THE PALMER RIVER RUSH.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1783, 8 April 1874, Page 3

THE PALMER RIVER RUSH.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Sydney Town and, Country.) Cooktown, Endeavour River, February 27th. The last few days have made a material alteration in the prospect of affairs. When I last wrote, everything was miserable ;' rivers flooded, men being starved between rivers, horses left in the bogs-everything looked miserable. Men congregated in little bands discussing the prospects of the ,road, weather, gold, everything in general. lam happy to say the weather has now taken up, giving those that were jammed a chance of getting out of their predicament. The rivers are going down several feet a day. DEPLORABLE STATE OF RETURNED HINEB.B. ' To relate tho whole of the sad cases that I have heard from reliable sources would take too long. . A large number of men have comedown from the diggings during the week, and several during the last day or two. Some have been kind enough to give every information; in no one instance do I remember one refusing. There seems a general reciprocal feeling that one and all are in a pretty hard country, and each should do his best to prevent any unnecessary privation. You can tell those that have come down as they pass at a glance. . Generally they are as skeletons—careworn, showing the effects of fatigue, frequently bare-footed, mud up to their knees, with only a small blanket around their neck; aud to hear from each of the number of days without food, of any description, the number of days previous upon flour,and water, and the number left starving upjn tho road, shakes the nerves of the stoatoat listener. The questions generally asked arc'as follows:—" How is the road ?'' " Frightfill bad—so many days jamni)d here and there." "How does it look for.gdtting a little gold ?" Tarious answers, some getting a little, but no provisions -not procurable at any price. "Is there much stripping ?" " Little or none —sometimes a foot; sometimes a little more, but generally the rock exposed." "Do you think there will be muchcouutry opened ?" " I think there will, but owing to its being so shallow, will soon be run over, and will not hold a large population." " How are the blacks ?" fo this question all give different accounts of their depredatious. Their camps are frequently come across, but the blackfellow himself is difficult to be seen. I have just heard of a party of twelve being driven in with one of their number thought to be dangerously speared. After the person or persons have passed, thencomes the criticism: " Do you think he is speaking the truth ?" Some do, others hardly credit the privations the returned miners say they have endured. For my part I have no reason to doubt them. Many that have come back have not reached the diggings; some turned back after proceeding only twenty miles, and soma even less; some forty, | and some have even got within a~fewi miles of the Palmer, lost everything they | possessed, and got bick the best way they could. If a person coming down, meeting those that are going up, advises them to turn back, stating the exact state of affairs, they instantly say-if one came down another can get up, and will not take advice, neither will they believe they cannot procure provisions; and this determination to proceed, in face of all difficulties, undoubtedly has caused tho hardship they have to endure, and ha?e endured. One person that 'civm down passed the 'remark in reference to those who did not head his warnings that those who are camped at Oooktown know more about the road than those that have travelled it. INSANE DETERMINATION TO PBOOEED. How men can be so mid-brained, in the face of the news we have, as to move away from where they can be provided with rations, without some positive proof that provisions are there, or will shortly come after them, puzzles me. Fancy a man in latitude 15 degrees south from the Equator facing 180 miles, with flooded rivers, nothing up there to eat, and nothing to fall back upon, through miles upon miles of swamps, loaded with from 701 bs to lOOlbs of swag. No one would say but that such a man was mad. There is one thing certain, cost what it would— money, health, life—no warning whatever will daunt them. Talk about : hostile blacks stopping- them. I verily believe, if it was possible to be known with certainty, that one-half _ would perish, they would try it, A friend of mine here arrived in Oooktown five weeks yesterday. Two of his shipmates went up—young, healthy-looking, full of vigour, buoyed up with hope. One came back yesterday, barefooted, jaded, careworn, ana pitiable, and, to use my friend's expression, looks as if he had come out of a fever hospital —everything in the world he possessed gone. The fate of the other was still worse: he was drowned in the left-hand branch of the Palmer while swimming it to procure rations. His body bas never been seen since. We have heard of several that have lost their lives trying to swim the river for provisions. Thelast few days they have been coming down very fast. It is the general belief that a considerable portion of the camps at the diggings will have to como down, beat out for provisions, if not tho whole lot.

On February 24 tlie original prospectors, with ten horses, arrived hero. They say that only those can stop up there who were fortunate enough to have secured a supply of provisions before the rainy season sot in. The majority of those who have oome down state they willnofc go up until the latter end of April, or the beginning of May. , Another party that came in last night stated that it was seven weeks since they left Cooktown, Between going up and coming down occupied four weeks j had aever tasted any meat since they were twenty miles from Cooktown going up. Almost all who have come down state they have not tasted meat these two months. Any one who has had to rough it knows how he feels after a day or two without beef or mutton; what must it be then for those who have been living upon flour these last two months, and in many instances not muoh of that ? The majority of those returned are wearing slippers, their feet being swollen so much with the wet that they oannot get their boots on. Another party arrived here to-day, who, when they left the Palmer, gave £5 for thirteen pounds of flour-to face 180 miles between three. In spite of all this, however, and all the advice given them, you may see them overy morning rolling up their swags-no one would credit ifc-from 70lbs to 901bs-much as they can stagger under. The first swamp they come to they commence to lighten their load. Away goes unnecessary clothing. After a few miles further, clothing they actually want. When they arrive at the Palmer, a fow days' rations is the most any of them have preserved; so that they oan only have a look at the diggings, and are thou forced to oome back,

