THE DUNSTAN DIGGINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 228, 12 September 1862, Page 4

THE DUNSTAN DIGGINGS.

By the kindness of the Co-nmissioner of Gold Fields we are' enabled to publish a report from the Dun3tan Digging-;, faroished to Mr. KeUeli by one of the mounte-1 constables under his command. The coo {table ia question has, we are given to" understand, had considerable experience as a miaar in California, and his opinion of the dijyginfs may therefore, to a certain extent, be taken as authoritative. The following is the report alluded to :— I Police Dipartm 3at, [ Sherman's Station, I _ ■ 3rd Sept., 1832. Mouated Cmstable BiiUea be^j to report that the Hartley Ds^iass occupy tint portion of Xfe«H. Shennan anl M'Lsaa'* rua, bstweea the -Minuherikia and Kawarau Rivers, on both banks of the ; Clutha. The ground at orient worked i? confined to the loose gravel ani sau I, with that portion of the i rock most easily pielod off, between high wato mark I and the present level of the rivvT. The greatest quantity of mica exists ail over. As far as the Clutha has been folloarei, even beyond the Kawarau, gold luh bsen discovered in quantities varying froa» three dwts. to three grains to the pan. From the junction of the Manuherik'ia to the Ciutha, for a disMne of six mile> following the course of the river upwards, the banks are composed of gravd and are auriferous, bat from this point, known as the Mouth of the Gorge, to the Kawarau, the river flown between hi<rh' cliffs, and the di-^nns operatious are necessarily confined to the ed«es of the river, yet gold has bean obtain»d by picking off the top or th^ rotten rock, hi^'i above, to all appearance, where the water flowed. The gold is of the finest description and very difficult, to' separate frjTi tha iron sand. 1c would b3 difficult to estimate the working population, but the number of people oa the 6eld may be taken at about 3303. The number having may, psrh*p 3 , exceed thnt arriving, b«fc hitherto noae have been known to leave, being- posstissel of provisions or the p-opsr applicinees for working. People are working along- the entire distinee from the Manuherikia to the Kiwarau—this includes and extends teyoad U>3 ground worked by Messrs. Hartley and Reifiy,— a distance of over twe >ty mile 3. Gjldis being obtained in payable quantities, bat the ground insist necessarily be limited from the fact j that gold has as yet on!y b.-en obtained from the sind aal ?hingle on the edge of the river. Many of the miners say t!rit with a cradle thsy ea-i make 1 oz. per i man per diem, and a number are doiug even better. The constable saw a party of five washing with a entile. They cleared out after every ten buckets of dirt. The fir.it tea yielded about a quartei of an ounce, a-il the rest about seven dwts. Tea buckets of the fchinir'e can easily be vrashal in less than half an hous-. The greatest rush seem? to bj to the head of qhe river, in the viciaity of Messrs. Hartley and ! Heilley s workings, which is a little balow the "junction of the Ciutha an 1 Kawaran. AU the bush ia the locality is confined to a few stra^lm? bushes on I the banks of the rivsr, but a ssam of "coil or lignite of ! rery g"->d quality juts out under ths edge of thi bank, ; «.tid .-tppareutly extends under the flat at the mouth ot the Gorge. This point is about fourteen miles from the site of M^srs Hardy aad fieiltey's la«;t workings and aiuut seven from Mr. Sa?nnaa*s station. * As yet there are no stores oath 3 ground. Jfr. Shennan has put np a slaughter-yar i oa the bank of the river where he is selling mutton at Is. par lb It would be impossible to take any on'-eyance up theside of'he river from the steepness of the banks which are dangerous for a horse without a rider. (Signed) .Robert Bpller, mt i t- ~„ t. Mounted constable. To Jackson Keddell, Esq., Sub-inspector of C3ns»tabularv Clutha GoU Fields. " We have also had placed in our hands a letter, received privately from, a person on the digging*, who wrote on the 4th inst. The letter bears out in most particulars the correctness of the various accounts, oiScial and otherwise, that have lately appeared in our columns, and as it is not therefore necessary to print it entire, but as it touches upon some points not mentioned in the other letters I that we have from time to time published, we quote a few paragraphs He says: —" Th c diggings present a*very lively appearance at present. From the junction of the Manuherikia to the junction of the Kawarau (at a ! rough guess twenty miles) every available I spot on the banks near the water's edge oa j both sides is, taken up, and disputes^ wa»e ' fiercely over every claim, if deserted but to procure provisions. The Police Inspector has his work cut out, and must have a hard part to play, for he is expected to decide their disputes, and as he cannot put the men upon their oaths his position seems very awkward. He sometimes refers to arbitration." Ia another part the writer says, speaking of the appearance of the place, " When you enter the Gorge, where all was silence two weeks a^o, the hills resound with the noise of cradles rocking, and everything is now looking like business. Stores are rapidly appearing at Coal Point (the entrance of the Gor»e) Where they retail flour at 2s. per Ib., being'a reduction on the first price of half-a-crown ; tea, on the contrary, fetches but 4*. to 55.; sugar, 23. to 2s. 6fl. Five or six bullock drays hare arrived at Shennan's Station—seven miles from the diggings—and contain stores of all kinds. Famine is now at an end, and plenty avill soon rule the day." With regard to the population and their prospects,.the writer says " I estimate the population at somewhat above 3000. The gold workings are still confined to the river, but some who muster six in a party are throwing out scouts of two to prospect - and I expect each day to bear of some newdiscovery. If not, Ido not think this field will do for so many, especially as at this time of year we may expect the river to rise. Some, and I believe many, parties are makin^-aa ounce per man, but more £l to 305.,° hut every face at work looks more like contentment than before."

r ,T. h®f frier <3raw S an amusing picture of the life led by the residents on the diggings, which would appear to be to the full as bad as was expectedior all parties from the "representative of the Government" downwards With respect to thut hard-worked functionary the writer, says that he had occasion to visit' the quarters of the sub-inspector of police, who does duty in every capacity, and seems to be trorkec like a black iellow, and found the charters to consist of a tent, and that's all neither chair, table, nor bedstead, nor timber to make them." A

modious, embracing y^'caMn m!f i *com * aftschooner for the SiS^^g^ff*™^' ging will be taken away, and her sW^ am\.r£put to the test. She is furnfcSd g iiies each end, fitted inside the n^rS^^ a rud(3erat when in midships it will fi'a J° that