FURTHER PARTICULARS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XII, Issue 1733, 14 June 1886, Page 2

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

; U : Atjcki^nd. Saturday. Robinson and Marciiman, w<o went., put to reßcuk .the! fugitiyM? at Wairoa,| returned to Jßoiorua last diglit. They 5 brought m Mrs Homphries and two servinte, saved from Mcßae's Hotel, , and report all the buildibgs demolished, arid m addition the native Bchoolhouse and residence. They jhad been ignited by one of j thejnnumerftbl^ balls of fire which have 'beeuAflyibir^ *Vou^ jin; ,all,. dir«ctioriß. Ifi to /a ". call; I 'oiy vdlanteere, Mr Joluisf^, .QoTcrnniont Agent, ;nnd ' Mr irA Iwa^ sur veypr, / immediately sigbified tneir willingness [ ta go; and thevtrio started straight aiyayi Gpustable, Moroney previously started •ut on horseback. The scene arnougstc tho hills, on the Wairoa road was' awfully weird Idcj^ing^ grit was still ■ailing m light showers, dense clouds obscured the sky, ahd vivid flashes of lijshtßinjj arid-.clasKing; peals of thunder were frequent. A strong 8. B. wind was blowing terribly- bold. . Pri wrivtl^ at Titikapu Bush they, found it necessary to fasten up their tioraes mod leave the buggy.'. The of -thti

