OUR RESOURCES. A VISIT TO THE TIN MINES OF PORT PEGASUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1943, 14 February 1889, Page 14

OUR RESOURCES. A VISIT TO THE TIN MINES OF PORT PEGASUS.

THE HISTORY OF THE TIN DISCOVERIES. STEWART'S ISLAND AS A HOLIDAY RESORT. [By Ode Own Reporter.] (Concluded.) A scramble of a few minutes through scrub and rocks brought us to tho spot where the lode, a foot wide, and strongly studded with granules of tin was seen plainly showing, notwithstanding the fact that there had been a great deal of chipping off of specimen pieces. At ray solicitation the professor agreed to give me a short history of the discovery of the lode, so we flat down together on the scrub to leeward of a big rock and had another yarn for half an hour' or so. After a time it appears the original party, consisting of about 32 people, broke up into Beveral sections, one of which was joined by the professor. This party made provision for a three weeks'prospecting tour, and on arriving at Pegasus in Scollay's cutter on Thursday, Deceaiber the 16th, seven of their number, by Mr Scollay's advice, went off on a camping expedition to the eastern side of the island to prospect the country lying between The Brothers, a couple of little islands on the coast, and the Remarkables. A start was made on Friday morning, and this party were out all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Sunday morning Professor Black and one of the crew of the cutter went up the Remarkables to look for the advance party, but though they lighted fires 'all over the top of, the hill they got no response to their signals. At 12 o'clock noon the professor gave up looking for them and directed his attention to A SEARCH FOR THE LODE. In less than half an hour he was lucky enough to find it high up on the southern slope of the Remarkables at the spot where we were now sitting. Within two hours from that time he discovered a second lode about half a mile to the northward in a belt of soft micaceous stone alternating with narrow quartz reefs. The same day he fouHd the lode in 20 different places, and he and his companion filled their pockets with specimens and started off once more down the hill. On the homeward journey they were overtaken by the returning prospectors within two miles of the camp at Pegasus, and to them they disclosed the important discovery which they had made. A sample of the ore was given to Mr Heury Mackenzie, who had called in on a holiday cruise, and on that action was taken and a Dunedin syndicate formed. On arriving at the camp a consultation was held, and it was jdeided to return to the mountain that same night with the view of pegging out at the break of day on the following morning. The difficulty, however, was how to get away without arousing suspicion in the camp, for if the other prospectors knew or suspected that a discovery had been' made, they would track the professor's party and there would be a fight for the ground. They waited patiently therefore till 7 o'clock in the evening, and saw that every man was in his teat in the different camps at Pegasus. Mr Scollay was left behind to entertain and amuse the rivals, while the professor and the other members of his party sneaked up a gully at|the back of the tents under cover of the dusk. They left one by one so as not to arouse any suspicion, and four of them met after a rough scramble through the bush at an appointed rendezvous a mile up the track. The professor carried a tiu dish for prospecting, and every now and then as it bumped against a branch of a tree he feared that he would be discovered, but eventually the meeting place was reached without tho slightest suspicion being aroused. The party then journeyed on, and camped for the night at the foot of the Next morning they were astir at a very early hour. By 4.30 a.m. they were on the top of the Remarkables, and by 7 o'clock in the morning they had two sections pegged out on the lode. They were then happy. By arrangement made the previous night they were joined at 10 a.m. by the other three members of the party who brought up provisions. There were now seven of them, and they spent the whole of that day and the following day pegging out claims on the alluvial ground which they had previously tested to the east and south of the Remarkables. Five claims were pegged out during that time. By Tuesday night suspicions had been arovised in the camp at Pegasus, with the result that on Wednesday morning the party on starting to peg out found themselves intercepted on the mountain by one of the rival parties. With some diftjculty, and the exercise of a good deal of ingenuity, however, they managed to mislead this party, and sent them on to a distant flat at the foot of the mountain. Heavy rain coming on, this party soon returned to their tents, and left Blauk and his party still pegging out on the mountain. On the third day it cleared up, and operations were continued, but the professor was placed liors de comhat through his knee coming into contaot with Mr Scollay's axe, whioh laid bare an. inch of the bone. There was nothing for it but to return to Pegasus, and the professor pluckily set out on the arduous journey. He.had almost to drag bis injured leg after him, but at length, after a wearisome journey of three hours, he reached the cutter. Here Dr Fleming, who luckily was among the professor's party, and had just previously (at Faterson's inlet) fixed Mrs Black's broken arm in splints, stitched up the wound. Professor Black was now tied to his bed on the cutter for some seven days, but the exercise and the camp life of the previous few weeks had put him in splendid health, and the wound healed up very rapidly. As soon as he was able to get about again, he made a visit to Invercargill, and arranged everything. A meeting of the companies was held there, and it was agreed to test the lode by opening it up by means of blasting. The professor then returned once more to Pegasus with men to do the blasting, and there he is at present camped a(ong with Mr Scollay, for tbe purpose of superintending operations. Ha will remain for a fortnight or three week* longer on the ground, and will then go over to Tasmania, where all information and the services of an expert iv tiu mining will be secured.

