THE FLOODS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3051, 12 November 1888, Page 2

THE FLOODS.

As was to be expected the rain which commenced on the Prince of Wales' birthday, Friday last, and continued with but slight intermission throughout Saturday and Sunday flooded the rivers and did considerable damage throughout this district. Telegraphic advices from other parts of tho Colony contain reports of serious floods and damages. .

At Tinui all the flat was covered with water up to the store, the polico stationandotherbuildings being unapproachable. A carpenter named Jepson, whose cottage is in a low part of town had to cut a hole jhrough the roof of his dwelling and get out on the top to" escape the inundation. Tho telegraph lino at the Whareama bridge was down through the floods, and tho approach to tho bridge washed away. Great dannge and loss of property was caused throughout the district. The Taueru River was in a state of flood, and rose in some places quite 80 feet, Mr Taplin, a settler there is reported to have lost a couplo of valuable horses.. Near tho Kaumingi Britt andCo.'s Camp on tho Master-ton-Waimata Koadwas washed away, and a wooden whare, all the tents, and a lot of tools and stores lost or destroyed. The Ruamahungaßivor was flooded and tho Bridge at Te Ore Ore is': stated to be iii a dangerous state,' 1 Three piles havo been washed out! and others loosened.

At the Hurunuiorangi Bridge tho approach at tho Gladstone end is washed away, and the northern approach to the Tauherihikau Bridgo also, i

A big slip on the road over the Rimutaka Rauges near tho roadman's whare, which brought down a large tree, has completely blocked wheel traffic, 6n the railwayjliue all traffic north of Kopuaranga is stopped in consequence of slips on the line, tho extent of which we have yet to learn. The coach road through "the Bush is still open,-and arrangements have been made to meet tho train at tho Kopuaranga Station, and convey passengers by Cobb k Co.'s Telegraph lino of coaches,

Masterlon was saved from danger by tlio divorsioif of thoWaipoua at: tho Opaki, into the Waipipi stream. As it was,, the river overflowed its banks, and rushed through tho Park down a blind gully, emptyiug itself into the stream, Mrs Ewington's lower paddocks near tho bridge were flooded and some landof Mr A, Johnston just below tho junction of the Waipoua with the Ruamahunga, washed away, At half-past fivo o'clock on Sunday morning {ho occupants of a house uear.the site' where Bacon's mill stood on the bank of the Waipoua were aroused by a neighbor to. a sense of their danger, On looking put the head pf the house saw there was every possibility pf losing I|}b fowls and pigs whipli were in outbuildings near the river. He managed with considerable difficulty to rescue the majority pf his fowls, and tjien went'to the assistance of the. ! 'Giiitleman that pays thp rjnt." "SYHIi proyerbial qbstinacy the .pig objected to ho coaxed into' going the right way, and he had to ho coerced or die. ijis owner fastened a strap to one of the animal's hind logs, and after a"kgjof war" lastlug nearly half-an-hour, landed tho ungrateful quadruped in the houso, where he was kept until tho waters abated and all dangers of floods were removed;.

The rivers quickly subsided and the thirsty land has already absorbed all the surface waters, Notwithstanding the local damages, tho country as ..a whole is a considerable gamer by tho seasonable rains., The change of the" wind'-'from' 'east to roujib. yesterday. I morning; and- a cessation of the' Tain ! |o,on noticeable' lit the'rapidly 'JDhis ■> change was accompame'dbyexcessivelyeoldwind^

and this morning there was a layer of snow observable on"the' Tararua ranges.' ;.. : '■. ;;■';-' .;-; "■ Palmeuston NoniH,'Monda|j| • The fiercest gale of wind andTO ever experienced; in this ;' district occurred here bivSaturday. The out-' lying districts'were jßdoded for a con-' siderable area, but the ohly.serious damage reported is the loss of 500 sheep by Mr Russell, Tematai, The Railway line at Jockey town is washedaway, and the district is still under water." The,, Mauawatu river is in high flood and on the adjacent property. ' Considerable damage was done to the shops in the Square..

Woodville, Monday. On Saturday 4-15 inches" of- rah*" fell, and the stroams ijyhe district were in high flood, tho Manawatu river rosopß height of 43ft at the Gorge. Tffi ■• Jie low* lying land was covereu --rfith water, _ Little damage is reported. .One' very heavy fall of earth took.plfcon the railway line, through the ©Brge, and several small slips. (1

■■- Wellington, Monday, ~ Heavy rains on- Saturday and ' yesterday caused a heavy land slip at Pukerua, ori the Wellington-Mana-watu Railway Company's line. Several hundred of tons of stuff camo down, and the engine, which was passiug on its way bringing men/ to " repair another';section-of the line, ; was buried, the driver and stoker escaping with' slight bruises, The ■ passengers, and mails exchange trains at this point, and tho traffic by this means is maintained, but it will be some two or .three days before the. goods traffio is resumed. Theis also damagedjinear Linton, -

