AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY DOWN THE BULLER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 76, 2 April 1869, Page 2

AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY DOWN THE BULLER.

(not at all after tiie usual manner op such narratives.) Passing over the Waimeas, Wakefield, &c, we will start with our account at Mr M'Farlane's, where we overtook a party of about a dozen hard-up diggers, just camping, and who were about pitching;; into a dish of boiled mutton and a loaf which they had borrowed, and by whom (the diggers) we were invited to " take a drink of tea, mate." Hardly rid of the perspiration, and smoking under the effects of their heavy swags, their discovery that they had travelled an extra mile or two, through coming down the dray road instead of the shorter bridle track, seemed to greatly mortify them, and on our telling them in answer to their enquiry, that it was 10 miles from Hooker's they retorted, " well we call it a stockrider's 15. While the billy is getting the steam up and we are waiting for ' a drink of tea, mate,' they hail a traveller from town on horseback, from whom the most talkative of the lot wants to know everything in no time, and proposes that he should get off and walk along with themselves, and that the "moke" should carry their swags. The traveller is invited to have a ' drink of tea, mate,' the same as ourselves, and as the billy got on the boil he is reminded to get his panikin, which their keen perception, we suppose, for diggers requisites, had enabled them to spy out, though for our own part we had not noticed any such article on the " moke," and could not see it, until fished out by its owner. The water at length boils, a handful of tea is thrown in, panikins jingle, sheath knives and pocket knivesmaketheirappearanceand we all "wire in" (as invited to do) to the mutton and tea. Another digger from up country heaves in sight, is on horseback also. He is invited to wire in, and sits down amongst the rest of us to drink tea, and be sucked as dry of every particle of news as it is possible for the most loquacious of the diggers to suck him. After hearing that he had come from the diggings they were bound for, he is asked with more than usual interest — " do the storekeepers give tick ? " an answer in the affirmative seemed to gratify the party amazingly. How are the diggers doing! Oh they are all doing something ; they are all making wages. " Six pounds a week will suit us all to pieces. , What do you call wages ? " " Tucker and a couple of notes over." The party gave a very bad account of the state of Auckland, and spoke of the threatening attitude of the Maories, stating that one hundred and fifty Maories had got fifty diggers hemmed in, and would neither let them retreat nor go forward, but kept them rounded up to kill them as they wanted tucker. They expressed their opinion that Auckland was only fit for Maories. Leaving the party still " wiring in," we climb David Kerr's hill, and chuck out a parcel of Evening Mails at the station, and hasten on to the accommodation house at the Round Hill. Here we find a party of about twenty, consisting of diggers, packers, carters, a victim of retrenchment, a political demagogue, and a family of father, mother, and four children, on their way to the diggings. A good appetite and a plentiful supper, consisting of the inevitable tea,and boiledmeat, and the rarerviands of currant cake and apple tart, formed _ an agreeable -finish to the day's journey. Various topics came up for discussion and passed away the evening. The fact of " the Coast " dealers sending up their goods as high as the Lyell was commented on, and the supineness of the Nelson Government in allowing the Buller road to remain in such a bad state that goods could not be got from Nelson to compete with the coast merchants was denounced ; one reverend looking whitebearded old gentleman stating, that there had been plenty of money expended to make a good cart road all the way, but it had been fooled awaj r in paying surveyors and engineers instead of being spent in labor. He aiso said that the Nelson merchants were behind the times— that there were larger stocks in one store in Hokitika, than could be mustered in three in Nelson, and that Tea, which was three and six-pence in Nelson, could be bought for two-shillings in Hokitika. The blame of the threatened separation of the West Coast from the Nelson Province was attributed to the Government mis-management, and it was stated that the much wanted bridge across the Buller, was one of the promised boons to be realized under the coming local government. Next day, a mile or two through the bush after leaving the Round Hill brought us to an open plain of white tussocky grass, and swampy moss, which quickly opens into the Buller Plains proper, a fine open piece of country, sacrificed to sheep instead of being devoted to settlement. Seven miles of good easy travelling brings us to the Government Huts at the Slips. A mile or so further, and we come to the Buller Bridge, where a party of diggers wish us good-bye and turn ofE on their way to the Matakitaki while we pursue our way down the Buller, and, seven miles from the Slips, come to the Devil's Grip, a narrow Gorge, part of the Buller Valley, at once shutting off the level ground of the plain, and putting a stop to our cantering and easy travelling, and the commencement of the woes and dangers we are about to describe. Simply wishing the residents at the house situated in this locality good-day, and asking