THE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1520, 17 June 1886, Page 3

THE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.

Rgtort/A, June 14. Mrs Hazard is out of danger, and rapidly recovering. The priest Ttiwhaßo, a man of over 100 yearn of age, was dug out alive at Wairoa to-day after being 105 hourß entombed. He was a perfect skeleton, and not able to walk, but rational. He is now in Rotorua Hospital, and will live. His hut was opposite the mill, and two hundred yards from the road. The Natives appear ungrateful for his safety, as he is much feared as being a great wizard. Dr Hector is of opinion that the dust that lies on the land will ultimately prove beneficial. The dust is heavy, and is just what the light soil of Tauranga requires. Ii is reported that White Island shows unusual signs of activity. A number of people iust "in from Tepuke and the coast report that the whole district presents a desolate wppearance. All the feed is completely ruined till next ppring. Toe road between there and Tepuke is? strewn with dead sheep and horses. Most of the former perished by being poisoned with tutu ; the latter were Bwamped. On Colonel Whitmore's run the sheep are wandering about for food. Stretches of country are completely devastated. The damage done must be very serious. Government have the names of ninetynine Natives missing, and more names will certainly be given in. No more bodies have been found.

The problem of the Terraces is solved, and the Terraces are no more. There have been no earthquakes since yesterday. The eruption is visibly decreasing, and the rents being so large, there is little probability of a further outbreak. Sergeant Cahill came through at an early hour this morning from Wairoa, being one of the boating party. A horse had been left tied to a tree there for him to get through to Rotorua. He reached Wairoa at ten last night, and rode through, being the last man to come through by the fresh route. He was advised to go by Kaiteta, but the horse would have died had he done so. It was his intention had he not got through the flut at the lake to have fallen back to Wairoa, Cahill brought a despatch from Captain Mair for Dr Hector, who in the morning started with a party for Kaitera, having a photographer with h>m to photograph the volcanoes in the vicinity of the track of Rotomahana.

Captain Mair got into Rotorua via Kaitera late this afternoon with his boat's crew. He was met by Judge Mair.who had been holding a native lands court at Tahake, and adjudged the great Tahake block in favor of Ngatipikira, giving the claimants two days to make out a list of applicants. Captain Mair gate a graphic narrative of the experience of the expedition. The complete boat's crew consisted of himself, R. Edwards, an interpreter, Alfred Arthur Warbfick, Aynsley, Gannel, Taylor, and Hurrell. Sergeant Cahill on leaving .Wairoa had a rope tied to a tree and thrown down the cliff, to enable them to lower themselves to the boat, but fiisures in the cliff gave little hope of their pelting back that way. After starting from the landing place, Wairoa, for Maura, a native settlement, they were accompanied by an avalanche of sand falling from the cliffa on the right, which fell into the lake with terrible velocity, the weight causing the lake to make a series of pulsations. The party reached the side of Maura village, where 45 Maoris are buried, The mud was here in a liquid state, and running into the Like with rapidity. The whole site of the village had been shot bodily into the lake. The large grove of karaka trees was found floating a mile into the lake, and all rocky points about here appear to have been battered or shaken to piec«s. The party floundered through mud over the site of the village, and finding do sign of life, went on to Ariki, between Mora and Ariki. Washing Stone, where the deity of the lake was wonf, to.be propitiated, has disappeared, Ariki was reached at 8 p.m, The) whole front of Tarawera on this Bide has been changed by earthquakes. At the base are vast mounds of volcanic grit, which are piled up half-way across Ariki inlet, between Tt»rawera proper and Pukumia, and form a range, alteriug the contour of the country. South of Tarawera the mount is blown clean off, making an indentation like a knock in the front of a felt hat. In this is formed a large crate', which ig still active and which leems hundreds of feet deep, lotmediately behind Ariki, in the direction of Rotomabaoa, is a very large steam hole, near the White Terrace, in violent action, and from which is springing immense clouds of black, steam-laden dust. A chain of steam jets or craters appeared to run from near Okara through Rotonv>hana to Tarawera, and along it to the j north and eust, Tapahaoro bluff appears , to have been dislodged by the crater at Tarawera. It varies to 50 feet in depth. At Ariki 40 natives are covered 30 feet deep with a top dressing of 2 feet of soft mud, and at Kairaki the creek from Rotomahana was dry. Captah Mair decided to go up with walls of hot dust on either side 80 to 30 feet high. The party penetrated up till it became too hot to go further, and then they cot over the walls in the direction of the site of a village, struggling up to their knees from this point. They could see staam jet* forming a circle in the BQiith,e,rn horision, and tried to proceed oyer the top wall, but found the mud too deep, and had to return to the boat. Then they | cruised round the eastern tide of the lake, and found a native party, who came from Mohaka, who had been two days struggling through from Tapohoro, in the endeavor to reach Ariki, They wore exhausted, and were supplied with most of the paity'a stores of provisions, aad taken by the boat to a place near the outlet of Tarawers, from which they could safely return to their homes. Captain Mair then headed back for Wairoa, but was unable to get ashore at the landing place, owing to fissures in the cliff. He put into Pamparoa, one mile from Wairoa village, and abandoned the boat. Ittook two hours and a-half to get over one mile of ground, struggling through mud, which was slipping down the side of the hill. Some of the party were completely exhausted, and had to lie down in the mud track. They arrived at Wairoa at 11 o'clock at night, and fortunately the light rain at Rotorua at that hour did cot extend to Wairoa], The paity hml dbcmod, if rain set in, thai their only chance of escape, as they could not land from tha boat, was to pull down to the outlet of Tarawera lake, and . f . . .. i• ■ • i

