"ON SHIFT."

Otago Witness, Issue 2369, 27 July 1899, Page 61

"ON SHIFT."

EIGHT HOURS ON A GOLD DREDGE,

By Onlooker.

It was not without slight feelings of sadness that I robed myself in a well-worn suit of borrowed dungarees and lighted my lamp preparatory to starting for an eight hour vigil aboard the Sunrise gold dredge. On a wintry night, and before getting properly warmed by work, dungarees strike one as chilly and unsympathetic attire, and at half-past 11, bed, with an extra blanket or two, suggests more solid comfort than does a ramble along a cold, dark riverside.

But the experience was one Of my own seeking, and backing down on n. at the eleventh, or rather half-past eleventh, hour not to be thought of ? so I seized my package of sandwiches — lunch, forsooth! — and stole like a thief into the dark night.

And dark enough it was, too — so dark that my unaccustomed eyes could distinguish nothing at first save the light of the lantern dancing ahead over the sunscorched growth which does duty for grass in Central Otago. With a little trouble I struck the path running parallel with the river and then all was plain sailing; for I knew that if I followed this down stream for about a mile I should reach the part of the claim then being dredged.

Nearing my destination I could Lear a dull groaning, panting sound that every now and again rose to a sharp shriek and rattle — the noise peculiar to a powerful gold dredge in action — and I knew that the business of gold-getting was in full swing on board the Sunrise.

Another quarter of an hour of brisk walking and I could see a light and hear the sound of voices, which told me my two friends, Sid and Harry, the winchman and fireman for the night shift, awaited me. Greetings exchanged, and a little goodnatured chaff indulged in at my expense— for any self-imposed task was looked upon as a good joke and an indication of mild lunacy, — we made a move for the river bank and held xip our lamp& to let the offcoming shift know we waited to. go aboard. From the liigb. bank on which we stood we could see the brilliantly-lighted dredge lying well out in the stream, straining at her steel headline against the full force ol the current, and had it not beer for the clanging rattle of her machinery, she might easily have passed for aonie frivolous i'uames house-boat instead of what she really was — a prosaic, dividend-earning machine.

" Here comes the boat, boys !" said Sid. "We'll get down the bank." And down the three of us went, slipping and sliding in a small avalanche of loose gravel. I found myself bundled into a boat which had appeared mysteriously out of the darkness, and Harry taking the oar aft gave the heavy craft a sheer which sent us flying across current towards the dredge. The " traveller " which attached us to the bow line whizzed along the steel hawser, but just at the moment when a violent collision with our destination appeared inevitable the sheet was deftly reversed and we drew up quietly at the pontoon, and scrambled out. If anyone is desirous of having the conceit knocked out of him let him attempt to imitate the easy grace with which an experienced dredge hand standing a la Gondolier will rush a boat heavily laden with coals across a strong current by means of " sheer." The writer speaks from hard-earned experience, and grows giddy even now at the recollection. My first impressions when I set foot upon the pontoons were of a decidedly mixed character flavoured with a strong dash of disenchantment — the picturesque effect visible from a distance vanished completely, aud left nothing in its place but stern and prosaic reality. The pontoons danced and bucked as the evei'lasting procession of buckets rose from the bed of the. river laden with their spoil. Four large hurricane lamps shed a brilliant glare over the scene, and a couple of huge boulders lying alongside the winch among a litter of gads, sledge hammers, and splintered rock evidenced the roughness of the ground on which the dredge worked. The offgoing shift lost no time in doffing their overalls and getting into the boat, Harry accompanying them as ferryman, and in his absence Sid showed me how to throw the friction out of gear, and so prevent the buckets from moving. We then stopped the engine — a fine 16-h.p. Marshall, and the silence which immediately ensued was extremely grateful, conversation being possible without the necessity of jelling, while in walking about there was no longer a danger of being sent sprawling into the well, or against some whirling piece of machinery. Having seen that everything was right in the boiler house, and Harry returning with the boat, the business of " oiling-down " commenced, Harry and I, armed with lamps and oil cans, being told off to examine the screen bearings and driving gear, and Sid the winch and engine. Standing on the dripping, slippery tables under the shadow ot the great screen, we could see beneath our feet the gleam of gold in the wire ripples, and I could hear our starboard side lines whipping the current, every touch tracing a silver line across the dark, oily breadth of river. The elevator had been disconnected, so there was no occasion for us to climb the steep ascent of buckets which soared skywards from the stern of the dredge. " Oiling-down " takes about a icr ot an hour, and must be onytbm^ but plta^int work on a rough night, and i-, .1 diuv iob at any time, especially when aloit among the cogs of the driving wheels foul with evil-smelling friction arcane. Having at-

tended to the wants of the screen rollers, pump, and driving gear, we went forward again to the boiler house, where Harry removed the damper and sent a few shovelfuls of coal flying into the glowing heart of the furnace.

