MARTIN’S BAY.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2342, 4 October 1870, Page 2

MARTIN’S BAY.

A guitleman in the city has received a letter from a settler at the Bay, and we are permitted to make the following extracts from it:—“ From what you say this plac- is exciting great interest on your side of the Island. People ought to be very careful about starting to come here, as there are a great many hardships to he encountered before they can make themselves comfortable. There is not an acre of open land in the settlement, with the exception of a few hill-tops, five thousand feet high, a swamp of about 200 acres and the sandspit. All the farms mentioned in Mr Whitworth’s pamphlet, must first be cut out of the dense forest. Another thing to he taken into consideration, is that most of the free grant hmd has been taken up, and I very much doubt if a ! l the arrivals by the Esther Ann will get any fit for cultivation. There is plenty of land in the Hollyford valley—--15,000 to 20,000 acres I should imagine—hut for all this 5s an acre must be paid. The Government would do well to extend the free grants to the Upper Hollyford. Another mistake is that a fee had not been p'aced on each application, say of L 5, to he refunded after the applicant had settled three years on his land. This would have prevented a great many sailors, diggers, and passengers, who have called here, from taking up land without the slightest intention of settling, but onlv for the chance of something turning up in the course of a year*. But here you sec the fault lies ; it keeps men—bona (idc settlers—back, they are told the land is taken up, and yon must wait and see if the first applicants come to take up their land within a year from the date of application. Mr Strachan cannot refuse anyone, although he knows ever so well that ho wid never see the man again. Added (o this is the expense of survey to bo taken into c usidcration, and the country pays LlO pr L2O for the survey You will see by the heading that we have left Lake MTCerrow. We left head-quarters about the 20th May, and have been in the valley of the Hollyford ever since. This is onr second camp. We are now camped abreast of Pyke’s Creek, a distance of five miles from the head of the lake and about 17 miles from the sea coast. We have had some frightful weather here for the last two months; day after day rain, rain. It is quite a common occurrence 6 and 7 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. It has been as high as 10 inches in that period. I know that yon, on the other side, think yourselves drowned if you have 3 inches in a month. We have had ten days fine frosty weather up to Thursday last, when it c ine on to rain, and has rained ever since. Last night we were all roused out of our slumbers by a very heavy thunderstorm, accompanied by heavy slips of snow glaciers and rocks. It was something tremendous to hear the loud roll of thunder—such as I or any of us never heard the like of—ami the long, low ami deep rumbling noise of the mountai s of ice giving way as if the whole valley was about to close in around you, and shaking the ground and tents, echoing ami rc-echo ng among the hills and valley around ns. The Hollyford can boast of some really grand and sublime scenery (as well as good land), especially in the winter season when the mountains on either side have donned their robes of snow spangled with ice. What a grand sight to look up to those noble peaks, from 5000 to 7000 feet in height, ami draped with cataracts foaming over the rocks. Thepe is one opposite our camp, coming down in fine style to-day. its fall is from 200 to 300 feet; it is extremely picturesque. Wo had a splendid view of the country the other day, from a hill in the centre of the valley. We could see its full length up to its source, and Lakes M’Kwow ana Alabaster—the latter is a

lake of considerable size, up Pyke’s creek, nestled in the bosom of high mountains. 'Hie level land in the valley, averaged in width from half to miles, in length about 16 miles; this is exclusive of the Lower Hollyford or Martin’s Bay district. The land is of fair quality so far as 1 have seen, densely timbered ; this lot can he sold to any one at ds an acre, without staying on it. From what I have seen I do not think on the whole that the land here is so bad to walk through as that on the East Coast. Wc will (.f we stay till the survey is complied) he much longer than we anticipated when we started on the expedition. I fancy that we will be at least another year here before you see us showing up in Great King street; we are now over live months out, and only five miles above the Lake, if you look at the map you will see what proportion that is of the settlement. As for myself I don’t care how soon it is over, for it is a rough wet life, and a lot of nasty work about it, swagging tents, blankets, and tucker, through a trackless bush, crossing creeks and rivers, snow-fed and rapid ; of course each makes his swag as light as possible, but then you must have enough. We have now commenced drinking that delightful beverage, tea without sugar, and coffee ditto. I was very much disappointed in not getting any letters by the Waipara in her last trip, not a letter or newspaper for any one. For my own part I cannot help thinking that there is great carelessness somewhere. There is no urc sending letters to Queenstown, unless there is an regular mail estab ished between here and that place. Hokitika is by far the surest and safest route I know. I went down to the township yesterday (August 21), and was surprised to see the changes that had come over the place since I had been down before, two months previously. There were no less than two stores and a dozen extra tents and huts. All these new settlers had come round from Hokitika in the Wiapara, no less than a lady and child. Things are looking np. it s muds quite homely to hear the cook sound his “shrill clarion,” but his proud defiance is only taken up by tbc lonely echoes of the mountains. The arrivals by the schooner have not as yet taken up their abode here ; they are still down near the scone of the disaster— 2S, I believe, altogether. They do not know what to do ; all the land is taken up worth the having (as I bad anticipated), and on the whole they are very much dissatisfied. I understand that there is only one real Nova Scotian in the batch —they prefer Preservation Inlet, where they were bailed up for nine days with rough weather ; my private opinion is that the old proverb of the “rolling stone. &c ,” is in their case very applicable. The general belief down here is that great carelessness had been exercised in tbe wreck; it would seem that they were not a very orderly lot on board.”

Late intelligence to brand from Martin’s Bay reports that the carcase of a whale ninety feet long had been washed into Big Bay, and 111 it the late master of the ketch Esther Anne (lost in Marlin’s Bay) is engaged securing the blubber, with a view to boiling it down.