THE FIRST OF THE FULTONS

Evening Star, Issue 17031, 30 April 1919, Page 8

THE FIRST OF THE FULTONS

IN NEW ZEALAND. A PEEP INTO THE PAST. No. 111. Herewith a further instalment of the memoirs of Mr Francis Crossby Fulton, the first portion of which appeared in the * Evening Star' of April 25, and the second on April 28 : The first work given to me to do was to help my brother to build a wooden addition to his fern-trae bouse, consisting of sitting room and two small bedrooms. I learned a good deal whilst at Ravenscliff e, as James many years afterwards called 'his place. I built a dairy of wattle and dab, and thatched it entirely by myself. I also learned to fell trees, build sawpits, and put tha logs thereon, then saw them into timber of various sizes and sorts, scantlings, joist boards, etc. There were 15 cows to milk. Conrad Rains (my brother's man) milked seven every morning, and I a like number: we then tossed up who should milk the 15th. The worst part was going to bring them in early in the morning, for they were always more than a mile away across a piece of ewamp and in lon* flax, which gave one a regular soaking. Then I learned to split posts and rails, and put up the fence firmly; after that the ditch had to be dug and the bank erected. Horses had to be broken in to saddle and harness, and the ground ploughed, only it cost a lot to <iig out the cabbage tree" roots. I found out that by cutting these trees close to the ground and then putting a handful of *alt upon the root it completely rotted away and left a hole in the ground, but this took time. Wishing to see something of the colonial world, I started one morning about 4 o'clock with a small swag on my back and walked to the lower Waipori. where Mr M'Donald had a small station. I found them all just going to breakfast. I remained all day watching the. sheep shea-ring, and slept that night in the whare, or lay down, for, what with heat, fleas, and M'Donald's snoring, my rest was somewhat broken. I have since heard many fine snorers, but I think old Mac. was the champion of the world. Next morning I started betimes with a-'Maon in a canoe for the head of the Waihola Lake. My dusky and tattooed friend sat in the stern with a paddle, whilst I took the middle place, and was given a paddle to help to increase the speed. Passing between two of the islands in the Waihola Lake, my gondolier suddenly turned up a small ditch or creek, overgrown with bushes and completely hidden from observation. He stepped ashore, and in a few minutes returned with two or three spears in his hand, which he placed _ in the stem of the canoe, and then, getting in. pushed off into the open water. I felt very uncomfortable, as my back was turned, and he could at any moment have speared me and hidden my body up a place like the one from which ha had just emerged, and whore it would never have been found. I was unarmed, and I could feel by the motion of the. canoe whenever he ceased paddling. I invariably looked round, half-expecting to see or feel the spear point. He tried to f xplain to me that one spear was for the " parera " and the other for the "tuna." The former (I found out after) referred to the grey duck, and the latter to eels, -whicu abonnded in tlie Zalce, aiul -were often of enormous size. Let me say here that I have since caught an eel in a lagoon at Kakanni which weighed 321b. 1 understand that Mr Donald Borrie caught one in the Taieri River weighing 401b, and on board one of the small "steamers on Lake Wakatipu I noticed a piece of the largest eel I ever saw, which the boatman assured me had weighed 701b. The tattooed captain of our craft showed me how be speared the tuna, by suddenly getting out of the canoe in about four feet of water, and after feeling about in the mud with his feet, he pushed his spear down and brought up iin eel -weighing some three or four It was late when we. reached the head of Waihola Lake, and, paying my Maori the price arranged by my friends at Waipori. with whiclTke waa well content. I started through the flax swamps and creeks, making abee-line for the light shining in Mr Valpy's house at the Horseshoe Bush. The "distance was greater and the tumbles more frequent than I had reckoned on. and it must have been 9 o'clock when I reached the house. The teapot, milk, scones, and butter were put before me. I don't know how much I ate, but I know that bowlful after bowlful of tea disappeared down my thirsty throat. I had not eaten or drunk anything since early morning, and I was so blown out it was some~time before I could drink any more. I saw Willie Jeffreys, a young cousin of the Valpys, watching me with amused amazement, no doubt thinking I was like the young women described by Mr Weller, the elder, ss "swelling wisibly afore his wery eyes." One