Terrible Tragedy at Waikiyi.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 155, 29 October 1872, Page 7

Terrible Tragedy at Waikiyi.

It will be remembered that in our telegraphic news of last week the drowning of three children by their mother, and the attempted drowning of a fourth, was reported. We take the following account of the matter from the Southland Times of the 22nd inst. hass week, we stated that Waikava was the scene of the lamentable occurrence; but it w ill be seen that this was wrong, and that properly it a&ould have been Waikivi, near Invercargill. The family are said to have lived in Queenstown, some ten years ago : On Saturday afternoon last a terrible tragedy was enacted within a few miles of Invercargill. A woman named Caroline Vitting, the wife of Carl Vitting, residing at Chalmers’ old saw-mill on the Bay Road, left her home, .taking with her the four youngest children, a girl aged nine years, and three boys, aged respectively eight and five years and eleven months, saying they would go and look whether the cow had calved. There does not appear to have been anything in the woman's manner as she left the house to excite a suspicion that she meditated a crime. After they had been away for some considerable time, the girl returned, and told her eldest sister, who was at home, that her mother had thrown baby and the two hoys into the Waikivi creek ; that she had lirown the little girl into the creek also, but lat she managed to get out while the mother as chasing Fred (the eldest of the three oys), and she then ran home. The eldest irl and the child who had escaped death so arrovvly, immediately went together to the ;ene of the occurrence, but saw nothing of iieir mother, although they observed foot larks and other traces of the struggle which ook place on the bank of the creek, and :mnd some clothing belonging to the drowned hildreu. They then returned to their home, nd told three woodcutters, named Sinclair, Jashel, and Trainer, who were working close iy, what had happened. These men lost no une in proceeding to the place, and near the irink of the creek, which was high in flood, mining over its banks, found the bodies of he two eldest boys lying at the bottom, ’hey recovered them and placed them on the tank, and some yards further down, discovered the body of the baby lying almost on he surface of the water, in the centre of the tream, where it had been caught, after float,ng down some yards, by some rails which sere lying across the creek. The children ivere quite dead, although the baby was win. The men left the bodies on the lank, and proceeded to Invercargill, where they informed the police of what had occurrd. Sub-Inspector Fox and Sergeant Fleming immediately proceeded to Fitting’s, arriving there about nine o’clock in the evening. Thence they started on foot, accompanied by the father and e. ’est son, and readied the locality of the tragic scene about ten o’clock. The mxlies were carried back to the father’s house, through the bush, by Vitting, SubInspector Fox, and Sergeant Fleming. There could be no search made , for the wretched woman that n : -ht, but at daylight next morning a party of twelve started to scour the bush. Tracks were found leading eastwards from the spot where the bodies were discovered, but owing to the severity of the hail showers and rain they soon became obliterated. About three o’clock in the afternoon, Mr Samuel Morton, who had his dogs with him, came upon the object of their search, crouching down among the scrub in the bush at the back of Mr Russell’s house. He took the woman to Mr Russell’s, where she was arrested by Sub-Inspector Fox. When arrested she appeared to be totally* indifferent to all that was taking place around her. She

ies, ■sometimes exclaimed “ Albert,” the name of The Ber eldest son, and enquired atfxiously for a jeit Bag containing eels. She also asked for her the BBible, saying that she thought she had left it fin® m the mantelpiece. The unhappy woman 3 oi ■pas conveyed to the gaol at Invercargill, and ices B- le has since remained in the same depressed he Band indifferent condition, making no intellilecn statement. The inquest takes place tothe Bw at ten o’clock at Vitting’s house, before The Vie Coroner, Dr Monckton. Various ru-&c-i as to the cause of the sad event are in aces Vrculation. It appears certain that the ope, B l, pk had lived unhappily together, and Bw the woman had been very unkindly ■peated by her husband, whose conduct seems lon «° ' aVe P re > red u P on her mind. ;nce, ■ % a telegram to a Dunedin paper, we ob|N dla t at the inquest a verdict of Wilful * old B Urder Was burned against Mrs Vitting.

inere is now every prospect (says a home •Con- JP er ) that the getting of coal by machinery Vic- be m ore generally adopted than has t'W terto been the case. At present it has e fol- 1 y been adopted at a few places ; but a new coin- acmne, patented by Messrs Cillott and ou ”. J !lst been tested at the Wham--0 G o e Silkstone Colliery, near Barnsley, in e presence of a number of mining engineers n all various Parts of the kingdom, and with t and 1 satisfactory results. In 136 minutes, a [ the *9 a e l'bh of three feet one inch. 1 su cut i n the time stated 1 the ~ “ e about eighty tons. In connection it-”-: l c ; ,a i a hydraulic coal-breaker, gm iU «»ted by Mr Glubb, of London, has iust all in, J veiy successfully tested at the Oaks col--SSS y-Sanisley. It brings down the coal, in W ! liH? C^3 ’ e^e 9^ n S a great saving by makm , e ( ’ r 110 sback, as wedges and gunpowm &f°r 2? t0 4° percent. Theowners , y bor-. 'f.f Colhery are so satisfied with the colatt bat they have given orders for four