LAKE COUNTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2167, 5 September 1895, Page 23

LAKE COUNTY.

AuGUSr 31.— 0n Wednesday last we had an experience. The day, thoufh equally, was fine up to even ng, when a slight shower of shoit duration fell. At 10 pm. thare wer« signs of a wild night, and the signs did not dissemble. An hour later there was a bimuhaneous bur.-t of wind and raia, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The Bt<>rin »g«d in its full fury till about 3 o'clock on Thursday morbine, when the lightning and thunder ceased, while the raid and wind continued for the ureate<r part of the day. The rivers had >isen fiom previous rains aud high win<*s, and with the additional supp'y were sood bank high. Fortunately the hard frost of the p**t fiytt w«ek« had consolidated the snow upon the hills to iueh an extent that the rain had but little effect upon it. Had it been otherwise th«r« would have Ixs«n a flood thr like of which ne white man has ever seen in this land of the mountain and the flood.

Acr iDKKT.— MrFumaux Smith met with a very feriins accident while working on one of tlio Sew H'iy Big lieach Co*up4ny's dredges, by which rome of his ribs were broken and severe internal injuries inflicted. Tbe sufferer w*e taken to the Arrow H**pit*l, where his iajuries were attended to by Dr Thompson. An ExrLANAiioN.— A good deal was recently made out of the commitment of an eld man fiom these p*rts to the Old Man's Home at Invercargill. It was represented that an old man 74 yeara of age wm eUrviu* in a calico tent, without bl«nkeU, at tk« Arrow river. Reducing these statements to bare facts, we have the following as a residue Eram, tke old man in question, made a tidy rise here in the early days of the ruSh, torn* dU yearo ago. Having auassed between £3000 and £3000 h« returned to Wale*, his native home, where he lived until about fou r jvars ago. Growing old and weaVminded he brooded over "the good old times," and not b-ing ai 1-s t; roprecs, a desire to return to his old ht<>iit- be at the time mentioned set out nuco in >v-, t,.i liud not only a complete and woful change had rome. ovtr the spirit of his dream, but rlso over himw lf and hi* strength, for he w*s ut.te ly unfit for work. However, he persisted in marking out chums and in trying to form parties to work ihein. but without any result. Up to about fix months ago Eva«« was in receipt of remittances from a sou #f hU in Wales, and whs regu'aily supp ied with all k« wanted from looal storekeeper*, while hu neighbours wwe kind to him. a? is the wont with miners. Evans u«ed to m-»ke regular calls at tke iniuerc' hutc in his nftigkbouih^od for his meals every day, aud stopped his supplies of his owa free will, thinking in his cunning that his neighbours would continue to support him. But when they found out the lay of th« land they reportsd tbe ca*s to Constable Bowen, who took the only step* that wer« open to him It is believed that Evans's son in Wales is well to do.