ERUPTION; OF MOUNT TARAWERA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XII, Issue 1737, 18 June 1886, Page 2

ERUPTION; OF MOUNT TARAWERA.

[Corapilod^lom various soiirces.] The buried native settlement, on the banks of the Blue Lak«, was formwly one of the prettiest spots on God's earth, and is now one of the most desolate and forsaken, with its Juris smothered m hewyTimrwiiicfctte^ ing so much. like snow. I* i&mud every* . where, andwken on«]thinl»Tjtfis* ; in T«, , Ariki 40 human beings hare been left to die m the sKnaeVahd^itfi bw&Jma,*F»t forth to save them but the feeble Hands of the f«vr sucviTOirs r it ja impossible) to fill other than the a«ep*Bt flotxbirp- Jt w.as a relief to pick up two little kittens, mewing piteously, wp& -■&&*! them i ••Way. -^ r :i . , i \ * $$$&&> ".)■■. - \ If ther«itaiadtid»t« tHi «»tMt«>, I phe, there is alse a humorous one.- . Mr Morgan, a surveyor, relat& that he. was ai Galatea with the natfcss, and wbejtc the shower, of ashes came on, one native fell'upon his kneta; and exclaimed, V Pb ■ Lord, if yon will only let us get' euV|«jtf this, I will give you a pouud, and-Mor* gan shall ke?p ; it*' ..,'.. ...,.' • ;.,;,: The old chief atthesanatorumisgaibV ing strength. None of the natives would touch him. The Ret Mr Fairbrbthe* got his clothes off. He told Mr Fairbrother that' he did not* know what hail happened, bat he supposed the wnart had fallen m.. He believed he weald be rescued, and prayed to God continually* He had no food. \ '■/■ "' : ; -/■■ *■.*.., tv^-'i A native woman front Tokido^ or ; Waitangi, two villages on the left hsftd side of Tarawera looking from Wamjef has come m, and reports that' nobody if left but herself. ■ : - The discovery of the old chief, Tuottl Tonga, bnried m his whare at Wairoa, is a strong reflection on the dUatorimess of Government m adopting measures to explore these houses. Although the mod was heapefl up> around: the whare and over the roof to a height of over four "fsiet, the door was not so blocked as if to 'shut out the light. . The reason of his not being found earlier is jfertiy'due to the wish of the natives m the village that he sHould never be discovered. sHe :iif .reputed to be over a hundred years ,,qldj ?*rid is greatly feared as a wizard of ars>. class transmogrification power. He is accused of causing, the death of a child by bewitching him. , The 'destruction of "Wairoa is also partly attributed to thejb]d man's • malevolence. "When found he seemed perfectly contented with his conf jdition. ; -A very saddening spectacle was wit- ; nessed at the cemetery on the docaaioa of the burial 'of Idfr Hazard, his five children, and the En^h'sK X tonristnßain•bridge, in r graved side by side. LWfe M' Arthur, of Auckland, was piesen^wnT friend of ther atrianger whose life hat been brought to an untimely end. '• When Dr Hector arrived he ord^Nd the irauiediate eyacuation ef aad.the clqsing^of|he road, which hai now become an almost imphisable tea of' mud, m which vehicles, pedestrians, and horsemen>:;|ie> constantly bogged. In his opinion great mud glacieri : would be formed, which, slipping into the valleys and lakes, would bury the pah to a depth of perhaps 40ft, and render escape impossible to anyone thus iatj off,, He thinks the dang«r to hmnan life^Q^j, from this cause is in^nitelf greate^ than from any increase m tbe.voloanic energy. The lakes being i filled with vast masses of mud would overflow, and a long time,, perhaps months, must elapse before the country can settle into a condition of anything like permanent ; subsidence. With regard to the recent volcanic eruption, Dr Hector btlievfe that the earthquake shocks caused by the outbreak of Tarawera mountain ruptured the steam pipes m Rotomahana geysers, and let m the water of the lake 1 upon the subterranean heat, resulting m the generation of an enormous Quantity of steitu and the excitement of the muddy boitbnt o!f the lak?. '! A| M tjoe] chance of a further eruption, Dr Hector^ hesitates to pronounce any decided opinion. Ho believes,' however, that the chief danger at present is from the mud m: a liquified state. He Says the danger from the shifting of recent deposits i» well reeoguised. ' 'TT Seyeral parties started to inspect the immediate^ scene of the volcano. A lady (Mrs Robert Graham of Auckland)' accompanied one party, and she bravely rode across the devastated region as far as the horses could well go, and then travelled on foot to within a short dis-> tance of the old site of Rotomahana, for the lake of that name is no more, and its place is a raised plain of sand; pumice aud dust, m which numerous geysers, steam, flamos and black mud art issuing: continually. The Pink' Terrace is occupied by a great mud geyser, and the noble White Terrace is obliterated and gone. Lake Tarewere appeared quite free from clouds or steam, and Te Ariki was easily approachable by boat, but the unfortanate inhabitants i around that lake must all have days ago been snffocatfid m ; the dust and mud which, covers the' whole of that region. 'i *■ A curious pqinti'of insurance loes ; hatarisen m th* case of ' Mcßac'i " Hotel, Wairoa. It was insured for £1200 jn the Union Company, but doubts KaVeV been entertained as to whether . ; the Company is liable, as the destruction was caused by a volcanic eruption. Mr MbRW has receivejcl the' following^ telegram from Tauranga :— M Jl Bfoßae; Rotor na. Insurance '• -I Company not liable., Mstter, however, will be fully considered >by Directors. 'Awiullr Sorry for you. ■ Win Commons." The '■ Rotorua residents sympsthise with Mr Mcßie,; and, regard bis case as a hard one. During the progreiss of the' erup* tionhe was. repeatedly' successful m putting out.fires caused br red hot cinders admins through the windows iu^a -the.Hoteli^V ..>..,. „; ..;„■■:,,..,,..., ,/.",.. r. The volcano; on^ Tarawera is not: par-, ticularly aotive, but.^Rotomahana ,' ie playing as usual; Heavy rain has put . a stop partially to observing. The steam from the eruptions at Lake Rotorua appeared to be much higher to* day. The .barometer fell one-tenth of; an inch" in the mbpniii%, .fnd^i|i|til^\ falling. The Hot Springs are not particularly active. 4 ' :: "^. v " .*.z '.$ /-■' --iJii Mrf Hazard has been removed to Oxford, m charge of Ttfr Lundio, iwhe!r: saved the lives of; her daughters ; the Misses Hazard accompanying them. . She will ]be taken (by ,stages) r f to Aupk-. f land. Her removal will ' be f arourable * to her recovery, much .being hoped for from removal from the scenes, of horror through which she has passed. .'■" Mr Mergan^ Mr Blythe's oyersee> at Galatea, states that Mrsßlythe; had 6ried first to get through alone, as tbe^a^vti would not assist. Not bsing able to do so, she went back fifteen .. miles ; to his place, and he took her on to Preeoe's old mission station. Mr Percy Siffith, Assistant Surveyor-General, spent Simday and Monday at the south end of the volcanic .eruption,, near Okaro. He examined -the' baokot the Pink Terrace^} ''" and found that both it and the White Terraceareblownup, and that thereii*!, only a crater. The country is shelving: iritd the 'crater as it eats down into /the,*; lake, and the country round Lake Roto*mahena is all m motion toi the t lake, -a» some seven volcanoes eat.^put its bottom^. / Mr Percy Smith came back io Eaitereria^ kki weiit on to W»iro*. There hfefoundi i that the Maori who had discovered the? woman coming f ronvWaitangi had aban« donedher, and that the natives had nob gone put to bring her m? He started fiih a party of Europeans and Nativei ' on the tracks m the mud of the Natives; who discovered her,. and found her at i point three miles north of Wairoa. tSh% had then been six days without ioodor water, and' was wandering m her mind. * Messrs Smith, Baker, and Blyth, aided by some Natives, carried her to Kaiteria*, "•*'' Not a living thing is now m Wairoa, but it is believed that the Maoris of 'the? adjacent settlements will peril their lives to reach and plunder Moßae't r ] store. • ■-• .'- : '.-.' •■'(■ ;■■• ■ ..■ . ;.*;• ;;""

