THE RETURN JOURNEY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 20

THE RETURN JOURNEY.

Hastings, April 21. I hfcve just returned here from Napier, after a somewhat novel and exciting trip. I arrived at the washout near the Waitangi after darknefs had sat in, and found the railway men ready with the boats. The crossing at this place is not unattended with danger. Yesterday the breakers kept rolling ;n; n from the tea, and as the night was very dark and some water was shipped passengers got a ducking and were considerably alarmed. The scene to-night was a most unuiual one. The moonlight filtering through the clouds only slightly illuminated the waters. There was a scramble for the boats, which are small and only hold six passengers. All the passengers, however, were ferried over in safety, though some got a slight wetting. Bonfires of driftwood blazed on the banks, and what with ths roar of the breakers quite close to us, the shouting of the landing men to the oarsmen, and the gleaming light of the bonfires and the railway lanterns on the waters, the scene was a most picturesque one. From this landing we had to walk about half a mile to the Waitangi River, where the remains of the railway bridge loomed against the sky. Here there were more bonfires and more boats, but there was no sea — only the dark water* of the now sluggish flowing river. On the other side a 'bus was waiting, and, for a payment of one shilling, conveyed us two miles to the Farndon station, to which the train had got through in the afternoon. The service is certainly a convenience, but after dark it is attended with considerable risk, and Mr Donne (the district traffic manager), who is now here, has wisely decided to discontinue it except in daylight.

The total loss of sheep in the district is estimated to be 40,000. and many more will die

yet for want of food. They are in a weak state | owing to immersion in the flood. The scene at , Clive when the flood was at its height was a I thrilling one. Some 500 men, women, and I children were crowded on the bridge, and the { waters rcss so rapidly that they covered the approaches, and the wholj of the spectators were made prisoners. This water continued to ihe till it lapped over the flcor of the bridge, and then the 300 venturesome ones were rescued. Had the bridge, like many others, been washed away^at the critical moment a terrible calamity would have been the result. It is siid that the immediate cause of the Omahu bridge being destroyed was that a large hcus3 floating down struck away a piece, and the rest easily followed. At Pipakura ond Meanes the condition of thing* is somewhat similar to what I have written about Clive in my earlier message despatched from Napier to-day. At Papakura Mr Mcssman, ten., a gentleman of 78 years, had to seek refuge in the ceiling of his hou?o, and remiiu with three others from early on Friday morning until 4- o'clock on Saturday afternoon. A 0 Waepatua a Native had a very rough experience trying to reach the pa. He was compelled to swim to the roof of one of the whares where he passed the nighb. The Pakipahi Natives are in a similar plight to th>»t in which they *ere after the flood of 1893, and will leouire help and relief. Jsmoi Cunningham, who was drowned at Chesterhope, seems to have lost his life through rather yashly crossing a stream in a boat to the men's hut, where he wished to go for dry clothes. Others were in the boat, but gob out on the advice of tLe manager of the station. The boat in which Cunningham persisted in crossing stuck in a tree in the centre of the stream. A rope was attached to it, but decessed called out lo let ifc go. thinking no doubt that the boat would then be freed. iv trying to catch the rope, capsized the boat. With a, cry, the words of which could not be distinguished, he ; sank, and was eeen no more alive. Owing to j the muddy nature of the water and the swiftness of the current, it was impossible to render assistance. The body was found on Ea»tcr Monday jammed in some logs and driftwood > 100 yards below where the. boat went under. j Wellington, April 22. < Returning from Hastings to-day we got a good view of the, country which we traversed on the up journey in the dark. This is splendid pastoral land, and though it has not suffered nearly so much as the low-lying country about Clive, still evidences of the flood were vibible on either hand. It was a. glorious morning, and the fine clumps of trees reflected in tha still waters left by the *flood made charming pictures. At Pakipaki, where there is a Maori settlement, the condition of things seemed almost as bar! as at Clive, aud some of the houses were in a pitiable condition. Overturned outhouses I and dead pigs lay on the roadside, the latter j decoinposinj in the hot sun. Beyond Pakipaki ' there are beautitully graased hills on either side of the roa/i, aud on t£ie3e could be seen thoutands of landslips, which will reduce for some time to come the available area cf pasturage. The owners of theae lands, however, are fortunate in nob having lost many sheep or cattle. ' Nearing Te Aute, .where is situated Archdeacon Wilhams'B famous Maori College, the line is Btill covered with water, and the train splashed through i!;. A house was «een standing in the middle of a lake left by the .flood, but the j women and chifdren who looked out from the windows seem-id happy, though access could only be gained to their domicile by boat. J Every day the news that comes m from the back blocks is of the same cad nature as that ! already detailed in former messages. The potato I and other crops 'arc damaged over a very large ' area of country, and in many case 6 people whose , grass has been washed away or silted over are cutting down willows to feed their cows. Milk is at Is a quart in Napier, and potatoes will be soon at a premium. I wou'd nob like to venture on any estimate of the damage done by this j flood in the north, bub it must certainly amount j to hundreds of thousands of pounds. The j Carnage to the railway alone in consequence of j joss of traffic and tho destruction of the permanent way and bridges is more i serious than at first was anticipated, and | t man who knows the country well and has some idea of the cost of bridge building lelW ?iie that the Railway department will lose not much short of £100,000. The reconstruction of the Ratigitikei .bridge and the necessity j for new bridgo-i- near Napier are the most serious items in the less. Miles of permanent ' way between Napier and Hastings were washed ' clean away, and the rails and sleepers were j upended or twisted and turned over in a most extraordinary manner. It would appear as if this country is becoming moreand more liable to i floods. Ths river beds a'e year by year being 1 silted up, and in some places the water f now runs in channels that are higher than ! | ihe surrounding lands. Cultivation and the ' indiicriminate planting of willows are to a great ; extent responsible for the overflow of the rivets. ! The question of relief is a serious one, and greater discretion than was- exercised after the last flood shculd be used in its distribution. Those who are least ia need of it are often the most clamorous for it. There i$ no doubt that, iv several instances in 1893 the generosity' of the public was greatly abused. One well-known case is that of a man worth a fairly large sum of money who applied for relief and got; £50. Even the distribution of the 100 pairs of blankpts which the Hon. Mr HallJones (on behalf of the Government) sent from Napier to Clive should nut be left to i policeman as has been done. Still the fact that the \ relief money is liable in some cases to find its j way into the wrong pockets should not deter those who can afford it from subscribing liberally to the fund. Urgent relief is necessary, as come of the sufferers are in a most pitiable plight. Mr Logan, who came down in the train tonight, tells me that the telegraph lines are now j nearly all in working order, though there i«, of course, still a great deal to be done between Hastings and Napier. The large telegraph poles have been rooted up as if they were small sticks, and the wireß lie tangled and broken on the roadside. In some places the line has been repaired by carrying the wires along on tho posts of the farmers' fences. Great difficulty was experienced in getting a wire over the Rangitikei River. Posts were put in, bub soon washed away. Eventually a wire was got across the long stretch of river by means of a boat, but this was a difficult and somewhat dangerous undertaking, as a seven or eight-" knot current was running and the river wa3 full of snags.