EARLY GOLD DISCOVERY

Hokitika Guardian, 13 October 1921, Page 4

EARLY GOLD DISCOVERY

FIRST RUSH TO THE COAST,

A ROMANTIC ACCOUNT

(From the Reports of Sir Julius von I blast, F.ILS. to tho Canterbury Provineial Government).

(('mitituicd.) VII.

A glorious morning succeeded the had weather; not a cloud was visible on the azure vault of heaven, nnd having crossed the AYnitaki, a large riict joining the AYataroa near its mouth, which owing to its suit bed, was 11 ouhlesimie to horses and men, the latter having to carry the loads over in order nut to risk the animals in idle quicksands, we arrived at the Maoti puli, lying nn a small sand-spit. I j use the habitual expression Maori pah. hut a description of this settlement I would give a very poor idea of such a Maoti village, consisting as it did ot three miserable low huts, in w Inch a vorv old couple,.and the widow ol hi. late Chief Maiiahi, with her children, were living. Owing to so many diggers having passed here, the greatest portion of their staple food, potatoes, was already gone, of which of course, the Maori digger got the lion’s share thev would have to stiller a great deal nf privation before they could expect a new crop. Evidence of a himciitablo slate of things was very visible, priticipnllv among the children, who were 11,vered with sores and ulcers: living as they did, upon anything they coni': obtain', and greedily sticking the lat „f the woodheus they were able In ~: i t,!i. And so what had given to t>: active population of the Most toast a gulden harvest,, bail made these po ' people still more wretched than they had fnrmerlv been. Ah,ml a mile south of the Maori huts, and two miles tiom the mouth o. the Wataroa, another headhinil hail to In* passed, hut owing In the eircumstanivs that high water was still towards noon, we were compelled to iemain liete the greater part of the day | tt ,foie we could continue our journey, lint as the weather was really glorious 110 cloud in the deep blue skihad plenty of work to do in sketching the magnificent scenery before me, aim taking the necessary bearings ol a great'many of the principal [teaks amt valleys of that part of the Southern Alps! The view towards the sourees ol the Wataroa was exquisitely g"•

lull | shall 1101 give a description of n till I speak of the view from bake (Ikarito. which, for diversity ul sivnv ami greatness, cannot he suipassed by anv other landscape on the globe. ' At three o'eloek we could start, anil 1 minding two smaller headlands, wlu were the former terminal moraines

the Waitaki glacier, we stooil at last lie Ime that, glorious panorama. Tie contrast between the ever lest less sea the gigantic waves coming and going without intermission and the quiet watershed of bake tlkaiiio, with il* numerous islands, surrounded by lux--11; unit forest, was most striking. Above the finest plains rose low lull neks, also clothed with the same intetisclv glceii West toast vegetation, ever which l lie Smuhein Alps appeal."l ,1 111:1s, ill SHOW. iev. leek it 111 I lOICs!. A, bar a, the eye vmilil leaili. liimiii mill ,11,pealed heliiud mmtlitaiii, : el,ill ill their white garni.'ills.

wliieh they are ciiveied, during tinwhole year almost entirely, heemning appaientlv lower until they appeared mile as small |iuints orci the sea hmi-

