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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume V, Issue 120, 28 July 1853, Page 3

Ruins or an Ancient and Magnificent City at Tinian Island, in the North Pacific. —Captain Alfred K. Fisher, of this town. informs us that when on his last whaling \ voyage, in theship America, of New llcdl'nrd, ■ which \y;is about eight years ago, hohadoe- | casion lo \isil the island of Tinian, one of ! the I.adrone islands, lo land some sick men. He slo|)|ii'd there some diiys. One of liis '• uii'ii, in his walks nlionl the island, came lo ' tht! entrance ol the main street of a large and : splendid cily in ruins. Captain I'isher, on being informed of the fact, enlered llic city by the principal sired, which was about ; three miles in length. The buildings were ; all ol'slone, of a dark colour, ami of the i most .splendid description. In about the ' centre of the main street he found twelve solid stone columns, six on each side of the • street, they wereahoul forty-live or fifty feel in height, surnioiniled by capstones of immense weight. Till? columns were ten feet ] in dialnelcr at the. hase, and ahoul three lect at the lop. Captain K. thinks llic colimiims , would weigh about sixty or seventy tons, and the capstones about (ifiecn tons. One of the columns had fallen, and he had a lino opportunity to view its vast proportions and lino architecture, l'roin the principal street a large number of other streets diverged. Tiii 1 )' were all straight, and the buildings were ol'slone. The whole of the cily was entirely overgrown with cocoainil-lrees, which were lil'ty and sixty feel in height. In tin; main street, pieces of common earthenware were found. Tin; island has been in possession of the Spaniards for a long time. Six or seven Spiniards resided in the island when Capt. 1", was there. They informed him that the Spaniards had had possession about sixty years; that they took the island from the Kuackas, who were entirely ignorant of the builders of the city, and or the former inhabitants. When questioned as to the origin of the city, their only answer was, I "There must have been a powerful race here a long liuio ago." Capt. K. also saw on the island immense ledges ol'slone, from which the buildings and columns had evidently been erected. Some portions of them exhibited signs of having been worked.— Here is food forspeiailaliou. Who were the founders of this once magnificent city in tin; .North l'aritic, ami what has become of their descendants.' Whatever the answer may he, they were evidently a race of a very superior order. — Kdijiirloicti (V. S.) (ittzcltr. A I.vki: i.\ ax Austrian Svi.t Mi.ni:.— This gnome lake is but a mere drop of water in the mountain mass, its length being three hundred and thirty, and its breadth one hundred and sixty feet. Our guides lighted more caudles, ami we began lo see their rays rellecied from the water; we could hear too, the dull plashing of the boat, which we could not see, as old Charon slowly ferried lo our shore. ..More lights were used ; they Hashed and dickered from the opposite ferry station, apd we began to have an indistinct sense of a

spangled dome, and of an unduai.ng surface of thick, Wat* water, llim«B»i wl"«* ~< .•0n.'...? boat loomed darkly. M.jre camllcs were 'lighted on both sides of iho Ko.il.auscr lake, a W Slvx, defying all iho illuminating force of candles, dead andi dark ~, us dim cave, even H.n limils of whirl) all our li»hls ilid not swvc lo define. Iho boat .vached Uio place of embarkation, and wo wandering pilosis, half walked am) wore I.a f carried into its broad clumsy hulk, and look each his allotted seal in ghostly .«!«'"«;«•• There was something realty lemble ... .1 all, in tin: slow funeral pace al wind, wo Moated across Uio subterranean Jake; in the dead miiel among us, only inlorruptod by Hie slow plunge of liie oar Into the sick y waters. In spile of all Hir lisliis llial had been kindled we were still in a thick vapour of darkness, and could form bill a dreamy notion ol Uio beauty and grandeur of ll.e crystal dome within which wo men from ll.e. upper earth were hidden from our fellows. Ihe lights were nannl alollas we across ihe lake, and nowand ihon were llashe.l back rrom ihe hanging slalaclile, but that was a 1. The misty darkness about us brought to the rancv al 'the. same, lime rearful images ami none of us were sorry when we reached ll.e oilier shore in safiey. There a rich slow of li-dit awaited us, and there we were tol.l a laiimus lale about the last archducd visit lo these salt mines, when some thoiisamls of lighted iapers gliitered ami flashed about him, and exhibiied Ihe vanlied roof and spanned in all their beauty. As we were not archdukes, we had our Hades lighted onlvbv a pound or short sixloens.—//««*■Itold ii'orJs.