At the Diggings,-^ ■• --■ ■ '*T

The Marlborough Press says:Lively scenes were enacted in the vicinity of Odlensvillo on Saturday night last, a number of diggers havingcomedownfromthevarionsclaims to sco the sights-of this embryotio city, Sergeant O'Donovan, of Havelock, and Constable Pranklyn, stationed at Cullensville, were to be seen walking about with six-obam-bered revolvers, ready for any emeri gency that might arise, A theatrioal combination bad been announced to give an entertainment—a notification that also caused the digging fraternity to muster" galore." The - entertainment, we are informed, beggars •description, and puts in the shade all previous entertainments of the kind that have taken place on many colonial goldfields. ' : The principal actor .in the scene had ... been evidently worshipping at the £ shrine of Bacchus, and permitted a big burly digger to sing a couple of songs for the edification of the audience. His third song was of a most obscene' character, anwpet with strong disapproval froni'She audience, the-lady accompanist leaving the stage—which measured 12 x 12—and other, female auditors followed suit. The hootings" and hissings inoreased in volume, and the row brought the proprietor '.of the show on the stage.,' He bundled jhe vocalist off, and the latter niade his , way outside the tent.; ;Se ; .;then came in at the door, crawled under the seats, and struck a man' standing . with others at the front part of tho tent knocking one of his teeth out. He then decamped before he could be .caught. There was now a general stampede after the cowardly culprit, but the search proved an unsuccessful one. If the man had been caught he would barely havo escaped with his life. On Sunday all tho touts were searched for this cowardly individual, and woe falls into the hands of the" Phjflr" tines," The performance waJßli- • continued, but the least saidwut it the better. Mrs Diokson was ordered, to shut her accomodation house by tho police, and not" a drink" was obtainable after nino • o'clock. A gentleman, who has witnessed somo lively midnight scenes in Sydney, says that the scene at . Cullensvillo on Saturday night puts in the shade all his past experiences, Not a bed could be. obtained anywhero, and several had to lie domi on the stage in the improvised concert hall till morning. Fights were frequently indulged in during the night, and on Sunday morning not'afewboro marks of violence as.they lay outside the accomodation house " suffering a recovery," Many are, no doubt, regretting tho day a pub. was over opened at Cullensvillo. dtioking up cases seem to bo tho order of tho night at Cullensvillo, and woe betide tliednmkard.'Mhas any money in his possession. Jipau tried recently to' enter Mr Fist's shop at Cullensvillo, but young Scott was on the alert with his sixchambored revolver, and the oulprjU beat a hasty retreat. A drunken digger was rolieved of some silver tho other night on his way up tho creok.

Precocious Yankees(St James' Gazette,). The American small boy is precocious ; but it is not with tho erudite precocity of the German Hcinecken, who at three years of ago was in. thnately acquainted with history and geography, ancient and modern, sacred and profane, besides < being able to converso fluently hi latin, French, and German, flo is not, however, evenly precocious, Ho unites a taste for jewellery with! a passion for candy, He combinos a penetration into the motives of others with an infantile indifference to exposing them at He has an adult decision in hiaßcß but he has a youthful s]mm<3iii ss in seokhig their fulfilment. Ono of his most exasperating' peculiarities is the manner" in which he querulously harps upon the single string of his, wants. He sits down .before'{ho refusal'pflu's mother and shrilly. be» : sieges jt, He does hot desist.for company. Hp does not wish to behave well before strangers. 'Hgi desires to havehis wish granted ! amf ho knows he will probably be allowed; if he insists before strangers, Hois distinguished by a brutal frankness, combined with a cynical disregard for all feminine ruses, He not seldom calls up tho blush of sharno to the cheeks of sohoming innooenco; aud he frequently crucifies his female relatives. He is generally an adopt for discovering what will annoy : his-family oircle; aud ho is perfectly unscrupulous in avenging himself for all injuries, of whioh he receives,' iii his own opinion, a large number, He lias a.very/ accurate ... memory M all'; promises ;,made to ; his advantage, and ho is relentless in exacting payment to .the farthing; ■ inviiifcible apfombv' J fcineiit^.'fo^it 1 ; neyeiY efite'rs;' iii to • hta hea'd'totaklu|.l)ie po'Sitiou. of pi'|'t testing^inferioritywhicli impertinence--:

implies. .Be merely Ultes things as they come, and does not hesitate to express his opinion of thorn. An fe Amorican young gentleman, oftho I• mature ago of ten, was one day overtaken hy a fault, His father, more in sorrow than in angor, .expressed 1 his displeasure. "What am tto do with you, Tommy ? what am I to do with you ?" " 1 lnve no suggestion to offer, sir," was the rcsponso of Tommy, thus appealed to. Even in trying circumstances—evon when i serious misfortune overtakes tho youthful American, his aplomb, his !l confidence in his own opinion, does not wholly forsako bim. Such a 0110 was found weeping in the street. On being asked tho cause of his tears ho sobbed out in mingled alarm and indignation :" I'm lost; mammy's lost nio.l told the darned thing she'd ■* A New BlindThero was a middle-aged mini *• grinding with a wheezy hand organ at the cornor of Michigan and Washington Avenues the other day. He had a placard of" lAm Blind" on his breast, and his oyes were closed. Pretty soon a pedestrian halted bofore him, and stood as if in reverie. A second one suddenly stopped, looked up and around, and asked—- " Anything tho matter!" _ • " He's a fraud," replied tho first. "How?" " I don't believe he's blind." " Oh, he must be." " Don't beliovo it. Ho can sec as well as cither of us." " You are very hard-hearted, sir,

He is certainly blind." " Pet you §lO ho can see as well as you can." " Oh, you will! Well, I'm not n betting man, but I'll' take that wager." W It was put into the hands of a third man, and when all was ready tho blind man opened Ins eyes, Thoy were good eyes. Ho at onco proved that they were sharp oyes. It was a put-up job to catch a greenhorn, and thegreenywho was bit went off swearing that he would have rovengo if it took a thousand years.