RURAL RAMBLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2578, 12 August 1903, Page 58

RURAL RAMBLES.

FROM WANAKA TO INVERCARGILL, VIA CROWN RANGE.

Br RICHABD NOBSTAN.

I. Last July I travelled to Invercargill, leaving during the second week and coming back in tho first week in August. I bicyoled to Queenstown, but as it was late in the season I had to walk most of the way. However, as the. machins, was easily pushed along, the chance of a ride now and then was- worth the. extra trouble. Going through the Oardrona Valley, beyond the township, was a heavy drag, the creek had to be crossed and recrossed so many times. I had travelled thb road scores of times, but had not previously counted ths crossings. The tradition ia that they number 32, but during the past summer a tourist told me that he crossed the creek 14 times, and by going round the bends missed it four times; but f think there are, more- crossings than that. On this particular occasion there was snow on the ground, and a frost at might, so that wading through th© creek was not a thing to hanker after. As it csme on to rain and ■now the night before, I stopped at Mr ."Willoughby'^ Hotel for the night, and being fortified with a good breakfast and getting an. early start was fresh for the journey. Mr •Willoughby always has gocd accommodation ■ .and meals, and at ehforb notice, too. At any,; time' crossing the creek so often renders it a -waste of time putting on and taking off ' boots and seeks at every crossing. 'My plan was to tie the seek* to tlio machine, and . slipping my bare feet into the" boots I was , able sometimes to' ride between the crossings, and then to wads the creek, and it ■. was easy to slip the boots off. I travelled ' this road last March, and a© the cre.sk was very low I was able to- jump over every Grossing, or perhaps from, stone to stone, j •nd got over dry shod every time. Two ladies with bicycles went through here during the past summer, and they must have had a very trying time. It ia time the county councils' placed planks across the different crossings. There are hot so many 'footmen and bicyclists travelling on the roads that' they ought to be considered. Be■ides, the bicyclist pays 6uch a heavy import duty on his machine, without counting the enormous profits the middlemen make, that be ought to get a. lot of consideration. The j county councils have so many bridges that j *h)9 old planking off them would come in for foot bridges, and be -perfectly safe. Per- , liapa shaky pieces could be doubled, and j either spiked, or bolted together. The Car- i drona -River is very narrow at most of these crossings; so that the planks could be easily laid -down high enough to be clear of the floods. l"he boon that thia would be to cyclists and footmen would be highly appre* ciated by them. When I got to Messrs M'DmigaU'fl ooafehed, I had the good luck•to get a lift in a coal, waggon, and went into ; Arro^r witli it. - Going down the opposite ' «ide- of the Crown Range was a dangerou-3 ■' operation, , as the brakes very often did not act, and the wheels used to skid, the road being slippery with the frozen snow and < ice, requiring very cautious driving. The J road was good for cycling in the Wakatipu, because the frost appeared to be continuous, and the traffic soon.- beat it down .hard and smooth. I reached an old Wanaka friend's that night— 'Mrs Ashworth, of Malaghans— vrho, lived in" the Wanaka in '64. Mr and . Mrs Wm. dimming, who live close by, also lived in the Wanaka some years ago, tnd have had a good farm here for come years past. -In the summer time it is most beautiful to behold, with the fine clover, grass, j grain crops, and turnips grown with manure, j and fat stock with sle&k skins, and what is , euoh a rare thing on, a farm, a thriving j kitchen garden and orchard. All the out- I buildings are very neat and tidy, and were built in spare time by Mr dimming himself. When Mr dimming bought this place, it J was not in good repute aa a fertile farm ; ' but industry^and good farming have changed all that. I almost forgot to mention ' that Mr John G. Chegwidden, black- j smith, of Lower Shotover, used to be blacksmithing on the Wanafea in the sixties, and he has resided here ever since, and built up c nice home and garden and orchard. He has also a very fine specimen of the monkey puzzle tree, which must be 20ft high. During the last year or two it bore a supply of nuts, but they did not arrive at maturity, possibly because the tree was too young; but Mr Chegwidden lvas hopes of success in this direction because ' the nuts are improving each year. The work ■ of Mr John Allan, of Thurfty Domain, calls j for some notice. This fine house was j built and the grounds laid out by Mr B. | Hallenstein in the early days, and farming was carried cm on an extensive scale. There are stalls for 17 horses, md a byre with stalls for 24- cattle, and a passage way in front of them to carry the feed to them. ! There is a fine lot of trees round the i homestead, but Mr Allan had to out a lot down during^-the winter as they were shading the house. There are a large number of fruit trees, and a steep bank facing the sun, on which 6trawbe-rries are grown, and there is a small stream of water above them for watering purposes. There is a fine stream of . water en the estate. Large quantities of roots are grown for the sheep and cattle during the winter, and there are fine grass paddocks in the summer. Large crops are grown, but during the previous summer Mr Allan was a great leser through the grub. Mr Allan has a fine large cedar tree, which came from Sydney in a small flower pot; and also an oak tree which is the largest in Otago. On erne occasion I spent a very enjoyable musical evening with Mr Allan Miss Allan playing tho piano and Mr Allan Ihe violin, both being proficient in their respective instruments. I went into Queeustown early next morning to go to Kingston by the steamer. I spent a very pleassut hour cycling round tho town, and pai 1 k before going on board. I have not been on the lake steamers since the Government bought them. The passages for travellers and bikes were much in advance of train fares. There was little cr no accommodation in the steerage, so that it was almost a reproach for ladies to go in that quarter. With men it was different. After the -voyage was well started they were allowed in the saloon. It gonerallv happened that there was a meal on board, Ihe dining Toom being in the saloon — the price being 2s ; but ihen things were done- up to the handle, everything being of the best, and a good variety. All the game, each time I came up to Queens'own some ef the pa=srngc-r3 did not have dinner, owing, I fancy, to the exix^. There

