a—ia.

22

just outside the area, within Boys's claim. This bottomed through washdirt very rich in gold, Mr. Harcourt estimating that the area of the shaft alone yielded Boz. of gold. There was now considerable excitement with respect to the 40 acres held by Mr. Dwyer, and the whole of the ground was pegged off under the belief that the land had not been alienated, and was still open for mining purposes. It is understood that the land is to be resumed by the Government shortly. There is little doubt that the lead extends east to or beyond the Black Bridge, and thence dips to the westward, and in this direction is covered up by the more modern gravels of the Arahura Valley. Over the low grounds of the Arahura Valley the lead has been carried away by the river, and it is not likely to be again met with till passing to the north-east of Flowery Creek, where it should again be present in, and for some distance into, the flat west of Ballarat Hill, wßich is the line of its continuation to the north-east, at or near the level of the Houhou and Blue Spur portions of the lead. On Ballarat Hill the lead was fully developed, but the richer part of this area has now been worked. North-east of this the Waimea has broken through and destroyed the lead, and it is not met with till Scandanavian Hill is reached, although the terraces at the back of Staffordtown should afford some indication of it, as being formed of the same marine gravels, which are gold-bearing on the south-west side of the Waimea. As far back as workings have been carried to the eastward, on Ballarat Hill, beds of black sand, partly oxidized and cemented, are found interbedded with the coarser gravels, thus indicating the marine character of the beds. On the continuation north-east of the line of this old raised beach, between German Gully and Sandy Creek, there are a series of terraces, denominated second, third, fourth, and fifth terrace. These appear to be the line of lead, cut down to various levels by the action of the different streams that are tributaries of German Gully Creek or Sandy Creek. The Lamplough Lead, within the Kapitea Watershed, lies on the same line, and is distinctly on a continuation of the Houhou lead thus far. Further to the north-east, between the Kapitea Creek and the Teremakau Biver, the line of black-sand old beach deposit has at one time been continuous, but in times more recent the action of the Teremakau has either destroyed or covered up the marine beds. Workings along the high terrace banks of the river, and in Drake's Terrace and Hughes's Creek, indicate that here portions of the lead yet remain. Between the Teremakau and Butherglen, in the watershed of Saltwater Creek, there seems to be two lines of black-sand leads, either of which may be considered as the direct continuation of the Houhou Lead. Practically, both are continuations of the same lead, which may be said to be of greater breadth here than farther to the south. New Biver and Saltwater Creek have broken through and almost destroyed the lead, scattering its gold in the more recent gravels, now occupying the low grounds of their valleys. Towards Greymouth this line of black-sand deposits is not so well marked, possibly through the action of the Grey Biver; but towards Point Elizabeth it is again distinctly and characteristically present on Darkies' Terrace. On the northern side of Point Elizabeth the action of the Seven-mile Creek has destroyed the continuity of the lead, but between the Seven- and Nine-mile Creeks it is present as a high terrace of marine gravels, which are known to be gold-bearing, and which would ere this have been extensively worked had there been facilities for bringing water on to the ground at a moderate •cost. The coast-line is now abrupt and high ; consequently, the 200 ft. to 300 ft. line is much nearer the tideway than farther to the south, hence this lead approaches the coast as it is followed towards the north. Between the Ten-mile and the Twelve-mile Creeks (north of Greymouth) it simply rests on the brow of the cliffs overlooking the sea, or stretches as a narrow terrace at the foot of the steeply rising hills. Between the Twelve-mile Creek and the Fourteen-mile Bluff, since its deposit, this line of blacksand leads has been completely destroyed by the action of the sea in cutting back the coast-line. At Barrytown the lead runs along the lower slopes of the slate-ranges, between the coast-line and the Grey Valley, and from Baker's Creek to the northern slopes of Hawera it has been cut through by numerous small streams, so that the auriferous gravels are found only on the points of the spurs intermediate between the different creeks and larger gullies. The average height of the lead at Barrytown is a little over 200 ft. above the sea. It appears to be thoroughly broken, in fact, destroyed altogether, between the Punakaiki Biver and the mouth of the Fox Biver. This has been owing to the action of the numerous small streams that find their way from the higher part of the Paparoa Bange to the coast-line. Where the rivers are larger, as in the case of the Fox, Nile, and Totara, a greater distance lies between the streams, and thus there is a greater chance of the marine-beds being preserved on the bluffs and high lands intervening. There is, even thus, a probability of areas being between the Punakaiki and the Fox Bivers where these deposits are preserved. One such is said to be on the high ground near Bazorback. North of Brighton and St. Kilda the elevation above the sea of the black-sand leads rapidly increases, till before reaching the Four-mile (from Charleston) Creek these deposits reach to between 500 ft. and 600 ft. above the sea. Between the Four-mile and Candlelight the highest reached by the black-sand deposits is somewhat less, some 450 ft., and this height is practically maintained to Bald Hill, overlooking the Lower Buller Valley. In the neighbourhood of Charleston these deposits are of great extent, and occur at all levels up to that stated, and from them an enormous quantity of gold has been obtained. The "Back Lead" at Charleston lies along the foot of the limestone range between the Nile Biver and the Four-mile Creek. Along this line the ironsands have oxidized to some extent, and cements have thus formed, necessitating the use of crushing machinery to again liberate the gold. But the gold is not thus completely set free, and a considerable percentage finds its way with the tailings into the