THE PALMER.

Thames Star, Volume III, Issue 1674, 15 May 1874, Page 2

THE PALMER.

(To the Editor of the Evening Stab.) Sic,—The following is a copy of a letter just received from my son : the public may depend upon ifc as being truthful. William Wood.

Endeavob River, March 30fch. Dear Fi.THEB.-'-Here I am safe and sound in tHs overcrowded Cooktown. We left Brisbane in the fast little steamer Weston, on Wednesday last, and had a very pleasant passage of five days ; the weather was beautiful and we had smooth water the whole way except when crossing the bar at Brisbane where we got such a rolling and a pitching as I never saw before, first one side of the vessel and then the other being under water and the, things getting loose and rolling about the deck in all directions. The small schooner we had intended to come by could not cross, it being too rough; her deck was completely packed with diggers and she had 34 horses below. Should she have heavy weather her deck would be cleared, for they could not get below among the horses. We passed a number of vessels daily bound for Cooktown, all crowded; and we met one steamer crowded with the back rush. Reports from the diggings are very bad, the rivers are down and the roads pretty good, but there is scarcely any gold getting. Great numbers are coming down, but nearly all give the same account, and that is a bad one. A few, however, are going back as soon as they have loaded up with provisions,as they are still very dear and very scarce at the Palmer, but the great majority are leaving the place in disgust. From Cooktown for 70 miles towards the Palmer, the road is lined with people, and there are stores and tents, and shanties for that distance, after which, for over 100 miles, there is nothing to be got on the road. Many venture without horses, but the most.go with them. Nearly all the animals look very thin—are knocked about and look most wretched ; numbers of them die soon after being landed from the vessel. Prices of horses here, from £20 to £40, but they are fast falling. The whole place round the town for several miles is lined with tents; while the town itselt is crowded with diggers. There cannot be less than 5000 diggers in this neighborhood, very likely many more. Numbers like ourselves are waiting until horses get cheaper; knowing that it is not wise to venture up without plenty of provisions. The diggers keep coming in from all the colonies by hundreds. The town itself is about a mile long, one street all filled up with business places—not excepting both hard and soft drinking shanties, and some hotels. All business people are making money fast and no mistake: but it won't last long. This is an out and out alluvial rush, but I am sorry to say like all the Queensland affairs, the field is a duffer. I wish now that we had brought over our horses instead of selling them; great risk of death from suffocation however, so many packed in thehold. We have a fine camping place, plenty of good water, the place is very healthy, no sickness, every one looks first rate. The weather instead of being scorching hot, is fine and cool, a sea

breeze blowing night and day, and yet we are within fifteen degrees of the equator. April. 3rd.' I A great number have returned to-day, l give very bad accounts, all agree that the diggings is a duffer, but that some of the ground would pay very well if provisions where cheap. We came across one of the prospectors and he informed us that there was plenty of ground would pay when the road is in such a state that provisions can be got up there in plenty; he informed us that a party going up with horses and plenty of provisions is • bound to do a little, and perhaps drop on a good patch, but that it was utterly useless to go without these. There is no water up there except what is to be found in holes m big rivers now dry, as there has been no rain on the diggings for a month ; the climate is healthy and even cooler than at Gooktown, you can bear a good pair of blankets at night. The blacks are there by thousands, but not troublesome as the guns frighten them. All the first prospectors are in town, they have plenty of horses and are now loading for the Palmer, going prospecting still higher up. This prospector tells us that there is gold everywhere, but too poor to pay. The way the diggers proceed is as follows:— One takes a dish, goos up a creek and scratches all the dirt he can find from between the rocks, it may be he gets two or three dishes full from one creek ; he then takes it to water and washes it; then he proceeds to another creek; so you may guess how quickly a man will run over miles and '■ miles of country. Some of these parties have done very well.- To show that there is plenty of gold got, he gave us an instance of one man who brought over 140 head of cattle; he started killing, and soon got rid of the lot, carrying away 95 pounds' weight of gold in place of his cattle Not so bad, was it? We met several Thames people—Packard, the first day I landed.* He had only just come ashore, and was astonished to see me and seemed completely puzzled, and scratched his head for some time before he spoke, then' he said, "Well, its you, right enough, but how the devil did you get here before me?" I was then as much puzzled as himself, but a thought struck me that he must have mistaken me for John, and sure enough^t was so; he had seen John on the Thames before starting, and thought I was he. Simpson, the Spouter, and Dooley are here making tents, and doing well. Provisions of every description are plentiful enough at Cooktown and very reasonable —Jams, 1s; sugar, 6d ; butter, Is 6d ; tea, 2s 6d ; plenty of pumpkins at 2d per lb : spuds, Is per lb ; mutton. Is per lb. Horses are getting plentiful and cheap, so we may buy to-morrow and be off. I send you some Cooktown papers. Compositor? are very scarce, so it is often that the paper is a day later than it ought to be. There are now two papers pub- | lished here. The Lord Ashley came in j last night with over 300 passengers, and I another schooner this morning, and still they come. Raining in torrents.