were always more attendants than, in any of the hotels. Sewage and filth run into the lake at Queenstown ; but, all the same, tho lake water is ueed fo.r drinking purposes and' other consumption, and it sometimes happens that passengers do not dine aboard for this reason. One of tho pleasantest experiences I ever remember was to leave Queenstown one beautiful aummer morning at 6 o'clock, when there were a

number of nice people on board, and some-

how we got well acquainted at once, amd the time passed like magic, and; after a good -breakfast we all felt as if we would like the voyage to last all day. When we. landed we found that one of the> ladiea saw a

! tram tor me nrst time, so tuai on« wns wt» 1 recipient of many congratulations. One of tho passengers on cine oceaeion was Mr Johann Maas, a miner who had resided on Cardrona since the first of the Tush, and ! who left his home in Schleswig-Holstein 47 years before, when his youngest brother was only a little toddler, and ho had not seen him since. In the proca-s of iime this brother became the captain of the ship George Curtis, of New York, and the chip was then due in Dunedin, and Johann was on the way down to see him. | It wa3 my intention on landing to cycle ; down to Mr J. A. Wraytt's at Garston, as i there is always a good road down; but I ascertained that just out of sight of Kingston there was a big fall of snow, up ' to 4in deep, which rendered it necessary to train down. The Americans have a contrivance for fastening on a bicycle to enable riding on the rails, j the cost of which is about £3 ; but I fancy | in New Zealand a rider on the rails of a •railway would be promptly fined as a trespasser. It is quite a common occurrence for 3in or 4 in of encw to fall here every winter, and as coon as one Jot melts away another lot will perhaps fall. I slayed with Mr i Wraylt several days on this occasion. Seme years back I was harvesting for Mr Wraytt, and as it was a wet season it was a period of much anxiety to all the farmers. Generally theie is a heavy dew at night, and the weather is very oloße and muggy, and the sheaves have *to be stooked at once. If t they remained on tbe ground lcr'2\ hours the underneath part would be tinged with \ brown. The stooking must be done very carefully, and 'the stocks placed north and couth, in order that the sun can dry both side* of .them. A lot of the farms appear to have a olay formation, so that water remains in the hollows and makes a bog, and after the raia ia over and th© crop is dry ! and ready to cut, the ground is too soft to ■ carry the bindei 1 . When threshing ilime j comee, it takes double, teams to shift \ the mill and engine. At the present time, Tiowever, Mr Wm. Cunningham has a trac- | tien engine, which is a great boon. Whien I this distriot was thrown open for settlement it was prophesied' that it would come to grief in about tbrea years, but not only has it come to slay, but it has developed into !on exceedingly flourishing settlement. But i then the wise people prophesied failure on the Crown Terrace, and on the tables near Oam«ru. On the other hand, I know of a block of land that was opened up for settlement by the Land Board, aaid the local f.apev boomed it up to the sky, and there wa-9 jubilation in the district and keen competition for it, and one man got much beyond his share by means of dummying, and by so doing pushed out men who represented women and children, while he worked it with a man or two and a Chinaman. Tho new owners were all men 1 of means, but the land did not turn out well till 10 or 12 years afterwards, and meantime ih-eir cash had all slipped away, l for they were never able to pay any of the purchase money from the proc:eda of the farms, vbut out of the-ir other properties. Machinery and labour were high, produce was low, and there was no demand, and 'they had to buy their experience very dearly, and work early and late; put up with many privations and anxieties and worries, so mucn so that three or-four of the first settlers were worried into untimely graves, and one of them went "broke " and pined away and died. Wo 'hear a lot sometimes of tho man that had a large stroke of luok, but no one hears of tho toils and adversities of the men who start to dig and how out nsw homes from an unpromising wilderness; but of course when success does crown their efforts they are entitled to congratulations, and then, instead of enjoying the fruits of all their labours, and taking a well-earned respite, they buy more property, running into debt to do so, and begin battling and working afresh. The district from Kingston to Parrawa is much the same as a section of His Upper Clufcha Valley, except that it "is narrower, and the mountains are steeper .and higher, and the climate is moister. As in most places in Ofcago, there are feitile lands and worthless lands almost eide- by side. As I was not over all of the Garston settlement, I do not know the minuto details. Mr Samuel Butson, sen, lives across the | road from Mr Wraytt's house, and his sons now have farms of their own. Mr Jno. Butson and Mr Sam. Buteon havo fine farms i at Parrawa, en what was a lagoon in past ' ages; but has been dry for years past. The soil is of a good depth, and although they | did continuous cropping at first, all that is ', neoessary is to deeply subsoil and then steam plough the farm, and it is as good as new. Mr Wraytt bought a 500-acro farm at Balfour, and Mr Wm. Gordon's son. John, bought 9 farm close to tho original home- ■ steam. He has likewise vn oil engine to ! work) the ehaffcutter. Some years back the '; question often arcee in the papers, "Does Farming Pay?" and if there are still any | who have doubts on the matter, let • them spend a holiday at Garston. Mr Th<v. Buteon built a fine large house on hia" farm during my previous stay. The farmers here do not prow wheat, simply barley and cat.«, nnd the barley is in high repute for brew'ng. They all keep sheep, and grow email areas of turnips. Most people do not stop to think how often,, grain has to be shifted bofore it h consumed. For instance, a sheaf ' has to be shifted nine time 3 with men's hands between the binder and the threshing mill if the mill is a self-feeder. Then, the grain has generally to bo handled nine or ten times before it reaches its ultimate destination. When we try to consider how often the humble potato has to be handled be- ! tween the digger and the consumer, we give ' it up in despair. . However, it must be ' handled quite as often as a brick in a brickyards I The Garston Hotel and store combined are now owned by Mr P. M'Caughan, from the Wakatipu, who carted over to the Clutha River the machinery for the paddle-wheel dredges — the Pioneer and Maori. It is understood that this property ha 6 doubW*d in value during the last few vearp. Mr Hcper, the former owner, is in the farming l : ne, and has a threshing plant, and ha family is so Urge that they aio able to n an it and

