DISASTROUS LAND-SLIDE.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17674, 29 January 1923, Page 7

DISASTROUS LAND-SLIDE.

TWO MEN KILLED. LITTLE RIVER TRAGEDY. A shocking tragedy occurred at Puaha, near Little River, in the early hours of Saturday morning, when "a landslide of enormous proportions caused the deaths of two men and injured another. The men were:

Griffen Pidgeon, aged 28 years, a married man with one child, killed. Jamos Howard, a married man with one child, killed. Fred.. Pidgeon, a brother of Griffen ■ Pidgeon, unmarried, injured. The three men were camped in a tent on the side of Mount Sinclair. They had been engaged in grass-seed-ing during the day. A landslip evidently blocked the creek and caused a temporary dam. When this was swept away, the ground upon which the men were was carried down the creek bed. A large quantity of water must have collected behind the temporary dam, as the body of Griffen Pidgeon was found among the debris some two miles from where the slip occurred. The body of James Howard was., not recovered till yesterdny, after a long and arduous search. Frederick Pidgeon was carried down the stream, and he miraculously escaped with his life.

Heavy rain had fallen all day on Friday, and on the night of the tragedy it was estimated that the rainfall was about two inches. The rain, which is causing widespread anxiety in Canterbury, caused in Puaha one of the most terrible disasters in the history of the district. The Scene of the Disaster. The disaster occurred in a little valley about a mile from the main road. The site of Mr Chapman's house, which was badly damaged by the landslide, is in the noxt valley to the Puaha Post Office, and at the foot of Harman's Track, a steep road loading direct from Puaha to Hilltop, and used only by stock drovers. The house is situated at the entrance to two valleys, in each of which there is a creek. One creek runs parallel to the back of Mr Chapman's house at a distance of about fifteen feet. The other stream runs parallel to the sido of the house. The slip appears to have started almost at the top of Mount Sinclair on a Forest Keserve, some two miles from Mr Chapman's house, and about a mile above the camp of the three men. When the water swept down the hillside it carried all before it. A whare near the place where the men were was twisted right round, and half destroyed, two tents were swept away, the three men were hurled down the stream, and the avalanche of uprooted trees crashed into the corner of Mr Chapman's house. The trees formed a protection against the onrush of the water, and but for this fact Mr Chapman believes that the house and all its occupants would have been swept away. The Survivor's Story. The escape of Mr Fred. Pidgoon from death was a miraculous one, and it is almost incredible that he should have been hurled so far down-stream and yet live to tell the tale. He was admitted to the Chrlstchurch Hospital, and gave the following account of his experiences:— "My brother and I were in one tent and' Howard was in another one, by himself," he said. "The creek began to roar and sag up, and big stones and boulders went down it. My brother and I were used to that kind of thing, but it became so bad that 'we got the wind up.' We were lying in the tent with a candle burning, and I said to my brother, '1 don't like it.' • He said, 'I don't either.' I suggested that we should get up and go into a hut close by, where we cooked our meals. Just then, thero came a terrific roar. I said, 'come on,' and I rushed for the hut. Before I could reach it, I felt that something had caught me and lifted me high in the air. I was not unconscious, but only semi-conscious. In the rain and the dark, I was hurled along in a mass of mud, water, sticks, and stones. Sometimes I sprawled on top of it, somotimes it seemed to open up and press all around me. During my struggles, I saw a light in a hut belonging to Mr Humphries and I managed to work my way towards it, and was taken in and nttended to. I must have been carried quite a mile, but I seemed to go very rapidly. The experience was awful. I would rather die than go through it again. 1 did not see my brother alive after we rushed out of the tent. His body was found en the road. I think that he died from injuries, and was not drowned. I did not see Howard once after the alarm, and I do not know how ho fared." When rescued Pidgeon was absolutely nakod. His clothes had been torn off in his struggle" for life in the surging waters of the creek. He was terriblv exhausted, but managed to catch hold of a tree and draw himself out of the torrent. He struggled to a whare occupied by Messrs A. Fenton, W. .Hansen, and T. Tyman, and was attended to by tliem until Dr. Greenwood, of Little River, arrived. Mr Chapman's Experiences. Mr J. V. Chapman's house was inspected by a "Press" representative yesterday. It presented an extraordinary spectacle. The rush of debris against the side of the house had caused' it to skid. It shifted about six feet forward, and about ten feet sideways. A concrete flooring formerly under the kitchen is now m a very different location, All the rooms prosent a scene of desolation. An iron bedstead is wedged firmly between the walls of a small back room. It was probably sufficiently strong to prevent the total collapse of the room. A churn was wedged tightly under the floor of one room, and there was mud everywhere. The house has been so badly jarred that it is probable that it will have to be entirely rebuilt. Straneely enough, no windows were brokef and dishes in the pantry remained undisturbed on their shelves. When asked for his first recollection of the occurrence, Mr Chapman stated tha't he heard a big, heavy clap, winch v,p took to be thunder. There was 1 and he thought that the house Ld a bleniu h ck by" thunderbolt. He "pit his house shifting, and jumped out of bed into water which was over „ foot deep. He immediately bought of Mr Knight, who was lodg£JTn the house.. He knocked at his rinnr and tried to open it to get him £?? He could not attract his attention owing to the tremendous noise tSi the stream crashing by outside. T h d e electric light had failed, and Mr Phanman was forced to make his way W with the aid of candles and ab * Li It was just after midnight, «d the night was J pitch dark. Event ? n „ilv htuot Mr Knight out of his „„m He could not open the doors of the'house, but got through a window and wadod over to his son's

