MINING NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1126, 7 March 1872, Page 2

MINING NEWS.

GREY VALLEY DIGGINGS. (tfROM OUR OWN COKBESPONDENT.) No Town, March 7." The rushes to the two Maori Gullies are mostly spoken of. at present in this district. Maori Gully No. 1 is a tributary of No Town Creek, and joins that stream just below the former site of Irish Town. The other Maori Gully runs into the Arnold River from the western watershed of the No Town Range. The latest rush is to the head of this creek to ground of the same description, as that at Candlelight. There ; are four claims on gold, and the ground is marked off at one end as far as Spier Lammy and. party's workings at Candlelight, a distance of about a mile and a half as the track runs now^ but the actual distance is not more than half a mile. The other rush is situated between Candlelight and Rough and Tumble Creek, and they are both continuations of the Candlelight lead. It was proved years ago that a run of gold existed along the top of the range, and the new ground recently opened along it are merely patches of this previously- discovered lead. It does not require a gift of prophecy to foretell the tracing of a connection between these patches and the formation of a continuous run of payable ground from the head of the range, between ,the Arnold and No. Town Creek and its termination at the Arnold River, near the Twelve-Mile Landing. The 1 discovery made by Gilbert Stewart nearly six years ago, at the place now called after the prospector ; Stewart's Hill, ■ was the. origin: of . these terrace ..workings. Since that time golden ground has been wrought at the head of Stony, Portuguese, Big Bill's, and Monument Creeks. At the latter place the rush was' to what is now called Aberdeen Terrace. The present rushes to Maori Gullies Nos. 1 and 2 and Candlelight,- as well as those at the head of Rough and Tumble and at Farmer's and Sunnybank Terraces, with the high ground workings about tally's store and Black" Jack's Creek, are all portions of the same run of auriferous country. But the manner of working this ground now adopted, can oiily-be described as surface scratching, although there are tunnels five or Bix hundred feet in length in some places. The golden washdirt is deposited in several layers or on different bottoms, arid it is riot rich enough in any place to pay for titribering or tunnelling. There are good claims at Candlelight, so there, were at Aberdeen Terrace arid at the other rushes along the range, • but oil tlie average- all the claims worked did not pay even small wages. . Water is wanted, and there is plenty of it going to waste which might be utilised. Why should the water now running in the bed of No Town Creek be allowed to swamp the town at the Twelve-Mile Landing, whenever an extra shower of rain cornea i ? This water: should be on tho top of the ranges, and a vißitor'to the No Town district naturally asks " Why is this thus; or wherefore is thus thusty?" The people 'about No Town are waiting, like the waggoner of old, for Jupiter to aid them, and instead of putting their oyrn brawny shoulders to the wheel, they 'are expecting that the Government water supply scheme will set every thing right. With respect to this Government water scheme, with all its humbug aud pretence if the miners of this district hope to derive - any . practical * benefit • from it, they ' will be grievously MiReeves and other pilgrims from Canterbury may tell their " tayles "' about its benefits, and listeners with the bump of veneration, highly developed, may swallow every apparently plain and unvarnished story itinerant Ministers of the Crown may be betrayed into telling, but hard-working, and hard-headed men who have an honest living to make, and who

