A Sad Fatality.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2122, 28 June 1898, Page 2

A Sad Fatality .

MAN BUSIED BY A LANDSLIP. One of the saddest incidents associated with Wednesday night’s gale was the death of a man named Alfred Thomas in his whare at Karnngahake. The poor f<. How lived in what is known as Scotchman’s Gully, and was last seen alive by some bush men on Wednesday afternoon This morning early they were on then way to K; ra gdi; k and noticing that a large Jadsiip had occurred at the spot where the wha e once stood, and as there was nothing of the building to be seen, they got rather alarmed. Upon reaching Karangahake they made inquiries, and discovered that Thomas had not been seen in the township since the gale. Fearing that the slip had overtaken him in the night, and that he was unable to escape,, the matter was reported to. Constable Sefton, who at bnce took up a staff of twelve 1 miners, and commenced clearing the slip, which was composed of earthen clay, and large - trees; ' The ifieh worked with a will until ni-dday, when the side of the whare was struck. Work was continued with renewed diligence until two o’clock, when the house was cleared,of its earthen covering and one leg of the poor fellow discovered. It was then only a matter of a short time when the whole of his body- was exposed, and it was seen that the unfortunate man was quite dead. He had apparently gone to bed, and was asleep when the slip occurred. He was lying in a perfectly natural position, and had evidently died without a struggle. His 4 body was at once removed to Ryan’s Tramway Hotel, where an inquest will be laid, The deceased was about 40 years of age, a d was i nmarried, so far as is known. The sad affair, coupled with the results of the flood cast quite a gloom over the community.