LOST IN THE BUSH.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 74, 27 March 1923, Page 5

LOST IN THE BUSH.

MR. AND MRS. COSTELLO'S ORDEAL

SUNDAY AFTERNOON WAIK

NEARLY ENDS IN TRAGEDY. BUSHED FOR TWO NIGHTS. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star. ,- ) ROTORL'A, this <lay. Lost in the bush! There is something paralysing in the very pftrase, and those who have ever been in that awful predicament need nothing to bring home to them the horrors of such a situation. But those people who have never been through the experience, those whose knowledge'-of the bush is confined to glimpses from roads or from beaten tracks, can have no idea of the utter bewilderment that numbs the senses of the hardiest when they realise that they jare bushed. Lately we have had two i examples of the simple manner in -which ! people can get lost practically within Icooec of human habitations. First there was Mr. W. T. Murray who, the other day, mistook the track on Mount ' Egmont, and has never been heard of 'since. Then there comes the case of Mr. land Mrs. E. T. Costcllo, of Napier, who I had such a trying experience in the 'thick bush at Rotuma, one of the gems of what is known as the "Four Lakes Trip.' , Mr. Goslello is the manager ef 'the Bank of Australasia at Napier. He i and Mrs. Costello were upending a holi|day in the Hotorua district, and were '.stopping at Atkinson's accommodation house, which is well known to all travelI lers on the road. On Sunday they started I off for a short stroll in the lovely bush, but they went through an awful ordeal I before they were found two days later. Had they taken ii different creek from the 'one they did when they were beating ' about for a way out of the maze, they ! would have been wandering in the direction of Tarawera, over country where there would be no possible hope of being J found, and they must have succumbed. JThe nights are very cold now at Rotorua, i which is over 000 feet above sea level, I and it is no wonder that when the lost were found, Mr. Costello, who had not been in good health, was quite exhausted. The story of their terrible ordeal is a most thrilling one, and I have been fortunate enough to get a very graphic account from Mrs. Costello.

When they left the accommodation house on .Sunday afternoon they struck into the bush track. "It was the most beautiful track we had ever seen," said Mrs. Costello, "and knowing, as we thought, that it was only a short, circular one. cut for tourists, we walked happily on, despite the realisation that it was becoming very dense and that the afternoon waa well spent. Suddenly, as it does in the bush, the light began to fail, and we considered the advisability of returning upon our track, only to realise that we should never have time to retrace our footsteps before dark, and that it would be an impossibility after that.

"Again, acting upon our mistaken notion that the track led back into the road, we set off as quickly as possible, but very shortly found ourselves landed in a mass of fern and supplejack, and there was hardly a ray of light left. We called a young collie, a house dog, who had attached himself to us, and tried to get him to lead us home, but he seemed as bewildered as ourselves, and only led us into denser bush than ever. Then we decided to simply sit down and wait, but finding it was growing bitterly cold began to move about hoping to keep warm. - '

WILL-O'-THE-WISPS. Shortly afterwards they *aw a patch of starlight shining away ahead, and agreed that that must be the edge of the bush, ?o they sot off towards it, hoping to find the lake and get their direction, anyhow. After some hours struggling along in absolute darkness, with the supplejacks and lawyers tearing, tripping and bruising them, they reached the clear patch, only to find that merely because a huge tree had fallen the stars were able to shine in and make the place look light. This same disappointment came several times —sometimes the light was due to the fact that some forest giant reached so high above ttie rest that it gave the impression of being an ordinary tree upon a hillside of bracken or scrub, and at others, it was caused by a fallen tree.

; Just before dawn it began to rain, and the wanderers could no longer follow their will-o'-the-wisp stars, so they sat I down 'for half an hour. Beginning to feel stiff and cold they set off directly the light' was strong enough to let them avoid more collisions with tree trunks, and they soon found several tracks, which seemed to interest the dog greatly, so they decided to simply follow his lead. I He, however, evidently found pig or i cattle hunting much more exciting than going home, and they soon saw that they j had better not trust any longer to his guidance, but decide on a definite plan of action for themselves.