with clay and mud, which made walking very heavy. The natives ware met from time to time. All gave the tame account <>€ the terrible catastrophe. All vegetation along the route, after pasting the summit between Rotorua and Titiknpu, was fouod to be completely dostroyod, and the aspect of the land scape entirely changed, It resembles very much the appearance ef an English landscape after a heavy snowstorm, but wav of a dull, gray color, iustoad of being white. The beautiful Titikapu Bush is a thin? of the past. The weight of superincumbent mud and the force of theiwind have stripped off the leaves^ "Broken off" the branches, and uprooted immense trees iv all directions. The blue lake and Rotokakahi are simply mud and water, which will take some lime to clear. The outlet ojE r the latter lake haa'been blooked up, andthe bridges' covered with day and? niud nearly up to the top rail Oa arriving I at the village the full extent ot the i damage dove was plainly visible. Near-, ly every building was crushed m by the : falling mud. The Temperance Hall is completely flattened, and of the Terrace ■ and Rotomauaua Hotels only the outside walls are stauding iv a terribly wrecked state. The party were very glad to ; learn that Mrs Hass*ard had be«u dug out alive, aud comparatively uuiajured. ■She certainly had a most miraculous 'escape. Mr Bly the, Government Road iSuryeyor, prie oE, the survivers, and jCbnstable Morodey, were found (jigging (for the bodies of Mr Hazzard and the. Jollier children. . As there was no hope of ■finding them alive, it was decided to jcease operations aud start, at once for Rotorua with Mrs Hazzard, so as to get medical aid and proper nursing as soon bb possible. A stretcher was procured, and the party started, talcing turn about to carry her. Fortunately, a native waß ,raet, and. impressed m the service. (The party arrived at sundown. DrGiuiders returned with them. Mr ..Bly the Informs me that he considers he and the eldest Mibb Hazzard owe their escape to the exertion of Mr Harry Luudins, assistant surveyor. The other Mis* Hazzard was saved by the exertions of a native woman, who kept clearing away the mud with her hand* so as to breathing space, and afterwards got her out. .All the survivors unite iv. according the highest praise to Mr Mdßae, who was indefatigable m his exertions to save life, and who did not feavethd ground until persuaded it was useless to remain any longer. Mrs McRae and f amily were all away, aud so also were Mr and Mrs Way. The migsion station at Tepni is concluded m the; general devastation. Some natives were struck and killed by falling stones and lumps of mud, and others are 'still untouched dead m their smashed up whares. Little hope is felt that any natives Jn Morea and Teariki settlement could .possibly have escaped. No person; Could risk going there until the eruption haß completely subsided. This evening we had two or three heavy shocks of earthquake. Mr Blythe and others describe the scene as most appalling. 'The whole side of the mountain was a sheet. of flame, but he says that until the roof fell m they did 'not realise their awful peril. Tb.B following telegram was received by Mr "Wi Pere, M.H.R.— " Rotorua, June 11, 1886.— Te Keepa and his hapu, w>o lived at Te Wairoa, are safe. There were only nine persons killed and (?) ; six Europeans, but we suppose the greater part of Tubaurangi and Ngatirangitihi hipu are all lost, -because, no fuaitives have yet arrived; ' The number of persons missing is over 100. Bangiheua is the chief of the Kaingas •which have been destroyed by the fire and boiling springs m that part /where the country is on fire. Te Arlka and . Moera are the names of the kaingas imnaediatelV madjer! Tarawera mountain, ana also the Wairoa, but the other places which suffered are further off. The streams and the houses are all buried with earth and stones. All the eastern side of Eotorua is buried with the earth of Tarawera mountain, which' was lifted up between heaven and earth, and which, when it descended, c6Ve|ed;^;'6(oiM|ry^ ■ Later on we will know'wliicn places have suffered. — From ROTOHIKO HaTJPAPA."' The following message was received by Mr Kelly, proprietor of the Palace Hotel, Rotorua, from his manager, Mr BrJOng:— Mrs Kelly and family have returned from Awahao. They spent a miserable night. Everything .is quiet here. Mcßae speaks of building again. House full last night, principally with Wairoa people. Five tourists arrived yesterday. " . The Lake District, the scene of thi? appalling catastrophe is situated m the southern portion of the Auckland province, and extends into Wellington and ■Hawkes Bay respectively. \lt may roughly bet aken to cover an area of 120 miles north .and south, and 20 miles east and west, the whole of which eon tains the varied characteristics of volcanic systems, valcanos, cones, boiling springs, f u rj^eroles,. and .sulphur de^sits. ; ; T,here are -also; found 1 lakesVto the depth 6t 4000 feet, antf -the.- Te Kqpiha ;geysgr,;.oiie of. the grandest of ' its kibd; is situated m this, district. From the treacherous; nature of the soil, it is very difficult of access. Streams of hot water, ont of the dimensions of a small river — the Otumakokori — flow from the Paeroa range of mountains. The land at its foot, and many of the slopes of the hills, are soft boiling mud. It has long been foreseen that m time, probably m the near future, the disintegration gointr. on at the foot of the ranges, would lead to a thorough collapse,- when the result of these fiigantic masses being thrown, m a state, of boiling pulp, over the adjacent country, would be disastrous m the extreme.^ The effect pf a collapse of Paeroa ■would be io: hurl aflbodj of liquid mud, '.'ljy^ >v ; ay ■of the Kotpraka- yalley and betweeh the hills between the; Turnihi and Mperangi,.oh to the ViUajge 6| and would thus account for the ten feist of mud which now covers that village. A description of the lurid scene presented at Rotorua will be found the following: — There is loud and continued roar, as of a furnace, yet culminating m a terriffic volcanic outbreak m the region of Rotomahana which was. spmething grand and awful to behold, striking terror into all the' inhabitants, whom fled from the houses m what they "stood up m. The natives clustered m; groups frightened to death, and held "religious services all over the i place, Eyeri ;in this region it presented a magniticenfc spectacle, a lurid glare of lightniog, and the flashing of various' colored fires, with .the volcano belching smoke and : flame foYihe core of the' gigantic pyrotechnic display, formed »a picture of surpassing grandeur. , This state of '.'th'iiigs continued till, daylighifc^theVpheitomenon being accompanied by a heavy thunderstorm. • The following telegram has been received by Mrs Robert Graham, dated Rotorua, 3.35 p.m. :-r-The Lake Houses are all right. The country is m a deßovl'atesßtate. The terraces are oil goiie.. The Ariki natives are reported to be all lost. Twelve bodieß have been recovered.; at Wairoa.' The first shock of the erup-i tibn occurred at 2 o'clock, when a trY mendous explosion broke 'out-'rijght; ,In? th« mißdlß of the' township. The. people all rushed out of their houses, -and theguests living m the hotels ran : out, into the roadway- m their night-dresses. There wub »n immediate Btampede for . horseß,' every vehicle at once put [into requisition. The; people" nude. a]l haste to clear putto Tauriuga Gam. sbridgfiii, ■' : '\ ': ' ' ; '\ v "'':''^,]." i ■■■^ r ' ..'^ '„ ■'■•■'•'•' ?■ . '.; •.•■ ; ; ' •' ■■ '■'■•'>• •'■ .'■■ .-•> '■■ - • :• . : '" } '•"•■•'■. Wimpii Saturday. . families and tourists 'aretfast .cleanng : Out to places of satety, and' the utmost consternation at present ezißts. At half past six day dawned, but only for about 30 minutes, and darkness again came over the face of tbe land till a quarter, to 9 a.m. I never experienced, anything so dark/ The ; dust, is still falling. The ;j*(holo; country is covered with dust from one to six inches thick. Cattle and homes have come around the bouses for fe°d. They will be g^ryed unless h^vy