Such are the experiences of Professor Black in connection with the discovery briefly narrated. He saya he has never spent a happier time in all ,tuß life than he has spent during the last four or 'five weeks on Stewart's Island, and the excitement all along has been intense. It was just something like taking part in a great cricket or football match, and he has had the satisfaction of coming out of the contest victorious. There were come 60 men Watching his party, yet he succeeded in eluding lfcbem *lt As we left the mountain and journeyed, down the steep and ciuddy track through the bush, we indulged hi •conversatidn on general topics, and the professor «Iso gave me further interesting details of his adventures, but I will not write them down here

at the risk of wearying my readers with an over lengthy report. I oan only place on record my admiration of the great amount of enthusiasm which the professor puts into his work, and of his indomitable pluck and perseverance in carrying it to a successful issue. No one, lam sure, who read this narrative will grudge him the well earned reward which it is confidently expected he will reap as the result of his great exertions. I found him a splended mountaineer, and though in his fifty-third year, I am quite confident that on the mountain tops he could easily outstrip many young athletes who are still in their twenties. On the way up we left nearly all the others far behind, and on returning we were just on the heels of some members of the party who had received a start of an hour and a half down the five mile track. On reaching the shores of Pegasus we were mud to the knees, but wo waded into the salt water and washed the dirt from our boots and trousers, after which young Scollay rowed us across to the cotter. And now, having said so much of the discoveries, I must just give a word or two about

THE FUTUBE PROSPECTS OF THE FIELD.

The country is the same, both physically and geologically, as the tin country of Tasmania. There is a large belt of alluvial country, in which what is known as the stream tin is found. The wash in which this is found is generally from Gin to 2ft 6in in thickness, though in some places the wash, containing a large proportion of stream tin, has been found to be 10ft or, 12ft deep, and on some of tbe terrace ground, where there are claim Bin which Professor Black is interested, the men have gone down 18ft without bottoming the wash. There is very little stripping to be done to get at the wash, and there is plenty of water in the neighbourhood. Very little capital will be required to commence operations. In the meantime the stream tin can be shipped to Tasmania, where it will command prices ranging from £30 to £60 per ton, according! to purity; but if smelting works are erected, there is on the island no end of splendid fuel for the furnaces in the shape of the rata and manuka, which is found growing all over the country. Then there is in Port Pegasus a splendid harbour in which a whole fleet of vessels— or several fleets of vessels for that matter— could ride safely at anchor. Another point is that on some of the claims gold is found in quantities sufficient, it is anticipated, to almost pay the working expenses of securing the stream tin. A|l things considered there seems to be every likelihood of the stream tin mining proving successful and remunerative. The belt of alluvial country has been traced on the west right up to the foot of the mountain on which the lode is situated, while on the eastern side a still richer deposit has also been found on the level ground at the foot of the mountain, thus proving that the stream tin has been shed away on both sides from the lodes known to exist on top of the Remarkables. The parties in which Professor Blaok is a shareholder and the Tasmauian party seem to have secured the best of the ground, but there is no saying what further prospecting may reveal. Professor Black's parties have secured in all 480 acres,' of which 300 are on the lode country.

Regarding the success of the lode claims little or nothing can at present be said, and Professor Black declines to express an. opinion as to their value till they have been thoroughly tested, which will not be for three or four weeks yet. The lodes at present discovered are from 6in to a foot in thickness, and run through a belt of country a chain wide and nearly two miles lo,ng. The ore is the richest Professor Black has ever examined, and if there is only the quantity ,the mines will undoubtedly prove very valuable. Mining operations will be rendered comparatively easy owing to the nature of the soft micaceous, rock in which the tin exists. 'Mr Miller, a surveyor from Invercargill, has been on the ground with a party of six men for 'the past fortnight, and good progress has been made surveying the different claims and cutting a track through the bush. The present track to the lodes is nearly five miles long, but by talcing a more direct route the distance will be reduced to 2£ miles. The ore can be sent down a shoot over the steep part of the mountain at the south end on to a terrace 700 ft below, from whence it can be conveyed by a tramway to the water's edge.

