A WILD STORY OF FORTY YEARS AGO,

Otago Witness, Issue 567, 11 October 1862, Page 6

A WILD STORY OF FORTY YEARS AGO,

In " Beaten P.itlis and those who tnd thorn," Mr. Thomas Ui.lley 'Tt-tften lela'es an extiaordinary inoidout of Irish life which is hardly to he credited, even on iii-s fnith 'l'it.y. Tho writer, howe er, srem-« to v-ueh for the truth of the story, which is capitally told under the title of " A Man Hunt with bloodhounds."

A tray party of hungers are awembled at the S<|irire\ at Bachelor's Hall, and, aft-r sittinsr up all ni'jht drinking whisky punch, suddenly find tli.it morning has overtaken them at their devotions. " Out with the lamps and candles, and open shutters," says the squire, and welcome the daylight. This is the wvtv we knock two days into" one at Knnckderritr."' The dogs were soon ready in the couples, the horses saddled, the hunters ready to mount/, and a'l anxirus to know what the " drag }< is to be which tho squire is to give them instead of a stas. " Here be is," shouts a, voice, and then into the midht bonnds a man, a living man, in iiidit dress, -with a han 1 kerchief tie 1 round hi* vnUt, and a close cloth cap on his lnad, smeared with bool from top to ton, and vet shoeing his white to'>th and winking eyes through the cory ft'eiks. This Kvina man was' the prey to to he hunto 1 bj a pack of fierce and gavsuje bloodlnunds. At fii.st tin- horrible appo.ar.vwQ of the man startled even the drunken rioters, and some of fiem spoke of the danger. But the man himself wns fearless; he was use Ito it ; and so after be in c: charged by the squire to be careful, to hold his breath well in. and being told tliat lie was to have twenty minutes' law cr.nle.l, away be went, carrying with him a. Piping pole, by the hoi)) of which he cleared the dit. h ns merrily as if off for a run with the foxhiui:ids._ Then wore brought forth the hounds, twelve in number, huge, ferocious Ivsists. standing so;ve twenty- five inches hi^li, fiiitv indies i i length, with fl.isl.iii" eyes and foaming lips, furimis to be\i'iloosed upo'i the pr>v. At last the signal w.x< iri-. ?u, and \a a moment the dogSj like a p.ic'r of hungry wolves, with thi) whole tioop of hunters .after them, da .lied nivlly away aeros-. the country in (u'.l cry. After some desperate leiping, they reached a tivmt "•treaiu, and for a unraeut c'lere was a chee!:. The wretche 1 creature v.Lorn they were hunting ha-l not, it faecnec!, followe I the Mpuiru's advice, by makirg at once for some r.iciged elm tioes, among the Immh.s of which ha would hive been safj, but gono :i litt'e to the right, hi as give more sport to the fiMd Hut ' there was no time to think what v.oulri be his houible fate if the do^i eamo upon him in the eppn ground, for t'nv had. crossed the stiev.n. and <\\. asj.xin were in full ciy. On, ou they went. Presently the' hunters caught a gliinp c ef him some way ahead, cniiteiin-r litrlitly over a ri-ing GCfonu.l, and then calmly climbing a tree, as t'te hounds drew n-wer and nearer in fnli cry. and with panting roaring jaws. The drag— namc'l (fodroon had now perched himself across the branch of the tree, which <wnved up find down wfrh his weight. Suddenly the branch «n ipped in two. and GoJroon was dash<\l to the ciMimd rolling over the other side of the rath. Meanwhile on sv.ept the ] kick of ferocious hounds; and ou swept the hunters sparing neither whip nor spur, to come in time to save the poor wretch from being torn to pieces. ! ittle hope seemed left. But when the height was gained, with eaecr eyes they siw the panting wretch running for his life some hundreds of yards ahesvl The bloo.lhounds followed in mad fury, g lining inch by mcli on their prey. Therj were sever.il heavy falls of men and hordes; but s-till all di I their* best, their very nt".io.-t to sine p}or Gndroin. Two hires snrjing up in front of the digs, hut these they never heeded for nn instant. Blood, blood, only would stay fiem. At last Go Iroon was seen hurrying up the rou»h side of the rocky mountain ahead, the d >gs c'o-insr fast on him, and the men in utter deapiir of helping him. The next, change in the scene was Godroon's g«ning the summit, rushing over it, and out of sight without p. moment's pause. " He'll do it," cried the squire, "the witch's tree will save him ; he'd scramble up somehow, though the tree has not a screed of bark on it. Life is sweet, and strength and activity can do nnythinpr."

At last the hunters gained tho summit, and there before them, 200 yards ofF, wn» the lake, and the blast°d witch's trie, with Golroon again and again making fruitless efforts to dimb to the overhanging branches, and as often falling in despair to the tr-ound. Horses, men, and dojca were rushing down after him in headlong confusion; the bloodhounds roaring with fury at h wing the victim almost in their fang*, and the huntsmen shouting madly — "The wutrr, ! the water! Plunee in ! plunge in ! " In a few moments he hnd jumped heiullomr into tho lake, nrnl the ferocious dogs after him, and then in wild confusion followed men and horses, the men striving to ride tha hounds down or in battle them to death with their hea\ v hunting whips. It i-, impossible to describe what followed. Enough, that the wretched man was at lnst snatched from his bloody destroyers and lifted on to a horse, more dead than alive, ns the, horror-struck procession wound its way down the mountain side. Godroon, after all his awful ordeal did survive the ni»ht. After a jolly hunting breakfast tho sportsmen one and nil made up a coodly pur^e fv)r him, and tho bloodhounds were all shot dead nn the floor of the kennel.

"Go 1 bless ye all, my good friends," said the squire ns lie took leave of them ; " (vniomber, I now reckon you all as men of honor iiot to mention to any one a hint of thi* adventure by word of mouth or oen for five years." All promised and all kept thoir word. Tt is exactly forty years beyond the five, says Mr. Grattau, when I tell the wild story of the wild sports of Ireland in the olden time.

Tun Chops.- -The Ballaamt Star cays :— '' The c.iops in this district are now looking luxuriantly green and are exceedingly forward, particularly wheat and cits, which In many plases are »ow two feet in height. ' The farmers generally speak hopefully of their future prospects, owing to the belief that the harvest will be a bountiful one. A large tract of land is this season under oats and hay, particularly the latter, v 8 the increased consumption of hay latterly has considerably exceeded the supply from this district. Potatoes, we uudeistand, will not be so generally planted as last season, unless by the holders of 20 acre allotments, who, it is supposed, will be the principal p oduccrs oi this esculent. A few days ago, we were shown about 11 cwt. of tobacco, grown iie;vr Mount Holbwback. The leaf was large, but there was an evident want of care and proper knowledge in the drying 1 and subsequent manipulation of it, which rendered it only fit tor sheepwash, for which purpose it was purchased by Mr R. Dunn.