OUR RESOURCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1942, 7 February 1889, Page 15

OUR RESOURCES.

A VISIT TO THE TIN MINES OF PORT PEGASUS.

THE HISTORY OF THE TIN DIS-

COVERIES.

STEWART'S ISLAND AS A HOLIDAY RESORT.

[By Our Own Reporter.]

Receiving orders on Tuesday (29th ult.) to visit the scene of the recent tin discoveries at Stewart's Island, I caught the afternoon train for Clinton, and on the following morning journeyed on to Invercargill, where I took passage for the island on board the s.s. Invercargill. There were gome 45 excursionists on board, among whom were Messrs Keith Ramsay, Brown (of Brown, Ewing, and Co.), Mitchell (of Fergusson and Mitchellj, and T. T, Ritchie, of Dunedin ; and Messrs Todd, MTherson, Heath, Cleave, Matheson, Manson, Thomson, Bastian, Lewis* Brodrick, Jennings, Cross, Baker, W. Smite, and Inspector Moore, of iDvercargill. We had a fine passage across Foveaux Strait, and after calling at Half-moon Bay we journeyed on to Pegasus, and anchored at 10 o'clock in Oyster Cove, opposite the tents of the tin miners. On the following morning we started off on a journey' through THE TIN COUNTRY, with the intention also of visiting the lode on the top of the Remarkables, a long wooded hill about 2000 ft high. Landing in boats at the mouth of a large creek, we visited a pretty low waterfall, and then followed a track through the bush along the course of an old water race used some years ago in connection with the gold mining which had been carried on in the locality. The first portion of the country passed through is a freehold belonging to Messrs Todd and Harvey, of Invercargill, and on the way up several good prospects of stream tin were obtained. Leaving this section we come into the alluvial ground which has recently been pegged out and skirt Longuet's creek, which is the right hand branch of Pegasus creek. We pass Kirkland and party's claim, and come into M'Lauchlanj and party's ground which joins Kirkland's and Todd's. There is a piece of open ground where Swain and party, the original prospectors, have secured a good claim, and on the bushy terrace to the left is the Tasmanian party's claim, which is also said to be a very good one. Near at hand is seen the old gold, workings and a quartz reef which contains a small percentage of gold, and here we are joined by Dr Black, who, with his coat thrown over his shoulder, is waiting for us near by to lead the way. There is a good traok up to the lode, that is as bush tracks go, but it proves too much for some of our party who quickly come to the conclusion that it is better to be discreet than valorous. There are still, however, some 30 excursionists left, who, not knowing what there is before them, plod steadily onward in Indian file — forming a long procession, which, greatly to the delight of Professor Black and his men, works a wonderful improvement in the character of the track. The last three miles of the journey is mostly through tall bush and olearia or mutton bird scrub — the tupari of the Maoris. The distance from the waterfall is about five miles, and it takes Dr Black and myself, who have gone on ahead, a little over two hours to accomplish the distance ; though it takes some of thepartyexactly|fiveand a-half hours! On reaching the tents on the top of the mountain, the billy is boiled, and we sit down to a luncheon whioh is greatly enjoyed by everyone. We then inspect the lode, where men are at work blasting with dynamite, and afterwards I go with Dr Black, Mr M'Pherson, and Joss, a halfoaste Maori who is one of the crew of the Invercargill, to examine the top of the mountain for a couple of miles or so farther on. The country gets less promising as. we advance, and after an hour's walk we halt opposite a number of peculiar smooth, round, rocky mounds, which have been called after Professor Black's assistant, " Wullie's Knobs." Here we bask in the sunshine for a few minutes and eajoy the view, which on all hands is of the most beautiful description. To the north of the island, which is 140 miles long, we have a fine view of wooded country extending as far as Mount Anglin. To the east are several islands, and the treacherous trap rocks are seen far out at sea ; while to the south we can 6ee the peculiar peaks known as Gog and Magog and admire the beautiful windings of the South Arm. Just below us on the western side are the yellow sands of Doughboy Bay glistening in the sunlight, while over the tops of the Deceitful Peaks the eye wanders over a great expanse of blue ocean to where the Solanders rise their ■ dark, forhidding walls of rock above the grey of the horizon. The country is all pegged out on the mountain as far as we have come, and below us on either side are alluvial claims extending over hundreds of acres of low lying country and up on to the terraces beyond. Whether they will all turn out well remains to be seen, but it is pretty wall certain that a great many of them will prove payable, while some may turn out to be very rich. THE FIRST PROSPECTORS. Some 20 years ago a party of sealers, of whom Longuet and Gilroy were the principals, landed in Port Pegasus, and first discovered gold on what is now known as Todd's freehold. They did not return to the place till 15 or 16 years had passed, and then an Invercargill syndicate took the matter up and brsught in a race to work the gold. Mr Allan, who is a member of M'Lauchlan's party, at present on the field, was one of the men 1 employed to bring in the race, and he tells me that at that time they found any quantity of stream tin; but did not know what it was. It was quite a nuisance and com-} pletely choked up their boxes, so that they could not work the gold profitably. Prospecting 4 was continued off and on for about two years, but without much success, and eventually the field was abandoned. Messrs Todd and Harveyj soon afterwards acquired the property asj a freehold. All this time no one ever suspected the value of the mineral which; the ground contained, and it was not till quite^ recently, when samples of the stream tin were brought over to the mainland, that the impor^ tance of the discovery became known. Frofessor Black, with Swain and party, the original, prospectors, was soon on the ground, and was quickly followed by other parties, including Beveral from Invercargill and the Bluff, one from Victoria, one from Sydney, and another from Tasmania. At one time there were no fewer than six cutters and a steamer in the harbour, and where before .there was not aj living 6oul residing tents were erected, and. the population quickly increased till there were upwards of 60 men on the ground.. ' The race for tin became a most exciting one, 1 and right in the forefront, through all the excitement, Dr Black • and his intrepid co-workers "were to be found j

