LAKE COUNTY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 986, 11 March 1881, Page 2

LAKE COUNTY.

(krom our own correspondent.)

A very painful and distressing accident occurred on the Crown Terrace on Friday last. It appears that a widow lady, a Mrs Mackay, whos own a farm on the terrace, was engaged in the work of harvesting upon the day in question, when the “driver” and “titter " of the reaping machine were suddenly startled by a loud scream, and at the same time a child passed clean over the tilling braid with the grain, which was oats, net ween five and six feet in length. The horses were, of course stopped instantaneously, aud it was found that a little giil, nearly four years old, a daughter ot the owner of the property, had her right foot completely cut off at the ank'e. but not otherwise injured. The child had evidently b en laying down in the corn, and it was impossible to see her until after the accident. She bore her serious misfortune with extraordinary fortitude, aud in her little innocent way desired that that they would not cut off her other foot, and said that she beard the machine coming but could not get out of the way, as her feet were sore ami hurt by the thorns, having been running about barefooted, as children will in warm weather. Evidently she bad not made any effort to get out of the way ot the machine, or the men must have discovered her whereabouts. The little sufferer was conveyed to the Arrow Hospital, where a further ampu ation of the limb was necessary. Under the ski ful treatment of Dr Robertson, it is to be hoped that the child will recover from the effects of the accident- The mother, Mis Mackay. was an old Clyde resident, and servant to Mr Warden Robinson. The weather since my last has been most favorable for harvesting operations, aud the work of stacking 01 threshing in the field proceeds most prosperously. The next difficulty will be the selling of the grain, and as we produce a great deal more than is necessary for local consump ion, prices must be less what it can be delivered at a shipping port, and this is very low—3s 61 ami 3a 8d from the railway trucks. Farm produce of all descriptions has always fetched good prices to growers in Lake County, as there was always a good market at Cromwell and Dunstan, and we could send 11 mr even to Naseby. Now down country mills will cut off those markets to a large extent, and producers will have no alternative but to export themselves or sell for export out of the colony. It is to be hoped that farmers, will see their way clear to resuscitate the seemingly lost art of dairying instead of cropping the land to death for the bare return brought by a grain crop, for notwithstanding that we have fine pasture lands, meat, butter, cheese and bacon is excessively dear, and large quantities require to be imported into the district. It appears that the Heathen Chinee is not beyond ghostly influences from the spirit world. A respected citizen of Arrowtown, lately decease!, was the owner of some property in the outskirts of the town, which he rented as a garden to a Chinaman. The deceased, while in life, being of an active dispoairion, would often visit his Celestial tenant, dig a little in the garden, feed the pigs, and perform other s nail offices. Exactly one week after death, and at “ the witching hour of night, when churchyards, &c,'’ and when the Celestial cabbage grower was viewing his flrurishing crop, and seeing that all was safe from the depredations of stray goats and cows, there appeared a vission in the shape of his departed landlord, working amongst the potato beds, and clad in appropriate grave costume. The Heathen Chinee watchel for some time, and then addressed himseff (keeping at a respectful distance) to his late landlord, who deigned not an answer, but deliberately walked up to the pig-stye and threw something in ; then he viewed an apple tree, which, since his death, had been very much denuded of its f.uit; then, seizing hold of a spade, the ghost appeared to dig a hole m the ground, and afterwards disappear down it. The frightened Chinese gard-ner cleared out, returning at early morning with two other Chinamen to keep him company, the two being preserved from further harm by sundry gaudy pieces of paper, bearing Chinese characters prin-ed upon them, pasted ou the outside of their tent. The Tipperary Company washed up on Friday last, when the return was a cake of 2480z. of retorted gold. The result was, of course, a poor one ; but it is impossible to be always on good ground in any mine, and shareholders must have patience aud wait for better times. I vas at Maoetown a few days since, and having visited most of the mines, I append the result of my vestigariona : Tipperary Company.—The main level is now entered a little over 500 ft., and driving is still being carried on towards the Geraldine The lode at the face is between seven and eight feet in width between the walla ; there is a good deal of quartz on the foot wall side, and which shows a HHle coarse gold. The manager considers the face is improving, and expects a change for the better. The country appears to be very solid and the lode well defined, which circumstances are most favorable for gold at Macetown. At distano s between 300 and 400 feet from the mouilr of the mam tunnel the miners are sloping out ground rising in the direction of the middle tunnel, or old main adit. The lode is also being sloped out at a little over 200 ft. from the mouth of the nsain tunnel rising towards the ground w here the Chinamen obtained their gold in the early 1 days of the mine, and some very good looking stone is coming out of this stipe In the other slopes tneve is not so much gold ; it appears to bo coarse and patchy, and shows more than it really is. The , lode itself w auveu foot wide, aud all ta-