THE FIRST CONCERT AT POET PEGASUS.

When we dropped anchor in Oyster Cove, Port Pegasus, late on Wednesday evening, Mr Todd, of Invercargill, who had been the life of the party on the way down, and acted in the capacity of head showman, ascended the bridge of the steamer, and in a humorous speech invited the whole of the inhabitants of the place to a concert, to be given by the passengers and crew in the hold at 8 p.m. on the following evening. He said that particulars of the entertainment would be found in either the Pegasus Chronicle or the Half-moon Bay Daily News, and particularly invited the inhabitants to bring their lady friends with them. Accordingly soon after our return from the Bemarkables the prospectors from far and near began to assemble in the ship's hold, and punctually at 8 o'clock the concert began. There was a large and unfashionable audience, who seated themselves or lay around promispously on bags of chaff in a variety of graceful apd grapelees attitudes. A few lamps hung about at the upper end of the hold serve to render darkness and a few of the performers fairly visible, while a couple of candles stuck in bottles, which bore the wellBass' label, shed a soft lustre on the Turkish fez of the organist, who was a picture of happiness and contentment, as, puffing hia pipe, he took his seat on three bags of chaff placed longitudinally before the organ. Mr Bastian was voted to the chair, and explained that Mr Baker would open the concert with a selection from "Maritana,"an announcement which completely took our breath away. A gloomy silence fell on the audience at this announcement, for we were not prepared for anything so' classical, but when eventually the silence was broken by the wellknown strains of that beautiful little melody knowa as " Yankee Poodle " a roar of laughter shook the ship's timbers, and the audience were at once put in a. perfectly good humour. The fun then became fast and furious, for after a couple of songs by Mr Todd and Mr Matheson, Professor Black was called on and kept the audience in a roar of laughter with a humorous speech, to which he added a atill more humorous song aboutthe killing of the Macpherson.' He stood down amidabur*tof applause and laughter, and on the raotioa of the chajrmau he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, the audience afterwards singing "For he's a jolly good fellow." The professor gracefully acknowledged the compliment, and caused further amusement by calling on " Wullie," his well-known assistant, for a song to which that worthy was not slow to respond. Mr Dickie, v/ho in a splendid ventriloquist, afterwards produced two of his figures and made them talk and sing, for 20 minutes or so, during which time a continual peal of laughter went up from the hold. Messrs Smith, Mitchell, Haines, and Mijlar alsp ( sang songs and acquitted themselves well while "Captain" Joss.tt rutlfcaste, made a hit. with a Maori gong, and a young Dnnedinite "brought down the ship " with an impromptu recitation, votes of thanks were afterwards passed to Professor Black and the miners for their great hospitality, and at \1 o'clock the performance concluded with the elDging of the National Anthem, Thus

ended the first publio entertainment ever given in Port Pegasus, and I am sure it will be difficult to organise a jollier one, or one that will live longer in the memory of those who heard it.

THE RETURN JOURNEY.