of the unwritten rules of the colony was that on going to a friend's house the visitor should try to make himself useful, and not hinder the work that was in progress. Mr Valpy. had a number of men on his place waiting for dry weather to shear the sheep, and to fill up the time he 6et them to fell trees in the bush, cross-cut them into proper lengths, and then split them into fencing posts and carrv them out of the bush to a position where a sledge could load and bring them to the homestead to be ready for mortising. I was told to look after seme of the ugliest and laziest Maoris I ever came across. One old chief evidently thought he did quite enough if lie went to the bush with me and worked half an hour, then carried to his camp enough dry wood to keep his fire going, and enable him to cook his food. I did. r.ot see things in the same light, and insisted en his continuing work till nearly noon. This angered tho old gentleman. He thought he should qet his 3s a day and do nothing, but I gave him distinctly to understand I should enter his name on the list as absent if he did not do a fair day's work. He used voluble expressions, no doubt of a vituperative nature, but as they were in Maori I did not understand or care. I replied with one or two evil-smelling words in Maori that I had picked up, which I found out long afterwards -had deeply incensed hi 3 royal laziness: but this is another story, and I hope to come to it later on. " The rain it raineth every day." It was sickening, and all the creeks and rivers were in a state of flood, when suddenly one morning Dr Williams. whc=e acquaintance I had made in Dunedin, put in an appearance on his old horse Greybeard. He bad been sent for by Mrs John Cargill, who lived on the further bank of the Tokomairiro. River. He had ridden out from Dunedin that morning, and wished to continue his journey directly he and his horse had been fed. Mr Valpy gave me a horse to ride, and told me to see the doctor to his destination, and at the same time look through Mr CargiiFs sheep that were in the yards, and keep an account, of any of his sheep that might have joined Mr "Cargill's flock. I had begun to pick up something about earmarks and brands, and was rather proud of having the mission entrusted 'to me. Dr Williams, it seems, was terribly afraid of the rivers, and had asked to have someone sent with him. He did not know his way (nor djd I). I was told to accompany him, being, I suppose, the most useless member of the party, and one that could best be spared. The distarc« we had to travel was about 15 miles. The doctor started at a sort of tuppence-three-halfnence pice, at which his horse would go all day long, vhilst my fresher steed wanted to car.ter smartly or trot iracb faster iha'i the old doctor's was aoiv.i. There was a fairly beaten track all the way to the river; but when we got there we found it at last LCft deep, and rushing swiftlv to its destination, wherever that nrght be. Anyway, it seemed to know all about it, anl never hesitated or •lackered its pace for a moment. We dismounted, and in reply to a question I suggested that we should swim across on our Lorsest (I had r>ever swum on horseback, or seen it done m my life.) This did not at all ploase tho doctor, and he suggested

I that we should ride down the river some six or seven miles to some settlers' houses, and get them to help us across. I could not see any object in this, as I considered we were quite as able*to help ourselves ae they were to help us. Tile doctor held my horse while I wandered down the river to see if there waa any more likely spot to cross. To my joy I espied on the opposite bank a moki, or sort of raft, made of korari or flax etieks tied together in bundles with flax, and these bundle* tied together again till something in the shape t of a boat was built, which was very buoyant, bat made no pretension to keeping "out the water. A rope of twisted flax was made long enough to croes tine river, so that the moki could be pulled back drain. This rope was fastened to the bank arid to the moki, and tJie same was done from the other bank, tb.ua enabling the traveller arriving at either side to haul , the boat to him, then, balancing himself on his knees, to haul himself across. Unfortunately, the rope on out side had coma unt ed, and the moki was floating at the length of its tether on the opposite bank. The doctor was full of expedients and Butreestions. We set to work and made a good long flax rope, strongly tied together, tor I had learned all the knots that would hold and all the knots that would slip or come undone. " Now, young Fulton," eaid the doctor, "you slip off your clothes, take the end of the rope in your hand, or tie it Tound you, and swim to get tho moki." I had no objection, for I