LAKE WANAKA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2404, 29 March 1900, Page 29

LAKE WANAKA.

Albeitown, March 27. — The harvest is now finished. At Mount Barker the gra:_ t was all in stack over a fortnight ago, and t: f-- « weie only a few odd lots of stooks at Hawea at that date. It seems curious to us to hear of harvest just beginning in many places down country, when we have got through. The threshing mills are all very busy, the wages .being Is per hotir. The mills only fake out about one b?g of seconds to about 30 bags of grain, while in most other places they would take out three bsgs of seconds. The thirds here are rubbish and dust, while in other places the thirds are unripo oats or shells. We have had almost weekly light showers of rain ; but on Friday wo had a downpour, and it did a lot of good. The weather is very pleasant and mild which doubtless has been the means of attracting the large numbers of tourists who have visited Pembroke.

The Qucensberry and Other Fires. — I notice that you have details of Mr Scheib'a loss by fire at Queensberry. Much sympathy was felt for Mr Scheib. Many farmeis run too much risk, either by placing their binders or drays, near to other buildings, or their stacks close together, or too near buildings, so that in case of a fire everything goes. The origin of fires is always a fertile theme for conversation, and is seldom ever settled. I had a case in point about a couple of months back. A neighbour wanted chaff, and came with-* team and bags to help to cut it. The bags were thrown down a few yards from the stack. On this ocasion, several bags would hz cut and then bagged, and the b?gs sewn up and slacked. Two or three hours after storting, three empty bags only wero left near the stack. When 1 took my turn at the horsepower, and put the horses round a copule oi times, I saw a clear bright blaze 2ft high coming from the three empty sacks. To in.-h up to them and gather them in a heap and sit on them was the work of a few seconds, while the visitor watched that the fire did not extend to the stack a coupl of yards or so away. It was a blight, sunny day, sfnd in every way it was a stroke of hick that the fire originated at the right moment, and that there was no wind, so that there was no damage done and the 20ton stack escaped. A curious case of fire happened at Mr John Henderson's farm, at Tarras, 12 months ago. At leading-in time, Messrs Patsrson and Bonnet were loading a dray with oaten sheaves, when sudeuly the load took fire. The account 1 heard of the affair was that the leading horse was let out, but the shaft horse broke away and ran into a fence, when they caught him and got him out. The hindquarters of the horse weie rrmch scorched, except where the leather breeching covered him. The load and dray were burned completely to the ground, nothing being lefb but the ironwork. Too many of these accidents are caused by smoking. The Past of a Former Wanaka Man. — Some few months back the bald statement was made in the papers that a man named Pana had hanged himself at Conoor near Pahiatua. Owing to the puculiarily of the name which is Spanish for bread, it was thought that this might refer to Mr Elmore Pana or Joe Pana, as he was generally called, who lived in the Wanaka for some years, and left about 12 or 13 years ago. After making sundry inquiries at the Police Canip, it <va3 decided that Mr Kichard Norman should write to the inspector of police at Wellington for particulars of the deceased; and the reply came in due time, from which it could be seen that there was no doubt that it was our Wanaka man who had committed suicide." Joe Pana was always a hardworking, industrious, upright man, inclined to be saving, and always desirous of getting good value for his money. For a time he was the owner of The Nun, a 40-ton schooner trading on Lake Wanaka ; but when the p.«. Theodore was fully equipped, he sold out to the late Mr Archibald Chalmers as he considered his occupation would be gone; but as a mattei of fact, a smaller sailing vessel owned by Mi Yfm, Allan has been on the lake ever since. The Nun was too large for the lake trade as she took two experienced men to work hei, while the small cuttej can be worked by a man and a boy. The Nun could not always get a full load, while the cutler can. Occasionally Joe would go off on "the spree" for a day or a day and a night. When his ventures did not turn out as well as he i'jcpected, ho would take a doleful view of the future, and possibly it was while he was suffering thus that he committed the fatal act. He was a native of "Rosaria, a town on the River Plate, in Argentina. He explained to a resident of Conoor that he was of Scotch descent, the name originally being Pan, but that the Spaniards altered it to Pana. He only lived in Conoor for about 6 months before his death. The Public Trustee is administering his estate. When he loft here he had between £200 and £300. All his old friends and acquaintances felt a pang of real regret on hearing of his tragic end.