PUHIPUHI SILVER MINES. NOTES OF A FLYING VISIT. (BY A " STAR " SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 429, 18 December 1889, Page 4

PUHIPUHI SILVER MINES. NOTES OF A FLYING VISIT. (BY A " STAR " SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

Viien I got my orders to go to the Puhimhi, I must say that ab first I did nob feel -cry ploascd, as since the war in 1866 I had tot dono any roportinsr outside a city, and is years roll by one's fair form does not get my less; but no matter, orders were order?, j-pecially lrom tho Stai;. So after packing ip a tew thing;?, including an old prospcctoi's {lass which 1 havcluid by mo evor since the ;aily days oi the Thames, and making my and lady understand that I was not roing to do " the Pacinc," I got on joard the Wellington and placed myself under tho charge of our old friend, blvc jolly Captain >Stephen?on, and after a line tiip, spent moot happily with him and Mr Leard, the engineer, we arrived o(T the Whangarei wharf, wheie we were met by a train, which carried us up to the pretty little township. After having a very good breakfast at Morrisons Commercial Hotel, we took our departure for Hikuiangi per 'bus ; this, as we had found out, being tho nearest point from which we could make a "dart"' for tho Puhipuhi, for a "dart" we found it would have to be, as oiders had gone out that no one should go into the bush for fear lie should find anything that would make tho exports of INew Zealand any bigger. No ; the Government were frightened of the kaui'i timber being destroyed by fire, but they would not make a railroad to the bush, although it would qpen the countiy all round, besides being the means of clearing the kauri timber out of danger, to say nothing of bringing into the market limestone, ironstone and coal, all oi which lay right on the line it would natuially take ; that would bo too good for the ." poor North." No ! far better shut up tho Puhipuhi, turn all the gumdiirgers (who were making a living in it) out on the ti tt"e and fern ranges all round it, wheie they will be likely to stop, tiring tho swamps hard-by, "in the summer months, and making tho chances for the now dry kauries (to say nothing of the green ones) 1 to 100 thacthey live over the summer. In fact, I was told when in Whangarei, that the Government had got c as far as to hint to those men who were (singlo-handcd, and without any Government assistance) prospeccing for somethig to put new life into our land, that they might withdraw them out of tho bush for the summer months, and had oven limited thtir woiking paity to four men, including the packer and cook. Could anyone who lives out of New Zealand credit this? But it is no more strange than true. On arriving at Hikuiangi we found a very nice,coinfortable little hotel, underthe managementof Hostßollosbon, and tindingifcwas too late to make our trip to the mines, we spent the rest of the day in making inquiries respecting tho be^t routes to be taken on the morrow, and inspecting the sawmill which seems to be doing woll, if the big heap of sawdust and the smiling face of Mr Buchanan, tho energetic manager, can bo taken for anything. We mu3b not forget to mention that on o\u- journey from Whangarei we had passed through Mair, Kamo, and Kaurihori, buttlie'buscameatsucha rate.theroads being good, that it gave me but little time tonoticemuchabouttheseplaces. One thing, however, I did notice — that the land from Whangarei to Hikurangi (excepting just one place near the Kuurihoii racecourse) is [ very good, and that at one place on tho road (I think the driver called it Waitau Valley) the toda water was running out of a spring on the \vny?ide. Bub the driver said he was a little late and could not stop, so I could not taste what it was like. If e\prlam ill I hope my fiien^s will send that driver for the doctor, that's all. Next morning I started for my goal, and on my way tho first thing that met my oye was some limestono rocks close on the side of the road, and about a chain further on I came upon Mr Smith and his party, veho had just stiipped a very fine seam of coal within about ten yards of the side line of the road. The coal looked very solid, judging from the si/c of tho blocks which they were taking out, and I should say that were the railroad made Mr Smith has "a big thing on.' The next thingwe cametowastheroadover "Thoßig Swamp. ' On mounting the hill on the other side, and looking back at the vast tract of (which would be if drained) very fine and productive land, but even now 1 cannot see how this place does not boast of a steam flax mill, ivith plenty of coal and flax to hand, and a good road to Whangarei. About two miles moie thiough '\ery poor land, and I turned oil at light angles in the direction of Knimamakau, where I arrived, after passing through some smiling river flat farms, and over some vei y bad roads. I soon found out the residence of Mr Forden, who is the owner of the finest kauri I have ever reen, and which would at> any time fully repay anyone who might be stopping in Whangarei or the nc'^hbourhood to ride out and see. After leaving Mr Forden's, and passing where we were told Air Johnston had his store all tho winter to supply tho gumdiggers in the Puhipuhi, we followed the hoise track which gue-> up tho valley, past MiHayes's and Mr Hannam's farms, and ciossing a creek we plunged into tho Puhipuhi at last. Well, lam not much of a bushman, I never was ; but i had come all alone, beeau&e 1 knew 1 had to ' s dodge" the ranger, who i 3 reported to be a " demon " in the forest, and having been very nearly shot when out reporting in the time of tho Maori war th tough the bungling of a fellow I had with mo, I thought I would depend on my own self for safety rather than upon another. As soon as I had crossed the creek, I could see I was going to have a rough time of it. The track U made through the bush with littlo, if any, regard to grade ; 11 house top?" would be a fool to it. After rising for some time I found myself on a large tableland, covered for the most part with burnt kauri trees and tawa stumps. Judging from what I could see, I should say that there is some thousands of acres of this land, and I am sure if tho forest is ever opened for selection, there can be no doubt bub that it will very soon be taken up, and will make a very fine district. While passing onwaid, up hills and down gullies, over creeks and under branches of trees which etretched across my path, every now and bhen coming upon some little de&erted gum camp oi bush store, or the bones of some poor pack horse who had given up the ghost on the track, sometimes we came upon bunches of the beautiful clematis, or the wild New Zealand fuchsias, in all then native beauty. Once, and only once, when at the top of one of the highest hills in the forest, I could see through a break in the bush a picturewhich would be worth all the trouble of the journey, and anyone whe has seen it will agree with me that ib it no trifle to any artist who might like a view of New Zealand scenery with i foreground of kauries and fern trees and r background of blue hills and sky, and in tin body of the picture can bo seen Hikurang and Kamo with their green fields aud little white farm houses dotted about on bhf hill sides ; but I had no time to draw picture?, or if 1 had, I ehoulc

