SKETCH MAP OF LOCALITY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2240, 4 February 1897, Page 52

SKETCH MAP OF LOCALITY.

It is bnt fair, I think, to the New Zealand ! public that the following remarkable statement* should be made known, and it was with this end in view that I persuaded my friend Murray to write the account of his Talnable discovery and experiences Connected there, with. Excepting that the real names of the parties oonoerned have been suppressed, I have made little alteration from the original manuscript, and my solo reason for not having published the facts sooner haß been that I was tinder promite not to do so .until the permission of my friends should be granted. As will be seen later, I have juit received the required authority, and it is with the sinoere hope that the disclosure may lead to Important and satisfactory results that I take op my pen to transcribe what, I find written In the roll of manuscript now lying before joe. The sketch map pE the track followed Dy •Murray and his party should be of value to future investigators, but the peculiar roughness and general Inaccessibility of the ground (so Murray assured me) is simply incredible, and not to be couatcfL.Jightly by those adventurous enough to lace the difficulties of the undertaking. tYALTEB MTTRTIAY'B NABBATIVE. In accordance with your request, I have written a brief statement of my life previous to coming to New Zealand, and attaobed thereto «xtraots from my journal relating to the important events which have occurred lince arriving in this colony. i I am a native of Norwich, England, and , *ras intended and educated by my hopeful j parents to adorn the legal profession. Find- i Ing, however, that the calling was not at all to my taste and the woolsack a shadowy impossibility, I quitted England in the spring of 1889 and sailed for New Zealand, where I stayed for a short time, and then orossed to Australia. Being the fortunate possessor of an annuity of £100 a year in addition to some spare cash, 3 escaped being classed as an undesirable Immigrant. . Spent my first six months on Australian •loil.in jnakiog up my mind whether to tackle farming, wool-growing, or fruit-growing at the irrigation colonies, the latter industry then being well boomed by enterprising Yankees. Finally I took a fanoy to mining, finding it suited my tastes better than any other of the above occupations, and decided to follow it up as a means of livelihood. About this tima I secured a subordinate petition in a Ballar&t battary. and also ! attended the School of Mines for a few terms. While attending the classes T made the acquaintance of David M'Lean, whose name Will figure prominently in connection with subsequent events related to these papers. M'Leau was my senior by a few years, but as our tastes van ;n the same grooves we saw a good deal of. each other, and becarajt the warmest of friends. I soon found that there was but little chance of improving my position at the battery, and M'Lean, who had some practical experience in mining, Induced me to throw up my billet and join him and four other men in a tunnelling contract. We made good money at this job, and two or three successive ones of the same sort, but the beginning of the West Australian rush coming on broke up our party. M'Lean and I went up to the New England district prospcoting, bat met with very little success ; so we agreed to separate — he proceeding to the Queensland opal fields, whilst I once more engaged in battery work at Hillgrove. Two years elapsed before I made a freah move and came to New Zealand, and the circumstances which occasioned the change were these : Happening to meet a couple of men who bad been mining in the sister colonies of New Zealand and Tasmania, the three of us fell to talking over the prospect of things in those parts. The two ntraxgers vere much interested in a paragraph appearing in the Argus relating to a deposit oil nickel ore said to exist on thejwest coast of the Middle Island. They were both of them acquainted with the locality, having -done some prospecting in that part, and after a good deal of discussion we decided to proceed to Hokitika, via Wellington and Greymoutb, and try cur luck. There is no occasion to bore you with an account of our passage to Wellington ; suffice to say that in due course we reached cur destination— the West Coast— and made

