THE ARROW.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 34, 18 August 1864, Page 3

THE ARROW.

{From the Wakatip Mail, August 8.) The heavy storm which occurred on Thursday, night last caused much damage to. the river -claims in the district. The Arrow rose rapidly; some five or six. feet, completely swamping,, with two or three fortunate exceptions, all the river claims. In many instances, , wheels, sluice-boxes, timber, and tools were swept entirely away, or buried in the sand ; .and ,an almost entire suspension ; of work has arisen in consequence. At daybrea,k, on Friday, thelo.-vrerheaches of the Township Flat were strewn' with waifs and > strays of drift wopdj and broken timber, much of which found its way to the wood heaps of thrifty housekeepers. The great dam at the Gorge stood the -force of the water without injury, but the claims on the. flat were flooded by the rising of the Bush Creek. Shepherd and Co.'s wheel— the Scottish Chicf — is completely imbedded in sand; and. the new tailrace of the Hit-or-Miss Company is filled up. The mischief, done is in fact so great, that it is ; not probable either party will attempt to repair damages. The foot-bridge at the crossing, on the ; Dunstan track, was swept away, and all traffic suspended for many hours. On the Kawarau River, all labor has been stayed for the present,, and the 200 and odd new arrivals, who had pitched their tents on- its banks during the last few days, in anticipation of taking up beach claims at low water level, finding their prospects blighted for the winter, have nearly all left again, some retracing their steps to the Arrow and Cardrona, where the effects of the flood have been less disastrous. This creek rose rapidly, and in one or two claims the paddocks were flooded before the owners had time to remove their tools ; some of the wheels were also stopped, but beyond a temporary delay of time no great loss has been sustained. Most of the claimholders on the Cardrona are now engaged in deep sinking, finding payable ground at twenty-five or thirty feet from the surface, and the workings are assuming a very permanent character. Various plots of ground are being marked off and fenced in for garden allotments, for cultivation in the coming spring, and a fixed population is quietly settling down in that remote locality. At the Twelve-Mile, and on all the terrace workings up the river, the late storm has proved of much benefit to the claimholders, bringing an abundant supply of water, and setting all hands actively at work again — a welcome change to many, after their compulsory spell, arising from the previous long continuing frosty weather. With the exception of a chain or so, the new track to the Twelve-Mile is now completed for traffic, and travellers to and from this township no longer find the journey a task of danger and difficulty. The Arrow Quartz Mining and Crushing Association have decided on revising and amending their late prospectus for the formation of a company, and the scheme will now be offered to the public on much more liberal terms than previously. The prospectors of the reef have considerably modified their claim for compensation, and have decided with the provisional committee that £850 only, instead of £2,250, shall be claimed as representing the value of the entire present vested interest in the reef, and the whole of the shares will be thrown into the market. With these terms the company will, probably, be now successfully floated, the somewhat extravagant conditions of the prospectus having alone prevented many shares being already taken.