TWO MEN DROWNED AT THE CLUTHA FERRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 528, 11 January 1862, Page 5

TWO MEN DROWNED AT THE CLUTHA FERRY.

On Sunday afternoon, two men were drowned, and a third narrowly escaped drowniugat the Ferry, on the Clutha River, on the Southern Koad. The particulars of this sad affair will be found detailed in the Official Report of Mounted Constable M'Cluskev a copy of which we give below : — " Police Department, Molyneux Ferry, 6th January 1862. Mounted Constable M'Cluskey reports that a sad accident occurred at the Molyneux Ferry on the evening of the sth inst., by which two men were accidentally drowned. The accident occurred as follows :—: — About 4.30 p.m. one of the deceased men came to the ferry leading a horse, and wanted to cross in the punt. He was informed by the ferryman that it was not safe to cross in the punt, as there was a great Iresh m the river, and the current being stronger than usual, he was afraid the cable would not stand and that it would be much better to go in the boat and let the horse swim after her. Accordinriv the two deceased men— one of them being the trar'eller whose name is not known at present, aud the other the ferryman, named Malcolm Smith— and a third man, named James M'Dou^al, got into the boat and arrived safely at the opposite side of the river As soon as the horse got footing he was let go, but instead of getting out ofthe water, he turnel and swam back again. The boat was shoved off to try and intercept him, but, getting into the strongest part of the current, she was swept down the river, and came broadside against the wire cable and upset. The tliree men caught hold of the cable and held on to it tor a short time, but the two deceased men- were subsequently swept away, as they had hold ofthe wire at a place where it was touching the water, and in the very strongest part of the current. The third man saved himself by coming hand over hand across the cable until he got out of the current, and then swam ashore. Mounted Constable M'Cluskey further begs to state that one of the deceased men could have been saved, if not them both, if there had been a second boat at hand. As far as he oau see, everything ia out of order and in a very dangerous state at the ferry at present." J The following account, from a private letter varies slightly from the above in the minor details, although agreeing as to the main facts ; — -j t ".u*/ "Tliere is an old punt there, hut bo rickety that no one will trust their lives in it The consequence is that travellers with horses have to swim the river,— a very dangerous game : a nroof nf it ia that on Sunday' after Soon lS two J2%£ drowned there (a short time before I arrived T A horseman came to the ferry, and said that h7 i,«rf

foolishly started again down the river after the horse' their intention being to throw a rope over the horse's head arid get him ashore,— a very foolish idea, as a horse can ahvay-i swim better without thau with assistance. As soon as they got their boat into midfurreiit, she went down stream wMi frightful velocity, anl coming in contact with the wire rope by •,v!iieh the; p tint "is worked (which wn* too slack, and below ths surface of the water), she was immediately cap3ized. The man to whom the horse belonged appeared to sink directly ; the puntman was* just seen floating for a second or two — then he put one hand up and sank. The third, man contrived to get hold of the rope, but the wire caught his waistband and tore Ins trowaei3, aud the current washed them down below his knees ; however, he managed to cljng to the rope with one hand until he succeeded in working his trowscra over his feet ; he then came haud over hand ashore, but w>w very much exhausted. The puntman was often heard to say that he could swim like a duck, but it h supposed that both he and the other deceased must have been struck by the rope oa the head. Neither bodies nor the boat have been recovered yet : it is supposed the boat has been swept out to sea. The bodie3 will probably be recovered when the water goes down."