A TRIP TO THE INANGAHUA REEFS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 288, 6 December 1871, Page 2

A TRIP TO THE INANGAHUA REEFS.

(From a Correspondent of the G. JR. Argus.} Having heard and seen a great deal about the Murray Creek Reefr, I determined, being .an old " reefer," to satisfy myself by. ocular demonstration as to the truth or otherwise of the many reports of their paying qualities that nave from time to time illuminated the columns of the Argus, and read like tales from the Arabian Nig Jits, It is scarcely necessary to take up the space in your columns with « long and tedious account of a voyage up the beautiful valley of the Grey, with its aiable laud chock full of stones, and its many smiling farms. Our correspondent übually does the agricultural interests, &c. to the " veins of nicety," as Hibernians have it. I shall therefore content myself with reporting progress on behalf of the farming interests generally. I was much struck with the superior quality of tho road between Messrs. Fereusson and Mcrlardy's, and the Saddle Bush, aud was about to credit our Provincial rulers with a superabundance of philanthropliy, wheu I discovered that the improved condition of affairs was due to the persevering energy and enterprise of Mr. Antonio Lardi. . This gentleman, ever ready to advance the interests of the district, has already cut a number of tracks up the various creeks and gullies in the valley, without, I understand, ever receiving any compensation from the Government, aud now, in view of the extension of trade to Reeftori, has made, at very considerable outlay, a dray-road to the accommodationhouse at the Mia Mia, over which he conveys daily, a distance of 24 miles, from two to three tons of goods. Such enterprise deserves the highest commendation. From the last-named place to the Saddle Bush, a distance of two miles and a-half, there is also accommodation for man and beast ; this hostelry is presided over by a itla,(iy havirjg the unenviable soubriquet of "Dirty Mary," which imputation, by the way, is not deserved, that is, judging from outward appearances. On my conversing with her, she complained sadly of the absence, in that very rural district, of the refined society • in whose circle she was wont to revolve. I sympathised with her and left her pensively sad. And now commences the task of labor, to both equestrian and pedestrian, in

