THA HAAST RIVER RUSH.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 169, 12 February 1867, Page 2

THA HAAST RIVER RUSH.

(From the West Coast Times, February 11.) The Haast, Friday, February 8. I write in haste, and under the usual disadvantages peculiar to mining reporters on a new rush, where, to use an old saying, every thing is upside down — not excepting the case which serves me for a writing-desk. Favored' by lovely weather, our passage from Hokitika in the good steamer Kennedy was ex" ceeiliiigly delightful, its pleasure being-much enhanced by the considerate courtesy of Capfcam Carej r , who .) eft nothing undone to promote the comfort bf the seventy or eighty passengers on board. We amved off the Haast river yesterday morning,- and at half tide ran inside,^ 'followed by the steamer Yarra with a number of passengers from the Alhambra. A safe landing was effected, aM being aware of the importance of . an : - early" c"ommunication coiicernjhg? this mrfch overr estimated gold field, ratpiice V made tradks''^ for the diggings, and the result bf my visit I hasten to send you in a somewhat brief re:p9rt, which, however, .is reliable, being tbe result of persoual inspection and enquiry; The.diggings that are just now-unsettling the niinds of so many hundreds of people are situated ma gully about three miles south of the Haast river. This gully is shalloSv^but clearly defined by low well-formed ridges on either; side, andjlies about :300 yards above high water, its direction being in a line with theicoast, or S.W.and N.E. The strip of country between \it and the beach is flat, and intersected longitudinally by low broken ridges, whilst a" large track of swamp some 400 yards wide,: is'i met vwith in its inlaud side ; be3 r brid that again a terrace of some height which, frbni: its appearance, ought to co.ntain goJd. . That, however, is a matter of pure surmise, which perhaps may be determined by the prospecting researches of the very considerable crowd of diggers already assembled here, and for whom there is -no gold unless - they open up ' n&t country. : Frbnl Haast river to the diggings ,t&fe ; rbw -lies along- the^ beach, and at high W&iejt^Sthe most fatiguing .to traveV I" ey^ ixiet with on the. coast, being "foinned of loose' shingle that offers scarcely any resistance to the footstep? Right glud.wius 1 to reacli a cluster of tents,

the nucleous of a small township, and strike ..into a. lateral track that led direct to the N.W. end of the workings. Here, the last claim on gold was at work. As the Tasmanian Maid leaves directly, I have no time to enter into a detailed, account of the load • : for such it is— but shall merely state that I found it between half and'tbree-quarWrs of a mile in length ; tlie sinking beinjr from four to fourteen feet, through coarse brown sand, loam and fine shingle. It is evidently a beach formation, as the false bottom ilips seawards at the angle peculiar to those found at every other beach workings on the coast, the washdirt is tine black sand intersected by layers of common beach sand and gravel. The lead is about forty feet wide, aud the best claims are situated in the present centre of it, where the sinking is shallowest and the washdirt thickest. .1 conversed with several of the shareholders who occupy claims there, and "found them very comninnicative, but pi one to the most extravagant ideas touching the value of the ground. I made no secret of my mission, and several times was told to take a shovel and prospect for myself, the best obtained being at the rate of fjdwt to say half a tin dishful of dirt, or from grain to 2^' grains the shovel prospect. The shareholders, however, are beside themselves with exultation, and believe that their "pile" is made and "no 'misitake." Duffy ismd Warren, the prospectors, are more moderate ill their anticipations, but' think : the washdirt will pay from one ounce to one and a-half ounces the load, andj tas it is three feet thickj they are juatifieil in. calculating upon a "rise" of two or three hundred pounds each. Towards either end of the lead the ground deepens and gets poorer. At the south-west end the gold is lost in a lagoon, whilst at the opposite extremity it lias run into deep and wet ground, where the work of 'tracing it will prove laborious and difficult. Many afJirri it hns run out altogether, but that I, don't, believe, not considering one or 'two half-bot-tomed paddocks fair criterions to go by, although fain to admit that the^irospects of claiinholders aye not very encouraging. The question, howevir, will be decided in a day or two. The majority of claims ou the lea<l will pay from "trucker" to small wages, and this is the belief of many shareholders who adopt a moderate tone in their estimation of its value. Hundreds of men are walking about liere idle; and express theirSdiagust at what they choose to consider a swindle on the part af some persoai or persons unknown. Luckily they have neither the jn-ess or the steamboats to blame this time — it was privateletters from a few insane diggers that did all the mischief, their excited imagination Laving converted grains into pennyweights of gold. In conclusion, I warn all diggers who meditate taking a trip here that there is no ground opened"for them—t hat/ must prospect on their own account.