A ROMANCE OF LAKE WAKATIPU.

Otago Witness, Issue 2006, 4 August 1892, Page 45

A ROMANCE OF LAKE WAKATIPU.

A LEGEND OF THE LAKES.

Chapter XX.

Sam Makes a Footing— Sam Makes a Fall— He then Makes a Move— The " Duffer " Bush— The Blub Mountain Rush—" Getting Mobe and More Suspicious" — Trial by Lynch Law — Held Over for Execution — A Night of Horror— The Gallows Tree — The MishapRescued by the Police — " Oh, My Godl You Have Got Here at

In that way Sam effected his first footing on the Otago gold fields. It was, however, as we have already seen, the second step at which Sam invariably stumbled. He could always make for himself a standing in society, but he never could succeed in maintaining it. He was not unlike a great many more unfortunates — his first footing was, as a. rule, pretty secure, but at the second step he invariably managed to put his foot In it.

Having auctioned the cats to advantage, the chances are, if he had been content to remain in the auction line, he would in time have risen to bo a highly valued knight of the hammer. That, however, was not Sam's forti. He set out on a prospecting tour, which, to a man of his calibre, meant a marauding expedition. In the course of his rambles he met in with a storekoeper named Mackintosh — a. man quite as unscrupulous, although not quite as enterprising 1 , as him■elf. Mackintosh bad made a bad speculation. He established himself in business on •what was supposed to bo a good field, but which had turned out a rank duffer. Ie was afterwards known as the Blue Mountain rush.

When Sam turned up the storekeeper was at his wits-end. He had put in a large stock of goods. No sooner had he done so than the place was deserted. He must cither get quit of bis goodi, or he would have to do something desperate. What to do he knew not.

Nothing daunted, Sana undertook, for a consideration, to bring tho rush back again to his door.

" There are just now about 10,000 men on Gabriel's," he said, "and, if you say the word, I'll bring them here quick step,"

The word was said, and Sam proceeded to work accordingly. Gn the first whisper Sam set agoing iv Gabriel's Gully of a big find got on the Blue Mountain ridges a panic ensued. The denizens of the gully almost to a man struck tent and took the road for the new find. Some of the more knowing ones took the precaution of securing Sam, for the ostensible purpose of guiding them to the plact, although they afterwards alleged that, having their doubts of his bona Jides, the real object was to keep hold of him for after-consequences. That was not exactly what Sam bargained for, and, on various pretexts, he attempted to get away, assuring them they would have no trouble in reaching the place without him. Getting more and more suspicious, they stuck to him all the closer, and, not finding the ground they were led to expect, a council of war was held.

Becoming thoroughly alarmed, Sam thought he might be able to deal with two or three on better terms than he could deal with the whole mob. He therefore proposed, if they would send a few of th«ir number forward with him, he would point out the place. That was agreed to, and six of the more resolute were delegated to accompany him. Before starting, each of the six was supplied with a revolver, which was - primed and loaded in Sam's pretence, so that he might clearly understand what was meant if he attempted to get away from them.

Getting in amongst the mountains, he led his escort about for the next two days, professing he was unable to hit upon the spur on which he had been prospecting.

Concluding they had been effectually duped, Sam was placed under arrest, and dragged back to the main body to decide what was further to be done. The latter were camped on the Otaria Plains, and, not having made adequate provision for their maintenance for such a length of time, many were suffering the pangs of hunger. That, added to the general disappointment, induced the strongest possible resentment against Sam, and the demand was made for his immediate execution.

Seeing the serious turn things had taken, the more prudent exerted themselves on Sam's behalf. All the mitigation they could effect was an arrangement that the execution should be delayed until the formalities of a trial by Lynch law had been gone through. A jury was accordingly empanelled, and other accessories to the trial provided. It was now late at night, the scene being lit up by large camp fires. One of the moro moderate of the party -undertook to assist Sam in his defence, and, it was admitted by all present, a hard struggle was made to save the poor wretch's life. The evidence of guilt without extenuating circumstances was, however, overwhelming, and the death sentence was therefore confirmed.

Happily for Sam it was too dark to carry out the execution there and then, otherwise it was quite impossible to see how he could have escaped. He was ordered to be held over for execution until daybreak, and then to be hanged up to the nearest tree.

How Sam felt during the remainder of that eventful night cannot be ascertained, but it must have been to him anight of awful suspense. He was bound securely, and watched by two men, who stood over him with loaded revolvers. He lay flat on the ground, sometimes with his face down, and at other times on his back. With the exception of these movements he lay altogether motionless.

