News from Pohangina

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 70, 1 December 1887, Page 2

News from Pohangina

£OUB OWK COMtESPONBEKT.J November 28. Notwithstanding the wet weather we have had, advantage has been taken of occasional fine days to push on with the sheep shearing. Mr : Hunt has finished his flock, while Mr . McDonald is nearly through with his. The last named gentleman had a narrow escape from what might hay» proved a serious accident last Tuesday week. He was returning from his farm with Mr Runt just before dark. Part of the main Pohangina road is a swamp, and a bad one at that, with a culvert and a ditch to take the water away. The soil which was thrown out when the road wa& formed, is quite solid enough to carryalmost any weight. The horse Mr McDonald was riding seeing a good bite of grass must needs go over to it, and leaving the hard ground, wascomfortably bogged in the black mud of the swamp. : There being plenty of settlers around and about, assistance was soon obtained, but nothing could .- be done that night as the rain wasfalling in torrents ; therefore we covered up the unfortunate animal with a horsecloth and left him there. Im the morning it was found that during the night the poor beast had struggled so much for liberty that it had got deeper into the mire, until nothing* could be seen of it but a very Bmall part. Messrs McDonald, Hunt, and Durling finding they could do nothing with their unaided efforts, Mr Hunt kindly Jwent to Ash,hurst to. enlist assistance. Mr Warne sent a team of six bullocks, and on their arrival at the spot a strong rope was fastened round the girth of the horse. When? this was done, the driver, Mr Francis, started the team gently and carefully* so that in a tew minutes the horse was once more on the metalled road. On examination it was. found it had not been injured in any way. There is a good deal of land closed up for grass seed in the Block this season. The Pohangina School is goingahead rapidly, and the average attendance of scholars is 24 daily. Mr Beeves, the teacher, is well, liked by all the settlers, as he takes a great interest in the welfare of the phildren. The only drawback i& the present school is rather small, it being only an aided one. As there are more " married people arriving with families, to settle, it will soon have to be considerably enlarged. A little fine weather here now would W of serviceby making ihe road better for the youngsters to get , to *nd fro, roads between Mr Warners mill and ' the Manchester boundary are in a fearful state, and almost impassable. A very heavy hailstorm passed over this district on Thursday last, thehailstones beiug unusually large.