LOST IN THE BUSH.

Southland Times, Issue 1345, 9 December 1870, Page 3

LOST IN THE BUSH.

On Wednesday last a painful sensation was created in town by the announce-^ j ment that a woman and two children had, the day previously, disappeared in a mysterious manner, and that no trace whaterer could be obtained of their whereabouts. The fact that they were last seen going in the direction of 'Seaward Busb, in the vicinity of Clifton — a small suburb in the neighborhood of the town — at once suggested the propriety of a search party being organised. This was done mainly through the instrumentality of one or two gentlemen, to whom the circumstances had become known. The party, accompanied by the police, proceeded to Clifton shortly after noon, and forthwith proceeded to scour the bush in and around the vicinity of the place where the missing woman and children were last seen. This they continued to do till about dusk, without discovering any trace of the objects of their search. The party as originally formed numbered eight, but shortly after setting out it was augmented to between twenty and thirty, and was judiciously divided off in a direct line* a few yards apart from each other, so as to cover. the largest possible amount of ground. In addition to cooeying, the party was provided with a couple of guns and an alarm bell, so that any one within reasonable distance must have been apprised of the fact. The search, which, as we have stated, was fruitless, was only abandoned when the approach of evening rendered such a step absolutely necessary. The party was conveyed back to town bj special train, and on the intelligence being known that no trace whatever had been discovered of the missing parties, a feeling of intense excitement supervened. Steps were immediately taken for renewing the search. The bellman was sent through the town to notify the fact, and arrange* ments were made for a special train, to convey to Clifton at an early hour the following (Thursday) morning, such volunteere as might present themselves. At the amateur concert, held is the Theatre,

Mr A. J. Smyth publicly counselled those present not only to take part in the search, but also to induce as many more as they could to follow their example. Despite the hilarity of the performance, the announcement was received with manifestations of profound sympathy, and the subject was eagerly canvassed throughout the remainder of the evening. A. search party, numbering between thirty and forty, proceeded yesterday morning to Clifton by special train. Under the directions of Messrs Harvey, M'Phereon, and Geisow, the party was formed, and after scouring the bush till 1 p.m , the welcome intelligence reached them that the objects of their search had turned up. Strange to say, the whole of the lost parties were in good condition, even the baby in arms. The woman's own story is that she went into the bush to take a walk, intending to return by a different route. She soon i discovered that she had lost her road, and I in endeavoring to regain it she went on to a bye track. This only led her further astray, and night coming on she got bewildered and lay down. At daybreak the following morning she renewed her dreary journey, and shortly afterwards she came upon Duck creek. Not knowing which way to turn, she unfortunately chose the wrong direction, and continued to follow it to an advanced hour of the evening. Burdened as she was with one child in her arms and another at her foot, her progress was slow, consequently she did not get very far into the bush. During Wednesday she heard the guns fired by the searching party, and although too weak to make her whereabouts known, she felt encouraged by the belief that her absence had caused alarm. But for that feeling, it is more than likely that she would have succumbed to the dreadful circumstances in which she was placed. Early yesterday morning she felt confident that she had been pursuing the wrong direction, and shortly after she had begun to' retrace her steps, she heard the whistle of the railway engine. Continuing to follow the same direction, she emerged from the bush at 1 p.m., after having been lost for a period of forty^six hours. They had had nothing to eat, and although sadly fatigued from want and exposure, they did not otherwise appear much the worse of their misadventure,