General News.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 3 September 1918, Page 4

General News.

Warrington got its full share of tlio j recont snowfalls. On one farm tho | family wore surprised, says tlie "Otugo Daily Tillies," to find it quite dark , lato one morning, anil discovered that , a snowdrift was banked up round tho house to a height of 15ft, through which they had to dig a "communicatioa sap" to the surface. Naturally, farm work in that locality was at a standstill, but tho community was not unduly depressed. They brought out household trays of various shapes and sizes, and climbed the long, steep slopes. ! Then, instead of the ordinary farming • routine ; , there was to be seen the in- : vigorating spectacle of fanners and their families careering swiftly and | gaily down the one-in-one gradients i mounted on tea travs, until tliej ! brought up against a wire fence at tho i bottom, when they gathered their respective trays and started over again. Some interesting- details of the attempted escape of three Germans irom Ar.ia were given to an Auckland "Star" reporter by a recent arrival from Samoa. "Captain SteiTcnay," he said, "was always considered a nativeborn citizen of the United States. Prior to the war he was master of a -steamer. It was later found that the captain was a naturalised American, and the Administrator (Colonel Logan) stopped him going to sea. He was not interned with the Gorman prisoners, but had to report himself at fixed times at lieadI quarters. Captain Stcffeiiay was allowed some freedom, being in charge of ! tho Solomon Island boys. That gave i him charge of somo stores, .but benzine i was under the care of Customs officers. i The captain liad to bo indoors each night at 6 o'clock,, the samG as other I Germans. It was this that 110 doubt i made him decide to escape. He utilised the trust placed in him to secure the stores intended for the Solomon islanders under his charge." The launch, in which the three men attempted to escape, was stocked with eight months stores and 120 cases of benzine. When a short way from the land tho "launch s engine l>roltc down, and this foct led to °the capture of the runaways.