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IMMANENT CHARACTER OF 'TIIE A T n DISCOVERED 18 MILES FROM JA DUNEDIN. AD NEWS FROM THE DUNSTAN. (FBOM OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Dunedin,Tuesdayi 21st July. The news respecting the Hogbum jßush as been confirmed, and th6re is no longer ay doubt "that as ..a: summer digging? this istrict will be able to absorb and profitably nploy avery large population. The Dailg -,W spedal correspondent, a gentleman of rent intelligence, and whose strict veracity iay not be doubted, writes as follows :— « Tliis gold-field is now a great fact, estab> shed beyond the possibility .of doubt. A 9P ulation of at lc::et 5000 is ; already located t the snot, while each succeeding day brings i accession of hundreds to the number, and ores, shops, and shanties have been erected ith a rapidity which, to those unaccustomed KP . gold-field's life, must certainly savor mtthing of the marvellous. ■ Wnhm the hort space of ten .days, the solitude of the rilderness lias given place to the busy hum of ctive life, and despite as, inclement weather s it Could well be possible to conceive a city f canvas has sprang into existence. Such is ie nower of gold. The present workings are situate on the logburn Creek, M'Master's run, six miles nrth Of the Waikouaiti and Dunstan road, nd close to the Ida Mountains, which run early due east and west, from the gorge of ie Manuherikia, near Mount St. Bethan's the Kyeburn diggings, from whicli latter c nresent rush is distant about eleven miles. £> whole of the intervening country I be- . ye to be aurifeious. being composed excluLiv of 4 * made" hills, covered on the top th Quartz ; and on the sides and at the base th a fine whitewash or drift, and in? r•tcd by numerous long gullies, or rather dry itercourscs, which stre.ch away southwards wards the Taieri. Th-a depth of sinking is Im one and a-half to five feet, with from one !hreefeet of washdirt, which requires no Idlin"* and yields on an average from six ins to one pennyweight to the bucket, I -c heard of much greater yields, but believe , n to be very isolated exceptions. The torn or rather false bottom, on which the lers'are now working, is yellow clay, with c and there broken slate reef, and thickly ered with large quartz boulders. A few tics have, however gone through this bot- , and come on a red drift of shingle and vel mixed, not loose and wet, as is usually case in this counti/, but dry and compact, [ more closely resembling that found on •roldfields of Victoria than any other I c seen here. In this also gold has been rr 0 t • but as no legitimate bottom has as yet Seen reached, it would be impossible to form my conjecture as to the result. The gold found here is on the whole fine, but shotty, of i .rood quality, and weighs well. Four or stc gullies are now being worked, and payible prospects have also been obtained on the Jinks or terraces which overhang them— in fact wherever the ground has been tried the result has been much the same, so that I beieve I am justified in saying that, although it present not rich, a most important and extensive gold field has been added to the list of those ahead v opened in Otago. The whole side of the country is admiiably adapted for sluicing operations, and I have no doubt that the ensuing spring will find a large population profitably engaged in that branch of mining- Water is at present scarce on the ground being worked; there is enough for cradling, but not for sluicing purposes ; i could however, be obtained in stiffici -nt quantities by diverting the course of the Kweburn Creek, a thing quite practicable. The diggings are essentially dry. During the first few days of the rush, the miseries experienced by the diggers were of no ordinary kind. The weather, which up fco that time had been beautifully fine, suddenly broke, and snow and rain fell alternately for nearly a week, making the group. \ A perfect puddle, nnd rendering travelling a I rery laborious task. Provisions, also, were 1 iot to be obtained at any price ; and many a I nan has had to go for forty-eight hours with--Imt fond. The first stores that arrived on the | ;round were sold afc fabulous prices ; but as I ortunately the roads were in such a condK I ion as enabled drays speedily to come up, i biugs soon resumed their ordinary level. ! fhe following may be taken as the prices at i iresent ruling here : — Bread, 2s 6d per 4lb loaf; flour, 5d per lb; sugar Is; tea, 4s; Soffee, 2s 6d; salt, lOd; bacon, 3s; meat, ls Bl to Is 4d. B I extremely regret having to record another mood at the Dunstan- -a regret intensified beffausc so many a man's homestead has been Mwept away along with his hopes by the pitigess element. Truly, the Dunstan miner has Slid more than a full share of ill-luck during rahe last six months. After waiting so paSiently, so long, and at so heavy; an expense, ■nost of the claim-holders liave left the banks ml the Molyneux and' gone elsewhere, all Slope of the river subsiding having been given SEver. Last Sunday night and morning rain Bell in almost a perfect sheet, causing, as was anticipated, the river to rise/again far beyond She former flood. There was again a repetilliou o; the former scene, logs and sawn timGper coming down in almost endless confusion. Bbne man avars he distinctly saw a billirrd gable floating down, as also the bodies of three Morses. The flooded state of the various tributaries of tho Kawarau, has rendered comftiunication with the Lakes and Dunstan Hlmost impassable. The Roaring Meg. not ■enerally a difficult river to cross, was as ■iuch flooded as to render crossing extremely Beiilous. Several