The Pohangina Reeth.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1490, 26 October 1885, Page 4

The Pohangina Reeth.

AN INTEBVIEW WITH MB V fiiC. . ■,:■.. :- FIELD. .- . ' ■■••:•■ j ; • [Saturday's HeroUL\ v •! ,'.'• . By train last evening Mr H. 0, Field, the representative of the Waiuranni Pi*, speeting Association, returned to Wan* ■ . gamri, sccompwiied by Mr Reid. T|>r- . day we intorvieifed Mr Field #nd gained the following particulars from him. He left town on Wedntidity, oie 14th, getting to Ashurst (nine im>s.bey6hd Pahnerston) the seme evening. Had jto wait there two day*, owing to th* flooded state of the river, but a start was made . on Saturday. The distance from Ashuist 1 u( some 18 or 20 miles ;. the 1 route lies up the bed of the Pohangina, that is the actual bed m flood time. Thjs bectii* cpapoped oTsraaU poulders. and coaiJN ahinple, making the journey up Terr rough, more especially a* the riw hjas to be crofsed some 41 >im»*. The party. i ,i gotupon horpebaek all right* , r At the ' ' distance mentioned from Ashurst there is a stream flowing into the Pohangina '■- from tiie eastward, locally i known M " Boaring Meg." The name, it may be . phserred, is not due to the mining^pop- :" ' illation now crowding there but to "former settlers, and wag giren on account of ,th# noise it made m flood time. Go- : fag about three-quarters of a mils up the stream they found the camp which had been pitched by previous explorers, and. m which at the time of their amvil about 30 men weraUvjnf. This is the . - fcrthert point of level land up the stream am wbJch. -a camp eoaid (^" j»laejifl. Quarter of a mile from this spot is tfte place that the supposed quarts is found. The origins] diicoyerer of tha piaect wfs Anderson, a man who. bju bejaiJiTinf m that part of the eo«ntry, for some vaars pas^^makins; a firiig by Shooing'^d cattle for their hides. ,H« hai^ Veek ' ■ camping m the Pohangina district f<|r i some t^nei and had noticed a eunods . wall of black stops cropping out, witk a, quartz seam m it. On examining it he saw what he took to be gold, and what others have since pronounced to bt.tbat metal. In a'Jshort'tinie the excitemeat was got up, and It still continues tola 1 oertain extent -• Sejs>rdinsf this wall of black stone, Ifr Field says thai it is only black oa the outer surface, when broken it is found to be"; grey 1 . There is a seam of it from about 2ft 6m to 3ft ik widths with a' vein ; of quarts' running through it, which it sometimes the width of the hand, and sometimes less. - One peculiarity attaching to it is that it appears *o have been upheaved by some volcanic' disiurban^e, as the strata of meiss and slate do hot run horizontally but perpendicularly. The reef has been traced iom« |lf uulm. The country i» likely looking, the sedimentary rocks and slate alternating, but it has not fiveh any great satisfiiction as yet. . Fron) firtt to lest there have been some 40 or '"' 50 persons there examining the sjroundw ' washing and crashing, i aoii whife Mr Field was there no one suoceeded m getting the color. , They had pestles and mortars, quieksilyer, acids, and> borax, bju^ bi)vpna getting a ; few specks of something thst might be silver no result was obtained. If tha specks wen pilvet Mr Field says thf t he does not think there is sufficient to pay. He pesrged out a claim for down to the streaur further north than " Boar 4 ing Meg." While m camp ho .beard that Mr Skey's anslytif »bow»d thai there was neither gold noi saver in-thi •tone, but this is not confirmed as yet As to the Melbourne test the partners ii the original claim have received the-re-sults; but for the weient they decline to make anything known. ' They do noi appear to have been very well ssti«fiedi as another ton' is to be" sent to Auckland for further trial. Altogether the field did pot present itself to Mr Field's eye as a payable one. He will report fully to the company on Monday. ■' ' ' MB B»WINAN BATB " l is strongly cprroborji|ive;of the remarks;, made by Mr Field, both a§ to the prospects of the field and ai i .to. the tests ap- . plied by tlinse prevent. One peoitiarity; with regard to the ro*l reef is that not one of the latest '^rojiftortorji has Wn it]: The hole originally dug it covered mp by a slip, and Mr Anderson refuses to allow the men on the ground to open It np. A small piece outcropping from it ba« been tested by all there, bat nothia

obtained from it. With reference to the reßulti of the Melbourne crushing, Mr tieard denies that they ha ye been received, but other partners m the claim hare stated to Atr Field the very reverse. Mr Bronnaii peg<jed out i claim on the chaaee of ths thifyr turriiiig out right, but he has no faith it, , • I

r (To the editor W«»ttvifle jfteawiner.) Sißv^- Kindly allow me space to oonbti- * -diet a parasraph which appeared m Ttifcaday evening's issue of your iburnai, Wherein I am accused of speaking m very disparaging terms of the Pobanginia' Imost emphatically deny ever •ayine anything about the reefs' in quee-r < tion either goo* .had, rieiiber haTe I !fpV>ken with or even seen at a dietanee, any one connected with your paper line* my return. Our camp, tool*, and tucker ate there now, and it teeing plain that thething wa« atnok m the paper fntentibnally, ; to injure me ehould I return.— l am, &c., S. K. MoMikjcan. , . WoodviUe, October 22nd, 1886.