SAILOR YARNS OF OLD NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2690, 4 October 1905, Page 90

SAILOR YARNS OF OLD NEW ZEALAND.

HOW DICK BOWLINE ESCAPED r MATBIMONY WITH A MAOEI CHIEFTAINESS.

Bt J, M. Peebles.

(For the Witness.)

fr Nigh upon 50 years ago, w'en I were tradin' in the brig Lassie from" Port JackJigoii to Noo Zeeland, me an' my shipmates , /ad a werry excitin' time at the Bay of jslands with the Mowries. I'll tell you 'ow _it 'appened soon as the boss -fe&hes in the ieer, which is my shout." \ The "pints", being replenished, our jovial told* tar, hitching his chair a little nearer sthe ibe; which roared and crackled in the .'^capacious chimney of the "Masonic, thus „ meat on : * l'ltl 'It were late on a Saturday night w'en /we fetched hour, anchorage, so letting go -the mud 'ook we fixed things nice and com-. >fortable for the night. The skipper, bein' a good" humour — w'ich was a wonder, 'c rjlein' gen'aUy ajagin' 'uricans, so to speak, _ — served hout a stiff double ration of rum, vwith the remark that it was 'is silver

ireddin' night. We wished 'im long life - ( and 'appintss, and then all 'ands, 'ceptin' ■Ihe watch on deck,? turned in. Larst thing ; I rember afore goin' off was seem' a streak -'V white light glitterin' along the sea, w'icli •was werry calm, 'ardly a ripple in fac', by [i-Jir'ich I dreamily concluded that the wanin' "moon 'ad risen, with w'ich thought I fell asleep. ** '"-. '1 was wakened hout uv a biitiful dream "'—where I wus walkin' with Polly Sayers, Jmy.sweet'eart, 00 lived with 'ci hold" father tan' In Plymouth- — by a strong, /*oag>h, and Ikki my threat aai' a, woice '/jrayin' pretty „ firm like:, 'Pakeha, get up , «oon. Make noise I patu you, quick.' By •\.'patu' I knew 'c meant" that 'c would -knock me on th' 'cad, so I slipped hout "jur* puts hon a" few clothes quick as I knew j;'ow.. This done, my aptor, '00 was the .Tbiggest Mowrie I ever' see, an' there was '.'some ' babies ' up that way- them times, ?'took me by the shoulders an' jerked me on. .deck in a jiffy. Hin th'^. clear moonlight 'e% could s"e"e~houf sitivation without- a inagni- * fyin' glass. <The -deck was crowded with r "Mowries, wile alongside were three.'fair-I'-sized ,canoe^,rwith'.two-or; three Mowries in Xeach. The^ -watch .-were" trussed .-up " on -the f'r'en coops, bound 'and and foot, which' them right, 'as they 'ad been asleep W'en, the. Mowries.. jcamLe^insjtead. o'. .mindin.',. their l -rigfitf ul ■ business.' " l However; I got no time ' to catch ■ coldj 'for the big chap wot 'ad collared me aiskedi in 'is broken lingo were the rum were kept. Havin' to submit to overwelmin' hodds, as the noospaper fellows puts it, I 'ad to wear my best manners, so I showed 'im 'ow to come hat the tangle-foot. JThen I prayed —if a sailor man can pravgjjrth'at the stuff would tangle 'em enough -w^let me release the skipper an' .my jnates, /do. were all -fast in their bunks, axshully tied down, mind you. Beg pardin'?