LEGACY FOR A DUNEDINITE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2667, 26 April 1905, Page 27

LEGACY FOR A DUNEDINITE.

INTERVIEW WITH THE LEGATEE.

MR JAS. AUGUST WILSON, OF SOUTH

DUNEDIN.

(See portrait in illustrated pages.)

New Zealand, along with the other colonies, numbers amongst its population quite a number of men whose careers have been chequered in a large degree. Most men have in the composition a taste- for change and adventure, and it is because of the exceptional opportunities that were offered by the- colonies in their -early days for the gratification of this taste that men are so constantly met with in our midst whose lives, if translated! into literature, would make reading quite as interesting as many a pretentious romance. Plentiful in its vicissitudes has been the life of Mr Jas. August Wilson, of William street, South Dunedin, whose name during the past few days has been associated with a legacy that would seem to be- coming to him as a climax to a rather unusual career. To obtain some particulai*s of some of the events of his life, and also of the supposed legacy which constitutes a sum so large as to be exceptional, a representative of this journal called on Mr Wilson on Wednesday. Expectations of an interesting interview were quite fulfilled. The story of Mr Wilson's life compressed into a few lines of print cannot, however, compare in interest wj-fcn the narrative as it cafaae from the Ilp3 of Mr "Wilson— a tall, straight, broadshouldered map, ruddy of oheek, brisk an<J breezy in conversation, and! clear-headed and vigorous to degree/ for a man of 72 years. "Yes," said Mr 'Wilson, "I am identical with the James Travis inquired after in connection wjtH the legacy th# newspapers ms klfe of JL _^^ieal.^m&kXrM^ sat.

Wilson. I am a son of Captain Jacob Travis, of New York. Mv father was married twice. By his first wife lie had five children—three sons and two daughters,— and by his second wife three fous, of whom I am the eldest, my brother Ira M. being the next, and Jacob the youngest. By the way, I might tell you that the Travis family is one. of the oldest families in America. Their history dates back to the War of Independence, in which our family figtu-ed. We arc on the pension list, and it is no!, unlikely that the American Government has had a hand in the attempts that have been made to trace me, so as to pay moneys that have been accumulating for years.