Siv l)ws in a Giuvu.—An account was given a short lime ago of two men and a liov liaving been buried six days and six. niHils in a mail pit at Keretlevillo, in Ihe dcpirtment of Hie Seine Infenonre, and then rescued. A relation of tin; affair, derived from the sufferers, is now given in a Itouen paper. Dining the whole or that lime thev were without food, without water, without "light, and almost without clothes; and they were in such a confined place that, with the exception of the hoy. they could not stand upright. Boiiaril, lliceldesl man, declares that during llic whole time he did not sleep more than two hours; but his two companions, and cs;ecially the youngest, slept more. Thev slept back to back. I hey fell no hunger, and lloilard says that even if thev had had provisions, they would not have touched them; but they experienced great thirst. On the fourth day they found a little water thick with marl, by digging into the bottom of the pit. It was this water probably that preserved their strength. At first they heard the noise or the pickaxes and spades above ihem; but during the last three days their breathing was so loud as to prevent ft from reaching them, and this circumstance naturally increased their agony of mind; they also feared the miners were digging in a wrong direction. One of them had about fifty chemical matches and a small piece of candle; but though they often tried, thev could not, from want of air, cause the candle lo burn. During the latter part of the time thev became so exhausted as lo be unconscious of thtir position; but I hey remembered that the boy once cried as if in a dream, "There is the rope, lloilard! Let us ascend!" Only one or them, Briard, was able to shod tears; and when he did so, the boy consoled liim by telling him that they were sure to be rescued. The moment a breath or air reached them they fainted, but after a while recovered, The first thing lloilard said, on being rescued, was "(live me a pinch of snuff!" and lie look it with intense delight. Galiytmiii. A iiomaiN Version or an Axr.ir.yr T.u.i:.--The inscription is called Melier Kapousi, which, according to the people or Wan, means the Shepherd's Gale, from a tradition that a shepherd, having fallen asleep beneath it, was told in a dream ihe magic word that opened the spell-bound portal, lie awoke, and straightway tried the talisman. The stonedoors flew apart, disclosing lo his wondering eyes a vast hall filled with inexhaustible treasures; but as he entered, they shut again behind him. lie filled with gold ihe bag in which, as lie tended his flocks, he carried his daily food. After repeating llic magic summons, he was permitted to issue into the open air. Hut he had left his crook, and must return for it. The doors were jure more unclosed at his bidding. He sought to retrace his steps, but ho had forgotten llic talisman. .His faithful dug wailed outside until nightfall. As its master did nol come, back, it then took up the bag of gold, and carrying it lo tins shepherd's wife, led her lo "the gales of Ihe cave. She could hear ihe cries of her husband, and ihey arc heard to this day, but none can 51 v 0 hi 111 help. L'lyuril's Remains of iXinevah.

Attacks iiy Am.igatoks.—As two Kaffirs I were crossing llic Umgcni, :i low days ago, al llio Upper Drill, one of ilium was seized | by an alligator, ami severely lacerated on I die thigh and arm. His companion, in trying lo rescue him, diverted Hie wralli of the aiiinial lo himself. Leaving hold of ihelir.sl vielim, il seized ihe oilier in Hie side, boiwecn its huge jaws, and rapidly disappeared I Willi dim. Thus llio. poor fellow lost jiis 'life in saving his companion. Serious injnrv has been received by our estimated fellow-townsman llic Hev. J. A. Duller, lof the American mission, from the attack I of an alligator, whilst crossing the I'ucomas, on horseback, after leaving a station on the other side of that river, on bis return lo that of the Hev. W. Ireland. The ravenous animal, wo understand, first smacked lite. I horse, and afterwards seized Mr. Duller in the. thigh, dingging him from his horse. He was*providenlially able to hold on by Ibe mane, otherwise he must inevitably have been carried off, and have perished. In this position, he and ihe. alligator were drawn hv the gyratory motions of the terrified horse, amongst the reeds, al tin; side of llic river, and Sir. Duller was rescued by ihe natives, who were providentially on the spot, and who beat oil' ihe alligator with their knob slicks. Mr. Duller received very extensive and serious lacerations on the thigh and leg, and in that state of agony and exhaustion, bad to proceed on horseback, with the assistance of the Kaffirs, a distance of seven miles to Mr. Ireland's station. Wearehappy to hear, be is progressing favourably.—.Y«/<ii Memmj. .-owing YVui.vi. —A French farmer lias taken out a patent for improvements for increasing Ihe produce of anlnmnal wheal.— These improvements are based on a supposed discovery of the patentee that autumn wheal is, contrary to the generally-received opinion, a biennial "plant ; and il is to develope its natural capabilities, and lo rescue the plant from the stale of degeneracy to which a long course of improper management has reduced it, that are the objects proposed to he attained by him. The ground in which the wheal is lobe sown must be tilled and well manured, and the sowing is directed to take place between the 20th of April and the KHh of May; il iuav be a few days earlier or later, bill'.somewhere between those dates is, the patentee says, the proper moment. The field having" been divided into squares of about a quarter or an aero each, diagonal rows of holes are dug at a distance of from lificen to twenty inches apart, in each of which are deposited four grains of wheat, arranged in a circle or otherwise, al a little distance, from each oilier. This done, the holes are filled in, and when the plants have grown to the height of about four inches, three out of the four plants (which are supposed to have sprung up from the seed) are to be pulled up, leaving one plant only, and that Ihe strongest and most healthy ; the produce or wheal from which, when il arrives al maturity, will he very considerably increased over the usual yield. Dy I'ollowing out Ibis course of treatment, the quality of ihe grain will be increased each succeeding vear until il arrives al a stale of perfection, of which, under the ordinary system, il is supposed lo bo quite incapable.— Mechanic's Magazine. Advantages or Dnti.i. Sowing.—Now that attention will be directed lo sowing crops, il may he advantageous to say a lew words on llio' mode in which this work should be done. The old practice or sowing " broadcast" ought lo be al once and for ever scouted from the occupation of all who have a character for skill lo preserve, or a desire to manage their land with a view to the greatest profit. Drill sowing has threefold advantages over the old lazy system ', il saves seed, economises labour, and invariably produces stronger and more regularly-placed plants. A field of mangold wurzel sown broadcast, will require nearly a third more seed than is required for the same space when drilled, the plants (Miming in irregular patches will require lo be hoed al least three, if not four limes lo bring them into the necessary order; while those in drills may be singled out al almost the first hoeing, certainly they never require to be gone over but twice; in addition to which, from Ihe extra space and (juaniilv of air, they are always stronger, and iuav therefore be thinned at an earlier age, bv which they retain their original advantage, and continue lo be ihe best, broadcast sowing is, in plain words, placing seed in the ground where il is uoi wanted, merely to have the trouble of cutting il up again.— Il is altogether behind the present age, and should never be employed even for turnips, which are much more, profitably deposited in the ground by means of a drill.