CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1065, 4 May 1882, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE AT THE

WHAREAMA FERRY,

TO TIIE EDITOR. Sir,—Naturally this sad, and I may say, mysterious catastrophe js tlio one topic of conversation jn llje district," and as there tp various rumors and surmises concerning it 1 send you some particulars of what is known, and what I witnessed on Monday upon visiting the scene of Iho disaster.

Late on Sunday night a report reached here that the ferry house hadboen burned and that Smith and his family had perished in the flames. On Monday morning, accompanied by Mr Boileau, I started for the ferry, and upon arrival, there found that the report was only too true. Messrs Carswell, M. Meredith, and several others arrived- about the 'same time. There was no difficulty in finding the remains of tba four inmates of the house, although their bodies were burnt and charred to such an extent that nothing but calcined bones remained The bodies of Smith and his wife were just within tho threshold of tho door, close together, and faces dowmvirds, as if they had fallen when endeavoring to reach, the back part of the house whore their two children usually slept. The remains of the children wore in the same position as where they usually slept, that of the boy being the right hand side of the firo, and that of the girl in the corner of the bedroom at the back of the house... The remains of the girl were readily distinguished from that of the boy's, thero boing the busks oi a small pair of stays quite close to them. A dog had carried a small portion of the boy's scalp' (which the fire had only partially burnt) on to tho hijl, side adjacent. This may lrnvo led to the report that one of the bodies was fount} there.

Messrs Maunsell J.P., and Constable Darby, accompanied by jurors and witnesses, arrived between ono and two p.m. to hold an inquest,' Little or no evidence was adduced to show how' the fire origM nated, and it will doubtless ever remain a mystery. Upon removing the remains of Mrs Smith the busk of a pair of stays was found immediately beneath her chest. This is all but conclusive evidence that she was dressed at tho time, and that the fire did not occur after thoy had gone to bod. No traces of clothing were visible on the bodies when I saw them, that of Smith was partially covered by burnt wheat, a sack of which had evidently fallen across him, and no doubt helped to burn up his body to a-greater extent than it would.otherwise have been, for it was smouldering at the time we arrived on the scene. - - Lin order to throw as muqh light/ as possible on this appalling accident I give you some particulars respecting the house and the habiiß of Smith and' his family, Ihe house, which consisted of five rooms, was constructed of raupo and toi toi, aad had been erected aomo twenty years -aoo. Four years ago I had the roof re-that'elTed ff f a 'fV' 0 - 1 ®° t ' ia ', t ' lere "were two ooats of thatch on it, ■ \vlnoh would' 5 muoh to incvaae ita weight, Therp wan,

only onoentvancoto tho building, that from the front, the door opening immediately into tho kitchen, a room whoro the family cooked and lmd their meals. This room occupied the contro of tho house ox--tonding from front, to back. Opposite wlioro the entranco was, but at the back of the houae stood the chimney. On each side of the kitchen at tho front woro two Moms, that on tho right hand being Mr | and 1 Mrs Smith's bedroom, that on the loft a work shop and storo room; behind this was a bod-room in which tho daugh- | ter slept, access to it being from tho i kitchen, only near tho loft-hand side of 1 chimney. Behind Mr and Mrs Smiths bed r..om was a Rtoro and lumber j Worn. The little boy slept on a sofa at the right hand sido of the chimney in the kitchen. s HavinAiown Smith and his family over came lo the nighborhood, ! tt ndhWfl£i'liad frequent occasions to visit hq|d, I am in a position to atato that wore both sobor people. Eoports relative to Smith soiling grog on the % lliay lead people to think otherwise, mid I bolievo reports as to this liavo been very much exaggerated. They wero paiticularlv careful respecting firo, poor Smith haviui. a perfect dread of it, and I havo often known him all but put out his fire previous to leaving the houso when only going away fov a few minutes, As a rule they were not early risers, and j oftou went to bed lalo. Smith frequently : worked nt shoemaking during the night. | In leaving tho house he was most careful , to take his two children with him, and I can seldom recollect them being left in the house alone. Your contemporary ; the Star, in a leading article on this painful subject suggest that Smith in brooding ever the fact of Iming to leave what had been his home for some years may have become insano and caused tho destruction of himself and family, To this surmise I ; . cannot concur. Mrs Smith, who was here a very short time ago, informed me that they were making arrangements to leave tho ferry, and were negotiating for another place, and asked my advice what to do, and also if a longer timo than that specified by the County Council would be allowed them to removo, I informed her that as far as Mr Andrew was concerned no liarah measures would bo taken (by Mr . Andrew) and that a fair sum would be paid as valuation for what work lie had done in the way ot fencing, &c. I told her that with respect to the County compensating them I could not answer but was prepared lo support their claim as I thought it was a ju9t one. She replied that if they get compensation they would be satisfied, but that her husband would not leave the ferry house uutil he got another place to live. . j Though not living in luxury Smith ' | strictly speaking could not bo called a poor man. From his own statement to me tho ferry, including salary and fees, was worth per annum, and his trado (that of shoomaking) brought him in something. : His wife by going out nursing, Ac., also i 8 irned a very considerable sum of money, | He also owned some 14 head sf cattle, and I sor G horses. He was somewhat eccen- § trie, but in my opinion not at all the ;§ class of man to oommit self-doalruction, a My oivu impression after considering all I the circumstances ot the case is that f on Saturday evening, April 29th, after having put'their two children to bed they had gone out possibly, and very naturally up the ferry boat, llio night being very stormy and thoro being a chance of tho river rising, During their absence the houso may havo caught fire, anfffyeing made of very combustible materials, would soon be in a sheet of flames. Smith and his wife upon noticing the fire would rush in at tho front and only door, one close behind tho other, (Mrs Smith's body was behind that of her husband) and at tho very moment they entered thewbolobuildiiigmayhave fallen prostrating them to the ground, the weight of the roof keeping them there. When tho building fell the wholo came inwards, in fact it could not fail otherwise, there being struts to the uprights to prevent them falling outwards, The children may have been suffocatod while asleep. The building was so weak that if tho back supports and partitions wero at all consumed by fire the face of a man in an excited state coming suddenly with forco against a sheet door would be quite sufficient to mako tho remaining part of the structure fall. Since writing the above Mr Boileau, who visited the scene to-day, informs me that he found tho remaius of two clocks, and that they must have stopped one at 10 o'clock and the other at 10 minutes past that hour, This may mean 10 p. in. oy a.m. I intend to have these clocks carefully examined with a view of seeing whotii t'l -j had been recently wound up or whf jr.run down to any extent, as this in if give a clue as to whether the fire occurred during tho day or night. % The remains were removed and interred j| near the homestead hero to-day, j| • In conclusion I hope the police *'■" Jf make very strict enquiries respecting t..i. £ mutter, and leave no stone unturned to f remoye what to many is a vo'ry mysteri--1 ous catastrophe. lam, &c., Thomas Mackay, lea, May 2.