GOLD PROSPECTING.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 439, 7 June 1871, Page 2

GOLD PROSPECTING.

By the courtesy of H. S. Tiflen, Esq., we (Napier Telegraph), are enabled to place before our readers the following interesting letter from Messrs. Edward King and party : —"Napier, May 29.—T0 H. S. Tiffen, Esq. Sir, —Wo have again returned to town, after an absence of ov«r three rftonths. lam sorry we were no more successful on this than we were on either of our former trips. The most of our time has been spent in prospecting the western slopes of the Kaimanawa ranges, more iv particular one river named the Witikau, running N.E. and S.W., and flowing into the Waikato. We traced this river to its source, a distance of thirty or forty miles, finding gold in small quantities i the whole distance, also in several of the tributary streams, and from the regular way in which it is scattered, I have no hesitation in saying, I believe it is washed from some of the numerous reefs in the neighbourhood, as the ranges on both sides of this river are covered with broken quartz, with numerous reefs and leaders tending in all directions. The country in this part of the Kaimanawa resembles the Thames district more than any we have previously travelled over. We have done very little in regard to prospecting for reef gold, as you must be aware that it requires a deal of time, labor, and capital to develop a quartz field, and for one small party of three men it would take years to fully prove even one single spur of the Kaimanawa, unless we were fortunate enough to strike it on the surface, as Sunt did at the Thames. lam far from satisfied with this part, and intend to prospect it further yet; —in fact, wo should not have left it now, but the weather became so intensely cold and wet wo were compelled to leave tho high country or the horses would have perished. As it was, I was forced to leave one of them on the ranges, and I doubt if it is alive now. lam very sanguine that good payable quarts will yet be found in those ranges, and if I am in a position to do so, I shall certainly spend the whole of next summer ia prosecuting the search for it, although at the same time I would not spend orfe single day in looking for alluvial gold, as I am perfectly convinced, iv my own mind, there is nothing like payable alluvial ground in that country, and I doubt very "much if there is any elsewhere in this North Island."