ERUPTION OF MOUNT TARAWERA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XII, Issue 1739, 21 June 1886, Page 2

ERUPTION OF MOUNT TARAWERA.

FULLER PARTICULARS.

(UNITED PBEBS ASSOCIATION.) Rotobua, Friday. Several-slight earth tremprtHwere felt luring the night, "but nothing to cause uneasiness. The weather -haa again cleared and is very cold, ice is an eighth yt.sn inch thick being on the pools. Only four visitors arrived last night, among them Mr David Hean, of the National Bank.. JThey started for .Rotor: mahana, via* Kaitefiria, tH3s morning^. As long as the weather keeps fine r tourists may easily reaoh the locality of the eruption. The steam cloud [over Tatawera is still dense, but "mubhitnUller m volume and altitude, and perfectly white. The Maoris do not appreciate the practical utility of geology; Mr Pope, while visiting the native settlement, was interrogated by a chief after this fasßion: — if We hear that a new and great. <lootor has cotne up who know* all about what goes on m the earth. What doei he say ? " Oh," replied Mr Pope, »• he has taken some of the stones to Wellington to examine them ; then he will tell you what has happened. The earth is like a boiling kettle With its month sealed up. If you keep it on the fire it will explode." "Is that all you can tell us ?'.' responded the sagacious Maori, "We don't wapt to know that; it has .exploded already. What we watifc to know is what is going id - happen ; whether it will explode again ?" This poser remained unanswered, and" the .chief turned avray disgusted at the wisdqm of the great doctor, and evidently set i»im down] as a. humbug. . The Wairoa chief Te Keeps had a wrangle with Mr 1 Johnson, the Government Native Agent yesterday, over the negligence of the Government m relieving the wants of the refugees, who lost everything at Wairoa* He" said the' natives had been mad£ dependent entirely on the hospitality of the Ohihemutu natives. Mrc Robert Graham procured a ton of floui for the refugees. The old chiet who dug himself out said he could do withqu Government aid, as he: did m getting himself out of the bowels of the earth. Among the minor Incidents of thi great explosion it may be mentioned thai several mares foaled some months bef on . the^ full period ot gestation. ..." Mr Morgan, of Ely the'S surveying party, confirms the obseryalionsMnadV bj Mx Percy Smith and others that When the lake. was there is now a crater, orei 300 feet deep with a large number ol fumaroles, some throwing mud and som< stones amid volumes of black steam anc smoke, Mr Morgan 'ooiild not see watei anywhere. He believes that when ac tiyity quietens down,, as it is doing, i will be possible to get down among' th( fumaroles and walk through them. Thi entire character of/ the hppearance pi the lake site is so altered that it is im possible to fix exactly the locality; of tin Terraces, but both Mr Morgan and Mi Smith are satisfied that, they have beer destroyed: With regard to the HgW deposit of ash over Galatea and otbe: East Coast settlements, Mr Morgai believes the feed for cattle will, sooi appear above it. Mr Percy Smith thinki ; the nil's will be completely cleared o I mud by the slipping into the lates alter ing some of their, feature -i, but' tha eolid land will reappear and make tin lakes accessible. Mr Morgan, on thi contrary, from what he saw is of opinioi that the^mud is so tenacious that; ove greater part of the area where it spreai it will cling to. the bills.,, forjnuur. nev 'strata, on wHicH vegetation may sprinj Something approaching a scare pre vailed on Wednesday mornm? m Ohine inutu iv consequenca of the hetyj ' earthquake shocks of the previous night Proposals were again made to fend ai the women and 'Children away, but ai the day wore on without any renewal oi the dreaded phenomena people, fettlec down again. No doubt- Rotorua; lowlyiug and honey. com bed as. it is by; hot water streams m every direction, is t very undesirable place to live m when the earth is quaking and trembling, and . until the effect of the eruption on ithii idistriot is ascertained by the lapse ol time, persons may find many pleasantei and safer retreats. One of the shocks was nearly as severe as the worst fell I when the great eruption occurred, and as three followed m quick succession anyone may be pardoned for feehug rather startled. It is generally believed that Rotorua will not be seriously affected by the disaster, and that when na< ture haß got rid ot its surplus energy the district will perhaps be safer for the additional blowholes opened out. The Government seem to be of the same •pinion, for they are cutting streets foi the sale of further allotments m the new township, lhat with the men employed on this work at their disposal such unpardonable delay occurred m taking steps to rescue the buried inhabitants of Wairoa and other native settlements, is disgraceful. There "were bow ever, some courageous things done, and among the most plucky was the'-depar-ture of Robertson with his coach? Accom panied by Mr Douglas, at daylight ou the morning of the eruption -to >eearch for refugees from " Wairoa. -WjiiW all other are. panic-stricken; and fleeing, it requires a brave man to turn vu ' 8 f ace towards the danger. It is also creditable that when the Government represents- ! tives were haggling over a paltry £12 10s for a boat to visit Te Arika, the money ■ was offered m private subscriptions by the local residents, who also volunteered to 'accompany her. ;Mr Taylor, storekeeper, deserves mention itt connection with this matter. Although so loug delayed, the expedition was not unaccompanied by danger. The descent to Tarawera Lake is by a long •teep hill covered to a great extent by mad,- and the boat had to be iowered by ropes over a precipice. The approach to the site ot Te Arika settlement, which is the nearesc point to the great crater of Tarawera, waa also not unattended by danger. Tho Immense deposit of stoiies and earth which covered the settlement to a depth of 30ft, and filled up the old bay, was still very hot The lower strata couaisted of very heavy stones. There is net a soul there now. Captain Way has, however, expressed a determination to make an - effort to get but his belongings, &c. The family have lost everything. The- mud slips around Rotomabana are reported aa yet very slight, but frost is. aidin? the rain m breaking up the deposit, and heavy slides are sure to follow. One of the rescue party who went to Wairoa on the day following the eruption, to dig out the people buried, declares that the first thing two of the payty ijoade for was to take' the money from the bodies, of those buried m th 6 ruins, and that the policeman had to call their attention to the fact that human beings awaited rescue. The same authority declares, that Mr Hazard's little boy was alive when taken but ; Above the bodies was a thick depositof fluffy earth, similar to timt found on th« iiills behiDd Roto maiiana, . and above all several feet of mud. A.stream, flowing from Botomahana before the lake was absorbed had ploughed its way through this, debrtt, exposing the strata. . On Tarawera; shores the mud seems to have been more liquid than m other places, the landslips : haying been ; extensive, even before the rain oame. Mr Percy Smith, Chjef Survoyor, roughly estimates the area covered by tbe voleanio asihj irrespective of mudj at. 60squure miles, , cannot; give the' approximate' figures ; till ' tile' ! boundaries are mom definitely ascer | twined- He also* gueissed 'tfie lars e ßtof j the eruptive cones— that between Okaro j shd Rotomahana— -at 400 ft of hill and ■; 150 ft of ash built up by the eruption.] Two parties who returned from Rotomabana'on Wednesday night report that the fumeroles were more active than any lay before. One mud geyser near the ute of the Pink Ttrraoe was plsyinf WOft high, and was a■ pi end id sfgbt, rarawera crater was smoking, b«t not »*£? My Mtivo.ia |»|f »• ooulH b« itsß focimoki, AftpiHi diiputf4a>ititipii |N»illmti *«*l %m Iflif

