NAPOLEON AND MOSQUITO.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1078, 11 January 1872, Page 2

NAPOLEON AND MOSQUITO.

(from our own correspondent.) ; January 8. These districts have nearly recovered the effects of the shock given them by the large rnshjto the HaE-Ounce and Puffer Creek leads/. The population of-Napoleon especially is not by any means as large as it- was twelve months ago,"but it is far more prosperous. The claims on -the Mosquito lead are paying as well as ever, and some of them are reported to be very rich. The new run on the western reef of the deep gutter has been driven into in several claims, and this shallow lead is paying better than the deep one ever did. Most of the old claims on the eastern fall of the tableland, between Mosquito and Orwell Creeks, have been re-occupied, and principally by those who had formerly abandoned them, after working the ground out, as they supposed. The claim at the north-western end of the lead is held by Doyle and party, and this maybe considered the prospecting claim on the Orwell Creek side of the range. The party are working on the shallow lead, having given the deep ground up after a' fair trial. This is also the case with the' next party, Morgan Bourke and C 0.,; who found the water too troublesome in the lower gutier. In the next claim, held by Timothy. Ryan ; and \ party, it has been found impossible to bottom ,the deep ground,; although every practicable meaii3 were tried short of taking in a new tunnel, and the prospects are not good enough to warrant such an undertaking. John Lowry and party, in the next claim, are vi the deep gutter, but they are compelled to use pumps. They are working at. a level about 10ft lower than the bottom of their tunnel, consequently they have to raise the water that height. , The tunnel, south of this claim, was taken in by Walsh and Johnson's parties, who amalgamated for the purpose. The claims are held separately. In Walsh's'party's portion of the ground a tunnel 1600 ft long has been driven, and for the last five months the party have been getting a little gold. They are working at a disadvantage here also, as they have about "Bft of an incline to contend with. Frank Johnson and party, in the adjoining ground, appear to be the only company at this end of the lead whose tunnel is in the right position to work,the ground to advantage. Johnsonjs party are not on gold at present, but they have been doing well for the last four months. They have been taking, out washdirt in a ,40ft wide stope, and' washing the depth of the timbers, with a well defined reef at each side. The bottom rose suddenly in the face of the workings, throwing the gutter out of its course, and leaving a bar of dead sand where the washdivt should be. A drive is going in in search of the lead to the N.W., and the party expect to come on gold again every day. On the other side of the hill, Fagan's party have re-occupied their old claim, out of which such a quantity of gold was taken at the former working. They havp driven 200 feet west from the old working, and on a shelf 15 or 16 feet higher than the old gutter they have found payable waahdirt. Tucker and party and two or three parties of foreigners have taken up other abandoned claims, and they are all profitably employed, judging from the amount of litigation lately going on among them about the ground. The sluicing parties at the lower end of the creek are doing well whenever they have water. They, in common with the majority of the sluicers in the district, lost a good opportunity of profiting by the late heavy rainfall, owing to their absence at the Grey and other places during the holidays. Water is so valuable up in these highlying localities that the loss of one day's heavy rain is felt, especially when the work of stripping is going on. The Orwell Creek sluicing companies are all in full work again. Noonan's party have recently had an extensive washing up, with the usual good result. Hessy and Price's party are still washing in the creek through which the road to Napoleon formerly passed, taking everything before them. Immense qxiantities of headings and tailings were tumbled into this creek during the working of the Napoleon lead, and the creek itself was at one time paying well. Hessy's paity raised their water from onp of the branches of Orwell Crpek, but \n order to get a high elevation for the race they took its head'too near the permanent spurce of the crgek, For this reason their supply is limited, and it will so until the claims on the Mosquito lead are worked out, because the claimholders there, having a prior right, monopolise most of the water at present. One of the shareholder i in this company has taken a i trip <o Wairarapa —the same place where the Greymouth hprsedealers horrified the editor of the Mercury, the local newspaper, by offering him boiling down prices for his blood stock—and his remaining ' partners say that he has made, or is about to make, a very desirable "investment," which he intends to bring with him when he returns. Hansen's party, whose race runs along at the Whale's Point, on the opposite side of the creek, are now stopped for repairs. Either thro jgh the loose nature of the ground, or from some other