A Whole Family Entombed. MRS HAZARD'S STATEMENT. Her Fearful Experiences when Entombed with Her Dead Children. Rotorua, June 13.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 157, 19 June 1886, Page 3

A Whole Family Entombed. MRS HAZARD'S STATEMENT. Her Fearful Experiences when Entombed with Her Dead Children. Rotorua, June 13.

Mrs Hazard has given her experiences while buried -with her dead children as follows : — My two daughters, Clata. and Ina, escaped into a detached portion of the house. While .sitting in my chair, with my three remaining children around me, I was pinned to the lloor by the leg through the roof falling in, and I believe that it \\a= at that time my husband n\v killed. I had my youngest child, Mona, a girl aged four, in my arm?, a boy aged ten, Adolphus, on my right, and a jounger child, a girl, aged six, on my loft. lUona, who was in mv arms, cried to me to give her more room, as I was pressing her against the beam, but the load of volcanic mud pouring down on me prevented me from bting able to render any assistance, and the child Mas crushed and smothered in my avm«, and died. Adolphus said to me, " Mamma, I will die with you," and I think he did shortly afjc, as he did not answer again. The little girl, I think, died shortly niter, as s-he said, "Oh, my head " as the mud wa? beating down on her, and >he spoke no more. During ■my entombment I thought a search party would come to search the room. I '< cooed " to the first people I heard about the place. Mr Blythe and other* gt<t me out, en hearing my call, after being entombed for seveial hours. My injmie* coiibi-,t of bruises and cuts about the head and limbs, and the leg which was jammed by the beair has not had the ciirulation restoied to it yet. Many of the injmie^ were sustained by endea\ourin£f to protect my head from the falling lava.

MISS CLARA HAZAJtD'S ACCOUNT OP THE DISASTER.

A Touching Story of Woman's Heroism. Miss Clara Hazard also makes the following statement • — We were all in bed at eleven o'clock. At a quarter-past one I was awakened by a rumbling nois9, and father asked me if I felfc the earthquake. I said " Yes," and it kept on a long time. Mr Blythe was awakened, and father eaid "It is the most wonderful sight I have seen," and we -went on the verandah to ccc it. There was a large inky black cloud hovering over the truncated cone of Tarawera, with lightning and balls of fire ehoo'ting out of it Mr Blythe said it was a cloud charged with electricity. We all dressed and went into the sitting room, thinking it was the safest part of the building, as it waa constructed of corrugated iron. We lit a fire in the stove, and mother sat down in the middle of the room, with all the children around her. Looking out of the window, it was like a great sheet of fire. Father, and Lundins, and Blythe were looking out of the window. I sat down at the organ and played and &ang hymns. At three o'clock we heard a rattling as of stones falling on the top of the house. The noise was so great that we could not hear each other speak. We afterwards found it to be caused by falling lava. When that came on father went out into the middle of the room, leaning on mother's chair. Mr Lundins picked up a piece of the lava, when we all came to the conclusion that

Tarawera bad Broken Out into a state of eruption. The volcanic shower continued to pour on the house for about an hour. A tremendous gale of wind arose, and then came down the chimney •with euoh force that we were nearly suffocated with the smoke, and had to cover the stove with a mat, and pour all the water we could get on it. This not feeing sufficient to put out the fire, my father took the pipe off the stove. At about four o'clock we were all, excepting Messrs Blythe and Lundins, assembled in the middle of the room, believing it to be the safest place, as the walls were bulging ■ and threatened to come in. I walked over to the door, seeing it bulging, to lean against it. Messrs Blythe and Lundins were standing at the same place, when