with Captain Mair ihtt thefe% i'ti^ considerable bwjr, bat so flirty that -iffii scarcely dißJtinpighable irOin mjud. A party of I|fietsSativ!M 'cjqile in 'jfc-day Ohinimu^ uelQftmerit MfV full • &&**«• nativis a#ril Is 7 uneaq^ and^wtfe 6t theaitwill'abt cjmp m the riattowilUge oqjlke : Mcßae^ffowl is a "perfect wreck, and the old Mission Church has been levelled with the ground. The ruins of the residenco of the ill- fated Haward , J f tfrnily are still smouldering, together with rains of native huts; which had either taken fir^whea^lu^Jfeil, or Jb^n,,!^^ by ; lightriihgw-red4iot cinders. JEEw finger^ otioking out of thetgroand re* vealei the whereabouts of) Bain, bridge's remains. The body of poor Bainbridg« tacle. He had been caugfirßylhTftfling verandah andJcrmhed down on>^f aee, with arms outstretched". Tlii.^d^f his skull was fairly crashed m, and congealed blood was ( ly.ing m^masses on his temple and fac». iJOthe^wigo he ,. did not appear to be much iiljdred, and : £%&'&& found m his pockets, *hd gome persbrial Poor Bambridge^had arranged with Mcßae to go with him pheasant-shooting on the < morning of eruption to Orakeikor : akd. ; 1 'I >. .''p Mr Daaaey, officer , of the telegraph station. Rotor ua, reportsf* that tKstnaud is hardening like ceinant. He took. a horse within two miles of the back of the Pink Terraces, and got up easily.. ..He believes the volcanoes are eihaustina: themselves, and that m a week or two visitors will be able to go down to Rotomauana and inspect the fumaroles< Only steam is bein? thrown up. Tlie volcanoes . had formed cones, and there was watei or liquid mud around the base, as well as what appeared to be two acres of Water at the upper end of the lake. When the steam cloud lifted the water was seen to be perfectly placid; The southern volcano is the. only active one so far as regards -throwing up stones,' mad, &c. Owing to the steam v he could not see the. Tarawera Van^^slJiatinctly, but the force of the earthquakWhad Been great, as he saw huge pinnacles of rock thrown a' c^ff on the Pink Terrace side 'of the track. Tariawer* Lake appeared to be muddy i ''■■ ' f: