586 W. H. PEKNING ON THE GOLDFIELDS OF 



d! . Lydenhurg (p. 578). — At a point on the Dorps Eiver,' about half 

 a mile south of the town, good coarse gold has been taken from the 

 gravel bordering the stream ; and a large piece was found in gravel 

 along the stream that comes in from the S.E. and near this point joins 

 the Dorps Eiver. " The alluvial deposits around the town are exten- 

 sive, as well as of considerable depth and richness. The upper part of 

 these deposits consists, in places, of a hard ferruginous ' cement- 

 stone,' or fine gravel cemented by oxide of iron, and containing gold. 

 Beneath this there are several feet of sand and loam, also auriferous, 

 and at the base is an extensive bed of coarse gravel and pebbles, 

 which, wherever it has been tried, has yielded coarse gold, in some 

 places even in payable quantity "*. 



Ji. At Ross Hill (p. 580), as would naturally be expected, the 

 alluvial soil is rich in fine gold. 



i'. Grey^s Creek (p. 581) opens into the same valley as the small 

 stream from Eoss Hill, and here both coarse and fine gold occur. On 

 the east side of the creek is a mass of broken quartz in a black sandy 

 soil (apparently the shedding from the contiguous quartz veins in 

 chalcedolite), which is auriferous. Further down the stream good 

 coarse gold occurs in the alluvium. 



/. S^itzkop (p. 581). — On the east side of this farm a claim " has 

 been worked down about 15 feet on to the bed-rock, which here con- 

 sists of shale. At this point there is also an old channel beneath 

 the alluvial ground, which is brown loam, and has hitherto proved 

 rich in gold. The loam carries a small proportion of fine gold 

 throughout, but is, of course, much richer just above the bed-rock; 

 in the old channel especially it has proved very rich, 57 ounces 

 of gold having been taken out (as I am informed) from one paddock, 

 about 36 feet by 45 feet, after three weeks' ground-sluicing" t. 



Tc' . Berlyn-Lishon (Waterfall) (p. 582). — The surface of the ground 

 upon and west of Howse's claims, and for some distance to the north 

 and south, is occupied by a terrace of sandy loam. On the opposite 

 side of the river is another terrace, which extends a long distance 

 S., on the west side of a stream ; and there is another large patch, 

 bordering another stream that flows into the river east of the Falls. 

 "All this alluvial yields gold "J, and is now being removed by 

 hydraulic appliances. 



T, Pilgrim^ s- Rest Creek (p. 583) is occupied from end to end by 

 a mass of coarse gravel and fine loam, the gold from which at one 

 time supported many hundred diggers. The creek is very steep 

 and narrow, and is but three miles or so in length ; its containing 

 so much water-worn gold is therefore good evidence of the existence 

 of rich lodes in the immediate vicinity. 



ni. Peach Tree (p. 584). — Good alluvial ground has been worked 

 in the creek, also upon Columbia Hill, where long races were cut 

 merely for the purpose of sluicing away the surface soil, to the 

 depth of about a foot, for the sake of its gold. 



* Eeport, Dec. 1884. t Report, July 1883. 



X Eeport, May 1883. 



