THE KIMBERLEY RUSH.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1269, 25 June 1886, Page 3

THE KIMBERLEY RUSH.

THE PROSPECTORS ACCOUNT. Mr (J navies Carlisle, the leader ot the party which left Cambridge Gulf on Octo her i 3. ISSS, and arrived at Derby on March 26, has sent in a long report to the Government ns to his discovery of the goldfield on the Denison Plains. Their first camp after leaving Cambridge Gu f was at Parryjs Creek. They left there on October 18 and on the following day reached Goose Hill, where some of their horses ware speared by Natives. They left the latter p’aoe on the 20th, making duo east east, and struck the 0 d, which they followed for some days. On November 6 Mr Carlisle and one ot his mates named Candlish were struck by lightning while in the rtent taking shelter from a storm. Mr Carlisle was stunned end severely burnt. On November 10 they passed the mouth ot the Fraser lliver, whore they found two maiked trees, and saw several mobs of cattle belonging to Du ack’s station. They camped hero, and derided to send four men and six horses up ibe Fraser River with a view to prospecting. These men returned to the camp on the 25th and reported that for fifty miles up the Fraser they never got the color of gold. They saw no quajtz rocks or anything else to indicate the presence of go ! d. Mr Carlisle believes, however, that in the gullies and creeks at the le ad of the Fiaser, close un to the Leopold Ranges, good gold will he found. They afterwards prospeeted the river again and found plenty of idack sand on the gravel hanks, bur. it had generally no indication of gold. They also found a number of quartz reefs, but none of them appears-* to be. gold bearing. They left the mouth of the Fraser on November 27 and travo’led again up the bed of the Ord until November 29, when they reached its junction with the Negri. Hero, in the bed ot the river, they came upon traces of iron, copper, and tin, but no colil. They resumed thoir journey along the river hanks on December 2, and they now began to finl that the water of the liver, wh ch had hitherto been salt, was pretty fresh and sweet. Game, which had hitherto had been abundant, began to get j scari'O, hut fish w is plentiful. On Decem- : her 4 they camped on the Ord, ahont twelve miles from the Forrest River. On Decern her 9 they for the first time got the color of g Id, the spot being about four miles below the junction of the Panton and the Ord. On December 11 they left the Ord and folJ lowed the Panlnn as far as its junction with ] the I‘dvire. Two men, who were now sent 1 up the Pantnn with a view to finding grass ; for the horses, returned stating tbit they j hid only seen spinifex, hut reported a splendid looking country for cold. Ucould, however, they said, be worked only in the wet season, Prospects of fine gold were

