RURAL RAMBLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1901, 17 July 1890, Page 31

RURAL RAMBLES.

FROM WANAKA TO DUiSEDIX,

(By Richard Norman, Albertown.)

After leaving Kingston part of the road runs through a number of huge boulders, some of them 15 to 20 tons weight. In the old glacial days these were no doubt firmly embedded in the bottom of huge ioebergs whioh, when grounded and melting, left these rooks in their

VARIOUS PIOTORE3QUB ATTITUDES.

Many of the small- stones by the roadside appear to be covered with red paint, but an examination showed it to be a peouliar fungoid growlh, and confined to etonea whioh had previously been under ground. The railway line is unfenced, and Bometimes cattle and horses wander on the line in the front of an approaohing train. The cattle appear to become completely stupid, and steam, whistling, and shouting Beem to render them all the more confused, and they refuse to leave the line ; then if the case is hopeless full steam is put on and the unfortunate animal ia pitched "from one telegraph pole to another," The bills here are destitute of fern,

At Garston the valley narrows somewhat, but on the left hand of it are a number of undulating tablelands, on whioh are situated all the farmers, over 50 in number. Many of theae are obliged to make expensive cuttings on their farms in order to oait the grain off it. Three farm steadings are within a stone's throw of eaoh other — Messrs Butson's, Wraytt's, and Gordon's, and are the first from Kingston. Mr Gordon's 'stables and barn are substantially built of etone, and everything is neat and tidy, and, what is somewhat of a rarity on a farm, a valuable vegetable garden is attaohed to the bouse. Last year Mr Gordon had a remarkably fine patch of 20 acres of barley, which was a theme of admiration among all beholders, In the early days Mr Gordon had a dredge at Alexandra and attack a " jaweller's shop," and afterwards came up to the Shotover and started a dredge there, but was as unlucky as he had previously been lucky. I was fortunate in being tho guest of Mr Josiah A. Wraytt for Borne days. Mr Wraytt was one of the earliest settlers on tho Wanaka, and worked most of the time pit sawing in the Makrora Bush, with Messrs Ishell, Farquhar, and Boas, of whom the first named is dead. There being no schooners at that time on the Wanaka Lake the timber had to be floated down it in one large raft, whioh was then broken up and made into smaller ones for rafting down the Olutha river. We bad many, interesting chats aMwit eld times. SOME OLD WANAKA INCIDENTS. Mr Wraytt told me that about the spring of the year 1865 a party of about 30 Maorismen, women, and children— came from Moeraki to Makarora, and lived there during the ensuing summer and winter, catching large quantities of eels during the summer and drying them for the winter, whioh with femroot formed their staple food. Their manner of preparing the latter was somewhat different to the methods usually deßoribed. All the members of the household would sit round a mat, wbioh would be placed in the centre of the apartment, and would chew the green root into a pulp and then lay it on the mat till a respectable looking pita would be the result. This was left till it became sour, but Mr Wraytt does not remember how they next prepared it. When the Maoris left, they floated down the lake and Olutha river to Lindiß on koradi rafts, which they then abandoned, and made a short out aoross the ranges, by what iB since known as the Maori Pass. In Mr Pyke's " Eeoreations of a County Chairman " he speaks of Maori huts, gardens, and oarvingß being found at Makarora in the early days, but the Bottlers destroyed them, aB usual. The locality where the skeleton of the man was found, on the edge of Lake Wanaka, is about a mile or two from the neok where the two lakes Hawea and Wanaka nearly meet. The remains of the old blue blanket were to be seen, and it waa noticeable that the deceased when alive had had red hair and red whiskers. About '64 or '65 a man named John Gallon was burnt at Albertown, I was a very small boy at the time, but I can remember the event as well aB if it happened a few years back. Gallon bad built himself a small hut in the township, as he and his wife desired to remain there for a few months. One evening the cry arose that "Chips'" house was on fire, and several persona ran from the hotel and store hard by. The wife was away visiting at the time. The door was kicked in, and the party looked round for "Chips," but at first could not see him, for he stood behind the door stupefied, holding one arm before bis face, and with hia back all in a blaze. He was pulled out at once, and I can distinctly remember seeing several persona rushing him down to the river with bis back blazing. No doubt tbe fire, when it burnt the skin, liberated the natural oils and fats of the body, and rendering them volatile, added fuel to the flame, and made it burn fiarcer. Before reaching the river be was thrown down, and rolled over, and this, with an occasional hatful of water, soon put out the fire. Then I came up, and saw that his back and shoulders and bands and arms were burnt black, and his bair and beard and eyebrows were singed off. They sat him up on the ground, and dredged flour over his back, and then poured sweet oil over it, and he was helped off fco a neighbour's bouse. Shortly afterwards hia voice sank to a hoarse whisper, and then he was removed to the Clyde hospital, but only to die three weeks after the accident happened. For some time prior to bis death his room bad to be disinfected every hour or two, and hia finger nails dropped off. It was only by careful nursing that he was c kept alive so long. When we read of dreadfully pathetic inoidenta like thiß, we are powerfully reminded of the reoent utterances of the most humane medical men of the age, who say that to prolong a poor patient's life in dreadful agony without the Slightest chance of ultimately saving it ia in direct opposition to humanitarian principles, especially when the pharmacopoeia 'possesses drugs which can send the patient off into the balmy sleep whioh knows no awaking except in the beautiful forever where neither sorrow nor pain iB. . In the oldon days small inoidents interested the people. Newspapers were scarce, and they had nothing out of the common to interest them. John Gallon built the first part of the Albert Hotol, at Albertown, in 1863, and one day after a moßt heroic struggle, in view of a sympathetic audience, drew out a back tooth with his oarpenter's pincers 1 The whole population turned out to view the result, and hear " Obipß* " graphic account of the affair, and appeared to be in doubt as to which was the more wonderful achievement— drawing out the tooth or getting the pincerß inftide the man's mouth. Never Bince the days of the major's big tooth in Handy Andy did a tooth excite bo muoh amazement and the consumption of so muoh ardent liquors, for the patient treated all hands, and in turn all bands treated each other,

