BE: BED ' oif'" THB ' MOLYNiiUX. 1 The whole of tbe debris/ from the ! Fork Binges has for, many centuries accumulated here and formed ah alluvial deposit of 'great l depth. After a deaLof labour I traced both ■ the high reefs of , thisjoldi bed. - .At the. edge of tbe creek, on the upper one,. I .obtained j fine gold for the length of ,50 jfqeVits^ jagged appearance, denoting .coarse, gold' ia the vicinity. On [ the. right, 'Hjand side, of "the 1 creek made terraces extend' for V long distance. The sinking" varfes !i frbm; ff 2'6 '%' 50 feet. Great patches 1 of manuka 'firewood, acres in exteht/ l are"se'eii' on' . J the hill-sides. I was shown a few specMa r of gold, weighing from half a pennyweight up to two pennyweight*, got on)a terrace high up. <■ I should term the reef horn- blende,, slate and quartz alternating. I obtained gold at A high elevation. . There are hills, of white quartz and many quartz reefs ; red quartz can. also be seen, but no, gold is visible. There .are also belts of a soft slate formation. Poshing onto '' . " '„'"..,''' EAST WANAKAi •' ' ' I prospected the main artery flowing from Mounts Burke and Gbld, J and J tierVl witnessed a scene of piofound grandeur.' A^ay up the river bed are f'Hitf' cascades!' Over the towering gorge hung -'a 1 -dense black cloud like a funeral pall Down the steep declivity a great body qf water rushed, with lightning velocity,, intjv.the seething oaulrhon below, and toppled over the rocky lip into tbe next, each fall increasing its velocity as with a hollow rear it leapt into the yawn* Ing abyss midst eddies of foam and shower"

of spray. Near this place I saw the grandest wash-dirt I ever beneld, It varied in depth from 3 to 15 feet, and consisted of sandstone, mica sohist, iron, and dark green stones and quartz of various colours, often streaked with blue and' red veins, the whole embedded In a white quartz sandi The reef is a soft slate with veins of quartz, and lies vertically. I got colours of scaly, gold and steel saud in the dish The cement was too hard to move without blasting material. My opinion of these localities I will now compress into a few words. If ever payable alluvial cold is found, it will be in the made terraces near the flats and in the deltaß of. the creeks, but not in the gorges, for they are cut out ; and, judging by the quartz blanded with some of the ooarsest gold obtained, the Forks and Skeleton Ranges must contain reefs of a highly auriferous nature. As I before observed, timber Is plentiful, but in many places the obstacles to be Burmounted in exploring the country are stupendous. Rolling up, I soon arrived at ,• ,£OTTNDABY CREEK, ► a raging mountain torrent. Specks of gold were raised here nearly an ounoe in weight, and some years ago a gentleman picked up a piece of quartz near this place studded with fine gold. Pushing up the " ' r MAKARORA VALLEY, •

I noticed great patches of native flax, which here attains the height of eight feet, a living mroof of the richness of, the soil. In these .ffoahead-days of scientific* researches it.is a 'source^'of wonder that herbalists and others have not tested the medicinal virtues of this plant. When in bloom its elongated flowers •overflow with the sweetest honey, and during » breeze of wind.it can be seen dropping to the ground. By j cutting the l,eaf near the bulbous root, you will obtain a. beautiful, cum, elastic and transparent, while the sap 'from 'it's- roots Is as bitter as wormwood. Croßping'the Makarora and fish Creeks, I soon topped the Haast Saddle, and, standing on the narrow ridj?e, beheld the water flow- ] ing "both eastward, and westward; The ' source, of tho turbulent" Hawt or mighty iMolyneux could be run, through a sluice-, box. At this great altitude, and also on the '"fcealey Saddle, on the Chrlstchurch andiWest Coast road, I plucked the pale scentless water-lily, But a short distance from the ridge stands a sheer .face of gravel 3D 'feet high ; and here, far from the haunts "of men, a feeling of utter loneliness weighs " on the- senses as you hear the cavernous roar ' of the ocean as it rolls on the western shore, 'wid amidst the ayful gloom ;of the forest lofty trees sway. and creak in the wind, while you gaze upward on the fißSured breast of the mighty Alps, with their snow"oapped" towering peaks enveloped with olouds: It is a terribly grand. and aweinspiring scene— ' " "As when rude tost on' mid ocean's r foaming