suddenly there came a tremendou scrash, and all was dark, the roof falling on top of us, I put out my hands, and grasped on one side Mr Blythe's hand, and on the other Mr Lundins', instinctively, for protection. Meanwhile quantitios of lava fell on our heads Mr Lundins jumped up and smashed the windows, cutting hia hand very much. Finding he could not do it so well with his hand, he used his foot and got out. He then said, ." I'm out, come out, Miss Hazard," and he pulled me out. Mr Blythe followed, but on getting into the open air We were struok about the Head and Body by lumps of lava. We shut the door, but finding the roof bulging down, and being unable to get into some of the other rooms, wo opened tho door and stood in the doorway, so as to be ready to escape. I was perishing with cold, and Mr Blythe got some blankets to protect me from tho cold. Jiu-t then the house appeared to bo struck w iLb lightning and burning lava, and it took tire. Wo all rushed out into the garden. When tho portion of tho building in Inch we were took fire and burst into flames we endeavoured to find some other shelter, and got into tho paddocks, stumbling over some uprooted trees in the darkness. Seeing by the light of the burning apartment that the henhouse was standing, we went there for shelter, and remained there till daylight watching the principal buildings burning. The corrugated iron building remained untouched, owing to the quantity of volcanic mud around and above it. We ■waited there in great anxiety, being under the apprehension that all the house*" was on fire. When daylight arrived, Mr Mcßae and the two Birds, his brothers-in-law. came up from the hotel to see how we had fared, and we all went down to the corrugated portion of the dwellinghouse to see about the rest, and found a Maori woman, old Mary of the Mu, with uiy sister Ina. It appears that when the building fell in, old Mary snatched my sister into the bedroom, and they had crawled under the washstand, and after a while, finding no more mud fell on them, endeavoured to push away tho stuff which was covering: them. In this they succeeded, and rai&ed themselves upright, waiting thcii fate, and continued there, in the dark, till half-past six o'clock in the morning. At daylight we were re united through Mr Lumdins breaking the window, and getting the native women and my sister out. Tho whole party, including Mr Mcßae's people, listened for any sound to show that any of the rest of the family were alive in the collapsed corrugated building, but hearing none, and seeing at least 8^ feet of mud on the debris of the fallen roof, we all went dow n tow ard Ohinemutu, everybody leaving the settlement. When we got inside o° Tikitapu bush we met Mr Robertson? coach, which brought us to Mrs Brent's boardinghousc at Rotorua. Mr Blythe and Mr LMnrHnq wont bnok to Wniroa.

THE REPORTED DEATH OP ANOTHER EUROPEAN. Mr Fairbrother has determined to make the ascent to-day of a high range overlook ing the Terraces. A native named Mekaka and his wife arrived from Morea on the n»ght of the eruption, and so escaped. They have brought their daughter, who wae burned, to be treated by a doctor at Kotorua. The native says the settlement must be completely destroyed, with 20 Maoris and the chief Hakaria. He thinks the adjacent settlement of Te Ariki, with 40 men and the head - chief Eangi Eena, are also destroyed .together with an Englishman named Brown, a baker by trade, form erly of Waikato, The natives were a rem nant of a once powerful tribe. Only one of their number escaped through happening to be near Eotorua. He laments the destruction of his people, and bewails his lot as "the last of the Mohicans." Now the shocks have subsided, and aches coa?ed blowing about, desperate efforts are being made to penotrate the country in the direction oi each settlement.

APATHY OF THE GOVERNMENT CONDEMNED. As yet I cannot form an opinion as to the extent of the country injured, or the actual settlements destroyed, the tracks being obliterated for miles. It is considered that the Government are showing disgraceful apathy in not Eending to succour, ii possible, the survivors of the native tribes in and about Rotomahana at Arild and Morea settlements, where a whole tribe is supposed to be buried, together with a European named Brown and his family. Great anxiety i 3 felt, and it is conjectured that some of the natives may be still aarviving. In case of all the boats being destroyed, and tho country buried in ashes, connection should be effected. Several residents are willing to go out, but Government have not authorised the expenditure It would cost only £50.

THE GREEN LAKE. Ths Green Lake^ is still smoking, and Rotorua Lake is rising this morning. The oontraotors' men engaged in driving piles In the latter, for a retaining wall round tha batb, bad to oease operations.

THE OHINEMUTU BATHS UNINJURED. Dr. Ginders reports that the Springs remain uninjured. Madame Rachel's and the Priests' Baths still Beem increasing it volume and temperature. The smoke and steam rolling along this range in greatest • quantities are indications generally not sc favourable as yesterday. Men hard at work at Wairoa. There is no sign of Bainbridge ,No more Maoris have been dug out. Foui cats and a dog have been exhumed alive, and two pigs. Rotorua, June 12.

MR EAINBRIDGE S BODY FOUND. N The search party at Wairoa have found thd mangled body of Mr Bainbridge, the English tourist, buried under the hotel verandah. There were three £5 notes on him. Tikitere, opposite Ohinemutu, on the other side of Lake Rotorua, has broken out into violent eruption. It is a mud hols, notable for violent intermittent spoutiug j.nd for its smell.