ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

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

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

, MR. SCHUBERT'S STATEMENT. A TERRIBLE JOURNEY. ' j; ■ (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) I Auckland, March 27. (~ . "It's my first' ami..last, attempt .at i : mountaiuvenng.". '. . • !;■ This was the. pmphatic statement made k' ■ by Mr. Schubert iwlio was ono of -tho ;'v ; " party that had.oiicn a distiessing expert-' j> tnce on' the inhospitable slopes of Kua- ■ pchu, at liis lioiio at. Derouport' to-day. *S -; Air. Schubert had just been bathingihis ' feet , when the .rejxjrter arrived... on the. j?. ... scene; arid' lie held them up 'lor inspecj:' " tion. They were badly swollen, and must have beeu very piinful.' He talked estingly of ,the terrible exj-ericnces of the; : " alpine climbc-a. , i. - Mr'/, Bingham, ho/said, was physically, the weakest .cf the party. He was lightly' dressed, and on. Sunday was- almost per-: !•„ ' ishe'd withhold. \tto was :then practically i in a state of collapse, arid' he"(Mr; Setups ■' belt), who was the only man who had a i- . fir.sk, gave him a strong nip of brand-.v,-f . which pulled him round again The cold | . • was frightful, and' quite, inconceivable to, BLyone liviag in town. Their coats and I .hats were as stiff as a board, and their !' ' limbs and hands were numbed.- A heavy [ ■■'. fall of fog lay. over the rugged face of the t- ; . mountain, and obscured the view for: any gieat distance. The cold continued to in- '■ creaso in intensity, and clad as they were 1 m summer clothing, the sufferings of tho K' party were terrible. .; \-No one in the company had the least iidea'in which direction the camp lay, but I / .-death stared !hwh*'in the face, and"'tho

:■ descent 1 had to be made gradually. The ; - party (which -conprised yoiing Bingham, i" ; Miss Co'che, and Jdessrs/Waters and Schu- {:. . bert),, worked tliei r way over towards -the :■ . base of .the mountain and-camped on the, j. ridge.' . ■ • L' ."I could have sworn-it was the site cV . the camp because' it- had., three ■ pools i-1- ' identical with three pools by the camp," said, Mr. Schubert, "but I■ was mistaken. I':.'. It'was how quite dark, and.we',lit afiro' i■ which, was soon burning brightly, and !: / 'greatly improved matters. \ f ; ■'•; "Miss Coclie was very keen on getting: j:':"v'an early, start on' Monday ' morning.'.so :■ i at .5 ,u'clock, while. it was still dark, w<> again set out, our intention being to go jr : , td Hie lop of the ridge. |. v : ' "At this stage Biuglnim and Miss Coclie f. decided to remain ' behind. It was no ! ..' use the'rest of the parly, doing so, s-> ■ Watery and I set out again, honing wo j might obtain assistance. Before 'caving. I gave'Bingham nearly all fny matches. . 'and told him to get a fire going. That ' ■ : was the' last .we saw of him." j ' . 'VM.r"... Schubert went on to relate what'happened during the remainder o' 1 hat terrible, journey down the mountain fv-;-,,8i(1e; After leaving Miss, Coche and - l ■■ -Bingham' behind, lie and his companion Pj .'; decided'to attempt to get to the foot.of ?•:" the big glacier. With the cold pene'trat- [. ing right through thelu, and with aching i'-\. lirabs, they pushed bravely onward. Of ! th'ey would slip on a piece of treacherous. •j ■ rock, but always managed to regain their j' ' . looting. Their boots were . soon , cut t» ' • pieces, and afforded but little protection P...for Itlieir feet, but, hoping against hope, .v '. they ■ stumbled onward. : ■ It was: over 25 .hours -since cither, of

them had tasted food,,and. the 'pangs 11' b 'X.hunger added to their misery. Water was E- .' plentiful—icy! cold creek., water—and the;.:, f. wore ablo to slake their, thirst. The fog f . bad by this time partly lifted; and nccping across the country the mountaineers .we're, delighted to behold a train speeding ' over the "Waiinarino Plains far. down ■ Jaelow them. The sight filled them witn - renewed', hope. Safety was in., sicht, bu. their troubles were not half over. ; • Stiff with cold and half famished, the j.. . two'set off . down the slope with-as much haste as was possible. Not knowing-the" ' track, they decided to follow '"a Vcrcek'" ; 1 ; which' they knew must '■ lead to level country; The water was up to their knees a'great deal of the way, and it was / frightfully cold. That night, after a lot ?;,< of .trouble, they lit a fire. After a. sleep- ; less night, they agaiu set off early next . morning. ■' The. bush was '"sohielbltig-"friglitfitl,"- ' . to nso 'Mr. Schubert's own; .words,-- and . progress ' was painfully"-, slow.'""! "For'an ; ■■'. hour they pushed their . way .' through .. heavy growth, onlyto find. that, they were i . ; practically back fii thesame' placo they r . etarte<l from. There seemed, to be no ; end of bush, and.both of-tlicm-'lhought- , they; would. never get out. of it nlive. } " Eventually tber~se«nicrt"to"i-et" through

it, and they started out across the plains for" -Waimari.no. " A blinding-snowstorm came on after they left the mountain, and almostovorenmo them. A wind of hurricane intensity was blowing, arid niado progress very slow. . It. wa.3 2.30- o'clock on Tuesday afternoon before Wdimarino was reached, and since' 1 o'clock on .Sunday the .•distressed mountaineers liad not tasted food. A hot bath and soino stimulant, followed by a meal provided by the- sta.tionmastcr put a different complexion on matters, however, and they were shortly afterwards able to leave for Ohakuno. "Do you think thero ia any chanco of Bingham being alive?'' Mr. Schubert was asked. "iwt tho. slightest," was the reply. "I reckon wo 'wore the two strongest of the party, and by Tuesday afternoon wo were completely ' 'done.'" THE SEARCH PARTY. DISCOVERY OF BINGHAM'S BODY. \ Ohakune, March 27. Word was received from tho search party about 'five o'clock this ' afternoon to the effect that tho body of Mr. Bingham had been recovered about 9.15 this morning by a party, consisting of . Messrs. Blyth, Christie, Hyde, Tansey, and Carr. The body was found in about five feet of water, about half a mile above the waterfall, and seven miles up the creek from the viaduct.: : Tho party whioh found the body returned, and .loft the body to lie brought in by a.relay party,, which is expected to arrive hero to-morrow. ' The stream where the body was found is very' rough, and Mr. Bingham apparently, met his death by falling over a ledge. The body was not badly knocked 'about; but there wis a wound on the foreheady probably caused by striking a boulder in the fall.

An. inquest will probably bo held tomorrow.