our way to the Awarua River at Big Bay. Here we met with nothing but disappointment, and -giving it beßt took cutter to Barn Bay to prospect for gold. While here Jim Ashcroft, one of' our party, and myself thought it might be worth while to proceed up the Cascade River. This we did, and on the way up I conceived the idea of making my way across to Lake Wakatipu uj way of the headwaters of the Cascade River, and taking notes of the country on the route. Jim, who knew something of the difficulties to be met with in the undertaking, tried his hardest to dissuade me from making the attempt, but his arguments having no effect, we agreed to part company, he returning to camp at Bam Bay and I continuing up the river. a'^icroffc was bo satisfied of my inability Sga eK* B to the Dart River that he good<se«99«cHy promised to retnrn to the place j where we parted' and deposit there a bag of I oatmeal in case I should make up my mind to come back to camp. I thanked him, and so, taking the lion's share of the provisions we had with us, and accompanied by my dog, started on what proved to be one of the moßt arduous tramps I have ever undertaken. Four days' rough travelling through deuce bush and over portions of the river bed brought me to the headwaters of the Cascade River, where I camped on. the edge of the bush. Next mornicg I started to climb the range, and took a course by the prismatic about south south-west, intending, after reaching a good elevation, to bear more to the south, in order to skirt the spurs of the lofty peaks which lay to the left. On attaining a height of some 4000 ft I discovered that the position of the headwaters of the Cascade River did not correspond with that laid down on my ohart (a Government map of the Cold Lakes). Late in the afternoon I reached the crest of the ridge, and seeing no chance of getting shelter for the eight at such au elevation, decided to descend the further slops by fallowing a lateral ridge. Au hour's walking on comparatively «asy ground brought me to some precipitous cliffs, which terminated the ridge, though tha spur itself ran on at a lower level. With difficulty I climbed down the rocks, and continued along the spur for some distance, when I decided to make my way into one of the gullies bounding tha spur. I tried the left-hand one first, but finding it impracticable, as a last resource I crossed over to the right side of the ridge, where I found only a deep ravine with blank and precipitous sides, down which it was palpably impossible to venture with safety. Pretty well dead beat and dry with thirst, I wandered on along the edge as best I could, and before darkness set in saw with delight that the ravine gradually opened into a small valley of perhaps 100 acres in extent, one half if which was bushed and the other occupied by a monntain tarn ; from where I stood I could see that what stream there was must leave the tarn through another deep and narrow gorge similar to the one I was akirting. Determined to reach the bush and water that night if it were possible, I looked for a practicable place to descend, and here it was that my dog proved himself a valuable alley. Poor Rover, like his master, had bad nothing to drink since early morning, and he was as anxious as I, to get down to the water in the valley. Sniffing and scrambling along the edge, Rover at length disappeared from view, and when he next appeared it was about 90ft below, among a lot of big boulders at the bottom of " the oliff, whence he soon gained tha tarn and slaked his thirst. I tried to find the track down which Be descended, but failed to do so until, calling him is, Rover came back slipping and struggling up the face to me, along the narrow track be had a few minutes beforo gone down. The desoent, which always would be a dangerous one, became more so as the dusk gave place to darkness ; but I risked it, and, eliding down, jumping at times to save a fall, I reached the bottom, bringing a fair-sited avalanobe of stones about my ears as I landed.

The creek reached and a good drink obtained, I lay down under a rock while Hover, who had quite reoovered his drooping spirits, hunted up and down the banks, returning nhortly immensely pleased with himself, his tail wagging like a pendulum and a fair-sized flapper between his teeth.

He managed to catoh another of the brood whilst I was lighting a fire, and man and dog supped sumptuously on stewed duck that night and were thankfuL

As game seemed plentiful I thought it might be wise to remain in the valley for a day or so and rest myself thoroughly before making a fresh start. Next morning the sun was well up before I had breakfasted and started to explore the valley. A bluemountain duck allowed me to appproach within 3?d», and paid the penalty of its temerity by dying the death of a Jewish martyr. Hanging the bird on a treonear my camp, I then proceeded down the creek to where it joined the tarn, and found the latter well stocked with grey duck. From the margin the outlet at the farther end could be seen — a narrow cleft in the surrounding hills — but the cliffs which girded the tarn were nearly vertical, and the outlet could not be approached for closer examination. A; near as I was able to judge, on the previous day the flow of water into the lake might have been about 10 beads, while in the morning this was reduced to perhaps two or three, proving tc my mind that the stream was glacier fed. Farther, a* the valley lay nearly north and south and the stream ran south, I concluded, and still believe, thelatter forms one of the headwaters of a tributary of the Fyke River.

Turning to the left from where the creek entered the lake I walked along the shore to the eastern wall and found it possible to proceed some distance along the foot on the debris which had fallen down from the mountain side. About 50yds further there appeared a fissure in the face of the oliff which might, I thought, provide a more accessible means of reaching the plateau above than the risky path I bad traversed the night beforerbut on examination found that the fissure only receded from the lake about 60ft, ending abruptly. At first I conjectured that this recess in the side of the valley had been the termination of some stream which at one time entered the lake by a fall from the plateau above, that the waterfall had gradually eroded its way back as far as the rift now extended, and by some means the course of the stream

had been changed and no longer flowed in its old bed. Closer examination proved this supposition on my part incorrect, as the floor of the oleft was made up of enormous blocks of stone, forming a kind of rough staircase up to the end, and none of them much waterworn.