have painted a train with numberless trucks containing timber, coal, lime, etc., going down to Whangarei for shipment. But we must push on, and after passing through "The Masb Head," a large gum camp, which must have contained about twenty whares, and two or three other camps, which were smaller, I again commenced to go up, up, up, and at last I came to a standstill, for there before me was a landmark which 1 had been toll 1 should see, and which would indicate my propinquity to

TflE PROSPECTORS 1 CLAIM. I now tinned my horse's head downward for about half a mile, when I camo across a place whoro the trees had been cut away and places made to feed the packhorses. This was plainly to be ?ecn by 'the old sacks and lemains of the feed which had been lolt behind, so tying my steed to one of the saplings, I followed the track down for about a hundred yards, when I came upon tho camp, This consisted of one wharo at the bottom of the hill whoie I was standing. It was placed by the creek which ran close by. 1 noticed that tho gullies weie very deep, and there was but little di-tance across from the top of one spur to the top of tho other ; I went down tho hill until I reached the whare, and found it untenanted, and the (ho had been carefully put out, as the bucket standing by the ashes in tho fireplace indicated. Outside the door, about twehe feet fiom it, a rough blacksmith's forgo, with some newly-sharpened picks upon a block liaid by, an axe and somo green tawa firewood and two cats were all that was to bo seen. What was I to do ? I had but very little time to lose, although 1 hid stai ted eaily and travelled fast. One thing I thought strange, and that was, that although I had hcaid picks and hummers going many times vhilo coming through the bush, and had seen the di?appeaii»g forms of more than one perron, who, judging from the manner in which they "got, 1 had no moio right in the bush than I had, when I had ai lived at tho

