THE ENDEAVOUR RIVER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 422, 2 January 1875, Page 3

THE ENDEAVOUR RIVER.

("Sydney Morning Herald " Correspondent), Cooktown, November 17.

Since writing to you last, the various rushes that have occurred and are still occurring, have received^ Confirmation that place the fact of the gold extending to the southward l>eyond a doubt. The, most important of these rushes is" that to* the neighbourhood of the head waters of the Daiutree, a large and important, river about 60 miles *° the southward of Cooktown, and.-jvhich, from the feature^ of .the country, must, have its source in the same greaj range as the Palmer. As I informed you previously, the various parties of prospectors had abandoned the apparently fruitless labour of prospecting to the northward; satisfied that the country in that direction is not auriferous as the physical features are quite changed after leaving the Lower Palmer and to . the northward ; sandy plains and open flat country succeeding to the rugged and broken conglomerate and granite ranges that seem to be the matrix of the Palmer gold. The, whole aspect of the country is changed, and .no indications of gold are discernible*, Baulked in this direction, the pioneers 'turned southward, and meeting with various success, at last came to the very head waters of the Palmer, where they met with more success than had attended their efforts to .the northward. All of them — and there were several parties prospecting in this district — obtained payable gold, and- some very heavy goM. But the great drawback was the distance at which those outposts of the goldfields were placed froip the depots of stores along the Lower Palmer. Many left the workings, unable to make the splendid returns they got pay for the hardships of costly and often insufficient supplies and exposure to the many dangers of Northern bush. Others again making a quick " rise " returned to Cooktown to refit and supply themselves for a prolonged residence on the field. As the "lie" of ' the country indicated a much nearer proximity to Cooktown than the length of the road would lead one to believe, various attempts' were made, to avoid the long round-about afforded even 'by Ddtiglaes's track. Several parties made their way through the bush to Cooktown by heading the Laura and Normanby, and altogether avoiding the Normanby ranges ' and the rugged and hilly country lying between the Kennedy and the Laura. Their success induced others to attempt the new line of road, and at present the original tracks are comparatively deserted by tbe diggers. The head waters of the Palmer can now be reached considerably under 80 miles, and the distance to Stoney, Oakey, and Sandy Creeks is also thereby considerably reduced. The country through which the new track passes is also of a nature much more adaptable to traffic than either of the former roads in use. The country is more open and level, being quite free from the many rugged and broken, if not quite impassable pinches along Douglass's track. . Further then this, it seems probable, from what has tranggjegd^-that this route will be practicable, during "the greater portion of the wet season for pack-horses, though not for drays. The various rushes that have lately taken place have kept up quite a fever of excitement among the diggers as well as the business people. There have been numbers of reported " rushes ',' that have turned out worthless, but some of theni are showing, even already, fair returns; and that, too, with an insufficient 6iipply of water, the great drawback at present in all the. new ground. About seventy miles in a south-westerly direction from Cooktown the cduntry is .extremely broken and, rugged, consisting of irregular chains of hills, with a network of rivers and creeks winding through their recesses. This tract of country, auriferous throughout its whole extent, forms the watershed of all the rivers and creek's that lie between the Normanby and the Mitchell, embracing as well as these last-named rivers the Laura, Kennedy, and Palmer with their tributaries. All these rivers have been proved to be' auriferous, and, though the future "ralucrof this traethor~ country is difficult as yet to determine, there can be nd doubt thatifc is paying its present population well. ' The ' prospects obtained vary from a few pennyweights to an ounce and a half or two ounces per day. Even in the gullies that 'are quite >dry and, too far •from. .Water to make.it pay, to.carry the ■washdirt the distance necessary'to cradle it, numbers of men, are " dry-blowing ." for 10 to 12 dwts. a day and satcking the dirt for rewashiug during the wet season. Others, who are either better equipped or more knowing, are stacking large quantities of, dirt, satisfying themselves with an occasional trial " blow " as" to the value of their work. There are a great number working in the locality, and there is a strong rush now setting in. . Some have returned, determined to await further, news, or at any rate in the belief that there can be nothing done till the wet season sets in, which may not be for six weeks yet. The various " road parties " are still out, and nothing definite isjet known of their mqvements; but there cannot be the- slightest doubt but that a new road, much shorter and better than either of those now in use, will be opeued up at an early date ; and, for the interests of Cooktown, it is quite time that it was. The steady opening up of the cpuntry^ from Cooktown and towards the Daintree has turned the attention of the whole community to the claims of tin's noble river to be the port of the Palmer field,' a position it is bound to occupy at no distant' date. 1 "As yet the Daintree is but little known, save that it is a large olid iioble 'river, With a safe entrance at . all tides' for -vessels of much larger draught than can' enter the Endeavour. Further- than this,- and that it is banked by a dense sorub abounding in valuable timber, notably good cedar, nothing is known. • ■ ■ ' But the hardy and intelligent fellows who are ■ pioneering the settler, have learned much more about it in their hard and dangeroua'occupation of timber-questing. They have learned that the river is wide and deep, and f have, 'mayhap, caught a glimpse of its ' future importance when they sailed up it over 50 miles without a check or hindrance, and then were" only' forced to turn ; back from their supplies failing. They iescrL c the , river as everywhere navigable, aud consisting of long straight reaches, but slightly deflecting from a general westerly direct" on as they sailed lip ijL The sail is extremely fertile, and inasffie a great source of' wealth to ' the country at. some .future time,, when' the sugar planter has taken the place of the' titaber-getfceji^ Bujb when.> & , is considered: that this river rises in the game range as the Palmer, andithat.it.ean.but be a very short distance from its source to what are now the main workings on the field, and to what must in the future be the mainstay of the goldfield (if it prove a rich -TeeHng .distript), the position and capahilitiesof the Daiutree ajssume quite • a new aspect. If . it. be true that the river. is navigable. fojr> any considerable distance, and the united testimony of every, one. who has explored it is surely strong confirmation, it would reduce the distance to be traversed by land to a very trifling ,one indeed. -, ,Th& belt of scrub should not 'form* any I 'barrier worth talking of with such advantages in view, snd-jtisr rumoured that the Government 'have' already taken steps to confirm or refute the idea that there can, be no path found fjjora the Palmer to ' the' Daintree. This latter is an ' idea clung to foudly by the majority of the business people of this place,..and is, moreover, daily or weekly, rather- dwelt on by the Cooktowu Press, of which units of the" fourth estate" more presently, Perhaps the wish is father to the opinion, at any rate, 1 would not give much for the*<busines3 future of Cooktown, if all . they .say of the Daintree is true. If so Cooktowft %iil' be another of those instances of ■ sulWen collapse, even though it may btfbut temporary.