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Grey River Argus, Volume IV, Issue 259, 10 September 1867, Page 2

i&ep.s. Dispatch left Greymoujih at 6.30 ppa.m. oh Friday fpr Fox's ajicl the Buller f Arrived at Fox's, at 9.s°, and" discharged a few tons of cargo, and proceeded on to 'the ' Buller, arriving there at 2.30 p.ra : Her services being required' by the brig Mountain Maid, which was ashore, the Pjspatch dropped d.own the river- and endeavored to get the brig off, but without success. She returned to, her moorings, and discharged her cargo the following morning, At 3 p.m. phe went outside and towed in $ie schooner Glengarry, from Makapawau, Pe'lorous Sound, timber laden. Afterwards she made another ' attempt to release the Mountain Maid, but with no better success than before. Left on her return trip at 0.30 a. in. on Sunday, and arrived off the Grey bar at 1 p. m., but did not enter' until 4.30. Crossed the bar against a very heavy current and fresh, but reached the wharf without accident. After landing her passengers the Dispatch the river and ' gave the T7^^^^|B|||hern Light a heavy tow line to ii»/ _ Vs£m« sfihore ; and afterwards steamed up the riveirio'the bight ab.ove the wharf, so as to avoid the >trp,ng current paused by the heavy freshet! Biffing the night the fresh went down suddenly, and the Dispatch was ]ef t aground, ' but it is expected she will get into the channel next fide. Captain Dcare repqrts that the p.s. Nelson arrived at the Buller on Sunday morning, and that quite a fleet of steamers „- were lying in the river, vi?., the Kennedy, 1 Nelson, Wallabi, Bruce, Southland, Murray, Waipara, Woodpecker, Beautiful Star, Wm. Miskin, and Dispatch. The Murray and Waipara were bcth laid on for-Mohikiuui. The schooner Norohem Light hasliada narrow escape of being carried over the bar and wrecked. As mentioned in our last report this schooner, as also the Hilander, had taken the ground on the shingle bank on the south side of the river, almost as far down as the lagoon. The holding ground is not good at this point, the shingle being constantly ''{dive," but it was thought that both vessels would be able tp maintain their hold until lightened of a pprtipn'of their cargo. The heavy rain which fell pn Friday Right and Saturday morning must have extended up the country, for on Saturday evening the fresh began to come down with considerable volume. The Northern Light having taken a slew which placed her broadside on to the current, she soon began to dr;»g her anchors and drift down stream. Steps were promptly taken to secure her by •warps to the shore, but there was a difficulty in finding anything to moor to, the old stumps on the beach being the only thing in .the shape of a mooring post that is to be obtained. Some of these were tried, but were pulled up, and in one instance the rope snipped like a thread. In the meantime the P hooner drifted nearer and nearer to the bar, but ultimately a ji"e was made fast ashore, which, with the aid of 75 fathpmp of chain,' saved her frpin the fate which appeared at one time to he inevitable. On the arrival of the Dispatch on Sunday evening, a heavy tpw line was put aboard the schooner, and this having been made fast on shore she was rendered tolerably safe. Fortunately the fresh went dewn during the n^ght, and the schooner, although she has drifted a little more into the chnnel, is put of immpdiate danger. Had \he heavy fresh continued during Sunday night we fear we should have had to .report Ithat the Northern Light had been cast asjipre. She will be towed up the river by the Dispatch at the first opportunity. We omitted to mention* in our last issue that Messrs Montgomery aiid Co's fine new prahm, the launch of which we reported a .few weeks ago, has met with an untimely fate, and now lies in a dilapidated condition above the wharf. As we have before mentioned this fine large boat was specially con- .-..- strueted for the up.river trade, and that there was accommodation pn board fpr the horses employed in towing. The boat, which had pn board 10 tons of pargp and two horses, besides a crew of five men, was crossing the river at a short distanpe abpye the Twelve Mile, when she drifted into a pieep eddy ; caused by the confluence pf two rapids. Beingrather low-sided, she sucked under so much as to cause the water almost immediately to, .fill her, and she sank at once. One of the ; hqases was drowned, but the ■ ffiyt m«Mgod to swim ashore all safe. The

boat a^t irxrards drift d down the stream to the next fall, when coming in contact with a Snag her bows were smashed in, and she was otherwise seriously damaged, bhe will hoivever be repaired,' ami slightly raised at the side, so as to prevent the recurrence of a similar disaster. Most of the cargo was recoa ered more or less damaged. Tke schooner Storm Bird, of and from Launceaton, originally bound for Hokitika, arrived in tl^e offing yesterday morning, top late on the tide for her to enter, but will be towed iv this morning. Her inability to enter the Ho.kitika River, after waiting about ten days in the roadstead, induced her captain to make for this port. She brings a general pargo^qf Tasmanian produceswjn'ch will doubtless find a good market here. She is consigned tp Messrs D. Gird wood and Co., and her pargo will be sold by auction according to advertisement \a another column. The schooner lona, coal laden from this port, got ashore at Hokitika on Sunday, whilst jn tow of the Lpnes,s. When prossing the bar the lona took a sljeer and got aground on the North Spit. The tug tried every means tp haul her pff, but without success. It was expected she would be got afloat yesterday, but we have not heard if that expectation has been realised. The schooner Brothers and Sister, also coal laden from the Grey, entered the river all safe. The s.s. Claud