THE RECENT FLOODS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 248, 13 July 1908, Page 8

THE RECENT FLOODS.

RABBITER'S TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. • • INTENSE COLD' IN OTAGO. \ (BY TELEGRAPH —PREB3. ASSOCIATION,) Dunedlni July 12. " ■ 'Advices from' Naseby state that the Government forest' plantation suffered severely as the, result of'snow, about half the trees being crushed;..by the.,.weight.' -,\ ' The cold is intense. ; i Farmers'-, in the outlying districts-are suffering severely, and much anxiety is felt-for isolated miners and rabbiters iri tho,back country. \ .'Mr., James,M-Cormack,: a rabbiter, had a terrible experience. He left-Naseby for Kyeb'urn on Tuesday, and was caught iii a snow r storm. He sheltered in a small cave till Friday morning without food or fire, and was then .driven out. by cold and hunger.' With feet-so severely frostbitten as to bo useless be crawled over three miles to an outlying to.wni reaching it on Friday night. It is expected that amputation of both feet will bo necessary. • ... ■ Parties set out on snow shoes yesterday to relieve isolated.persons, and a special party set'off for a point; 45 miles up a Government Water-race, where there ; are three race employees, .Messrs. Crawford, Gordon, and Farquhar. • ..' ' '■WATERS 'RAPIDLY. SUBSIDING. ' (by telegraph—press association.) .'Dunedin, July 11. >'The floods on the Taieri Plains are rapidly subsiding, and, the river has gone back to something approaching normal condition. A great deal-' of. country is still under water, "but 'all 1 danger is at" an. end. ; . While the damage has. been .considerable, -it'has'liot, so far as can be ascertained, been 'so 'large as might have been expected. The "largest sufferers,are the most inacces-sjble;-'and 'consequently information concerning :'their losses, is- meagre. With- but few exceptions settlers anticipated danger/ and removed most, if not all, of their stock to higher 1 and as crops are . ; nofc grown on,the bulk of the submerged ground the loss ,from '.that source is.'not.-'extensive. , Oiie of the most serious'aspects is the providing of food for dairy cattle for the nest month'or two. :in the Henley district, whero : dairyiiig is carried'on on rather a large scalo there' t: is every probability of there'being a large,iideposit of • silt ,bn>.- the' land, and the grass -.must inevitably be destroyed -in ya measure by the water lying so long, upon it. THE FOXTON LINE. ''' ' • (BY-TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL COERESF9NDZNT.) . '. Palmerston, July 12. 'A 1 large gang of men and a'ballast train have'been engaged to-day repairing wash-outs on-'tho Foxton-line," caused by: the flood. Traffic will ' probably, be resumed to-morrow. The - flood waters on low-lying country are rapidly, subsiding.' r • • i Westport, Juljr. 11., .T'-iFine, bright weather prevails in this district..'.