TERRIBLE SCENES OF A TROPICAL HURRICANE.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1222, 29 April 1880, Page 3

TERRIBLE SCENES OF A TROPICAL HURRICANE.

Captain John Austen, of the schoonoF Marip^, rsefcds. Jb fa <* iriend in .Auckland ih6 foiloViing graphic account of a hurricane, in which the vessel was nearly lost : — " Noumea, 1 5tjh M#rch,- 1 880. The mail leaves here &>r Netv Zealand, via Sydney, on the 17 th, and I avail myself of this opportunity to forward you the following particulars of, the vessel's trips since its arrival at Sydney in I January last. I was all ready to | sail from the latter port for Norfolk Island on the morning of the 7th , "butf ; did ; the heads until the morning of the 15th on account of head winds. I reached Norfolk Island on the 25th, having made tHe] passage in 14 days. The westther "throughout was pleasant, and the winds generally adverse. On the 4th inst. I sailed from the Island for this port, with a cargo of 29 horses, 44 sheep, and a few tons of onions and potatoes. On the evening of the Bth we y w r ere in the midst of one of the 'mo»| terrific hurricanes that has ever visited these waters. Having anticipated this violent outburst of wind and rain. I had everything snug and in order. The horses were carefully secured and placed in the most favourable position,, after which all the hatches, fore and aft, were put <'o r n,Jaiid f caresuiLLy battened down. In oider to admit some modicum of air, into the hold, a hole was knocked in the cabin's bulkhead, without which the horses would have been suffocated in* a very short time. At 9 p.m. the close-reefed foresail carried away the hoops from the mast. It was immediately unbent, and a reefed fore-staysail substituted. The sea ran mountains high, the vessel rolled frightfully, and the roaring of the wind, as it cut through the shrouds ' ancl* blocks, made it absolutely impossible for orders given to be heard by the men, except by bawling loudly in their ears, and this you. can 'easily understand, was not always practicable. I was at the wheel during the height of the ( hurricane, but shortly after assuming that' position, a tremendous sea broke over the" stern, nearly filling the cabin, washing out the binnacle light, and knocking me away from the wlieel vrXth violence. I floated to leeward and reached my feet only to be knocked back again, and, as I again endeavored to grasp the wheel, it sjsu.ii round, the spokes striking me successively on the arms, causing some painful bruises. With some difficulty a light from a candle was obtained, and held under the binnacle, everything being wet and the wick of the lamp regularly soak ad. While the foregoing was .taking place the vessel was put on her beam ends, and we all gave ourselves up for lost. After strenuous exertions, accomplished under extreme difficulties, the vessel was put before the wind, and away we ran, with two men at the wheel. $or three, hours the noble little* graft was so fiercely buffeted by the elements that she groaned and panted like a human being in agony. To make matters wors,e, it soon became evident by the lurchings of the "schooner that the horses, in their frantic though futile attempts to maintain their footing, had broken loose, and were gathered together on the leeside of the hqldf , The din they made as they kicked and struggled was only exceeded by the roaring of the wind. Some of the sheep were washed overboard, o.thers drowned, and floating about the deck, impeded the progress of the men, and compelled them to throw the carcases overboard when come in contact with. The night was pitch dark, and as the men drove nails through the tarpaulins to keep them more secure, a few, of them received nasty cuts on their hands and feet. Oapt. Edwards got a nasty knock, caused by a sea washing him against the mainmast: When the wind and sea had gone down, and daylight dawned, we took off one of the hatches to inspect the horses. Never will I forget the sight I saw when I looked into the hold. Lyingin a lake of blood, fully twelve inches deep, were the dead carcasses of twenty-eight horses. They were huddled together in almost every conceivable shape, while the agony they, must have endured Avas piti- j fully depicted in their dilated eyes. The scene and its surroundings were, indeed, calculated to bring tears into the eyes of the onlooker. A suffocating stench prevaded the hole, rendering the atmosphere of the cabin unbearable. On deck the dead sheep wei;e scattered t every wliere. Out of forty-four sheep there were only four left alive, while out of the twenty-nine horses twentyei^hVwere killed. The horses were a valuable lot. I reached Nuniea in a few hours after the storm had gone over. When it commenced we were only sixty miles from the reef, and hove to. In harbor the men were two hours* pumping blood out of the hole, the smejllioi which was sickening.

