The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-10-03
LOST IN THE BUSH.
AYoUNo GIRLS TERRIBLE EXPERT
ENCE IN AUSTRALIA.
Graphic Account of the Finding of a
Child Who Had Been Lost I'm
the Wilderness for
Three Weeks.
melbourne Arp,ls.1


A special correspondent gives the fol-
lowing graphic account of the finding of
young girl, Clara CTosbie, who had been
lost in the bush for three weeks: at was
on the twentieth day after the girl left
Mrs. Haines' house that a couple of
friends started out TO look for horse
which had strayed in the ranges J. G.
Curwan, farmer and contractor of War
burton, who has been fourteen years in
the district and knows his way about,
was accompanied in this quest by William
Smith pianofor tuner of Kew, who
was on tour through the district They
struck the CockatoO creek, and as they
watched the turbid stream flowing
through the Oozy bed of a large
morass, Mr.. CoTwan began to expatiate
upon the advantages of canals for drain
age purposes with as much fervor as the
late Hugh McColl used to praise canals
for irrigation purposes. The friends grew
so interested in the subject that they got
off their horses to discuss il, and they
were soon deep in the history of the Suez
canal and that of its engineer, De Lesseps.
Then remounting and skirting the swamp,
they were riding rapidly away, when Mr..
Smith found the head of a starved dOmes-
tic cat, which had vainly sought succor in
a hole in a tree Mr.. Curwan obliged his
"tOWn chum as he calls him, by wait
ing till Mr. Smith once more left his sad
die, and with stick fully disentombed
the feline victim of misplaced confidence
In the nutritiye resources of the Lilydale
bush.
He was just mounting again when
low sound like young blackbird's
whistle caught the acute ear of the ex-
parienced bushman by his side Hist,
said Mr.. Curwan- What's that?' Again
the wailing, plaintive note was born softly
on the breeze. 1t was enough this time
II (rFrrwr Il
never, he says, hear coo-ee twice in
the bush without answering it. / answered
It and the soft, weak voice came to us
again, yet a little louder. | was sure
something was wrong, but / could not say
where the sound came from because of the
echo of the hills. / galloped up the rise in
front of US and COO. ed now and again
Every time we coO-e ed-indeel oftener
we got the response of that low yet
piercing note of distress. V hen we got
on TO the hill l was sure the voice came
from the swamp we had left. AS fast as
logs, bogs and ravines would let us we
advanced toward the spot where we had
been talking about canals. | heard some
one speaking, but could not make out the
words. and the scrub was so thick could
not see anyone
At last | caught sight of little girl,
and it went to my heart to see her SO thin
and oe-begone, but | could not believe
1t was CLARA Crosbie, or that she could
have lived SO long. The little creature
was tottering toward us in her ulster,
without shoes or stockings on, but quite
sensible. She said Il want to go home
to my mother. have been lost three
weeks. She was so weak that she could
scarcely stand. l jumped off my horse,
put my coat around her, and took her up
In my arms. She said she wanted q
drink, but wished to hasten back TO the
camp with her, as L was afraid she might
90 of. 10 would have been terrible for
her to have died in my arms after all she
had suffered and ] had found her. She
said she had lived in a tree, and
used TO go for water, but that she had
been too weak to go for any for two days,
and could quite believe It. She said her
clothes were In the tree. but we did not
stay to look for them, but started home
at once.
@Mr. Smith went on to bring some tea,
and, although he can't ride, / never saw
man go across country in better style, as
If there was such thing as breaking his
neck in such tangle He met me half
way, but had given the little thing a
drink out of my hat before that Didn't
she lap 1t up eagerly, and then talked all
the more about how she wandered away
and crossed the creek and found the hol-
low tree, and got too frightened and too
tired to travel any more. We gave her
some tea and toast, and when we got to
the camp the cook said he saw a man who
was lost In New Zealand, and the doctor
gave him some oatmeal with some brandy
IN It But Clara smelt some pork and
potatoes and she did beg hard for some of
that dinner. | believe she thinks me
hard to this day.
after she had eaten little and now
that she felt quite safe and the excitement
was over, she began to look worse than
when we first found her. We could see
the ravages which hunger and exposure
had made, but, considering what she had
gone through, she was wonderfully
chirpy. She kept asking to be taken to
her mother She was taken there in the
blankets of six of the boys, for every man
wanted to have a share in wrapping her
uD. and then she was washed and put to
bed bv Mrs ClaXton at the hotel, which
was nearer than her mothers house. She
has been improving ever since. but you
will see her for yourself bye and bye, and
get her to talk TO you. In a week she
will be as right as ever, but it was a close
shave. ] don't think she would have
lasted another night, as the next night
stiff frost was on and she had got too
weak TO go to the creek for the water
upon which she had lived How she
lived. God knows. / have seen men used
to hardship knock under in fourth OF
the time. And then think of the loneli
ness and the wildness of the place where
she was found 1t was enough to drive
4 child like her mad. She's living
wonder.
A Moral Question.
THE Argonant.I
In the Crimean war d Russian frigate,
one night, was in danger of drifting on the
Cornish coast An English clergyman
caused the beacon fire to be lit The ship
was saved; and at the close of the war a
special message of thanks was sent by