THE HINEMOA'S CRUISE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2284, 9 December 1897, Page 15

THE HINEMOA'S CRUISE.

ICEBERGS AT THE ANTIPODES.

THE BOAT ACCIDENT AT TKB MACQUARISS. (Fhom Our Own Cohrksfonbent.)

iNVjencAßGir,!,, December 4.

The Government steamer Hinemoa has returned from her outlying island inspection, arriving at the Bluff on the evaaing of Friday. In addition to the .usual service pt-rFor i«s«d on these trips she visited the Macquarie Islands to solve the apprehension! arising out of the nonappearance of the island trader Gratitude. The fact of the latter, after a protracted p»a.'*ge, turning up at WfcHtport has been already notified. The Hinemoa having leffc in the meantime, the notification conld not be made known to her. Leaving the Bluff the steamer made Stewarb Island, where: she was detained weatber-bouud some days. Th«»ce ebe made the Snaree, and finding the wreck depot, &c, right, proceeded ' to " the Auckland*.- The inspection of depots, &c, at the Auckland* was a/so satisfactory. '. In accordance whh instructiono by the Minister for Marine, air Bea lions were tried, representing -an average size of . the»e animalu. They produced four to" ten ga'locs of * oil each, besides the ekiua. These products will be taken on to Wellington for the purpose of afcertftining the market. valuot. Enormous numbers of^sen lions were met with, and the opinion is that tbey are increasing to such an extent th/it the fur seal has all but disappeared. Tti* immunity with which the sea lion has been treated seems to have increased his ferocity. • He showed more disposition than ever to dispute the ground ; indeed, a sturdy old bull unexpectedly put in an appearance, and the trying-out parfcy only saved themselves by taking to their heels. It seems as if they woula get undisputed possession before long unleis pro'enpt action be taken to hold them in' subjection. Fire sheep belonging to the island lessee's flock were shorn. Having no dogs the rest of the flock could not be mustered. The fleece was brought up, and will in due course be reported upon by the owner. There was no appearance of seal poaching or other indications of the island having been recently visited. From the Aucklands the steamer proceeded to the Macquaries, where, subject to the information given anent the melancholy boat accident, things were reported all right. The bird season was brisk and lively in its operations as ever. From the Macquaries - the steamer left for Campbell's, reaching Perseverance at 5' p.m. on Friday, the 27th ult. She visited and explored the adjoining' harbour, with the result that things, were found undisturbed. She left for tbe Antipodes next night, and had an exciting passage thither. On the south-west end of the island, a cable length from ths land, what in the indistinct light of early dawn was supposed to ba huge breakers were seen. Anxious attention was bestowed upon this singular phenomenon, as current information explained no such appearances. Eventually it was seen to be an immense iceberg stranded that distance from the land. Later on a field of ice five to ie?en miles in length was sighted floating away in a south-east direction, Closet

