WOODSTOCK.

West Coast Times, Issue 111, 25 January 1866, Page 3

WOODSTOCK.

(FJtOJI OlMl SPKCI.VIi HKUOIETKU.)

There seems a decided inclination on the part of tho inhabitants of this district to settle down, gather round them their household gods, and pursue a more even way than usually falls to the lot of the migratory digger. Neat cottages have been erected, areas of land cleared, fenced in, and cultivated, which already give evidence of tho care and skill of tho husbandman, by the luxuriant crops of vegetables and salads springing therefrom, attesting as well to the richness of the soil that comprises tho alluvial ilats bordering the river. lam not surprised thnt such should bo the case, as the Maori reserve on which all these improvements are being effected offers peculiar facilities to those desirous of obtaining 1 advantageous leases of agricultural land, the terms being moileratc and easily fulfilled. But whilst lauding the effect, tho cause of the beneficial change must not bo forgotten for to the discovery of payable loads of gold in the immediate vicinity is alone duo tho credit of this settlement in tho wilderness. In my last report on this place. I slated that, tho attempt to follow the deep lead running upwards close, under the range had resulted in a failure, several shafts having Icon bottomed in the deep ground with exceedingly barren prospects, causing innny who placed great reliance on this lead to leave it for easier worked and richer fields. Happily, however, some few remained who determined to give it a further trial, being fully convinced thnt payable gold existed either in patches or ns a lead. Moreover a great amount of work had been expended in cutting a tail race i'roin tho river to drain this deep gut, nnd as for a wonder there was no fault in its construction, it being both deep and large enough to carry off the surplus water, it was considered advisable by two or three parties to persevere a little longer ere the labours of four months wero pronounced worthless.. • This laudable perseverance has' been attended with the happiest results, gold having been struck on the edge of the deep ground by Con way and ])arty, to the tuuo of 2 dwts.^the dish, and tlic further the deep ground is worked into tho more promising it looks. I «aw tho prospect myself, so can vouch for tho truth of it ; and also that thero is not a party of men working on tho rush more deserving of a little success. It is not part of my duty to expose to public view the trials and sorrows of those with whom chance brings mo in contact ; it is however none tho less true that thi« party havo displayed wonderful eudurance,* long suffering, and patient perseverance, and I sincerely trust a reward commensurate with their past disappointment will fall to their lot. Above them the deep ground has not yet been tried, but gold has been found on a higher level, and two parties aro busily employed extracting it. This discovery ot'Ccssway's, at forty feet from tho surface willgivo fresh impetus to this end of tho load, and I fully anticipato it will again bo rushed a long way ahead. Tho claim below Con way's, occupied by Ward and party, is also on payable gold, I.J-clwts to the dish having been obtained by them out of the gutter. These men have a great deal of washdirt, tho i' stoup" varying from three to six feet in thickness, and now that the ground is drained by tlv, tail race they aro sanguine they will bo able to make excellent wages. Mitchell and party' have just bottomed a new shaft closer into the range, out of which they procured ofj ozs of gold. A drive was opened into tho hill, and tho sand stone reef struck about four feet from tho shaft. From this bed upwards, to tho height of eight and nine feet, gold was found to bo distributed in payable quantities through tho drift. They aro not able to test their deepest ground, on account of the water, which they intend to rid tbomsolvos of by driving into Ward's olftiin, flntl thijij nnrtJcipHtn in U|fc» lnmi>

fits conferred by the tuil race. Webb and his mates have been washing up diit driven out of their forty loot level. It is paying very fair wn»cs, considering they are working single drives only, from LlO to Ll2, being tho reward of each man for his labor. The bend vaoc, constructed by ityan and party, is doing these men good service, as they aro enabled to sluice their washdirt on the claim. Eelow them, another tail-race has been- driven in from the river into Anderson's claim, for tho purpose of drainage. As far as the one claim is concerned, it is a - success, keeping it dry enough ; but it has little effect upon the adjoining ones. Apparently, the drift is too'close to allow the water to percolate freely or else tho ground is full of nprings which keep vp s a constant supply. Anderson has not yet tested his ground, but expects to bottom a shaft this' week, the depth of which will bo about forty feet. All these claims aro on the side of the range into which tho bottom clips as it is followed until tho deepest ground is reached, when from tho fact of the sand stone cropping out of the surface some little distance up, it must rise very suddenly indeed. I tun sorry to siy that the Frenchman's claim, from" which so much was expected, has turned out but indifferently, tho shallow ground jusfcworked proving, so far, much the richest, "runnels have been driven into the hill, and no pains spared to trace tho gold, which apparently has run out or become so scarce as not to pay for the labor of searching for it. Shares in this claims at ono time ranged high, and a good deal of cash changed bands over it, but now they aro far below par. It is, however, quite possible a payable patch, or (some narrow lead, may yet bo struck tlmt, will amply repay their long search for it. Ryan and party have completed their head race, which answers well, although it does not carry quite as much water as is desirabl;. This, however, may be attributed to the late dry weather, which has very much reduced the .small creel™ running from this rangd. At tho same time thero is plenty* of water to supply two or three box bends, and in rainy weather there, will be a .superabundance. So far as absolute gold getting is concerned, these men have made nothing since Christmas, but have been employed stripping a large paddock, which they expect will yield well, and take some time to wash up, and as there is a bed of gravel some nine feet thick to be put through tho boxes, it is exceedingly probable their anticipations, in one respect at least, will be verified. Between them and the creek the chums are worked out and deserted, alter paying most handsomely for the labor cxthere. Itisreporled that Anderson and party obtained 500 ounces out of their claim, and that the ono above them paid nearly as well. It is much to bo regretted thnt the lead ha<> been so scattered by the creek, every attempt to trace it having failed. This is [ believe more to bo attributed to tho exceeding wetness nnd dopth of tho ground, than absence v of gold, and although thero is but little chance at present of the lead being followed, I feel quite c rlain, the oxtonsivo flat running to the .south and west will yet be proved auriferous. Like the Kanieri, Woodstock is in a languishing state, lacking associated labor. Water for sluicing purposes is much needed, to obtain which, long races will have to be constructed at a great expense. Tho miners are giving this matter serious consideration, and I believe it is in contemplation to bring in several hen Us of water from the Ilokitika, from a point in the river where sufliotent fall cmx bo obtained, for the purpose of sluicing tlio whole of the Woodstock Flat, which i.s known to contain a great amount of gold distributed through ten and eleven i'eet of gravel that could not bo profitably extracted by any other process. In spite of the falling off in the yield at the lower end of the deep lead, I consider the Woodstock diggings to be progressing. A great deal of payable ground is in work, and the deep lead upwards is being successfully traced. ft is proved beyond doubt deep ground nuis in that direction, bounded ou either side by the main reef, and as no perceptible change in tho character of the "drift" which fills it has yet been found, there is every reason to believe that gold will be traced some distance further towards its matrix ere the loud entirely runs out or becomes nug»cty. This is the only deep lead in the vicinity of ilokitika worthy tho name, and should it only yield fair returns will prove of immense advantago to tho district.