Upon chipping the blocks I found they consisted of a dark green, nearly black, close textured rock, totally different from that on tbe right side of the cleft, although the left side was composed of -similar material.

A more minute inspection showed that the rift was in the line of a dyke of intrusive rock, and that the dyke was at or about the junction of the Oti fine and the mica sobist formations. Upon my turning round the line of the dyke could be clearly seen upon the cliff* on the opposite side of the lake, where the dyke material stands out from the surrounding strata, as if better fitted to resist the weathering agenoies of time than the enclosing rocks. Why the dyke should project on the one side of the lake and recede on the other I leave for geologists to decide, for the rocks certainly seem to be softer than the dyke itself; though as the dyke stone appears to have betfn mechanically disintegrated and not weathered, and the cleft ends abruptly in a comparatively fresh face of rock, tba displacement of the dyke, or rather tbe formation of the cleft, may possibly be attributed to a local disturbance. Whilst examining the point of junction more carefally I noticed that tbe OHvines had been fractured slightly in a more or less horizontal direction to some depth from the dyke, and that the fissures thus formed had been filled in with a matsrial different in colour and appearance from either the rock or t.ho dyke.

Upon breaking some of this stone out cf a crack about*. -Bin wide with my prospecting pick it proved to . be a hard green material, lighter in shade than the dyke stone, though almost similar in colour to the Olivine rock, and enclosing in places dark red nodules about the size of bwku shot. Never dreaming for a moment that I was on the verge of an Important discovery, though interested in the peculiar aspect of the formation, I crushed a lump on an adjacent boulder, and, separating two or three of the red fragments, begem to examine them. I found one of them them to be crystalline in form and transparent when held to the light. AU in a moment as I stood gazing at tbe insignificant-looking trifle held between my forefinger and thumb, a wave of recognition and exultation passed over me. I remembered having seen in Hokitika a fragment of a boulder found iv the Rimu River similar in many respects, so far as my memory berved me, to this rook, and instinctively felt that I had tumbled on the much-talked-of rubies of Rimu fame in situ. To entirely imtisfy my mind^on this point I tested tbe hardness of the crystal on fresh faces of the neighbouring rocks and also on a schist boulder with quartz interfoliations, and found that its hardness was superior to that of any mineral I could come across.

In addition to the fissure I had tested there were several more showing higher up in the rock — one of these about 60ft from the ground, measuring apparently about 2f in thickness.

That the cracks did not penetrate deeply into the Olivlne rook I proved by picking out the contents of the one that lay within reach. This measured about Biu wide at the face of the rock, whilst a foot or 15in in it was not more than Gin wide, and would, I presumed, pinch out a few feet farther in. The longest one, which I oould not climb up to, extended the whole length of tbe side of the rift, and only disappeared where the oliff turned round to form the side of the valley. Altogether 11 of thexe remarkable cracks were countable on the face of the precipice, varying in thickness from a few inches to 2ft I worked hard until dusk taking out the matrix, crushing it as best I could with the hammer end of the pick, and sneceeded in getting, as a result, two large well-coloured stones about, the siza of marbles, seven others none lees than liveEixteentbs of an inch in diameter, and several smaller stones the Bize of peas.

Returning to camp, I set about making preparations to oontinue my march on tbe morrow, as I was anxious to return as quickly as possible to civilisation in order to organise a small party to assist in working my find. With the morning, howavev, came absurd fears of someone else alighting on the rubies during my absence, and I spent a couple of hours in removing the traces of my previous day's work, so that it was late when I shouldered my pick, and with Rover at my heels set about trying to find au easier way out of the valley than the one 1 had entered by. At length I found a fairly eaay track up the cliffs on tbe same side of the valley as the first one, and not far from it. Crossing the spur, I was again confronted with au uglylooking ravine, and this in its turn had to be negotiated. Travelling was both slow and difficult, trying, as I did, to keep on or about the same level, and avoiding the steep □scents and descents where practicable. Every bit of ground I descended only took me the further from my route until sneb time as I had rounded the base of Gates Peak, and when darkness came on I found myself, footsore and tired, about due west of the above-mentioned mountain. Next morning, to add to my troubles, tbe ranges wore enveloped in dense mitt, and fnrtber. progress was simply impossible. It was noon before the sun broke through and dispelled these vapours. I made little headway that day owing to the rugged nature of the ground and a gale of wind, and finally had to pass the night in the best shelter I cou'.d find — a shallow gully, — with so chance of lighting a fire, and nothing to eat but oatmeal, washed down with water. Next day the weather made atonement, the sun rising in a clear sky, warm and comforting to my half -frozen limbs ; and after partaking of a frugal meal of watered oatmeal (consistency of porridge) I started off once more, trusting to get clear that day of the precipitous country through which I bad travelled. It was past noon before I skirted the base of Gates IVak sufficiently to obtain a view of what lay to the eastward, and seven hours' rough walking and climbing brought me to the edge of the bush overlooking the Dart River. Here, with a good fire and hot tea, I felt more comfortable than I had done since I left the valley, though sadly bruised and stiff, and man and dog revelled in the delights of complete inaotion and eleeD until I deemed it

