AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 358, 5 March 1869, Page 3

AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.

CLYDE TO THE HEAD OP lake* wakatip. (from an occasional correspondent.) The weather was magnificent, there was just sufficient clouds to intercept tho fierce rays of the sun and to prevent them from burnishing the faces of the fair, ones onboard, yet, the atmosphere was, sufficiently clear to allow of an uninterrupted view of the wild mountainous scenery which surrounded us. The surface of the Lake was unruffled by any breeze, and we all congratulated ourselves upon such a favorable day having been chosen to contemplate the romantic beauties of the “ land of mountain and of flood." The first place worth noting was tho “ twelve mile” a small diggings situate at tho base of Mount St. Patrick, whoso limbored and green grassy slopes are watered by tho waters of Lake Wakatip. There is ft shanty or store on the beach;'from which

the millers and wood-euttfiis in the neighbourhood obtain their supplies. From Queenstown to this is a horse or pack track, and which is being carried to the head of the Lake, whence it will bo ultimately taken to Martin’s Bay on the West Coast. Looking on the Opposite shore of* the Lake, there is a fine view of Mounts Walter, Cecil an 1 Nicholas, Steaming rapidly ahead, we reach Bob’s Cove, eighteen miles from our place of departure, and unquestionably one' of the most beautifu spots on the Lake. Towering high into the air above, is Mount Crighton with its forest of dense timber, extending to the very edge of the blue and silent waters of the land locked little Cove : the foliage was here beautifully diversified, there was the sombre looking birch tree, stately and melancholy enough to marl: the last resting place of some world renowned warrior, who tired of the pomp and tumult of war had chosen this beautiful spot, where removed from the haunts of busy man, he might enjoy that sleep from which none awaketh, here we have also the olive green Broadleaf or New Zealand Laurel, the delicate Goai and graceful Celery Pine, and jutting out between the crevices of the great gray and moss covered rocks close to the wate s’ edge, was the gam y Iron-wood tree, one dense mass of scarlet blossoms outrivaling in beauty the choic at exotics of the greenhouse or garden. The ladies all fell in “ love at first sight ” with this beautiful tree. I was pointed out a large hill of limestone, throughout the formation of which, from basis to summit, shell of extinefc “ mollusk ” are to be found thickly imbedded, leaving as it were an unmistakable record of ages and floods, probably passed long before the creation of man "Passing a large fall of cbrystal water, which comes tumbling over tre rocks, and mingling with the Lake, and rounding a bold rocky promontory, then a long spur from Mount Chrighton which forms Sandy Point, quite a new scene bursts upon us

The Lake here makes a bend due north to its head, and at one uninterrupted view, we have the islands, the mouths of the Greenstone, Dart and Rees Rivers, far in th; back-ground, the towering mountains which form the barrier between this and the West Coast, and overtopping all Mount Earnslaw 9,165 feet high with its snowy peaks and glittering glaciers peering out and st the clouds. The comae of the a earner was now a.tered, ana we stood over to the western shore of the Lake, when we called off Von Tunzleman’s Station, very pleasantly situated at the base of Mount Nicholas and the mouth of the Afton River, here we landed Mr. Warden Beetham It was now a dead calm, not a breath of wind ruffled the surface, which, shining bright a;id smooth as a looking ' glass reflected in its bosom in clear out- ' lines the mountains surrounding the shore, th; illusion being so perfect as to almost 1 Mad to the belief, that an ascent of the hills might be easiest made by merely jumping overboard.' Once more in motion, we steam d straight for Messps Roberts >n and Cos’ Saw Mills, hear the head of the Lake, passing Pigeon, Pig, and Long Islands, an t bi iding a facetious good bye to the crew of a sailing cutter, who were vainly attempting to make progress, which the absence of any wind denied them. The head of the Lake now became obscured, as : with the smoke of bush tires, but the course of the phenomena was quickly ex- | plained by our captain, whj described it i as clouds of light silicons * sand drifting ' down the valley of the Dart river, by the I effects of a north west wind, at the same 1 time prophecying that had weather would overtake us before night was over. At the mouth of the Greenstone river, we took on boaod Mr. John M ‘Bride, one of the owners of the “ Antrim ” and who owns a fine llouri hing farm on the delta formed by the debris brought down from the mountains by floods, and deposited at the mouth of the river. We were now skirting Mount Boupland, S, 102 feet high, with its sides covered to the waters edge, with a dense forest of majestic trees, consisting irlncipally of red birch and pine,, and having a luxuriant undergrowth of shrubs and creepers, many of the former far superior to the majority of imported p ants, and which if introducewould form valuable additions to our gardens ; by the bye, I am of opinion that Mount Bouplan 1 should ho re-christened Mount Robertson, as a fitting tribute to the untiring energy and enterprise of one, who may with truth be said to he the father of the Wakatip District. Admiring the beauties of the forest a- we gli led smoothly along almost amidst the overhanging bows of the trees, we cast anchor at the saw-mil-and thus concluded the outward bound part of our trip. The greatest portion ef our company now sought the shore, where they were landed in boats, the depth of water alongside thq wharf i ot being sufficient to land direct from the steamer, little croons of families, and acc.u .intances were quickly formed, some contented themselves with a short stroll amidst, the intricate labyrinths of the forest, or seated beneath ‘ho outspreading branches of some giant of she vegetable kingdom, enjoyed the unrestrained luxury of an “ alfresco feast.” Others betook themselves to the saw-mill, where again there was eating and drinking, and where ample justice was done to the many good things so liberally and bountifully provided. The arrangements of the mill are upon an extensive scale, the motive power being water. Tha wheel is what is termed a back-pitch, high-breast wheel, its action being inwards, or exactly contrary to what we usually see in water-wheels. It mea ’ures twenty-six feet in diameter, and has a face of four feet four inches. Its power is equal to that of twelve hoises, hut this can be increased by an additional supply of water to twenty horses when desired. Made in the early - f'aya of the diggings, the machinery, which is very ingeniously constructed, is for the most part composed of wood, the cog and spur wheels never having once required repair since first built. For the edific'tion of visitors the machinery was put in motion, and a sixteen foot log. four feet through, was duly squared and quartered in an inconceivably short space of time. This finished, we once more ema ked on board the Antrim, and bidding a lien to the the workmen at the mill, and to the splitters avlio had come down from the mountain to see the fun, the steamer shaped her course towards Queenstown. Standing over to the opposite side of the Lake, we passed by Glenorcby. a small township, destined to rise some day into eminence ; thence we were close in shore off the “Twenty.five Mile,” another romantic-looking spot, where a few miners have settled down, We then steamed rapidly through a narrow channel between the islands and the main land. This was a very interesting portion of the excursion. The foliage on Long amf Pig Islands, extending as it does to tho very edge of the

