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ROCKIAIPTM.

[All Bights Reserved.]

IN THE EARLY DAYS. fflE FIR8T DECADE.

{BV iJTZROY.]

No. XL. THE. KOUNI MORGAN MINE.

' Gold 'is omnipotent ; it can niakf even the Moor while.' - Iliougli the wortd-famons gold mibt known as Mount Morgan was not openet in tha early days, it was a wcll-knowi locality in that period of the history ol the district. The question lira been asfcet srores of times, 'How was il Mount

Morgan was, not discovered before !' Si answer can be given to the query, fo) the' more it Is (bought . of tlie mon odd it becomes in view- of tubse quent -events. It was not as tuoug) Bo gold h»d been found in the neigh boefbood, for there were many place where good patches of gold had been die covered only a few miles away, and ii eorae cases almost dos« to the moon The first instance of gold having bee) tatmd In -the ?vranitr of Mount Horgai was in lSCi. In that yeir golfl m; found somewhere in the neighbourhood o: Razorback, anff a 'party went out Trow Kockhampton to discover the spot. Then were no Toads in those times, and tin place sought for Iras not found. Mr Robert Sharpies, storekeeper, was one oi tile party looking- for the rush. The} went over SaxoHwck and down Dairi Creek to just about where the corner O! Uie Mount Morgan Company's freehoh fence comes. There they found two mei cradling wasblfirt, -which had «een ot- isinea near at band. They ascertainet. -that they were a party of four, and twi of their mates, one of whom was Mr. £ H. T. Plant, of Charters Towers, had gom Wt -to the nidi at G&vial Creek, -Oroco djle. One of the men cradling was Sir tieorge Jackson, the present member on tbc Legislative Assembly for Kennedy Mr. Sharpies and his part?- went off t- tiavial Creek, where they took up claims This wa6 in the concraamg months oi 1SG5, so it is more -than thirty-sera Vears since gold was first got within n mile -of the Mount Morgan inme. For manv vears subsequently gold wa- found in the gullies for miles afound, an( a large number of men worked there, o] and off, till the .golden mountain i^sell was discovered in 1882. ' ? Mr. W. Mackinlav, « man whose -nami has often been mentioned TO eorinectiol 'with early mining on the Dee watershed was' for many years the bead stoekmal t.pX Calliungal Station, on the Dec jtivei jtna Jiisa.at ibe heifer station, abou: „ fifjein nules below what is now Mouir. : .Morgan. MaekinJay evidently knew a goot ? 'deal ojjout iniwiiiff, and was instruments -n opening one or two copper mine- ii ....that neighbourhood. Alter leaving thi fi.t»ti»n bervice he worked for gold ii soine of the gullies in the neighbourhood and is supposed to have done well. 1 was said of Mhekinlay that he knew ever? stone on the station, but without goin; so £» as that, he -undoubtedly luid a grea; .knowledge of tlie country, and being o: a curious and investigating turn of mind knew a good deftl about tiie lniucra de|x-sits. Witli i,urfi a thorough know ledge of the district, it seems slranjn thai Mackinbry should never have trie* the Mount Morgan stone, and the proli ability is that lie must have tested some of the worthless rock w iiich had rolltt down the mountain side, and never goi anything like & payable result. What is now known as Mount Morgai was a lull particularly well-known ti mine™ at Uv.it time, by whom it tra termed tiic ** iroustone mountain ant the ' iron knob.' Apparently, therefore it must have been 'eiieiaHv regardei of what seemed to le ironstone whiel had rolled from above giving colour t- such an opiuion. THE MOllflANS. Mr. F. A. Morgan, who was in dircetiy the discoverer of Mount Mor gan, came to Bockliamnton from War wick in 1679, and bwaiiie the landlord of the Criterion Hotel, previously kept

liy Sirs. Laurie. Mr. Morgan was the oldi-t of the fai.iily, Thoiuas and Edwin being younger brothers. He had always toungci- brothers had also engaged in Hie same mdustry. Tlie Morgan family, originally came from tlie Bathurat dis] I Hut, and F. A. Morgan claimed that ' ?\orly in 18ol, before Hargraves reported the first discovery of gold at Ophir. he and others were working gold claims in I he ' neighbourhood of Bathurst. One i hinj; is certain, F. A. Morpran was one if tlie first men in Australia who ever worked, a gold claim. Qcld was obtained in pretty Urge luantities in the early days, and it is not surpriMOg tiiat the fascinating oc cupation should have taken so film a hold of him. Before Mr. R A. Morgan' ^ame here the Morgans discovered tin tra some hill near Etanthorpe. The sur face prospects - were excellent, and the Morgans were offered a large ium for their claim. It is said the imount offered was £100,000. The offer was declined, and soon after the ore was iound to be «f very limited extent, and it was quickly worked out . or became practically valueless. Soon after Mr. F. A. Morgan settled idwu in his hotel, he began to,- look round the goldffelds. and started the Hal-«a mine at Moiiit Wheeler. A battery was erected there, - and a ?ensiderable number of men employed. Tlie ftone was ctrUiiny rich in patcliet. uid Sir. Morgan informed the -writer that