wise to make a fresh move next morning. This time the track lay through thiok birch bush towards the bed of the river, and I evidently chose one of the worst spurs on the range down which to travel, and paid the penalty for so doing by not reaching the bottom until nightfall. Here fortune favoured me, and I emerged right upon a Chinese tent belonging to two fossiokera. The owners were at home, and right gladly did I avail myself of their proffered hospitality.

My clothing by this time was oonspiouous by its absence, and what did remain hung in festoons and streamers, so that the effec 1 -, combined with a lacerated and bruised parson, must have been striking and original to the onlookers. The rest of the way was easy and uneventful Bidding adieu to my kindly entertainers and wishing them the best of lack, Rover and I tramped down to Glenorchy, took boat to . Qaeenstown and Kingston, and there boarded the train.

Danedin at last — and raining cats and does. Slipping quickly through the orowd on the platform, I left tbe dripping, wind-ewept station, and wended my way to a quiet private hotel near at h»nd, where I knew from previous experience I should br. wdi looked after, and could meditate in peaca upon m.r future plans and reauca them to something like order. After thinkirg matters carefully over for a few day«, v oommnnit)g the while with a favourite briar-root, . I posted a letter to my old friend David M'Lean, then in Ballarat, and sent him at the same time two of the rubies for inspection.

Io my note I gave him a full noconnt of ray discovery , acd acquainted him with my intention to revisit, the valley ir< a few months' time. I had no hesitation in laying the matter bare to M'Lean. He was a man thoroughly to bo trusted, and capable of holding his tongue, even should he be unable to accept cay invitation to join in tbe return trip to tha Olivine*. Tha rubies I requested he would get some expert to report upon and value.

Three or four weeks passed, and then came an answer from Dave congratulating me on my luck, and saying that he would be able to cross about the end of August, if that wonld suit me. The expert's report on the gems had been eminently satisfactory. | During the long period of inaction that had to elapso before I could see M'Leau personally I availed myself of my friend R S- 's invitation to bis house near Oamaru, where I passed some very pleasant month*. On returning to Dunedin I received a telegram from M'Lean advising me as follows : " Leaving by Mararoa to-dsy for Dunedin." Another week passed, and then I had the satisfaction of seeing my old friend in the flesh, and carried him off in triumph to my diggings. Dinner over and our pipes In full blaßt, the council of war was opened. Dave first produced the rubies I had sent him, and handed them over to me. He bad had them reported .on, he said, in Melbourne by an expert who pronounced them genuine stones and of greater value than I had expected. One Of them was somewhat poor in oolour, but tbe other was a splendid specimen, and had excited no small amonnt of ouriosity on the part of the expert. " Altogether," continued Dave, "things couldn't, have fitted in better than they have done. I was doing a bib of contracting ab the iixno your letter reached me, having ju?t come down from Broken Hill, aud aB- soon an that was done I lost no time in putting a few things together and clearing out." After a good solid talk upon the all-important subject of the gems, and various details of the proposed expedition reviewed and discussed, the' question was mooted as to whether ifi would not be advisable to enlist the services of a third partner in our undertaking— tha thiDg was who to trust with our secret. M'Lean suggested taking into our confidence a man named Cray, a fellow-traveller of his from Australia, who seemed to have impressed him favourably on the voyage, and who from bis conversation evidently posjes*ed oonsiderable oxpurionoe in mining matters. It was agreed that each member of the oom- , pany should contribute an equal share to tbe general expense fund for the neottsary provisions and outfit, travelling, expenses, &c. M'Leau made an appointment with Cray, j who was still in Danedin, to meet us and j talk over the matter. i

