A THRILLING INCIDENT.

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 105, 23 February 1893, Page 2

A THRILLING INCIDENT.

One of the Reddest calamities in conuclion viih. the flood is the drowtiinji "case of the Jnctson family, which occurred at Blackwall. The T ooiroomba Chronicle rjtcs the following account \-2- .' / The residence of Mr Peter Jackson, an engine-driver, is situated on the bank of the Brisbane Kiv«r, at Blackball, about fire miles distant from Ipswich. From Miss Jackson, our reporter learned that on Friday afternoon Mr Peter Jackson left home for his work. Some time after Mr Jackson had left horoethe encroach*ing waters rapid! j advanced to the house, and 80 dangerous was the position at day dawn on Saturday' that Miss Katie Jackson and Mt John Howe urged Mrs Jackson to quit the house and seek safety on the hill. Haying a boat near by, Mrs Jackson, with Miss Katie .Jackson (18 Tears of age), a son, Harry ? (nine ; Tears of age), and two other daughters, Elizabeth Beatrice and Ada (.aged^ seven years and fire years respectively), jeft in it for the shore ((he house then being completely surrounded), whilst Miss Mary Jackson (the eldest dauaufor) and Mr Howe (a. labourer) remained, in, thehouse, it being arranged that the youni woman, Jtntio, should return 'For' then^ she being a good rover and ' a splcnded^ swimmer, white her mother ' steered that boat to the shore. Unhappily, when within a few feet of the bank* the craft struck against a woody projection .and. capsised, depositing the occupants in the water. The mother and the daughter Beatrice struck out for trees, and sue-' cceded m reaching them, and were subsequently rescued. On the boat upsetting the three children clunsi to ,Miss .Katie, The four must have gone' under together, and it is doubtful now if the bodies will erer be recovered. About 8 o'clock, two hours after the boat bad left, the; house, the water was getting so high in the domicile that Mr It owe and Miss Jack •• son had to climb on to the roof. Within an hour and a, half after reaching the roof the building wus lifted off its supports and getting into the stream was carried at a fearful 6peed down thi riyer for between two and three miles, when it crashed against a tree and broke into hundreds of pieces, the incase being like the report of a gun. Miss Jackson and Kowe, by a supreme effort, succeeded in reaching the tree and clambectqg up to a couple of forks some four or five' feet above the rushing water. There was soon a big crowd of people on the bank.j {£Es>9 house bad originally been situated' on tola side of the river, but, in, the journey, had gone towards the opposite bank, from which the tree in which the two poor unfortunates were was not moro thau 30 yards. A boat having been secured, Messrs H. Mill?, G. Graham, audS. Webb went towards the tree and threw a rope to those upon it; which Miss JacksoA very pluckily caught, and immediately fastened round a limb, but the force of the stream was so 'terrific, that as soon as the full length of the line had been reached, it snapped iike a piece of cotton. Constables Murray and Sangster then tried, and succeeded in getting a rope to the occupants of the tree, but it again snapped like a piece of thread. Presently the .boat in which the rescue party were struck against a tree— Constable Sangster and Sydney Webb then being the only occupants. The boat was immediately swamped, and Sangster caught a "tree and clambered on to it, whilst Webb clung to the boat, calling to his companion to do likewise, Present ly he was carried into calm w,ater and succeeded in gaining the bank. Constable Sangster 1 a perch was but a slender one, and was swayed to and fro so much by the current that it threatened every minute to give way. Many attempts were made to rescue him by those from the bank, but proved futile. About 6 o'clock the limb on which he was located broke, and he sank quickly below the surface. . Ultimately Miss Jackson and Mr Bowe were rescued in a terribly exhausted condition.