KUMARA.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 61, 29 August 1877, Page 2

KUMARA.

' ' [FfiOM'ouS.o^N- Co-respondent.]; A quarter of a.ib\\e south of the Sham." rook lead, and. gping o$; to the west, or nearly parallel to i|;, anbther. branch, of thp.main, lead, now;, frwn, as. tJip.Scan* dinaTtan, is being opened up. Kine or sten. claims ar,e already on payable, gold i tho prospects, in 'the claims furthest ajipad bsing equ,a,l to.auy of tho others, and s.o far, it has maintained a uniform, course, without dov.ialingvto.thf? right or left, apd. from, the regu|ar and^upbroken appearance of the country; iu/tjie direction it is mating, there.is great pr.olijvbility of its further extension. The run if yarying 40,fuet'iu vtydtb, wjth a, well

defjned bottom and roof, and an absence of the massjve class qf boulders found elsewhere. The depth is about 3,Q feet, with 6 feet wasbdirt, vacying from 4 to | G dwts tQ thP load. The Scandinavian promises ?o be a welcome addition to the leads of the Kumara, foy it is ground easily worked, at a moderate depth, can . be taken out or f < soldiers," trad being confined, can bp worked to advantage. On other parts of the field, mining operations are carried pn in a steady and methodical manner. Around the shafts large piles, of atones and tailings are accumulating, giviqg one same idea; pf the gpace excavated hole*. The tunnel claims having their paddocks on the side o.f the hill, some 20Q feet above the bed of the river, are pot at all apprehensive that they will ever be hlocked. for room. The large areaa of ground he) 4 here under miners' rights a.re. a great inoentive to prospecting, so far as sinking and driving in Bearoh of a }o^t ox new lead may bo termed prospecting. The Weatland mining bye«laws allow 6Qx6iO feet per man for claims under 50 feet deep 5 ahove 50 feet, 75x7S feet ; and above }0Q feet doep, feet per m.an. AW claims mark ed out during the last nine months contain the larger area, for in an appeal that came before Judge Weston it was understood from his decision, thati though gold was found in drifts and worked at various levels from a few feet below the surface to 100 feet and upwards, no main bottom, bad bqen reached, even at the greater depth, and, therefore, in all such clajims.. 100x100, feet could be held by each membor of a. party. This gives something like an acre to four men,, or about the area granted to the same number in extended claims, and this extension ■ of boundaries counterhalauMß in some measure the general poorness of the ground, for if such, claims can b,e by any means, made to pay wages, th.oir owners will find themselves something in pocket when, the ground, after years of work, is > given up as finished ; whereas, if diggers had been restricted to the smaller, area, ] they wou,ld have found themselves^ after payiiag preliminary and current expenses, in much the sa,me position, at the finish as the con^enc.eraeat. Qn the Greenstone side of the Teremakau, tha sfee. of the claims is regulated by the depth of sinking. The gold there being usuallyfound lying on a bed. of sediment, termedthe main bpttom, and as this is generally shallow, the claims are confined, within the lesser areas. A gopd, deaj of ptoapecting has been done on thaj; s.id«. of the. river, and some rich patcbos have been discovered, but the most of it is ground that from, its elevated situation, is well adapted for hydraulic mining, a,nd for the purpose of bringing water on, to, these terraces, the Dobson Creek. Wa^-raco. Cou;un,ny is npw being floated. : As hydraulic mining on a, very. extensive scale will, be the mjeans. eventually '■ by, which, the greater quantity of g»W will bs e^tractedi on the Kumara,, I will jasjt giye aq, instance or two to, show the gseafc improbability of aU the aurife^ou^ drafts be,ing fou,nd and, worked :tha,t would pay under tbp psoaent system,, and will therefore— with the mass of material,, slightly gold- beating, lying • under and above tbem.-Jie. bid? until the appliances for tumbling everything, into the. river are at work upon them. In a certain, claim, a party.of men. whaimaginedthey, were working oa the same level as their neighbors., upon, breaking through tothe.olaim on thei». right, found-them-selves seven, feet too hierh, or in. other words, they had been leaving that depth of wash under foot. In anpthw claim,, the party, who. were taking ten feet of wash.- --; dirt, upon breaking through to the. worked ground? of- their neighbours found- they had taken, but four fcefc, leaving six feet untouched', a, bjapk seamofr a few inches separating, thp two, layers, As a, third' instance, in one of the. best claims, on the place, the. party, had been, working, for. six months on gold, and uuujlly had about flrve feeb oJSmash. In the gya,vel they took for bottom a small prospect cooJ& alw.ays be obtained* ami one day in sinking, a prop^tbey tried, it a little deeper and foundit payable, and four feefc below, found* a seam, that was. equal to the rest ■of- the face. They find' now, they ; haye tent feet of washdirt, and. believe, they have. 1 for months left the bo3t gold- behind theb. Oases ofl this kind, the. discovery, of. seams overlapping are pretty nijinerous, but no doubt a, large. percentage willi always lie., hidden. * . . j The elections, for,, the. Borough. dunne v the week havekspfc the.town in, a state ,of imiid excitement. Monday, sa.w acifci^n bloom, and expand' infcp that envied dignitary, the vfirst Mayor of' Kjuroaifc. The eveiit was- attended with much rejpic> ing, and success, to his Worship was profusely drank in. deep libations of chaitopagne. On Wednesday when, the,, nine Councillors wore elected- the supply of champagne ran oufc, $nd their supporters had! to fall back on, Colonial, and Jl Hennessy. Our new. Mayor, "R. J>. Seddon, Esq,, ist an, energetic man. not backblowiug his. ow,n trumpet,, and will do his utmost for- the town. His. J pledge to make this a, " model borough ."• ■will require time, for its fulfilltnentylmt , diggers will look forward to . # the. timewhen, " during the. holidays, insteadi pf hastening off to Greymputh, BDokitik'aj and other places in search of amusement and' pleasure, they will find' aOjple enjo^» ment, and' means of recreatiofi. wthin.this borough." Enmara, August 24th, 1877.