LEGACY FOR A DUNEDINITE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13263, 20 April 1905, Page 8

LEGACY FOR A DUNEDINITE.

INTERVIEW, WITH "THE LEGATEE/

)IR JAS. AUGUST WILSON, OF SOUTH. DUNEDIN, '

itfcw Zealand, along with the otlior. colonies, numlwrs amongst its population quite a number of men whoso carecre h&ve Ibeen chequered in a largo degree. Most men havo in the composition a taste for change and adventure, and it is because of the exceptional opportunities that wore offered by the colonies in their days for the gratification of this taste that men are so constantly mot with in our midst whose lives, -if translated into literature, mould make reading quito as interesting as many a pretentious romance. Plentiful in its vicissitudes has been the life of Mr Jas. August Wilson, of William street, South Dunedin, whose name during the past few days has been associated with a- legacy that would seem to be coming to J>im as a climax to a ratlier unusual career, jo. obtain some particulars of some ot the events of his life, and also of the supposed legacy which constitutes a sum so large as io be exceptional, a. representative of this journal called ou Mr Wilson-last evening. Expectations of an interesting interview .nvero quite fulfilled. The story of Mr Wilson's life compressed into a' few lines of print cannot, however, compare in interest with the narrative as it. came from tho lips of Mr Wilson—a tall, straight, broadshouldered man, ruddy of check, brisk and .breezy in conversation, and clear-headed and .vigorous to a degreo for a man of 72 years. "Yes," said Mr Wilson, "I ojn identical with the James Travis inquired after in connection with the legacy the newspapers are talking of. My reai name is Travis, not ■Wilson. lam a son of Captain Jacob Travis, of Neiv York. My father was married twice. By his first, wife he had five children—three sons and two daughters,— and by his second wife three sons, of whom I am the eldest, my brother Ira M. being the. next, and Jacob tin; youngest. By the way. I might toll you that the Travis family is one of the oldest families in America. Their history dates hack to the "War of Independence, in which our family figured. We are on the pension list, and it is not unlikely that, the American Government 3ias lad a hand in the attempts that, have been made to trace, me. so as to pay moneys that have been accumulating for years. "As I say, my father was Captain Jacob Travis, lie was a ship owner, who traded from New York to various places—to the ■West, Indies and St. Laivrence amongst oilier places. One of these ships he commanded himself. She was a topsail schooner of about 250 tons, and my three stopbrother?—George. William, and Daniel— were the three mates, Rather unusual! •Yes it is, but father kite* - ' how to train alien. My mother's name was Lewis, and ,whcn father died she married a second time to a Mr Wilson. I was six years old when father died. You can understand now how it came about that I got the name of Wilson. People got into the way of calling mo AVil-on. and I never troubled afterwards to go back to Travis. "L'fo at home under changed conditions was not nearly so attractive after my mother's second marriage as beTore it. •When I was 18 I went fo sea, and had ih.tec years whaling. A friend and I were 5n New Bedford wlien > we saw a placard intimating that young men were wanted io .see the world. The placard said that ' there were no expenses, and that the trip would not cost us a penny. The agent showijd us a map of the world, and intimated that wc would be calling in at every port >of consequence, many of which he Mentioned, and none of which we ever saw. Some difficulties arose in the way of our signing, on, although both of us, •being gtoen, were anxious enough to go. Eventually wo were taken on board the Ijarque Maria by Captain Moers, and left Jiew Bedford on a three years' cruise. "Yes, I was fond of tho life. The Captain hadn't much education, and could manage only io find his latitude and longtitude. He couldn't take lunar observations. I had a better education than he, and my assistance in the navigation of the vessel was ofton required. 