Wish the firiat dawn of day the camp was astir, and Sam wa3 oidered to get up. Looking aroun 3, it wis ascertained they would have to navel some distance before getting a tree suitable for the purpose. There being cow very little provisions amongst the crowd, only a very few had anything at all to eat. Still, a pannikin of hot tea wae handed to Sam, with a few mouthfula of bread, which he devoured in filence.

The dismal procession, with Sam in the oentre, was now formed. His hands were tied behind his back, and two meH with firearms marched one at each side of him. Stern determination was depicted on almost every countenance, so that Sam's doom appeared inevitable. The march was directed towards a patch of bush on the edge of the Popotunoa gorge, through which the track to Dunedin, Tokomairiio, and Tuapeka led. The journey occupied upwards of an hour, a rapid stream having to ba forded en rout*.

Arriving at the bush, thefirat tree come to, with a few [superfluous branches lopped off, was pronounced sufficient for the purpose. The rope was adjusted round Sam's neck, and thrown over a branch. Sam was than asked if he had anything to say. If he heard the remark he took no notice of it, never once having uttered a syllable since the death sentence was pronounced. About 50 men stood ready at the other end of the rope, and on the word being given Sam was hoisted up off his feet. When a few inches off the ground the.rope gave way, and he fell down with a heavy thud.

The mishap caused his executioners to draw the ropo down again and institute a more careful inspection of the strength of its splicings. To guard against further accident, it was decided to test the strength of the rope by dead weight. A swag bag was filled with stones to the required weight and suspended at the end of the rope. The experiment was satisfactory, and the more serious part of the business was on the eve of being repeated when, sword in hand, a contingent of the mounted police was descried wheeling off the gorge track and makiog straight in the direction of the crowd.

Meantime the rope was again got round Sam's neck, and frantic efforts made to hurry on his suspension, so as to finish the work before the police could interfere. The latter, however, were too smart ; they dashed into the midst of the crowd, who, seeing the game was now up, readily dispersed to make way for them. Seeing how matters stood, the police severed the rope with a sword cut, and, taking hold of Sam, thrust him for further safety into their midst. Sam now for the first time raised his eyes, and addres sing one of the number, who, although mounted on horseback, wore a civilian's dress, said :

" Oh, my God 1 you have got here at last. I thought it was all up with me."

The person addressed was the storekeeper, the partner in his crime. To do him justice, on seeing the mess Sam was landed in, he lost no time in using his best endeavours to save him, with the result just stated. Sam never again ventured back to Gabriel's Gully. When liberated by the police he moved away in the opposite direction, and the next heard of him was that he had turned up at Invercargill. There he renewed the black-mailing pursuit of his San Francisco patrons, and when the slightest disposition was manifested to kick against his extortions, he threatened to hand the will over to the police, with such information a» would not only place it in the hands of the rightful owners, but which would Insure the conviction of all the parties concerned of conspiracy. Threats of that kind, coming upon them at the very moment of their succes in the law courts, were not to be borne. It was felt something would have to be done, and that immediately, to silence Sam, and put an end to his threats and extortions for ever.

Chapter XXI.

A Memorable Sunday Morning in Invercargill — Startling Intelligence — Hoards of Mineral Wealth — Bill Fox Again — " It's not all Gold that Glitters " — A Man with more Enterprise than Honesty — Sam Perkins in Exile — He starts for the New El Dorado — The Nevis.

- It was a Sunday morning in the month of December 1863 that the then small and comparatively unknown town of Invercargill was completely knocked out of all sense of propriety and regard for the sacred character of the day by an announcement which reached it late the preceding evening.

The news was of such a startling character that newsmongers, in bruiting it abroad, did so with bated breath, as if at a loss to reconcile their minds to the bare idea of its possibility. It was not a scandal nor yet a tragedy ; nevertheless, for gossip purposes, it was a3 good or even better than either of these fertile sources. It was the intelligence of hoards of mineral wealth to be had for the gathering at a place coterminous to their own doors.

Incredibility, or fear arising from the idea that the news was too good to be true, at length gave way under two distinct processes of reasoning— first, the Gabriel's Gully and Dunstan finds in the adjoining province made it not improbable that the auriferous deposit extended in the direction indicated ; and secondly, the first cause or currency of the reported find brought along with him substantial evidence of its authenticity, in the shape of a, hundredweight or so of the precious metal.

