THE PALMER.

Evening Star, Issue 3830, 3 June 1875, Page 2

THE PALMER.

{From our own Correspondent. )

Cooktown, April 22. I nave just returned to town, after an absence of some four mouths, part of which time was spent on the Normanby, and the remainder about the different tributaries of the main river, which are included in the general name of the “ Palmer.” liven here in Cooktown one hears so many contradictory tales fold of the diggings, that he is at a loss what to really believe, and, consequently, the opinion of one who actually has been on the ground is of some value. The fact of the matter is that everything is awfully quiet ou the workings at present, and the favorable accounts which emanate from Cooktown, are, in a great measure, owing to the tolerably heavy parcels of eold which are received and forwarded south from time to time. i eople read the careful yr'd lulled reports that so many ounces of gold went away by such-and-such a steamer, and jump at once—only too readily—to the conclusion that the metal is to be bad by all those who, as they phrase it, ‘-like to set in with a will.” Never was a givater fallacy. I am not going, in my humble way, to write down the Palmer a ‘‘duffer;”-by no means—the workings have been very rich ; but the class of people I have spoken of forgot, or ignore the fact that this gold represents the wo;k of some 8,000 men or more, and that it has been accumulating for somo time. 1 speak advisedlv, f. >r it is an acknowledged fact that the Paine-r ‘‘gully-raker” has to pay over his tew and hardly- earned pennyweights to the shantykeeper or packer in return for the means of subsistence, and only “hangs on,” litre •odicaw'iier, in the hope of something “turning up.” Nvhat this something is to be no one seems to have any coherent idea, except that, if any good gold is struck, it will be some distance from the present workings—probably towards the l ate or Walsh Rivers. There is some show of reason in this, too, for many have told me that payable gold has been got in tire i'ate and its tributaries, but only in very small patches, and it is scarcely likely that anythin v