PUHIPUHI PROSPECTORS' CAMP itself I could neither hear nor sco anyone but cats. Turning round I noticed a track which led up the creek, so, taking French leave, I followed it up and came upon what I was sure, fiom the description 1 had had fiom a person who had seen it, and also the rough map I had piocured from a gentleman at Hikurangi the day before, was nothing else bub

THE BIG BLUE REEF. I ba.i unfortunately left my compass at my lodgings, so could not tell exactly how it lay, but judging by the sun I should think it was N\ by S. It was, indeed, a bijr and well defined lccf. 1 mea.-uied it in two or three places, and lound it about 9 feet 6 inches wide from wall to wall, but it was moro in some places. In the creek the stone had been biokcn, I should say, from appearance, with a shot ; but although the reef had been sbiipped of trees and earth, etc., for some diutanco each side of the creek, still no stone bcemcl to have been broken. Looking up the spur to the north-wosb (I think ib waa), I saw that a survey line had been run and cleared for some distance. Fiom this I naruially surmised they had traced it all the way in that diicction, so burning round and looking down the east side of the somewhat steep hills which rose very nearly perpendicularly out of the little creek, I saw that a number of small diives had been putin,and I could plainly see from the quartz at the "tiphoad" that the leef had been^tiaced all along as far as I could soe down the creek past the wharo. I stood for some time looking at this great mass of quartz, wondering what hidden rreasuie lay encased v itlrin its walls. 1 had seen assays made from it which came to about 2b* per ton in value, and when 1 saw where they mw>l have got the stone (that id fair out of the cieek), 1 wondeied how it could have run so much to the ounce. But tiom what I know of mining I am '-ure that if the prospectors go down on that reef, Hiey will get something that will make the 4> L'uhipuhis %> go up on the Exchange. A few yards further up the cioek and we came to a largo " tiphead.'' After mounting this I stood for a moment to get my breath, and looking lound I found I was at tho mouth of a diivc. lat once saw from the colour of the quartz in the paddock that it wae the low level of

I THE BLACK UEEF. This quaitz \va» different irom the blue jeef, inasmuch as the blue reef quait/ was light coloured with blue clouds i ? i It>, whereas the black vcef sstone was a brownishcoloured looking quaitv, with hcio and tiierc a tinge of what I think looks like peacock copper, running through it ; thi-»dii\e went in for some distance, and then branched ofl" into two, one of which seemed to follow the leof, the other a leader coming out and going fin ther up the hill. I found what looked very much likeTookey's claim at the Thames, that is to. say the eaith, etc., had been cleared away under the leef, which could be seen han^insj at an angle of about 45. There was a small diivc close by this on the &anie reef and a long one abo\e that again, with some vciy stiango looking white crystals and qnaiU ciopping out of the c-pai. Just above tbl~s I could see what 1 had been told was called

