THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1323, 7 April 1877, Page 15

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

i (EROJI ODR. AUCKLAND CORRESPONDENT.) , j An' explosion occurred at Stonehillj Farnyrorth. in course of their exploration, j)ick"en- ; son and Martin came across the whole of ''the 'lß bodies, 15 of them huddled together in a group, ' some were kneeling on the ground "with hands clasped as if in prayer, others were seated on" the waggon way, and had apparently awaited death with composure, while others agaift were lying on their faces with their fingers deeply imbedded in the earth, testifying to .the despeefforts they had made to crawl out of the suffocating smoke. The rumour that .the bodies^ had been found spread rapidly through the district, and some thousands' of persons soon congregated around the pit: bank. 1 : j n ' < »rder to allay the excitement which prevailed, ■ he police adopted a very pardonable ruse 1 and • : nformed the crowd that the • deceased would! : lot be brought to the surface until night, whichi ' lad the effect of considerably thinning thejnum>ers of those present. ,The winding up of,dead >odies commenced at .eight o/clock. The faces^ nf the majority pi the dead \vere not. much swollen, while in not a few instances blood had oozed from their'eyea. nose, and^ears.. Alllhad. died from asphyxia. By nine o'clock 'the/whole of the deceased had been, placed in' a wprKshopT' The scene was most tfeartrendingps'ufficie'ntflio?' try, the nerves of the, str,ongeat r present. .. I The.roinour is confirmed ',that' the'SHeilcof Mecca has sent a'p'stitiort to the SheikMTslam^ demanding a declaration of- war 'against ■' <: >■■... «, ■ ,• v , I Sidney Herbert, a Conservative,'has beenre-~ turned to Parliament for Wilton,<and defeated* Ijtorris, the Liberal candidate. -. .' >■ , , n , , , : . r