evident from the appearance of Iheubhds of ■ he rivers ant creeks at the jaiiotiOliof the P.mton and Elvire, but not ill payable quantities. When the party were cneaii pod hero they were joined by two men who bad come overland from Qiee eland, having been three months on (be way. On December 13 the party star e I up the Elvire, in the bed of which they saw appearance of fine gold. Four days later all the men were engaged in prospecting in a branch of the river which t mck away in a south westerly dir otion. I.t ie creek-. and gullies running into the river they found fine looking reefs cropping np everywhere, but most of them were only “ blows,’ 1 not solil, continuous reefs, aud wete very much broken no. No gold could be seen in the n. Ry Chistmas Day they had got about s venty fi> e miles from the mouth of ihe Elvire, and up to this lime they hid not come across any payable gold, although the country had every appearance of being a good gold country. Splendid quartz gravel be Is and quartz reefs cropped up everywhere. On December 26 a party that had been sent out to report upon the prospects of obtaining foo l for the horses reported that grass was scarce, and that a mob of horses like theirs could not exist together. It was agreed to divide the party, and they split up as follows ;—Carr, Cunningham, Griffen. Keelan, and Jacolette formed one party with sixteen horses ; Carlisle. E 1 wards, and Candish formed another pirty with ten horses ; while Harrohl wkh three horses joine 1 the two Queenslanders. Carlisle’s party went along what is known as the Black Elvire. On December 27 they came across a party of prospectors headed by a man named Campbell, six miles above them on the same creek. Two members of Carlisle’s party went out to examine the country to the nnrih-east, and, returning the same day, they reported that they had found a gully which would pay for working. They determined to “xumine this gully, and found it about six miles away. In a small diy creek under some hills ca led the Black Ranges they found some coarse gold. New Year’s Day found them putting the rocker together, and during that day they got £oz of gold. Mr Carlisle’s diary proceeded as follows.-—January I: There are six of us in party, including two men from Queensland. We are now packing our dirt half a mile to water. If the rain dees rot come soon we shall have to leave here and move down the river (Elvire) to get water for cooking purposes The Campbell party are camped alongside of us, and have pegged off a claim above us. Hall and Sla tery are on a creek about fifteen miles to the north east of us Want of water is the great drawback at present, both to working and prospecting. The place we are now working in is a small gully un er a range of hills called the Black Range. They ate of sandstone formation, and run in a north-west aud south-east direction. We are now about ten miles from the Black Eivire. about seventy miles from the mouth of the Elvire, about 100 miles from ihe junction of th; Panton and Ord Rivets, about 30 miles south east of Mount Barrett, and about a mile from Brockman’s Creek. January 8; Yesterday finished the first week’s work at digging. Took out 12oz , I2Twt, i o be divided amongst six of us, although the work was done really by three men. In the afternoon a very heavy storm came on, and in less than half an hoar the , water in the gully rose TH. We were very near losing all our too s. There are now five parties in the camp, including our- ; selves. These are Campbell brothers, three men and nine horses ; Crib and Keelan, two men and five horses ; a party of Queenslanders, five men and fifteen horses ; Moore and Hea'Uev, three men, to blacks, ann 25 horses ; and on. selves. Janmry 17 : Cleaned up on Saturday, the result of the week’s woik being 4oz ICdwt. This small amount is owing to the late floods, which carried away our dirt that we had stacked up and filled the gullv with rudiish. We had to work it all over again apd cleai; away the rubbish. Two men fossicking with a dish just above ourdainj/picked up two pieces—one about an ounce and the other about half an ounce—wdiicn proves beyond a doubt th it there is heavy gold to he got ; but as there is no gold to be seen in (he quartz, it is rather a mystery where it comes from. They continued working at the creek up to Thursday, February 11, having then worked out all the payable ground. They had worked ; n the bed of the cully for 200 yards, the width being from 4ft to sft and the depth of the ground from Gin to Sin. The total amount of gold Mr Carlisle’s party had taken out of the gully was about 70oz. Mr Carlisle continues : “ I have not the slightest doubt that this will turn out a creat gol Ifield. All who have rations to stop six mouths longer are quite sanguine of making a good thing of it, but gold cannot b_ found everywhere, ft requires an experienced digeer to look for it, and it will req lire a man to have at least L 133 to fit himself out with rations, horses, and tools for a six mouths’ trip. 'There are about 30 or 40 men on the field at the prese"t time. Most of them are from Queensland, and they are the right kind of men—good practical diggers, and possessing a little capital. There is a vast extent of country to be prospected yet, and 1 have no doubt there will be a great rush from Queensland, South Australis, and Victoria. We have had no chance of prospecting the other part of the country, as we have been working in one gnlly first to last, in all about 5 weeks. The j gully where wo have be-n working is situated o the Dennison Plains, on that branch of the Elytra called the Black Eivire. It is about fifteen miles along the main branch of the Elvire, running north-west of the Black Elvire, running south-west. Wo were working within half a mile of the foot of a range of low knobby hi’ls, of sandstone formation. The whole formation is sandstone, quartz, and slate. The creeks, gullies, and river have invariably a slaty bottom. It is a hard country to travel in. It is one mass of gullies, creeks, ami ravines, intersecting ami crossing each oth- r in all directions, an I overgrown everywhere with spinifex. Nut a blade of grass is to he seen, except in the creeks and rivers, where at the present time there is plenty for a I'mited supply of horses. Should there be an influx of diggers, all of them with horses, I am afmid there will be some difficulty in finding cqa-s for them. The best lime to arrive is the middle of December, when the grass is beginning iug to spring. The great difficulty at present is to get rations ami requisites. They can only he got at Detby or Cambridge Gulf, either place is about 400 miles away.”

POLIOS REPORT, Sergeant Troy reports from Derby as follows : —About twenty-two men have arrived in Derby from the gold diggings since April 2G. All sorts of wild'reports are being spread as to the quantity of gold discovered by these men, but so far as 1 have been able to ascertain they have brought iu about IdOoz. Charles Carlisle, who was supplied by the Government with a number of survey horses at Cambridge Gulf, is inHis party divided into two—one party got about ST z of gold, and the other party but laz. The most reliable amongst the diggers info-ms me that there is a large extent of auriferous country, but that the gold is not in payable quantities in the localities be visited. It issail that water is scarce and the Narives hostile. All agree that the most prac ioahle road is from Derby, and not from Cambridge Gulf.”