LEE"S VALLEY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16264, 15 July 1918, Page 6

LEE"S VALLEY.

SETTLERS BEACH OXFORD.

A DIFFICULT JOURNEY

Mr W. 'B. Starkey, a Lee's Valley settler, who has been isolated out thero by the snowstorm, arrived in Oxford at jib out 3 o'clock on Friday morning. Ho had been travelling with his party, !>• Henrv and D. Topp, since 6 a-®, on Tlrursday, but tho party were none tho worse for their experiences. . Mr Starkev said ho had been in the vallev "off and on, mostly on, ior about 18 years. Ho was once snowed in for six weeks, but the latest was tho biggest fall he remembered. Tho consolation in the present case was that there was no wind and _no dritt. xio had made preparations in the way or firing but did not know how his tellow settlers were faring, and had no chanco of findinrr out. In the middle of tho flat was a fencer (11. Topp), who had a tent that was almost buried by snow, but there was no chanco of getting to liim. Some horses about 3GO yards away were unreachable; one dog "was dead, and probably a second, a greyhound. He had been kicked out of tho house, and was "missing" eomowhero underneath. Mr Starkey's diary records as follows: — , . July Ist: It lias snowed «11 night —two feet at the hut in tho morning. July 2nd: Still snowing—3ft -Gin. Took packhorse and tried to get a mutton sheep in paddock at Wharfdale, but took about 3J hours to go quarter-milo, and then could not get to the sheep. Came back to hut. There were 43 sparrows inside. Mado sparrow Eoup; very tasty. July 3rd: Snow 5 feet round, but still snowing. Birds starting to die. Can't get to horses. When Igo out the birds settle all over mo. One horse near the hut is quite a roost for them. July Ith: Thaw commenced. Managed to get to the horses and got them to the hut. Three went over a barbwiro fence submerged. Tried to _ get them to the Wharfdale bush, but failed. Greyhound dead. .July oth : Dug a trench to get horses into bush. Big thaw; nor'-west. Got track nearly to Wharfdale. July fith: Henry and his men (contractor) came down to the hut and stoppod tho night. Big thaw. July 7th: Digging out trcncli over Blowhard commenced.

July Bth : Digging continued. Henry got ripped above knee by a wild pig. July 9tli: Dick Topp and Henry and self made a track over Blowhard. Topp. after digging a track to a fence, walked along tho top of tho fenoo for a distance of about five miles.

July 10th: Got to creek on top of Blowhard. Left eight horses there," and took three for packing back to the hut. Still thawing. July lltli: Picked up Henry's horses (draughts} and cam© through Richardson's track. A heavy snow was falling. When the pnrty got to the liorsos, the flat top on tho ridge was deep with drifted snow, and digging had to be undertaken to get the horses out. It was not long before thev struck a blizzard—a strong wiud with driving flakes of ice. Progress was painfully slow. Tn placcs the drifted snow was frozen, but not sufficiently hard to carry the weight of a horse. On several occasions the liors©3 got into drifts varying from G to 8 feet deep, and had to bo dug out. Much time was lost in theso operations. Sometimes a horse got off the track and had to he brought back by a circuitous wny. Trees also lay across the way, and tho trunks of five large ones had to be cut through, besides numerous smaller ones. At n:ghtfall they were not out of the bush, but as their course was downward, tho horses wore ab'e to plunge ahead. They thought they would have to camp for tho night at tho "tin hut,'- but they determined to forge ahead, and arrived at the Oxford Hotel between 2 and 3 a.m., having been on the road about) 21 hours

In the nnrtv were four men and eleven horses. Mr Henry declares that but for Mr Starkev knowing every inch of the track, as if by intuition, they would not have got through at all. So far as relieving the necessities of the settlers, nothing can be done till tho snow molts; nor can an estimate of the damage bo made. Mr Starkey says that at his end of the vnlley the sheep wore not under snow. They were penned in by it, but he had no doubt that further up the valley there would be manv buried.

The party saw no sign of Mr Bruce, who set out from Oxford early last .week to reach his hut in which he had left a youth named Harold Semmens, whoso parents reside at 191 Cambridge terrace.

Mr MacKenzie, stock inspector, is in the district, mailing enquiries and investigation in regard to the result of the snowstorm.

A Christchurch motorist who took his enr from town to about five miles past Wf-sS Oxford yesterday, found no difficulty in doing so. He went via West Eyreton, and first met with snow about Bennetts. From Carlton to Oxford, tho road was covered with about a foot of snow, but this did not hinder tbe progress of the car, which could not, however, proceed further than some five miles past Oxford. A strong north-westerly wind was blowing yesterday, and snow was seen to be thawing rapidly.

The weather yesterday was delightful, with the exception of a slight lapse in the afternoon. There was a regular springlike touch in tho atmosphore in tne forenoon, aud a fairly strong bieeza from tbe north-east, veering at times to tho nor'-west. The sun was quite hot at .midday, and thero were small clouds of- dust on the roads, distinctly reminiscent of spring. Shortly before four o'clock dark grey banks of clouds came up from the west and south-west, against the wind, and for about half an hour intermittent showers of rain fell, heavily \yhilo thev lasted. Later on in the evening tho slcy cleared again and the mcon and stars were visible. There is nothing fresh to report about the Lake Coleridge railway services, which are normal. Telegraphic communication also remains as on Saturdav, no fresh wires having been made available The work of repair is being pushed forward as rapidly as possible.