FATAL ACCIDENT AT CROIXELLES HARBOUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 666, 3 September 1864, Page 7

FATAL ACCIDENT AT CROIXELLES HARBOUR.

CAPJIZIN& 0? A YACHT?, AND LOSS OF FOUR LIVES. Mr Arthur Elmsley, settler at Honorua, French Pass, ha 3 arrived at Nelson from tb© Croixelles, with the painful intelligence of the capsizing of a yacht in a sudden squall, and the loss of four lives. Two of the unfortunate drowned, Mrs Haye3 and the young man named Collins, were members of the Bnokingham Family, who last year gave entertainments in different ports of Ofcago, and the only survivor of the catastrophe ia the well-known Captain Hayes, who last visited JPort « tago in the barque Cincinnati. The following are the particulars, as given in the Nelson Colonist :— "Mr Wm. H. Hayes, master of the brignutine Black Diamond, which was lying in the Croixelles, borrowed Mr Askew's yacht oa Friday last, to proceed to Mr Aekew'a station. He went, accompanied by his wife, aged only 20 ; an infant child, 13 months old ; a servant girl, aged 15 ; and his wife's brother, whose name, we understand, was Collins, and whose age was 23. They were all seated in the stern of the little vessel.

When about a mile and a half from the shore one of those sudden squalls to which the locality is liable struck the boat, causing the boom to sprin? suddenly up to the mast j head, and capsizing the vessel, which went down by^ the stern. Tin maid was drowned by the boat's side, and sank rapidly ; the captain's brother-in-law swam seaward, towards one of the numerous islands which stud the Croixelles Harbour. Captain Hayes, who is a large, powerful man, and a splendid swimmer, struck out sborewardsj supporting himself on two oars, and holding up his wife with one hand, and his child by the ether. In this way he swam for the shore, but very slowly and laboriously, being impeded by the oars, which, being under water, impeded his progress. Very soon the poor baby died, which the captain perceiving, he kissed the body and dropped it, giving hia whole attention to his wife, and encouraging her to cling to him. , \Ue endeavored to support her on his shoulder, and after struggling on for some time longer, he felt her lose hold, but he still held up her head by the hair, but soon after on turning round found that she too was dead. This was after they had been, th« captain supposes, about an hoar and a half io the water. He let go the body and regained one of the oars, which had slipped from hia grasp, and after some further painful exertion, he got to the /ocks. After landing he believes he must have become insensible, and some indistinct remembrance of climbing a hill, and then falling down ; but he must have got up auain, for he was seen from the deck of a vessel to throw up hia hands, and a boat, not knowing who it was, was sent off to him and took him on board greatly exhausted and much bruised all over his body, his muscles swollen and painful. He was so weak by the exertion and exposure that he was unable to speak un<il next moraing. The body ot the child waß picked up on the Boulder Bank on Friday night and taken on board the vessel, but none of the other three bodies had been found when Mr Elmsley

One additional sad fact in connection with this mournful occurrence is the circumstance that the deceased young man Collins, was the only support of five younger brothers and sisters ia Canterbury.

A letter from Switzsriand says that information has been received from New York that a company of 150 men, all Swiss by birth, and forming part of the 9th New York Segment, commanded by a Swiss named Mceach, was destroyed to a man by the Confederates at the battle of the Wilderness. Owing- to the loss of the master rolls and the death of Colonel Mo>3Ch, who alone knew all his countrymen by name, the War Department is unable to give any account of the fallen Swiss.