Head of the Lake.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1517, 29 January 1886, Page 5

Head of the Lake.

DEATH BY DROWNING

(prom oca own correspondent.)

Kif loch, 28th instant. At a quarter past ten on Wednesday morning a aad and fatal accident occurred, by a man and nia horse both being drowned about .10 feet from the beach. A young man named William Robertson, aged about 19 years, son of Mr David Robertson, fanner, of Kelso, near Tapanui (who was in the employ of Mr W. Marshall, wood splitter), went for a horse which had waudered away into the bush. It was harnessed and grazing near the sledge, and the men were waiting to see if the rain would clear off. The horse wandered (as they thought) towards the st&Me, but it had taken a different turn and gone towards Kinloch. Robertson weut after it, but it was about a mile on the track before he overtook it, near Mr Forsyth's. Some children coming to school met the horse and tried to stop it, but could not. They then met Robertson, whom they aaw catch it ami lead to a stump, as if to get on. They went to school, and in about ten minutes the sawmill men came running by. Mr Murray with a rope ran along the beach. Mr B. Ferry and Mr H. &i'Bride jumped into a hoat—the wind and a rough lake materially retarding their progress. It appears that Mr Murray (whilst at the saw) perceived a man on horseliack going into the Lake about 400 yards from the mill, and thinking it so unusual a thing he stopped the saw, and observed Robertson give the horse a sudden jerk and turn its head towards Glenorchy side, when they both suddenly disappeared. The horse rose ami Mr Ferry (who was also at the sawmill) saw Robertson still on its back, holding the rem. When Murray got ophite the horse was strutting as if to free its h**ad. Doubtless the young man had slipped off the bare back and was cliuging to the rein, thus keeping the horde's mouth uniler water. Bv the time the boat came up l>oth Iwid sunk. The lake was too rough to see d<»wn any depth. Had Robertaon not held so tight to the reit\ the horse would most likely have suam to shore and brought hi in safe home.

The Antrim steamer, with the mails, passed down alxwt two hours afterwards, but as there were no CTappling irons 011 Itoard it was useless stopping. The lake having calmed down in the tvei.ing, two boats went out with the tast hooks and appliances the men cnuM muster and grappled for about two hours. Aliout a dozen men were in the boats and on shore ready to pull, but no'hinn was found ; at when q>:ite dark, about half-a-dozen men went in the raft boat «ith a large torchlight and parsed over the place of acrident, but at the spot a s'auting terrace was observed to go down too deep for seeing the bottom, so they had to return after a fruitless search. The sad accident has cast quite a over the neighborhood, for deceased was a fine, intelligent, good-temjiered and very steady youth, and a favorite with all here.