MISCELLANEOUS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 272, 7 March 1877, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

The periodical mov story is going tshe rounds again. It wiw heard at night,, so the story runs,, for five consecutive nights, when it was too dark to see anything, and the dogs on hearing it ran into the tent eaufo night in » fright, 'Che foot-prmCs were seen in the morning, and the measurement* taken, as usual. Tbey were *i •. across in the hard ground, ami in the s«>ti, g ouud the prints of three claw* were noticeil. the joints of thu side ones being I3in. apart. A WP.t.ti!:B tW TUB W-ATSR. An extraordinary scene, being that of seven men overboard from a vessel at one time,, is recorded in the Auckland morning paper. We condense the following from the livruhl of the -*th ulp.:~ Just as the mail steamer Zealandta was ahous to take her deSorture at half-past H o'clock last evening, a iaturbance toolc place, which resulted in nofewer than- seven men being in imminent danger of losing, their tives through drowning. The circumstances, so far as can be ascertained, are as follows : tfi appears that a number of Cornish miners, who had booked to Attekland from Han Francisco, desired to continue on to Sydney, and the greater number had made arrangements to that effect. Two-, it appears, had not made application until yesterday, and these, with others, came ashore and became inebriated. Just as the steamer was about to- east off, they came to the stage and proceeded on board. Their disorderly conduct attracted attention, and they were pushed ashore. again tried to> get on board, a passenfer aiding them, when the tatter was struck y one- of the crew. A general metre then ensued oa the landing stage, and the two drunken would-be passengers got knocked into the water between the steamer and the wharf. Then the ships butcher jumped in to save the men, and nearly got drowned. Then four other men jumped from the wharf, and the spectacle was seen of seven men in the water at one time, practically. ♦hrottglfc misdirected efforts, doing their best to drown one another. With the greatest difficulty the whole of the men were ultimately rescued by a boat, and the drunken passengers got on board after alt. Jt is almost miraculous that no lives were lost, especially as several of those who were in the-,water were so drunk that they were Utterly incompetent to tXty anything to save themselves. To Jump into the water seemed to become infectious, and about a dozes ftlbws had to- be held back.