EARLY GOLD DISCOVERY

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1921, Page 4

EARLY GOLD DISCOVERY

1.-IHST HI’SM TO TUI! C.'O.VST. I A romantic account. 1 (Kroni llio llcportTof Sir Julius von ( Haist, V.llfi. to the Canterbury Provincial Government)* (Continued.) Oil the evening of the sth. ol A I' I ' l I niTiveil :>t the grassy shores of hake Ta'vlor (1048 feet), the deep hhio surface „f‘ which is charmingly situated between!. he dark green beech forest, and j„ which the mountains, rising abruptly ot its southern shore, with its i "g----m-d peaks more than IiOOO feet high, is redeeted. At the house of the hospitable run holder Mr Taylor. 1 received a most hearty welcome, while my men put up their tents on the shore of the lake. As this was good pasture ground and firewood was elose at hand, several hoteliers - stalls and lints for sollim> provisions had already been eieeted'nl this plaee. at other times so lonely. The numerous white tents on . the shore of the lake looked quite cheerful, and as night eanie oil 1 1 counted, in different directions, thirty I camp tires. The benevolence of the exI rollout man whose guest L was, and who I had already lived here many years, had ■ been sorely tried during the hist few I months, hut he nevertheless continued through the whole of the rush, which ! still lasted several months, to give willingly, and without remuneration. I Hour. meat, lea and sugar to all I those who were returning from the j Coast starving, so that they were able 1 to continue their journey with renewed ! strength. Only tlmse diggers went hack overland who had not the means ito take a passage in a. steamer sailing vessel from the West to the Hast Const. I During the next day I wits occupied ill visiting the different lakes, in order S that I might Isa-ome aecpin inti-cl with 8 the geological conditions in their imigli- \ hoiirhood. Alter we had ridden tlliough the outlet of Duke Taylor, two miles long and a half mile wide, wo crossed a saddle In-tween two .reaches iimutomiccs which separate the Taylor hake Valley from northern valley running parallel to it ; here- a little lake (Lake Mason 1 and several lagoons are situated and in the* Tee ] c-riod it must have been the heel of another arm of tile great Hurunui glacier In the south. To 'our left, was a mountain range about .->OOO feet high, the upper part of which consisted of wild jugged rocks, and it was easy to perceive from this how high the ice masses of this glacier had nliec reached, above which these rocks must have risen like an island. After two miles, in the course of which wc had climbed over several moraines which cross the valley, we reached the 1 Miirunni river, flowing 10(1 feet beneath 9 ns. in a broad valley. In order to des--9 rend to it. u r had to climb over the a yen distinct -idc nc-iaiiie of the for- | end principal glacier, and then ride I dev. II live steep terraces. In doing which I tie- path made hv tin- cattle was of 5 great assistance to us. I he* valley of g the principal river is here* a nute 8 broad. ft After we luce 1 found a getncl fold to H cross the liver, wc continued our way B ini the* northern side of the valley. 3 where at, soing places beautiful sugarloaf shap'd rnehos moutonnees occur, while heliiud them, mciuntains rise - .Mill') feet above the valley, and lower declivities of which are generally envI .-reel witli (lagiis Mcm/.iesii. Numerous herds of cattle* lice solitary * region, the vegetation of which was already i|uite sub-alpine. In solin' slciry places the- ground was covered I with such thick masses of Acipliylhi ('iileiisei. that it was only w ith clifiii idj tv we could pass through amongst its sharp bayonet-shaped leaves. Cohnisia eeiiaeea, ami speetahi I is. the gigantic New Zealand asters, were a-Iso veiy frei i|gent t'olonsi'i. veillieesa and saliciI'olia, (llearia nitichi, and dili’eretd Cassinitis. Copresinas. etc-., covered the .shore near the river heel with their dedicate leaves, and musses of blossom. The nearer we approached the Summer lake, the more the high ler- ! races walled in the river, till two ] miles li'nlii tile lake it is epeite* eiillhued let wee- 11 high shingle walls. Half a mile from the lake a moraine, ■dilat'd about dot I loot above its surface. covers the valley, which, however leas In-eri partly eonic-aled or destroyed I by the large cone of debris deposited j .by ii uiounl'iin stream ,-otuiug from the l north and (lowing into the llurumii. Wiicii we had asi'i-inh-il this c cine, covered for the- most part with thick beech - forest, the peaceful deep-blue Mil-face eil the h'l-ailt/iul lake lav entile l-AO feet beneath us, surrounded nil both sides lev high mountains • which, for about •->()(KI feet ali'iv' 1 it. were clothed with thick forest. Itefnre the shorecan he reached, at least ten old benches, fully preserved and extending over the valley in a half c ircle, have* to Ik- descended. It was indeed a great pleasure to be able ones' more to eujoy nature ill her purs- virgin solitude. The <|iiiel ) mil ror of the lake, only disl iirl>-d here and there by dinks and other w iter birds: the dark forest, with the rugged rocky peaks a hove it. rellected in tile Inks', formed a landscape of such exi|icisite beauty that I was very unwilling to leave- it. (In Saturday, the St.lt April, still favoured by beautiful wont her, I left my kind host, and followed the human stream towards the* west. The path , leads along the- southern shore* of lathe lavlor, which, like mrsL of our alpine y basin.-!. | s shallow only ,'ltl or 111 feet - I mm flic shore, then siicldi-iidly falls oil and appears to he.-oiiie vc-rv deep. Sev- • eral cones of debris, some of c-onsider-ahlo I'.xtent. fame- down the soutlieru «ido of the mountain, mid often stretch - lar into the lake. One of these lota at y its extreme point, a tongue, several - hundred yards long, going towards the - east, which rises like a darn above the i siiiTnre of tin* water, and is a speakI iiig testimony of the duration and pmv- . er of (In- west wind, which prevails • here. Tho western end of the lake is r likewise formed b.v the high-walled debris roue of a mountain stream of enormous dimensions which covers the ' whole valley, and leaning against the “Sker,” like reaches moutonnees, of the northern side, forms here several lagoons. The glacier furrows, with a ' slight fall towards the east, are viss ihlc- on both sides of the valley. Half a mile from Lake Catherine the 1 path ascends an old moraine, which 1 likewise crosses the valley in a half eirole, and is tolerably well preserved. On tin- ridge of this moraine tho tra-