could swim fairly well; but T thought I would first try another plan. The dry flax sticks are very b'ght and buoyant, but the green stalks, "about 12ft or 14ft long, are very heavy ; so I chose one of these, as straight as I could get it, trimmed it down with my knife, and then tightly bound with flax two small cross pieces" at the heavy end, and tied to the light end a thin flax rope. I threw my spear or harpoon across tho river, and was fortunate enough at the first throw to catch on to the moki, which I puJled across very gingerly to our side, and the-i made fa*t the stronger rope which we had prepared. We then set to work and made another flax rope, one end of which I took with me to the ether side in the moki. I found my boat sustained my weight easily. I was 9^st; but I had my doubts about what would happen to the doctor, whose weight I estimated at about lost. So I set to work and collected some more korari sticks, and put -another layer en the rooki. It was well I did so, for as it was the water came through and wetted the doctor's knees. He was in a desperate funk, and could not pull himself across, so I pulled th* rope, and when I got him in mid-stream pretended that I thought the Tope would break, so played him like a trout at the end of a rod and line. He threatened me with horse whip and all sorts of evil things when he got ashore ; so I said good-bye. and told him that as I had both the horses, with the saddles and bridles, on my side (we had swum the horses across previously, fastened to a flax rope, and I had made their bridles fast to flax bushes), I did .not think he could catch me. It was very cheeky on my part; but the dear oM doctor, whom I afterwards came to know and love for his amiability and kindness, forgave me, and we started on our way, and arrived safely at our destination. The doctor spoke highly of my ingenuity and resourcefulness. He invited me to come and stay at his house whenever I came to Dunedin—a privilege of which I often availed mvself. When shearing was over at the Horseshoe Bush, Mr Valpy lent me a horse to ride, into town. Then, after a few days looking about, I picked up a horse called Traveller, a powerful iron-grey, for which I paid £27. I rode him out to the Taieri River, which was unfortunately "up" and "tmfor<3able, so I went Tip -th« bunk opposite Borrie's and cooeed for the canoe. Tiie river was deep, with a steep bank on the far side; but where my horse entered there was a shingly beach, and Traveller did not understand, or declined to do what was wanted. He would walk in behind the canoe up to his knees, and as soon as the canoe was caught by the current he would lerk his head and pull it- back on to the beach. I had, of course, to jump out and hold him ; so I made a flax rope, which Mr Borrie took with him in the canoe, whilst. I threw stones at the horse to make him take to the water. He did so rather hurriedly, and, putting his forefeet on the canoe, jumped over it, much to the alarm of the paddler. The next move was to make a flax rope long enough to cross tha river, and this I fastened to the horse's neck and took a tuin round his nose. He swam all right till lie was within a yard of the opposite bank, where the current ran swiftly, when he turned down stream. Borrie pulled hard at the flax rope, pulled my gallant grey over on his back, and by the time we got his head up on the bank my horse was dead. I had to walk home in" dire distress, for out of my capital £ICO had been spent on the ewes, £27 on the horse, and £9 or £lO for landing and other expenses, and I had only about £l3 to last me for an indefinite period; so from that day forward I had to walk, unless James sent me into town to bring out anything he wanted, or my sister-in-law lent me her horse go cut west or down the Taieri River bank to bring home ducks for dinneT. After a few months James most kindly bought me a horse called Black Prince for £l9, and allowed the repayment to stand over for some months. One day we got a letter saying that Kate's piano would be at Scrogg's Creek the following day, so James and I started down on horseback, taking with us Harry, tho shepherd, and a young fellow named Swallow", with Jack in the cart. The piano had to be carried across the creek on a broad plank, which was no easy job", then carted home over a very rough road and across several small swamps, and with Jack, who was an inveterate jibber, we had our work cut out. As we neared tho Taieri River we caught sight of a solitary pedestrian. Something in his walk attracted James's attention, and he rode on quickly, jumped off his horse, and warmly embraced my brother Robert, who had just returned from the Australian diggings, and was walking out to the West Taieri. It was about five years since I had seen Robert. He