ii hall cloud, hall ghost, as a modern philos(ij)|t(‘i lias said so well. Hut what struck me more than anything was the low position reached by an enormous glacier, descending north ot Mount Cook 1 11 >in the ranges, and appealing hetuVen the wooded hillocks at the foot of the Alps, forming' with its pure unsullied ice, broken in numberless semes, a most remarkable and striking (outiast to the surrounding landscape. The sun being' nearer his setting', new (‘hsntj'cs were every moment elieetcd. The >hades grew longer and darker, ami whilst the; low ej portion already lay deep purple sluuh*. llu* summits were still >hiningwith an intense rosy hue. Turning tow aids Hie sea, the satm* contrast ol inlours wits exhibited, tlie sea being Jeep blue, whilst the sky was of such a deep crimson and orange colour, tuat if we could see it faithfully reitdeiv !»v an ailist, we should consitler i highly exaggerated. lint tlu* bciiiitv of the magnificent scene did not lam* away even nliVi the glorious day laid < 1 is:ippea rod, beeausc, as the nigh! advanced, the full moon threw her so; t silver light over the whole pictuie, and lake and sea, forest ami snowy giants still we]o visible, hut assuming, apparcully, other dimensions, shapes ami colours. It was late at night before l could leave this glorious view, and u heart swelled with such a pure deligh: as only the roiitemplation of nature can offer (o her admirers. After ;i beautiful calm night, we found the whole country covered by hoar-fiost, tlu* minimum lbermometer making -0, or nearly d. below freezing' point, but a cloudless sunny day followed, and 1 never got tired of* ad in iri no tlu* wonderful landscape before me. the solitude of which appealed less severe when observing' numerous horses feeding peacefully aiming tlu* high grass in the foreground, a strange sight on the West Coast, where t-he uniform forest vegetation e totally unfit to preserve the lib* of that useful animal. The presence of so manv horses indicated that a great number of diggers had their headquarters here, from whence they prospected tin* country in tlu* neighbourhood. The traces of llu* night’s frost soon disappeared before the powetlul sun, and we followed for more than three miles a well-beaten track along the banks of the lake, through high llax and small groves, consisting of Coprosma Veronica, and dwarf tolara bushes, intercsecied with grassy Hals. Owing to the variety of means of human subsistence presented on the one hand by the sea, on tlu* other by tlu* lake and tlu* open ground around it, it is easily understood that such a favourable locality would not escape the attention of tlu* native inhabitants of this island, and this well-beaten I rack, tlu* numerous remains of w hata’s «provision stoit*s) palisadiugs around graves and huts, show that formerly a much larger population than at piesent existing, had peopled these interesting shores. Tlu* sleek ami spirited appearance of the horses, w hen compared with their usual miserable *• dilion on the Coast, testified that the grass growing hero alongside tlu* lake was both abundant and nutritious.

About a mile from the outlet of the Okarilo lake, which, like that of Poerua, is situated at its southern extremity, we fell in with an encampment, consisting of several tents and provision stores, mostly occupied b\ one man, the only representative of a prospecting party, who had left one of their mates behind to look after the provisions and horses during their absence. Hcing told that the headlands between tlu* Okaiito and flu* Waiau wore impassable for horses, we left ours and part of our provisions behind, and proceeded at once to tlu* outlet of the lake, which is so broad and deep that it. can only Ik* crossed with a mikihi Some of th.e diggers had hollowed out from a drift tree a kind of canoe, about eight foot long, the stout, origiu-

ally open, being closed with some sods, through which tho water, found its wav during the passage. In this frail hark, kindly lent ns hv the diggers, and which we strengthened by a bundle of flax sticks on both sides, we crossed two at a time, and camped that evening on tho southern side, under the shelter of a manuka grove, and in a. commodious wliare, built a few weeks before by a large party of Natives who had gone smith prospecting. Tho -next morning, June 1 Ith, we continued on foot with heavy loads, so