cause, this race requires constant attention, and the party is impeded in their work in consequence. Grant and Roberts' party are washing the bed of one of the branches of Orwell Qreek 'in a. iacei Their workings are situate immediately below the present horse track, ascending the''hill, and the ground is paying well. On the Italian lead, there are several parties working the ground at the further side of the old lead. Campion's and Djjabar's parties are mostly spoken of; the lattjer company have been constantly at work in the same claim for three years. The celebrated Frenchman's claim (Bernard's) is said to be aboujt tinhhed, but ifc was so reported several times before. Water is the great want here, as in other 'districts, and everything that, has been 'done up to this, is as nothing in comparison to what the results will be when the [ground comes to be systematically worked ;py means of an abundant supply nf water. I Business was very brisk during' the 'holidays, and the old town once more jrosumed the lively appear<itfce of former times, There were well contested athletic 'pports on New Year's Day, and the feats performed were not far behind the best at j ther places. In the Flat Standing Jump, Morgan Bourke covered 9ft 6in,. backwards and forwards, on very rough Lround ; Thomas , O'Donnell a good so,cond. The latter took the prize- for the

Egg Race, beating several competitors. Morgan Bourke was the "best at the three Flat Leaps, at which he jump cd . 35ft ; Thomas Dwyer second,, M., 33ft; Throw-; ing the Heavy Stone, Irish style; Morgan yßourke, first ; Timothy Ryan, second. ! The" Three-legged Race was won by Frank Johnson and Thomas Parry, beating John Turner and P. Oostigan. In the 100~ yards Flat Race, Turner, Costigan,.and, •Wellsman were at the scratch, giving' Johnson three yards, and Parry five yards =start. - Johnson "won the stakes; find u parted". the.mt; at onpe<^ The 18 yards Quoit' Match was well contested, and the first prize was taken by Jas. Darling, the second by Thomas Parry. ThereLwere numerous scratch matches for all kinds of games, and although there was no lack of fun and excitement, nothing approaching disorderly conduct could be seen. To be sure, one of the stewards was in a bad way for somebody to tread on the tail of his coat, and he more than once, like Neal Malone, expressed his conviction that he was " blumouldin- for want of a batin," but his playful eccentricities being well- known, he could get nobody to accommodate him for love or mcney. It is "sad to have to turn from these gay and festive scenes to allude to the neglect with which the last resting-place of some of the poor fellows who took' part in these annual gatherings' in years ' gone 'by is treated. The cemetery at N/apoleon is in a; disgraceful: state, and it is 'Shameful that the remains of the dead should be so neglected. For want of a fence round the graves', the ravages of pigs and ; other animals is painfully apparent ; and there is something dismally and ■disgustingly suggestive in the appearance presented by some of what were: once the: graves of the dead, and of our ftjiends and : acquaintances. :■'•;■ : , : : ' Ahaitka, Jan. 10. Here, as in other places, the; Murray Creek reefs occupy.the; largest share of people's attention, and intelligence from that direction is eagerly looked for. One of our townsmen has shut up his house, and taken his departure, bag and baggage, for Ihe new eldorado, and it is not at all unlikely others will follow his example. The crowd of wayfarers journeying towards the lnangahua through this place from the lower countiy is composed partly of bom fide miners, but principally of that nondescript class known as "buskers" in other lands, and 'denominated "travellers" by those who belong to it. Members of this fraternity are always among the first at new rushes, but unless they are able to " strike a vein" in a skittle alley or in a billiard room, they are seldom h.eard of : elsewhere. Business men of a Speculative turn. or their agents now and then pass l through, but. the rush of real genuine wording-, men, men who are likely to further prospect and develop the reefing district, has not set in yet, at least hot from the Grey Valley diggings. . : ; The party of miners who started some time ago to prospect the upper tributaries of the Ahaura have returned without meeting with, sufficient encouragement to continue their explorations further at present. They say there is- a large tract of untried and likely country at the head waters of the Haupari River and Nelson Greek, but that the winter is the proper time to prospect it. At present the thick scrub is infested with those terrible little pests, the sandfly and mosquito, and that it is impossible to live in the bush with them. The great difficulty of getting tools or provisions : any . great distance from the river banks is another drawback. It is stated that the extent of payable sluicing ground towards the head of those streams; is practically unlimited, and will yet give employment to a numerous population. • . There is another party prospecting about five miles from Matthews' Hotel, on the Amuri road. They have found coarse gold scattered over a considerable area, sometimes pieces; a pennyweight and over, but nothing yet to justify them in setting in permanently. \. '.'