he took between k^jou and *:huuo wortb if gold from tlie mine. His brothers Thomas and Edwin came over from War wick, and were looking after the mine nnd battery for their brother. Among the men w-orkihg at the mine or liattcry was one Sandy Gordon, who went off on the spree -at Cawarral, and was discharged iii corisequence. The story goes that Mrs. Gordon went to Mr. Thomas Morgan uid told him if he would take her 'husband trade a^linV lie sliould show him i plat* on tlie Bee where her father (Mr. William Macldnlay) hafl -obtained rold. Some fear it was silver or copper. Sir. Morgan took Gordon -back again, ?and ?ooii after ibe two Morgans ana Gordon ;et off to look for the lode spoken of. WSCOVEEffJF MOUKT MOBGAS. MR. EDWIK MORGAN'S ACCOUNT. Sekeral years later when Mr. F- W. Sykes wrote & history of the Mount Morgan mine, Mr. Edwin Morgan wrote the following account of the discovery: — ** So far as I am aware there has never been a true report published in any 'of the Queensland papers. Some 1 contra licted, and others I did not think it .vcrth while bothering about- I hare a record of everything that_ transpired In ^kis connection, so jUuit what follows may *»e taken as absolutely true. -In July, 1682, my brother Tom and [ decided to go oat on a trip prospect ing, the reason being that Sandy Gordon, irno was working ^ in our employ at Mount Wheeler, had promised to take us, to a place where he knew tiiere was a lilvcr lode, i provided horses, &c and Arc started from Kockhampton on Thurs dnr. the 13th of July, tdking tiordon niih us. The firsf place- he tiok as to A-ns -n monntnin peak of eandrtone known ;s the ' Pigeon Dox,' where there was a copper iodc on one side of it. We in tended tc harp a day or two prospecting there, but when -we arrived at tlie top ud saw nothing, we Mine down and searched round for a spot with -water to -amp at far the night. I said the best Miing to do under tbe circumstances was '.o go back to Jones's selection — the nearest water lia'ndy — or get on the other *ide of tti£ rajige. It wai- then dark. Mindv said he Vnew of water three miles iwoy. We went over the range at the Razoruack' that night, and camped on '?airy (reck, a tribuUtfy of the Dee. Kext norninjr we started ~ofT for what he ?nlle.' the Nine-mile Creek, down towards ?nlliunpnl head station. This was where he silver lode was supposed to be — some li^Iitren or tvrentv miles from Mount Morgan. We arrived at the Nine-mile n tiie afternoon, and camped that night m the point of a spur, havinp a £nod ?irospect all round tlie creek and ridge* -efore tuminp in. On SatuWlay morning we went where he thought the silver ^o-le was. but found nothing. We put 'own two shafts on tlie spots he pointed ?ml, ami I think there were five or six reefs we cut trenches across. We pros pected all day until sundown, never get ling more than a few specks of pold to reward our labours. The night brought with it a very heavy downpour of rain — it mi;:ht almost be called a waterspout* lasting for two hours or more. The creek came down in a torrent, and every gully was ia 'banker.' Nearlv everything was washed out of the tent 1 got up In the night and put the horses out ol the finjrle of the creek on to the top of the range foi safety. Having covered the fii-e with a sheet of bark. 1 put another over my sell, and nwaited daylight. Next mom ing (Sunday) everything was in such a sodden condition we thought it the wisest thing to pack up and dear home. This nil easier said than done, with the river and all the blind gullies' running: a banker. However, we packed up and left camp at

6 a.m. Before leaving I cut my initials in a .big guin tree. \Ye ewam a .number of blind gullies, and' at length arrived at the junction of Dairy Creek with the Dee. There was drizzling rain all the time. Kandv Gordon tola us there was an old hut 'on the opposite side of the creek, and directed us to it. It was the hut of a Cfiinaman, whir kept some sheeg. I was riding s Bttlc chestnut pony nanieu -Bravo. I swam' across to the ofjier side. And was followed bv div brother and Sandy. We eventually got everything aifded T,v means of'Uie pack-horses. This was about 1 pjn. on Knndar. It was bitterly cold and still raining*. We gnt some dinner as well an we 'could, and making a pig fire, dried otfr clothed. After we had finished dinner, I said to- Tom : ''What do yon say if we take a dish anil go up' to the head of theJguniBs just to put Jn. the evening1?' ffi was iiot Etrong orTeefiftg very wen, and therefore scented ojsiiiclinea tn join ine. fio I said, * Well; if you are not -coming, -flaridy and I wQl go up to tte head x-f those gnlfir^ and see wnat we can do . there.' \Tie travelled two miles north of tke tint, fos sicking (us we went along in the gullies end ravines. After projecting several places, we got over on U- the range, which we crossed in a westerly direction. . We then came down the gully, neither of us at the time knowing exactly when we were. About a Quarter of & mile along the gully I saw' a big black boulder. £ahdy Gordon was then some twenty or

