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month's work. This claim includes all the available river-flat above the Jutland Flat Dredging Claim. During the year an attempt was made to reach the gutter on the main bottom, which lies underneath the false bottom on which operations are at present carried on. The efforts, however, did not prove successful, for after 51 ft. had been reached sinking was abandoned, and the plant withdrawn. Pearsall and party have a water-race four miles and a half in length, and are elevating from 7 ft. to 8 ft. Sharp's claim is also the scene of elevating operations. Eobinson and party, Parker and party, and three or four others are driving out the washdirt in their claims. A few Chinese are also employed in this district. Shotover. Lake Wakatipu, Moke Creek, and Twelve-mile. —Only a few men are engaged in alluvial mining in these districts. The Moonlight Sluicing Company has done fairly well, and other large claims are on the same run of gold. Arthur's Point. Walden and party purchased the Sew Hoy Eace, above the bridge, and are now making preparations to hydraulic the Big Beach, formerly worked by the Sew Hoy Company. McCarron and party are also sluicing in this neighbourhood. Deep Greek. —Collins and party are bringing in a race, which will be four miles in length and provide two heads of water, for hydraulicing the river terraces. Baldwin and Murdoch are engaged in sluicing about four miles up the creek. Maori Point. —Trainer and party (six men) are bringing in a race of four heads of water from Maori Gully to hydraulic the terraces near Maori Point. Davis Brothers are also carrying on extensive works on their claim on the north side of the Shotover, at Maori Point. The Pactolus and the Enterprise Claims are both being worked on the elevating principle. They are situated on the left bank of the Shotover, several miles up from Skipper's Creek. Skipper's Point. The claim, formerly known as the Londonderry, is now managed by Mr. W. Scott, who has brought in eight heads of water from Skipper's Creek, a distance of four miles, to sluice the Londonderry Terrace and Skipper's Terrace. A tail-race is also being driven in the rock, which is 400 ft. in length. Twelve men are employed. Arrow River District. Arrow Falls Claim. —This claim is now being successfully worked. The whole of the wash to a depth of about 60 ft. has been washed away through the taii-race, and the rock bottom of the river is now easily stripped. At the time of my visit, on the 25th February last, the manager was sluicing one-half of the river-bed. The main stream of water was conveyed to one of the shafts that communicate with the tail-race tunnel. In the part of the bottom thus partially dry sluiceboxes are placed with a lead to the other shaft. Sufficient water is led from the main body of the stream to sluice all the gravel that can readily be washed into the sluice-boxes. The larger boulders and stones are removed from the wash and stacked on the part of the bottom already cleaned, the smaller stones and gravel only being allowed to be carried down the shaft. When a considerable area of the bottom has been stripped on one side, the sluice-box is removed to the other side, and the water of the river diverted to the side already worked. This is also used for the stacking of stones. The place, at the time of my visit, presented the appearance of two channels separated by a large wall of stones and boulders, a stream of water flowing down one of the channels direct to a shaft, and in the other a sluice-box in full operation, the gravel being washed into it by the water diverted from the main stream further up, and passing down the other shaft. The method seems to answer well so far. The manager informed me that on the occurrence of a high flood the shaft-openings are closed, and the whole of the workings are covered with water until it rises to the level of the natural dam and flows over, When the flood is past, the gates closing the shafts are opened, and the whole place is again freed from flood-water, the debris that may have accumulated in the workings removed and washed away, when the usual work is again carried on without much loss of time. Mr. Millar, the manager, gives me the following account of and history of the claim : — The Arrow Falls Mine is situated three miles and a half from Arrowtown, up the Arrow River. The reason it got the name of Arrow Falls is that a large landslip took place some years ago and filled up the bed of the river for a depth of 100 ft., causing the present falls. It must have formed a large reservoir, which has been filled during the heavy floods for a distance of a mile and a half with the gravel from the bed of the river from a higher level. This ground was taken up about twenty-five years ago by a miner named Carl Hem, who afterwards sold it to an Arrowtown company, who, failing to make it a success, sold it back again to Carl Hem, who, after working it for several years without success, sold it to a Melbourne syndicate for the sum of £350. The syndicate started driving a tunnel from the bottom of the falls, 9 ft. high and 9 ft. wide on the bottom, for a distance of 1,100 ft. in the solid rock, at a cost of £5,000; and then sinking two shafts in the bed of the river to meet the end of the tunnel at the depth of 100 ft., which they successfully completed at a cost of £3,000, including timber and machinery. The syndicate not having money to carry on the works, it was sold by the mortgagee, and bought by J. Miller for the sum of £3,000, who started sluicing, and got down within 10 ft. of the original bed of the river when the floods destroyed one shaft. Another shaft had to be sunk into the rock, which, with other drawbacks, took two years,
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