I was not favourably impressed with Cray when I met him, though I had to own that his manners and address appeared pleasing enough. However, M'Lean won the day, and 1 Cray was ftuly initiated into our confidence snd plans for the fature. It was tun end of April when I returned from the mountains, and now it was the last week in August. We could not make a move until tbe spring was well advanoed — say the middle of Ootober,-— so that we had ample time for all our preparations. I must confess that during this time I had many misgiving* as to Cray's trustworthiness. Not that tbe man drank or appeared too talkative : he was to all intents steady and secretive; yet the doubt remained. M'Leau seemed to get on better with our partner than I did ; in fact, bad it not been for this, or had the choloe rested entirely with me, I would have given Cray tbe go-by.

Time drew on, and the bright spring days warned us that it was advisable to see to our outfit, &c, and make a start. Nor were we sorry to leave Danedin. Of course there was the natural anxiety to get to work at the rubies, and tbe incentive of wealth, to make us restless and dissatisfied while in forced inactivity, and save for a visit or two to the theatre we had not bad much amusement. I remember we witnessed Bland Holt's Company in " The Span of Life " shortly before leaving.

The selection of stores occupied us some considerable time.' We selected an outfit of tools, alsotta set of sieves with woven wirework to duplicate the bottoms. The meshes of these hist were half three-eighths and threesixteenths, below which size I did not consider it needful tif go, as it was only our intention to secure snch stones 'as might be suitable for gem purposes,, and not bother with the minute ones only of value as grind* ing and polishing material. Arrived at Glenorchy, the next thing to be looked after was a pack hone.

The few men we came into contact with and who showed any ouriosity as to our movements we impressed with the idea that we intended cutting in a few months diq-

speoticg on the Upper Dart. The pack horse duly secured, we made our way up the river to near the base of the spur above the one -by whioh I had previoinljrdescended, and which I believed at that time would offer an estsier grade for the asoent through the bush. Here we established a depot, and M'Lean returned to Diamond Lake with the pack horse to bring up the remainder of the provisions, Cray «nd I in the meantime arranging what stores we had with us into suitable packages for awaggtng up through the bush. When M'Lean arrived with the, rest of the stores we set to work to sort these last up also, and the pack hone was returned* to its owner. The heavy Work now oegan, and the first day's tramping saw us «t the edge of the busb, where we pitched camp and fixed upon the site of the second depot. Next morning we retraced ourateps to the lower oamp and carried the tools, &c., that the damp would not injure about half way up through the bush, leaving them there and returning to the lower oamp for the' night. In the morning the balance of the provision* had to be swogged to depot No. 2, and the day following Cray went down for the tent, leaving M'Leau and I to fetch along the tools, &c, lying in the bush. We decided before starting again to make three stages of the remaining portion of the journey to the valley, aud fired upon a poiut about midway between the bush and whare I had slept Jn ths shallow gully bet ore mentioned for the first stage. Continuing the ascent-, we foutjd a considerable amount of snow yet lying Jim the ground, which made progress slow and painful; wbiieto moke matter* worse, Cray, who had complained during the previous evening of severe irritation of the fingers, made the discovery that he was attacked >y that malady peculiar to birch country — vie, tbe biroh itch. The disease was slowly spreading over his arms and bands. From inquiries subsequently made I find the peculiar irritation i» due to a dust, probably pollen, which settles on the *kin, especially when the bush is wet and when anyone liable to the oomnlaint comes into actual contaotwith the wet "blrohwood. Whether the pollen adheres to the birch when the tree is not in bloom I cannot say. Some men are nnable to live in the birch couutrr, while others appear to enjoy immunity from the troublesome pest. It woald have been wise on our part had we postponed the expedition • another month. The snow lay deep in the gullies, making foothold insecure, and a slip io many places would have cost a lite. * To cat a long story short, ifc took us 15 solid day* to transport the whole of our kit and provisions to tbe valley, and heartily glad were all of ub to rest after the job was finished. A suitable place for camping selected, another two days' work sufficed for building chimneys and generally getting things shipshape. I noticed that -the tarn was at least 3ft higher than it iad been I during my first visit, and the cieek was running a banker. i The difference in tbe water level of the | tarn made it a, difficult matter to get into the rift, at tbe detached jocks lying at the foot of the cliffs, upon' which it was necessary to walk, were mostly' submerged. A false step here meant complete immersion in snow ; water, and for several days we made the I passage in our " altogether " costumes, passI ing our bnndles of clothing along overhead iby means of a line. Oar feet/ and I need scarcely add our tempers, suffered severely ; i Cray seemed to feel the discomforts more keenly than did M'Lean and I— perhaps I partly owing to the presence of the birch itch — and his frequent and unwarrantable out- ' bursts cf violent temper soon proved to us that lie was not the moot desirable mate to I have in camp. I may add here that the cold water seemed jto completely cure Ocay's biroh itch— j whether intense cold is always a core lor the complaint' I know not. ' Daring a trip up the oreek M'Lean reported that he had discovered a highly mineralised quartz lode orosslrg the gorge a short distance above where the stream entered tbe valley, and whioh he considered looked very promising for gold.