Miirty yards away .from me. Having «. pick. I knocked a piece of the. stone, off. 1 saw there was something in it, and put it into my pocket. Going on a little fortber, \ not3£ed -some similar stone, anjl look a piece of it as well. I saw num bers of these Mack, boulders, winch ap peared to have come -frboi the inoant&nl, but mentioned nothing of my diseovery to Sandy Gordon, who was cbmpleteljr imsware* of it. I now suggested that we slionkl endcATonr to gain the fcig'i greijnd, eo a« to discor«r tlie position of our camp. Tup w3iole.jOf the mountain iras corered with ft dense scrub — dog- wood, wattles, end ironbark. When SB uriiml at tie top we were no better to the fog aad mist. Before starting down for the river, WBicli was just dis cenable, I lucked up some of the black ttones on the top of the mountain. After, making in various directions to &nd tiie thereabouts v of' the camp, I came in eigUt of it from the top of a ridge, and eoo-eed to Gordon, who then joined roe, and we returned id £he hut togeiiier. ' When I had had « talk for a white with my brother, we took a pick, 'shovel, i«! dish, together with some of the stone, do*n to rKe creek, where, after crushing it on a shovel, we washed it. We were still abubtfnl what ft was. tn panning off tiiere mh's apparently more gold than stone— if geld indeed it was. 'Wi- said nothing to Sandv Gordoh about It. 1|r brother was 'a rat ix&UA over the martcr, abft suggastecl returnihk at oOce to towh to hare Uie 'stone tested. As it was late in the evening, however, I counselled waiting until morning, ^m& then going over tlie mountain and tlid rouglily prospecting the place, which course we adopted. At about six o'clock on ^lo'ndav morning we shifted our camp to the mountain. We could not well find' the place owing to the dense under growth. We went to tBe north slde/where I had been the day before, thinking the srufT'Tnighl have come down the gully, as it was there belo*r ub all the time. ' We went all round the place and sunk a few pot-holes, getting colours now and again. We worked up the gullies on the north of the mountain until 'dinner Pme, re scrvinp ah Tnsnertion of the sooth side until the afternoon, when we followed up one of the gujlie* from Hie south as fai ns we could. We hod to cut away the grass trees and dogwood to pitch our tent on what is now the south claim. Next morning we went over the mountain

prospecting, finding any amonnt of good stone. Mime of which we took to the creek and tried -in the dish. On 'Wednes- day we again prospected, and on Thurs day we sent Sandy to Monnt Wheeler to my brother Fred, with samples for him to test ; tins was with the Idea that we Saturday, when we could learn' the re sxllts. Sandy accordingly started oflfwRh some stone in a bag. I afterwards hear* he never went to Mount Wheeler at all am) that instead of doing so he stopjird at Wyntt's Hotel, about half-wav, on the drink. Mv brother Fred, was^surprised on Saturday niyht wben we told him. On Sunday we set to work and crushed every cample we liad brought from the mountain. Just as formerly, we diseo ve.ii'd that each sample was literally clunked with gold. There was so much tlmt we actually had doubts whether it really n, gold. On Monday we went out again, titking rations. &c., with us. and continued Uie work of prospecting un:il Wednesday night. On Thursday we link up as much of the ground as vc. some spot for several months* no one outride ouraelvcs knowing we were there. E\ervthing was carried on in the came of the Morgan Brothers. The next trif from Kockhampton my brother Fred, came with us. We rented R buggy and horses at EuvherfordV. The Journey op

Bazorback -warn... at tbat ^Ume.^joo- !i£bt usdfrtaku'g. ' ftir^Kbises 'vere jiisly.4&- hausUd when we w&ei aVthe .lip. JVc did some jqbre pros*jieptfng,.jmd to'pk.l»ack samples from all places knowji Lo jisj,3iv bvofher,_I believe; g&fe a. .couple ot pj^ws of stone to ^T** y .p. r^^l ^^^r ^''jff*1* of the Queensland jS^tiflnal .*B^n|^.Jsno tested them. A few dm a$er^-fesirs. T. & UaB and VI'. K, D'Arcf cajne out ' to the mount and 'flopped theri.i. ttigbt . or two in teats. ^11 were periocUy gatis ned with what ihev saw'. Bonie tfepe was scnt^or a£tAy Jty. itr. r^nJfA^pjpm pie a'nd . oiiier' g^ccs, £be.' return .,' being i about 3790 ounces to Vhe ton. Arti^ge ments weec then entered ii}to to gp'Jiaives, tuat is,' tlte Morgans, pn t)ie iwe. ^He^ and Messrs. Ball, D'Arcy, anS V. J*«3i tOB on tlie other. Fojlpwin^ thu, Sefinfte steps were t4.k^i tp .get jnacliuierV on . thi! ground, Buipiis and Tn5)^,il Hock hamptori, reepvuif ).]be orfe /o'.'e^ly a ballCTT (No. 1), la tjii meantjmi' men »vere engaged, Shd muling iyeratJiai^eJi iored~ i^on. ' The results were, for ohnous reasoiis, topi as secret as possible 3£ff- regard to a stalement that dm oeen made' io the effect that Sandy Gordon sold iht ^lace for al bottie of grog, I maj^ remark that he never nad anyttung to do Jnti »t Donald Gordon vsis out somewHcre iiear Korinanto'n al the tfane of the dlseOyery. When lie came bacE he -was cjimpeS «t .Tonc€-s at Table Mountain. He lWJto beg and pray us to buy his' selection, which for sdnie time we refused to io. Only was it when we wasted a jteS&f- way T* marked 'off ten acres., i%3 asked him to sell that. We got Suve^or ^.'J. .fiverlev to mark ^t, SBd tbstv ie Kgajn nftrf iu to buy tVe whole Treehoja, Sipl we did sbottlr after. We never jUiu file selection for gold. Whin Donald t§ir -l&h -caine tiut, to tbe moi^dt Jile aid^ttot tiiink there was touch prbspei* from a mining point of view, bdt seeinj; us work