had" filled out and changed from a boy of 16 to a man of 21, well bronzed by the Australian sun. We could not keep the piano waiting, as it was coming on to rain, so James told me to lead his horse and show Harvey and Swallow across the ford while he walked with Bob. Naturally they had plenty to talk about. When we got to the ford the river was rising, but still quite fordable, so in I went, and told Harvey, who was driving the cart, to follow me exactly. There was a nasty snag in the middle of the ford pointinz upwards, so I determined to go below It. Harvey thought the crossing above better, but I never for a moment imagined that he was not following me exactly. I was nearly across, when I heard him call out, found that he had missed the crossing, and stuck on the submerged snag, and Jack had positively declined to pull another stroke or turn round. I have said the river was rising rather fast, so the only thing to do was to unharness Jack; and Swallow rode him across, while Harvev who was a very tall man, held on to "the cart saddle and got safely over. I rode up to Borrie's as quickly as I could. My brothers brought down the canoe and tried to lift the piano into it, but it filled. They had to leave the piano in the cart-and make for the opposite bank. It was nearly dark; but I could see the canoe suddenly give a plunge and turn over, throwing them both into the river, which had a very strong current. I ran down the river, "and could just see a pair of moleskin trousers climb up the bank and another pair lower down. James had to | carry Robert up the bank. I call that period one of the worst quarters of an hour m my life. Fortunately there was another canoe. They crossed in it, and, taking the two horses, rode home. I stopped the night with Swallow" in Borrie's whare. Soon after 3 the following morning we were down at the ford, to find that the piano had been washed off the cart and had disappeared, whilst the cart had got clear of the snag, and after passing through some deep water had reached what was called the Lower Ford, and was leisurely : making its way down stream. It had to. be arrested somehow, so I tossed with I Swallow, and, losing the toss, had to go , into water so deep that it was impossible to keep one's feet, so we made the invariable flax rope, and I entered the river well above the cart. When I found I could I no longer stand, I threw myself, forward

and allowed the current to take me down against the wheel, which I caught, and worked my way to the shafts, making my rope fast to the end of it. Thiß enabled us to turn the cart sideways to the stream, and eventually to pull it ashore. We then started down tie river, and found the piano washed into a bend—and, to shorten a long story, got the piano, cart, and all to the house. [The place ia known ae "Piano Bend s ' to-day.) My sister-in-law was dreadfully disappointed, an# so were we, for she played ante sang very nicely. I set to work, cleaned all the silt out of -toe piano, and then with glue and felt tried reinstate the hammers and dampers. The work seemed interminable, and although I patched it up and put the mechanical part right, I could not tuna the rusty strings. Mv brother sold it in town for £ls and bought another for his wife. My brother Robert was a splendid bushman, full of resource, and could make many things with on axe, an adze, and a spokeshave. He knew all the different sorts of timber in the bush s could catch wild pigs and cany them home for many miles on his back when we were short of meat. He taught me most of the bush lore that I know, and which I have often found so useful during the past 48 years. He wa* an upright, honorable man of unswerving integrity and truthfulness. In September, 1853, I was suddenly rousted out of my bed at 3 a.m., got a leg-up on to old Sikh (James's pet, a splendid trotting horse), and with instructions. "Don't lose time, but bring Dr Williams out as quickly as you can," I was off. I did the 22 miles under tha two hours. This was good work, for there were some swamps to cross, where I had to dismount and lead my horse. Dr Wil!hm.= was at home; I caught his horse in the paddock and saddled him, whilst the doctor dressed and took a cup of tea and some bread and butter, of which I got a share. I rubbed down old Sikh, gave him a drink and a little oats, and we started again—tuppence three-halfpence over and over again. I knew the pace, and loathed it; but we were back at the house by 8 o'clock, and soon after I was told that my brother was a father and I an uncle—and the boy's names wore Arthur Robert William Fulton. Happv he with such a mother. Faith in womankind beats with his blood, and trust in all things high comes easy to him, and tho' he trip and fall, he shall not bind his soul with clay.