UV»*| - . . -TcoitSttiaratToot of next column.)

houso. Mr Chapman's father, aged 86, who is an invalid, was carried over to the house in the dark.

Mr Chapman is a very heavy loser through the disaster. The back of his house was nearly covered with • the debris brought down by. the stream. A large number of workers assisted in clearing away the timber, a:id Mr Chapman desires to thank all those who so kindly helped him at such a busy time of the year. The Rescue Party. After Frederick Pidgeon arrived at their whare, Messrs Fenton and Hansen went out to the assistance of the others. They could see nothing at first, as they had no light. Later they went to James Chapman's house to see how the occupants had fared. They found the house deserted, and procured a hurricane lamp for use in the search. They found the body of Griffen Pidgeon on the way back, a short distance above the hut where Frederick Pidgeon was rescued. His head was towards the creek. There was no trace of Howard. Yesterday's Search. Dozens of mon were engaged in the search for Howard's body yesterday. The scene near Mr Chapman's house was one of great activity. A bullock team was employed in hauling away huge masses of timber from the pile which had been thrown against tho house. It was thought that the body might have boen buried somewhere in this mass of debris. The search was continued under the direction of Constable Whatman, assisted by other constables specially sent out from Chnstohurch. Both sides of the stream ■■ right down to Lake Forsyth had been traversed without result. It was thought that tho body might possibly have been washed into the lake However about 4.30 p.m. Constable Whatman received word that the body had been located about half a mile below Mr Chapman's house, and not far away from the place when* Griffin Pidgeon s body had been found. The "Press" representative accompanied Constable Whatman and other officials to the scene. He learned that the body had been found by Messrs George Beitmoyer and W. Reynolds around a willctv tree which had stood on a small piece of land in the middle of the storm. The torrent had dashed a maBS of tree trunks and other debrig until quite a large island had been formed. Into this mass the body of the unfortunate man had been hurled. Only tho top of his head and one ear could be discerned at first, but after much patient work the body was uncovered. Howard had been lying face down. His body was terribly bruised. The only clothing upon it was a tattered strip around the neck. Howard had probably died long before the rapidly forming island stopped his progress. A strip of tent covering was found near the body and this had probably also been carried from the camp. The recovery of the body was a great velief to those engaged in the search and it was a fitting recompense for the hard worls undertaken by them. An Inquest Opened. An inquest on the body of Griffen Pidgeon was opened at 2 p.m. yesterday, before Mr W. Aitlcen, DeputyCoroner. Mr H. Chapman was appointed foreman of the jury. W. Pidgeon, sen., stated that he 1 was a dairy farmer residing at Coach road, and that the deceased was his. son. He was twenty-eight years old and had been bom at Takamatua, He was married and had one child livipg. T>r. Horhert 'Greenwood stated that the cause of death was a fracture of the Bkull. The inquest wns adjourned till February 9th, in order to allow the evidence of Frederick Pidgeon to be taken. An inquest on tho body of James Howard will be held tc-doy. The Victims. Griffen Pidgeon bid left his home at Little River on Friday. He leaves a widow and one child, a week old. Mrs Pidgeon is a.t present a patient in a private nursing home in Christchurch. James Howard had arrived from Westport very recently, and was spending his first night in the grass-seeders' camp. His wife and child are living at Westport. Occurrence of Slips. Small slips are a regular occurrence in the hill country around Little River, but large slips are very uncommon. About thirty years ago a slip at Pigeon Bay wrecked a house, but there wera no fatalities on that occasion. Minor Damage. Hundreds of tree trunks mark the scene of the landslide and flood. The stream yesterday showed little signs of the fury which must have characterise A it on Saturday morning. Mr A. C. Norton, a returned soldier, is a considerable loser by the iV- \ster, aa his bee farm, which was in line of the flood, was half demolished.