A NARROW ESCAPE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1812, 11 April 1888, Page 3

A NARROW ESCAPE

A correspondent of the •' Southland Daily News " writes as follows of Hapi Moko, the Maori who recently died at the alleged age of 104 :— The old gentleman who died m the JJiverton Hoßpital on Thursday, waa, In hia young days, the hero of » most remarkable adventure. About 1836, whilst on a whaling ornise on the New ZsuUnd coast, on board a Klverton whaler, he took ill and, to all appearance, died, and was duly sewn np m canvas, ready for burial at sea. In those days, the whalers took their wives on board, and they, aa Is onual with the softer ccx, were far more affeoted by the death than their lords and masters, and protested against his burial at sea, preferring that the body ba kept for a few day 8 longer till they reached terra fiima The vessel put into Hiverton, and the body being takfn on deck to be put m the boat for removal ashore, waa m process of being handed over the rail, still clothed m the canvsts bag with the weight at the feofc, when lo and behold 1 Hapi Moko began to stretch himself. This naturally produced extreme excitement, especially among the femilee, and it was a considerable time before anyone had the presence of mind to undo the paokage. Hapi Moko wa=i taken ashore, end lived a good many yoarg more