prospecting and developing the field. Their ourney OVERLAND FROM HALF-SIOON BAY TO PEGASUS • j was a feat well worthy of being placed on record. It is now over 20 years ago since three runaway whalers first attempted a portion of this journey. They left Pegasus for Port Adventure, but only one of their number reached his destination. His two companions fell and died by the way, .their bodies being discovered subsequently only two miles from their journey's end by a party of Maoris. The survivor was in a deplorable condition, as he had to go through some terribly rough country and subsist chiefly on shellfish which he picked from the rocks. The first to make the overland journey to Half-moon Bay were Messrs Longuet and Allan, who had run short of provisions. The journey took them four days, during which they had to subsist on Maori hens and whatever else they could catch on the way. Afterwards Swain and party walked through on two occasions, so that Dr Black's trip was the fourth that had been made overland. Professor Black's first visit to the locality was made on the 12th of last December in the cutter Enterprise, which is owned and commanded by Mr Scollay. On the way down he passed the Victorian prospectors in another cutter lying in Port Adventure. On arriving at Port Pegasus Professor Black and party pegged out 120 acres ef the alluvial ground, but at that time they did not know much about the mining laws,' flo they ran back to Invercargill and consulted Mr Spence, tho Commissioner of Crown Lands j there, who gave them all information. From what they learnt it appeared that they did not I hold their claim legally, and so it was essential that they should be on the ground again at the earliest possible moment, in order to secure the legal right to the 120 acres which they had pegged out. Meanwhile, however, the Victorian party was hurrying down to the scene of action, as well as two other parties from the Bluff who were anxious to take up the same ground. The weather being too rough for a cutter, Professor Black hired the tug at Invercargill, and lost no time in starting for Half-moon Bay. They reached 'the latter place in safety, and at 2 a.m. on the following day they started off once more for Pegasus, bqt' had to return owing to the very severe weather which prevailed. The Victorians were still at Port Adventure storm-bound, but still a day ahead of Black's party. The professor, however,, was not to be outdone, so he manned a whaleboat and started off once more — this time with the intention of going as far as Paterson's Inlet, and doing the remainder of the journey overland. But again he had to return baffled, for the weather was fearfully rough, and there was a line of breakers right across the mouth of the bay. The prospect of success now seemed infinitesimally small; but the professor, with that indomitable pluck and energy which seems to have characterised the whole of his work in connection with the discovery, at once decided to attempt the entire journey by the overland route, a distance of some 60 miles or so through fearfully rough bush country. It was decided to make a start at 11 o'clock, but the party found they were being watched, and changed their hour of departure till 2 a.m,, by which time they anticipated everyone in Half -moon Bay would be asleep. The hours sped slowly on, but at length the time for action arrived, and just before 2 o'clock, when all was quiet, the dogs were muzzled, the paity separated and met at a rendezvous some distance beyond the settlement. About 20 miles of the journey was done, without halt, through fearfully rough bush and scrub, till a shepherd's hut was reached. Here the billy was boiled and the party helped themselves to some mutton which they found hanging up. AH had gone well so far, but one of the party was so much knocked up with his exertions that he could proceed no further, and had to be left behind. The party had been on the tramp for 12 hours, but they continued the journey eight miles farther and camped about 7 o'clock in the evening. The party were dead tired by this time, and Professor Black, to use his own words, "could not have gone another mile to save his life." Next day was Sunday, and a short journey of 10 miles was done through dense mutton bird scrub, the tent being pitched in the evening on the shoulder of Mount Rakahua, 1800 ft above the sea. These 10 miles had only been accomplished with the