MISCELLANEA OF THr MONTH.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1854, 11 April 1863, Page 6

MISCELLANEA OF THr MONTH.

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST COAST OF THE MIDDLE ISLAND. — IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES.

" Men are but children of a larger growth" and the avidity with which hooks of travel or adventure are devoured in boyhood, always leaves behiud it an interest in deeds of daring or enterprise in whatever part of the world they may occur. An expedition into the interior of Africa, by Livingstone or Dv Chaillu, interests us even more now. than did that of Bruce in ouryotilli, while anything new about Japan and China invariably adds. an item to bur booksellers account. The recent explorations in Australia have rivetted our interest .'about that continent, hot only because of. the hardships ; and other incidentals of all such enterprises, j but because tbey affect juterests which we | look upou almost as part, of our own, at any I late those of the same protip 0l? Calories in.

whiclr we belong. In New Zealand, exploration is now confined to the Middle Island. The Northern has beeu traversed East, West North and South, and only an isolated range or two present anything. like a chance of adventure ; but in the South, the West Coast is still a terra incognita, and the crossing the Great Southern Alps from. East to West has only been accomplished within the last two years. Twelve or fourteen yeais ago Mrßrunner, a Nelson surveyor, gave us tbe record of an exploration he made from Nelson to the West Coast— and such a record of misery it proved to be, that ardour in the directum of the West was for a long time damped if not wholly nut o,x v Five years ngo, Canterbury did something in tbe way of ascertaining what th* ranges that] bound her plains iJoHSisted of, by seudingouti Mr Dt'bson, . the Provincial 'Engineer, and | about two years since oue of the Bishop's sons, Mr Leonard Harper succeeded in fairly crossing the island from sea to sea. The journal of an expedition under Mr Drake into the reported gold country of the Taramakau, written by Mr Richard A. Shenin, has been published during the preseut.month in the Press. It occupies several columns iv several issues, tut the main result is thus stated v 0 y that jqnruai — " In Mr Sherrin's iiav;; at - ive W e have a picture of the ter» !, J le West £ oast entirely different from w .uat has hitherto presented itself to our minds. An entirely new country opens before us, differ cut in climate, in physical features, in everything we have been accustomed to regard as fact. Vast tracts of excellent country come into sight like the pictures in a dissolving view, replacing the inhospitable region lately visible. We have been told that there were no large rivers on the West Coast. But now the tide of the Hokitika rolls before us to the sea, surpass^ ing in magnitude the streams of the Waimakiri or Rakaia. The valley of the Hokitika and the country available foroccupition up to the Bruntier river, are described as comprising 1000 square miles, i.e., 640,000 acres of land. VVhe ther there is any grass, or. whether it is all bush, we do not know. All we know is that there is an enormous valley drained by a great river many miles in length ; and that this river is, so far as eau be ascertained, open to vessels of a large size. * * * This discoveiy may be of unparalleled importance. We are not, we confess, quite satisfied about the depth of water on the bar. The ssa is described as breaking all across. That is the case in very deep water where the side ofthe ledge is very steep. If the bottom shallowed from ten to twelve fathoms suddenly to three or four there would always be a sea on ; hut this is the first aud most important point to be ascertained. We do earnestly hope the Government will send a well found expedition by sea, with the means of living some monthson shore, to examinethisbar thoroughly, as well as the neighbouring country. If Mr Sherrin's impression of it be correct, this will indeed become the capital of the West Coast, if not of tbe' Middle islaud. The Hokitika is not above four days'. steaming from Melbourne, i for a fast boat."

Mr Haast, the Provincial Geologist of Canterbury has also just led a successful exploration to the West Coast; while Dr Hectcr, the Geologist of Otago, after encouutering great hardships, succeeded in reaching within eight miles of tbe West Coast, but was, with his two companions, obliged to return from want of provisions- Indications of gold were found in many spots and in one place they came across an old moa track. Mr Sullivan, '(be spSOiar reporter of the Otago Daily Times, who shared in all the hardships thus alludes to it, —

Along the top of the ridge, our attention was attracted by a curiously worn track, about 2 feet wide, which at first I imagined might be an old Maori track to some part of the valley ofthe river. Dr Hector, however, after carefully examining it, pronounced it the track of some birds, pointing out certain indications which left no doubt as to his conclusion: The animal that, was in the habit of resorting ..to this elevated promenade, had scooped out here and there rounded holes, possibly as resting places, in the manner in which the grizzly bear does in the haunts he frequents. These tracks are never to be seen penetrating into the woods, but keep in the direction of their edge at no great distance from them. They had beon evidently in disuse for a long time, and as no like tracks freshly made were observed, it is reasonable to conclude that the animals that made them are either extinct, or, to say the least, exceedingly rare.