THE SNOWDRIFT REEF, bub which I should say was only part of tho black lecf w liich had cropped up. Looking across a little blind gully I saw another drive and on inspecting this found it had been put in to cub the blue reef. As I could not rind any track leading up the creek or any of the spuis,l returned to the whare, where I found the caU still in charge, Looking around 1 saw a track going pa&b the whaie, and crossing the creek 1 followed it across and down the crec't sometimes jumping fiom one tlinpery sbone bo another, ab the lisk of being projected headlong into tho stream or on bo some piece of jagged rock or old stump of a tree which some tresh of many years ago had jammed fa^t in bhe creek bed or bebwoen some huge boulders. Sometimes I found myself going along the &ide of bhe creek on tho bare rock hanging 1 only by a rope mado of supplejack. Tracing this somewhat dangeioua track down the stream accoi cling to the directions I had roceived, I ab length found myself facing some workings, drives, etc., upon the S.W. bank of the creek. Upon inspection I found them bo be No. 2 and No. i 3 now silver find reefs, which quite book 1 me by surprise. The sbone plainly showeJ ; bhab the silver was bhcre,and in no common ' quantities ; the reefs were only just uti1 covered in two or three places, excepting in ' one instance where a drive of about 45 feot ' had boen put in to cut the reef, and which 1 had sbopped upon reaching it. By bhis I ! saw bhab although tho prospectors had ! traced bhe reef for some distance they had 5 never done anything but take a little off j > the top of it, * and thercfoie 1 am 3 convinced they know but little of the » value of what is b9low. If they were to 1 cut them at a low level lam sure that they 1 would get something that would be worth \ the trouble of packing out of the buMi, but i what has already boon taken out and tested 3 cannot in any way be taken as a lair 3 sample of what tho mino can produce. r Coming down the hill, and again going 1 down the creek, sometimes upon the proa-

fcrate trunks of dead trees, which had turned green with constant dampness, nnd sometimes crawling upon all fours on the side of the slimy rock, some ten or twelve foet nbove tho stony bed of the creek, whoso overhanging walls seemed a3 if they would fall down on mo for daring to disturb their native repote, which had been unbroken for unknown ages, save by tho fall of somo groat mon.ster oFtho torosb or the constant murmur of the Tan«i Ft«lls hard by. But here we are at the Tangi deck itself, which, with the cicek I had just descended, fell with a roar like thunder over its rocky bed into the depths bclcw. (Seeing no track around mo, I crossed tho Tangi, and found myself at the bottom of a perpendicular bank, whore, looking up, I saw a slick about eight feefc long, with a hook at ono end of it, hanging from tho roots of a small tree. This is tick 1 knew must be climbed up if I wished to see the

WILSON'S BEEP, no up I went, and after some struggling and not a littlo danger of dropping on to the hard locks beneath, and thence pome twenty feeb into tho boiling water*, I landed quite out of breath amongst some punga roots, which seemed vory unsafe from the constant use they have been put to as footholds since tho discovery of the reef. Vollowincf the track, which is simply a ledgo cut out of the clitr some ten to fifteen inches wide, we came to where wp found a reef had been cut. This we knew miht bo Wilson's leef fiom the description we had received and tho rough map I have already alluded to. Looking up, I saw a largo kauri tioe from which ono of tho prospectors, Mr. Williun Wilson, who, 1 am told, is the best tree and cliff climber in New Zoaland, had lowered himself down to discover the reef, he having found &tcnes in the creek bolow, and seeing a land slip abo\e Knew thi'io must bo a icef there, and not being ablo to ascond he mounted tho hill at another point, descending to whero he found the reef in the manner above desciibed. Looking down I edmost fe'l, for there was the rushing water eighty or ninety feet bolow me, full of rocks, .sticks and stumps ; ar-d I felt certain that if I let go my hold or slipped 1 must bo smashed inlo a thousand pieces, so I at. once retraced my steps, nor did I stop until I found my&elt once uioro alongside my noble steed, who had been making the betb ot his lime doinir the Davenport Brothers' lope tiick, by tying his legs as tightly together as any Cork fanner tied the pig he intended for market. So cutting him loose I mounted him once more and ioso tho hill again wheio I had turned oil the Kaimamakau track, and keeping straight on camo to the cone of the hill, whcie I could see a line had not long been cut. So again dismounting 1 climbed up, and found at tho top two pegs— one had written in a large round hand,

