LOST IN THE BUSH.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 86, 24 August 1868, Page 203

LOST IN THE BUSH.

The following account of suffering in the bush is published in the Sydney Morning Herald:— . ?•;

Sir,-~Being requested by the kind peo> pie and friends that went, to look for. roe on the mountain when I got lost, to give publication to what they call my miraculous' escape, I now write the following lines:—, ‘ . i|» :I;left Dargan’s Creek at,about-7 o’clock on the morning of tlie. 3LBth of June, in tfie company of a young man,; a baker, by name Charles Pooly; we both being in the employ; of" Mr, Sheppard, to . look forapfe that? I went about a/mile in the hush. . .1 said,' “ I will return, tarn almost too long out. I must go back to put in my sponge.” I did return, as-I thought, but alas it was a long way round., I walked back about the distance I had come, but could see no house or track. I must have lost all control of myself for some time, when I found myself in the midßt of innumerable rocks and swamps ;; I travelled first one. way pnd then r the other,.but could not get out. At sundownT found myself at the. top of a big bald hill, nearly, half dead with hunger and , fatigue.: I put my hand in my pocket.for my only consolation—my pipe; but,oh! horror! the. pipe was-thei;e,j;but no matches or tobacco. . I .yvas; already nearly freezing, and. the thoughts of haying no ! fire were frightful. -I searched and re-searched- my pockets for a match until Twas nearly frantic, my hands , going all over my. clothes with; a sort of instinct till I fancied-I. felt something in the, corner of my pboket, - and it was the work of a. mo-; ment, t 6 "tear 1 out the pocket and'lining,' and there I found one solitary vesta, I then tore the lining;out. of my coat sleeve; and lit the match and made a fire,; it was very comfortable,. so. I sat down, and could hear the native dogs howl "all round me, until daylight at last appeared on the 19th of June. l - . - . >

-7,1 travelled round, and round the hill, bnfc oould find ;no place to get off lower, than from eighty to ninety 'feet. WHat wae i to do, or how I did get up God only knew, ; the aides of the mountain being as perpendicular as a atone wall. Down I must go, however, to remain was certain death; so I made the attempt. ' To say how I did it would be tailing a falsehood; because I don’t hnow myself. I got'down to about sixteen feet from .the bottom. Here there was a curve ;where the, water ram off. .There was only .moiss to.-support me,:ahd it did not do that long, for away I went slipping along and' coming down with a thud into the swamp. I thought for some time that my. legs had been dri* yen intbiny body;butatlast X;got moving; and went; on as well as ' I could through the swamps; unial.in the evening T found a ! cattle trackand Tkept -on -it' till nighty when;l auffered very soverely from hunger lt was jfreezing hard, and 'fatigueril daid .get a wink, for a threatened me. The all round me with their awful growlingj igetting* at at'them eye^ftime?the^^pt|t66^Dld."f4t ? was;hbt WribeShow^T^feltiissbut^ofiithieQuestion.

but I think <hunger was making jne, mad.

