A TRIP BY WATER UP THE BULLER.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 802, 15 April 1871, Page 2

A TRIP BY WATER UP THE BULLER.

(continued.) The return journey was immediately commenced, but under somewhat unfavorable circumstances, at start careless steering brought us inclose proximity to a rock, against which we were swept by the full force of the current, the cance immediately was half full of water and each of us drenched to the skin. Fortunately this was the extent of our misfortune. "We got clear of the rock and proceeding down stream, bailed the boat and heaprd reproaches upon our aboriginal steersman whose faulty piloting was attributed to an excessive indulgence in the " waipera." Favoured by the current we soon reached the Junction.then branching off into the Inangahua a difference in the colour of the water at once became perceptible, the latter stream being much darker than the Buller. Haifa mile from the Junction Christy's accomodation House is pleasantly situated amid a scene of singular fertility and beauty. Everything in this locality wears a thriving and prosperous aspect, alike refreshing to the traveller and creditable to the industry and enterprise of the pioneer who has so quickly transformed the wilderness into a garden of productiveness. After partaking of some refreshment, we strolled along the river bank, proceeding for a mile on foot, while the boat was working its way up the river. We then regaled our sight with a nearer view of the green, fresh-looking pasture lands here reclaimed from the bush, and whose luxuriance testifies to the fertility of tho soil. Several parties of miners are profitably engaged in the neighbourhood. We had not proceeded very far when the deepening shade of twilight warned us

to camp, which we did accordingly, and in a very few minutes our " oloothoose" was once more erected, the pillage of flowery bush close by furnishing the material for a most fragrant bed. Our natives bad dilated upou the quality and abundance of the monstrous eels frequenting the waters of the Inangahua, and having thoroughly excited our curiosity and appetite, promised to obtain a sample. As a preliminary, they caught and killed a wood hen, fastening her legs to a piece of supplejack, and with this rude instrument immersed under the root of a great snag, endeavored to entice the eels. I certainly thought the device simple, but cannot speak as to its efficiency, as it did not take. After an uncommon exercise of patience, the Maori relinquished his task with a dissatisfied grunt, nevertheless protesting; that the eels were there.

The following day, at an early hour, we arrived at the Landing. The river above the Landing spreads into many branches, upon one of these Mr Stevenson has built a store and accommodation house. Several packers are also located here, this being the terminus for water carriage. A wide plain here extends along the right bank of the river ; the land is very good, chiefly timbered, with pine, totara, and white birch. Twelve miles farther on is Pern Plat. The township of Beefton is seventeen miles from the Landing, by the track, and the reefs are about six miles from the township ; while in a direct line from the Landing, the reefs cannot be much more than fourteen miles. A cart track could be made here at very little cost; and one old settler has offered to make it, and take payment in land. But I think Government can do much better by making the road and selling the land. It is to be hoped that settlement, in this locality, will be facilitated. Numbers ot persons are anxious to purchase land and settle down, and no doubt with reasonable encouragement and lenient terms from the Government, in a very short time this locality will be one of the most flourishing in New Zealand. It certainly will have two essenrial points in its favour—good land and an excellent market for produce. As an instance ; I bave seen a splendid sample of potatoes, grown by an old settler in these parts. He expects an average yield of twenty tons per acre, the price being about £2O per ton. We left the Landing at about half past ten in the morning, and reached the Junction, a distance of about seven miles, shortly after mid-day. The Inangahua is a stream navigable for boats of light draught carrying two tons ; and there is not the slightest impediment to applying horse power, as the beaches made by the river itself present an excellent track already formed. We left the Junction at one o'clock, proceeding leisurely and examining the bank of the river as we went. I conclude that a small outlay would make a very goodtrack for horses along the Buller. A great distance of the way the beaches could be made available in their present state, and all that would be required is a few connecting tracks from beach to beach and a few fathoms of chain or wire rope for hauling up the boats, through some of the gorges. At present the boatmen who are engaged conveying goods up the river have to do work which is really unfit for human beings. The boats carry about four tons and a half cargo with a crew of five men. When they arrive at a rapid, their power, when directed from the bank, not being sufficient to safely drag the boat, they betake themselves to the water, and, sometimes on their hands and knees, drag the boat over. No doubt these men get a high price for their labor—and they deserve it, but the time has now come when the public should endeavor to secure a cheaper means of traffic for the up-river population.

time, carelessness and apatbj should be put aside ; and we should remember that " Providence helps those who help themselves." While on the sub. ject of road-making, I must remark that it appears to me unwise to give road contracts, at so great a distance from the Eoad Engineer's office without appointing some persons up' on the spot to see that the work is done according to specification. I am of opinion that a great deal of the road work done in the Buller Valley has been performed in a manner very profitable to the contractor no doubt, but the reverse to the public