.These clues led up to further developments, the facts elicited being as follows :—: — A squatter named Bees, known to reside miles away in the interior— few could tell how many — arrived in Invercargill late the preceding night. Displaying the abovenamed golden treasure, he explained that a few weeks previously a prospector— Bill Fox — had reached one of his out- stations in a state bordering on starvation. Although without food, and almost destitute of clothing, he was otherwise well in, being possessed of gold ad libitum. Fox's story was that he had struck it rich, and the evidence of that fact being otherwise incontestible, Rees was now en rout* to claim the reward of L2OOO offered by Government for the discovery of a new goldfield.

■ Such was the substance of the intelligence bruited abroad this eventful Sunday morning, and it is easy to understand that it spread like wildfire. Startled right out of every ncn&e of precaution and propriety, Southland entered upon a career of extravagance far in excess of its means and estate. It attempted to compete for the new goldfields trade with its more opulent neighbour, Otago, and the result was fell catastrophe. That, however, was a result in the then future. What we have to do at present is to deal with the events annexed to this memor-

able Sunday and their more immediate outcomes.

Sam Peikins had been in a kind of exile in Invercargill for some months previous to the Fox-Rees discoveries. How he existed no one knew ; but no one was supposed to know anything about his black-mailing resources, so that Sam had a meansjof support, although certainly not a lawful visible means. He was among the first to start for this new El Dorado. He had now to move about with great care and circumspection. The death sentence had not been revoked, and for aught he knew he might at any moment stumble upon an old acquaintance, who might take upon himself the duty of carrying out the original sentence.

Sam, or the little old man with the grizzly beard, as he was now familiarly known, had therefore to keep a sharp look-out. En route to the Wakatipu he avoided company, and travelled alone. On reaching his destination he sought out one of the most isolated localities in the neighbourhood.

The Upper* and Lower Nevis each turned out well, but at no time did they gain the popularity achieved by the Arrow, the Shotover, and Cardrona.

Prudential considerations induced Sam to locate himself on the Nevis, and as the upper was the more sequestered of its two branches, Sam selected the- higher latitudes. Hete he built a hut for his accommodation, and worked a piece of river bank for a living. He made periodical journeys to Kingston for tucker, and at a later date, when Bill Fox assumed command of the Nancy, he made the acquaintance of Bill. One result of that acquaintanceship was that Fox arranged to take up the old man's provisions and land them at a point convenient on the banks of the lake. By that arrangement the little old man saved himself a journey of some miles over very rough country. It was in that way Bill came to recognise the little old man when he made his appearance on board the Nancy under the mysterious circumstances already narrated.

The old man had occupied the hut during the long months of winter, and, so far as either Bill or the few others with whom he came into contact knew, he was perfectly content, making enough, at all events, to pay his way. It wae a lonely, isolated life ; still it was not a whit more so than the life led by many more in and around those digging*. Weeks might pass without the old man seeing anyone, so that no recluse could have been more isolated.

Chapter XXII

THE TRAGEDY.

The Little, Old Man Disappears— On the Wrong Scent— Other Distinguished Visitors from San Francisco —Arrival in Dunedin — Tracking the Old Man — Over the Staircase Headlong into the Lake — " Now, Henceforward, and Forever"—Back to the Golden City— The Ikeowtown Lawyer again — Believes in the Bona Fides op the Will, and what was done in CONSEQUENCE.

The little old man had not been seen for many days ; but, as it was no one's special duty to look after him, no one troubled himself about the matter. His nearest neighbours were at work some miles down the gully ; and in those days, when men came and went constantly, little was either known or thought of those around.

The first thing that directed special attention to the circumstance was that, on landing one week's supplies, Bill Fox discovered the supply for the previous week had not been taken away. This led Bill to mention the matter at Queenstown, and he was asked to look out, and try if he could ascertain anything about the old man.

Both supplies remaining unappropriated, it w&s deemed something serious had happened. A search party was organized, and, although found to be in great disorder, the hut wai supposed to be just as the old man had left it

Foul play was now suspected. *Two months had elapsed since the old man was seen. It was remembered that one or two strangers were seen in the neighbourhood about the time of the disappearance ; but, if every stranger so coming and going was to be held responsible for the old man's fate, the account would becom6 rather a heavy one. The police, of course, took steps in the matter. They succeeded in identifying him with the Gabriel's Gully episode, which had merely the effect of diverting them on to the wrong scent. Imagining that transaction had to do with his disappearance, they directed their attention exclusively to that quarter, and kept holding on to their theory, until the real cause of the mystery had got away safely beyond reach. The success which attended developments on the Otago goldfields Induced more than one San Francisco shipping firm to put on vessels direct for Dunedin. By that means a goodly number of Galifotnians were from time to tim« imported into New Zealand.