very extensive will be opened much nearer, as men have been out prospecting all the wet season—which has been but a bagatelle compared to lust year, and surely they would have discovered it. had there boon anything worth while. If there is to be any payable ground opened at all in the district, it ought to be within amontho; so of this; but the prospects are not very bright. One thing is prettycerlain, that only those who have hoi s -s ;nd provisions have any chance, for ether wise they cannot get on to the ground in time. Southern people should carefully reflect tin t tie Queensland diggings are peculiarly shallow—in fact, mere surfacing end gully-rakiiig—and that a creek miles in length can be nm ove • by a small number of men m a very short time, and, if not properly worked, at lea t gutled; and the unfortunate wno essays to work ground the si eond time has great labor in removing mullock, with a small chance of making a “rise.” Taking all this into consideration, and adding that, in place of the second time, meu now on the old workings must be content to fossick where perhaps scores hn ve been before, you may form a pretty correct idea that such creeks as Uaiiey, Stoney, and their gull;.s, ar- not particularly brisk. A number of mon have gone up with the express purpose of “ shepherding water-hole* in Sandy ■ nek until they are workable—whenever that may be. probably not uefore August; but they are‘mostly eld hands, banana mon ’ as they are called, and they wtm know the ground where the good gold was originally got. Possibly they may be rewarded ~them patienee I hope they may—as the gold nas been in some cases traced to the very edgts, out not been wurkabl • as yet owing to the height of the water ; but the very fact of men being content to “shepherd” doubtful rrouhd fot such a time, with provisions at so high a rate, should bes a caution to people that ihe Palmer is not the Eldorado our townspeople pictmv it. You, of cou.se, have heard all about tae Umnaiien having taken possession of the 1. eft-hand Branch, which occurred a long wmle since It seems to me that before very long they will have Oakey and other creeks too, for they are pouring like a deluge into the country; and though at pr sent they are con-' lined to Revolver Point and its outskirts, they tre beginning to be seen about Edwardstown and other places— ostensibly for the purpose of ■imposing of onions, potatoes. &c., but really, mmy opinion, “to spy our, the land.” We all know Johns bland, encroaching manner, and that, however easy it may be to keep him off, to dispossess him of his acquisitions is no joke; and, as they are all well armed, it seems to me a very probable thing that were they to actually commence working on the covoted pound, the opposition of the whites would not be very energetic as a bod}', the ground not being worth fighting for. It may be asked—but scarcely by an man—how is it that while Emopeaus can scarcely exi-t on the place, Chinamen are anxious to get in ? The answer is simple : The Chim s work in a body together, and put everything through, thus obtaining every speck there may be in the ground; and. as they are content to live hard, they are able to make a do of it where the white man, who always works on own hook and only selects his ground, has the chances considerably against him, to say nothing about the different aliment required by the two races. lam not, however, going to discus-s the Chinese question ; suffice it to say that Cook town is half Mongolian already, such names figuring on sign boards as thin Loo, Ah Sin, kc , all over the street, while they carry on half the public-houses in town. 1 believe there are to be something like <,OOO or 8,000 more imported during the next few weeks, and we can boast of a line of direct steamers from the Flowery Land. As to tha malaria of Northern Queensland, of which wo have heard so much, it is exaggerated. Certainly fevers are prevalent, and dysentery and ague make a heavy demand upon our laboring nien, but I observed—and I am not alouo in my observation—that theso disorders generally attack those who ha ve been addicted to previous excesses, and have not led a regular hit*. Heavy drinking is almost certainly fatal to men here, but ai.odier cause of the quantity of sickness is the miserable w:\y in which Tillin'* hers of men live—starving themselves on damper and tea fur the sake of ton cf scraping together a few pennyweights. Often this is almost a necessity, I admit, but it is a libel mi the climate to credit it with the cause of all the disease. I have seen wretched-looking specimens of men crawling about up-country, unable to work, or eat, or s’eep, or, in fact, do anything but defame the country and nnathciitiitjse the climate, who should instead have blamed tluir own vi,n,us ii. - s and habits, nn-l who were dependent fo- existence on the benevolence of some local physician. Mind, I don’t say the Palmer is an Elysium, for often fine, strapping, healthy young fellows are laid low- ; but, as 1 said, the evil is exaggerated. Another Mte voir (no joke) is the darkies. They am simply a- nuisance. They seldom or never attach a party, but fall on stragglers, who ai » speared without mercy. As I was travelling down the Hell’s Gates road.the other day I and the party I was with camped the other side of the Laura, in consequence of its being “up.” Two swaesmen, without arms, however, forded the night before, ami were pushing on to Sandy Creek, when one of them felt a spear right through his arm, which he pulled out, and bolted, with his mate. The unlucky man gob another spear wound, but not of a serious nature. They had been wading the bed of a creek .without any apparel but a shirt and hat. and when attacked gave a look round, saw about -.00 blacks, dropped their swags, and ran back for their lives. They escaped, but had the mortification of losing their swags,"containing all they possessed, and were fain to travel the remainder of the trip much after the fashion of Adam before the fa!'. This occurred only three miles from ir, but when we crossed next day, we saw nothin/ of the foe, for they evidently wera afraid of us, as two of our number had fire-arms. The weather lately has been tolerably fine—wet enough, in all conscience, bub pretty cool—and that is a great recommendation to us New Zealanders. I thought I should have died with the heat when I landed here but a six months’ residence has made mn tolerably acclimatised, and I believe I could comfortably stau.l the operation of firing or grilling now. I here is a deal of talk here all or. I the reefs at Edwardsiown, but as there hia been ho machinery but the “ dolly ” employe 1 to test them I fail to see any foundation for the reports that they are capable of yielding lOoz. arid 20oz. to the ton, as some would lHakt you believe, Time will tell, but “ machining ” will be an expensive operation there for agog to come. In conclusion, let me say to any who be thinking of coming here,‘“suit yoiu> self. I have told, as far as in me lay » plain unvarnished tale,” and have not tl • least interest in telling any other. For myself I intend trying again, if I see a fair chance • but whether it is wise for those who are doing a little in JNew Zealand to thro w it up on suca a scanty hope as there is here, I leave to themselves to decide. I will keep you posted up ia the news here from time to time. 1