UP-RIVER DIGGINGS.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 622, 13 January 1870, Page 2

UP-RIVER DIGGINGS.

(from our own correspondent.) No Town, Jan. 10. A considerable rush has set into thii district within the last few weeks. Tht immediate cause of this large increase ii the population has been the discovery o; a rich gutter in Messrs Gonedick and Co. 5 ! claim, which is situated on a terrace, oi rather in the northern bank of the creel near Irishtown, and about a mile from N< Town. This party have taken a tunne in, a distance of about 140 ft from the face and payable wash-dirt was first struck a about 85ft in. The party at this distanc iv drove through a run of ground betweei 20ft and 30ft wide, which yielded ver; rich prospects. They crossed the gold' and at the end of the tunnel — althoug] the ground is still dipping into the hill— the wash-dirt does not contain payabl gold. The party then started a cross-drivi in a S. W. direction to follow the run o the gold. Out of this drive, which is in i distance of about 60ft, the company hav< had two. washings, one of which turnec out very well, the other one was not si good. I was through all the workings to day, and I am of opinion that an entirelj new lead of gold has been discovered ii this claim, and that it has no connectioi whatever with the gold in the presen creek, or with any run of gold previousl; worked. I was under . the impression a first that this was merely a bend in th old Irishtown lead which had taken to th terrace, but I do not think so now, fo these reasons. In the first place, Gone dick and Co. have driven through tin high reef, which, has hitherto been sup posed — by the numerous parties who hay taken tunnels into the bank in this neigh borhood- to be the limit of the payabl wash-dirt. It was thought that this ree was the boundary of the ancient bed c the creek, and if anything payable wa ever found it would be on a higher shelf or else when the reef "flattened off" per inanently. The finding of this deposit o iwuifcnns wash-dirt at the other side c this lvef, of course has destroyed tha theory, and now" there is no knowing wha may be discovered further still into th '. terrace. The cross-drive which the pros pectors have taken in for the purpose c ■following 'th© gold, has been taken in

direction parallel with the face of the ter« s race and up the creek. At the end of thia drive, which, as I mentioned before, is in about 60ft, the gold has been run out ; there is nothing to be got on the right hand or outer side of it either, but on the left or inner side the same description of ; wash-dirt, containing large boulders, and yielding good prospects is to be found. ' Thia shows that the gold is striking ftus ■ ther into the bill, instead of heading for ' the creek again, and this is another reason why I think a distinct lead has been discovered. Again it was supposed that thia new discovery was a continuation of the run of gold on which Fisher and Co. are 1 working higher up the creek, with more or less success, for the last eighteen months, ' but this can hardly be the case, for when the conformation of the terrace is closely examined, and the relative positions of GonedicVs and Fisher's claims-taken into ■ consideration, it will be apparent ; ttiat the 1 lead on Gonedick's claim must be at least 300 ft further into the hill than the line of 1 the gold in Fisher's claim ; and, besides, Fisher and Co. have not driven through 1 the high reef. There are ten or twelve 1 tunnels going in now, but the shareholders 1 have a long and difficult job before them, > and it will be months yet before any of ! them can expect to reach the lead, even if 1 it continues. Besides the great length of the tunnels which will have to be taken !• in, long and secure tail-races will have to ■ be made, for the ground is very wet, and < as the bottom of the gutter is at so low a ' level as the bed of the creek, it will be a • difficult matter to drain it. A share has been sold in Gohedick and 1 and Co's claim for LHO, and the pur-' chaser appears to be well satisfied with hiaff ■ bargain. v The left-hand branch of No Town creek 1 is almost deserted. The tunnels which were in full work some six months ago are ■ either abandoned, with one or two except tions, or else worked out. A few parties, are working higher up, principally in the ; terrace, and making small wages. i 'Of the number of miners who have been 1 drawn here on account of the rush, a large 1 proportion are settling into the old '' ground in the vicinity of the township, 1 and although it is pretty well known that 1 the ground has been fosssicked and riddled 1 in all directions, still tucker can be made: • out of it. At the Half-way House the ( . sluicing companies are in full swing. In, 1 consequence of the plentiful supply of ; water at present available, there is a deal 1 of work being done, and a considerable amount of gold being obtained in their claims. I understand it will be years be- • fore any of the claims in the locality will be worked out ; there is practically no 1 limit to the ground, the only difficulty i& 1 how to get rid of the tailings-. At Rough and Tumble. Gully about twenty men are at work, mostly making good wages. This is a wonderful spot. It has been " worked out," and to my own knowledge deserted a dozen times, and yet, every time a rush takes place to Na Town, it is sure to be profitably occupied again. Sunnyside still supports a fairpopulation, some of whom are working the old ground in the creek in a syste^ matic manner, but the majority are tun--nelli)i.j in the terraces. The miners appearto be comfortably settled down about here, a3 nearly, every company have a. substantial hut with a small garden attached. ; The township — No Town — rby the- way • it is time the name of this place was; altered— is improving very fast. There are now two public-houses, two stores, two 1 bakers, two butchers, and a shoemaker, 1 and lam informed that contracts have: been let for the erection of two new hotels and a store. It is in contemplation, also* to establish a brewery. There is more to justify the erection of new buildings at this rush than there has been at any of „ the rushes which have occurred lately, forthere is a large extent of country towards the head of this creek, which has been proved to contain gold, which will pay tucker at least, and as the sinking is. , generally shallow, and the gold course and patchy, there is a chance of making; wages. In the neighborhood of Abe's. Gully the tunnels are paying good wages as a rule. There is a considerable arc of , shalo t ground near the head of this gully f and the jnuction of German Gully, which will yet be profitably worked. It has been tried in different directions at different: times and some good patches have been found in it. Stewart's Terrace, which was, one of the best pieces of ground ever opened in the district, is situated in thia locality. At Big Bill's Gully a few are 1 working ;^<i fact, every one of the nunie- ! rous gullies on both sides of the range are l being reoccupied again either by those* : miners who have formerly worked in them ' or by new hands who, either from choice^ or necessity, are determined to. give the r place a trial. I have recognised a good. i many old acquaintances who have found , their way back again ; some of them have* . been to Queensland, others to Auckland, other again have been to the Cape of Good » Hope; but they have all made for their old b haunts again, as they have done many a. i time before. l A permanent supply of water, taken at 7 a sufficient elevation to command both , sides of this range, would be a splendid l investment for a company having sufficient - capital to carry the undertaking through* } This, the dividing range between the } Arnold and No Town Creek, contains an f immense quantity of gold, which can only i be profitably extracted by the application i of water power on an extensive scale. I There is gold which would pay from the > banks of the creeks to the summit of the - range if water could be obtained abunr dantly and cheap. On the No Town fall ) of range there are all the terraces below j i and at the Half-way House, further along, t there is Rough and Tumble, and the ter--7 races in its vicinity ; further along still t Maori Gully, Bullock Hide, Lankey,. i Abe's, Big Bill's, German, Heffernan's, i and numerous other gullies, all of which p have only been partially worked, and in. - most of which rich patches have been' j found. Crossing the range we find the - watershed of the Arnold, intersected in all 3 directions by gullies, some of which have - been rich, but all of which have been pay^ 3 able. The Malakoff, Greek's, Piper's, f Portuguese, Maori No. 2, Candlelight, f Menchikoff, and Cariboo Gullies have all s in like manner only been scratched over 1- , that is with regard to sluicing on a large - scale— and yet some of these gullies have f yielded fabulous quantities of gold, and I f have no hesitation in stating that hunt dreds, if not thousands, of men would find t profitable employment on both sides of c the range if water were made available. The only thing I see " improved for the f worse" on my return to this district is the a track from the Twelve-mile Landing, It