Ing there he Imagined It jras a fireT-rpte ojinortunitV to dispose of' tds slfection on the quier, as it haS been aba^oned ftif about six years.' We 'liefcr, o^ jiy ocrti&ioii, asked him lor ^UBfGelecUoh^Jifid when 'We et-entu&lr Ifbujpit 'it ve Dnd liiin In casn at the rate oT £l «r iS. The only arrangejnjait ev^r made w}jh Saiilly Go'rdbn ~tt)|s' ob 'setting out in Svfai » when it was uhVterstooa that *ft his ^irrer lode was any good, wewonH %rrechim £90, eqdal to one-third interest yfiOs. ourselves.' THE GORDON TSBSSH '. ? Tberi; is eveij reason «i 'believf ftkt Mr. Kdrtin Morgan's kecbunt ;iS tit Se co-rtry of tlie famous in3ne~is knosbMi^ainT (?orrect, yet thjbre are BOtne cSrcBmsJfcancea tliat he,* apparenfjy, was Dot iirare' of, and s&me particnlars %z-m V iia$ff&: ^of the Gordon family w(B not tljirtfort^ be -rith6ttf Interest 'iJSi js'«otj|if^-j5Ji IW? obji?rt ol cull Ii aulcfj^^ '3Sr. vfonsiln, but in ?mfler that tie-ptSr slds'Tsf^e {juesCHm sna'B be' iieard/^o ibat readers can form their own opiidon -where *the two vcrshms ronflid^ ' Mr. Jolm. Gordon, and a jargs iuyv hknipton in li&l* and l^yjad ^or ..sjaAT years iii Fitrroy Wiri Cfc the «-th of July. lKTO, Mr. Jojin GorJnu, the &$e-, selected the Iana'(640 acres') now iiown as the Mount MJdrgail Goid^Bim^ C^n rranVs freehold. Ob tljis laid the XsmXty went to reside, and owned a conaj^eraUe cmobcr of cattle. All appeals ti law tone on well iriitlT the drouj^t of W%, wlir-n the father removed from Jie 'selec- tion into Eockbiinjrton. ' 4t tlus rajjsa the conditions under wbich M-e 'frontal had been selected .had pot l^een folnUed, a'nd lh order fo %are these ^ffnn^tsd, and not to lose tth'p 'roflnej- ilieSay Sent on it, the 'father trtjistemsd the' land' Ha Donald Gordon, 'OOBottidJtady oji Ifroidld np-pwnrt '^o remain* on 'iiit lajid'pntil tbs - title was clear and Uie seeds ebtijna. Donald Gordoh agreed to bis fatjier'a conditions, and remained on t£e land till

the temi of residence had expired, and the other conditions 'bad been Tulfiued. .^pjurcntly. Donala Gordon had do' inten tion of doing aught -with the bind beyond this. When he obtained the UHe to the l.irnl he went to Peak Dou ns and obtained employment with the Messrs. Fairbairn. ' - It may be mentioned that tbere was considerable difficulty in sdeeling 1$1« land in' tbe first place. TkLs was twaamo the lAiids Department refused, aooerding to its regulations, to prant a lease of bind situated tm both sides of a Hrer, but upon tbe recommendation of the AatQ Mr. A. .!. Richardi-on, the District Sur veyor, that the lasd\ would Hardly eror he* required for BetUement, the erVntmg of the lease was approved of, and «as issued on the 17th of July. ISM, to por tion No. 2«. On the 4«4i of February, 187''. I he Iw.* was transferred to Donald Go, -ion. On the loth of January, i 880, at an Fixecutive Council presided onr hy the late Governor Kennedv. an Executive. minute was passed to the following effect: — - The lessee of the selection, that Is, port ion 247. being now known as tbe Mount florpan (lorapany's froehold, nav inp l»aid the baUutce of rent, together with the deed and assurance fees, and tbe proper officers having certified to the ful filment of the conditions imposed bv die above Act, 31 We, No. 36, the Seeretarv for Lands recommends tfiat tbe deed of grant be issued accordingly.' The Minis ters who recommended tbe granting of I