’ike, forms a delightfully pretty scene, the 1 .ud and water being agreeably intermingled Arrived once again off the Twelve-mile wc were challenged to a race by the little screw steamer Expert, who. with steam m, came boldly out to medt her fully developed sister. It was now getting dark, aid both vessels sent out clouds of sparks, a companied with dull red flames, from their funnels ; but the contest was a shop • lived one. The Expert held on for a few minutes, and then dropped far into the rear. Shortly after 8 p.m. we ran alongside the jetty, arherc we were duly landed, do lighted with pur seventy-miles ride u) o the waters of Lake Wakatip. The Antrim is a paddle-wheeled steamer of rather more tnan one hundred tons burden, builders’ measurement. Her dimensions are—breadth of beam, sixteen feet j length of keel, 118 feet. She is schooner rigged, and is well and substantially built of black pine, red birch, and totaro. Her engines are on the diagonal principle, built by Messrs. Kincaid and M ‘Queen, of Dunedin, are high-pressure, thirty-horse (nominal) power, capable of working up to forty-five with, the greatest safety. With fifty pounds pressure of steam fifty revolutions can be attained per minute, propelling the vessel at the rate of ten knots per hour. The Antrim holds a certificate of the first class Mr. Nancarrow, the Government Marinr Inspector, when giving an opinion of tht durability of the timber used in her build, stated that it was well a 'apted for the purpose, and instanced that, at Nelson, he had lately inspected a steamer, built sixteen years ago of similar material, and that even plank was as sound as when first put in. It s the intention of Mr. Sraitham to have t eius on Saturday to see the flu mills of Messrs. Robertson and Ha lenstein, at Frankton, and we were to have stayed a short time at the station of Messrs. Boyes. Brothers, at the falls ; but, unfortunately, the pro ictions of Captain Williams were fully realised. It commenced raining a* midnight on Friday, and, with very few intermissions, it poured till nearly sundown on Saturday. Further travelling was therefore ren ered impossible ; so, between the showers, we made shift to explore some of the mysteries of Queenstown, and many really interesting anecdotes were told u= about the numerous closed up stores and hotels, the existence of whiih rather excited our curiosity-. Whether the owners had -Wended, 1 esn taken off by a plague, or hal dxowi el themse'v a jin the lake were matters for surmise. Vv nether the Mayor and Corporation had purchased these dila pidatei properties, to preserve them as grim remembrances of the good 01 1 times, when the go'd-workings on the Shotover were in the zenith of their glory, we oftentimes made bold to inquire of some intelli-gent-looking native, but could obtain no satisfactory solution to the mystery. Fearing, therefore, that we were treading upon delicate ground, we let the matter drop and the secret still remains safe in the bosoms of those personally interested. One anecdote told us'by an intelligent “ loafer, ” who made friends with us’ or rather made himself acquainted with some goo I brandy whidii we “shouted” at tiie bar of the Union Hotel, is well worthy of a place here, as portraying a rather novel feature in the manners and customs of American society. It appears that, some few months ago, a real live Yankee, from San Francisco city, came to honor Queenstown witli a visit, and Mr. Robertson being pointed out. to him as being the owner of the place, be very naturally inquired who ho was. On being informed that be owned extensive saw mills at '•the bead of the lake, made further inquiries as to the number of fire? which had fr'ken place, laconically remarking that, were Queen town in his part o America, and Mr. Robertson possessed many friends, the place would have been burned down some two or throe times since it first became a Township, happily however the frien s of Mr. Robertson are not quite so enthusiastic as to take this method of improving his welfare, and I an sure that he does not desire such questionable services? nothing pleases him better than to see everybo y prosper simultaneously with himself, and san instance of this, an it is due to his liberality to mention that, were it not for his timely ren Wed assistance, many of the public buildings and comfortable cottages of the farmers would not have been erected. Sunday morning dawned fine and the rays of “Old Sol” shone joyously out. The previous says rain had cooled theparched earth and wrought an agreeable change in the face of the vegetable creation which looked amaz ingly refreshed. At an early hour we took our departure, re-crossed the Shotover successfully, notwithstanding that it had riser considerab y; and bv the same route as we came, reached C yde in the evening, highlydelighted with our trip “among the mountains.”