THE DIAMOND FIELDS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2770, 9 August 1883, Page 7

THE DIAMOND FIELDS.

(From correspondent of the Press ) In consequence of the very keen interest manifested m the supposod diamond fields, I made a .fonrney to the hills on Friday, and though there was a total absence of anything approaching excitement, I found that since my previous Tint the interest of the settlers had risen jfrom a semi- etate of ridicule and incredulity t> that of decided hope, if not belief, m the acluil existence of diamonds m their midst. Several parties were out on the ground they had just taken up on license, and several strangers camo into the township during the day. The latteri however, left again m the evening, One party being particularly anxious to take away m his buggy a huge boulder that had been' pointed out to him as likely to contain the precious" gemß." The news received from Cbristchurch was being eagerly devoured and discussed m all its phate;, and the question of diamonds or no- diamonds was tho principal if not the sole topic of conversation. Specimens of the supposed diamonds are Tery plentiful, arid, it ii somewhat nmuaingto note the familiar way m which the possessors handle them. One party will dive into his pocket to bring. forth a good sized bottle containing several hundred stones. These will be emptied into the palm of his hand for general inspection, and probably not more than one-half will gd back to the original owner. Another will produce a matchbox containing a lot of the " gems," whilst another will have them loose m his waistcoat pocket, and will readily bring the stones forth for. inspection. Several small parcels of the Btohes have already changed hands m the district for cash. Tho sum of £3, however, iB the highest amount that has yet been paid, and m the few instances where the stones have been sold the purchasers have procured them more out of curiosity, I fancy, than as far as they could judge, for the intrinsic .value of the supposed diamonds. The land all the way from the north branch oE the A»hburton river to Taylor's stream, for several miles back into the range?, has already been/ taken up on prospecting licenses. The prospectors will riot be able to do muoh work for ' a week or so as there ia a large quantity of snow on the hills and m the gullies. This will take some time to. clear, and it would be folly for anyone to think of camping m the district just yet. There was a heavy fall on Friday night, and on Saturday morning the level ground about the township was covered _to a depth of about six inches. This naturally put a stop to what prospecting would have been done. Still, many Bupposed diamonds were found notwithstanding. I spent the whole of) the day going from bouse to house just to hear what settlers thought of their prospects, and m nearly every instance they were decidedly jubilant. I found many of the familios busy at work indoora sorting the wash-dirt and picking out the little " diamonds," or perhaps- it is safer to say the supposed diamonds. One settler and bis family had a fire outside to dry the sand, after which it was Bpread on the table, and tome half-dozen children set to work to pick out the stones. I saw some thousands of the inpposed diamonds during the day. Notwithstanding the unpleasant nature of the roads, a large party came into the township on Sunday from Methven and Mount Somers districts. They made their way up the streams, and returned laden with washdirt m sacks, which they took away with them at nigHt. Some of the party bad some specimens of stone, and one individual purchased s few from one of the settlers. Owing to the severe frosts experienced at night, the snow will take some time to melt off the hill?, and until they are clear very little prospecting oan be done. In addition to the supposed diamonds, several specimens of quartz containing gold, said to have been picked up ia the district were shown tome..