as to lie prepared for a spoil of l>ai weather, which might possibly ovoi lake ns when near the head waters n Ihe Waintt. Lake Okarito is houndei on its southern side hy a headland formed hy a lateral moraine, withon doubt belonging to the Waiau system and exhibiting hy its rolls'll antielma arrangement, Unit it formed tin' north ern lateral moraine ol that large post pliocene glacier. This acciimuhil i"n lirst. only 10 feet Ins'll, ''isos as wo a ranee towards the south, to at leas ■Jot) feet, indicating more than anvil,jug else the enormous denudation which must have taken place before t ■ ■ •, present glacier would term the ciannels they now occupy. And il we consider lliat the accumulations coni" mostly from the liiphe-t p M'tioll ol lb ■ central chain, the lover portion I arm" lireii generally ground down hy the ice, or become removed by the riveis issuins' from below these huge glaciers, the philosopher is filled with admiration and wonder, when thn great once more is revealed to him, t ; Nature, to obtain preat results, uses ■ 'ipantie hut simple means, o! wlm-.i we have searcelv any true conception. Between the Okarito lake and Be Waiau comparatively little water reaches the sea, which may easily be accounted for hy assuming. that a nice spur runs in a south-westeny dnec-f,-om Mount Klie tie I'eaumuut to the Valiev of the \\ aiau. so that onlv the water eolleviinp on the western side of that spur could Inrm small channels throuph these moraines. t There are two smaller rivers whicu we had to pass before we readied ice Waiau. both beinp called the 'lotara, Imt generally easily crossahle it t.:ey (low at all, their mouths being olleii closed hy shifting sands n! the seashore, behind which they then lorm lapoons, hut when hreakiup tlnouph, for a few days often present an impassable harrier to the traveller. W ncii we passed the first time, the northern Tv.tnra "as ruiiiiinp, hut could h" easily crossed, whilst the southern one was ’closed, and on our return, owing to the continuance ol the lair weather and light south-west winds, \u> found them hot h closed, so that wo could navel drv looted for eight miles along that weli irrigated coast. At eleven o’clock we arrived at the mouth of the Waiau, where two diggers who had been our travelling companions, b n us. Tiiev wimv Immiikl lor ;i ctvo.k (wee ll the Waiau and the Wnikukupn. where some payable finds, according to i iimours, had just been made hy some prospecting paity.

Tlif view from the moilLli of that river i.-s most magnificent, iis the velley. being straight :iml nearly Iwo miles broad, allows Us to ga/.e at tl'e Sontliern Alps from foot to summit, having in ilu> foreground [lie enormous ice masses of the I'haneis .losejih glacier appealing between the rieli forest vegetal ion. The Waiaii is a true shingle river, Mowing u\ scleral liianelies through its wide valley, the semi-opaiiile hluisli eoloiir of its waters ai once revealing its glacier origin. Divine to the eold nights il was very low, so that we eollld easily cross, il being scarcely above our knees when running in several branches. Numerous deep channels, now empty, and the enormous amount of drilt-wood lying everywhere upon the shingle Mats and spits, were indications enough to show that, wiill the least freshet, il would be impassable for travellers on foot, and I can easily understand that, during spring and summer, it is almost impossible to wade through it. Kveii in this season, the least rain makes it very dangerous to cross, A -week before our arrival, when there had been a freshet in the river, a prospector, a capital swimmer, was washed from his feel, and drowned, before his mates could idler him ally assistance. The river having a general tendency, at present, to keep principally on the northern side of its broad bed, we mossed it at once in three branches, and kept oil the southern side, travellino partly in dry channels, over grass Mats,or sometimes through dense bush, where a branch of the liver sets close against hanks covered with lores' regulation. This fores! consisted either of pines iiftei mingled with iirboiesceut. ferns, the whole interlaced by climbing plants, or'—and what was still worse of shrubs, the branches of which were not only grown to dense masses and towards the ground, but were still more closely united by Hushlawyers (Kuhns Australis) and supplejacks ( Khipogoniini Sea miens). It was a herculean task to pass through bush of ihe last description when only a lew hundreds yards long, and we seldom reached the river bed -without having left part of our garments or skin in our battle with Unit nnplea-ant \Ve,t Coasi vegetation.

Afltr two miles tlu* bed enlarged still more, the river flowing in two piiucipnl branches on each side ol it. with a large wooded island in the centre. Towards evening we camped about seven miles from tlu* coast, near a grove ol pirn* trees and arborescent fetus. During our journey up the rivei wt* had occasion to observe an abundance ol animal life existing theie; tlu*re weie large numbers of wondhetis, and my Maori companions soon made sail havoc among them. Next morning the same line weather favoured us, and alter four miles we arrived at the foot of the Southern Alps, w hich rose Imm the plains in all their majestic splendour. Here (ho main river turned town ids south, and an important branch join* from 1 1)4* south-easi, coming also I rout a largt* glacier, which 1 called alter l*i o lessor Ahassiz, the illustrious naturalist-. The valley of the main river narrows hero considerably, ami rocky points are washed by its waters on tlu* right side, consisting oi a beautiful mica slate full of garnets, but even here, eh>so to tlu* glacier, tlu* tall of the river is inconsiderable, so that it could he easily crossed on foot. The vegetation at llu* same time continued tut have llu* same lowland character. Turning a rooky point, we bad ut once tlu* white unsullied face* ol the ice before us, broken up into a thousand turrets, needles and other fantastic forms, the terminal face of the glacier being still hidden by a foreground of pines, rata, beeches, and arborescent ferns, giving to the whole picture a still stranger appearance.