quires to be sent to the mill. It is extremely well defined with perfect walls, the back is strong, and tho ground stands much better than usual, which should effect a considerable saving in timber. The manager informs me that he can draw all before filling in. As the mine is now well opened, a less number of men will be required to keep the battery going. The machinery works exceedingly well, and is unquestionably the beet on Macetown. All the Tipperary Company wants is more gold, and this they should ab'ain as they rise towards the middle adit, leaving out what there is under foot and ahead of them. The Homeward Bound,—Crushing operations are stopped here on account of the want of water, while at the same time tho supply of stone is evidently not plentiful, a deal of mullock or “ horse ” prevailing sv ere there snould be quart*. A winze is being sunk to connect the old lower level wit i the new, and some very good stone has been come upon at starting. There is five f. et of really first-class looking quartz showing more gold than 1 hive seen in any urine for some time past. It is€9ft. to the lower level, and as this was diiren in obliquely to reach the lode, it is the opinion cf the manager that they have not yet struck the real gold bearing vein. The intermediate level is being pushed orward into r.ew country, and with very good prospects. The si opes rising from this level look very well, and the stone 1 eing got out should give a good account of itself at the ciushing mill. Although there is a luge well-develo| ed lode in ihe Hcmeward Bound mine, quartz is by no no ana so plentiful for mushing purposes as people might expect. The stone is very blockey, and quickly wedges out, leaving mullock in its place. Plenty of crushing power and the reducing of everything that comes to band might possibly be the best process to pursue in this mine. The Gladstone.—To outsiders, especially such numbers of the Press as are intimate with mining, this mine is like a sea'ed book,and entry is refused. However, appearances give one a very good idea of what is going on. Whenever the entrance to a mine is protected by a strong door, and kept locked, as was the case with the notorious prospecting claim at Lmgwood, it is very ? clear that “ there is something rotten in th. state of Denmark.” The Gladstone case stands thus : They have little more ground to work upon unless they put in a low level tunnel, their reef having to all appearance gone into the Premier Compa ny’s ground. That there is not much atone to be obtained, or it is very hard to get. in this mine, is evident from the fact of eo many men being employed and so little being got. Next, that as they are sloping under foot, they must It picking the eyes nut of the lode. Outside of the mine aie placed a few lumps of quartz alongside a small pool of water, ro that strangeia and visitors may wash them and judge for themselves. 1 looked over some of these spicimens and saw gold, but nothing like in quantity to what I have seen bifore. The company are crushinr at the J ary bore ugh Battery, but Lave not been running for the last week owing to the search y of water. 1 hear they will wash up shortly and send down a cake. The Premier struck the reef on their i boundary towards the Gladstone in the new j shaft at 50ft from the chamber at the <nd of the short drive coming in from the creek. } and 70ft actual vertical height from the sure ; face. The flat reef from which the Glad- j stone obtained so much gold was passed through first, butit wastiarrow, and showed on'y fine goblin s-n ill qmntitias ; they then came upon the vertical reef in one end of the shaft, and have followed it down some ! five feet. It is eighteen inches wide, and shows gold fait ly, I should say in payable quantities. The company have contracted to sink the shaft Oft further when, if appearances justify, they will put in a cross cut tunnel to cut the reef at a lower level. The reef can lie traced in the Premier claim for 1.201)fc. The Defiance. \ tunnel has been drivenalong the course of the lode for some 60ft. A short distance in, a very good leader of gold beaiing quartz was s'ruck on the font wall, varying in thickness nine to IS inches. This continued for about 30ft, when it run out in the strike of the lode. The loader s'ill continues un ler foil anl appears to be widening. A t the face the lo le is four feet wdde, but is all mullock ; more quartz will of course come in by and by. The 1 adye Fry re.— The main low level funnel is now driven in SCOft, (helast 200 ft since the 14th of October last ; also a cross cut the eastward of 20ft, but it discovered nothing At Ihe face, the walls of the lode have jammed and there is nothing. The manager appears therefore to have retrared his steps and c >me back towards the mouth of the tunnel some 150 ft, where he is engaged stoping out and rising upon a lea ler or small reef varying from 12 to 24 inches in thickness. Some of the stone looks very well, and 1 believe the company intend having a trial crushing. All the country in the Ladye Fayre appears to be very much disturbed ami the blocks of quartz are even considerably more uneer- ■ tain than in the Homeward Bound, which claim it adjoins. A deep low level cross cut tunnel from the Twelve Mile Creek, nr pushing forward the prereut tunnel, appears to mi the only way to do any good here in the shape of exploring the country. I should judge present operations to be merely a waste of money. The Maryborough are pushing on with their tramways, but they can never make « Blush in time for crushing operations this tens'-n. They are a’so about to construct a dam so ns to store the water and secure a more regular supply f or their machinery.A new reef has Wn opined by Roberts m>d party, a little al eve the Maryborough Bat ny. Th„ lode is well I’cfincd, and lietween at v Cn mid eight feet wide ; there is P enty ~f quart*, but I cannot say tho same I could geo« fcw liue