We took a look at it the following day and found tbe lode to be about 18in wide, well obarged with bright arsenical pyrites, but with no traoe of any other metal. There was «o fine gold in the stone, and as iron pyrites were absent I though little of the discovery, though both M'Lean and Cray were anxious to roast tome of tbe ore and see if it wonld prospect better then. We had no tied* to waste, however, in prospecting. Our work lay before us, and the results simply - depended on our energy; so we set about getting up to the large crack in therifb which I have before mentioned. r For that . purpose we cut props to allow of reaching tbe required height, and took advantage of the oreek whenever it was "in fresh " to tow the timber round to the lift, where we dragged it out of reach of the water. Selecting eight of the best trees procurable, convenient to ths oreek, that would give straight lengths of 20ffc, we felled and ferried them round with a number of smaller timbers for platforms. A portion of theriffc where the walls appeared favourable was then fixed upon, and then two of the long lengths placed 6ft apart on a good foundation at the bottom of the right-hand wall, leaning against the opposite face of the right. Into these lengths' we let spars like the rungs of a ladder. - Altogether we placed four pairs of props into the rift, zlg-zagging up to the desired height, and the work gave an infinite amount of trouble before it was secure and finished. Oa the summit of the rough succession of ladders lay the platform, from whioh we set to work excavating upon the largest and most important fissure. The filling material of the latter proved to be exaotly similar ia all respects to the one from which I had taken the rubles. Before starting to take out the matrix we had to fix up the washing plant, and it was difficult, owing to the height of the water, tjO decide on a suitable spot for this, although the tarn had fallen fully 18in. At last wa found a likely place between two masses of rook that had fallen into tbe lake. These lay about 30In apart and had a depth of over 4ft of water between them. The sieves were arranged one above the other, the coarser mesh being at tbe top, and for want of a better appliance we gave the required jigging motion with a lever fixed to a bar snob "as blacksmiths use to work their bellows, and a small Dedal for the foot.