The indicator on the steam gauge crept slowly down till it all but touched " biow-ing-off" pomt — a small red mark on the face of the dial, and once more the engine was started, belting revolved, the buckets creaked, and moved obedient to the tug ot the friction rope, and passed dripping upwards to the fall, or drop, which leads into the screen. As Harry began *• to busy himself among the coal bags, I strolled across to Sid, who had promised to give me an object lesson in winching, and seated myself upon an empty box as the best available substitute for a chair. The winchman's pipe was first of all produced, cai'efully filled and lighted, and after that a good ten minutes elapsed before everything was running te Sid's complete satisfaction; then, folding his arms and leaning against the winch, never quite relapsing his scrutiny of the passing buckets, he proceeded to give me interesting details, and a general rough insight into the inner working of a dredge. "We are now working what is termed a 'cut,' that is to say, after having first bottomed and obtained fair prospects, we work the dredge slowly across current for a certain number of feet, say 40ft or 50ft, then pull ahead about 3ffc, and return to starting point; in this manner we are continually picking up a narrow strip of wash, the width and direction of cut naturally depending upon the width and lay of the lead. In a current such as this, winching is easy compared with what it is in slack or back water. This is on account ot the tailing^. Here the current renders an elevator unnecessary; but in the other case tailings have to be carefully stacked, or the dredge might work herself to a standstill. The ground here is of a very rough nature, as you can see, and feel, in fact," he added, making a jump for the winch handles. " I think I can show \you a specimen of our 'prizes,' as we call them ! "

The dredge bucked and shivered, and the buckets slowed down, and at last refused to move. The winch rattled and steam hissed, and I waited results, an interested spectator of the fight between powerful machinery in skilful hands and Nature. In the end the former won the day. Slowly and complainingly the buckets wound up, until the late obstruction came in sight — a huge toadshaped boulder perched upon one of the " clutchers." (Olutchers, I should explain, are not like ordinary buckets, being much shallower aud armed with two formidable teeth or hooks for grappling with large stones.) As soon as the great stone rose to the level of the deck, Harry appeared, armed Avith a long crowbar, and gently landed our "prize" aboard.

" Simple enough that time," said Sid, hauling on the friction rope, " but we occasionally get much worse ones than that. A stone will get jambed in the hangers, and then the only remedy is to hoist the ladder in order to get at it, or a long narrow piece of rock will prove too wide for the well, and get wedged between. Now I'm going to try a prospect — this wash looks promising."

He seized a long-handled shovel, and digging a sample of wash from two or three buckets, emptied it into an iron dish lying in a bath of water close by. Ten minutes later I was shown the result — three tiny waterworn nuggets the size of small bird shot, and a quantity of flat yellow iiakes and fine dust.

" That's good enough for 50oz a week if we keep on it all the time," Sid remarked in answer to my query as to how much wash would pay, and he rinsed the dish into a passing bucket. About 2 o'clock the billy was boiled, and we all partook of tea served in enamelled iron cups and minus milk; but very acceptable on a cold night. " Lunch," I was told, they generally postponed till about 4 o'clock, so as to divide the shift better.