- crest, . . , , . So here . by the stern mountain's rugged ' i ■ breast, • ■■'' ■■ .. . ' O'erawed, the mind of man doth aye attest Hia great; Maker's omnipotence." ' I now followed the old mountain track j but ' before descending into the Bombrous depths . below I gazed over the brink of the precl-iplce,-when as magnificent a panorama unfolded to 'my view as ever greeted the eye of mam Pojr a distance of thirty miles the dense foreßt covered slopß and> plain, repre*Bentln'g enormous wealth, and swayed by the Strong breeze, rose and fell id undulating billows of green foliage, its varied' hues contrasting .strangely with the. sparkling waterfalls' and brown mountain sides, while their snowy "ridges shone like molten silver in the flashing rays of> the roonday sun. Half Winded by the glare, with- a purple mist floating before , my , vision, _,I descended into the' gorge, and' crossed the Burke at its confluence with the Haast. On ' ' the' opposite point, on a tree, 1 but^'ow, overgrown with bark/ are the initials "V.P!" and others, noting the visit to this plaoe of Mr Pyke and Dr Haast many years" ago. Somewhere about this locality lies the blanched remains of- poor Lindsay and his dogt— [One of the Ofcago road party lost— do» and all— and never heard of. It was said he had a large sum of money in his possession.] ' In this locality the botanist could follow his avocation until filled to ' satiety with the wonders of vegetable life, for here grow numbers of tree-ferns, their fibrous steins a foot and more in diameter, and they attain the height of 12 and even 20 feet, their long fronded leaves protruding in the form of an umbrella,' beneath whose wide-spreading umbrage the hardy weka ta : ke&'it8 J Bolitury doze. Llohenß and mosses . abound, and beautiful ferns are found in ' endless variety ; and here, sometimes on the twigs' of thi aof t mllkwood tree can be seen ' that wonderful zoophyte phenomenon, the animal' and vegetable life conjointed, as the "green "twig 1 ' runs lengthways through the body of "a 1 large grub. -About a mile farther down Is a grand field for the study of the geologist. Upon the terraces lie immense blocks of Ironstone and quartz oemented together as hard', as adamant, and covering the' ground In heaps The boulders in the bads of the creeks present a concrete appearance. • Their component parts consist ofquartz, Iron, slate, greenstone, and black-and-white ,and red-and-white epeokled granite; . They are conglomerated of varied and beautiful colours, and must have blended1"' when'in a state of molten lava. They- would sustain a high polish, and would be a marvel and an ornament in our Colonial museums, 1 brit I am' afraid they will await a long time the skill of the lapidary. There is without doubt an extinct voloano at the head of these creeks. The screech of the kaka, the lowering clouds, and hurried flight of the, wood-pigeon, portend a storm, and being caught'here in a flood means starvation or worse, so I recrossed the saddle and hastened down the Makarora. I think 'twere an act of base ingratitude were I not to refer to the assistance, given and the kindness shown to wayfarers by the residents of this plaoe. Their hospitality is genuine ; their welcome extends from an M.P. to a swagsman. Crossing the Wilkin, I followed the western shore of Lake Wanaka. After pa-ss-ing Mr Thomson's station I was astonished at the large tract of alluvial deposits I saw, termed by minerß "made ground." After crossing Minaret Creek I went into its gorge, and upon breaking the reef with the pick, I obtained a speck of gold weighing eight grains. There is some good buiiding stone here. For fear of a storm I pushed

on to Pembroke, and, throwing down my swag, my eye wandered up the fertile and highly auriferouß Cardrona Valley, and from thence to the immense gravel beds below Albertown, and to the Hawea flat ; and here on this lovely spot I tarried awhile, and thought of the heavy load that encumbers the country— that hanga like a millstone around our neoks-the prematurely contraoted national debt. Bu^ brighter visions dawn on my mind, and as it were in mental perspective I see this cumbrous chain loosened from us j and my thoughts recur to Great Britain, as she reigns supreme, clothed with greatest power, wealth, and- glory, and I turn my hopeful gaze on this lofty scene of unrivalled grandeur, and in the distant future I behold A GREATER BRITAIN, for there across the Alps are many millions of acres of majestic forest as yet untouched by the woodman's axe ; the creeks and rivers contain gold in quantities unknown ; the mountains auriferous reefs undiscovered ; in the bowels of the earth are minerals awaiting the pick of the miner j and, greater than all, behold the lovely glens, the fertile terraces, and the plains that should be dotted with, the homesteads of thousands of Britain's sturdy yeomanry, but which, thanks to the thrifty management of our intelligent Government, lie useless, covered with wiry tussock. But time works wonders, and let us hope the day is not far distant when these untilled wastes will teem with vigorous animation and abundance ; when these glorious hills will re-echo with the shriek of the steam-engine, as amidst the hum and buzz' ,of modern machinery the virgin ores are raised to grass, and the ringing stroke of the woodman's axe sounds resonant in the iorest. Hoisting my swag, with feelings of deep regret I bade adieu to Pembroke, one of the loveliest spots on earth.