ORMONDVILLE

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6632, 21 August 1883, Page 4

ORMONDVILLE

(from our own correspondent.)

August 18, 1883

The chairman of our Eoad Board has received a letter from Mr Smith, M.R.H., stating that the Government have consented to give a section for a cemetery. ' This was Itadly wanted. (Mind, Ido not mean to say that any of our settlers are anxious to claim a share of the section for their own particular occupation.) Also, that the railway line is to be fenced ; this too will be a boon, and I hope tbe fencing will be gone on with at once, as cattle are very hard to keep off tbe line in the spring time when the young grass is sprouting. Mr Smith further stated that although strongly opposed, he would try to get the crossings of the Papatu-Makatoku-road (which were refused by the Ilailway Department, after the road was made, although the said road was made in conformity with the surveyor's plan sent to the Road Board) and the foot-bridges over the Manawatu, Mangarangiara, and Makatoku streams. Knowing, as Mr Smith does, the hardships endured by our settlers, I have no doubt that he will do what he can in the matter ; and lam also certain that if Mibisters were as well posted in the sufferings of the inhabitancs of 'our settlement they would not refuse his application on our behalf. In any case, whether Mr Smith succeeds or not, he will deserve the thanks of our district. Ormondville must be progressing, for there is scarcely a month passes without developing some new industry. Our latest is a pork butcher, who supplies German sausage, cow-heel, tripe, &c. He seems to have faith in Ormondville, and I hope he will succeed. This reminds me of an attempt made by one of my neighbors to save his bacon, or rather his pork. It seems that he had a number of pigs which used, like the wind, to go where they listed. Now, another party who owns property here had a strong objection to garden digging as performed by pigs, and so, to discourage this way of introducing cheap labor, he caused poison to be laid on his land, the result being that one of the would-be diggers eat something that disagreed with it, and caused it to rest from its labors. On thiH the owner took his gun and went for the remaining pij»s, determined that if they must die the choice of the mode of death should be his. He shot two of the pigs and brought them home, and after duly shaving them he found a reddish mark on the side of one of them. Fearing that this mark might mean poison he examined the stomachs, and found nothing therein but grass. The following day the red mark had become darker, like a bruise (which it was), but once having thought of poison he could not drive the idea from his mind, and as it took some days for him to make up his mind whether they were fit for food or not, the pork went bad, and had to be thrown away. A few days since a creditor met a rather " long-winded " debtor, and took him to task for not having tried to pay some of the debt. The debtor became abusive, and the creditor said that if the debtor had not lately recovered from sickness he would not go unpunished. On hearing this a companion of the abusive debtor became valiant, and offered to stand in his friend's shoes. This was more than the creditor could stand, and " casting off his garment" he prepared to do battle. Ido not know which of the two combatants would have been the better mau, but the self-constituted champion was by far the best runner, and so the only blows struck were by two soles that beat as one.