are compelled to continue making it, cannot afford to pay much attention to the rose-colored romancihgs of these Innocents abroad, and the simple reason is because there is nothing come-at-able in anything they say. Instead sf waiting for the Government subsidy towards bringing water from . Lake Brunner to No Town arNelson Creek; the minersiof this district will have to devise some means of their own of getting a water supply. The water could be. raised from No Town Creek below the pMnt-of 'commencement of Ashcroft J and party's race. The formation of the ranges will admit of the construction of extensive and safe reservoirs, by the bttilding of which in safe places an abundant and practically inexhaustable supply •■-, of water could be obtained. The miners are beginning ,to see that it is as well to make an effort? to supply themselves with water as to 3 wait for . Government subsidies toward doing so, ; which may come to them about the time the "cows come home." Frank Oilier and party are building a dam on Stewart's hiU, capable of storing an immense quantity of water. The main embankments will be 20ft in height, with a span of 150 ft ." It is built in such tion as to command all the storm drainage, and the expected results, justify the great outlay they are making. Dawson, Lennon , and party are making a large dam at the head of German. Gully^a tributary of Abe's Creek. Thh ; will, be 16ft high, 250 ft across, and will throw the water back for several acres. These two works are about the r most important undertakings yet began in this district. Porter and Gunn's party have a large dam at Bell's Creek, arid several ;i other similar works are talked about in the neighborhood. A nugget was found by Williams, Rudkin and party in, this creek about Jiwo weeks ago. The ; company; are hydraulic . sluicing, and the nugget Jwas picked up, during an interval when the water was turned off. . The, exact , weight is 9oz 16dwt 18gr, and the presence of this lump of filthy lucre, so far above the level of the : water courses, shows what may reasonably be expected whenever the hills come to be washed bodily away. Southwark and party are taking a large, race into Portuguese Creek another oithe feeders of we Arnold. This is likely to. be a good specu-' \ lation, for the parj^ have great experience in working the ground ■in the locality, especially "Lord. Gough/' the engineer of the company, and nobody can say: that that distinguished individual cannot grope his way about. The dam to be, made by this party will be more than thirty ; feet in height, and it is intended, to wash Spec's Hill away in a face. Ashcroft and party's head-race at Paddy's Gully, will soon be.finished.'; The company are now tunnelling' through the range to make a course for the water. > The workings at the Bell Hill Water Race are getting on as well as can be expected. A number of men are working on it, who have mining claims at Bell Hill and in the vicinity, and they intend taking their wages out in water when the race is brought in. This shows -the confidence the working miners have in the undertaking, ': ' ■■'■. ■ ■' '" : ' v - ; ;- ■; . -'''I" '■ A work of some importance has been commenced by Hewish ; and party, at Steel's Creek. This party, or some of them, have been working good ground at the foot of Steel's Creek, for the last two years- They have reason to suppose that if they could bottom the deepest ground they would be well repaid. Accordingly they have started a tail-race far enough down the main creek to give them a clear fall of about thirty feet, by the time they reach the ground they want to work. Irishtown is under a cloud at present. • The claims there are not now u being worked, but this need not be noticed. The place has. been worked out, if what some people say be true, years ago, but like the Irish rebellion, it may break out again at any moment, and when least expected. . - r : Cockney Terrace is dull, and the tracing of the lead at the lower left-hand branch, is a matter of difficulty. Galbraith and party; have done several thousand feet of driving here with a profitless result, except it be that the Work &nd exercise keeps the members of the association in good fighting condition, and in such good trim/that a "pea would turn the steelyards at the correct weight." This party have been driving at falsa f levels up to this time, butthey expect to* come on the gold this week. James Keenari and party's claim at the end of Cockney Terrace is said to be the richest at Work in this district. "The Ranger" is abiding hereabqutsr therefore this part of the lead must be looking lively. The usual amount of fossicking is- going on in the old ground about No Town, and the yield of gold is keeping pace with the increase in 1 the i population. The district of No Town will go on. for years, at its present rate of progression, and no r great change need be expected unjtil a large supply of. water can be obtained^ Commercially speikirig it' is tlie: soundest of any of the up-c6unt?y; mining; districts,' and this; is ; the best shown by the great scarcity of business lin the. small debts department of the Resident Magistrate's Court at Camptown. Everything^and everybody appears to be getting settled and permanent^ People are getting mar- - ried and being given ! away in marriage, and this reminds me that 1 have become the unwilling confident of the troubles of an otherwise clever and cute young fellow who is afflicted with that peculiar phase of softness of the brain^ generally described as ; "sp'ooniness.". ; Why.vhe should pour his woes and sorrows into my ears, is unaccountable, but. he lias no cause to be downhearted. What ; if he has been sticking; up to the girl for such a length of time, without any apparent response on her part? Didn't one of- the patriarchs in the olden time tend flocks and herds, for seven long years, for the sake of her he loved ? And if ( my/poor friend will Only follow that laudable example, and persistently continue to " shepherd" the object of his adoration, either of them— the object or the subject — must give in at last. ' """■ The late floods made fearful havoc at the Twelve-Mile Landing. The damage done at that place can scarcely be estimated because in several instances the fruits of the labor and savings of years has be'en swept away. People wwhyo y by their industry and energy had made homes for themselves are left in compaja? tive difficulties in one day, and iri one op two cases in actual poverty, which is the more unendurable because it is attempted to be hidden. This isnpl the "pla^e to drag the miseries of private individuals before the public, butif the- persons who have undertaken to distribute the funds

subscribed throughout the Colony for ill the sufferers by the recent visitation of Providence would turn their attention in this direction, they would find suitable objects for their commiseration.