specks. The lode is certainly well worth prospecting. The old Katharine has been taken up again, and two parties have sot in to work it. The lode is very narrow, but shows exceedingly well in the shape of promising prospects ; narrow veins of stone are however very trickey in open schist country. The Caledonian are driving for the lode, but they have some distance to go to reach it. l« alluvial mining in the neighborhood of Macetown there is a considerable revival, and hard times and scarceity of employment appears to have had a very benefical effect in the shape of promoting new discoveries in old ground said to have been worked out long ago. Driven by dire necessity, old “faces” and “old tunnels” have been driven in upon, and at least there are now quite a dozm parties of men working and making good wages out of ground they never would have set into had circumstances been favorable for making a living elsewhere. I think the various levels of the “ Terrae‘s”—even the very high ones in this district—are well worthy of a trial. The several times the country must have been degraded bv glacial action or floods, has deposited its layer of gold bearing drift, and there are many little nooks and levels which would amply repay the miner for his labor. At all events all the gold has not been got yet, and there is plently of alluvial to last for some time to come. It is very pleasing to note that the giant monopoly of holding ground by leases unworked for years, especially in the neighborho id of the Shotover, has been set upon by the miners anil applications for their cancellation applied for. Our unemployed population must find work, and it is by no means advantageous to see enterprising miners, having skill and capital, leaving the country forTemoraand other places in Australia when they might be profitably employed at home. Between the monoply of ground and the constantly occurring legal difficulties pumped up by persons interested in keeping up litigation, it will soon require something in the shape of the “ Irish Land League ”to set things straight. The present system of administering the law is only ruinous to the mining interests. It must be borne in mind that gold mining in Otago is only a bare bread and cheese arrange went after all, and when disputes for such asubsistance become, as it were, “suits in chancery,” there cannot be any very great degree of prosperity for those engaged in them, something in the shape of Courts of Artiiti alien would be far preferable to the present manner cf goldfields administration.