A CURIOUS DISCOVERY AT PAHIATUA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2411, 28 September 1886, Page 2

A CURIOUS DISCOVERY AT PAHIATUA.

Betweeu three aud four years ago,' wlion what ia known as the Township lload. was being formed, writes the Palliate Star, the working party came across the skeletou of a hiiuiau body in a hollow rata treea; but as far us we can gathor no inquiries were instituted at the time to find out whose remains they were, 110 one being missed in the district to the knowledge of the Bottlers. A 7 , ouriouß story is told of tli.o circumstances' f which led to tho findirg of the skeleton, The camp of tho road, party waj iu, the vicinity of the hollow rata tree, anfjjnis stated that peculiar noises were oTylly heard coining fiorn that direction —sumctimes as if eovoral men wero engaged bu«h felling. One man, whoae tent was a little apart from the rest, was bo struck with the noises one night that he wont to the other tout to see if any had gone out felling ; but he was considerably astonished to find thorn till fast asleop. It was tho day after this event that the skeleton was found and from that time tho noiseß ceasod. Hot having been jn the district at that poriod we cannot .vouch for tho truth of tho statement, but-it is, nevertheless, a fact that tlwro was great excitement at the road party's camp over the circumstances, aud they wore subject to. a deal of chaff about the supposed ghosti It is not likely wo should have over known anything of tho abovo had it not been tor another find ou Tuesday afternoon, a very short distance from where " tho skeleton was discovered. A bushfalter named Dawsey, ingoing through the bush at the Village .Settlement oamo opon a largo swag cohtaininx a con- \ siderablu quantity of clothing and other , ' articles, but the former wasiu such a rotten state that it almost fell to pieces whon touched. However sufficient was seen to arrive at tho conclusion that it was a valuable one when first deposited on the spot where itwas found. Ajjfcngst the olothing was a naval coat (it aiblp to say whether it ■was a droßs-wat ot a shell jacket), and : ; frt)m the buttons, which are silver, iiii'd in.'a good state of preservation, we-shbuld ; 'say tho owner once bolonwd to tho Union Stan Ship* ping Company's Burvice—they bearing tho letters " U.S.S. Co." A Masonicdiploma on parehmont (issuod by the Grand Lodge of New South Wales), was also in the swag, aud although very much discolored by the wet, yet we wore onablcd to arrive at the name and date of tho issuu; aud we have communicated' with the Grand Lodpo at Sydney, apking for'auy information on the matter it may fool disposed to impart. Tho uame of the piuchmer.t iB "David William' Walker," and tho dato.of issue the early part of 1882. In our opiniou thete is some connection between the skoleton aud the swag, and as. soon as the information ■ we have written for arrives, we will make it known. • ~_jr Tho coutentfi of th# swag wero gathered \ into a bai( by Mr Oyde .'uu Wcanoaday,.... and are, now in hu possession" ;at Mr Hick's bakery. In ono of the vest pockots was found a email sconC bottle, made as a pendant to a. watch cha&g|£he top screwing on, Although thei\^F llo liquid iu the bottle .now, it lias.'a my strong smell of musk; -There was aho a razor, tooth-brush, comb, pocket-book, and other articles; but nothing of any great valuo has been discovered...