ROUND ABOUT CATLINS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11453, 19 June 1899, Page 2

ROUND ABOUT CATLINS.

.* (BT OUK fSpEOIAL'^ErOETEK.) Chilis in midwinter is' a somewhat inaccessible place. On stepping off the train at the terminus,y Owaka, the visitor soon finds* extent frt™?' ■*?* h£ isto a B^to «' less:: , extent-.-.floundering about in mud till he: gets on to'the train again to. come: away. The' tZ * Z™' "GV^ l "^ng-felt wants" waitchif^fnf fK,ppl--e\'But far and away the i T urit,h -<SM 8 *he ant of roads- -Metal ■ h w W„flogeth6J ea?y' t0 get, the country being of a sandstone formation,' and the macadam .obtainable is often not of good qnahty.. Most of the roads, however, have ™, -VPretence, of being macadamised with even-the- rottenest of rotten rock. The result is-that when winter sets in, the settlers, downas tar. as Tahakopa, knd beyond, are almost as effectually cut off from civilisation as if* they were an Siberia, Tahakopa is about 17 miles yibeyond, Owaka, Settlement is said to extepd down as far. as Waikawa, 20 miles nu-ther If anyone cares to follow the i-dugh roads through the bush down that: way, he m!?i- -, eaf ■* pafes within a few yards of "a settler s home, and be unaware of its existence He may;, perhaps, be attracted by. neanng a cock crow,j or see smoke rising.' men it he.turns off the road and scrambles* through the bush he may stumble on a tiny house. Several timid, half-wild youngsters wUI start up like rabbits and scuttle away inside tp_ announce his approach. Children are? plentiful in Catlins.. The writer was looking over a^yillage settlement, last week, and found that the villagers" mostly had a child to the acre. -One man, whose stake in the country was a. 10-aere block, was trying to rear'a ■family of 10 on it! His neighbour had six acresyand a family in the same, proportion, ■i-hese* settlers, who have about room for a p?V^'t; patch each, make a living by working as labourers about the district, and frequently get employed at the sawmills. The settlement above mentioned was formed by the Stout-Yogel /Government, about 10 or* 12 years ago. What is regarded as one of the most successful of these' settlements was one made by the same Government at Woodlands, about the same time; According to information supplied; by a prominent local man, the conditions were .these: A man and his wife get 100. acres. For every child they get 25 icres' more, up to 200. They were to live on the land-five years, and each year certain improvements had to be made. As a deposit, they had to pay survey fees. If tho conditions were fulfilled, at the end of five years they got a Crown grant. Most of these men have now secured the freeholds, and are fairly comfortable. They are really the pioneers of the Woodlands district. Settlement in some cases has'been a success, but in many it has been-quite the reverse. A good many small settlers who started without capital are giving up their hopeless struggle with nature, and the interminable bush, in disgust. For want of roads, let alone a railway, they are unable to utilise the splendid ancl valuable timber on their land, and so they are compelled to burn it off. This is sheer waste, and, naturally; as much a loss to the State as to the unfortunate settler.- The Government last year gave settlers for railway sleepers: 2s for black pine, and 2s 9d for totara. This enabled many small holders to hang on, for although the work was hard, a man could generally make 8s a : day. This year- the department has, for some inscrutable reason, refused black pine sleepers, ancl are giving 3s each for totara. This is hitting a number of settlers pretty hard, as black pine is far more plentiful than totara. Catlins black pine is splendid timber, and a good way ahead of that growing in the swampy country of Southland which is being rejected on account of its less durable qualities. ' ■ Having got the bush off his section, the settler finds the land sour and cold, and much in need of the sweetening properties of lime. Sometimes he finds that the moss, which has dropped for ager. from the trunks of the pine trees, has.spread over the ground to a considerable extent, and no vegetation will grow on these patches. A good many holdings have_ been surrendered aud forfeited lately, and if no one takes them over from the previous holder, he loses valuation for improvements Of eour?e he can cart away what is movable, but lie generally wants to get back to the city that he curses ever having left to illustrate a Government's land settlement policy. - - The great wealth of the Catlins district, as lav as this generation is concerned, is in its timber. Hie belt is about five miles wide, and from Owaka stretches far south—some W milesT-to Fortrose, on the banks of the Mataura River. This magnificent forest* comprises about* 200,000 acres. The view from any of the "trig" stations about Owaka discloses a long expanse of bush-clad ridges right down the coast. Hero and there may be seen little patches, where sawmills and settlers have eaten out a clearing, but this great forest is as yet barely tapped, len years ago there were two sawmills in the vicinity of Owaka—now there are 13. About one-half of this number are in communication with the railway, whila tho j**6&t are unable to