One of those vessels came to hand in the winter of 1861. It was well freighted with passengers, chiefly of the digging class. With two of its passengers we art especially interested. The one was an elderly man, of Hebrew extraction ; the other beiug a younger personage, whose nationality it would be difficult to determine. Both men were addicted to gambling, more especially the old Jew. The way he tipped up the dice and dealt out the cards showed him to be a practised hand in all the arts of the spieler. Their speculations, or, rather, peculations, being trifling, and their conduct otherwise up to the average, they attracted no great amount of notice on shipboard.

Arriving in Dunedin, they parted company. The younger of the two shouldered his swag and made off for the goldfields. The elder, in furtherance of the character he bad assumed as a general dealer, purchased a small business in the Arcade.

Three or four months elapsed, when the digger again turned up in Dunedin and rejoined his companion in the Aruade, in a back room of the premises in which a close confab took place. Con, to which name the younger man answered, was chief spokesman on the occasion.

" lak," said he— for the old Jew was no other than the keeper of the San Francisco gambling saloon — "I have had the devil's own time of it, I tracked the old man from

Tuapeka right round the country to Invercargill, and thence to the Nevis. He had got into some kind of a mess about leading off a duffer rush, and the boys had the rope about his neck ready to hoist him up, and if they had only had five minutes longer, tho job would have been done. Those confounded bobbies, worse luck to them, came up at the moment and got him away. Frightened to death he might again fall into the hands of some of the Tuapeka lot, he buried himself away in one of the most God forgotten holes in the country. Still, it was a good place for giving him the tip over. I spent one night with him in his hut. The old man was so suspicious, he watched me the whole time. At daybreak next morning he was only too glad to shunt [me, and with a little persuasion I got him to accompany me to the Wakatipu track. Watching my opportunity, before he knew where he was, I knocked him on the head, and sent him over the Staircase headlong; into the lake."

"And about the will," inquired lak ; "did you get hold of it ? "

" Devil a will could I find," replied Con. " I returned again to the hut and looked everywhere, but not a scrap of paper could I find."

" Then, in that case," mused lak, " he must have had it about him, and its gone down with him to the bottom."

" I reckon so," was Con's retort. "At all events, I ransacked everywhere, but there was nothing of the kind found."

"Any fear of the body being found?" asked the Jew.

" Once at the bottom of Lako Wakatipu," answered his companion, " and nothing ever comes up again to the surface."

41 Then, in that case," said the Hebrew, rubbing his hands gleefully, " Sammy Perkins, you have had a good few tips over that tame will, but now you have got the tip that settles your hash."

" Settles it," replied Con, " now, henceforward, and for evermore." A few days afterwards the premises in the Arcade had changed hands, and their late proprietor and his companion v/ere en route for San Francisco.

Arriving there, they reported tho success which had attended their mission to New Zealand. They had no difficulty hi getting their principals to adopt the view as to the will being effectually disposed of along with the body of Sam Perkins. Their joy was therefore great, and their hopes scorned now on the eve of being fulfilled. All difficulties were seemingly out of the way, and they looked confidently forward to the final decision of the (Jiurts of Appeal as to the alleged marriage, That point, disposed of, Tean Stewart would become a millionaire, the house-steward would become Jtan Stewart's husband, and lak and his friend Con would be enriched, in recognition ol! the services they had rendered. The proverbial slip between the cup and the lip was not, however, taken into consideration.

Our old friend the Arrovvtown lawyer once more comes to the fore.

Since last heard of he had not been idle. He had opened communications with a firm of barristers in San Francisco, an* by the time the case for Miss Stewart came on before the Courts of Appeal, they were n a position to put ir an appearance.

The will in favour of the natural daughter Mary, supported by affidavits made in NewZealand, England, and Scotland, was produced in support of a motion made by their barrister to stay proceedings.

Miss Stewart's lawyers did not believe in this new developement of the case. They thought and said it was merely a trick on the part of the two brothers to delay proceedings and force a compromise. Miss Stewart herself, however, thought otherwise. She quite believed in the bona fides of the will, so also did the house-steward and his late partner in the gambling saloon, as also that gentleman's confrere Con. These four worthies therefore took counsel together, and the understanding they came to was that the sooner they took leg-bail the better.

Where Miss Stewart went was never known. An assignmsnt to her bequest under the will was subsequently produced and sworn to, so that it may be inferred she did not leave San Francisco empty-handed. The others likewise disappeared from view, leaving no trace behind. The will was eventually ruled a valid document, in virtue of which the natural daughter was placed in possession of the wealth left by her deceased father ; and so ended the last act in what is still remembered as the Lake Wakatipu Tragedy.