DESTITUTION OF THE JACKSON'S BAY MINERS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 902, 21 December 1867, Page 3

DESTITUTION OF THE JACKSON'S BAY MINERS.

THE RELIEF EXPEDITION SUCCESSFUL

The West Coast Times of the 6th inst. sa y S : — Jsy the Okarita mail which arrived in town y'esterda3 r ,' we have received most distressing intelligence that embodies a tale of suffering, starvation and death endured by the miners of the Jackson's Bay district.' Intimation of a great scarcity of provisions .existing at the Southern Goldfields was received in town in October, and led to the steamer Tasmaiiian Maid, loaded with all kinds df necessaries, being despatched to .Okarita; from which port she was to extend her trip to Bruce and Jackson's Bays.- She, however, got no further than Bruce Bay, and there landed twelve tons of provisions, and as accounts subsequently received from Jackson's Bay contradicted previous reports of the destitute condition of the miners there, c |public . anxiety, which had been very much excited in their behalf, was allayed. It appears, however, they were then in a very .sad state, as the miners Who star ted from the bay on the 19th ult., state. that there was then only seven pounds' of flour left .to support, ten men, a woman and two children. Mr. Wni v Friend, one of the party, supplied our Qkarita correspondent with the following, particulars of the drowning of three men in the Arawata or Jackson's Eiverj^id)attML3!rretched condition of the bay comlntinity.^He-says that nt the beginning of last JN ovember sixteen persons were located .there, of .wlioni twelve were living on the beach about one iriile north ot the above river, and three to the of it. One of the latter, named Marsden, kept a small .store, which however, had been long destitute •■ "'of provisions; in fact during the previous two months the men, women, and children mainly subsisted : on a/diet of fern . sprouts flavored by a little flour ; in lieu of tea or coffee they drank an infusion prepared ; from a peculiar weed that abounds there. *As the men were . working on payable ground, they clung to the place, expecting, that a steamer would call in,. Marsden having informed them that he had sent a letter to Hokitika, stating their condition, and he therefore felt certain that the Alhanibra would touch at the bay on her way to Melbourne. Day after day passed and no steamer appeared, to the bitter disappointment of the poor creatures, wjio by that time were reduced to a most lamentable plight, being nearly nakejj find terribly attenuated. From Nov. 6to Nov. 10 communication with the shore had been suspended, but on the latter date the diggers on the north of the river observed a signal fire burning on the south side, and fearful that something dreadful had happened, they all hurried down to the riverside. The rough canoe which served as a ferry-boat lay on the north shore, and although the weather was very rough and the river much swollen by a freshet, two miners, named Thomas friend and James Walsh, volunteered to paddle across, to ascertain the meaning of the signal. They found , . Marsden and his companions, Timothy Barrett and James Buggy, were nearly mad with hunger, and wanted to join the others on the north side ; but, as the canoe would only carry four men, it was agreed that Barrett should remain behind until the next morning. The others then proceeded to cross the river, but when within fifty yards of the north bank the canoe was caught by an eddy, and heeled over and shipped a, little water. This must have alarmed Marsden, as he suddenly .jumped overboard, and by so doing capsized the canoe. Although an excellent swimmer, .he , seemed unable to strike out, and was hurried into the surf and drowned. Of the three other men, Walsh alone attempted to gain the shore, aud, after a dosperate struggle, arrived within reach of the onlookers, who joined hands and waded some distance into the river. They dragged him out; more dead than alive, and almost insane from exhaustion and excitement. Buggy and Friend being unable to swim, clung to the canoe, and were carried nearly a mile out to sea before those on shore lost sight of them. They were never seen alive again, but about ten o'clock that night the canoe, containing the body of Buggy, was washed upon the beach about a mile north of the river, and next morning the remains of poor Friend were cast up at no great distance from the same spot.

The same journal of the 10th instant

says: — The return of the Kennedy yesterday morning, with the pleasing intelligence of the safety and well-being of the isolated little Jackson's Bay community, excited a feeling of intense relief, for it was feared that the unfortunates had been reduced to dire straits by starvation. It is true they had undergone great inconvenience and some suffering, but not to the extent anticipated, small fish and wild fowl being tolerably abundant, whilst fern sprouts and a herb, named "Biddy Biddy" by the diggers,, supplied a vegetable diet. For several .weeks, however, they were utterly destitute of flour and'other necessaries, but at last obtained a small supply from Mr. Cleve and his party, who arrived at the Arawata river from Big. Bay in a sailing boat, and ascertaining their condition, generously left the whole of their scanty stock, and immediately proceeded ' to Bruce Bay for more. As we have related elsewhere, the boat was met by the ■ Kennedy, and towed back to Jackson's Bay. The proceedings of the relief party have been related to us as follows, by Captain Turnbull :—-The Kennedy reached Jackson's Bay on Saturday night, and next morning at daylight, Messrs. Sale, M'Farline, and Captains~Turnbull and Carey landed and visited the graves of poor Claude Olivier and Mr. Boxhill, who perished and were buried there when exploring the coast some years since. They then returned to the Kennedy, which got under weigh, and steamed fivo miles north, to a point opposite tho diggers' settlement, which is situated about two miles north of the Arawata river. A landing was effected without difficulty,.the sea being quite smooth. Only Mr. and Mrs. Howard and their children and a man named Freshwater were found there, the five diggers who were mentioned by Mr. Friend and his mates having left overland for Bruce Bay a few days previously. The meeting was a very joyful one on the part of the Howards and their companion, Mrs. Howard especially being quite overpowered by the kind' consideration of the ladies who sent down, a much needed supply of clothing for herself and children. She desires to return them her grateful thanks." The Howards purchased about £50 worth of. goods from Mr. M'Farline/ paying foi" them in gold dust.'. The last resting places of Buggy and Friend, who, together with Marsden, were drowned on the 19th ult.', were pointed out to Mr. Sale by Howard. The body of Marsden had not been recovered.