Hamilton called off the Buller on Thursday evening, and shipped 26680z of gold. We understand the Panama Co.'s steamers will in future call regularly. Mr Frank Fisher has been appointed agent. The Mokihinui trade has now fairly com- i menced, and a mosquito fleet may shortly be expected to be regular traders. The little cutter Ecljpse sailed a few days agp and arrived off the river on Tuesday. It was then dead low water, but as a fair wind was blowing she essayecj. the bar and got safely over, though slip bumped two or three times in the passage. She was drawing fflur feet of water at the time, but, as will be seen by the Murray's report, at high water the least depth was nine feet. No damage whatever, either to vessel or cargo, was sustained j through the grounding. — JVestpQrt Times, 7.th hist. The s.s. Murray, Captain Holmes, has irfhds her first trips to the Mokihinui She left Westporj; about 11 o'clock on Thursday, and arrived off the Mokihinui about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, crossing the bar without trouble, the lead giving 9 feet as the least water. She tpok twenty tons general cargo, 5000 feet timber, and 80 passengers. She left again at 4 a.m. on Thursday, after discharging her camo and passengers, and arrived off the Buller at G. 30 a.m. She started a.^ain yesterday for the same destination with a full cargo and a large complement of passengers. When at the Mokihinui she had orders for. goods nearly enough to fill her. —Ibifl, 7th inst. The steamer Wm'. Miskin, which returned from the We^t Coast pn Sunday morning, left the Buller. on the 13tii inst. At the time of her departure there wefre fourteen feet pf water on the bar. She called off the Pakihi and Fox's, an 4 gpt a few passengers for GreymQut{j. At that pprt there were 12 feet pf water on #ie bar. As it was impossible for her to get into. Hokitjka, there being only four feet six inchej of water qu the bar, she landed at Gfreymoiith all her Hokitika cargo. Wfyeu she passed the latter port on tjie lo^h there i^ere lying in the roadstead the Alham? bra, Lloyd's Herald, Storm Biul, Florence, and other vessels. Off Cliffy Hea4 she passed the schooner Caledonia, and off Okarita, qn . $Ie sq.ine evening, ghe passpd the schooner Caledonia, and off Okarita, on the same evening, she passed the Excelsior. On the 16th, the breeze which had prevailed durjng the day freshened into a gale from the S.W., with a very heavy sea, and, as the vessel was making very little headway, she put into Milford Sound, anchoring in Anita Bay. The schooner Ann, from Riverton for Greymouth, put into the same place for shelter. On the 17th, it blew a strong gale from S.S.W., with severe squalls. The ship was moored with hawsers to the shore, and the crew were employed in taking on board 12 tuns of stone ballast from the beach. On the 18th there was constant rain, with violent squalls, On the 19th the gale continued, with squalls equally severe and frequent. On the 20th she went outside, but the gale freshened from W.S.W., and a heavy sea was luoning. She, therefore, bore up again for Milford yound, and anchored in Freshwater Basin, with warps to the shore, as formerly. On the 21st she got under way, and brought up in Anita Bay, the gale continuing with unabated strength, accompanied by heavy rain, thunder and lightning. The same weather prevailed u.ntil the 23rd, when she left at 4.30 a.m. She subsequently proceeded on her passage without interruption, though there was a heavy sea along thef coast ; and at 3 p.m. on Saturday she called at the Bluff, leaving for Dunedin, after a stay of two hours. — Daily Times, 27th ult. The s.s. Wm. Miskin sailed from Port Chalmers for Westport and Greymouth on the Ist inst. Wreck of tub schooner Dagmak; at Wai icava.— lnformation of the wreck of the new schooner Dagmar was yesterday conveyed by telegraph to Mr Keith Ramsay, and in the afternoon, Captain Neil Smith, who was in command of the schooner, arrived in town from Waikava, where the disaster occurred. The D«a»niar was a bran-new schooner, and was only on her maiden trip when the accident happened, which has resulted in her complete loss. She was built at Pelichet Bay, and while alongside Stuart street Jetty, after she was launched, she was fitted out in a very perfect manner, both as regards sails and near. The following particulars of the accid :nt have bieu kindly furnished to us by Captain Smith :— The Dagmar left Waikava Wharf on . Monday, 26th August ; made as far as Dryfoot Bay, just inside Waikava Heads, the wind blowing about W.N.W. Lay there till Wednesday morning, when the wind was from the N.E., a good sailing breeze. Lifted anchor and made sail, but, when in the Narrows, the wind died away. Ihe master was obliged.to let go the anchor. The tide was at the last of the ebb, and while the vessel was slewing to her auchor, tlie sea struck her on tho bow, and hove her stem on to the rocks. The first sea carried away the rudder and stern post, and then the vessel got broadside on. The kedge anchor was immediately run out, and the hawser taken to the windlass, but the hawser parted. A secpnd auchor was then run out, and she was got off; but on heaving up she got brp.ad^ide on a second time. The same anchor was run put again, and again she was got off; but she was found tp be sinking fast. She was then hauled in as far as possible p,n the beach, where she now lies sunk, Capt. M'Callum, master of the Cora, Capt. Deuchras, master of the Aparima, and Mr Robert Campbell, ship carpenter, at the master of the Dagmar's request, held a suryey pn vessel, anq 1 condemned her as a . total wreck. The " wreck and cargo were spld pn behalf of whpin it may concern, fpr 1^36, tp a Mr "Runcan Smith. The vessel was worth LSQO, and i_s iusured in the New Zealand Company's office for Lsoo.— Daily Tiyies, 3rd inst.