COOKTOWN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2018, 26 January 1875, Page 2

COOKTOWN.

[correspondent gympie times. Deo Ist, 1874. The new rush is the general topic here, and every group of tren you see are pretty sure to be " pitching " about its extent, locality, and prospects. We in Cooktown know but little more about what is actually going on up country than do you farsouth, and we are now nearly as ignorant as you about thi3 same rush. For about a month past mysterious rumours have been current that splendid gold had been found at the head of the Laura, the head of the Normanby, the foot of Mount Marsh, to the North, the north-east, the west, the south-west, and so on, and each! and all had some mate or friend who had gone out after the prospectors, and upon whose re turn they would know everything • but day after day passes and but little really authentic information is to be hsd even now. It appears to be pretty certain that the rush is at the head of the Daintree upon the western fall ; that some little gold has come in ; and that some three or four hundred men have gone out, and beyond this nothing really reliable is known. All else is merely rumour, of which every second man you meet will give a different version, One knows, for certain, that the

prospectors are making a pile, while the nest has it from his own mate who has been up there that they are only stacking against the wet. The general impression, however, if it could be averaged, would be found to be that it is nothing wonderful or out of the way. The news has, however completely stopped the exodus south ; many who were going down for the ■wet are starting up for the rush so that there is every probability of the surrounding country being throughly prospected, and very likely something good dropped upon. The distance appears to be about sixty miles from Cooktown and in a direction nearly due south, which makes the Cooktonians feel anything but comfortable. A really good field found about the head of the Daintree must prove almost fatal to Cooktown, for that river being easily navigated for upwards of thirty miles, and having twelve feet of water upon its bar at low water, surrounded as it is with the finest sugar, timber, and pastoral country with only forty miles intervening betwen it and the Palmer Eiver itself, would in that case soon cut out Cooktown and its expensive land carriage. There is nothing around the latter place whatever ; it depends now, and always must depend, solely and entirely uponthe Palmer — whatever pastoral country there may be is too far away and too small in extent to in the least support it ; Avhile on the other hand, the cedar trade of the Daintree is daily increasing in importance — two vessels have been loaded and despatched for Melbourne, the steamer Blackbird is to load next week, while its capal^bilities for 3Ugar-growing are already about to be turned to account. The river, we < are told, is half as large as either the Fitzroy or the Mary, aDd presents nothing •* like the same difficulties in the way of navigation. Time will show, if we only wait, but it is very much to be questioned ( whether Cooktown has not already seen its palmiest days, while certainly its prospects do not warrant the extent to 0 which building is being carried. Car- i penters are not to be had for love or money, iron and timber are at famine prices, houses are going up everywhere (a great many of them of two stories), land - is not to be purchased at any price, and j every one is sanguine of success. In more one place in the main street three £ publichouses may be seen in a line rext v door to each other, the construction cf 1 each averaging with land about LBOO, b while the two-storied ones of course exceed n this. To warrant the extensive investment in houses and land that is going on afresh Oakey Creek will need to break out ale most once a fortinight, and there does not seem much chance of this. In the mean- _ while even the most sanguine will allow -. that while the news from the rush (putting aside the question of its ultimately doing i harm to Cooktown) is vague and unreliable, the news from the Palmer is positively bad ; the Mitchell falls which were expected to be so good when a little rain came G have turned out a complete failure ; Oakey Creek is nearly or quite played out ; the I ] Chinamen have monopolised the left-hand branch, and unless something fresh turns up in the conglomerated country most of the men now on the diggings, already greatly reduced in numbers, must leave, q All agree that the Palmer would be a good g wages diggings for five years yet to come if << stores could be obtained at reasonable " prices, but it appears to be very ques- " tionable whether they can ever be put " upon the field at a very much cheaper C rate than they are at present. Stores are cheap enough now at the lower township " — nearly as cheap as at Cooktown itself ; at Maytown they are, though dear, not actually ruinous, or even further on at „ Purdy's Camp ; but beyond this the drays cannot go, and the fearfully brokeu <« country with the consequent mortality amongst horses, and the wear and tear of C packing must always keep the prices up '• to something not far below the present rate.. At present Palmerville is over- D stocked with goods, but that makes but little difference to men on. the actual diggings. So that unless really rich deposits ■ breaking .out (and every day with the p various prospecting parties that are out going all over the country, reduces the unknown country, and consequently the chance) the Palmer must decline, and as a matter of course Cooktown must follow E it. December 3. Since writing the above, fresh news has come in from the new rnsh, which n turns out to be upon a tributary creek on " the. Normanby River, at a distance of about 70 miles from Cooktown. You turn off the main. Palmer Road at little Oakey, about 26 miles up. The prospectors, it t] appears, obtained about 9oz. for their first day's work, upon which they determined to give the place a fair trial. This was abdut three months ago, and since - that time they have been taking washdirt -^ from the bed at different points for a mile or two, and stacking it upon the banks ready to work when the rain sets in. g They have now about 200 loads at grass. The gold is fairly coarse, but no nugget larger than six ounces has been obtained — " dry blowing "at intervals has given -j good results. This is the very latest and most reliable news, and it has apparently cooled the excitement which prevailed here yesterday in no small degree; forit?*? r appears that there exist an almost total absence of water for washing dirt, there j being barely enough for cooking pur- ( poses, and that sfc a distance of two miles, i JMurther appears, too, that all the gold < jKiat has been found was in the actual bed i of the creek, and none in the banks or j ravines, and that consequently directly the wet sets in it will be impossible to 1 work the beds for the floods, while for men to work as the propectors have done considerable means are required. It is j besides considered much too late for stacking, so that, on the whole, the rush is unfavorably thought of. . '■ $ews also came in last night by private letter from the Palmer stating that there Was an extensive rush from Edwards Camp or Maytown ; to, it was thought the neighborhood of the. second left-hand branch of the Palmer. A party of prospectors had come in and bought up 'all the salt meat in the place, and had been followed out by large numbers of men from different parts of the district. Cooktown Dec. 14. [We (" Telegraph") have been favored with the following telegrams by the Hon. the Minister for Works. They were received from Mr Howard St. George, Police Magistrate at Cooktown, and are dated as above] : — I haye just seen a person upon whom I can fully rely, and who has just returned from the head of the right hand branch of the Nbrmanby River. /.He reports : that he came to Oooktown through the Gap in fifty miles. It ia seventy miles by the

present track. Tho diggings are on fine open country, wish basalt ridiies, well grassed and watered, and about 30 miles from the coast. A large extent of gold bearing country, apparently extending from Normanby towards coast. There are about 200 men at work. There are no rations for sale. Half an ounce of gold a day can be got by dishing. The fold is coarse and shotty, and like the Palmer gold, and looks as good. The blacks are as bad as usual. They had speared about twelve horses up to the time my informant left.