BURIED TIMBER ON THE WEST COAST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2400, 1 March 1900, Page 20

BURIED TIMBER ON THE WEST COAST.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—There is a considerable objection to West Coast dredging claims on the score of buried timber. I am an old West Coaster of the late sixties and early seventies, and one who has paid a recent visit to old scenes; so, with your permission, I would like to give my opinion ,on the subject. I was ground sluicing for years on the banks of various creeks, such as the j Waimea. These banks, or lower terraces, were I beyond question the work of the stream when • at a higher level. Now, I do not remember a ! single example of a buried log. I have seen hundreds of acres of such beaches sluiced, and do not remember any timber difficulty. I have seen creeks turned in order to work the bed, and there was no timber. I have worked a j bank paddocking claim below the creek level, | which was kept dry by a water wheel, and we found no timber. Now, I hold that if there 1 is timber under the present creeks and rivers , it "would also be found in the former beds of i the streams such as I describe. The upper i terraces—such as are now baing sluiced at Fox's, along the Waimea, and at Kuinara —are j also water-worn river deposits, but they coni tain no timber. The fact is that on the We&t , Coast the timber rots rapidly. Anyone who has | explored the bush knows what it is to sink up to his knees in an apparently sound log. i The river deposits made in the course of unj assisted Nature ere made with extreme slownesp, so that fallen timber rots before it can jbe buried, except in the case of landslips. I grant that in a valley that has been rapidly i filled by tailings there may be stumps and. \ logs belonging to the natural surface. Even ' these probably decay quickly: but I would be I shy of claims that propose to dredge through deep deposits of tailings. I am not aware, however, that there are any such at present in the market. About the year 1870 I was familiar with the Kanieri and Woodstock neighbourhood, on the Hokitika. At that time the chief industry at Kanieri was- a large paddocking claim, working the northern river bank. The company had a large water wlieel. which pumped the water from the,paddock and hauled the wash up to a platform, whence it was sluiced into the river. The paddock was about 25ft deep, and we washed it all. Tram, lines ran in various directions to* the face. The wash was shovelled j into trucks, pushed to the foot of the incline, hauled to the platform 40ft or 50ft above, and thence washed. We worked three shifts, with about 15. men to the shift, at Ss a day and upwards. Many, acres were shifted in Iliis way, and I venture to point out one or two "important facts illustrated by this large working. , First, there was no buried timber difficulty;' secondly, the stone 3 that were too large to be shovelled into the trucks did not average 3ft in depth when stacked on the floor, of the padj dock. The pile was no doubt higher than that ! in some places, but then we had to keeu wide spaces open for drains and tram lines. Thirdly, we seldom had stones that our men could not handle. Fourthly, the wash was not very tight. Fifthly, the amoimt of stuff raised by this claim was probably much less than a powerful dredge would lift. Yet this company, though not very prosperous, paid some dividends after providing for over 40 men, paying directors, blacksmith, manager, etc. All this indicates fair prospects for dredges in the a'dioining Hokitika River, and on the opposite bank, especially as our paddock could not bottom owing to the water. I Have been boating on some of the beach lagoons on the West Coast. These were certainly infested with snags and sunken driftwood. I do not believe, however, that these are buried in. the wash, but simply lie at the bottom of the water, for the beach claims were not troubled with timber. I have no interest in' the floating of any claims. I sixnply give my experience and opinions for what they are worth.—l am, etc., Old Timer.