We were up betimes the next morning, and after breakfasting made an early start for Halfmoon Bay. On the way down we called in at Laud's river, where we spent the afternoon exploring, fishing, and shooting. The estuary of the river extends inland for several miles, and the scenery is very beautiful, the rata with its wealth 'of scarlet blossom, and beautiful tree ferns extending right down to the water's edge. Up a small river, which comes down through the forest to the left of the ; anchorage, there is a fine waterfall, said to be 300 ft high and very beautiful. The excursionists were to be afforded an opportunity of visiting this fall, but after the experience of the previous day on the Remarkables, very few of them cared to tackle the journey. However, Mr Brown, Mr Brodrick (another Invercargill gentleman), Masters Ramsay and Hodgkins (two High School boys), and myself donned our bush olothes and lost no time in starting off in quest of the waterfall. We proceeded for a mile or so in a boat up a narrow bay, and then, according to direction, struck up the little river to the left to make for the fall, vi hich we were told was only a mile and a-half distant. The stream was vety deep, so we had to take to the bush, and some rough climbing ensued. It was pretty rough work in the bush in places, and we occasionally left it and waded in the water, which was frequently up to our knees, and in some places very muoh deeper ; but I had got used to this sort of work on the recent Manapouri expedition, and so did not mind it much. On and on we journeyed ; now scrambling through the bush, now floundering up the bed of the stream, but never a sign of the waterfall was there. Three of us pushed on ahead, but Still there was no waterfall, and not a sign of aty human being ever having been there before. After going on for about three miles we came to a bend in the river from where we could see a mile farther on, but still there was no sign or suggestion of a waterfall, and so we decided to retrace our steps. To make sure that we had gone far enough I resolved to pace the distance, and being now thoroughly wet I started off ahead right down the bed of the stream. It was a case of frequently wading in the cold water up to the waist, and eventually I got into a pool up to my neck and had to swim for it. I was so inured to the business by this time that I managed to take this little adventure in the most matter of fact manner, and I did not even stop counting when I commenoed to swim. I remember I had counted several hundred paces, and my last step when I floundered into the hole was 75. I went on counting each stroke whi^e I swam — 76, 77, 78, and so on till I stood up dripping on a rock a few yards farther on. The water was fearfully cold, so I hurried on now, and not scrupling to swim through the deep places, I was not long in getting down to the salt water. The other members of the exploring party soon followed, and we rowed back to the ship, changed our clothing, quaffed off a good deal of stimulant, and had dinner. I found on counting the little sticks that I had put in my pocket to mark each hundred yards I stepped, that we had walked over two miles and a-half up the stream, and later on we learned that we had gone up the wrong creek altogether — the creek we should have followed being the one to the right of the estuary. However, after a good dinner, we were ready for another excursion up to the mouth of Laud's river. Accordingly, early in tbe afternoon we started off in the boats, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, game being plentiful and the scenery simply beautiful. Returning to the steamer in the evening, we foiind by the number of fish on deck that those who had remained aboard had not been idle. The anchor was then weighed, and once more we started off for Half-moon Bay. We reached the jetty there just before 8 o'clock, aad repeated the concert which we had given at Port Pegasus. There was a still larger audience this time, with this difference, that many ladies were included in the number. Some oapital songs were sung, and there were several rousing choruses, in which nearly every man, woman, and child joined. Ventriloquism appeared to be new to most of the audience, and Mr Dickie, having added to his other two marionettes a negro and a Chinaman, he was even more successful than on the previous night. Just before making oneof his principal characters say good-night to the audience, Mr Dickie signified his intention of beheading him. The figure objected, but Mr Dickie was firm and commenced operation. At this stage a little girl in the audience burst into a fit of crying and implored her mother to intercede in the poor fellow's behalf. She had all along imagined: the figure to be alive !— certainly a very high compliment to the ventriloquial powers of the performer. There were some queer characters among the audience, and it was a perfect study to watch their faces, one young fellow who was alternately serious as an owl and uttering forth perfect yells of laughter being particularly amusing. The scene was one snoh as Bret Harte would have loved to dwell upon, and reminded one Of Harrison's barn, with its muster Of flags -festooned over the wall ; Of tbe cables that stied their soft lustre Tallow on headdress and shawl, The entertainment was over about half-past 11, and it was a calm and lovely starlit night as we went on deck and said good-bye to our friends. As we cast off our moorings and the screw moved round in slow spasmodic jerks, we all assembled on the bridge of the steamer, and singing "Rule Britannia," bade farewell to Stewart's Island.

WE GROUND IN THE NEW HIVES.

It was late when we got to bed, intending to have a good night's rest, but at about half -past 3 in the morning we were aroused by a grating noise beneath us, and the results of the heaving of the lead being made known — six fathoms! f out fathoms ! two f athems ! On going on deck it was found that we had grounded on a reef about bajf-way up the New River, just opposite the Mokomoko jetty. All efforts failed to get the vessel off, and the tide receding rapidly, she was soon left high and dry on the rocks. A good number of the passengers landed in boats, and walking about a mile to the railway, managed to intercept the train to tbe Bluff. Several went down there to fill in the time, and returning after a stay of a quarter of an hour, the Dunedin passengers caught the express train for the North, and reached .their homes in safety the same evening, after a delightful, if somewhat adventurous, trip. Qn reaching Dunedin we learned that the steamer had been got safely off the rooks.' ' Of the kindness shown by Captain Sundstrom, 'Mr Ramsay, and also the InyercargiJl agent too muoh could not bp said : while the hospitality of Professor Blaok and the prospectors of port Pegasus will long be remembered by each one who had the pleasure of taking part in the Stewart's Island excursion of 1889. .

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