still leave a lot at homo to work the crouncl.

The Sew Hoy hydra ulio plaint is stifl working away near Garston, and means ihe circulation of a lot of cash. A year or two back they brought in an additional p'loply of water, and carried it across a vailoy wiili about three-quarters of .a mile of larye piping, in order to meet the main. race. At first there was a. lot of trouble to make the piping water-tight, and! t'ha valley was always full of mist from the fine spray of escaping water; but ■& large quantity of finely chopped grass and decaying vegetation was put through the piping, which filled up the cracks in time, though here and there a wooden wedge has had to be dviven m between the rivets.

Another old Wanaka resident ig Mr John Murchland, who has be?n farming hero for upwards of 20 years past, and whoio faii.ily is now mostly up. Each hoiaseholder throughout the country has only a fraction of a burn-out during hia lifetime, but" Air Wraytfc has had ro loss 'than throe, which surely constitutes a record. Seen after starting his dwelling was burned down, and a few years afterwards tho fowlhouse and pigstyo, a fine fat pig, and the fowls were all burnt during ths night. And then a year before my visit the stable, with all the harness, chaffoutter, and many other things, was burnt at midnight. I remarked that there was one little crumb of comfort in it, for there was now a fine new iron stable, resting on a cement foundation, with' fine new harness and ehaffcutter. Once in hot weather at Home -I put my foot down on, a match, in some- fine fluffy grass, and the match went off, and there wa.3 a .small blaze ins'.antly, »ad -on another occasion, also in midsummer, a. pile of 40 bags was thrown down near a ctack, raid when, a quantity of them were removed tho last dozen suddenly broke out into a bright blaze, which was promptly suppressed without doing any damage. All streams are found 1 running through hollows, but there is one singular exception here, where a stream runs a-long a ridge, and when it ia in flood a lot of muddy water runs down the. road between Messrs Wraytt's and Butson's properties, and once whey I was at Mr Wraytt's, we had to ride over to Mr Butson's for clean water, and it requires some dexterity to carry a bucket of water on horseback. On this occasion, being the harvest time before mentioned, a young Italian came round looking for work, and' Sir Wraytt put him on for a few days. He had every appearance of being a new 3hum, and his knowledge, of our language was very limited, yet he declared that he was a Victorian native, "together with all the family, and they all had, he eaid, English and Scotch names. One afternoon two of the men- started to "run" him at stooking, and getting ahead of him, his heart went down to his boots, so that he was able to do very little work, which is very different to the average Briton, who wiJI hang on to the <md, and if he cannot come cut equal, at least will struggle along to lessen the distance between him and the winners. When night time came, Charlie was in a sore plight, for he travelled round without any "swag." By the way, I notice that the m>aia who travels round -with hie swasg — that is, blankets «<nd clothing and towel — is called a " swagger " here, and a "swaggie" in Australia. We had 1 to rig up a bunk with sheepskins and horse covers, poor Charlie looking helplessly on. The next night he was still in a, sorry plight, as the bunk had a bad situation, so wo had to shift it into the barn, and we remarked to each other that he got very luxuriously inclined when he. got into our country, exirting without a struggle. Thb will give the dwellers in the towns a. veiy faint idea of the characters to be met with in the country. We have more opportunity of studying life in the country than people in the town, where, there are so many other things to attract one's a*tcovHon.

(To be continued.)