roller lias a charming view of Lake Catherine, 1742 feet above the sen level lying below him and surrounded by little beech forests of park-like character, Itetwcen which the numerous white tents of the roadmen, with their camp fires, glimmered cheerfully. The valley of the Hurunui, above Lake Sumner, is already visible from here. As the old bridle path along the lake was so dreadfully swampy that several horses had perished in it, a number of workmen wero occupied here in forming a new road. This was already made for a good distam-o, but beyond this we bad to pass a few places where the horses sank so deeply that wo had great trouble to get them through. A deep swamp fills up the level flat between the little Catherine lake a.nd the large Sumner lake, which are united by a sluggish water-course. After any change in the height of tlfr water in both lakes, the water runs from Lake Catherine into Lake Sumner or the reverse, as there is only a difference of a few f.-ot in the level of the two lakes. For instance. I found Lake Catherine some 7 feet higher than Lake Sumner, whilst in the spring after (be melting of the snow in the high alps, or after continuous rainfall, the principal lake is said to be higher. Separate roehes moutonnees go from the southern sj.de through the swamp, towards the mountains lying at the south ern end of Lake- Spinner, called the Big Brother range, the western end of which is covered with glacier marks, while the summits have kept their rough rocky forms. Similar roelios moutonnees and remains of large side moraines are. also visible on the southern shore of the Miirnnui. Like all the shores at the bond of our alpine lakes, this is formed by the delta of tlie river which flows into it, go that- the hike is very shallow for some distance. The valley of the river itself eontinu.es in a straight direction, as broad as the lake, for at least, ten miles towards the central chain without narrowing visibly: it is formed of masses of debris, over which the river hurries, in a number of branches, to the lake.

doing upwards from the shore of tin* lake, we followed along a grassy flat wliie.h occurs on the southern shore of the Murunui river. A striking difl'ereitce is here noticeahle, when compared with the valley helow the junction ol Ihe two principal branches. Instead of the deep gorge, the river has here a Jud generally two miles wide, over which it spreads out in a number of branches, changing its course after each high freshet. Hero and there, leches moutonnees of different sizes project out of it, often covered wMi thick hccch forests. A similar luxurious I Orest vegetation ascends on both sides of the mountains for otto feel ; but nevertheless, does not quite bide tin* numerous remains of moraines and glacier shelves. The predominating forest tree here is Kagus Selanilri wit small finely cut leaves, reminding: one bv its regular shape of tin* Europ an pines. In the eastern lower mountains ami the Alps, the principal vegetation consists of this elegant kind ot tree: whilst on the western declivities. fagil** fit sea often six to eight feet ill diameter, forms the ehi»*f vegetation. Tin* ranee on both sides as far as the eenir:*l chain, consists of a continuous chain, above which, isolated peaks project. Advancing on tin* right bank of the rivt'r flows close tnnler a }H*rpendiciilat* cliff, we bad tbciefore to c|o>s the liver, which was very easily done, as the water was so low that, it scarcely reached the horses’ knees. Several stnickecpcrs and a butcher bad put up their tents lien*.

