ALBERTOWN.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 208, 4 November 1873, Page 7

ALBERTOWN.

(from our own correspondent.) October 30, 1873. Albertown is progressing •; we shall soon have two punts here. Mr Campbell haß bought a con pie of splendid boats in town, and the approaches are already cut. I believe that, when not'being used for creasing ■sheep, Mr M'Pherson is to have the use of it, in return for which he is to keep it in order. Signs of the busy season are making themselves manifest. Washers and musterers are ieing taken on all round, and all the shearers are engaged, The return of two gentlemen overland from the West Coast created n> slight excitement here", but they speak of the rivers being so high, and the track so bad, that I do ncft think many «of the miners from this district will swell the Haast rush. Otherwise, their report is encouraging. 1 ;am glad to be able to furnish you with Mr -M'Donald's own notes of the journey. They 'I were originally furnished to Mr Campbell, of | Wanaka station, and miay be depended upon ' :as correct. Mr M' 1 Donald commences his diary upon"! Me 12th October, and'dates from Cameron's i if I at, about twelve miles from the head of j Lake Wanaka. It then proceeds with short j ■notices <of every day's proceedings : ; "Oct. 13th. Fnwa Cameron's flat we! Started up a spur between the Blue river arid i ►the Fish river. Tlie morning was fine, but! about twelve o'clock it got cloudy, and blew j a perfect gale. By this time we were far up in the snow. We had to turn back and get into the bash for shelter, on account of a snowstorm.—Oct. 14t!h. Weather fine. We struck out to gain the dividing range.- We reached it m about four hours. The morning was clear, and the sight was grand for an •artist; but not for us, for, to cur mortifica--4 tion, we could proceed no further on that track, it being a perfect field <of ice. The •slipping of snow sounded like a thunder •storm, so we turned back and prepared to start across the saddle.-—Oct. 15th. We crossed the saddle track.—Oct. 16th. We went through the gorge over a very bad track, with rocks and precipices, and under-scrub, 'The rivers were pre+ty high.—Oct. 17th. We travelled all day in scrub down the Haast, till we came to the Clarke river, where we camped. —Oct. 18th. Raining all day.—Oct, 19th. We went down the Haast towards the diggings. The track is pretty good to within twelve miles of the coast; it is then very had with scrub aftd supple-jacks.—Oct. 20. We arrived at the township, or where the rush was some years ago. The first person we saw was a woman, and very glad we were to meet her. She told us that all the people were leaving there for the opposite side of the river, as it was in that direction. the rush was. We were not long there when all the people that, were in the vicinity had gathered to see the men who had come overland from Otago. Some said- that the rush was no good, but yet they confessed that they had not gone to see it, and that a great many diggers went back without going to see the rush. We were told that about sixty men had gone back in this way with the same boat in which they had come. There were about forty men there yet, but none of them have set in properly to work. They are merely fossicking, as they call.it; but those who are working properly we wore told were getting a little gold. We were shown about thirty ounces of gold. It is very rough, round gold, some nugget 3 weighing three ounces. About the second person we saw there was the celebrated Bill Fox. He is in high spirits. He and his party were out, and came in next day, and applied for a claim, with a head race, etc.. He said to. us, "Tell the people of Otago that Bill Fox is still alive, and dead on the gutter." We came back in three days to Cameron's fiat from the mouth of the Haast, but we travelled from daylight to dark, I would not adviso any person to go through theru yet, for the rivci's *ce very high."