a few directions we hasten on and with the buoyant feelings roused in us by our really pleasant journey over the plain we innocently plunge into the bridle track which forms the only means of descending the Buller Valley and here enters the bushy slopes of the steep banks of the Buller. Here the real hardships of the journey begin, not unattended with danger, arising from the risk of slipping from the half-choked bridle track into the misty depths of the Buller, surging below. But the risk of breaking our necks seemed forgotten under the annoyance of .the mud and slush we had to encounter, and which was palpable and present to ■us at every step, and the word interminable came involuntarily to our lips as we plunged and struggled through the mire at the rate of perhaps two miles an hour. We were told that we should find the road all in steps, and our horses feet often fast in the roots of trees, but this does not properly describe the state of the road, except where the cuttings went up or downhill and.then

they -were literally enough " steps " but on the level parts the road is composed of bars of earth with deep waterholes between these bars. These water, or mudholes have been formed by the traffic of horses year after year, and it is by splashing and plunging in and out of these holes that tucker aud travellers are laboriously and tediously carried up and down the Buller. Of course the wear and tear of horses is something frightful, and necessarily enhances the price of carriage. Indeed, if there were not some daring and persevering men engaged in the important work of supplying the diggers, the diggings would be closed altogether. Horses have been killed by going over some of the dangerous places we have referred to, and if no improvement takes place human lives will be lost also. The wonder is that none have been lost already. We could not help thinking that if the Executive and some o hers of our legislators and rulers would make the journey as we did ( not with swags o'i their backs to enlighten them, as suggested by more than one digger ) they would be better fitted to discharge the duties afld responsibilities as -well as enjoy the privileges of their position. Certainly to us accustomed to the fair roads of " sleepy hollow;" this Buller track was intolerable, and towards evening we began to think more than the diggers at Mc'Farlanes, that the fifteen miles fromjthe Grip was a'stockrider's thirty, and as we threaded our way in and out, up and down, and still saw nothing but trees all round and above us, and the miry slough still in front and ahead of us, and the word interminable coming again and again to our lips, and darkness was coming over us, the barking of a dog, the tinkling of a cow bell, and presently the sight of a hut beneath us was welcome indeed, and we joyfully dismounted from our jaded and worn out horse at Dillow's, on the Owen, changed our muddy and splashed clothes, and sat doAvn before a blazing fire, and forgot, for a time at least, the horrors of the Buller road in a good supper of bread and bacon and tea, and soon turned into our blankets on the softest boards of the floor we could find, and slept soundly till morning. Our host did all a host could do for our comfort, and we could not help noting the very reasonable charge of two shillings a meal only, in spite of packing provisions so far and along such a road as we had just left behind us. We were glad to hear that there was yet hope of the Owen Kiver turning out to be a payable gold-field, inasmuch as a party of eight with ample means, had gone up with the determination of seeing what it is made of, and devoting a month or two to this object. Another hard day's travelling through mud, and working our passage through alternate perpendicular layers of earth and water, brought us to Jacklin's, eighteen miles from the Owen. Here we beard incredible accounts of the productiveness of the soil, and certainly the beautiful green paddocks of luxuriant English grass seemed to justify the accounts. We were assured that we need not fear our horses wandering from the spot, that it was with difficulty the pack horses could be induced to leave the place, and that they had to mount stockriders and drive them on to the road. We could not help thinking that the deterring influence of the loose treadmill character of the road as well as the good feed, had something to do with making the horses loth to leave. A darkey for a cook graced the establishment, and enlivened the company amazingly, and led us to give more credit than we had been used to do, to the faithfulness of the nigger imitations that greet the public eye under the mask of burnt cork. He was not at all loth in praising up his productions on the supper table, more particularly an apple pie, (dried apples) which he assured us had " a good inside to it, Yah ! Yah ! Next day, fearing floods in the river we retrace ouc steps about eight miles and cross the Buller at its junction with the Matakitaki. After supper at a store close on the bank of the Buller we were shewn to our bedroom. There we had, not to choose the softest board, but the softest stick, for we had to roost in the roof of a shed on fern laid on sticks resting on poles. Being an exceedingly airy apartment we followed the example of undressing which we had noticed on our journey, and simply took off our leggings and boots. Next day we got fairly amongst the diggers and Avere sorry to learn that grog had arrived at the stores above a few days ago and that we should find a great many diggers