pack-horses are reported to ie washed away, and both load and horses lost, t is not known if any human lives are lost n this locality, but it is greatly feared there re. A rumor was afloat yesterday that a reat many were drowned at Fox's andthe hotover. With the known rapidity with i-hich these rivers rise, overwhelming all be>re them, we fear the rumor must have some sundation. Not only the districts above this ownshiphas suffered,but also theManuherikia nd Mount Benger districts. Much loss of iroperty and, in some cases, of lives, are relorted. Two men at the Teviot were endenvring ti pull a large log out of the river, when he stream suddenly caught the log and pulled he two men into the current, where they ank to rise no more. These are not the only iases. Rumors have come in from all quarers of similar casualties, and we fear, when he tdtal is arrived at, it will show how widepread has been the damage inflicted by the Ipod in the Molyneux. Miners, who had nade themselves snug for the winter, having milt sod huts with thatched roofs, are comiletely washed out ; and so disheartened have j nost of them become, that even good claims lave been left in utter disgust. The Aldinga's mail which left hero on Saturday, consistrd of 15,126 letters, and 9.179 newspapers. The English mail comrised 8,611 letters and 13,670 nespapers; and athe mail for Melbourne there were G. 515 f the former and 5,500 of the latter. Altoethcr, it was the heaviest mail ever sent out nf the Province. B News came to hand yesterday morning that ; Rold had been discovered in the West Taieri ■istrict, about 18 miles from Dunedin. It is ffiertain that a prospecting claim has beon Hpplied for and will, as I am told, be granted. H"A small rush took place this morning for Bhe locality. The discovery was made in a Rully ten miles from the ferry-house. The Blinking varies from eighteen inches to five Beet. This district has long been looked upon Rs likely to beauriferous,and five small speaks ■rcre found on the surface and shown in Dun.
ciin as long back as twelve months ago. j Tiade is very dull with us just now, but we live upon "great expectations," and hope much, that is favorable for tlie spring and summer seasons. Af- general' complaint is made by traders and members of our mercantile community, that our banks are unneces<sarilyjrestrictive in their accommodation to; customers. A veto has been put ou overdrawn accounts, and only this very best paper meets with any favor on discount days, in the bank parlors. Probably this may do good in the long run, in preventing over-speculation and the glutting of our markets, although the " screw" having been put on so suddenly, has caused and will cause no little inconvenience to small houses. Weather very broken and unsettled. Wednesday, 22nd. This letter was written to go by the Miskin, but, in consequence of a strong south-westerly wind which is blowing outside, she will not be able, as I am iuformed. to get to sea to- Jay. It is now greatly feared that the Aldinga will not reach Hobson's Bay in time to catch the outgoing steamer with the mails for Britain. It was Sunday before the Aldinga got away from Port Chalmers, and if she met with any detention at the Bluff, with the heavy weather now prevailing, it will bo more than can be expected, even from so powerful a boat, that she ■will reach Port Phillip Heads by the 26th. The escort from the Dunstan arriv d last night, bringing down 408- ounces. The Lake Escort has just come, but I have not been able to ascertain what quantities it brings. From the Dunstan the news is as bad as well can be. The storekeepers are in a state of commercial collapse. The river refuses to subside and the diggers are in bad case. I j fear there is a great deal of distress and much privation endured by women and children located at the diggings. A new coal mine has been opened at Green Island at a locality distant about five miles from our city. Yesterday a number of gentlemen met to celebrate the opening. The proprietor, Mr John Honey, formerly of the Welch collieries, has had considerable experience in this Province. The ground in question h» said to be of the most promising description, as from a cutting in an old road in the neighborhood the run of the coal can be plainly seen. After a number of (happily brief) speeches, a bottle was duly broken by Mr Frank Rogers, of the Kaihorai Hotel, near which the works are situate, and the shaft was christened the " Abbotsford Colliery." We are glad to see in this an addi- j tion to the sources of local industry. ! The Otago Da 'ly Times says in its issue of this morning — " We hnd yesterday submitted for our inspection a srmple of gold alleged by the finder to have been procured on Saddle Uill, or its immediate neighborhood. The finder is a lad named Adams, and he states he discovered the specimen whilst out prospceting in the district mentioned. The specimen is a small nugget about three-fourth of an inch long, half an inch wide, and threeeighths of an iuch in thickness, and is composed of quartz, coated and intersected with gold, of which paobably there is 1 5 to 20 per cent, in the nugget. Tho discoveries which have from time <o time been made in the neighborhood of Saddle Hill seem to indicate the probability of a payable gold-field being found in that district.
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Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 76, 28 July 1863, Page 3
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1,946LATEST FROM OTAGO. Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 76, 28 July 1863, Page 3
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