' Cray, who was one of the beat men with the adze I had ever seen, made an excellent job of this apparatus. Everything being in readiness for the start, it was agreed that Cray and M'Lean should take turn about in running the deposit and bagging the material, while I looked after the crashing and washing. In the first week's work we took oat folly a ton of stuff, from which we collected more rabies than would fill a halfpint measure. With the exception of one very large, rrat not yety perfect, stone, none of these exceeded in size those I had obtained during my first; visit. We also secured a few good sapphires, but many stones were so small that they passed through the sieves. ? The sapphires appeared to come from the matrix where it was closest to the country rock, whilst the rabies, on the other band, ware fairly distributed, predominating rather in the centre of the fissures. Just about this time— a week or so after getting things Into going order — Cray met with a serious, and what might havo been fatal, accident. Ascendicg the ladders to the platform, he slipped between the rung*, and, failing to save himself with his hands, fell down about 25ft on to the woodwork below. For some time after we picked him np he remained insensible. The injuries were to the head and one of the legs, bat the last-named was trivial' compared to the former. We bad a few simple remedies with us, and M'Lean, who was no mean amateur physician himself, did what he could f of the unfortunate man. In spite of everything Cray got gradually worse. He evidently suffered severe pain, and feverish symptoms set la. On the evening ot the second, day after the accident he became delirious, struggling and mattering, and it took us all our time to keep him in the tent. We agreed, as he was so bad, to take tarn about; through the night. watching him. I took the first watob, promising M'Lean that I would call him in case I needed any assistance. For some time Cray lay^ quiet enough save for an occasional fit of muttering, bat shortly after midnight, just as'l was thinking of waking my mate and taking a spell myself, Cray became restless again, flinging his arms about and plucking at the blankets ; moreover, his raviajrs, which, up to that time had been incoherent, w«re now coherent and clear. I awoke M'Lean, who took his place on the opposite side of the bed. The sick man's thoughts were evidently occupied with the rubies. " All mine," he murmured, " aIT mine 1 Those d d fools thick they can buy me oft with a third share. They'll see 1 Three men went up to the ruby valley; how many came back 1 One — only, one I Not M'Lean — not Murray — not Cures the greedy fisnds ; they shall stay here. Dead men tell no tales — stay here and rot I" Cray's voice rose to a scream, and be attempted to rise, bnt we pinioned bis arms. " I tell you the rabies are ■ mine I " he hissed. " Lot .me go, you devils ! " All at once his tone changed from, violent threatening to wonder. " What, Jim 1 You here, too 7 Ob, my God ! Don't look at me like that 1 I see I I see I Don't come bo close;, the blood is dripping—dripping. Nothing but blood. Not that, Jim ! Anything, but that knife. I didn't mean to do it — It was all the cursed drink, I tell you 1 His voice sank to a whisper, and his aims grew limp and passive again. I looked at M'Lean. " Men in this state aie not responsible for their -fords," he said gravely, and I nodded, but for all that my suspicions of Gray were deepened by what I bad just listened to. Next day our mate was better and the fever abated. Still he was in a very weak condition, and caused us great anxiety for a day or two longer. Daring Cray's sickness we continued to do what work we could at the deposit. The average ruby contents of the matrix remained much the same. One day we found two large stones far surpassing in size and colour any of our previous or, indeed, our j later finds. When sufficiently convalescent our mate was put to work on "the washing maobins, as bis injured leg was yet too stiff for ladderclimbing. His demeanour to us was sullen — why Ido not know ; but perhaps he noticed a lack of cordiality in our bearing towards him ; and this, with oar suspicions, was unavoidable. Ha kept very much to himself, and joined but little in general conversation. I thanked my stars that M'Lean formed one ot the party, for had .Cray and I been living together in that dreary wilderness the life in sues company would nave been intolerable. Days passed, and despite some fears of possible treachery our vigilance grew lax until an event occurred which set us on guard again, and finally led to occurrences which I would I were aot obliged to chronicle. Gray was cooking the dinner in camp one Sunday, and M'Lsan and I had gone along to sat something to rights in the rift. After a few minutes I returned to the tent to fetoh the tomahawk. Sauntering quietly along I reached the open fly of the tent without Cray noticing my approach. He had his back to me as I entered, and was Btooping dpwn emptying the contents of a small paper packet into the porridge pot. I made some slight noise or other, and dropping the paper, he turned round sharply with a white, scared face, and an oath on bis . lipsQuick as was his movement, mine waa quicker. I snatched up the fallen paperand put it in my pocket. " What waa that you emptied Into the porridge?" I demanded sternly, looking him full in the face. " Salt, of course, mate. What the deuce else would it be 1 " he retorted sullenly, his shifty eyes unable to m^Mjyg^v The man lied, and be^^^H^^JAsr it. " We don't keep salt I said, and picking up t^^^^^Hntoraed to M'Lsan ar^^^^^^^^^Aad occurred, s^^^^^^^^^^^^^ft^ We both, agreed to day, and in future^^^^^^f^^^^^^K examined the P^J^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B tdlwhJM^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H

