SHOOTING THE RAPIDS OF THE UPPER CLUTHA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1858, 1 July 1887, Page 22

SHOOTING THE RAPIDS OF THE UPPER CLUTHA.

A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. (By Oub Special CoaßESPokb^T.)

A r w'ee^ br.i wo ago a very dangerous yet,pluoky; enterprise, w,as successfully accomplished, on the; upper waters of the Clutha river. 1 I*or many; months the current; wheel) dyeagePjpneer/ih^a' been -at work some 20 m/le^ .aboye i( Croniw,eM,j nearly opposite Tobin^s Queensberry'lnn. 'The company who held'heri'htfweveri'^fere ti6iPßttc-, 9^ssful in. getting gold;enQUg^h. topay, andith,e! dredge was sold by- public auction, and gassed into th'e'hands of Mr €harle l s'M" < Que'en'fl firm m D^n4din:i''Onitakin'g^p'oSsessibn of'the'Eion'eer , Mr r M 4 Quee^ .resp^feqffjio. bring jher, dpwnj - jbo^j claim adjoining that >on which the. steam dped^ei 'of 'the Duuedin'Oolcl -Dredging Cpmpany ls'n'owj at work,- near Alexandra. When: this became I ■known £ good deal ojj; speculation prevailed, as the possibility of .bringing a craft 60ft o* t i[of^ in; 1 lekigth down over 1 tfie, falls'^ituatfed just betiindj Cromwell f township and ■ then i.downV the' wild,! narrow, tortuous", rockjbound gorge, which] jnter-j. venes between Cromwell and Clyde', where in places the current almbst'keeps' pace with Cobb and. -Co.'s, .coach ,as- it .,spin^ ialongj ( rthe road that skirts ;the, bankj, v ojc '/.the river ' all \ the way through" the" Dunßtan pass,' Some declared that the thing was an im-j possibility, and that/the craft wpuls ,be smashed; to pieces and those on board perhaps drowned j in the. rushing waters' or maimed against the; jagged rocks that everywhere abound along the: j river. 1, H[owever, Mr M^Cjueen and . his ,men; boldly resolved to make the ,attempt — an at-s tempt that never was made before, and the like j r of whichfm'ay not be made, in a hurry a^ain. ! We,' have indeed heard of a romantic^story of a spqpnl dredge which in the early days was f sent adrift j! by oneof her owners 'in some evil momentV.and'J which coming over these falls was smashed into s pieces and never seen again; and the. tradition j goes on to relate, that the' author of this' calamity was' so 'stricken with the wrong h© had done his mate that he deposited, alibis; savings,! amounting to several hundred pounds, in an iron i po^ which' he placed at ' the" back' t| door of the, house of him whom he had wronged,' where) it' was' discovered in- the hands of : an' in-, fant that had taken the contents of '.the potj >as a( plaything. He himself > plunged into the j riyerand added one t more to the many yicjiims swept inWeternity by the waters of the mighty Molyneux. 'So runs the story. Ivouehnot fdrj the correctness, of, every. dejail, 1 but merely this :j (that once over these ,f,alls; there went a crafti 'which never floated a"gaiin, n but' .was smashed to] pieces. However,as regards the Pioneer, th'e'firstj :at cp y takenjwaß|t9 desman tie her, of her tnaphine r ry j ,which was siiccessfully accomplished under ,tl^ei superintendarice'of 'pnel'of MrjM'Queen'C eiigi ! neera^iMr Adair. Then the two 'barge's (which i form the oraft\;(as in, all such dredged)/ were! locked together^ and the vessel, floating, ligpt,! was taken "in" 'charge' by'Mr 'Geotgd M 4 Lay,> skipper of the steam dredge,* and his trusty men' and swjftly floated down^the comparatively, easy: reach oetweenTpbin's and the falls, immedi'atelyj above' the "Cromwell bridge.' There, phiperlyj speaking, 'ithera 'arei two • falls, .whose height) is" not so , great, ( but 'the, [.channel , through' which their , "waters rush is .'so confined and- 'narrow,' so^bes^et' with ugly pr6jectirig rocks, I.that1 '. that the ; swift ; ; current 1 ! is- ; always churned into foam, with .whirlpools; and jeadies and curious cross currents full of dangers. Here preparations were made for "overcoming what everybody alldwsi was .the most dangerous and; hazardous .parj^of ,the, voyage-; Mr-^M(Queen,j with one or t tw6 hands, 'stood by on the banks ios cut away or haul in ; the lines which gdided'the vessel at ' this point,- and iMr MfL'ay, ipiloted (the vessel. Now. at, last she is on; the falls j, she quivers from siiem, .to s^iern with' a force that makes her shoot like 1 ah arrow into" the seething flood;, I She is, carried to within a^few inches'rpf a great black rock ,that rises from the foam., But she is guided with' firm hand and clear head, and escapes 'the -threatened danger '.withdu't' a •gra^e. ' - Thep shis plunges over the fal^arijd the water surges' up over her decks,,and up qyer the gtim boots of the men, bui she isat r last safe over the first arid second -fall, "and then for'ttre night (theskjpper, decides to moor he^.in the smooth basin of > water . below; the jbridge at jthp junctibnof the Kawarau and tne'Clutha/ J This exciting and dangerbus spectacle was witnessed by . several hundreds .of the [ qitizeas, pt,iGlrqm.well, who lined the banks" of the , riyeis „and watched' it with eager and breathless interest. | Some people, it is said, have tne ! idea that'the'stfc*- j cessful completion of, the, undertaking .-was .due{ ,to good luck. Perhaps that may have ,been~,the , case, but there was more' than' that. There'w'jaj coomeks, nerve; presence of mind,' practical skill j and method, combined with truest, courage,; which certainly deserve more than a passing! Notice. On the day f ollbwiri^ the r successful : de- • s(Bent of the rapids, Mr M'Lay and his men pro- jj seeded to tackle the intricacies and tremendous ; current of tfcje gorge, which in some places 'is! very narrow apd blocked s up with rocks; Ihj fact,sbme places (looking at them fromthe tdp; of the coach) seem almost to leave no outlet for ; any vessel topass between. There are rocks to the right, rocks to the left, and rooks fn the centre; ! wbjlethe boiling flood,- eddying and revolving,) rushes between. , Happily, however, all these ,' barriers and difficulties were successfully passed, ' and at nightfall on the second day the dredge : was again moored in ft quiet cove, whilst all ; hands slept, on board to prepare for the final! atage of tbe perilous voyage, which, however, pifbvaj to be all " plain sailing," and on the fol- 1 lowing day the Pioneer was .brought" down; opposite to the workshops, near the steam dredge, * where Bhe will be again 'fitted up 'with her former machinery, that is ,to be brought down | by waggon. < , " >j ; T.he chief factor in r ,the stjcce^vjl navigation; of the gorge was the'chajn w^ich yas ; dropped _ oyer the .bowSj 9p&' which .could' be lengthened '< fir, ihox^tened a^qprding 1,9 the strength" of ithe current and acted as ,a sort ( pf "brake/ Jt is; unnecessary to add that every" precaution was! <;aken for the safety of all on board, every one' being pjopidedwithacorkjackettmlife preserver. Mr M'flueea and his firm are' to be .congratulated on jt^eeujCflPftß of this bold and plucky, undertaking. As spon>s the Pioneer, is again fitted up with her machinery ehe |a to occupy, the claim above the steam dredge, ,whLjh also belongs 1 to Messrs M'Queeni- This 'Will make' the fif th^dredge on the river within two miles of . tfre township of Alexandra, giving employment, regvUtf and steady, to a/considerable number, of iaeii, and results in. the payment of^'soine! thousands x>Z .jjoands per annum in,the, v district. ) The cowpany, isrjli jww haye two dredges in, this j

