MOUNT BENGER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 80, 21 August 1869, Page 3

MOUNT BENGER.

(From a Correspondent.)

The presumed, nay certain, existence of very rich deposits in the bed and bank 3of the river Molyneux had caused it to be regarded as par excellence the G-oldfield of Otago six years ago. The miners, on the possibility of a few weeks' or days' uninterrupted examination of its auriferous sands, have staked months of anxious, compulsory idleness, and sacrificed other opportunities of turning their time to profitable use. Since the first opening of the Dunstan goldfleld, — which was certainly followed by a very successful season, — scarcely any opportunity has been afforded the miners here, until (I may state) quite recently, of testing the auriferous deposits of the bed of the Molyneux. Eor nearly five years, excepting at intervals few and far between, that fickle stream kept the miners in a continual course of excited hopes and sad disappointment, until wearied out by the tantalising waters, the miners became thoroughly dispirited, and mining in the bed of the Molyneux came to be regarded as a species of ignis fatuus, alluring, indeed, but exceedingly unprofitable to pursue. But it is very gratifying to observe that mining has been carried on uninterruptedly throughout the whole district this season, and in many instances with marked success. Our Escort returns will compare favourably with any district in Otago, considering our limited mining population. "We can certainly boast of a small accession to our population in the shape of Mongolians, who, in consequence of the river having been so low this season, turned their labour to very profitable account ; they extracted a considerable quantity of gold from the sandy banks of the river at Moa 'Hat and Miller's Flat. I can assure you that John has retrieved to a . great extent the fallen greatness of Moa Plat this winter, for the gold they have taken from its soil

has tended considerably to swell the Teviot Escort, I will not say to what extent for fear of exaggerating, but I feel confident that ifc can be no less than 150 ounces a week, by Chinese alone. John, although not a very heavy consumer of dutiable articles, is a very useful, industrious biped, turning to favourable account ground that European miners would not look at. It must be admitted that the induction of Chinese amongst us this winter has given a great impetus to business. There are " people of passage " in Otago whom I compare to travelling directories, possessing very intimate (though not useful) knowledge o£ the geographical i features of the Middle Island. Those men are doomed, like Tantalus, to see untold wealth gathered within an inch of their hands, whilst unable, from indolent habits, to grasp a pennyweight themselves. The Chinese are a pattern to such people. Most people at a distance possibly imagine that gold mines and poverty have no possible connection, and that beggars are unknown in our young El Dorado; but to tell the British public that there ai*e no beggars in Otago is a monstrous attempt to blind the eyes of Her Majesty's subjects to a most obvious aiid incontrovertible fact. Beggars there are in droves — in such multitudes that the imagination sickens at the future prospects of Otago. When these men, significant of an exhausted epigastrum and an empty exchequer, with persuasive accents and insiuuating manners, solicit and invoke the sympathies of the public daily, it forcibly enforces on my recollection the state of Queensland eight years ago. To induce people to land upon the shores of Otago by means of exaggerated reports of our liberal system of government is ono thing ; but how to meet their wants and requirements after they do land is a" question that ought to be deeply considered by our paternal G-overn-ment. They have ample material to work on, if they know (or care) how to use the tools. With hundreds of people in the country idle for want of work, and our chief line of communication with the metropolis iii a deplorable condition, shows purely that Otago, instead of advancing as she ought to do, if properly governed, is bordering on a state of retrogression. There arc three dredging machines now in the neighborhood of Moa Plat, the Kearsage barge being moored within a short distance of the Benger Burn. I paid it a visit the other clay. I may here jot down the general details of that excellent craft. The machine consists of a punt of about fifty or sixty tons bui'then. On the deck of the punt, at the bows, is fixed a very powerful double-purchase winch, and about amidships, on the starboard side, is a stout modern davit, through the head of which runs the chain to which the spoon or dredge, is attached. The spoon is an iron disc of about two feet in diameter; to its upper edge is affixed an iron lip for entering the ground, while from the lower edge is suspended a stout leathern bag for holding the gravel. The spoon is firmly secured on the end of a pole about twenty feet in length, and Avhat may be called the handle. As the operation of dredging causes an immense strain upon the barge, it has necessarily to be very firmly secured and retained in one position. To accomplish this the barge is moored, or anchored, stem on to the current by means of a powerful anchor and chain. Besides these there are also three guides, consisting of poles the same length as tlie shaft of the spoon, tlie ends of which are shod with stout iron points. These guides are firmly secured one on each bow, and tho ironclad points burying themselves in the bottom of the river, preserve the punt in an almost immovable position, notwithstanding the enormous strain when the spoon is in the water. The process of dredging is very laborious ; it may be summed up thus : — The disc of the spoon is suspended in its exact centre, after the fashion of the handle of a bucket ; it is drawn up to about I midway between the head of the davit ! and the deck by a chain connected with the winch ; one of the men then seizes hold of the spoon and swings it as far over the side of the punt as he can reach, and crying out " Let go ! " the winch is thrown immediately out of gear, and down the spoon goes with a tremendous splash into the river. As it descends into the water and goes astern with the current, the shaft falls nearly across the deck, but presently assumes almost a perpendicular position. "When this is attained, the captain grasps hold of the pole and passes round it a stout rope stopper ; the effect of this is to bring the lip of the disc firmly into the ground at the bottom of the river. The bag, if the ground is not too hard, .is rapidly filled, andjrises to the surface the moment the sweep of the spoon comes on a line with the d.arit, which, of course; is its fulcrum. When the bag reaches the level of the deck it is hauled' aboard and emptied of its contents, and is washed by means of a cradle fixed on the deck, the tailings being ejected at the side of the punt.