get out their timber in the winter. Messrs { Latta Bros', sawmill at Hunt's road, and Mr j Jonn ihompson's at Owaka are among the largest. Messrs Thomson, Bridger, and Co.'s *** mill probably cuts more totara than any olf tha others. The working a sawmill is ex**-^'--tremely interesting to watch, but it is perhaps 3 equalled by the bush felling, itself. Tram- \ ways connect the mill with the scene of fell- I 'hK ™ , c lines rua for mil(-B into 'tlw 1 DUah. ihe l O g S ar e trollied over these liriej I t>, horse traction Last week a log rolled on a b^hman and broke his leg. The sufferer i nad to be trollied over several miles of tram t hnes to his home From where they are cut, * \ the logs are hauled by a team of bullocks on to I a loading bank, made of green poles' beside i the tram line It is then an easy matter to w,L.hir em iT t0 the * trolly- The* writer was 1 wat-ciung the operation on Friday lint A' * |cam of eight bullocks, driven byTylith,tuW 1 and no w- 7 th? 7 Crossed the loading bank," drLrt? ? tmg.uhe Shar P command of. the I too f,r ™p' the 'fT Went forward a y^l * tn hi LiZ 111* me? nt that the l °S would have i agafc %£ T nd f ld- puUed ™* the tenk , | RiimSl d^ver lieatated * a moment, then I he opened out and did justice to the occa- I aWnW W° -S ,nufct s he had decorated the fi& IVn h, U Z? 2* , of -U^t: blue* pi-o-.t„^" jVb"llock dm'er's ability to do jus-" ! this direction has Income provetS I SS! ma- n ma]ntained the reputation of* ! credH ttt T m- a Way hat would ha™ d°**-<- ) credit^ a Riyenna wool-carrier. Such a di^" Play of vocal pyrotechnics would have in TiftS,*?- f re !°' any bush **•&£■ i. lie bullocks did not seem to mind "the out- ' burst m the least. Possibly usage has dulled i' their perceptions to immoral suasion, an hey I scnvb'on & Til™ ,tO- lara leaves and ot^r ! ,"',? Teh gtheyt thnve s0 well- The log* a c helped onto the trolly with an inge£ ous ever called a " cantle hook." On arrival I «',_£ c „ra,S!» U *hey are "lied on to the A." . i, 1"3 SIVGS the sawyers easy access 1 to then. The sawyers display considerable out of the slabs that are cut off from the larger . planks. Beside the whirrling circular » T i is a movable iron gauge. The plank is first j sent down to gee- a " straight edge." While \ the assistant at the othei end of the bench . is slKlmg the plank back on rollers to "he I fZlt\ f °Perat? r is adjusting the gauw. ' of tl i? bargeS^ Piece/tat can be got out l of he slab. By careful manipulation the Wi fJW a ,greafc ,measu^ reduced, and . nothing that a decent board or piece of quar- \ 0"1 be got °Ufc of> is seat to tto fire w-ood heap. i t l _ A hotA e'^'aVmi __, Wo^!nO' PreSellt a PPear i OTnn do"i? «'el- The average output is 2500 .superficial feet pei day. The boom in I lit, w ng x*^ 0 has resulted in a v e^y large | demand for timber, and, if the millers likld to combine, they could easily increase their profits from 15 to 20 per cent. Messrs Latta I aros., and John Thompson employ 11 hands. ! Ihe right to go on to a settler's land and " ■' remove the suitable timber can be purchased ! for 20s per acre. From 12 to 20 trees can ' generally be got from an acre, and the-* comprise totara, red, white, and black pine, ' and kamai. The last-named is of no use a< I sleepers owing to its tendency to w?rn • ' | neither does it stand exposure to the weather. ' A stack of kamai planks for timbering in tiie Kaitangata coal mine could be seen at Owaka ast week. These came from Mr W. Carlton's land at Ratanui. ■ ■ ■ ■ • The whole of this forest belt appears to be composed of a series of ridges. They do not attain great height, but it is characteristic of them that they slope abruptly t the south and gradually, to the north. All the begt timber is on the north side of the ridgek, I where the trees get most sun. I ™Af n- in?. U!itry hich msJ P°ssibly Play somo | part m the making of Catlins is in the good | fishing grounds off the coast. . Lately new grounds have been discovered extending from he mouth of the river to Tautuku Peninsula ,(a Maori reserve). Four or five fishermen engage regularly in this occupation, and meet | with unusual success. The landing places 6h the coast are very bad, and in rough, wealhet are dangerous; '