i "There seemed nothing in the world: ;to guide us,' , continued Mrs. Costello,' "so we decided to make straight! across country for the sun, whichwas just beginning to shine through the huge trees. It was an awful journey, but about ten o'clock we found ourselves climbing a very steep and thickly wooded hillside. Though we| were very thirsty, we set off with re- 1 newed vigour, thinking we must see the ' lake from the hill-top. Our disappointI ment can be imagined when we found the bush on the top of the hill every hit !as dense as the Hat. and that we could not see a single opening. Here, for the first time, we had a real doubt as to the end. nnd as we walked along that ridge,! and looked at the apparently endless j bush, we realised the horror of being I lost in the bush, j

DOWN" A PRECIPICE. ! "However, it was fatal to sit down; and think, so we set our teeth and! decided to get down the hill on the sidei opposite to that which we had mounted.: though it meant getting down a sort of precipice about 50 feet high. It, however, looked as though the bottom might be a dry creek-bed, and we hoped might load to a waterhole. The question as toj landing down there without broken limbs was rather a serious one. 7>ut by. unwinding long strand- of supplejack from the trees, and using them as ropesj we eventually succeeded. The poor dog ! very much objected to the plunge, but 1 one of us pushed him over the edge, and the other, eased his arrival at the hot-' torn, and he was as delighted as our-! selves when he heard the sound of water] a long way ahead. 1

"We really felt that aii our troubles were ended when we found ourselves at the rise of a clear mountain spring, wnicU ran aw,ay down the narrow valley, and must, of course, lead us into some open country. After several sliort draughts of water, we started to walk in the creek, and wore wonderfully revived. An hour or so later another stream joined our little friend, and then some more small ones came in. and the stream became a fierce little torrent, tearing through its narrow rapine, diving undei huge logs, into the thick overhanging bush, and trying to sweep us off our feet N"o doubt its many waterfalls were very beautiful, but they were more and more awful to us, as we had to climb the steep sides of the banks to avoid them, and it seemed as though we would never get through the bush. We gladly returned to the river directly it was possible, though the water was almost wai.st high in many places, and very cold and swift. "AN" INTERMINABLE MGHT." "Each bend brought a fresh disappointment, as the bush still stretched endlessly ahead, and at last the terrible realisation that night was again upon us and had to be faced. We decided to climb as far as possible up the bank and light a fire, but alas, our matches were wet. We had now no strength left, and; after calling vainly for the dog, who had refused to follow down the river, we stretched ourselves upon the ground and slept for some hours. Of course, we could not see the time, but when we awoke we had the most awful time of an awful experience in finding that we were absolutely unable to move hand or foot. "Realising that we must Ao something we made the effort, and somehow, but in real agony, we succeeded. After some time the pain went off, and *>? constantly getting up and down, rubbing our shivering linrbs, and singing (when our chattering teeth would allow), we managed to keep circulation going, until daylight ended that interminable nig-ht! Soon the warm sunlight came again, and we started along the side of the river, hoping to be a.ble to keep out of the water long enough to .get warm and dry, but it was quite impossible, and we again returned to the old struggle with the river. We made one more big effort to get our dog, as it seemed so cruel to desert the poor animal, but we were afraid to linger as our strength was about spent, and we had to go on. SAVED! "One more bitter disappointment was in store for us. Ha-stening forward and climbing the hillside, we arrived at a real clearing, .but only to find miles and miles of breast-high bracken stretching ahead of us. "■We fought our way along for some yards, but it continually caught our feet and threw us down, and each effort to rise seemed more hopeless than the last. We began to wonder if we had not better, after all, go back once again to the river. It was a rather desperate choice, for the river was fully breasthigh here, and jusC a raging fury when it met any opposition; but before we had finally decided", we heard the most welcome sound we had ever heard in our lives—a cheery eoo-ee—and knew help was at hand. From that time things 'became very hazy, and only vague memories of kindly faces and comfort and help arise as "one thinks of it all, and of the wonderful kindness ot everyone." When Mr. and Mrs. Costello were found by Constable McLean and a returned soldier, Mr. Costello waa completely ' exhausted, and. a horse wa3 obtained for him, Mrs. Costello being able to walk. They were brought out on to the main road, where they rested until a motor car came along, and in this they were taken to the accommodation house, where they were splendidly looked after. It took a three days* rest before they were able to come in to Rotorua, and they are now epending a few days at Lake House Hotel. The little collie dog that followed Mr. and Mrs. Costello into the Jjush and was eventually missed by them has since been found alive by a young girl belonging to Atkinson's Accommodation House.