So the time passed on uneventfully enough, save for the occasional excitement of an awkward boulder, and I began to feel decidedly sleepy. Enveloped in an old greatcoat, I sat in my corner listening, lazily to the curious combination of sounds, and watching Sid as, watchful and alert, he worked the winch. However, I was not content to sleep the remainder of the shift away, so I shook off my drowsiness, and filled in time doing a little amateur stoking under Harry's guidance. Between whiles we sat among the coal bags and yarned. I had on several occasions heard a good deal of talk among town folk questioning the honesty of dredge hands, and affirmations made concerning the opportunities that are said to offer for lifting gold from the mats at other than " washing-up " time, so I asked my companion what value he put upon such reports. " Very little, indeed," he replied. "Town people need not come as far as the river to discover dishonesty in dredging matters. The real swindles are worked far oftener in the sharebrokers' offices. Personally speaking, and I've been dredging for three years, I have seen no dishonesty among the crews, though I own I've heard of a few cases. The men who are the real culprits often fill too high positions to come under .suspicion. There are, it is true, dredge hands who keep the brokers supplied with early information concerning the returns, but this serving of two masters is a dangerous game for a man to play, and in most cases ends in his getting the ' sack.' As to gold being lifted from the mats unless the whole crew and master be in league wholesale and systematic robbery of that sort is impossible. You must remember that the mats must be washed to release the gold, and washing up is a work of hours, besides which the tables are well inspected day by day. A little coarse gold might be taken off the mats when working rich ground, but the risk of discovery would be great; and, besides, the winchman or fireman cannot afford time in which tc go fooling round the tables, and examining mats means stopping the machinery to get rid of the water. No," he concluded, " shareholders have little to fear from the dredge hands, but there are

more ways than one of killing a cat, and 1 fancy the public will be holding a. few feline inquests before the present boom is over. Why don't investors before placing, capital iff new dredging companies spend a few pounds on a personal inspection of the claim to be floated? They do not require to be either mining experts or engineers, but any practical man possessing a fair share of common sense would, I think, find such a visit, combined with an inspection .of a few dredges, a great help in avoiding ' duffers.' At present, in most cases a carefully-worded and enticing prospectus is sufficient bait for most people who don't know the difference between a dredge and a threshing machine." " Do you get many cadets up this way V" I asked. "I hear that lots of young fellows are offering premiums in order to gei a job aboard a dredge? " . "Oh, that's true enough," laughed Harry. > " There's a tow of chaps from Cromwell to Tuapeka sitting waiting to get taken on. Can't say I see much in the game myself ; but it's a ' chuck-in ' for the dredgemaster, or rather the companies, who can get a strong young fellow to carry coals and maike himself "useful -for months and pay him no wages. .1 suppose it's the _keen. competition which drives so many men up-country; but dredging is a dirty and, on most claims, a rough job for those "who have never been used- to 'roughing it.' Now, I'm going to clean out the fire, so you had better stand clear' for a "few minutes. This ground needs all the steam wacan give, and our coal is not too ,good." I stood at the door and watcheu him fling open the furnace door and stand in • the fierce heat of the fire, dragging out glowing clinkers with the help of a long-handled rake, while the sweat ran down his face. Turning my head slightly I could catch a. glimpse of Sid pacing up and down before the winch, watchful and. intent on his work, and I thought of what Harry had said relative to" the honesty of dredgemen. These two men, at any rate, were giving good, value in return for' their 10s a shift, and I believe either of them would have scorned to have defrauded the company to the extent of a single grain of the yellow metal that lay upon the mats. At half past 3 o'clock," or, shortly after, day broke, slowly afc first, and then with a rush of light as* the sun gilded the peaks of the mountains. The worst part of the shift — those long hours 1 of darkness — being over, the time seemed to pass much quicker. I gave Harry a hand in washing down decks and tidying up generally, and as we bustled around in the clear, pure air and bright sunshine I came to the, conclusion that dredging, in spite of all.ita discomforts, possessed^ some, if only a few, redeeming features. *- . • i "In the event' of a heavy flood coming down the river, how would, all' these dredges fare?" I asked Sid in the course of the last chat I had with him before " knocking-off " time came. "A . repetition, of '78 for instance?"

"I don't think tliey would suffer much,", was his reply. " You see we always . get sufficient warning by wire of sudden- rises, and then every precaution is taken. There are two dangers to dredges working here in flood time — one is in getting lines fouled with floating timber, etc., and the other is nob allowing enough slack on the lines to permit of the pontoons rising with the river. In either case the consequences might be serious ; but, as I said before, we guard against these dangers as much a? possible. Some of the crew, are always at hand to slack away linos on a Sunday should they need it, and that is the only time some one is not constantly, at the winch. Should something extraordinary in the shape of a rise occur we could always lay the dredge close into the bank where there was least current, secure her with extra, lines, arid dispense with the other side lines altogether. I remember " But just then a stone rattling on the iron r»of over our heads cut short the 'discussion. "That's the relief signalling for the boat,-