A STRANGE STORY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4031, 6 February 1892, Page 3

A STRANGE STORY.

It Smacks of the Marvellous. • We take the following from the St. Louiß Republic and leave our readers to dnw their own conclusionsA stury which smacks of the marvellous is just now the theme of much speculation at Sydney, Australia, In May, 1890, George Henry Wethershy left the Australian metropolis for a pros* pecting tour in the mountains of New Zealand, accompanied by his two nephews, E, S. and C. T. Cook, aged respectivelylß and 21, During July and August they had done much hard work around the base of Mount Ruapeliu and in the immediate vicinity. In thefollowingmonth they penetrated

the'unknown wilds on the head water .. of the Waikato River, On the 9t.li \ October their crowbars loosened an im- * Dense ledge of rock which arose like a precipice from the head of a small creek tributary to the Waikato. When the debris was cleared away a small crack somo ten inches wide was revealed. Within two feet of the opening this crack became a wide-mouthed subterranean chamber, A little more labour admitted the men into the opening. Priming their miners'lamps, they started onatourof exploration. Bones, charcoal, and rudely constructed pottery were found, also some mummified remains of a small race o! people with long plaited hair, andafewcopper weapons were also found. Finally they emerged into an immense chamber the dome of which was several hundred feet above their heads, But the titanic nature ot the cavern did not excite their curiosity as much as a strange-shaped object which was dimly outlined in the centre of the chamber. In their unbounded amazement they approached the uncanny f object and found it to be a sailing vessel of marvellous symmotry and surprising beauty. The deck was of rosewood or some material much resembling that valuable cabinet timber, and the masts of ebony, polished as finely as the case of a musio box, The remains of the sails which hung idly round copper wire ropes or cables proved that they had been of pure yellow silk, almost as thick as a farmer's grain sack. Theyessel was Upwards of 100 feet in length and some 30 feet broad. Although there were many copper wires and bands used in its construction, not a single nail or Bcrewofany metal was to be Been, every joint being secured ,by hardwood screws or pins, Here for once is room for unbounded specula** • tion. ' When, how, and under what circumstances was this piece of unknown marine handicraft transported lo this South Pacific Island and hundreds offeet in the interior of a lofty . mountain? No means of egress were found except the narrow opening reby the orowbar's work,