push"through, if possible, by Rangitikei, on the Eaßt Coatt. The party, with th» exception of Sergeant Cahill, slept at I Win'ron r'n-'-M- -h,< • : *" a -v-n,: vn „J j three eaniiqiiukct., ninuli ai.u-ik t..u wreck I • f Mcßae'a house, where they were oleep- . iug, and woke the party up. They Mtnrted , for Lake Rotokakilii, crossed to Kaiteri in i- canoes, arid got to Rotorua, arriving as i abov». Great credit is due to all the ; members of the party for their courage and self-devotion, eapeoially to tho two ■ Warbricks and Black, who got the boat overland from Rolorna to Wairoa. Among other changes, at Lake Tarawera, the grove of acacias is completely gone ; the beautiful Kotutakas round the lake are all smashed ; Tarawera River is blocked with sand, and running at random over the sand flats near the. base of Mount Edgecombe, at the back of Gkatiki. The lake there seems to be intact, but everywhere else it is utterly destroyed. Ninetyfive Maoris died at the settlements, at Ariki. Among them was Samuel Brown Baker, formerly of Ohinemutu, and his Maori wife and five children, who perished atTeriki. Taupo natives on a visit to Kararo, the Roman Catholic Catholic Catechist of the Rangetikiti tribe, were also lost. Whikipara, chief of the Ngatai hapu of Tahoranga, was lost at Moura with four sons, their wives and children. Captain Mair says it is evident the first outburst was at the. south end of Tarawera, from which came all the dust. Then came a top-dressing ~of mud from the steaming volcanoes ,?. round Rotomahana. The ~ whole country leoks like a vast bush clearing, except thnf the ash is grey fnVtiad of black. The natural featureß of the country are completely altered. The volcanic action as far as Tarawera appears to be rapidly exhausting itself, as is also that at Kotomahana. Captain Mair says the volcanoes show every indication of being permanent, and will have in future to be attractions for visitors. Wairoa road, past Lake Taupo, is now closed. The waggons buried on the flat near Titikapu lake were extricated on Tuesday. The road is strewn with tools thrown away to get through. The last two Europeans who held out at Lake Titikapu were Butler and Gregory. They left on Tuesday night. GonsUbte Cavanagh by direction of Inspectors Kelly and Goodall tied old Kawira, who refused to abandon Wairo», and brought him on to Rotakakotei, where be was iaken on to Katerika. The only, practicable way of getting out the property of the survivors at Wairoa will, Captain Mair state*, be by canoeing from Rotakakohe by Kateneria. £IOOO worth still rtraainsbelonging to Mcßae and The future road when Wairoa is abandoned will be by Whaknreatea to Kateria a»d on to Okaro. The whole of the land, C»ptain Mair says, is fit for cu'tfvation. Mr Johnston, Government agent, is arranging for the relief of any present distress. .8.55 p.m. Dr Hector and party returned from Wairoa to-day. -Ho has ordered vVairoa to be abandoned, and the present road closed and another road made further south, via Kaiteriria. Rain is imminent and he considers that if it raipß, the mud and ashes will become fluid, and slip down the slopes in enormous mud glaciers, making the whole country impassable, lie.thinks it dangerous to life to attempt to remove any goods from Wairoa, so it is a total loss for all the unfortunate residents. He considers the local, that It began on Tarawera.'on account of there being no vent for the steam, and that the latter became superheated nnd blew part of the top away. He also considers that the earthquake caused by this mighty effort cracked the pipee formed by the work of ages through which.the water came from below to the terraces and hot springs; that the water then getting deep do« n, burst up the country for ten miles south-west of Terawera, and caused cracks through which we now see steam escaping. He states that there'lis no lava, and that it is nothing but an exaggerated outburst of superheated steam; that the oindera, heated red-hot, were thrown up by Tarawera, while the mud and ashes came from Rotomahana. Mr Park, his assistant, saw stones thrown up 500 ft from the craters near Kotomahana. -■ Wellington, June 16. Sir Julius Vogel receive! the following telegram from Rotorua this morning : " Four severe shocks of earthquake were felt between 12 and 12.36 this morning, and several smaller ones during the night producing a general feeling of uneasiness. Several people left their houses in b'anketß, wandering about not knowing where to go, The geyser and volcanoes are the lame as yesterday. The springs are very active here and the temperature is much increased."