Soon after this event the brewing storm I burst. It so happened that we were obliged to temporarily knock off work in order to repair part of the scaffolding beneath the platform. Being very cired, and feeling zather seedy, I announced mj intention of going into camp and lying down for a spell. It was getting late in the afternoon, and I knew the others would soon follow me. After making some preparation* for tea I i lay down on a rug outside the tent and soon dozed off to sleep. How long I slept I do not know — perhaps an hour or more — when I woke suddenly out of a troubled dream with the I report of a revolver riDging in my ears and a | heavy body falling across zny chest, knocking j the wind out of me for a few seconds. When : t I recovered my senses completely, to my I dismay I found M'Lsan, a smoking revolver j in his hand, hauling the inanimate body of J Cray from on top of me. M 'Lean's face was j white as chalk as the two of us stood looking j at what lay at our feet Cray lay there an inert mass — deed, — with a bullet hole in his j left temple, from which the blood was ' trickling. My mate sat down on a rock, covering his face with both hands and trembling violently. I fetched him a glass , of brandy from the "tent to steady bis nerves : a bit, and then waited for his explanation. I " It'a knookod me oat; of time a bit, old : mao," be said huskily. " I've taken a man's j life for the first time, and now that it's over ! I'm sort of sick." He paused, and then went on : "It meant his life for yours, and I had bo choice but to fire. As I came round that boah there," pointing to a spot about 12 yards ' I away, " I saw Cray in the act of striking you with the axe. He was standing over you as you lay, and the blade shone as he swung it ; ;up to strike. I had no time to think over | things ; I tried to call out as I cocked the I revolver, but my voice seemed to stiok in my ■throat, and I fired. The whole thing happened in a second or two." " At any rate, you saved my llfe» Dave," 1 said, shaking his hand, " aad that's a thicg Z ! shan't easily forget:. I -svkli from the bottom ' of my heart that this cursed thing bad "*ot occurred, but the fellow deserved bis fate. I firmly believe be tried bis level best to prison the pair of us in addition to this last piece of treachery." " I know all that," rejoined my mate j " it's true enough. I with to God I bad never induced you to bring him np with us." j We said no more then on the subject, and even now I, who know well Dave's sensitive nature, hold my peace and steer clear of any mention of that fatal drama by the tarn. We buried Gray the following morning in the scrub up the valley, and raised--* rude cross | and cairn of stones to mark the grave. That night the little camp seemed strangely quiet ; even the dogs appeared to know that semething had gone wrong, and forbore to ohase imaginary game and raise the echoes. Between the puffs of smoke Dave turned abruptly to me, sayiDg, " Let's pack, Walter." | I knew it was coming — indeed 16 bad been on I the tip of my tongue to make the same le- | mark. Besides, we~could well afford to leave, i Two canvas bags a few yards from where we i were sitting held wealth enough to make us | both comfortably well off for life. So next day we shouldered our packs and started for the return journey. Owing to the lightness of the swags we now oairiod, as we only brought away with j us what was absolutely necessary to cairy us ' back to Glenorcby, we leached civilisation j again without much difficulty. It was only ! ; on arrival at Paradise that we realised the j peculiar position we had placed ourselves in, ! as the man from whom we previously hired the pack-horse inquired of as in the presence of others where we had left our mate. Though the question waa disconcerting lit the moment, M'Lean answered readily enough that he had decided to remain in the ranges for a time, and this explanation seemingly satisfied the inquirer. Although there was very little probability of oar again being questioned upon the matter, we concluded after discussion that to make public the faots relating to Cray's death would ,'cad to an inquhy being held, and would possibly cause orff detention in the colony until the following summer, when a search party could be sent oat to verify oar statements. As this was a contingency we in no wise relished, we decided to keep the affair a secret until snch time as we were safely beyond zae reaoh of the colony's officials, when by giving as. definite* plan of the scene of oar adventures as possible, with a description of the route followed, either the authorities or private enterprise could satisfy themselves as to the truth of the statement. Here the MS. finishes, and the appended letter explains itself r The Arondel Hotel, , Arundel street, London. August 6, '96. Deab R , — Sincere greetings and best wishes to Mrs R and yourself. Mtean is in Amsterdam negotiating the sale of some of the rubies, and pretty successfully, too, by what he writes me. I have myself sold a goodly number of the stones, and the proceeds «xceed our wildest hope*. A portion of the rubies we keep to dispose ot at a future time. If you still consider that the existence of my find should be made public property, you are quite at liberty now to make use of the manuscript I left in your possession, an well as of the sketch map of the route. M'Lean informs me that he is having three of the large rubies cut and set for your wife, and these he tells me he will arrange to have forwarded shortly. If you still entertain the idea of taking a trip Home, be sore and lefc us know when we may expect you. Wherever I am, a letter addressed to this house or to ray bankers, Glyn, Mills, Currie, and Co., will always be forwarded. In haste and with kindest regards, — Yours very sincerely, "* Walter Hcbsat.

{ —No disgrace attaches to self-slaughter I among the Japanese, with the result that, on the jHT'yrage, about 4600 malea and nearly 3000 [ females commit suicide every year. In the years ( 1890-94, 14,799 _^on and 6188 womsn hanged [I themselves, 5269 men and 6825 w*omen drowned l^tiemselvea, 1234 men and 597 women perH^rmed " the happy despatch " with knives or 390 men and 32 women shot themmen and 131 women took poieon, and 349 women killed themselves fashion. Visitors to the Hanmer accommodation at