The patli li-il now iilmifj tile northern si,!,' ol tin- valley, which consists ecncrallv ol' orassv llats. l-'ivc miles Iron, Ihc lake,' alihmioh the valley is si ill lolerahlv wide, the river flows in :i more narmwed heil, Ii 1-11lenaees are lul lneil <m hot il sides, mostly covered will, InxurianL toiesl vegetation, whir vises above the crass in smaller m larger pinups mil unlike a park, and eoiisistinp of either little thickets ol beeches or hushes of Setejiliulal iilea.

; piesmas and Compositin'. Of tho lirsl, dilfereiit kinds of N'erunieas, as Salieiiolia, .Monzinsii, Huxil'nlia etc form rcpulai half-plohe like shruhs. while the last, ('lea ria ni 1 ida and (.'mini no'mioii, C'as,.inia. I'liltida and seveuil ml, CIS, please the eye by their elepanl fiiims and the variety of their tints. As soon as the view opens nut to the west, the saddle which forms the pass lies before us, a cleat ly defined depression in the mountain lanue, w hie.li rises steeply above il Itllttt (o l.jiHl feet un both sides. About lour miles ftom the pass, the road enters the forest and does not leave the river apain, which now assumes the diameter ui a true mountain stream, and rushes over hope boulders; troni here it has Ui he frequently crossed. The character of the landscape now becomes continually extensive and prouder. Ifoarinp; torrents come down I I'u lit the northern sides of the mntinttiin, and Kapils Sulnndri gives l’lahe. ty l''aeiis Monziesii which prelets a dainper niountain dimate: here and there isolated forms of sub-alpine Seneeies, Vernnicns and (iearias occur. The beautiful Hanuneiiliis l.yallii with larpe eitp-shaped leaves, and the delirale l.ipustieiiiu llaastii with dei'pl.v seriated leavt-s are found at the water course, w hile the Aciphylla l oloitsoi, which till now prow nit the prass llats and open places. is leplaeed by the pipautie Aeiplivlln l.yallii witli bluishpreen, sharp haymifl-like leaves, and a Mower stalk often ten feet liiph. Kventhiup showed that we were now aseeiidinp more i npnllv. and apprnaehiup the pass. At the loot, ol Ihe saddle two mountain streams, cuminp from the not t 'iwest and smith-west unite and the llni'll■ iui. Here a block house stands, Imilt a few years apn by the partv aeeutnpanyinp Charles llewitl, who was drowned in l.ake Urunuor while he was ueettpied ill maUinp it path tln oitpli the hush and over the pass min the valley ol the lereiuai.au . it was now Idled with provisions and belonped to a dealer, who was dmnp a verv pond business, bill complained that liis protits were very much lessened by the numbers of hall-starvinp people who returned without tin.' ninttov. I found in the block house the provisions that I had sent on from Waituhi porpe, ennsislinp of Ilnur, haeolt, sttpar and tea. I'nforl tinaudy. in spite of the precautions that had been taken, the nils had already demolished a part of them. We passed ral.h'f sleepless niphts, for the place swarmed with rats; and we had preal dillietilty In protect inp our provisions t'lnin lliein. Those animals were really quite a plaptte and left nothin;; untouched. 1 even louttd traces ul then st'-irp teeth in the shot. They holes with ineoneeivahle rapiditv in the llmir haps, all hmiqh we put them i oder our heads for pillows ami tried to protect them in other ways as well as wo eo idd.

1 eiilouhited tlio height of this etimpiiur plnee, iiiui found tied it iittniiiod ulroiidv 2002 foot. T 1... million.'.' of the (lump olimiito vvlii. h is pootilitir lo tlio ucsl side of tlio I sin ml. I lot'll 11 idrettdv to lie perceptiMo here. I ! p to this time we hud lievti ftivotirod with the

most beautiful weather, lovely days and nights, without a cloud in the deep blue sky, hut it now began to rain violently, and continued to do so wi' very little intermission until wo reached the West Coast. Several parties of returning diggers passed during my stay here, most of them ragged, starving, and without money, real pictures of misery. They were nearly all novices who had never seen a goldfield before, and after they lied spent the few pounds they brought with them, and had looked round in vain for a new claim, they had been compelled to return without having done anything. Labourers had easily found work in the towns springing up so quickly on the Coast. (To Ik* continued).