~ " . / BjOTOBUA, Tbnnday. Fo^^NrfMibocks **tweiih 12. and 12.30 last night, »od ieTwal imalUr oqm during the nifht, producing a g»nsraJ fMUnff oti&mf*. people wrapptd^p m tUnkets wander, ing about not knowing where to go. Chysers and Tolcanoet tame as yesterday. Springs are Ttrr •rtif» aboot^ bare, afttttaiMihittire much increased.; B. OKpw3poiimaster. - * • Tht ■hocta lapt nightr which wer. pretty ••▼•r« fc f-Si*^ rtveral others this norainr, bar* otused a greater feeling lMr%(sWt#>t familiw are leaving— B.C. DAMBBT. • •.. ..* ,*« y. --^tha i.i ■£$ -lO : The txcivstioas at Wairoa Tillage are practically •bp»ap»fd,,M the food* •re 00l worth -the iiflelt: Of fWtfng out. T« Ktepa says that ..all th. buiitd natives f hp^#t»a?db«ir J*b*n» hayo known 5 »> !•»▼*?*# ? ootiide. The Maoris f form* b>- Gtpttin^^ Majr on the lhorltiifilieTMawera probably have p«tt*hed had assistance not been wndtred thtm, They; had come over to s«efc thtir friends at Te A^aki settle: taent aftawwthat they would g«t too •u«Uqaf»cft, and it is doubtful whether they would have, got had? safely. v