the lease were the Ute Hon. Patrick Per kins, the Ute Hon. J. IX. Macrossan. the Ute Hon. R. Fring, the Ute Hon. Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer, and Mr. H. Buza rott. and it was approved by the late Sir Arthur Kennedy. In pursuance of this recommendation the deed of grant wrna loaned in favour of Donald Gordon for the land on the 27th of February, 1SSO. It was then discovered that the land was in the parish ' of CallinncaL While Donald Gordon wan in the em .ployment of the Mews. Fairbairo, he received a letter asking him to come , ,. to Borkhampton, with a view of en tering into negotiations for the sale of the property. . It is veil known that Donald Gordon sold the square mile at land for £640, or £1 per acre. This was done on the 9th of September, 1882, the transfer being made . to Messrs. F. A. Morgan and T. S. Hall. That Donald Gordon pestered the owners of the mine to buy take* some believing, but eren if he did he could never have been told there was any prospect of gold being found there, though it is in the freehold that much of the gold of Mount Morgan has been obtained. The freehold fence went north and south just across the top of the mountain. . - - Prior to the sale of the property, and alw- before the gold discovery,- Sandy Gordon was working at the GaUwa mine, at Mount Wheeler. Some time previous to this he had married a daughter of Mr. W. Maekinlay, the head stockman at Calliungal Station. The marriage does not appear to have been a very happy one, and Sandy Beenu to have given ' way tn drink a good deal. Anyway, while at the GaUwa, Sandy Gordon un dertook to show the Morgans where there was- a good copper show on Callinngal run. Always on the loot-out for such speculations as that, the Morgans— Thomas end Edwin— made an arrangement to go to the place with Sandy Gordon as guide. Before leaving Rockhampton the Morgans made a written agreement with Sandy 1 -Gordon that he was to have a share in - . tin .--copper show if it should turn out right. A copy of this document waa in possession of the members of the Gordon family for years, but it has unfortunately * been mislaid or destroyed. The place where the copper deposit was supposed to be, was visited, and appar ' enily the Morgans thought nothing of it, because they decided to return to ' Bockhanspton. 'Weather conditions were against them, and from necessity the parly had to camp in the vicinity of the iron mountain, the Dee River and Dairy Creek both being in high flood. It was on the rooming of the following day that Edwin Morgan made the discovery of the ..rich stone on the top of Mount Morgan. Apparently the Morgans considered that *ny agreement they had made with Sandy * Gordon with reference to the copper show .did not extend to any gold discovery, because Sandy Gordon was kept in ig norance of what Edwin Morgan had found, both at the time and sube qeently. It must be clearly understood that Sandy Gordon never had any interest in the freehold, which was owned first 1-y John Gordon, his father, and then by 0onald Gordon, his brother. Sandy Gordon seemed to become more reckless than ever after Mount Morgan began to turn out its thousands of pounds weekly. He was taken 111, and died at the house of his sister, Mrs. M'Bryde, on the Lower DawBon Koad, in Febru ary, 1885, aged forty-three years. No one knows what became of his widow, and it Is not known whether she is alive or dead. Donald Gordon, who sold the free told, died in the Bockbunpton Hospital, ' alter a short illness, on the 10th of ' August, 1900, at the age of seventy rears. Be came to Australia about 1843, when thirteen years of age. John tiord&u, the father, died in Rockhampton in June, )MV aged ninety-three years. The Mount Morgan Company paid Mr. John Gordon a gratuity of 30s. per week a few years before his death. The same amount was also paid by the company to Donald Gordon for fiome years before Ms death. STARTING ?WORK. The supposed auriferous portions of Mount Morgan were at first secured in a prospecting reward claim and 'ordinary chums. The Morgans, having tested the ground for some weeks, Mr. F. A. Morgan, on beba]/ of his partners, entered into an agreement in September, 1882, with Mr. T. S. Kail, with regard to the pro perty. By this agreement Mr. Morgan was to give Mr. Hall one-half of the mine ? -' eonditionally on Mr. Hall erecting a shoot for the convenient conveyance of the ore from the top of the hill, and the erection of a ten-stamper crushing mill for the treatment of the ore. 3tr. Hall then took m his brother, Mr. W. R. Hall, Mr W Pattison, and Mr. W. K. D'Arcy, these four representing one-half of the mine, and the Messrs. F. A. Morgan, T. S. Morgan, E. F. Morgan, and F. G. Morgan the other half. Mr. F. G. Morgan was at this time under age, his father acting as Ms trus tee. Everything having been satisfactorily armed, an order was given to Messrs Bums and Twigg. and that firm speedily erected a ten-head stamper battery, with 8 cwt. stampers, about fifty yards from (he crossing of the Dee River, near Nash'a

