THE CHATHAM ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10032, 20 January 1896, Page 6

THE CHATHAM ISLANDS.

(from oto own correspondent.] 1 January 1,1896. I WILL take leave, Mr. Editor, to wish you and all New Zealand friends a Happy New Year, although the year will probably be two or three weeks old before my good wishes reach you. Wo have now been without rain for more than a month, and are in dread of a water famine, and the garden crops will be ruined if we do not have rain for another week or so. Shearing Is over, even to the stragglers, and the sheep farmers express themselves satisfied with the clip. I am sorry to say thab there has been a great deal of sickness among the natives, and several deaths. They have had some kind of low fever prevalent) among them during October and November, but happily the fever seems to have died out since the dry weather has eet in. We have got through our. racing and Christmas sports without mishap, and tho usual ball and dances following have -been much enjoyed by the younger residents of the island. January 8. Our mail sfceamet/Kahu arrived ab ten o'clock this morning, and relieved our anxiety as bo whab had become of her. We had begun to fear that some accident musk have befallen her, to cause such an extraordinary delay. It seems that she did nob leave Lyttelton till the night of the 2nd instant, instead of tho lab, her usual date of sailing, and ib is rather startling to learn from her trustworthy, careful captain that he was for three days searching the ocean to discover where he had drifted to. It is quite evident that either our island has shifted its position at least a hundred miles from whero ib used to be anchored, or else that tho steamer's patent) log and other devices for finding her way about have been up to some ugly tricks, struck for want of oil perhaps. Just as the captain had given up all hope of finding us, and fearing that i his supply of coal could nob justify a longer search, and had made up his mind to ; return to New Zealand and report us "missing,"he fortunately caughb a glimpse of our well-known " Horns" very early in the morning, and at once determined to run us down, and land our stores and letters, to koep us going for a week or so, while he | returns to Lyttelton to get moro coal, etc., i which he intends doing to-morrow some- > time, leaving us no time for reading and answering letters by this trip,