PALMER RIVER AND DISCOVERY OF GOLD 387 



in progress when a party of NATIVES assembled and commenced 

 to burn the grass. The appearance of the white men did not seem 

 to impress them much, but as soon as they saw the black boy they 

 retreated in haste. " The most ridiculous part of the affair," says 

 Hann, " was that they were running in opposite directions, Jerry 

 for his firelock, the natives for their safety." Hann and his com- 

 panions completed the packing and travelled 8 miles down the 

 river, making their CAMP for the night on a large sandy creek, which 

 they had already prospected. This creek was the NORTH PALMER 

 RIVER, which afterwards proved very rich in alluvial GOLD. 



Gold was found in the North Palmer on the following morning, 

 l6th August. The MAIN CAMP, No. 20, was reached in the after- 

 noon. The excursionists were met by the tidings that in their 

 absence all their fresh meat, in the shape of SEVEN SHEEP and ONE 

 HORSE, had been lost. The loss was responsible for four days' 

 delay, which was employed by some of the party in prospecting 

 in the neighbourhood of the camp, without much success. The 

 sheep were recovered by Jerry, but not the horse. 



On 2Otb August, Hann visited a camp of NATIVES about a mile 

 from his own, hoping to learn something about the missing horse, 

 but the men precipitately fled, leaving the women and children 

 behind. 



Hann did not consider that his party had discovered payable 

 gold, and summed up his operations as " flattering prospects." 

 In reporting the discovery he was very guarded and deprecated 

 anything in the nature of a " rush." In those days, indeed, to 

 report PAYABLE GOLD was a serious responsibility, and diggers return- 

 ing from an unsuccessful rush were ugly customers for the reporter 

 to meet. 



In this case, however, the hint of gold was enough to set pros- 

 pectors on the track, and their success was beyond all expectations. 

 In a few years GOLD TO THE VALUE OF FIVE AND A HALF MILLIONS 

 STERLING had been won from the Palmer and its tributaries. Of 

 this amount over 94 per cent, was alluvial gold, only 6 per cent, 

 coming direct from reefs, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Maytown. 