was in a bad state four years ago, and it has been " getting no belter" ever since. It is in such a villainous condition at present that I can scarcely trust myself to write about it ; but that the only track leading to a place which has always maintained a fair population, and which is at present, the scene of an extensive rush, is in such a shameful condition that it is a disgrace to those who are responsible for it. Here is a place within 16 miles of Cobden, and it will take a strong man two hours and a half to walk the last four miles to it, and yet there has been a township, containing licensed hotels and stores at the end of these 16 miles, for the last four years. "Comparisons are odious," but one cannot help instituting a comparison between the state of the tracks within the boundaries of that "great blunder," as Mr Franklyn calls it, the County of Westland, and the disgraceful condition of them wider the very nose or noses of the authorities in this province. The inhabitants of the Grey Valley can now see the mistake they made by not endeavoring to separate themselves from Nelson when they had an opportunity of doing so, or at all events of trying to get some control over the expenditure of the large revenues which have been raised in this portion of the province during the last two years. When the gentleman who was sent up-country on behalf of the Separation Committee attempted to lay the case fairly and impartially before the miners at a large meeting which was held at Napoleon, he was not treated with even the common courtesy to which every » stranger is entitled in a strange place. He 1 was hooted, and reviled by a mob of ruf- " fians, who chose to designate themselves the representatives of the mining interest. The miners can now see the folly of allowing themselves to be led away by the blatent and rabid spoutings of such individuals, and the matter will be made clearer to them during the forthcoming winter. The summer is now passing away, aud instead of taking advantage of the glorious spell of fine weather we have nad to better the condition of the tracks, there has been absolutely nothing done by the Government to facilitate the means of communication. The inhabitants of • the No Town district have a real grievance, and the remedy lies in a great measure in their own hands. Let them lay the case in a firm and respectful manner before the Government, aud let them continue calling attention to it until their demands, are satisfied in a reasonable manner. The Nelson Provincial Government resemble the costermonger's donkey in one respect at least ; they require continual and persistent "prodding" to stir them up, and get them to keep pace with their neighbor's asses. Even Mr Dent acknowledges that the No Town people have been badly treated, and when that gentleman does not attempt to make out a good case for his Government, the matter must be hopeess indeed.