MINING INTELLIGENCE

Evening Star, Issue 3598, 3 September 1874, Page 2

MINING INTELLIGENCE

ARROW.

(From our own Correspondent.) m U i A\igUßt 31. . coa * se *uis on the Kuwarau lie in a slope of the Remarkables, and on ascending above the coal workings and crossing a saddle the visitor finds himself confronted with some of the wildest scenery to be found even in this rugged district. A mountain torrent of considerable size, called Doolans Creek, lies at his feet; here go. mi ning has been by fits and starts carried on to some extent, but at present by only a few parties. The valley of the creek is mostly narrow, and the mountains on each side are very high, which gives it the appearance of a dangerous and gloomy place. In some parte perpendicular cliffs rise abruptly from the creek to a height of 1,500 feet, and the huts- of the miners have often been damaged bv masses of rock slipping down upon them. In one case a large stone rolled down the hill and passed right through one of em, ut did not hurt the occupants. It however, so frightened them,’ that they left the creek for a short time, until they regained courage to return. Large numbers of small stones are otten dislodged by sheep, end come fly. wg dtfvtn iatb the tb the distoa^

of those working there ; and the din and the roaring of the water is anything but soothing to the nerves. The coldness of the temperature in winter is also something to be remembered, as it gets very little sunshine, and if you stand still for a short time you feel as if the old were taking bodily hold of you. The instant a prospect is tried the gold freezes hard to the bottom of the dish Fortunately scrub for firewood is plentiful, although heavy timber is scarce, except at the head of the creek, and the Kawarau coal seam crosses the creek at one part of it, but as the stream is fourteen miles in length and without tracks, the coal is not generally available. Some portions of the creek yield fair returns of gold, the sample being coarse flat pieces, veiy bright and much waterworn. The severe climate and inaccessibility of the place prevent it from commanding that attention which its resources would otherwise claim. It falls into the Nevis river about two miles above its junction with the Kawarau, and at the junction of Doolan’sand the Nevis the scenery is positively awful, and rendered still more so by the noise of these large bodies of water travelling at a furious rate over rocks and enormous boulders. The place is so uninviting that although excellent prospects of gold can be obtained on the Lower Nevis, no one seems to care about pushing his fortune in these dreadful ■wilds. The samples of gold on this part of the Nevis are something like small bits of thick wire, and a few pennyweights together look like rice. The gold is found on small rocky beaches, and this portion of the river for miles has never been worked, as any party wishing to start there would have to spend some time in cutting tracks to enable them to prospect, and the mere sight of the place is enough to frighten and deter most people. I must confess that I felt much more at home when I got back to the Kawarau side of the range.

The Sons of Fortune are to hold a meeting this week, with a view of commencing active operations. The Arrow United have not yet made a start for the season. The snow is melting gradually from the hills, but the weather is still frosty, and most of the miners are still frozen out from their claims, and have in turn commenced to freeze out the publicans by becoming Good Templars. Ido not think that movement has taken such a hold anywhere else as it has here.