GREY VALLEY DIGGINGS.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 797, 15 February 1871, Page 2

GREY VALLEY DIGGINGS.

[FROM OTJR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] MOSQUITO LEAD. February 13. The miners on this lead have been quietly working away, undisturbed by the new rushes to other places, and it is the only part of the Napoleon district at which the miners were not affected to any great extent during the excitement of Baker's rush. The old claims en the eastern face of the range are being worked steadily and profitably. In Kirby and party's claim, the Long Drive, the company have been at law again, this time among themselves. They came to the Warden's Court at its last sitting at Nipoleon, and the majority of them prayed for a compulsory dissolution of partnership on the ground that one of the partners was working against the interests of the co-partnership, and that he was wilfully throwing obstacles in the way of the progress of the work. The Warden made an order that the claim should be sold by the Court, but previous to the time fixed for the sale the litigants came to an arrangement, by which the defendant in the suit will have to have his share represented, but not by himself. Gaspard's and Jacharrino's (late Glover's) parties are blocking out their ground, and both claims have been paying well for some time. The Italian party have been ground sluicing a point where the gold is supposed to have |taken the eastern high reef. They have been idle for want of water, but everything is ready for a fresh start when it rains. There are two parties working on the point of the spur across the creek at Tully's old ground, and in the right-hand branch of the creek there are eight or ten parties tunnelling and ground-sluicing. The gold at the end of the lead is supposed to have broken away into the low ground to the south, and consequently all the creeks in that direction are more or less auriferous. This is the fallback for the miners in the Napoleon district ; a little gold can always be obtained when water is to be had, but lately there has not been much washing doing in this, or any other part of the district. In crossing the tableland to the north-western, or Orwell Creek end of the lead, Hessy and Price's large new water-race is met with. This race heads from the right side fork of Orwell Creek, but the party have registered rights for tributaries further along. The work was begun in July, last year, and has gone on without intermission ever since. The race will carry six Government heads of water. About 700 ft of fln m h><j has been used to carry it over the numerous gorges and creeks along its course, and its cost, when finished, will be close upon L3OO per mile, including the labor of the company. Some of the work was let on contract at LllO per mile for cutting alone, the owners of the race finding the material and placing the flume boxes themselves. The terminus will be at the old Napoleon track ; the company intend ground-sluicing the creek through which the track runs from Orwell Creek, taking headings, tailings, old ground and new all in a face before them. The tailings and headings from the best part of Napoleon Lead were run down into the creek, and good sluicing prospects can now be washed from the debris to the depth of 20ffc. Hessy and Rice's original intention was to take their water to the spur immediately over this creek to a point where the Napoleon Lead is supposed to have taken the shallow ground before it ran over into Orwell Creek, but they have abandoned that idea at present, because if they commence to sluice the i higher ground first they would smother any gold there might happen to be in the lower ground with such a mass of tailings and other rubbish that it would hardly pay to remove it. This water-race is likely to prove a profitable speculation ; there are only two shareholders iri it, and a third share in the property is now reconed worth L3OO. The water is at such an elevation that it commands all the auriferous country in the locality, and the supply, in moderately rainy weather, will be practically inexhaustable. The first claim or the continuation of the Mosquito

Lead, on the western fall, is held by Frank Johnson and party and Michael Walsh and party amalgamated. The tunnel is 1325 ft long, but the lead was struck at 890 ft from the outer face. The drive was taken in below the level of the washdirt, a mistake which has occurred frequently on this lead, and the party were obliged to excavate a "jump up" or whinze 26ft in height to reach the bottom of the gutter. The two parties work from the same tunnel, but in their own separate claims ; they have had one payable washing, and they are now ready for another when water comes. They hold extended claims, bnt there is scarcely any limit to the area of ground they have to work. They are at present working in the shallow ground on the western reef. Timothy Ryan, Denis Hayes, and party, are in the next claim. Their tunnel is 1300 ft long, and it was also taken in too low. This party have also had a washing. This is an amalgamated claim. Burke, M'Manus, and party (amalgamated), are next. The lead was struck in this claim last week, at 800 ft from the mouth of the. tunnel. It was in this party's claim that the first indication of the Mosquito Lead on the western face of the range wa3 found. The discovery was made by Morgan Burke while prospecting in a deep narrow gorge, which penetrates far into the hill, with perpendicular walls nearly 70ft high, and a width at the bottom of about 3ft. At the upper end of it

the reef ri3es straight up, and on a bench, about 30ft from the bottom, the wash was found. Hessey's race is flumed across thi3 gorge, at a height of nearly 100 ft. The rush which followed led to the opening up of the claims now on gold at this end of the lead, and disproved the theory, which was at that time held, that the lead had scattered, and lost itself on the Mosquito Creek side of the spur. Martin Doyle and party are in the ground adjoining Burke and M'Manus. The lead was found here about 300 ft in from the face, and this is said to be the best claim on the line. The last washing turned out very well, and, according to prospects, the ground is likely to yield well for a long time to come. There are two tunnels taken in here, in both of which the gold has been found, and the lead well prospected. William Fairbairn and party hold the next ground. The gold was found here at about 300 ft in, and it is also said to be a good claim. There are nearly 200 loads of washdirt in the paddock ready for washing ; and if rain does not soon come, this party, as well as others on the lead, ■will be in a fix for space to stack their dirt. The making of the paddocks on claims like these, where the face of the range is almost perpendicular, is often the most expensive and difficult work in connection with the claim.

The next claim is in the possession of Brennan and Hayes. Patrick Brennan held the ground for a long time as a hatter, and he could not have been idle, for he has completely honeycombed the point of the rang? in his search for the vagrant gutter. How one man could have got through such an immense quantity of work, of such a nature, without assistance is astonishing. "Unfortunately hia endeavors have not, as yet, been crowned with success. The lead is at fault here, and there are several opinions as to what has become of it, or what direction it has taken. There is a gulch crossing the range a little further north, known as Cornish Dick's Creek, and this fault in the continuation of the spur appears to have thrown both the Napoleon and Mosquito Leads into confusion. Both leads were running close together, in nearly parallel directions, until they approached the gulch, when they appeared as if they were going to converge previous to crossing Orwell Creek. One theory is that they have joined, but become scattered and broken up into a number of irregularly formed gutters and crab-holes ; another is that they have fallen over, and, as it were, down a precipice into the original bed of Orwell Creek, and that they will be picked up again, farming one deep gutter in the main bottom of that creek, and another, and the most feasible, theory is that they will be found on the opposite side of Orwell Creek, where gold has been found, deposited under exactly similar conditions to that found on the leads as they are at present worked. On the opposite range, and at the same altitude, a patch of rich ground wa3 worked by "The Whales" party before the Mosquito Lead was discovered, or rather before it was opened ; and there can scarcely be a doubt about this being a continuation of that lead. Following out this idea, Charles Evans and party have taken a tunnel some hundreds of feet into the hill. They did not strike anything of value ; but the non-success of the attempt does not disprove the accuracy of the theory that the lead will eventually be traced in that direction. Besides, there is scarcely any other way to account for the existence of the gold Noonan's party are on lower down, and for the presence of several other auriferous patches at intervals along the range. My own opinion is, that all these different runs will finally form one deep aud rich gutter, and be traced running into and under the plains below Matthews's Hotel, in which direction all the deep ground in the locality appears to be trending.