THE BLUE SPUR.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1716, 3 February 1874, Page 3

THE BLUE SPUR.

A correspondent of the O.tago Guardian gives the following description of the present condition and appearance of the famous Blue Spur at Gabriel's :—" Upon a stranger going to Lawrence the great place of. interest appears to be the "Blue' 1 Spur", " and you are, as a matter of course, recommended by almost every person you meet to go and see it. There are, no doubt, many objects of interest around this town, in the' upheaved 1 gullies and levelled hills, telling the tale of the eager search after gold in years gone by. At the same ( time, we must not ' forget the Chinese camp and other minor places of interest ; but all these places must give way in point of interest to the " lion," as I may call it, of the Tuapeka district. The Blue Spur is a few miles distant from Lawrence, and is situated, at the head of what was known in the golden days as Gabriel's Gully. CJpon approaching the workings of the Spur from Ihe Gully, one, cannot but express astonishment at the vast amount of tailings and debris which have been deposited in the gully. I was informed that in one place it lies to a depth of 80ft, while the whole of the bed of the gutter Is now covered to a depth of between 60ft and 70ft. As the sluicing operations go on, this accumulation of tailings will gradually increase until the Blue Spur has entirely disappeared from the face v of Nature. The formation of the spur is very peculiar indeed, and well worth 1 a visit from i men of a scientific turn of mind, constituting, as it does, one of the freaks of Nature. Fancy a large basin, close on a couple of miles in circumference, with the bottom and sides composed of quartz reef. Upon this basin, has been heaped, in past ages of the earth's history, a large quantity of deposit, consisting of a blue cement intermingled with stones and pebbles, showing the same color, and containing golddust in unknown quantities. In the centre of the basin this deposit lies to a depth of over 200 ft, which is gradually lessened as you proceed towards the sides. This is exactly a description of the Blue Spur. Once close up to tho workings, . one finds himself surrounded on all sides by water-races, heaps of stones, any quantity of fluming stretching far above your head at a giddy height, and water pouring over cliffs 160 ft in height — a grand spectacle indeed, and doubly so when we consider that all these operations are carried on for the .purpose of extracting the golden dust: On the Gabiiel's' Gnlly side are the following sluicing claims -—The Great Extended, Hales and Company's, two others (the names of which have escaped my memory), Clayton and party's, and lastly Morrison afad party's. This last party has laid bare a large portion of the edge of the reef or basin, and was, during my visit, still working on it, from which a large amount of gold was being obtained. The great Tuapeka mining case, which is still pending, rendered those two last claims of much greater interest to me than they would otherwise have done. Those disputes as to boundaries appear tome the easiest thing imaginable, for the only trace 6f boundaries between the respective claims is simply a little mound left here and' there. I did not go to 'he other side of the Spur facing Monro's Gully, but I learnt, among other things, that there are two sluicing r claims there, and that the washdirt is of the same description on both sides. For the purpose of bringing down the cement, blasting powder is used, large quantities of which were, at the time of my visit, stored in dangerous proximity to the workings ; but although it was placed in such a position as'to cause great havoc around should it explode, yet the people there, although admitting its dan'gery stated that they had somehow got aTCUstojniied to it. One charge of powder causes an i enormous [..effect on the Spur, and brings down 'nundrQds of tons at a time. The water from the .races, which, by-theiby, lisi brought a .distance of over 40. mileSyisijien turned on, and soon, by itej, great';. Iprce,., dissolves the cement, : which is bornei;<away down the sluiceboxes until: the [tailings are at last deposited in the, gully far below. These sluice-boxes are provided with gratings and other appliances for the purpose 'of catching the fine gold, for the gold is very fine indeed. The go.ldJbearing cement, although limited in extent, will yet take many, years before it is worked put; in fact, those at the Spur with whom I conversed upon the subject were confidently of opinion that it would not be exhausted in their lifetime. Where Mr Hales and others are working, they are still a great distance from the foot of the cement, and consequently the lower or richest portion of it is still 1 entbmbed: ; ' At present they cannot very well, work at a lower leyeft in consequence of the .vast accumulation of tailings. I believe, however, that a pror ject is now talked about of making a tunnel to connect with .Monro's Gully, by which they, would be enabled to get at a much : lower level. The tailings which I have already referred to contain a quantity of gold,i and will yet be worked over and over again before being allowed to rest. At present several parties of Celestials are busily atwork in the lower part of the gully, slui6ing these very tailings, and I believe 'they are making money.

; The4eatk of the yice--Charicellor Sir John Wickens : is announced. The Mormon "apostles" are reported to be making large numbers of converts ■ in Switzerland and Scandinavia. * '■'\ Bailie Lewis, 'Senior Bailie of Edinburgh, has been unanimously appointed Treasurer to George Heriot's Hospital, $t ,^^OD per annum. ; ; ;; . . ■ (For continuation 0/ Aewa see 4th page)