utmost effort. On Monday some 20 miles was rattled off, half the journey being through mutton bird scrub, and the other half over clear ground, and through manuka scrub. Iv the evening the tent was pitched at the foot of Table Hill, 65 miles in all now having been accomplished. At this stage the tucker gave out entirely, and there was nothing for supper but Maori hen soup. Next morning the party were up at 4 o'clock, and having repeated the dose of Maori hen soup they started off once more, and had three hours' terribly hard walking through the scrub. They then got into clear ground on Table Hill, but owing to the dense fog they lost their way, and walked for four hours right round the mountain, which is 2000 ft high at a guess. At length by heading the watercourses running east and west they reached the saddle connecting Table Hill with the Remarkables. The dense fog continued, and it rained heavily at intervals, while nearly all day long there was a fierce gale roaring among the rocks. In the fog they made several mistakes in going down wrong spurs which they thought would lead in the direction of Pegasus, and once they found themselves in the neighbourhood of the Deceitful Mountains. They camped that night on the south end of the Remarkables, and next morning at daylight, the clouds having lifted, they beheld Pegasus harbour almost at their feet, and knew that their arduous undertaking had ended in success. They started off and reached the camp at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, after a long and tiresome journey made in; .wretched weather. During the latter stage of the journey they were without food, and for the last 80 hours they had nothing but tea without sugar. OTHER VISITORS. Soon after their arrival they heard the whistle of a'steanfer, and at once came to the conclusion that the enemy were upon them, so they started out of bed, mustered their prospectors—four In number, — and sent them off 'to the alluvial ground to be ready to peg out at dawn of day, It was found, however, that^a false alarm had been raised, for the steamer contained only Mr Norman, of Naseby, who had come on a friendly visit to Professor Black in connection with mining property. Within, half an hour of the arrival of the steamer Skollay's cutter entered, the harbour with the other, members of the professor's party, and now they reckoned they were all right. Next day the party left for the alluvial ground and began- to peg out." They were not a moment too soon, for on the forenoon of the same day the rival cutter with a strong prospecting party from the Bluff came in, while immediately afterwards a third cutter came in with the Invercargill prospectors. The Victorian party also found their way into Pegasus, -but were put on . the wrong scent, and started out for the S.W. arm, where they are supposed to have spent a week or two vainly endeavouring to find traces of. tin. The situation was rather ah amusing one, as Professor $laok 9°d ¥* pwty -looked flowirfronTifyq

heights above Pegasus and laughed in their sleeves to see the rival party's cutter anchored in the distant bay, with the smoke from their ' camp " fires curling gracefully among the rata trees that fringed the shores at the foot of Gog and Magog. While I was getting this narrative from the professor, the other members of the party had journeyed onward, and we were now left alone and far behind on the mountain top. The wind was now bitterly cold in the exposed position which we occupied, and my fingers got so cold that my shorthand characters began to assume some very peculiar and ungraceful attitudes. The professor suggested a walk with the object of seeing the outcrop where he first struck the lode at the end of the mountain, and being anxious to see the whole thing for myself I acquiesced, and we at once smarted off. (To be continued.) Invercargill, Febrnarj 2. . The tin discoveries still create great interest, but, m far, little has been done beyond prospecting. ' Professor Black, while satisfied With the indications, cautions people not to indulge in sharebroking and investing till further tests have been made. Several tin-bearing lodes have been discovered, ,andiresh country is being pegged off. At present people appear to be watching each other. A tramway and water races are now about to be made, and something definite will soon be known. One Dunedin gentleman bought a share in the company for £100.