Hotel, Mr. Meyenberg being placed in charge. Mr. Edwin Morgan was placed in charge of the miners, and -open cuttings were made in different places near the summit of the bill. In some of these the ore was marvellously rich, in others there was little or no gold. The exact date of starting crushing is not certain, but it was about the 20th of February, 1883 — just twenty years ago. The quantity of gold that was obtained was apparently never di vulged, indeed every person connected with the mine seemed to be particularly reticent in regard to tie quality of the stcne. It is supposed that the returns were rarely, if ever, less than £ or. per ton, and oftentimes nearer 20 oz. The gold was very pure, being worth over £4 per oz. It was in such fine particles in much of the stone that it was impos sible to save it all, and there is little doubt that hundreds of ounces were carried off in the water and1 Boated down the river, and were lost altogether. The tailings, of course, were very rich, being worth on an average about 4.oz. or 5 oz. per ton. About the end of 1883 it was proved beyond all doubt that the golden stone was of much greater extent than, was at first supposed. It waa therefore decided to erect another crushing null. A fifteen head stamper mill previously owned by the Burdett CoutU Company, at the Three-mile, Crocodile, was purchased, and erected a short distance further down the 'river than th^ ten-head machine. The stampers of this mill were' not bo heavy aa those of the original one, being only 5 ewt, but the fifteen head more than doubled the atone crushed daily. When oil the batteries sere going it is esti mated that. 230 tons were treated weekly, the mills working night and day. The proprietors experienced considerably diffi culty with their supply of water at times, which caused short delays, the machines having to be hong up, or only worked part of the time. Water was at Jengtb obtained through pipes (ram a waterhole in the bed of the river about haTf-a-mile distant. This kept up the supply till dams , were built across the bed of the river. So carefully was the secret of the great snecess of the mine kept, that it had been working, neariy eighteen months be fore the public heard, much of it. It was known that the Morgans were working a mine said to-be very rich on the Dee River, but there bad been several severe disappointments in mining ventures only a year or two before, and the public ear was not easily caught. It was in March, 1884, twenty months after the discovery, that the find was first men tioned in the press. In that month the ' Morning Bulletin ' published the first ar ticle on Mount Morgan, and let the world know what a very valuable ™»«^'c pro perty existed in the district. The article acted like a bugle call to a Bleeping regi ment, and quickly Btirred up the mining cammunilies throughout Australia. The mine was visited by mining experts, specu Utors, and the curious, from that time forward. The magnitude of the aurifer ous deposits, the richness cf the ore, and its unique character became the theme of scientific discussion, and various theories were put forth aa to the origin of the huge deposit. Previous to the 2nd of June, 1884, at a meeting- of the members of the syndi cate, the Messrs. Morgan made a present to Mr. T. S. Hall of one-fifth of their interest in the prospecting chum, but not in any of the other properties. THE MORGANS SELL OCT. Meanwhile there is said to have arisen a difference of opinion among the pro prietors as to the best way of dealing with the enormous quantity of ore in sight. The owners must have been re ceiving monthly dividends that ran into thousands of pounds, but this only whet led the appetites of some of them for still larger amounts. One of the first big works in the mine was to put a tunnel right' through the mountain from north to south, about 400 ft. below the crown of the bill where the ore was so rich. The tunnel was about 900 ft. in length, and for the most part was in material that contained little or no gold. * Some portion of the distance contained gold bearing ore, but it was not particularly rich. Quite likely this tunnel raised a doubt a» to whether the rich ore went te any great depth, as to whether it was not, in fact, somewhat like a crust on the surface, that might have been thrown up from below in a mere pipe. Whatever was the cause, the Morgans seemed inclined to sell out. In 18S4, Mr. Edwin Morgan sold his share, represent ing one-eighth of all the properties sow known as Mount Morgan, except the pros pecting claim, and one-tenth of the pros pecting claim, to his brother, Mr. F. A. Mor-sui. for what was said to be about £10,000. Eventually Mr. F. A. Morgan sold his own share, the share he had bought from bis brother Edwin, and his brother T. S. Morgan's share, to Mr. ,W. K. P'Arcy for £60,000. One of these chares was subsequently transferred to Mr. Ferguson (now the Hon. Senator Ferguson) for £26,000. Mr. F. A. Morgan undertook to rive his son's share to Mr. T. S. Morgan in i lieu of his own share. Shortly afterwards