The young man who walked up to a Californian lion under the idea that the animal was a lost dog, has been, in bed ever since, and that is six weeks ago. The Hottentots have no regular doctors. When a man falls sick tliey make him drink all the cold wa^r £c cajj, followed by allith's hot wateivlte oaaswillow, and the rest is left to Provrae&ce. * An Albany woman brings suit against a telephone company for trespass in putting its wires on the roof of her building. It isn't the trespa e s, however, that troubled her so much, as the fact that there is gossip going on just over her head I that ghe .cannot- get hold of, — Boston

"Woman's Softening Influences.— • ' It's astonishing " remarked the old fortyniner this morning, as he nodded over his glass to our reporter," it's astonishin' what a coward a man is at horne — a reg'lar crawlin ' sneak, by Jove ! I've travelled ; a good bit and held up my end in most o' | the camps on the coast sinee '49. I've got three bullets inside o' me. I've shot and been shot at, an' never heard nobody say I had'nt as good grit as most fellers that's goin'. But at home I'm a kyote. Afore I'd let the old woman know that her hot biscuit wasn't Al when^ it's like^ stife amalgom, I'd fill myself-os full &b a retort. I've done it lots o' times. Most o' my teeth is gone from tuggin' on beefsteaks that the old woman fried. If 'ye think I roar out when I go over a chair in the dark? No, sir. While I'm rubbin' my shins an' keepin' , back .the' tears I'm likewise sweatin' fur fear the old woman has been woke by the upset. It didn't use to be so, ' sighed the pojiyr . f eJUowJ . thoughtfully rubbing his shining scalp. " When we first hitched I thought I was the superintendent, but after a year or | two of argyin' the pint I settled down to shovin' the car at low wages. I kin lick any man o' my age an' size, " cried the old gentleman, banging the saloon, table with his wrinkled fist. ' * f'll shoot, stand up or rough-and-tumble for^ coin, but when I hang my hat on the' "peg in the hall an' take off my muddrbootg,' an,>b<e»r~ the old woman ask if thatn»me,<j\tell you the starch comes light oiit o' me."^— Virginia Chronicle. • - '- -

The new Pure Cash System now being initiated , by G. and C. will certainly provca benefit to (he public. It has been a great 'success ip Sjydncy and Melbourne, and when strictly Carried, out the customer who buys at an establishment where tlie goods arc marked low to ensure a rapid sale mutt be a great gainer. G. and C. sell their* drapery, millinary, and clothing- at such prices for cash as • gi\ es the buj cr the advantages of a shareholder in a co-operati\ c society, without the risk of behjg called upon to bear a portion of the loss should thte year's business prove unsatisfactory. .Garlicky and Cranwell will aim to retain, the confidence'^ which the public have hitherto shown them, and) arc detirmmed to give the pure 'cash systenj a fair trial ; whether they gain or lose .the first year. Country buyers on remitting cash with prdcr will be supplied with goods «i cot-ObenatiVe prices ;' just the same as though they made a personal selection. Furnishing goods, such as carpets,* floor cloths, bedsteads, beddjpj^'ajnd/g^ner'aj house furniture, the largest ,pp'ftign. of ( which is. turned out at our own factory, Kvilrbe* markbd at i the lowest remunerative prices, and a discouji(r ; of five per cent, will be allowed to those who pay if the time of purchase. G;'jßn Cj ( having, reajlisedn the entire value of their s"tock during their late cash sale, the present stpclc is new and chbX'^ly i bought. An inspection is incited.'— 'GAßpiCK AND Cranwiill, City Hall Furnishing Arcane, Queenstreet, Auckland. > , -> , I ■