bemes j . the native- dogs • attacking -me and three n^^^v^o^Jb^Tr£..'<ißain

wayy and\the psin ; was so dreadful, th ait ?it was . with difacttlty-I.managed to walk ; muafcliavo done.it wh.en, 1,,, slipped / coming-" down the mountain. However, ; I,,vvalked ras ..wt-il .as I: could,; until. licould go no. further; for I felldownand could not gefc up. I crawled abopt ten yards away and got; a, stone about afoot square with a flat face. I. then got an other , piece of stone and sharpened ifc to write my.pame in case any person, should my body., I wrote, “My name is David Kiordan, a.baker by trade. I.got lost from Dargan’sCreek, Thursday, 18fch June.” , I then laid ~down, to die, and must have slept some time, for when 1 woke the, sun was going .down. .I got up and. walked until it was dark, when..the native dogs again, surrounded me, attacking me with more spite than, before. , So I.thought that now it.was them or, me.for it. So I broke a limb of the .tre„e, which happened to be .within reach of me,; and made, a dash of desperation into, the. midst of them, laying about me. with the stick as hard as I was able, which of course was not very hard in my weak state. I man-j aged however to floor one, which gave me’| great hope, not so much at. the. victory, but the thought of- supper on -his body, which, alas, -X was doomed not to have, for. when X went,towards him. to give him a finishing stroke be jumped to his feet and ran with the whole pack I ■lfad only stunned him for the moment, so he, cheated me of my proposed supper; and so ended Sunday. Monday I started again' .ori my now hopeless march to try and get. on some*cattle track, with the intention of stopping on it to die, or the prospect of some one passing before it was too late—a poor, hope, but still it was a hope, and I clung to it to the last; I found a cattle track at last, hut I broke through my resolution, for I.walked along it until it brought me on top of a rocky ridge, where I lost it, and 1 never found it after. I flung myself on to the groand, and tore myself and everything within my reach, and must have-got light-headed; or fainted; or dreamed, for I thought I was |h Sydney; and that my little niece that is some time deadvyas calling me to run into the street. . She said that there was a horse running, away, and that her little brother was in the middle of the street, and he would not come out of the way, so I jumped to my feet and ran till I came plump on top of a-dead tree, and there lay for how long I'don’t know; but, when I-came to myself, I had no trousers from “y knees down;" and must, have run a great ! distance. I looked around, and' the that caught my vW»waa some trees man’s hand. I ram to it-; and, I belief kissed it, I looked about and counted fourteen stripped trees. I then' held council with myself. X examined the trees, found, that whoever stripped -the bark never took it away, on his back. While thus thinking, I. saw a cart track, and folio wed it until. night, and- then-lay - down, well: armed with sticks for my native companions, but strange .they never came near me. About 12 o’clock I found out the reason, for I heard the bark of; a house dog,, which explained the absence of my friends of the other/nights. .Daylight, appeared after a long cold bitter night, . during 'which snow fell several times ; I took up my march till X came to an enclosed paddock—the cart track leading right through the sliprails—and broke bm the road where there were five Or six men breaking stones. Tuesday, 23rd. —I asked-one of them what- place it was, he said,.. “ How green you aregammon you don’t know this road aa/welli as we do.” I don’t know what road it is,” says I, “ for Gob’s sake tell me, for i am dying with :•> hunger : and fatigue.” He said, “This is the Middle, fiiver.” “How many miles is.it from hereto'the'Zigzag?” lasked.-Hesaid six miles. I then went along the road.; the pain of my leg was fearful. I/weht about five miles, when I met a boy'in the. employ of Mr Woodley, storekeeper.; He asked me was I ill, and I said ” I/was very/hungry and tired. I told him that" X: was/lost, and he said, “ Good God ! are you Mr Sheppard’s baker ?” He . said, “ They gave up the search for you/last night.” He then took me to. the.store, where the housekeeper did everything sheepuld, but, I. could eat nothing.: ; This women saved my life ,by her ,attentions to me; -X remained, there until one. : of Mr Toohey’s carts; was . going home. i-i The carter was one of the trackers.; he -wasiiVerj.;kihd..tOr ?n,e.. As we . were about;.to,start, lor home, Mr E. Sheppard camewithtwo horses. He said Wood God, 1 David; T*m glad/you; are alivb.” I rode tb?jt'he ; .cart where Mr. -Toih Gonlph almost killed me with: kindness. -He undressed me, put cornfor te rs and coats: on until l groaned - beneath the weight/pf itheui.,T;arriyed : at. Dargan’a Oreek,;abput.6.,o’clockthatnight,where-X found the/pplicdfandblack/trackers,, and abput .alb- given oyer .the, search, and ,had set; me down as dead.; ■/'lt--peppie; T % Sydney; syas : put •:^vCoid,..;agi.d;evpry..Hay,

Jirflijartin^^ geaqt^^Qnerand^^ th‘e/'Zigzag j deayqrß,_tOjfind me.; U> - . v -:.■ One-tree'HiU; Jane 30.'