Mr T S. Morgan sold this share, which had been his nephew's, to Mr. D'Arcy, for f.30,000. After Mr. F. «. Morgan cam* of age, with Ml knowledge of all the forts, he agreed to ratify the sale made bv his father of his share in the mine to his uncle Thomas, and eventually as as signee to Mr. D'Arcy, for a payment of filiMm This was paid to him, and be ratified the sale. There ended the con nection of the Morgans with the Mount Morgan mine. THE GAMBLE IN SHARES. * The share Mst by this, time was getting very complicated- 'One man held the tenth of a sixteenth; another the twentieth of a twelfth, and so on. So it was de cided to form the partners into a limited liability company of one million shares paid up to 17s. 6d. per share. The com pany started on the 1st of June. 1886, with shares at a big premium. Some shares are said to hare been bought at once at 30s. and £2, *ut they were not manv The shares were divided as fol lows:— Mr. W. K. D'Arcy, 358,334 shares -, Mr. T. fi. Hall, 158,332 ; Mr. W. Pattison, 125,000 ; Mr. W. B. Hall, J25,000 ; Mr. J. Ferguson, 116,667 -, Mr. C. C. Sknrrat, 58,134 ; Mr. J. Wagner, 29,HS7 -, and Mr. A..W. Robertson, 29,166. The extra 33.132 shares allotted to Mr. T. £-. Hall over the 125;000 allotted respectively to Mr.. Pattison and Mr. W. B. Hall, represented the one-fifth interest in the prospecting claim given to him by the Merer*. Morgan. Mr. Ferguson's interest in the mine had been previously divided up among a nnmberV Bockhampton busi ness men, it being understood Mr. Fergu son retained one-half of the original share for himself. After the company was in corporated, these gentlemen received then scrip pro rata. The shores continued to steadily ad vance in price. Those who bought at £2 or £2 10s. sold again at £3 or £3 10s, and. having the gambling fever on them, bought again at £4 or £5, and soU at £7, bought at £10 and sold at £12, and so on. Money was thus made aa easily as rolling off a log. At the beginning those who had carefully as sessed the quantity of stone there might be in sight, estimated that the shares were perhaps really worth £5, but when they went higher and higher it was reeog niicd that a big gamble was on. At last the general opinion was that the shares would reach £20, and at that figure a great number of people had decided to sell. Abu, that figure was never reached, and in lt-'iBi, at a time when the mine was lootdngat its best, shares having been sold at £17 10s, began to steadily recede. Many of the gamblers were quick to see the crisis had arrived, and in their, haste to dispose ot scrip before it went lower, only sent the price down the more rapidly. The great majority of the shares had been bought on credit, the purchasers having no means at all equal to the sums they had pledged themselves for, conse quently they wen only floating on the margin between the price they had bought and the market price. When the tide ebbed they went stranded at once, com pletely and hopelessly. Some went through the Court at once, others surrendered all they had, often the savings of years, and got a discharge, others again struggled on for years in the hope that the tide would return again and float them off. The peculiar thing about these specula tions was that many of those who lost so heavily were men who would not look at the shares when they were at a price that was warranted by the dividends and appearance of the mine, but lost their heads and speculated when the price went tor beyond a business rate, based on the returns. AFFAIRS AT THE MINE. In 1884 Mr. J. Wesley HaU arrived at Mount Morgan and took over the general management, Mr.. Roger Lisle being the mining manager, and Mr. H. G. Neil, the chief engineer. Mr. G. A. Richard also arrived about the same time. The present mine captain, Mr. John Dally, was at that time captain of the men working on the mountain. The principal shareholders, as well as the general manager, were in favour of in troducing a better system for the extrac tion of the gold from the ore than the old-style batteries, and a num ber of experiments were tried with the object of treating the ore by chlorina tion. Arrangements were made with Mr. J. C. Newbery, and the Newbery-Vautin system was introduced, in 18S5. It did not answer very well, though it was an improvement on the amalgamation sys tem by stamper crushing. Meanwhile Mr. G. A. Richard was engaged, and he and Mr. Wesley Hall, after several other pro cesses had been tried, introduced the Hall ttichard process, which, with alterations and improvements since introduced by Mr. Kit-hard, still continues. This process has greatly cheapened the cost of extraction, and at present ore con be made to pay dividends which formerly could not be looked at The oxidised ore can be treated for less than 4 dwt. per ton, and the sulphide ore {qj about 6 dwt. Nineteen years ago the mine employed about one hundred men. now the em ployees number about 1500, notwithstand ing the labour-saving systems that have

