NIGHTMARE JOURNEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20967, 2 September 1931, Page 12

NIGHTMARE JOURNEY.

bringing rescued out. three stretcher cases. ALL IN GOOD SPIRITS. TRACK CUT THROUGH BUISH. [BT TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL REPORTER. ] THE CHATEAU. Tuesday. "A nightmaro journey" was bow the members of tie nscuo party which brought Messrn. Harris and Graham, Misses Brockett, Rennie and Morris in, described their passage through the bush. Tho journey took five hours, and a path was literally bucked through the buish to bring the stretchers through. The irouto taken was down the right bank of the Mahuia River to Tokaanu, where motorcars, which had been fitted with mattresses, brought them in to the Chateau. Eight men armed with axes and slashers led the way through the bush, and another ten followed, bringing the members of thG" rescued party. Mr. Harrii; and Misses Brockett and Rennie were carried on stretchers. Miss Morris was pick-a-backod down, and Mr. Graham wasi able to walk with a man supporting him on i each side. All tho rescued people were in good spirits, and cracked jokes and talked. Miss Rennie was particularly bright, and sat up on her stretcher on several occasions, and called out to the other members ahead inquiries as to how they wer«. Amazed at Girls' Fortitude. "They were absolute heroes," remarked one of tho bushrnen who travelled with the party. "Thciro was not one word of complaint, from start to finish; It is amazing how the girls held up like they did after thres nights out." "By gee, they have got 'ginger' behind them," put in another bushman. The party which discovered the five missing alpinists was a poi'tion of a large one of i>o men who, led by Mr. L. Deem, Wanganui city engineer, left the Chateau this morning. This party split up at Silica Springs into three, and it was a party of Horopito bushmeu, led by Mr. A. Peterson, and consisting of Messrs. A. Mnrriner, E. W. Smith, A. McMillan, J Kaes, A. Rogers, G. Floyd, D. Haddick, !D. Brake, L Dobson and D. Berry who found them. Other parties afterwards came up and gave assistance. Cry far Help Heard. Mr. Petersen, on his arrival here, gave a slightly different account of the finding of the party to that given by Mr. Haddick. He said he was boiling a billy full of water for luncheon when he heard a cry for help. Looking up, Mr. Peterson saw Mr. Graham and Miss Morris walking toward the rescue party about five chains away. Miss Morris threw her arms around his neck when lie rushed over to her and then she burst into tears. I\\ Graham and Miss Morris stated that Mr. Harris and Misses Brockett and Rennie had left them about half an hour previously travelling toward the Haunted Whare. Members of the rescue party went on and. found them about hslf a mile away. " Thank God someone has com* at last," said Miss Rennie when the rescuers reached her. ->• v *r" ' - •• •; • These thres were taken back to the other two. A large fire was burning and they were stripped;, rubbed down and dressed in dry clothe:!. Restoratives were applied and they ware given hot drinks and food. Concorn for Mr. Spooner. The rescued people's first inquiries were whether the others had been found. They were particularly concerned about the safety of Mr. Spooner. They indicated that they had gone astray through mistaking in a fog Hauranganui Mountain for Ngauruhce. They said they had teen at the spot where Mr. Graham and Miss Morris were found since Sunday. This spot is about seven miles west from the Chateau. They«had had a date each on Monday night and this had been their only food. "They had no matches, so they could not make a fire even if it had been possible to make one under the wet conditions. It would have been dangerou;. to sleep and thu men would only allow the girls to dozo off for a few minutes at a time. Then they awakened them and set. their circulation going by slapping them.