-\Oh, yes — same • "again for me-=-pint o' beer/. ' X "Well, they got the rum' on deck, an' then thejun begun. They knocked in the *«ad of a' cask, an' hevery man '00 'ad a cup or mug, prigged out o' the ship, dipped hin deep an' 'earty. " To, do the beggars (Justice, they was mitey perlite an' horspit-able-like,. pressin' me to drink wi' them every round. I certinly took a drop or two, but as I bed resolved to get shut of '«m first opportunity I kep' well within my Plimsoll mark ; and a good thing for me as I did, as you'll agree^when my yarn is Bpun. was now begin'n' to get noisy and exoiteVl, an' they begun to 'ustle me round a bit rough, till the big fellow -'OO collared me put hin. 'is oar, an' sent half a dozen r>* tllem "Vsprawlin' into the scuppers, w'er© they lay groanin' like pigs. ' Has you may Buppose, after that little "heiibishun, I was "left .alone. TKe Mowries on the deck now formed up in lines like 'Tommies' on parade, an',- headed" by the big chap, started- doin' what ~ they calls a ' haka.' ffhis" is a most blood-curdlin' thing to look j»i. j'Thev stamped an'- roared an' .bran- , 'flished their spears an' clubs, an' looked . ' at me so threatenin', their eyes near jumpin' hout o' their 'cads, ah' their tongues hangin' out about a yard, that, though wat is called a curry ageous man, my knees foirly knocked together wijth fright. They llidn't offer to 'urt me, fiery has they looked ; so, w'en they finished their 'haka' —devil, dance, I calls it — they lashed into the rum again heyes out. After a wile they got fairly hout o' 'and, an' begun runiiin' hall hover the ship, an' the big fellow, "oo seemed to be a chief, was powerless to check '£m. T 'was 'opin' that the rum ■would get 'em all down, so's I could release the skipper an' the men, an' the rest *rould be easy. This was not to be, for, lookin' forward, I sees eight or ten o' them mannin.' th' capstan, an' quicker than I «an tell you the mud 'ook was up to the ieat'ead, an' we were racin' inshore atop «' the." strong incomin' tide. Mv borders «r curses were no good, the big chap honlr Kmilin' rummy like and savin,* 'All right, pakeha. I look after vou — make you rhief.' 'E also mentioned something haboui fittin' me hout with a ' wahme,' which, from my previous trips to those parts, I knew meant -a woman. Then a cold shudder £riT>T>ed my spine, an' I wV^d T was 'ome 5n Plymouth with little PnlTv Savers once .. fcgain. The Lassie ke^' rn&hin' inshore fast ns the tiole an' the strong nor'-nor'-enster, w'ich was now beginnin' to blow fairly jitiff. could send 'er, an' I could honly 'ope for the best.