inspection showed- tho surface 'mosfc<' irregular -and in^ every sense of 'the, word, weird,, attd>i' Jtantaatie. At parts it shot up pinnacles, and at " other points 6tretohed; out into dark^ glassy plains.- * "Afterwards ■■ three ~ lofty bergs hove ia sight, which my informant assures me could nob j have beon less than 25,Qft high and afileasba mile and a-half round. yThcir sides were deeply "■ - i fissured and cut iuto cliffs. The ascertained buoyancy of ice i\a's three to one. In that case these bergs must have been 750ffc below'water, which givca'an' entire bpdy of 1000 ft of solid ice.' So-far as ascertained, none carried eartb, rOck^ debris, or other „inbijwnic matter. I should mention that (he last 'three berg*, like the other, were all stranded. ■ The depth of ocean in that case would be over 100 fathom*. The Hinemoa did what little service she had to perform at the Antipodes with as muoh despatch as possible,- and hurried away with aa much daylight as ihe could, ko as to get out ot the way of theie monster bergs. The wreck depot was found all right, and there was nothing to indicate the preienoe J of anyone on the islands. - At 9 p.m., en .route to' the Bounties, the steamer had made an offitig of .40 miles, when, .in the indistinct light of the' moon, a huge mass of ice suddenly hove in sight on the starboard side. It soon became apparent that this was by far the biggest berg of Jjha lot. It registered 300t'fa ' high, with a circiimference of 2£ mile*. .As might be imagined, this oco&sioned uneasiness ou the steamer, Captain Neal remaining on deck 'continuously for many hours together.' Speed; • ing on her way the steamer ' reached ~ tbe Bounties. The inspection being, satisfactorj . a course was shapsd; back to, the mainland, and 'after sighting Nuggets Point th* ■teame." made Bluff .Harbour as stated 'above. ' > • '' - - \•' CAMPBELL ISLAND. } / '"^ . f , The party who went ..down in April .last ; ti , attend <to " pastoral pursuits - returned- by the itesmer. They report having . enjoyed good health. -The climate 'wu, mild- and the ;flocjw . have thriven boyond 'expectation. ■ From the 300 and 'their Tprogeny originally 'placed on the island 10 baleß of wool wore shorn, the quality . being f qual to anything produced in the colony 1 . ■■ The increase had been satisfactory and would have been greatec but for the fact tbafc for ao'me ■ 18 month* th« flock' .was left unsheltered and unshorn. Bxparts.'^iU understand the, effscji o? thi«> wpon. the mor-etso, which, however, hes been such as to, prove the natural capabilities o£ tho island - to ba of the best: ! kind. Tbe gdats pUaod on tha- island some I yet^s o'go.by Captain Fjtirchild are numerous, bub have i;«en kept well ap&rt from -the sheep. They escupy parts of thu island which will in due time fa&ve to ba cleared' of them to make room Tor the valuable wool-produiiixig animal. Curinj tho long "seven months of winter bin i, monofcony of residsnee was broken, by th«j viaif of H.M.S. Pyladcs, which sieatusd up to thg he»d of the lmrbour and landed parties of^thj crew for *, d*j ont amongst tha Albatrosses am othsr «eftbir<3s wlicho habitat is among th/ ; cliffs" and febo higher portions of the island. Tbf mao-o'-wftrstnen received a. supply ,of fresi meat iv the sh&jse of primn mutton and lamb and re:!iprQC4>.t«d by supplying two .or thtsi Bnoail domestic requisites of which the. p»rtt had ran thovt, together with copies. of newspapers. Mr Gordon, who had charge of thf party, reports that fur seals are not in l&rgt numbers, their iucttase being prevented by the cea liocs, whose skin and oil aro of bub trifling value. He recommends the thinning out of th« Jatter, but admit* the ' difficulty of doing so unless by parties acting under proper supervision. Th«t the fur se*l would ia a few jeiro h* rcatorad to its former numbers if the tbinning out *w*s done, as suggested, is likewise expressed a» an opinion by Mr Gordon.

THE DKOWNING OF FOUR MEN. , 4? ( Farfciewlar* of .the, , drowning, fatality ab Macquarie Island show that a party., of , five from the south end set out in a' wha'lebpat on. tho 9th November for the Nuggets. It waa.no)! fid fco land there, and they proceeded to the north end and attempted to land, but could not, and then went on to try and get round the • west aids of the island. At the North Head the boat shipped a sea which capsized her, • resulting iv the drowning of four men. The fifth, Koyden Lea, ,was washed ashore. No trsoe of tbe bodies was seen. The heads man particularly instructed Tom Wright, who wu in charge of the boat, not to pass the Southeast Harbour, as the weather looked unpromising.

The young man, Andrew M'Kinnon, referred to as one of the victims, was a native of Port Chalmers, and the eldest son of Mr A. M'Kinnon, who for many years in succession filled- the office of mayor of the Fort, and was a prominent master shipwright. ;

Mitchell, another of the victims, is the son oE a fisherman at River ton. T. Wright was formerly a resident of the Bluff, and was engaged as cook on the Gratitude. He was steering the boat. The parents of Hooper, the fourth victim, reside either at Temuka or Waimate. He for some time drove a threshing machine both at Waimate and Temuka.

Mr Hatch, the owner of the Gratitude, states that the boat the men would be using would he a lifebeat. He has received 'a telegram from his manager at Invercargill to the effect that * letter from Mr Donnelly states that the accident happened because the boat's crew insisted upon going despite his protestations that it 'was nob safe. " " *

Think it over, ladies ; do not buy misbrablb imitations when the gentjine is procurable. ' No

msdioine introduced to the New Zealand publia

has ever deserved success so much, its Bonninq* ton's Cabbaqeen Ibish Moss. It does »U that is claimed foe ik_ and gives aafcisf aefci^a.