lying about more like pigs than men, as it was the custom for the men not to leave off drinking till every drop of grog was gone. Although there are no doubt some heavy drinkers on these diggings there is nevertheless a large proportion of steady sober men, who work at their claims steadily and as regularly as a tradesman at his craft. We found our expectations of these diggings entirely erroneous. Instead of diggers camped in groups, and their tents visible from the distance we fonnd the valley covered with dense bush, and the diggers stowed away on the banks of either side of the river, and often in apparently inaccessible holes and corners. In fact we had to hunt for the diggers instead of seeing them at a glance as we had expected. We were led to understand that all the easy gold had been got years ago, that it was all poor ground that was left now, and that success depended not so much on lucky finds as on steady work, and the amount of stuff that could be sent through the sluice box. We were surprised at the undertakings that had been successfully carried out in the shape of races, in many cases several miles long, brought round spurs and gullies and along terraces, to bring the "lead of water" to the desired spot. And all this is done, levels taken, calculations made, race cut, roads and tracks bridged, shingly ground floored, and with all kinds of obstacles such as roots and rocks to contend with, without surveyors, or engineers, or plans, or sections, and time keepers, and overseers, and the various other Government contrivances for making the money fly. The roads are quite as bad along the Matakitaki as they are in the Buller. The roots of the trees catch the horses feet, and travelling is about as bad as any thing can be. Having satisfied our curiosity as to the diggers, we push on towards the head of the Valley, and are glad to find burselves emerging from the bush on to an open plain, which the sheep depasturing thereon lead us to suppose it is Mr Hunter's run. We seem to breathe freely on getting into the open

again, and our horses seem as pleased as ourselves, and. a. canter across the plain brings us to Mr Hunter's station, and passing it we dive into the bush again ; but here the trees are felled for one chain in width, and the road is much drier and more solid in consequence. We presently come to more open country., and passing the JE^chlan,push on" still over open, but hilly ground tiU%*T'come to another plain, and crossing it reach: McGregor's. Here the only bit of roadviatitig worth the name, on our journey commences. Instead of the alternate bars of earth and water, here we have a good solid road of earth thrown out of the ditch on one side, and the water is where it ought to be, in the streams below where it runs off instantly, instead of being allowed to remain and be worked up as in a pug-mill into mud and mire. We canter away now for miles aB over the plains, and soon ascend Lake Hill, in our descent on the other Bide to the Howard we meet with a lot more beastly corduroy which is worse on account of the steepness the road assumes here. It is called by the Packers the staircase. It is fearfully slippery and trying to horses. We fry some bacon in a camp oven over a lid and make some tea at the Government huts at the Howard, and hasten onto the ßuller plain. Pass the bridge, and find the river above the Slips, ascend a hill and take a glance at the Buller Lake about three miles from the Round Hill, and the following day make our way through the settled districts home again. There are several matters we could not help reflecting upon, and which we will notice in conclusion, — Why is the road carried over the highest point of the Lake Hill, when it might have been taken sevaral hundred feet lower ? Why is the Buller Bridge placed below the slips instead of above them ? Why is the earth, in many cases good metal, taken out of the ditch along side the corduroy on the Lake Hill thrown into the back instead of on to the road on top of the corduroy -where it is so badly wanted ? Why should so much money be wasted hi corduroy -at all, when all that is wanted to make the road sound, is to keep it dry by ditching? Why should labor be bestowed in digging gravel pits and holes along side the road for metal, necessitating the removal of it along the road in barrows, when the same labor bestowed in cutting a drain, would give the supply of metal just at the point required without any wheeling and carrying off the water at the same time? It will be observed from this account that there are three different roads to the diggings. The road we went, the road we came back, and the road through the Mangles we did not go. Would not one good road be far better than three bad ones in the state we have described. How are these roads to be made better. It seems to us by felling the timber at least a chain wide to let the sun in, and drainage to let the water off only by all means we should recommend the' earth taken out of the ditches to be thrown into the road and not to be thrown away into the bush. Never mind if it is very slush when it is thrown up, take the water away and it will become solid. But the expense — well, do the worst places first. In the meantime, cut down the frightful departmental expenditure Do not waste any more money in surveys and engineering, but devote it to some well directed labor. Let your readers bear in mind that the towns must sink if the out districts are not attended to, and if they are attended to the • towns will take care of themselves.