been introduced. The ore has become very mnch poorer with depth, but at ? ieepMt levd-150 ft. from the original , summit— there is still an. immense lode irf payable ore, which may go down to twice that depth for aught anyone -; knows to the contrary. It is «-s hard to ?- put a limit t» the life of the mine now ; u it was twenty years ago, and the same :- thing perhaps will be' said twenty yeans ; THE GOLD YIELDS. ?: After an existence of more than twenty a rears it would be exceedingly interesting '. : to know exactly the quantity of ore ji treated and gold won from this marvellous ~; mine. Unfortunately, this cannot now be ; done, for only on approximate idea can be formed of the quantity of gold obtained before the limited liability company was formed. In the earlier davs of its existence visitors almost invariably assessed the amount of payable stone, its average yield, and the number of yearn the mine would remain payable property, a period which was generally put at twenty years. It was all the merest guess work, for as work advanced it was found there were Urge quantities of ore of low-grade, and. some stone that would not pay at all in what had pre viously been considered good ore. These m facts, of course, quite upset all figure calculations. At times during the Bile reeding years it seemed as though the life of the mine would be shortened, for the high-grade ore was found to be smaller in quantity than was esti mated. ' ' Happily, however, the discoveries and improvements in extracting the gold from the ore, and the imni^ny size of the works, so cheapened the cost that vast quantities of low-grade ore became pay able. This was followed by repeated dis coveries of sulphide ore bodies at lower levels, 'the most recent being a deposit at a depth of 750 ft. from the original summit, where the lode has a width of over 100 ft, the ore averaging over one ounce per ton. No limit can as yet be placed to the depth that this— and probably other— deposit of payable ore may penetrate, and thus, happily, as al ready stated, the life of the 'property is as difficult to gauge now as it was when the first ore waa placed under the stampers. The first crushing machine was erected in February, 1883, and the second in the latter part of the same year. Assum ing that these mills treated about 10,000 tons before the chlorination system was introduced, and that the yield ave raged at least S oz. per ton, this would be equal to 50,000 oz, worth over £200X100- This may be a good deal below the quantity of gold really ob tained, but it can scarcely be an over estimate. ?- The company commenced its operations ' in June, 1886, since which period the qWmtity of ore treated, gola obtained,, di vidends paid, and all particulars, have been rigidly recorded. Some of-the appended figures have almost a startling appearance, as they show that the gold already ob tained has quite exceeded most of the calculations made in the earlier days of the mine. The figures ore -for the period from the 1st of -June, 1880, till the 30th of November, 1902.— Tons. Ore chlorinated till 30th Nov, . 1902 .. ? Ij842^56 Oz. Yield of gold (fine) ? 2^55,976 ? Value of gold ? £10,400,000 Expenditure ? £4,225,333 Total dividends ? £6ft2a,lB6 The dividends paid monthlv have varied from 2s. fid. per share, paid 'once in 1889. to 3d. per month, paid at present. Dur ing the year 1889, after the decline in shares took pUee, the dividends amounted to £1,100,090. The following year the dividends fell to £700,000. The largest amount paid to shareholders since then was in 1899 and 1900, when the monthly payments were 7d. per share, aggregating £350.080 for the year. THE JUMPING CASE. *' Towards the end of 1885 there waa great excitement in Rockhampton over a rumour that the Mount Morgan mine had been 'jumped.' When the Morgans first took up the land it was held in a number of ordinary claims. Mr. H. Tozer (now Sir Horace Tozer, the Agent-General for Queensland), was con bulled on the matter and he advised that the land should be taken up in leases, which afforded tie better tenure. It ap peared that the land in the vicinity of Mount Morgan was not on a proclaimed goldfield at all, but Mr. Cribb, the Gold Warden, included it in the Crocodile field under the name of Crocodile Ex tended. The grounds for jumping the Mount Morgan mine were that the leases were improperly granted, as at the time of the jumping the field had been proclaimed only two years, while as the law stood no leases could be granted till the field bad been proclaimed for three years. It was also alleged that other formalities nod not been complied with bv the or iginal holders. The jumpers formed a company, and

?hares went off rapidly. The case vraj first heard in Brisbane before tlie late Mr. Justice Harding, and given against the jumgiers. who took Hie case to' tlic l'.ivv Council, where thev again had to suffer defeat. As already shown, the neighbourhood of the great mine had been worked for ?.early twenty years for gold, and that it had * never been properly proclaimed sremed to be through tome oversight of a previous Warden. ' So the jumpers were defeated, and those who had -speculated in the company's shares breathed again. But at no time were the jumpers' prospects believed to be bright. THE COMPANY'S OFFICERS. The following is a list of the company's officials : — Directors: Messrs. V. M. Dow D-*wling (Chairman), the lion. A. J. Cal lan, iLLO, Dr. \V. Callaghan, and Messrs. T. S. Hall, VV. R. Hall. W. K. D'Arcy, R. S. Archer, K. King, and J. Fairweatber. Managing Director : Mr. V. M. Dowling. Secretary: Mr. Holyoake Woodd. Soli citora : Messrs. Bees K. and Sydney The principal officers on the mine axe : Metallurgical Engineer: Mr. Q. A. Richard. Acting Superintendent of Treatment : Mr. H. A. B. Leipner. Assistant Superinten dent of Treatment -? Mr. H. S. Bohm. Mine Engineer and Surveyor : Mr. H. P. Seale. Mine Captain : Mr. John Dally. Accountant : Mr. James Wilson. Chief Engineer : Mr. James Hirst. Assistant Axsayer : Mr. H. St. J. Somerset, junr. Storekeeper : Mr. J. E. Turner. Architect and Builder : Mr. T. G. Corses. FUTURE PROSPECTS. The company now -possesses a most ex tensive, complete^ and up-to-date plant, not only for the treatment of oxi dised and sulphide ores, but for other purposes, including the manu 'facture- of sulphuric add, which is used largely in the chlorination process by which the ore is treated to obtain the gold it contains. 1 The large dams owned by the company are all full, but the big one, which has a capacity of 222,000,000 gallons. This dun will not be filled until the Upper Dee runs freely, but once it is filled it is considered there will never again be any trouble on the score of water for the mine. At present it is estimated that there is enough water in the various damn to last for nearly twelve months. (To be Continued.)

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