DEATH BY DROWNING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5449, 13 September 1878, Page 6

DEATH BY DROWNING.

Au accident, which there is every reason to apprehend has .been attended with fatal consequences to one or two occupants of a punt, happened iu the river on Sunday morning. The following are the particulars supplied to us by the survivor :—On Wednesday last, at about half-past nine in the morning, two men, named respectively William Kirby and William Maefarlane, left town in a punt with the intention of proceeding to McDowell’s, at Kaiwhaike, there to obtain a load of firewood. However, the fresh in the river was so great that they were compelled to abandon this project, and they made fast opposite the property of Mr. Sinith, above Kennedy’s, where they remained until Saturday morning, when they loaded the pnnt with twenty-five tons of potatoes, intending to tranship the same into the Manawatu for Wellington. As soon as they had finished loading they started on their return journey, but they very soon found that the fresh was greater than they had counted on, and they soon lost all control fiver the punt, which was carried along at the rate of about five miles an hour. As they approached the Upokongaro ferry, they observed that the wire was barely three feet above the surface of the waterl and Kirby called out to the ferryman to lower it. So great, however, was the speed with which they were being carried along that they were almost immediately abreast of tho wire. Kirby instantly took hold of it and endeavoured to lift it over their heads. He succeeded so far that the punt was enabled to pass under it, but he himself was carried over* board, the unyielding wire having slipped out of his grasp aud struck him on the chest. On rising to the surface ho contrived to catch hold of the rope attached to the wire. The rope gave way, however, and there was therefore nothing for it but to endeavor to save his life by swimming. Glancing round he caught sight of the punt at some distance going rapidly down the river, but there appeared to be no one iu it. The thought instantly occurred to him that Maefarlane—who had been at the tiller when abreast of the wire—had also been knocked overboard. Ho at ohfce struck out, and assisted by the current, overtook the punt and managed to clamber in. Maefarlane was not in her, nor could his mate see any signs of him. Immediately after the accident a boat was sent to the rescue by Mr. Kennedy. Before it reached him, however, Kirby was safe, but nothing more was seen of Maefarlane, and there seems every reason to fear that he has found a watery grave, though it seems strange that he did not reappear at all after having been struck overboard. Kirby having secured the assistance of a man at TJpokongaro, came on to town, arriving early in the afternoon, when ho immediately reported the occurrence to the police. The missing man is only about twenty-three years of age, and was formerly a seaman on board the Clyde. He had been trading in the punt for about throe months. We understand that two brothers aud a sister reside in Wanganui.