FURTHER PARTICULARS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 10 August 1888, Page 13

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

It appears that the rain in the Blueskin dis* trict on Monday evening was exceptionally heavy, and the Waitati rose to nearly the height of the flood on the 4th of last month. Slips ou the line were expected, and, unfortunately, were not long in occurring. The first took place about 5 pm. between Seacliff and Pukeleraki, aud stuck up the Oamaru and Palmerston trains from Dunedin as well as the express from Christchurch. The passengers from the North were taken as far as Waitati. There were some 40 odd passengers, and as soon as it was kitown that the express would not proceed there was a rush to secure accommodation for the night at the Saratoga Hotel, where Mrs Colehan did all iv her power to make her visitors comfortable It was rather a puzzling matter, however, with only 20 beds iv the house, to put up 40 travellers ; aud most- of those who could not be accommodated stayed up all night, and some took turns in bed, rousing their companions after they had a few hours' sleep. The best of good humour prevailed, and there was plenty of fun to while away the time. Among the passengers were the members of the Otago University football team, returning from their trip to Christchurch, several of whom walked into town next morning. The other passengers, as has already been staled, were conveyed to town by conveyances sent out by Messrs D. and J. Bacon. It was between the time when the 4.10 p.m train from Dunedin passed and 7 p.m. that the rock slip occurred at the Purakanui cliffs. Traffic was at once stopped, and men sent to clear away the debris. While they were working at this slip they heard another slip coming down farther up the line, and one of the men went to see what had taken place. After proceeding a little way he met a surfaceman (Gideon Williamson) walking towards him, lamp in hand. He accosted him but received no reply, and then on looking at him more closely he saw blood running down his faec. He then took hold of Williamson, and calling for help some of his mates came up, and between them they carried the injured man to the house of the watchman. It was there ascertained that he had been struck on the head by a falling stone, which had caused a terrible wound extending from the forehead to the back of the head, and completely opening up the skull. The accident happened about 8.30 p.m., and rendered the man quite senseless. Even while walking along the lice with the lamp in his hand he was quite unconscious, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the men afterwards remeved the lamp from his grasp. As mentioned in our report yesterday no time was lost in conveying the sufferer to the Dunediu Hospital by special train. Williamson, who is a powerful man iv the prime of life, is highly spoken of in the district. He has a large family, most of whom are grown up. He was visited by several doctors in the hospital yesterday, and from what we can learn there is little chance of his recovery. Men were kept working [at the slip till midnight, and it seems extraordinary that further accidents did not take place, as stonea were coming down in different places, and from a great height, nearly all the time. The men, it is understood, are getting rather chary of this night work at tho cliffs, and it really seems as if very little is to be gained by it, while the danger to life and limb is by no means bmall. A representative from this paper went out as far as Waitati on Tuesday by the 320 p m. trail and took note of the condition of the line. By this time all the slips bad been cleared away. After passing Port Chalmers the traces of a small clay slip that had fallen on to the metals were observable ; while another slip was noticeable just before entering the Deborah tunnel. About half a mile or thereabouts from Mihiwaka station the train slowed down, and a notice board intimating that the speed of the train was not to exceed 10 miles an hour, showed that the dangerous portion of the line had been reached. The train in one place came almost to a standstill, and, proceeding very slowly round the cliffs, the passengers were afforded a good view of the slips. Water was pouring down over the face of the cliff in many places, and occasionally small stones came down with it, but a good number of men were at work, and the line was kept clear. The slips extend for a considerable distance, the worst place being just before the line commences to skirt the sea, and a few hundred yards from the scene of the accident of a month ago. It appears that the rock in this locality, though hard in itself, is intersected with seams of clay. The " dip "is towards the eastward, and the water lodging in the interstices a pro* cess of, disintegration commepces, with the re<

suit that masses of rock fall from above on to " the permanent way. The line has stood well at this part for several years, and the travelling public have come to regard it as quite safe, but their faith in its stability has been considerably shaken in consequence of what' has transpired during the past month. The Railway department are evidently taking every pos-ible'pre-caution, and this being so, there is little fear of any accident occurring. It is reported that surveys ere being made with a view of ascertaining th« practicability of a tunnel tbiougb. the rock along the most dangerous part of the line. On this point it is impossible to obtain information, as all coimectf-d with the department are forbidden un<?er pain of instant dismissal, to disclose anything to tho press. The events of the psafc month haTe demonstrated that the line should^ never have been taken along the present route. As an old settler in the district remarked on Tuesday, the country between [Port Chalmers and Waikouaiti . i 8 all more or less "on the slide," and the expense of maintaining the permanent way between these two stations is bound to prove a very heavy item for years to come. It is now an open secret that the line in places in the neighbourhood of Seacliff is gradually slippiug towards the sea, and the kerbing at one end of the platform of the Seacliff station shows that the ground on which the fetation stands has shifted bodily for a considerable distance since the line was made. En passant it may be remarked also tbat the recent rains have caused cracks of considerable extent in the asylum grounds.

The express train from Chrislehurch got throughto Dunedinall right on Tuesday evening, though it was about a quarter of an hour behind time. Every precauticn was taken going round the cliffd, men being posted at diffeient parts with lamps to signal that the lino wus clear. Still some of the passengers, many of whom crowded out en to the platforms, must have been just a little scared, for what with the noise of the water rushing down the cliffs from above the monotonous roll of the sea from'the black depths below, and the recollections of the accident of a month ago, it must be admitted there was 6ome cause for alarm. However, the Irain got through all right, j»nd there seems not much likelihood of traffic being again impeded for 6ome time to come.

—A man was recently offered £5 if he would remain silent for two hours. At tho end of 15 minutes he asked, " Isn't the time nearly up?"