Year: 1878

The most populous part of the fields at
present is Pilgrims Rest. The creek
being worked here is between three and
four miles in length, and the number of
diggers working it is from four to five
hundred, it not little more. The guam
tity of gold found is enormous. Old
miners Of large experience in the gold
district of the Australian colonies, say it
is, for its size, one of the richest creeks
they have ever known. At first, the
lower part of the creek was most worked,
but gradually the miners moved higher
up, and as they did so the finds increased
and the nuggets unearthed became larger.
At the upper bend Of the creek very large
finds were at one time made, some dig
gers turning out daily their thirty and
forty ounces. Beyond this upper bend
heavy gold was also found, and many
claims there are still paying well. In
the hills beyond the head of the creek,
the proprietary company of these fields





a rich quartz reef. Recently, miners
named Mulcahay, Freize, Cunningham
and others have found wonderfully rich
alluvial deposits on the ground around
the reef.


When the finds first came known the
ground was rushed to and great excite
ment prevailed. The spot, however, can
not be worked now for want of water,
and its supposed Immense richness will
have, to great extent, to lie nndevel-
oped until next Spring. The quantity of
gold said to be found by Messrs. Mulca-
hay and Frieze is enormous. No one
knows the exact amount, but it is posi-
tive fact that it is very great. 1t is fur
ther stated that they found large mug
get weighing some thirty pounds, but no
one seems to have seen it yet. Mr.. Cum
ningham has also made large finds. The
digging up there was very shallow, and
work easy. Not so in Pilgrims Rest
creek. Here very deep stripping has to
be done before coming upon the bottom !;
immense boulders have to be removed,
and the miners is as hard as any such
work can be. But many miners reaped
a rich reward from their labors, though
others and they are the majority, have
not made moro than a living some even
less.


AT first the work was carried on here
in very inefficient manner, but recently
the style has been much improved. Now
water races are cut in all directions, and
the use of the water saves an immense
amount of labor and expense. Ground
sluicing is greatly INDUCED in. The bed
of the creek has been the favorite work
ing ground until recently, but now more
attention is being paid to the terraces in
which good finds have been made. There
is very little unoccuped ground in the
bed Of the creek, except on the lower part,
but there is large extent still available
on the terraces, which 1t is believed
would pay we'll We're water available
Water Is not available for that work at
present, but company wi tn 100000 to
100000 capital could bring in good sup
ply, and the enterprise would pay we'll.


The gold found in the creek has been
very heavy. Nuggets of one and two
pounds have not been anything very won
derful. Nuggets of one, two and three
pounds have been found in some claims.
About ten months ago an eight pound
nugget was found in claim up creek.
That was the largest nugget unearthed
up to that time. Since then ten pound
nugget of pure gold has been found in a
terrace claim up creek, owned by Messrs.
Russell, Boycott, Wormald and Lily,
none Of them experienced miners, and a
few weeks ago another nugget Of 1913
ounces was found in claim held by
Count Nellmapius, little further up the
creek. We, ourselves, saw some Of the
three and four pound nuggets, one five
FOUNDER, the eight and ten Founders, and
one of the 1913 ounces, so that we can
vouch for them.


In addition to the Pilgrims Rest work
ings, there are the MacMac diggings,
about six miles above the head of the
creek. Rich aluvial ground has been
found there, and several diggers are now
at work and understood to be doing well.
Then there are the Blyde river diggings,
just beyond the lower part of the Pill
grim's Rest Creek. These are the Water
fall diggngs, about twelve miles from
this place. There are not many miners
working there, but those who are there
are understood to be doing well. There
are other spots in the neigh borhood look
ed upon as likely to turn out payable,
but they have not been properly prospect
ed.-IransUaaL Gold Fields MercurV


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