"As I say, my father was Captain Jacob Travis. He was a ship owner, who traded from New York to various places — to the West Indies and St Lawrence amongst other places. One of these ships ho commanded himself. She was a topsail schooner of about 250 tens, and my three stepbrothers — George, William, and Daniel — were tho three mates. Rather unusiial ! Yes it is, but father knew how to train m<?n. My mother's name was Lewis, and when father died 6he married a second time to a Mr Wilsjn. I was six years old when father died. You can understand now how it canne about that I got the name of Wilson. People got into the way of calling me Wilson, and I never troubled afterwards to go baok to Travis. " L'fe at home under changed conditions was not nearly so attractive after my mother's second marriage as before it. When I was 18 I went fo sea, and had three years whaling. A friend and I were in New Bedford when we &aw a placara intimating that young men were wanted to see the world The placard said that there were no expenses, and that the trip would not cost us a penny. The agent showed us a raip of the world, and intimated that we would be calling in at every port of consequence, many of which he mentioned, and none of which we ever saw. Some difficulties arose in the way of our signing on, although both of us, being green, were anxious enough to go. Eventually we were taken on board the barque Maria by Captain Moers, and left New Bedford on a three years' cruise. "Yes, 1 was fond of the life. The Captain* hadn't much education, and could manage only to find his latitude and longtitude. He couldn't take lunar observations. I had a better education than he, and my assistance in the navigation of the vessel was often required. I thus got a pretty good knowledge of it. After we came rovind the Horn we cruised up the Spanish Main, thence to the Gulf of Carpentaria, the South Sea Islands, and the Okhotsk Sea beyond Japan. Whales were plentiful in those days, and in time" we were pretty nearly a full ship. Eventually we ran into the Bay of Islands to provision. Getting an idea from the captain that one voyage was required to learn the trade, and that the prospect of getting any wages was more than dim, I and five others left without asking leave. That was in 1854-. I am the only one of the six who is now living. "For a time I assisted in making sails for and rigging up a schooner just building, becoming friendly with Tamate Walker, whom Sir George Grey diplomatically appointed a magistrate at £200 a year, and so secured his n-iendship. and with it that of his tribe. About this time the rush to Australia broke out, and I wont to Auckland, and made several trips to Australia as navigating officer on vessels taking over those who left New Zealand for the diggings. I got £50 a month for it. On the other side the sailors almost invariably deserted, and we had to replace them with as many ' drunks ' as we could capture and steal out short-handed. Wo brought cattle back with us. The boats that ran across were for the most part old wooden tubs, not fit to go outside. "Talking about this kind of boat, you may remember it was stated that Tiolibourne went down in a vessel called the Osprey. There were three boats of this name trading in the South Pacific — one from Sydney, one from Hobart, and one from Brisbane. None of these went down ; they all went ashore, and not unlikely weie placed there so as to get the insurance on them. It was undoubtedly a fraud to say Tiehbourne was drowned in the Osprey. "In 1859 I left the sea, and joined a survey party working in the North Island. Rough work it was, too ! I have been a whole day scrambling down the side of one hill and climbing th-e otehr. Wild pigs were plentiful in those days, and often lined up and faced us. We ran at them, waving our blue jackets in front, and they then turned tail. In 1859 I married Mrs Wilson, and afterwards knocked about Auckland, doing odd jobs for the Government. We had a little bit of an adventure at Orewa, 16 miles out of the city, where I farmed some sheep and cattle. A dozen or so taehae, or Maori outcasts or stragglers, came down on us and demanded the hams we had hung up in the house. We refused, and offered beef and potatoes. Then they started their war dance in front of the house, and so the missis and I got down our guns (both of us are good shots), and I put a bullet through a sardine tin and said I should do the same to the first of them that came through the gate. Fortunately I was saved this necessity. Some Ngapuhis from a neighbouring settlement came on the scene, tied up the marauders like pigs, and dumped them into a river a mile or so away. Did they get out? Well, I don't know; I didn't go to see. We kept our light in all that night, to show we were not asleep. " In 1863 I came to Dunedin. and bought a piece of bush land up the Valley from Mr David Mackenzie — Mr Thomas Mackenzie's father. Afterwards I came to Dunedin, rigged up a vessel for Mr W. Guthrie, then went into the machinery business, and lastly into the house agency line. But now I am out of tliat, and I go fishing and shooting with the boys. It agrees with me, too.

"About the legacy? ATell, the Ti-avU's were a wealthy lot ; but I'll r robabiy know for certain whe-n the next mail comes in. Up to about 1870 or so I wrote regularly to America, but I dropped it when I got news by tho ships Nebraska and 1 Nevada, which traded here in thei early days, that both my brothers — Jacob and Ira — had died in the North and South ware while fighting with the 14th New York Regiment. But Ira seems to be alive, judging- by the advertisement which has been inserted asking 1 for me. I take it, by th& account which has appeared in ihe American papers, that he has got my lcttoi- io him. The other person mentioned, Mr E. V. Thorn, Japan, is probably identical with the Thorn to whom my sister was engaged to be married when I left America. I am not able to S3£L jiti t u S. synount of the legacy is correct

or not. for I have not had any comimuil tion with aiiy -of my r-elatnes since I lelG home. I have be on romfortaUo enough here, and tid not bother abo"t legacies or writing when I thought my tu-o brothels were dead."

Both Mi- and Mr> Wil-on, during tho inter\io.v. which then terminated, talked fre-ely in regard to the matter of the legacy, and v.-ere mo^t anxious that whatever information waa printed should be correct. The family, it may b© mentioned, is very well known on the Flat. There are altogether seven sons and four daughters. One of the *ons is the Rev. R. "Wilson, Methodist minister, of Dannevuke, and one daughter is mariied fco Mr Rust-on, well known as a aember of the Cavers-ham Council.