"Well, they banned +Ttp- iwe ofe Lassie, how fiist in> om a bpnivHM wmf" b^ach. w'-ere the ole tri^e -wn* wajt'in' — ole itiph. women, an' cMi(W —^ll o' them vellin' at us like mad. Th* brie stiicl- fast on 4& upright keet, an' soon the whole swarm

climbed in hover hour bows. . Then the rum began to flow again. Durin' this time I was edgin' for the skippers cubm, but the big chief was too cunnm' for me, for, grabbin' me by the collar, 'c jumped me into a mob o' women, an' sayin' a few words in 'is hown lingo, turned an' left me to their tender mercies. Some o' tliese women were young an' good-lookm' enough, with fins dark eyes an' 'air, wile their lines, though reg'lar, were rather bluff. One of 'em in pertickler showed a decided presentation for my company, -for she 'itched alongside, an' made ms drink sip for sip hout 0' 'er pannikin. This was right enough as things go, but w'en she, leanin' hover, an' puttin' 'er 'ands on my shoulders, laid her nose on mine an' said something about a 'hongi,' I was truly thankful that Polly Sayeis was on the other side 0' the globe. You see, if my Polly seed that young Mowrie beauty treatm 1 ' me like that, I knowed j instinctly that there would be trouble all ] round. Under the peculiar circumstances, Polly was best at Plymouth. " ! "After a wile the Mowries 'oisted a ' couple o' barrels o' rum hout, an' run them on to the beach. Tlien they loaded up with hall the victuals they could lay 'ands to, and, cuttin' the watch adrift from their 'en-coops, a start was made for the. shore. W'en we" got to their ' pa,' as they called it," they shut the watch up in an old shed, throwin' 'em by way o' supper a loaf and a junk of salt horse. I 'card them beggin' for rum, but the Mowries didn't seem to understand, and didn't want to, I suppose. The big chief took me with the j mob into a long building like a barn, an', all the folks a-settin' down along the walls on either side., be started a, long yarn, werry >ften turning an' pointin' to me. From this I concluded that I was the subject of his remarks, and as he often used the word ' wahifie,' which means ' woman ' in their lingo, I felt hanything but heasy. After 'c sat down, an ole woman, fierce an' weather-beaten, the carvin' on. 'er fioritre-'ead bein' the 'andsomest thing about 'er, got hup an' slated the big fellow terrible. She seemed to be fightim' tooth an' nail against 'is proposals, ' w'atever they were, but 'c, bein' a good-natured sort of a ccve foi a Mowrie, took not the slightest notice, simply sittin' an' smiliV like tho first-prize baby a.t a shiow. The hend of the business was haibrupt an' most decided, ] for after the 'korero,' or yarn, I found myself paired with the young beauty I spoke of -as havin,' ' shouted ' for me on the deck of 'the Lassie, and, to my 'orror, was j shut up -with 'er in a small shed wich they I ea'ls a whare. The big chief, just before he fastened the door on us, said, smiliu' away, .'Pakeha! this your wahine; tomorrow";! make you chief.' What did I do? Wellf-T pretended to be drunk and fall asleep," 'qpin' that my partner would really do so.' v. My plan worked like a .charm, for soon her deep breathin' made it plain that she was safe. After a lot o' trouble I got out, an I made for the beach fast as my legs could cany me. W'en I arrived there, hooray! — daylight 'ad broke, and just houtside lay the gun brig Spitfire-. "I climbec 1 aboard the Lassie, an' run up a signal o' distress, then, set to work to liberate the captain, W was mighty stiff an' sore, an', great snakes! didn't 'c curse! By tiie time we got the crew 0 drift an armed boat's party was 'ookin' on astern, an' the. skipper quickly hexplained to the hofficer hin charge wat 'ad 'appened. The hofficer signalled to the gun brig for rehinforcements, and these arrivin' we made a break for the pa. We got hin> without any bother, and let the watch hout, who, oin seem' the skipper, turned all colours, -f After this we rushed the chief's quarters. The big fellow was soon hoverpowered, an' withi 'arf-a-dozen of 'is kiO'tenants was quickly on the way aboard the Spitfire. "No, no killin' or bloodshed took place — the rum they 'ad soaked was too strong for 'em, an' they was mostly in a sound sleep. The Spitfire stood by till wo warped tho old Lassie off, none the worse for 'er adventure. What they did to the prisoners aboard the gun brig I never learned, tout I 'opes they treated ttoe big chap soft, for 'c wasn't a bad sijrt at all. The girl I- never saw again, an' I don't pertickler want to, beauty as she was, 'cause, you see.. I've been spliced to Polly Sayers this many a year. , - '.'ln conclusion, ,as the sky pilots say, \re picked up a cargo of flax and various etcet'ras, then made back foi % Port Jackson. When, the hold man reported the ' occurrence,' has 'c called it, the howners hup paid pats 'im on the back, aai' raises "is screw 10 quid a year, an' to me, '00 bore a leadin' part in/ the business, so to speak, they gave this 'ere 'andsome Hinglish lever, by Maxim, with mine an' Polly's 'nishuls entwined in a true-lover's knot.

""What? 10 o'clock nearly! Mine's a rum 'ot, after which I must be goin', but ef hany of you chaps make 'ere Thursday night, I'll be delighted to meet you, when per'aps I'll have another ■excitin' hadventure of the hold days round 1 the Noo Zealand coast read for you. 'Ere's luck!"