THE LOST CHINAMAN.

Western Star, 14 February 1922, Page 4

THE LOST CHINAMAN.

[From the 'Dunstan Times,' October, 1895.] The search for the lost Chinaman of Butcher's Gully is still kept up, bub no far lio trace of his whereabouts has .been discovered. Many ru;n< ars of a disquieting nature have passed' through the country, and it war* probably" these which led to the perpetration of a ghastly hoax by some practical jokers in the commnity. Early on Monday, 14th inst., an old digger named George Rush arrived in Alexander with the startling news that he had found the missing man, with hands tied behind his" back, Tyfng on the "beach at Island Basin, "about a mile below Butcher's Point. The police and a large number-of Europeans and Chinese" proceeded to the spot, found _ a body much the worse of exposure mi the' place indicated) and placed it in a boat which with great difficulty was' towed up to Here it was met by two meical men summoned for the occasion, and a very large crowd cf onlookers, and was at once carried reverently to the nearest hotel for post mortem examination and the coroner's inquest. The state of the face was such that carbolic had to be freely used; the face was black. Then the order was given to pull off the boots, when it was discovered that the body was that of an old sheep which had died in last winter's storms. It had been artistically dressed in old clothes stuffed' with wool, and its face got up to resemble a Mongolian countenance. The post mortem inquiry broke up in most admired confusion. The discoverer of the body considers himself badly treated because the £2O reward has not yet been paid him.

(Contributed.) One of the most amusing things that has over taken place in New Zealand, or perhaps in the world, took place in our little mining township of Alexandra last Monday. About 10 o'clock on Monday morning an old grey-headed prospector came into the town and informed the local constable that ho had found a body down the Molyneux * River, about 11 miles from Alexandra. 'The news soon spread, and there was a. great guessing as to whose body it could be, as°there are supposed! to have been two Chinamen lost lately. All the Alexandra, .people were soon -n their mettle, and, though "only a Chinaman," all would lend a helping hand to do what they could. In a few minutes a party was organised to go clown the river and bring the body up in a bout. This was done, and the body placed, with all due reverence to the dead, in the boat lent bv Mr John Magnus. The boat was manned 'by Messrs 0- Johnson, Barnham, Redman, and one called Cockney,'' the police guaranteeing thorn £1 a head for the work. On the road they stopped and had dinner, ki"d!v supplied by Mr J'- Magnus. After dinner a fresh start was made, and after a long struggle they arrived with their precious cargo. The body was immediately removed to Mr Ryan's hotel, Dns Hyde and Hodges being in attendance. A jury was "called, and our worthy Mayor was there to act as coroner. The doctor then called on someone to uudrosr, the body, and then it was cisfovpred that it wars no body, but a. tlfjul- sheep, stuffod and dressed up to represent « Chinaman, pigtail and nil hem" complete. Your readers can well imagine the faces ef the wise df.-toris, policemen, coroner, and jury when they discovered how cruelly they had been taken hi. A leadimi merhant, who wars one ot, the jury, was heard to remark when the body was brought in: "Oh, it is a sad job tnis for Alexandra!" A prominent citizen told one of tit© originators of the hole affair, whom

|he saw with his hat on, "that he j i had better remove his hat while in j the presence of the dead." This wa" j almost too much lor the young man, • who nearly gave way, audi consequently would have- prevented the joke from being carried to the bitter end. One doctor was heard.to remark: "There has been foul play here; you can see by the nose." And so ended one of the best practical jokes I ever heard of. It its very seldom one hears of anything like this being carried out right to the end. you might say, without a hitch ; although I 'suppose the originators would have liked to have seen : the ksupposed; body buried after the inquest. I understand even the police enjoyed the joke, and admitted that it' was a splendid representation of a Chinaman. It is saidi the local constable has cut the tail off to keep in remembrance of the celebrated inquest at Alexandra.—"Tw^ to One.'