About three-quarters ol a mile Irotn tin* glacier we eamjK'd, and alter a hasty meal, started for its examination. The same vegetation still <ontiniicd, and it was in vain that I looked for any alpine or even subalpiue plants. From lmlh sides numerous water-courses come down oyer large blocks of rocks, mostly terming nice falls. Holme we racked the glacier, the valley expanded again, the left side having hitherto been formed by an ancient moraine, more than a hundred feet high, tlu* river flowing to two channels, with a wooded island, from which huge blocks of rock rose bet ween tlu* trees, but owing to the very low state of the river, the {toutb-

oil) channel was nearly dry, and only received, on that side, tin* contents ol numerous small waterfalls Imm the uulrunniny spurs of llie mam chain. Before we reached the ylaoier it sell we had to cross a moraine, mostly iniis'stinn of small detritus, denoting, hy its Hiineraloyieai character, that it came from the summit of the snowy y.aiits heldre vis. My whole ;:a ty la I actor seen a glacier, and some of ; e Manns had never seen ice; thus the uc.i.ci we came, the greater was their curiosity, ami whilst I stopped it few I oudred yards from the terminal lac i ; •' some hearings, the whole rsuye owir; jto the clear sky, heme, well visd.le. I | thes till ran on, and I sat, ll mu -o ■> I ascend the ice, which, vtfi tie cMe.i----j tion of a few small |neet ->■y : • . . ' the centre, was pmlvtly ']’• : v, :■ • I i presented a most mnyiiili-oiit sight i Having finislted my work. I follows ‘ | them, and Siam stood under the pin 1 . : cave at the southern ext; entity, inrin J iny tin azure tool of itch-vrinr d; 1 , hetiufy, and wliicii one in •••,.• Itu. peacompanions could otil. comoa c to the luuynilioeiit scenery id '■nine I n- - pant 'I he "hi ciei not otdv Idl- ti c valle'. t >e «' os ,0 1. j;i: ri are form si ol pe: irmdietdar walls of nilea schist, nut even ioUn leo it o. la rye hillocks iise, •on i.- no _ ol •j .. saim rock :.u v Idea, ct‘er 1 11 anyw here I had is r eh -r. 01. < pl-iniim and furrow iny; action oil ' i <’ ran easily he stmlwd. And no one haviicr done so will uPo; 'aid- leal surprised at the Civility i».li_ wlui-n that wonderful and piwerml 0.0U0.i c> aaturc will fin row de i> valleys and modal re dies moutoiinces. . On ll til side- of that yocae ,ha a wood distance, llie immntrins w-i , overed with a luxuriant veivt-'t mu anuinysi which heaiililul rata tic's and in one locality fuchsia hushes. 1 he: without leaves, covered a hi rye exten ol the mot illaili sid.e, and. were Uloconspicuous. It was in vain that cvei t c[ose to I lie ylaaier. where t i |a rye ice masses must, ill some dey refri iterate the smroundiiiy atmosphen | looked for elm lactci istic alpim plants. Tlieie were noil her -p un ■trasses nor Colniesias. t hose yiyan! a New Zealand daisies which are siu'li ail oinament to cur hiyhcr vegetation, not oven ;inv of the silh-tilpme Ims'ies and s',ruhs. One may easily imagine how extremely striking is the contrast hot ween the stupendous ice masses enclosed hv that tremendous im.uid :n elmjn. and the nrhoH'scein lent, pities and other luxiiiinnt veyelntmn winch are ill general only lomid ill more v mal parts of the coast. (To he continued).