iof»Hty7TOd-irfato"b©~li&^ develop this !- branch J ( 'bf fJ t -thfe J 'great ''nftniilg industry- wills be rewarded' 'with the prosperity it -deserves. It is understood that at least one of these dredges is to be> fitted up with \ thej dec We light. The company hay^e also, opened j a new t coal pit, from, which' they obtain fjjel for the Bteim, dredge. ,, As . reeai^s .the' other;. drWge?, two' of- 'them belong tp two' lp^al^ companies, arid hitherto 1 , have; done fairly .well, paying expenses and| it'is understood, good; wages.'., The fifth dredge (Weljcnaii's patent)haß not yet gdt properly to wort, She", is. iiow iioore4, at .^ttje junction of the M&nutierikja and;, the jMolypfeux: Mr jWelman.is confident , of the' success of .the principle" '(^rhen-'.Jj^ ' gets . ,»„ jyropej j., 'trial' Thepresent .dredge, was built in the, i Home country, and perhaps , had Mr lf Welman, "seen the Mol^rieux before his craft, was built,, he might' have made his plaris'^ore'.suita'ble^. this river and the nature d£ the stuff to. be worked. The^6\y^e^x % or' Clxttha^te^'B jtho^name of being a dangerous, strange, and treacherous river, and, need's'' 'great,' skill . on.ithe, part of those; *who> haye\tp, &q\' \vith its, /mighty currenjb. 1 : Wh'ii6' the ,f, ft P(pneer || ( Ws ; s b*eing' ,, brought' down^^on^her'^pei^ous.^voyage,* u those,; qvl .bpardj^am^ t^'e rop^p^vern^'^Rd. depths" 'and' hollows , and c , fajaj^stic'; pjnnack s. waterr^prn by .jhe .rTJi-Jun'g i]gocf|o£ 'ageVgohftbyj They' '^ell J also of , deep,, crevicef and', perhaps' abysses in .the bed. of the river, where sometimes ,the .dragging chain stood whilst ;»$ others it dr'agged "ov,er aßparenfcl'y, shallow, ground.'; So ends. the story told in, [these hasty ,note^ of ' this 'perilpp j undertaking, wjych, was .accomplished so.; successfully,, showing* that, |we ! have',' in'} this new ,land .men '.of,, tonight stamp^men. of enterprfse/of/qooi' an$ I) br,ave, courage ' and ' ' experience, .skill, an& practical knowledge. ", . ,',',.' ,",!"„', „,j ,\\. -, j