THE CHATHAM ISLANDS.

North Otago Times, Volume VII, Issue 149, 26 October 1866, Page 3

THE CHATHAM ISLANDS.

(From tho Chriatchurch " Press" Correspondent.) August 31, 1866. It is my painful duty to record the following melancholy occurrence, by whch four lives have been lost. Mr Jas. Hay, the proprietor of a sheep station at Teraki, on the western side of this island, having disposed of a. lot of wethers, to be delivered at Waitangi, procured the assistance of Robert Williams, an old settler at Teraki, and arranged for the use of his whaleboat. Accordingly, the sheep were stowed away in the boat, and they, together with Robert Williams' wife and a Maori named Kariko, sailed for Waitangi, a distance of 25 miles. The sheep were duly delivered, and upon the first favorable breeze the party prepared to return, taking with them two casks of sugar, weighing about five hundredweight, a quantity of old sails, and a passenger named George Thome. They left Waitangi on Thursday, tho 9tli of August, at two o'clock a.m., with a gentle breeze from the south-west, which gradually chopped round to tho north-west ; but throughout the day the weather was quite calm, and the sea almost unruffled. The last, that was seen of the ill-fated boat and her unfortunate crew was by a Ngapuhi Maori named Wiremu. He states that about 12 o'clock noon on the same day he was riding over the clears in the vicinity of Whangaroa, and distinctly saw the boat sailing off shore ; from the irregularity of the road he was travelling his view was impeded for some minutes, and upon emerging from the obscurity, he again turned his eyes to the spot where the boat should have been, but not a trace was perceptible. Utterly bewildered, he lingered near the spot for some time ; alas ! the boat was seen no more. In that brief interval, in less time than it takes to tell the mournful tale, the terrible trasredy had been completed, despairing cries had perchance arisen from earth to heaven, strong men had battled fiercely with death, and five immortal souls had passed into the presence of their God. There seems no doubt that the catastrophe is to be attributed to the imprudent and incautious use of a boat utterly unsenworthy. Her timbers were ycry defective, in fact she was in every way out of repair. Indeed, upon her arrival at Waitangi, she had made such an unusual quantity of water that it was the subject of general comment. The owner of tho boat wa9 an old seaman of great experience, famed for prudence and foresight ; it seems strange, therefore, that in a matter so vital his good judgment should have forsaken him. At the time of the departure the parties were strictly sober, and the general and doubtless tho correct opinion is that the boat literally broke down uuder thorn. Tho Chatham Islands have been singularly unfortunate during the last 25 years ; not less than sixty lives have been lost on our coast by drowning, some by shipwreck, but the majority through boat accidents. A native of Manilla, known by tlie name of Frank, who has resided on this island for more than twenty years, was on Friday, the 3rd instant, discovered by a Moriori in a dying state, extended upon the floor in a blanket which was partially consumed by fire. This poor old man had resided in a little hut without any other inmate, and had been subject to serious and frequent attacks of illness. It is supposed that in a severe and final paroxysm ho rolled off the bed in hi9 blanket, which coming in contact with the fire immediately beside him, became ignited. He was not seriously burnt, but lingered until tho Sunday -without the slightest consciousness, when he ceased to breathe. The Maoris of Kaingnroa, on the north extremity of tho island, are making active preparations for a speedy return to their original settlement at Mokau, near Waitara, New Zealand. On Monday, September 3, the inhabitants of Waitangi were aroused by the cry of " Fire." From some accidental cause one of the wharries appropriated to the prisoners took fire ; this communicated to tho Adjacent dwellings, and in a few minutes nothing remained of five wharries but smoking rnins. The prisoners sustained great loss, and the inhabitants of Waitangi, both white and Maori, have generously opened a subscription in behalf of tho sufferers. Fortunately the prisoners had just completed a long range of comfortable and commodious wharries in a pleasant and desirable situation ; therefore the entire community at once took possession of their new abodes. On Thursday, the 6th inst., the prisoners gave a special entertainment to the inhabitants generally, and it went off in prime style. Amongst other good things there was fish and poultry in abundance, and to crown tho whole, right royal beef and pudding. A table was set apart exclusively for the whites, and every attention was paid them. There was no end of fraternizing and speechifying, the burden of which inculcated the necessity of forgetting former feuds, and living together in peace and harmony. The weather being exceedingly pleasant added much to tho enjoyment of a day ■unusually interesting. The brigantine Dispatch, from Lyttelton, arrived on the 29th, with sheep and building materials, consigned to Thomas Ritchie.