HuTTON. — The Earthquake m the Aviiiri. 277 



have been filled up again before November. Small landslips 

 occm'red in the cutting leading to the bridge over the Waiau- 

 ua, and two larger ones at the approach to the ferry. Up the 

 Waiau-ua no fissures are reported until opposite the Grantham 

 River, where there are some cracks 4in. or 5in. wide. From 

 here, along the south side of the river, they get more and 

 more abundant to Hopefield and Glynn Wye, but were seldom 

 more than a foot in breadth, the larger ones being generally 

 near the river. On the flat of Shingle Creek there were 

 several fissures 4in. to Gin. wide. A large fissure was reported 

 at the back of the house at Hopefield, and two circular holes 

 about 4ft. in diameter and several feet deep are said to have 

 been formed near Glynn Wye. Near this place fissures were 

 very numerous in the terraces, some being more than a foot 

 wide. Up the Hope they were still larger, some being more 

 than 2ft. broad and several feet deep. Wire fences on the 

 terraces were moved in places from 5ft. to 8-|-ft. horizontally. 

 All these fissures were in alluvial deposits, and were more or 

 less parallel to the valley of the Hope and Waiau-ua Rivers. 

 Above the junction of the Boyle with the Hope the fissures 

 get smaller and less numerous and more confined to the edge 

 of the terraces, but there are numerous landslips on the sides 

 of the mountains. Beyond Kiwi Creek no fissures have been 

 noticed in the valley of the Hope, but some continue up the 

 alluvium of Kiwi Creek. None are reported in the valley of 

 the Boyle, and none in the Waiau-ua above Hopefield. As a 

 glance at the map will show, all these fissures are confined to 

 the alluvial deposits ; none have been detected in solid rock. 



At Tekoa Station, on the Mandamus River, numerous and 

 large blocks of rock fell from the cliffs, making a great noise. 



In the Bealey several landslips occurred, and in the Otira 

 Gorge part of the road slipped down. At the accommodation- 

 house at the entrance to the Otira Gorge the shock w\as felt 

 very severely. Stones and rocks rolled down the mountain- 

 side in great numbers, striking each other and leaving long 

 trains of fire behind them — a phenomenon which has been 

 observed before in landslips. A large fissure was formed in 

 Kelly's Creek, but I have not been able to obtain any par- 

 ticulars about it. 



A miner from the Totara Flat District, between Greymouth 

 and Reefton, reports that a number of trees on both sides of 

 his claim were thrown down ; and this was probably due to 

 slips. A shepherd wdio was in Jones's hut, in the Upper Hope, 

 also reported that dead branches were shaken from the trees, 

 and it appears that many dead trees were also broken off about 

 10ft. from the ground, some at least a foot in diameter. In 

 some places near here green trees 25ft. to 30ft. in height have 

 been torn up by the roots ; and this was probably due to slips. 



