TIMARU. August 1.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2266, 2 August 1879, Page 2

TIMARU. August 1.

The Customs revenue for last month wa« L2OBl.

The ftnrke's Pass corrospondont of the Timaru HornH writi's yesterday morning as follows with reference to tho two missing men : " Sinco [ last wrote largo parties have been out on tho llollesby Range in search of the poor follows lost, but hithorto no traco of them has boon found. Most of tho aoarch party aro oxporioncod shophords wlio know every nook and corner of tho range, and thoy have so thoroughly oxplored tho range that it is impossible that the missing men can bo abovo tho snow. Many conjectures are made as to tho way tho poor follows wore lost. Somo think it most probable that the snow at tho odgo of a bank or precipice, or tho thin hard cnist over a gully gavo way with them, when they would sink into the light powdery drift snow and be smothered. Othors | tbink it more likely that a steep bank of snow fell upon and smothered them, •vhilo passing beneath it. The latter is tho moro reasonable explanation, as in tho first ense it is probablo that all the dogs would have escaped, whereas an avalanche, though but a small one, might easily overtake tho dogs as well as the ( mon. The search will not bo slackened, although there is now no hope of finding them alive. It is hopod that tho dogs will be able to scent them. Tho work of searching is very diflicult and dangeroui. The air on the ranges is piorcingly cold, and tho surface of tho anow is frozen iuto a hard and slippery shoot. On the steep* sides of the spurs travellers havo to be very cautious, moving for long distances on the hands and knees, and there have already been several very narrow escapes from loss of life or injury to limb from men losing their foothold. Yesterday two men lost thoir footing and were precipitated a considerable distance down the fromm slope before they could recover thomsolvos."