PROSPECTING EXPEDITION TO THE WEST COAST.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1277, 2 September 1872, Page 3

PROSPECTING EXPEDITION TO THE WEST COAST.

ALLEGED DISCOVERY .OF TIH ORE ■ " ■•; >*—^' .\^ >i " Aboutalfe*kaj{oirepuM^hed a tele gram frdpi inier^rgil^is^ti^g^thiii^ the schooner Awaiaa had tetuuicd "i^Uli Mr Brunton's prospecting party W bomty after iweekS^ip to the. West Coast of Otigo. Th« following account of the ex- " peditioh./w taken, from the Southland JVetw:-r-Thd expedition, we may premise, originated as follows %-Some months ago Mr Brtinton»rC.Bi> aaid Professor Black, of the Qfago Uniirersity, chanced to meet at Riverton. en a vfcik and called together at the reaictehoe of Mr Daniel. Their attention wsi attracted by a piece of heavy, dark-cokfred stonoin a collection of geological specimens made by Mr Daniel dnring his long residence in the Colony. What- war" it *- copper, tin, or iron ? Opinioni differed ; bVifc Mr Brunton, whose practical experience waa in his favor, declared without hesitation, thai it was tin ore, apparently of good quality. It was subsequently broken up and tested in the ordinary manner, with the result of proving the-. accuracy of the opinion. The next epttsfetion wasv-Did Mr Daniel remember -where he obtained it ? Tea, in one of the Sounds on the West Coast, Borne years previously, when on a sealing cruise. Conld he find the place again? Not a doubt of it. Thereupon, certain negotiations were entered into, which resulted m the formation by Mr Brunton of a company, by which the tight little schooner Awarua, Captain Gilroy, was chartered to convey Mr Daniel and a jparty of practical miners in Bligh Sound. The start was made from Biyerton, where Mr Lyon, by arrangement with the com* pany, took passage as a tourist, desirous to see for himself come of the fiords and tnotnrtafos' •© rarely visited'fcy travellers. The wlooher got under weigh on the Stifc June last, but was met by unfavort^Btoeather outside, and had to put in aWPort William, Stewart's Island. After leaving Port Wi^i* 01 ( on tne Bth July), baffling winds were met with, and even when they at length succeeded in getting clear of Stewart's Island they had (on the 12tb> to run for Dusky Bay. Before getting so far, when about ten miles to the southward of the Solanders^ several sperm whales played ab^ut the a,hip for hours, tft thp incite disgust of Captain Qilroy, whose whaling instinotg were strongly excited. "" There's a ; thousand

(For continuation o/ News t see *&th page.)

n'ounds going a .begging for,khft % wan.t._of a boat's crew," said' he — and "no doubt," we find MrLyori saying in his journal, " there was at least that value represented." At Dusky Bay they were detained ucti! the 12th, when the voyage wa3 resumed, but again interrupted by head winds, compelling them to seek shelter in Thomson's Sound. The entrance of Bligh Sound was not reached Until the evening of the 31st, and then it was "out boat" to tow in the schooner, which was not accomplished till midnight. The following day at sunrise the vessel had to be worked up to the locality of tho reef or outcrop. At this point we may avail onrselves exclusively for a short time of Mr Lyon's journal. He says :— "The Sound to 'Cloudy Pass' is five miles long, and for two or three miles no outlet is to be seen before us. The land gradually closes in until the channel turi?s at a right angle. After rounding the Pass, Mr Daniel entered the boat to look for the 'Cave,' where he found the tin ore. It is soon discovered — Charlton, one of the miners, aud he landed. In a ' few minutes tho boat returns with the cheering news that 'Charlton says it's all right.' We tow the vessel opposite the cave, and anchor at 1.36 p.m. It was a glorious day, and, together with the good report, pn., everybody in good spirits. After dinner, Messrs Roberts, Daniel, the two men and I go ashore", taking all the tools with us, and in a short time h&ye a lot of specimens. The men in a few hours drill a hole, and put in a blast, which knocks out: 'several, tons, of stone. The: 'Cave,' so called, is a sort of shelf, overhung by an immense, wall.-pf. bare granite.^ The veins; pf are, are to be. seen .running in aHdirec- . jionß— -the-stone -in some -pMies thoroughly impregnated. The wall runs "nfdrth: and souths taiid- Ihe Specimens are obtained sdmei4oor'ooft from the water. There is every facility for shipment— a "vessel .CAuli,_ancJwr.-akaigside f and- be --loaded by means of a..slyDo.t..withpnt difficulty. August 2.— Heavy rain.' 1 After breakfast, go ashore to the cave. It is called Haweu's Cave, ' after a'- native' tribe ihat is said to have lived there. Several blasts were put in during the day, and a qnantity of stone taken out. Although it is so .wet outside, the mining operations are carried on without interruption — the workmen being perfectly sheltered by the overcharigirig cliff. August 3.— The men are reef blasting The measurement by calculation of height .and lay of lode, with height of cliff- was taken to-day, as follows .—From water's edge to lode, GOft. '•;' -fr&iglit-'o'f lode from sea level, 50ft. ; height of cliff .from lode, 150 ft. ; height of cliff from sea level, 200 ft; summit of cliff overhanging, 50ft. The lode bein£ worked, is" close to the wall of rock, all perfectly bare o"f..s«rnb, exceptiug some' few feet from the water's edge. The lode ruha nortli and south. . August 5.— Ai the cave~..iu the afternoon, where the men had opened' a. new^ vein, looking much better than the previous one. It is «bowt six feet through and parallel to the first. Some very fine specimens were obtained. Before dark all the remaining ore, tools, <fee., were collected and put together, ready for ' a start to-morrow. August 9.— Off Orepuki at 9 a.m., with splendid S.W. breeze. At 1 p.m., arrived at Bluff, and shortly afterwards moored at the wharf."

Excepting at Stewart's Islaud (Port William), no gold was found in any of the numerous gullies and creeks in which search was made.