_'. A work of great importance has just been commenced at Try-again Terrace, Nelson Creek, and if the party succeed in their anticipations, Try-again may > yet rival its palmiest days. It has long been suspected that a rich lead exists in the deep ground, 1 under the range between Try-A*aid and German Gully. During the rush several tunnels were taken in, but they were at too high a, level; and the water interfered with the progress of the work. The" bottom in all these tunnels dipped into the hill, but although gold was found as far as they were driven, none' of them were ever prqperly bottomed at the further end. A party who have worked through the old ground from the face of : the old terrace for a distance of 800 f- or 900ffc have determined to continue a tunnel further: in to search for the supposed lead. This company, Hawe, Sweetman and Co., have a good opportunity of giving * tlie" ground a fair trial ;, their tunnel is.low enough to allow them to go several thousand feet further, with, a good fall for drainage, and their present tramway plant will not require any alteration. This prospecting party intend applying to the Warden for a special area of ground as a bonus, and they deserve to get the g.'ant, because it is only by giving such encouragement that our old, workings will be extended. In the Half-Ounce district, a new company has been formed to search for the lead below Mabille's claim. > This party are said to be well found 'in. funds,-, and that a steam engine will be procured, if necessary/ They have applied for Colreavy and party's claim, with an extension. They intend to start a . long way westward of any work yet done, and if so" they will probably come on the ,lead, because there is no doubt the gold is in that direction. The opinion expressed iri those reports ten months ago, when the fancy line ran parallel to the creek and under the present site of, Granville, that the Half-Ounce gutter was considerably westward of the then workings, if it existed at all, is now generally held. It was here stated that "what little gold the Federal and the Union Companies got,; at the time they first came on it, fiad nothing to do with the, Half-Ounce lead, and now this is proved to be the case. These companies claims are on the tailend of the Duffer-Sullivan lead, or on the western reef of it, which is more likely, for all previous experience in such matters would lead one to suppose that the Duffer Creek and Sullivan leads, have npt run out, and ; the reasonable probability is that they have joined and formed a narrow and deep gutter running under and in the direction of tho present creek on the surface. The Duffer-Sullivan Lead is in high favor again, and the yields from some of

the claims fpr.; the last month or two ia,re ; reported at fabulous amounts. - One claim 'is said to have paid; the ; sHareholders L3O per man per week ior^he last six weeks, but people at a distance can believe just as much as they like of this. Several claims are known to be paying from L 7 to Ll2 per share weekly, and this result is morein'accOrdance with thTuatm^of r the golden ground in-,the locality. A portion •of the' prospecting ciaim'lias been jumped, or rather, " the surplus ground has_seen ir taken possession 'of 'in' aHorctance with" the regulatjpnsV'i'sjWHuSh is the polite way of calling this spade a spade, and it is said the jumpers, or the legal possessors of the surplus ground, are likely to make : a good thing: of it. . New claims' have been marked off , at the 'upper end, *abpvo Kirwin's claim, and some' of the old claims are about erecting ne# and .powerful, machinery, notably, Messrs Cook and Co. The present hopeful condition of the lead, and the good' 'dividends the claims are actually paying, should be a caution to those who -really give up ground^after going to greajb expense,- without properly testing if.' The prospecting claim here was at one time partially abandoned, and the shareholders ; who remained Iwere seriously' debating the, propriety . of going to work in it again. A similar state; of affairs occurred in one or two,pf the claims,, which are how paying so ; well. T^he miners there and in the neighborhood; of Granville, in caucus assembled, have come to the conclusion to discontinue visiting the upper township, unless the business' people there make a new and clean track over the. terraces.; The people of the upper town can afford to treat such revoi lutionary combinations with the coh'fempjT they deserve. Let them continue |to" supply the attractions for which the'r town has now become famous, and thjey will "fotch" ; the fellows from Granville and from placesiur ther away.The harvest promises to be a bountiful I one .this season, and there is great cause ' for j thankfulness -for this, because at one time agricnlttiral matters looked gloomy indeed. The crops are looking remarkably well, especially the oats and potatoes, although it wris' thought six or eight weeks ago that there would not be any crop of, ; potatoes worth mentioning this year; ! The harvest work has commenced for very early crops, put the. general work^wiU' be a week later in starting. . ■* - ;