BIOGRAPHICAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2080, 4 January 1894, Page 38

BIOGRAPHICAL.

The subject of this sketch was born in Westmuir street, Parkhead, Glasgow, Scotland, on March 28, 1835. The majority of the residents of Westmuir were coalminers and band-loom weavers— a patriotic, music-loving people, whose chief indoor amusements were music, dancing, and draughts playing. In the summer season the dambrod was also a popular outdoor game. As to when our subject first began to play draughts he has no more recollection than he has of when he began to sing and whistle the "auld Scotch s^ngs." He probably took to both accomplishments as he did to speaking his mother tongue—^a natural outcome of his environment. At any rate, his first recollection of both singing and draughts playing is associated with thememory of his mother, as she would sit with the dambrod upon her knee and teach "Jamie" to do battle for himself across the squares. His father, a weaver, also loved the game of draughts, but was more adept at dancing, or playing the fiddle or the flute. His only sister was a good singer, and took great delight in teaching "wee Jamie" first the words and then the air of soie good old songs. These circumstances of. home life were coupled with tho fact that there was hardly a weaver's shop in the place but had an old soldier in it, some of whom were bandsmen and experts at martial music ; consequently patriotic songs, marches, <fee, weresußfj, played, or whistled from morning till night, varied with anecdote of travel, [death, and victory. To all this our subject was a frequent listener, so that he seemed to breathe an atmosphere of poetry, song, and romance from childhood to manhood. In 1842 he was sent to school, and three or four years later .began the weaving, at which he continued until about 28 years of age, when he wenji to Printfield" as a cloth inspector. i Though he played draughts from childhood, it was not until the summer of 1852 that he began to consider himself a " player." At that time he was recovering from a severe illneßß, and paid a lengthened visit to Irvine for the benefit of his health. Hera he met and defeated allcomers, and as some of the weavers of that district were thought to be no " small fry," he returned to Westmuir with an ambition to play wHh " Auld Humble," who was considered the best player of the surrounding district. This worthy individual belonged to about Carluke, and had frequently played with Anderson, the " Herd Laddie," and other experts. Qur subject in his very young days had had the honour of playing and losing several game 3to "Auld Humble," so the old gentleman was quite pleased at having an opportunity of renewing an old acquaintance. Th,3 opportunity occurred about the close of 1853, and resulted in a score of— Humble 2 wins, Little 1, and one draw. The outcome of this meeting was that Humble rrfacle arrangements for meetings with Effingham Deans and others. Q.no or two more sittings tflok place with Humble within a short period, resulting in a similar score. Humble' then went to work in the country, and the pair never met again, as the old man died suddenly of apoplexy, or paralysis, a few months afterwards. He was a good natural player, and " did not bother wi' the books." About this time our subject got the loan of W. Hay's work on draughts (1838 edition), and found great pleasure in practising by the book, never having seen one before, and there being no draughts columns then. According to previous arrangements, John Millar, of Baillieston. took Effin Deans to have a battle with the "Westmuir weaver lad." The board was laid on the players' knee 3, and the occasion was marked by an absence of singing or whistling. At the end of about eight games the score stood one game in Deans's favour.

His first set-io with John Millar consisted of some eight games, in which Little kept ahead until the close, when the scores were equal. Millar once held his own in a sitting with the great Anderson, who used to visit "Tarn Mochrie" at Coatbridge about that time. John Drummond also paid a visit to Coatbridge now and then, and used to play with Mochrie and his friends.

Millar and Little used often to sit playing from noon till well into the night. The former onre related how he had at one time met with a rather severe defeat at the hands of Eftin Deans ; " but" he continued, " Eftin danced and he whistled and he sang nearly a' the time we were playing, and knocked me fair oot o't."— [lt will be interesting here to read the paragraph below, among the " Items," as related by "Switcher."] The Deans family were all musical, and Etfin and our subject were in the, habitj of opening their games aqd.

their hearts at the same time, frequently singing or whistling half a dozen Scotch airs in the course of a game, their feat keeping merrily with the time.

May dool and sorrow be his chance. Wi' a' the ills that come frae Franco, Wha canna play the brod and dance The reel 0' Tullochgorum. Most df the time between 1854 and 1870 (when our Bubject left Home for New Zealand) there were very few good players between Parkhead and Coatbridge. In Tollcross there were E Deans, A. Kerr, and W. Kirkwood : John Stodart, Shettleston 1 David Scott, Brachmie ; John Millar and R. White, Baillieston ; and Thos. Mochrie Coatbridge. l}avid Scott had a nice inlaid board which he won in his younger days in a tourney in which the celebrated John Drummond was a competitor. About 1858 a team match was played between the Barony parish and Monkland (won by the former), in which Little was paired against D. Scott, and came off two games ahead. In the return match he was paired with Millar, all their games being drawn. About the came year he was introduced to Andrew Thompson, one of the contributors ("Royal Family 1 ') to Anderson's Second Edition ; and there he met with more of the old players— viz, Adam Kerr, Andrew .Ronald, W. Munn, and old John Machan," who was indeed an old man. Once • Old John had a Bitting with Adam Kerr in which he scored some five wins to Adams nothing. At the conclusion John began in his canny way to reckon his score. " Let me see hoo many wins I've got — ane, twa, three, fower, five." And with an inquiring look across the table at Adam : " Hoo many wins did ye get, Adam?" But Adam couldn't count them. * About the 'CO's Little played a good deal with the late Alexander Dewar, with whom he had tome excellent practice. The latter for some time before his death (1807) could as a rule more than hold his own with our subject. About 1865 Dewar played the late John Busby a match for £5, and won it with the score of five wins to Busby'a two. The only set match of importance which Little played for a stake was with Busby, who was then (1869) living in Glasgow. The latter was in gojd form at that time, and Little had been almost entirely out of practice from the time of Dewar's death. Busby allowed a handicap of three wins in a match of seven wins. With three weeks for practice Little managed to rub off some of the rust, but Busby proved too much for him, winning his seven gamfs when Little had only added two to his handicap. In July 1870 Little started for New Zealand, settling down in Christchurch. About the end of December a match for £2 aside (10 games) was arranged with R. Boswell, and was concluded on January 1, 1871, with the ecore— Little 5, Boswell 2, and one draw. The other games were not played. In the beginning of 1877 a draughts column was started in the Canterbury Times, and Mr Little did the practical part of the editing for several years. In January 1879 he met D. R. Hay in Christchurch in a friendly sitting, winning all the games. Arrangements were at the same time made for the first interprovincial match Canterbury v. Otago. This was played in Dunedin on April 12, 1879, our subject taking part. He also played in the interprovincial match of January 1885. The first tourney for the Australasian Championship was to be played the same week, and after some persuasion he entered the lists, coming off victorious as holder of the championship title. Following that event his chief practice has been with H. W. Kay, (not unknown in draughts circles, and now resident in Wood' ville) and the late D. Reese ; also in editing the draughts column in the Weok|y Press since it began to devote space to the popular game in 1880. But we'll sing no more of the days of yore For the tear-drop dims the eye. Rest on, old board, by thy silken cord As in days that have glided by ; Still memory shall trace in thy checkered- face The records that cast no stain On deeds that were done and victories won In tbo old house down the lane,