THE PROSPECTORS' LEASE, and in smaller lottcrs the following names . — "Juhn Conyn^ham, W. Wilson, C. Wilson, J. Collins, J. Fraser, C Easterbrook Smith, ami (ieorge Clark- Walker and party of ten.' Tne other peg wai split and a largo zinc pato placed in the nick, beaiing the insciiption in fine largo letters — " John Ciisty, lease ap[)lied for, KawaUiwa."' Ciose to this was a native gum camp of pomolheor bi\ \\ haro=>, and, goin<j by my map, I turned at onco to the light, and can c on tlie hack which I was told would lead me lo

TAM, the property of j\lr John Conyngham, of Whangaici,"a nice little place of sonic 1,199 acres of kauri and totara bu-^h, which wo reached, and {getting wrong amongst some lovely feins in the river flab, we passed what I knew from the description I had received mutt have boen the piaco known as "Walker's Camp," fiom tho temains of tent poles- and copper Maori. This I know nniifc be where Mr G.Claik Wjlkei.tho fiist ot the pio^pectois, stopped some two yeata ago. Pacing on and crossing the creek twice I came to Conyngham'n v hare, and rinding fcome £jra°s, i thought I would camp for the night, so taking French leave I took a position and some of Host Rollc-ton's of HikuiYingi's Yum Var whisky, and rolling myself up in my nig and wondeiing how much of my tace woti'd be left bj tho mosquito in tho morniner, I listened for about iivo minutes to the constant munching of my poor, tired and hungry hoi>e, and the constant, inching of the l'owarukau and Mokotuna creeks, which meet at thU point and form the Waiteho. I fell fast asleep. When I awoke I found ib was light, and thinking I had overelept myself, 1 jumped up, and upon looking at my watch I found that either the long li.lo the day before had made me f-o tired or the Yum Var whicky had had such an ollect upon me that I had forgotten to wind it tho night pie\iouply. I found my steed lying down, and when I did got him upon liN pins he was so stifl ho could haidly get one le<z before the other. However, I saddled up and went down the Waitoho Valley, crossing tho

TE JIAWATEA, a laigo lio'c whero tho largest eel ever known in New, Zealand was dug oue by the natives come two liundrcd years ago, and w Inch lain bold i 3 full of plowwonns at night which chine out in a eplendid mannoi upon the waters of tho ciceU as they pa^s by. Tho next thing wo came to was an old native peach gro\o where there was a whare and some good gra«s and line ll. ix, and where wo came to a temporary .st'ind&till, as a fence had been irade of t<ome sticks and flax, I am told, to keep visito s' horses fiom going back home when their tna?lci-£ go up to the mine and lca\c them there. Passing on, and crowing tho liver some thirteen times, we came upon tho homestead of Mr Parson, and keepinsr across his paddock (a very lino liver Hat), wo again entered the bush. Wo then passed through some vor^goocl land, which I understand the Government has opened for selection, and which will be very valuablo when the Hold opens. We also pa^sod some veiy good faims which havo been takon up umlcr the Homestead Act, and ' which look very comfortable ard well-to-do, and at la^t finding oiusehes out ot the bush we saw trom the top of a high hill in the distance befoie us, a native farm and what we knew to be

THE RANGER'S HOUSE, a slab hub of a good size, bub wo did ton liko to go too close to make any inspection, but crossing the creek at tho back of his house over a very shaky bridgo, and rising tho gum rango with a trig station at tho top, from whence I had a good view of Hukenui in the dis banco and

RASSMURSEN'3 STORE, closo by, and after descending this hill, we soon found ourselves seated abhistable, enjoying a cup of tea, for which bis good lady is so uell known, and after an hour's halt, and feeding tho poor animal, which had been knocking its shins on roots and stumps for the last twenty-four hours, we started ofl ajrain, finding that even then it was ,but 7.30 a.m., and that it could nob have been moie than 4 a.m. when we loft Convnglnni's place ; and nftcr pass-ing through HuUoniii, we were not lonjj bofore wo once more made Hikurangi, which city we left por 'bus in the afternoon ot tho same day ou tho way homo through Whangnroi.