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Rh had to take out a second one to hold the ground they intended to work and this they strenuously objected to.

While fortunes were being made (and spent) in the Grey district, the southern fields were more than holding their own. Okarito was still booming and the Bruce continued to bring large parcels to Hokitika, over 5,000 ounces in one trip. Here diggers had discarded cradles and were sluicing. The Kanieri field also continued to yield sensationally, while Ross, the Waimea, Stafford, Goldsborough, and the Greenstone all contributed gold in undiminished quantities. As a matter of fact, almost everywhere the finding of the precious metal was reported, and daily new rushes set in.

At this juncture, Albert Hunt, who had so mysteriously disappeared after the Lake Brunner fiasco, again came into the picture. He applied for a prospector’s claim on the Ohinemaka River, Bruce Bay, some nine miles inland. He stated he had discovered a very rich terrace there, where the wash was only from four to eight feet below the surface. On his application being granted by Warden Price at Okarito (from where, during the preceding twelve weeks, 30,000 ounces had been exported), his every movement was watched and when he set out for his newly-granted claim he was followed by hundreds of diggers all anxious to be in early on the new field. In a short time