plunging through a perfect quagmire of mud, roots, and Btumps at the imminent risk to man and horse of life and limb, but to attempt anything like a description that would convey to the minds of the uninitiated the remotest conception of what the dreaded " Saddle Bush '" part of the road is like, for a distance of some seven miles, is certainly more than my pen is equal too; in fact any attempt would be futile. It will be sufficient to say that on the occasion of my up-trip, one uufortmate pack-horse, after breaking his leg in one of the numerous chaiu of mud holes, disappeared. .," body an I bones," doubtless to bo exhumed in future ages, and classified by the savans as a long since extinct species of the quadraped family. And it is only by one of those fortuitous slices of luck, that occasionally befriend the human family that I am able to relate my own adventures, for unfortunately not possessing,: sufficient penetration to discover the approximate depth of one of the before-mentioned mud holes, my unfortunate dobbiu — a "livery hack by the ■flray » — immersed himself and rider up to the neck in a very elastic and tenacious substance, .possessing the' consistency of dissolved glue./vJo-.the cause -of- humanity I strongly urge upou the notice of the benevolent the organisation of a society for the preservation of life on the Nelsou Provincial roads, and the Saddle Bush iu particular. The ordinary river drags, together with a portable boat, would be the kind of thing necessary for the preservation of life to the too-confiding and uu suspicious traveller. I have no doubt were the movement initiated, Mr. Curtis might : be prevailed upon to head the list of voluntary subscriptions with a handsome donation — say ten guineas — and act as president of the society. Thejnext stage from "Dirty Mary's" carries you' over the Saddle, where a very exceilent : 'h i osteiry, owned by Mr. Joseph To<*ge, supplies the want of exhausted nature. " Full and plenty" Hppears to be his motto, and no stint. And now, off: we go up the bed of the Inangahua to Reefton. Surprise is at once engendered by the extraordinary dimensions the town already assumes, as also the character of the buildings, which, without exception, would do credit to thei seaport town ; the complete absence of/ calico shanties, and th.9 substitution on really good substantial weather-board ana shingle premises — even two-storied — is | sufficient guarantee of the belief of the residents in the stability and permanency of the new El Dorado. Every branch off trade necessary to the requirements of a goldfields community appears to be fairly represented* and, without making invidious comparisons, all endeavor to supply the wants of customers. ! And now for the reason why the cause celebre of all this stir aud strain, excitement and hope. Taking the Reefs in rotation, first conies Anderson's linA, and 'next turn the celebrated Shield' line, the prospecting claim of which is the great centre of attraction, the Messrs! Mace an Co. having entered iuto atj agreement to ' furnish machinery ; and before going 'any further, it must be, ana iu fact is, admitted :on all sides, that to the pluck and enterprise of those gentlel men is attributed the present successful and early development of the Murray Creek Reefs, but it is generally admittep that the discovery would have lapsed into oblivion, or at least taken a much longer period to develop its present proportions. The indomitable perseverance they have observed, and the difficulties encountered to place the machinery on its site, to be understood must be seen. Imagine I a boiler-r-I am not quite certain as to ts weight, " but' I think it is seven tons* — dragged, or, to use a nautical term, "p* rbuckled "up an almost perpendicular t< rrace some hundred and fifty feet high, and then along a rugged and uneven spir' of the mountain, a distance of one mile and three quarters, over which a road some twenty feet in width, had; to.^pe., cleared of a dense growth of timbfer,' occupying from 'sixfcy^to a hundred raenl a • terra of six weeks to accomplish. It will give a faint idea of the obstacles to pe overcome and the expense attending it, when from three to four hundred men were employedlto -attain the ;desired object, namely, the placing of the plant on tile machine site.; : Willing hands were theta bb well as those 1 employed by the firm' t\ assist in its accomplishment, and all and\ everyYpraiße ; fs>Bu6 r tb'>all concerned. To. return from digression and " talk quartz," •' I," as our neighbors on the other side of the Atlantic say, "guess I know something considerable about quartz," and to bring matters to a climax at once, and thoroughly disgusted with the inaudling and croaking descriptions and reports tbatVfr6.ro time to time nave emanated fropp?Uthe diseased brains of would-be qua^fz-reefers, gentlemen who trade upon theSredulity and inexperience of others, and who, by their enp>ts|headed presumption, profess a k^wledge of what is to them an insoluble enigma, namely, the

value of stoue when they see it, I have examined nearly all the e lone (that is the reefs at present open), aud fearlessly say that in almost every instance they are payable. In some cases, for instance, Shiel's line No. 1,1 examined stone that was equal at least to lOoz. per ton; but let it be understood that I do not mean to convey the uotion that it would average that, but if the lode continues as /they have it at' present in the face of their drive without a break or "step," it will be little short of soz. to the ton. I traced the golden stone on Shiel's line aud Kelly's for a depth of 100ft — that is to say, I discovered payable stone from where the reefs were first struck on the surface, down to the lowest leveis which are at present open, which cannot fail to impress the most dubious with a belief in their paying properties. North aud South of Shiels' No. 1, now more generally known. as Walsh's line, the stone looks remarkably well. Adam Smith's, on Anderson's line, has also au immense show of fruitful matrix, having no less than three distinct lead3, varying from Bft to 18in iu width, each carrying gold in largely remunerative proportions.. This Company's trial test at the Cement. Crushing Company's battery, yielded sqmpthin'^, like a return of 4-^ozs per ton. '-Kelly's, on the north of Sliiels' No. 2, have a splendid show of quartz, in which the gold is very liberally distributed. They have proved at several levels, and in each instance cold shows remarkably well. This is n splendid opportunity for capitalists to furnish machinery, some hundreds of tons being ou the grass awaiting a mill. One matter in connection with these reefs struck my attention as remarkable — the .very noticeable n'tisence of the baser metals and minerals, although I was informed by au experienced metallurgist that sulphide of antimony was present in some of the stone- Should such prove correct, it will give same trouble.