People thought less of £1 in those days than they do of Is now. A few years afterwards some convivial spirits met at the hotel one Sunday night, and sang hymns till 12 o'olook, and then songs till morning. <*

AMONG THE 3ETTIiKRS AT GABSTON. Mr Wraytt's farm comprises 700 acres, including freehold and leasehold. The climate and sou here are admirably Buited to the growth of barley, whioh is the prinoipal crop grown on the farm, and which commands the best price in the Dunedin market. There are a number of fine crossbred sheep on the farm, whioh are a valuable adjunct to it. The Mataura river forms one boundary of the farm, and sometimes floods portions of it. Mr Wraytt acquired some natural grass country across the river for winter feed, but a spark from the railway engine set it on fire and it was mostly burnt up. Some turnips for winter feeding are also grown. Mr Wraytt left the Wanaka about 1876 to begin farming here. At that time the price of implements and farm stock was very high, and the price of grain did not keep up long enough to enable him to immediately recoup himself for his heavy outlay. Then some of the stock died, and the bouse was burnt down, so that Mr Wraytt has had hia trials. Mrs Wraytt was teacher at Albartown for a couple of years, and left before Mr Wraytt did. Another Wanaka resident of many yeara 1 standing 13 Mr John Muiohland, who is married and has three children, and a 200aore farm, which be holds on the perpetual lease system. Persons of moderate means may now Btart farming with greater ease than formerly, as ordinary waggon horses can be bought for £12 to £18, and all the ploughing, harrowing, reaping, &0., &c, can be done by oontraot at very reasonable rates. There are two threßhing mills in this distrust, whioh thresh oats for about 8a per 100 bushels. Then the railway conveys the grain to market at once, and it is completely off the farmer's hands, and in a few months he draws his oheque, and has the whole winter to work about the place. AH' the billaidea around Garaton are covered with little hollows with small mounda of earth beside each one, and the supposition iB that these hills were at one time covered with forests, and the trees dying and falling down left the hollow that the roots were in, and the heap is left by the soil adhering to the roots, while fires would afterwards remove all trace of the wood. I noticed a watsr race in tho bills wbioh is about 20 miles long, but was useless when completed, but I was unable to ascertain the reason why* The residents here are muoh interested in the completion of a dray road over the mountain to Nevis. This road would go through three counties— Lake, Vincent, and Southland— and eaoh endeavours to lay the blame on the shoulders of its neighbour. Petty jealousies also stand in the way. The people most interested in its completion do not agitate enough for it. We have not seen the matter threshed out in the newspapers even, Garston township consists of Mr W. Toper'a hotel and a railway siding, together with a poods nhod. Daring the grain season there is a lot of com petition for trucks, but in this place the farmers are not so badly off as at the stations further down, as the empties from Kingston are availed of; it being only the second siding from that terminus. Sometimes farmers will be up all night waiting to get the first chance of them. In dud time, in company with Mrs and Miss Wraytt, I presented myself at the siding and stepped aboard the train. Then I found that I could not get an excursion tioket till I got to Lumsden, about 30 miles distant, the intermediate stations being sidings only. I had therefore to take a single tioket to Lumsden, which made my journey dearer. I should have purchased my exouraion tioket at Kingston, though paying for a 10-miles ride each way which I did not have. I did not stand alone in this predioament. Some of the Cromwell and Bannockfcurn people occasionally ride over the Neviß Garston traok, and go to Dunedin by this line. The valley continues for some miles farther on, and iB very swampy in many places. <It ia nearly all in a state of nature, forming a marked contrast to Oamaru, where every workable aore is ploughed up and sowed down with grass. This country is apparently destined to support millions of people in the future. Messrs Ellis Bros. Five Rivers estate is a magnificent looking territory, being mostly an immense plain. The country is dotted all over with clumps of bush, and in many oases there seems to fee no end of it. Nearly all have roads out into them, so that the work of spoliation and desecration may go on apace. It seems remarkable that bo much trouble and expense should be gone to to cut away all the bush, thus entailing hardships on future generations, when there is bo much good land which only needs ploughing and sowing to give immediate returns. The train whisks the traveller along at such a rapid rate that the different places do not form a permanent image on the mind's eye, but are an everohanging phantasmagoria of beautiful sights and scenes.

(To be continued.)