SUFFERINGS ENDURED ON THE BOUTB. I will mention a few eases that will' give you an idea what men have suffered, which will be only a fraction of what actually has occurred. One party declared they took the girths off their saddles, green hide ones, cleaned them as clean as possible and stewed- them, after being three days without food. The same party, when they came to the Normanby Kivor, had to camp several days, when many more situated the same as themselves joined together, and between them collected £16, and paid it to one of the men that was detained who had a wretchedly poor horse, described as so poor that you could bang your hat upon his ribs. They killed it for food. Some stewed it. Those who did so generally got the dysentery. Others roasted their portions upon the coals, when the froth that came out of it was astonishing; but, on the whole, it was not such bad eating. Another party of'three left their horses behind, and, after being several days without food, gave £5 for what they consumed in one day between them. A GOOD SAMARITAN. Another case from an acquaintance:— He was coming down with another for . company's sake, and mat a poor old Ger- " man lying upon his swag, who had given up all hope of getting down. They spoke encouragingly to him, asked him if he thought he could manage to walk. He said he would try all he could, if he had a little flour. My friend bad two pannikins to carry bim ninety miles. The other had about eight, and two Johnny-cakes, but - would not part with a spoonful. My friend gave tho old nun his two pannikins of flour, and that night, when they went to camp, hedenmded a cake from: the other.' The latter was too much frightened to refuse, and so he gave it. My friend told me that if he had not, he • would have taken it by force. He has tho gratification of knowing that ho tried to savo one fellow-creature. I met him in the street, and after making inquirios of liim, he remarked, in reference to rushes we had both , been at-the Gippsland, Mountains, Wood's' Point, 8.8., and'from Charleston to tho Grey in New Zealand— when they were first opened, wore enough, bat they wore nothing to what min have endured at the Palmer. When [ saw him before, Ido not think he was"\, ever less than fourteen stone j now, he tells me, he is not eleven. . pbospeots ahead; ',' For my part I do not intend to leave here for two or three weeks—that is, <•'■> providing it does not rain any more, line general impression is, that the rainy Beason is nearly.over, with the exception of a few showers. The last four or five, ;■, days have been fine. I expeob to be up quite as soon as those who have started Bevoral days before, and with my horse in. better condition than those who started earlier. List night I wa3 conversing with a Gulgong miner, who had been in' the north these last eighteen months, v He remarked to me that it was only the ." new hands who are in such a fass to get up; the old Qieenslanders will not knock themselves about. Any men who go up ' now will have to prospect for .themselves. When we do get up, no doubt we shalU have to prospect ahead, for the old groundid some places has been worked over four '■ times. Tuis I have from' a reliable source. The only man who stand a ohanoe at the Palmar are those who have good means, and are well supplied with horseflesh, and who do not mind if they go a fnw weeks, or a nnnth or two, without gold. CHANCES OF GETTING GOLD. What the aotual state of the diggings is in respect jto getting gold, is hard to say. It wil] have to' be something more than comafbn to pay. Not one of those who oame down expects there will be any provisions there for sale for the next two months. There is a strong desire prevalent to be there first; but .the ground only being fossicking at the best, I cannot 'see that it makes much difference who is there first. The longest that I have heard of one party working in one claim is a week; the m-ijority of them only a few days. I will write shortly after I have seen the diggings. Several admit that small wages could be made if provisions were reasonable. I do not think there will be any material difference there, for the next three months, and most probably not in six. EVILS OF BXABGEBATED EBPOBTS. No man ought to be more oarefulin, what he says than a person writing about the projects of a goldlield—more especially one liko the Palmer. When ; exaggerated news comes from a Gjvera- '* mm official, I think there ought to be a thorough investigation, and means taken to put a stop to suoh vile reports. If an officer is not competent to give a bona fide report through downright inex- .-., perience and want of practical knowledge, . so that he cannot be duped, he had far better leave it to those who can. If a goldfield is good, it will soon find a population you cannot keep the news from. It is the most heartless action a nun can commit- to bring, by false statements,. men who perhaps have expended their last pound, and left wives and families that may never see them again. "^ "HATTERS." Most of the mm on the Palmer are what is tormed in mining phrase "hatters" " —that is, they work singly by themselves —noone to divide any gold with.- The,, ground boing so shallow, it is only fossicking ; and they all seem to say they can manage.better by themselves. _ I'hey generally camp in numbers from six to twelve •■ for protection, takiugitin turn to watch.' the camp. There is not much time lost' ; W the miner, for ho oan at the same time cook throe or four days' rations, and it prevents a considerable amount of grumbling. On the goldfields, frequently, , there is a class of men that will not do a hand's turn at cooking if they can help it. These men, generallyspeaking, are neither use nor ornament at any other work, ■ LARGS SUPPLIES, OF BRANDY. A friend of mine informed me that sixty-five miles from the Palmer, on the Etheridge side he passed a waggon loaded,, with sixteen half-hogsheads of brandy' and only five bags of flour; another waggon arrived at the Palmer with eight, horses, but not an ouace of provisionsall brandy. The miners were so infuri-." ated that they proposed knocking the heads of the casks in with their picks; but after further consideration they left tho wretched owner to his own reflections..