THE BUSH FIRES.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 March 1918, Page 4

THE BUSH FIRES.

COC'iSfj.ltfail3E LOSSES. W* Upon invtsagation •■the followYflg; losses have been ascertained in addition to those we published yesterday: Amcka Ridge Road Messrs. Ashmore, Pratt, Wallace and Manson.

Parapara Eoud—Wiikie's house, RMcLean and several other small places Messrs. J. Allen. Parkes and Smith. Waipuna Messrs. Hurst and McCobrie

Mangaturoa—Handler's ' Woolshed/ Messrs. Mitchinson, 'Tufribull, LuVen-' voss, Bradleyj Scott arid Connor. Mangpciie Messrs* Melie'&rio 'arid Borlace.

. Pipiriki Road—-Messrs. Voss,' Thompson, Mays, Mills, Bates, lioddle arid Dodds, and Taylor Ohura Road —* Messrs. Wallaee, B'eny Prattler, Meehan, Searrow, £l- - Hansen, Bolton and Pearsen. Hukcroa Road—Messrs. W. and R. Samson

The above by no riiearis exhaust the list of losses, as there are several localities that' have not yet been investigated and it avill be well into jaext week before a oo.iplete'' be available.

POLICEMAN '6 PERILOUS TRIP.

Constaole McGowan, of Raetihi, has had a very exciting time through the past, terrifying days, and his story reads like sensational fiction. On Sunday last Constable McGowan was out at the Mangaporua trig station, which is near the Mangatiti Landing, on the Wanganui River, doing the usual round of his district Leaving there' ,oie Monday morning he made towards Ruatiti, when at midday the gale com : meneed. Branches of trees began flying across the road, and as he was passing Mumumuru the bush caught fire, so in addition to flying timber, burning boughs started aerial trips, and telephone posts snapped off. With the gale at its height the constable reached Raetihi Post Office. The whole countryside was then a mass of flame.. As this was after midnight, the constable stayed there about an hour to spell -hi* 'horse, which was choking vdthi sr.iq.k/e : and duult. . Seeing how the -gaj' 1 "Wfcs blowing, he tried.- to, ; ge,t up thes iMakino • Roadjtousee.jwha> -hcjp was; needed by the ( S£ttle?Sf ry who,fSeese to b©/ iji K a .fjudy plight,; uo tK# get thereofor..;fkernes vyejg agross .suffocating, <and..;to j&nck on thos he oven had to..crawl under ;the. smoke, places-, leading, .his, horse by. the, bridle;- To add : -.to. hisr,raisfqrtujaes .peJ...down,a. ten. had, to., slf p, d'own this ;! hold,ing t 0,., tufts of ,grasg,rtq 0 f gsc&gfii Jjifo faithful, steed,, Finding, get up Road,, he, *pgsf> ;l Or v a,utoha and. Raetihi. Here, again, the -flames were across the road, and he waited for a lull, or, to. use his own words, "make a four fcot gallop through." On Tuesday at midday he reached home to find ..that his house had gone up in the flames, but thankful his wife and family were safe. Constable McGowan estimates his loss somewhere about £SOO. - INCIDENTS OF THE FIRE.

Mr. P. Bradley, residing at Mangaturoa, managed to save his family by placing them, when the house was burnt, in a tank, around which he draped wet blankets and padded with wet cloths. Several times throughout the night, Mrs. Bradley, although nearly blinded, rushed out and poured water on the blankets. After 14 hours of this awful experience*rain fell, and he and his family succeeded in reaching the township. Among the ruins of the police station were found nuggets of gold which had once been sovereigns. The tills of Fagg's store were pools of molten metal. Another instance of the effect of the violent heat was to be found in the water of the Makaranui River, a tributary of the Makotuku River. This water was so hot that it was hardly possible to bear one's hand in it, and one refugee crossing it filled his .pockets with large trout, which had been killed by the fire. Mr. E. Parker, residing near Wilson's mill, Valley Road, accompanied by his wife, barefooted and in her night attire, succeeded in escaping by running over a heap of burning sawdust. Describing the destruction of the mill, he said that 1,000,000 ft of sawn timber was lost, not even a trace of the green lags, brought the day before the fire, remaining. Where the shed containing the / suplies of nails for horse shoes had stood, nothing remained except a heap of : molten iron and lead.

NEW PLYMOUTH. 1 NEW PLYMOUTH, this Q&y, A .public meeting yesterday a resolution of sympathy with tlftiiiriarino settlers, and asking the Mayor to open relief funds. About £250 is already subscribed.

aEBSSACffi IW QHA2OITB. 1 Arrowsmith) has received the followfrom, the Mayor of Ollfune: "All centres have been tusjid..'to report from day to day the - received in order that tie amount - contributed may *• checked if becoming too great.

MR. R. CAMPBELL'S SEVERE LOSS

TWO COTTAGES DESTROYED.

It was thought that with the dying down of the fires to the Ohutu district on Wednesday, all danger of turner damage was over, but, unfortunately, this was not the case, as on Thursday, at about 1 p.m., Mr. Robert Campbell of Ohutu, had his residence or eve rooms and a cottage of four rooms completely destroyed by fire. It appears that in the morning

the' men folk were drafting their stock in a neighbour's yard, leaving one of the boys at home. During their absence sparks from a neighbouring fire got into a gully close to the two houses, burning them, to the ground. The

only thing saved was a piano which

had been placed on a cart when the nJlpijWas threatened a day or two before. Only one house was insured for £2OO, and furniture £IOO, in the New Zealand Insurance Co. Office. Mr. Campbell is a very heavy loser.