1 thus got a pretty good knowledge of it. After wo came round the Horn we cruised up the Spanish Main, thence to the Gulf of Carpentaria, the South Sea Islands, and the Okhotsk ' Sea beyond Japan. Whales were plentiful •in those days, and in time we were pretty nearly a full ship. Eventually we ran into tho Bay of Islands to provision. Getting an idea from the captain that one voyage ■was required to learn the trade, and that the prospect of getting any wages was more than dim, I and five others left without asking leave. That was in 1854-. lam the only onp of tile-six who is now living. "For a time I assisted in making sails for and rigging up a schooner just building, hccoming friendly with Tamate Walker, whom Sir George Grey diplomatically appointed a magistrate at £200 a year, and so secured his Jriendship, and with it that of . his tribe. About this time the rush to Australia broke out, and I went to Auckland, and made several trips to Australia :is navigating officer on vessels taking over ■those who left New Zealand for diggings. I got £50 a month for it. On the othor sido tho sailors almost invariably deserted, and we had to replace them with as many ' drunks' as wc could capture and steal out short-liandod. Wo brought cattle back with us. The boats that ran across were for t.ho most part old wooden tubs, not fit to go outside. "Talking about this kind of boat, you may remember it was stated that TiohLourne went down in a vessel called tho Osprcy. There were three boats of this name trading in the South Pacific—one from Sydney, one from Hobart, and one from Brisbane. None of these went down; they all went- ashore, and not unlikely were placed there so as to get. the insurance on them. It was undoubtedly a fraud to say 'A'ichboumo was drowned in the Osprcy. "In 1859 I left- the sea, and joined a purvey party working in the North Island. IKough work it was, too! I havo been a whole day scrambling down the side of one ihill and climbing tho otehr. Wild pigs were plentiful in those days, and often lined up . and faced us. We ran at them, waving our blue jackcls in front, and they then turned tail. In 1859 I married Sirs Wilson, and afterwards knocked about Auckland, doing odd jobs for tho Government. ~\Xc had a little bit of an adventure at Orewa, 36 miles out of tho city, witero I farmed some slice]) and cattle. A dozen or so tachae, or Maori outcasts or stragglers, came /lown on'us and demanded the hams we h;yl hung up in tho house. We refused, and offered beef and potatoes. Then they started their war dance in front of the house, and so the missis and I got down our guns (both of us are good shots), and I put a bullet through a sardine tin and said I should do the same to the first of them that came through tho gate, fortunately I was saved this necessity. Some , Ngapuhis from a neighbouring settlement came on the scene, tied up the marauders like pigs, and dumped them into a river a milo or so away. Did they get out? Well, I don't know: I didn't go to see. Wo kept, our light, in all that night, to 6how we were not asleep. " In 1663 I came to Dunedin. and bought a piece of bush land up the Valley from Mv. David Mackenzie—Mr Thomas Mackenzie's father. Afterwards I eamo to Dunedin, rigged up a vessel for Mr W Guthrie, then went into tho machinery business, and lastly into the house agency line. But now X am out of that, and I go fishing and shooting with the hoys. It agrees with me. too. "'About the legacy? Well, the Travis's were a wealthy iot; but I'll yrobablyknow for certain wlwn the next mail comes in. Up to about 1870 or so I wrote regularly to 'America, hut I dropped it when I got news ■Jjy tho ships Nebraska and Nevada, which' traded hero in thn early days, that both my brothers —Jacob and Ira—had died in the North and South war* while fighting with the 14th New York Regiment. But Ira seems to be alive, judging by the advertisement which has been inserted asking / for, me. I take it, by the account which lias appeared in the American papers, that • - ho has got my letter to him. The other iiereon mentioned, Mr E, Y. Thorn. Japan, is probably identical with the Thorn to -whom my sister was engaged to be married when I left America. I am not able to say, if the amount of the lcgacy is correct iff not. for I have not had any communica- / tion with any of my relatives since I left liime. I have been comfortable enough ■here, and did not. bother alxiut legacies or writing when I thought my two brothers were dead." . Both Mr and Mrs Wil-on, during the interview, which then terminated, talked freely in regard to the matter of the legacy, and were most anxious that whatever inforjnaiion was printed should be correct. The •family, it may -bo mentioned, is very well ■known on the Tlat. There " are altogether seven sons and four daughters. Ono of the sons is the' Rev. R. Wilson, Methodist ; minister.- of Dannevirke, and one daughter is married to-Mr'Huston, well known as a ircmber of the Caversham Council. •'