Exciting Experiences at the Stratford Fire.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1612, 19 January 1886, Page 2

Exciting Experiences at the Stratford Fire.

The experiences of the .Woodruff family are, as follows : — Owing to the rapid' ad-" vance o£ the lire they had to leave their , house 'anoV clearing <very 'hurriedly; Mrs (Woodruff had with her. an infant of a, few days old, jand although she was m a i delicate condition herself,, . hadj withher faiuilyVto take refuge in' a 'creek. After iseeing his family 'safe for the tiiie'beingi, Mr Woodruff |ief t "tli'enr to " seewheiher there was any chancd of saving, some ot his property from ' the house. On account of the great danger his wife tried to dissuade him from goingj but without avail. Their [feelings on finding thaib.he did hot return', while' at the same time they could see the /; fire spreading over every infihot ground where he was supposed to be, are (liflscnit; to portray. It made them almost forjjet. their; own miserable pliglit, " They were overjoyed,^ however, to see c _ him for ..whose safety they .had giveji up;aU i'hope;, appear safe and ; well &•< sojoh ?is4he I flamel-had,bjurrit J themselves out. He had^. refuge m. the well. Seeing all' escape cut off he '■bethought hiiJQself of this refuge as the last and only resort, and'l6w.erifl£j t himsglf by the rope fiioin the windlass ' he ? sobii /formd; byims.elf/out,of the reach t^e .fire, and m atmoe^ihere tliat could sustain life. ■ Looking: up^h^ could 'see the 'flames runnine; along thje ground like a continuous' stream fire, and occasionally ' i hey > would lick drtwn the well and threaten hiui r eyen the^c.riThp windlass couW be; seen buriiiqg. First the :rope. became detached a%d*f ell down, and, it was at once apparent that a hew danger threatened when tlie siippbrts of the wihdlass should give way and 1 tlie'lieafy piie'ce of 'timber which formed the drum should fall upon 'him. , The , bu rning. length . \of ilog a^ last fell down;, and it wag only by squeezing closely, to the side of. the well that ho es,caped'Jieing struck by, it. It of course^ ' alight wl ien it fell, ' ' but hie' soon ' 'extinguished .what would otherwise have proved' to be i the means of surothering ■him. ; As the fire: advanced! on Stratford jby.Jeaps and; bounds, a settler galloped down the Opiinake road .Bhouti^fig to .the, settlers that the fire was upon them. The speed at which the fire advanced be ' realised wheii it is said" that th'e fire kept on the horseman's heels all" the 'way down the road, and that-none of those alarmed hacUtitn® to do more than escape with what they Wore. It is to .trace the origin of some ofthewild rnmora which were circulated. fejt.,was gravely asserted that the fire jhad hecomjß so fie,r^e . at Inglewocjd that ''the 'telegraphist jould not sitjinlua station owing to the inten|e*heat.i" In connection with thisr uiat|e^it.appears that at ajatefrc-ur on Friday night a request was made by one of stations that the ' Inglewood telegraphist should remain up all night to be m readiness toreoeive and despatch work," This, gen tleinau. had bjeen much .overworked during the prevalence of the 'fires, as were indeed' all the Government empjov.e.esfc and to the request which. .*> as inap.ej'm- a ] conversational way, here plied, " 6H, that's too, warm." This remark, after passing through two or three ""hands, reached the. public as the startling intelligence that Ingle wood, was. on fire, and that the' inhabitants were fleeing for their :livesj Mr J,i Arthur, Jbnes, j of Stratford, says, " I , saw a volume of smoke m a SV^./'directiojq, It'wastis-' ;irig, rapidly, with a fearful roaring noise, apd it mi*ht be from five toi ten minutes after it was like mVht ai>d blinding smoke, for the standing bmsh^^ducational Reseryejwas^.n^fire, backed with a S. W. -gale, which drove fires m large flakes iacrqss; ray- ihomestead.- -.1 lj»d'' -to stand , and see my' orchard < fence ?aijd ireesj stacks of fericing postsj 'and ilrnosf everything on tW farm a juass of flrej; Tlije next morning it was indeed, "desotofce* for hardly ,a green blade of' gri^sa was left ; even the sq^ heir\g hurqt l 6n| the crust ofth§ gJ^^^nd, ! a^d ! ft pad f dppk,,o ! f T fifty f acres of caoksfooj; Seed'swept 'with fire. -Here it met another bujidmg [ of/mine, whioh. it .thoroughly demolislied, locks, hinges, a tpn,f |Of v . fencipg. M ;wire, which, were stored inside, .making ( the site, of the house. jFroni here, jt.svfepV I^Qross . the.Peiubroke rofjd, .burning all myfences,' and" thoroughly/bur^mg^outf spme'of Yny { rieigHbours, and leading them^ destitute^', 'Mr Tories jfurther ,says ..tli^^.air ; was, thoroughly charged , with 'smoke, from the^ ; : blackened and charged logs, and everyone wishing ,fo ( r, ,rain. .Some^Engjuj^hj . trout supplied to him by MCr Newman^ althonghin th'e^lHr^ H vex. ..also in^f their doom.; , He picked, ,vp v some trou|t ten inchesilpng, and one .native i 'trout six ■ inches: ; 10ng. , ; They ; t had /very •-rapidly jaince pe,y\ had })een placed m his. .stream,, and 'he : only., hoped the fire Uad| npt killed iheni alt^ '" ■' '' ,'..' , ■. . , ';.