THE PALMER RIVER DIGGINGS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1718, 5 February 1874, Page 2

THE PALMER RIVER DIGGINGS.

The Northern Argitis, bf,Jariuary ! 3, con..tains., the^ ,'; following.:^^Yesterdiaiy a gentleman called, on^^ us. 'who tadirrived ; from the North iu.^tlie'.^raonpej.'atid' he informs, ,us that ' the , day he; lletf t Towjisville.a ketohi i arriyed,,fromithe. Y Endejyor bringing (several ; passengers, , one of ; them — a friend of our informant's— giving the most glowing accounts of thei richness knd ; great extent of :the Palmer diggings. He described. U as the best and largest alluvial field ever discovered in Australia, and only left in. order ,to make arrangements for permanently 0 settliug' ,downi" by removing his family from 1fe l ayenswoo& : to , the Palmer. GolduhasibeeiJ oblaineH in payable quantities twenty miles bolo<the first discovery 1 and -"sixty /miles above it, j and;it w,as certain rther^^were^anj^Tamount of rich reefs. At Towrisville ? ma&y of the local merchants were dispajicnihg goods to the'Endja'avor, 'and tnfee 1 scTirjoners were laid' on, L whi6h : would? it'was'ffeipoctajf, take full cargoes." .■yuinaifi With reterence to ithe above the Gympie KmeS 1 'of l Jatfiiaty 14' sayVt^^The nows ■ given .in this paragraph; has created r niuch s^ W; jan<i iT wili-j^r\i>babiy'do*cid.a those who have' wavisreji nitherto to nlake a start for the Palfner. 'We have long ; since, ascertained, ihat! it Js us^leW to|'impress upon diggers the pecessit^jpt r D^ing cautious before they rusli off' Wttie' scene of. reported, discoveries of new fields, still we deem! jitv'our duty to point out that whereas I;he information-concerning-- the Palmer, hitherto far.nijhed by lieuorthern papers, has invarSbl^efen anticipated by official or newspapefctelegrams, it is a very singular circumstance "tiiat the news contained in the f dregoihjf paragraph : na3 ;taot been so. anticipated. Up to the present it is : biih^ly 'a' Statement ■'<' niaile' 1 to 1 -'-the Northern Argus ot what was heard by one man from another nian ; and this miners wduld.db.well to, bear in mind." .;,. A recent' arrival -from To wnsvill4 "'informs us that a number of. v^ohr miners have arrived from the Palmer via theJEu.deayor.,.- /Atnong ,; .them" .;are Kenneth Clarke, Joseph Larkins, Thomas O'Donnell, and W. Ci' Little.' /-^TheUateitnews brought .^B. the discovery of good gold thirty'ma3S r up l: the : lef^han'a i branch of the Palmer ;' i proyisibns ' and' J everything else Were 5 very Bcarce abd J at ' fanoy prices ; horse-shoe nails were exchanged'for th*eir weight in gold r'ancU'wh'eii a horse died— and manyjdid so^-there- ,^aa } a.;jr.ush for his old.vsbbes. , > The ; jcargp: jof i tthw Cur* rambene (a,smali oraf^ sent from Townsville) Had been sold out in threedays at the Endeavor ; we presume for transport to the Palmer. The-road between the two places, it is said,';will be impassable during the wet season: '—NoirtKerti \idvocate^ Dec. 27. ' ./ ' If we 'can believe 1 whaf-haa -bben dinned into our ears for the last day or two all are off to the Palmer or the Endeavor River. ;[The r accounts: from thejiew rush are certainly of' an encouraging nature, ; b\it • the absurd accounts > thafrhave 1 been retailed through the ttiwn> daring the week are preposterous— so"~much"so~that one gentleman^w'as -heard to remark that they wouldJi'aye to weigh the gold by the ton, and qSpjte;,vthe.jgnce for that quantity, instead of by the pipceas hitherto. Persons vvho' spiiak of so ! and. so ! 'bringing back so many pbiinds .Weight of g6ld received in exchange 'for' their cattle or other, property seem to r forget, that this is the result of the labor 1 of fivo or aix hundred men. , At, all events, if people have made -up, their, miittdsito/gpltt^. let them wait until the ' rainy' season iaiMer. , Mr M'Matius, of the Custpmsj3"errartmfnt, Ka's gone to the Endeavor to 'tWke Charge. — Cleveland<Bay~-Exsross, Dec. 27. The Northern M^cate, contains the i following, ,narr,atiye; pf^a trip made io the Pajfmer ! ; jt>y ; , Mr ,', John, , JGrillespi^,' 'a jtimner well known in Milchester and elsewhere, and. says it Should have some- influence in preventing ' many :; from leading 1 places where they can make a livelihood before starting to an almps^unknown part of the ' iib'u'ntry" without 1 -plenty 61 ! ral&&» 'and a ; f certainty ;of- bettering jthei?;conditipn : — u Gille3pie and his party left:<hexe"rten weeks since, arriving at the Palmer River id ' t wetityidne ! 'daya^ He describes the "country as being- very-brokenj-and-aimiiar to the accounteicalready published, but rations and necessaries of every description are .abjent,, and with fewjexceptions, matters look very gloomy for thosdiwho remai p . during > the; rainy .season. ' Many are obliged to go to the Walsh and OPirth's for suppUes 'from; the .<waggons going.pp ; and .even,; in, ; such I(> cases very little can be obtained lor your money. 6old was obtained ! thfr party, which would be cottsidered' payable .under different circumstanced; and ori; the 4th tilt, Mr Gillespie,, started on r hjs re^uan journey to* Charters Tpwers, with .tiut 61b of flour, his horses" being lie'aVly^iitfc'ked vp ■;. he managed to obtain a supply of flour and tobacco atTait's— prices,©! and 16s respectively. I He^ travelled on tp the Mitchell, where he fell in with Bill Burus, an pldiminer/jiweU known in this district, who was alsb returning from the Palmer, but ,who. w,as .quite from sickness and wai>t.orfbpci; ' Gil|e^p : iej!with a truly humane Bp'irit, !! shared'wHa£ li&te he had, and • travelled towards, Jiere . slowly ; the unfortunate ' niaii,^ np^withst^i'ding the attention ... paid_' hifflj weaker, and at nundown last Sunday, 30th 1 Noveniberj died or»i his ihijrse/, Gillespie strapped the lifeless bodyA^- the saddle on which he, expired, and brought him riinij 'miles' 'tti c Stewards l Station, where he obtained tools to dig his