MOUNTAIN PERILS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1709, 28 March 1913, Page 6

MOUNTAIN PERILS.

| • THE RUAPEHU CLIMBERS. U • ~~~~ r j . HUNGER AND EXPOSURE.

S MR. BINGHAM'S BODY FOUND l- .• •; FULL STORY OF THE ADVENTURE. (By Telesrraph—Special .Correspondent.) Auckland,. March 27. Graphic stories of their hardships and , experiences on Ruapehu have been related ■ by the young men, Waters and Schubert, ivho havo returned to Auckland. Both are . .. ' still'sulleriug i'roin : tlie effects of .their misadventure, the rough trip across coun'''tr 'having'" caused tneir. feet to and ankles to ache ' witii every movement. They aro not able to walk without suf,;jlenug mucli pain, and both nave conj, .tracted bail colds. Their systems are also }•,■. :■ affected.by want of no'urisnmeiit for such j. . a long period, the.'r only bu.'i- [, 1 ,' day to Tuesday beingiv lewjujubes. I. . When seen at his home, iu Jubilee Avj ... esue last evening, jUr. Waters, a young j: man, of sturdy build, said their trouble {. '. started on Sunday; when • young •' Bingv ham's strength 'gave out in the ascent.' i„ '. , They left .the main party, to return; with; him to the camp,' but this they failed to : . find, which is easily understood when it : is remembered that went up ..the i mountaia in'a 'log, and .eanie: down'"iii • similar conditions. 1 The 1 boys. M'lntyre t , and Burt, who were with them, wero un- :/ "decided which course to take, mid the re- ■ ' : suit was.that,"the party, of four camped '. ; 'i ■" for the night in the open. ' Next .morning, when they commenced ■: /: -:to,climb the precipitous side of the ridge . ...in order; to get .'their'' bearings, Mdlte. I Cocho and yoiug Bingham again failed iu tV... ' their efforts,' and,: so giving them, all the ; food the party . possessed, - ail apple, and I most ,of the brandy,.ho and Schubert set j \ out in the hope of gettinj assistance and j. '. leturning for the others.

■ When they reached the top of ,tho ridge, amiwere thus near, the summit - of the , \ nrountain, they sa.v the railway line and a station. Waters, who has been on a farm and knows something-of bush life, estimated that they .could reach the rail- . way about nightfall, and so they made a „ /beeline for it. They were,.however;; caught in a snowstorm on'the snow;fields before ' : tL'ey rcazhod tho bush, , and had to tako /" shelter for hours. : ■ ... About seyen o'clock that evening'they . reached a paitch o'f bush in a gully and .... .. camped for tho night. ; Witb difficulty', they made a fire,, and-wereso frozen -that ■ V their socks and putties were, burned bc- ,. fore they were aware of the heat. Next morning they, started about 'five ; and found . the bus'i travelling ' very arduous. ' Tho roun l boulders in the' , :creeks were, covered with sli-ny moss, and every few-yards they fell into the water. . When passing through the bush the dense rndcrgrowth mado . travelling painfully slow. ■' ■ ■->' : The first sight that greeted their eyes on emerging fro u .the bush on to the Wai-i i -niorino .Plains was. the tons') which stands ! back from tlio station. They; however,

j'. : , -struck the track which, leads 'to the stai ' . tion..; Tliay were received with open arms , by . the stati'itimaster,' Mr.- Hadfield, and he provided them with a hot meal, a hot I --'"-•bath,. and dried their clothcs. . The fam ; ished pair gratefully'-did 'justice : tb-Air' V : Hadjield's -'" , -Mr. Wate.'s marvelled'afr v endurance, for lib/said that.'.they only ::/-/ got out two before sho did. He expressed sorrow at what he considered must be the fato-of Mr. Bingham. ■ He says :that at tlio foot of-.-the wateri falls there are large boulders) and it is possible that tho unfortunate young man's -body was caught under one of them, and j/. ' : that he'way'drdwncd.