LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1994, 12 May 1892, Page 20

LAKE COUNTY.

May 7. — The weather has been very wet of late, interfering much with field work such as plough" hip and breaking up new ground, of which there still is a fair quantity on many of our farms. Fires. — A hut occupied by a bachelor was destroyed the other day by a fire. It was the result of a practical joke; some grasi tussocks being put into the chimney, and these, catching fire, ignited the thatched roof of the hut. The loss is not a severe one.— About the same time Mr John Brown, farmer at Speargrass Flat, lost bagged wheat to the value of about L6O. The bags were stacked in a yard and covered with straw, there being 160 bags in the stack. There is no clue to the origin of the fire, which was first observed by Mr Brown on Saturday morning about 6 o'clock, when he saw smoke rising from the stack. Upon arriving on the scene he found that the fire must have been burning for some time, and he succeeded in saving fit) bags fit for seed, and a quantity good enough for feed for pigs and hens. There was no insurance on the wheat.

A Descent.— Last Monday night about 11 o'clock, Mr Alexander Urquhart, carter, after leaving Arrowtown en route for the Cardrona coal pitj went, with his waggon and seven horses, over a siding track locally known as Lobin's track, one of the many critical points along this track. There is a no more dangerous road in this district, which is saying a good deal. This statement is attested by the number of more or less serious accidents that have taken place upon it, and it was certainly rashness to attempt to navigate it on a dark night with a waggon and seven horses. As it was, waggon, horses,' and driver went tumbling and rolling down a steep sloping bank about 150 ft high, and probably would have gone further and fared worse had not the waggon providentially beon smashed up to matchwood. The driver, horses, and harness came off comparatively well, the former with a few trifling scratches, but the vehicle was utterly demolished. Mr Urquhart's calls for help were heard at Arrowtown, about half a mile distant, and Constable Bowman and Mr J. L. Jopp, of the Royal Oak Hotel, were soon on the spot rendering assistance. At Last.— After years of vain attempts deer at Lake Wakatipu have become un fait accompli. Last week four fallow deer from Tapanui were shipped at Kingston, being! intended for the islands at the head of Lake Wakatipu, as a temporary resting place. There were four animals in all— one stag, two .does, and a stag colt. During the process of landing the stag took to the lake, making for the nearest point of the mainland, which was in the neighbourhood of the Twenty-five-mile creek, but he was lost sight of before he landed, and has not since been Been. The query whether this present attempt will also end in failure is now much discussed.

War and Rumours of Wars.— The Arrow Government School Committee is trying hard toillustrate the benefits of education by a display | of the want of it, and so far as matters nave i gone it has succeeded admirably. I hope the leading combatants are duly proud of the position: they occupy before a thinking public. The quarrel apparently is who shall be chairman, and though several meetings have been held the battle has not yet been' lost or "won. In tae meantime the committee has no chairman, and has to depend on an illegally elected clerk, which is really worse than none at all. so that the future is full of promises of fun for outsiders, and which will run to degrees corresponding with the earnestness of the contestants. It is surprisinghow otherwise apparently sane men can becomes a rabid on purely personal matters. For the sake of education one would think the assailants would show some semblance of good manners, even if they have not the gift of appearing sensible and rational. The wnole thing has become toochildish to deserve further notice. Obituary.— By the death of Mrs Eichardt, of Eichardt's Hotel, Queenstown, the whole district has suffered a loss not easily replaced, and with her ' disappearance a land mark in its history. When her husband, the late Mr Albert Eichardt, made his first attempts to attract tourists toQueenstown by catering for their special comfort, and was laughed and sneered at for his pains ' by the average Wakatipuan, Mrs Eichardt faithfully and trustingly backed up her husband's efforts, and both lived to see Queenstown grow into the centre of a thriving and constantly increasing tourist trade. For many years there were no names better known amongst' tourists than those of Mr and Mrs Eichardt, and none upon whom their recollection dwelt with greater pleasure. But it was reserved for Mrs Eichardt to witness the full capabilities^ of the trade, and she lived to see the extensive block of buildings which now compose Eichardt's FamilyHotel completed in its entirety as originallydesigned by her husband, who preceded her onthe journey to the great home land by several years. The cause leading to Mrs Eichardt s death was a simple stumble, which brought her head in rather violent contact with a stone window-sill, the injury leaving a scarcely visible mark, and not , being accompanied by any symptoms of an alarming Kind. No relief coming to the sufferer, medical aid was called in, and Dr Douglas attended her. Mrs Eichardt was very stout at • the time of the accident (Easter Sunday), and this fact made it more serious than otherwise wouldjhave been the case. She gradually became worse until she sank into a state of semi-uncon-sciousness, in spite of all that could be done for her. At this stage Dr Donaldson, of Arrowtown, and Dr Davies, of Dunedin, were called to Dr Douglas' assistance, but all to no purpose, and the unfortunate lady died last Monday, a fortnight after having received the injury. Mrs Eichardt had always borne a name for kindness of heart and almost unlimited charity, but it was not until after her demise tha* the full extent of her labours of love became known, Quite a number of deserving families have, during times of stress, been dependent entirely upon ncr assistance, which was meted out without regard to nationality or creed. No deserving case of necessity or deprivation that came under her notice went without her active sympathy and charity. Of her it may be truly said that her left hand did not know what her right hand gave. Even while on her deathbed her kindness smoothed the way for the afflicted. In. every other way the deceased was a good woman, respected and beloved by all who knew her, and her loss will leave a void felt by many. During the serious part of her illness, the local public bodies suspended their business, and prayers were offered up for her recovery in the Presbyterian and Wesleyan churches. When the news of her death became known, it cast a gloom over the whole district, though it came not unexpected, and elicited widespread expressions of sincere regret. The greatest sympathy is felt for the agedt mother of the deceased, who only a few months ago had to mourn the loss of another daughter, Mrs Brebner, and thus outlives all her daughters. Mrs Eichardt, who was a native of Tipperary, Ireland, came to Queenstown in the early days of the gold rush from Victoria. She was married to Mr Albert Eichardt shortly after he acquired the Queen's Arms Hotel (now Eichardt's), but leaves no children. It is understood that the hotel will pass to Mr John O'Meara, half brother of the deceased. Mrs Eichardt died •in her 54th year. The funeral took place last Thursday afternoon, and was attended by the largest cortege even seen at Queenstown, people not only coming in large numbers from every part of the district, but also from Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Oamaru, and Cromwell. The hearse was preceded by the children of the Queenstown Convent School, and members' of the Sacred Heart order carrying their banner, crucifix, and immortelles. The cortege that followed 1 the remains of the deceased lady to their last rest, ing place is estimated at a quarter of a mile long, walking six and eight deep. The obsequies at the grave were conducted by the Very Rev. Father

ifackay(Oamaru), assisted by Rev. Fathers Hunt (South Dunedin), Burke (Queenstown), and Lynch (Arrow), who went" through the complete burial service of the Roman Catholic Church to which the deceased belonged. Another Death.— On the same day, though at an earlier hour, were laid to rest in the Queenstown Cemetery the mortal remains of Ihomas Tallantyne, an old and well-known miner in these parts. The deceased had been a confirmed invalid for some years, being almost completely crippled by rheumatism, to which recently was added consumption which ended his life. The deceased leaves a widow and a mostly young family but indifferently provided for.