D.L.F. PICNIC AT OAMARU.

Otago Witness, Issue 2860, 6 January 1909, Page 84

D.L.F. PICNIC AT OAMARU.

Dear Dcrt, — I do not intend to give an account of the picnic itseif — that 1 shall leave to ons of our Oaanaxu comrades, bin i shall do my best to give an interesting account of the boat trip there find back. 1 had ■'an appointment w-.'th. Mattie, A. ■Mother's liass, and Forget-me-not in the morning, and was escorting tthem to the wharf, when w& were joined by Boxana. Tnere was the ueual scramble lot tickets, in wiich Roxan-a and I played a good part, securing cur passports with considerable promptitude. On the wharf our worthy patron, Harry, was to be eean with an unmistakable air of authority writ large across hia g©mal ootmfen<aitce. Tn« usual NewYear greeting* passed between us., «nd with a " see you lateir " we scrambled aboard. We were joined by Nioxa, Nellie, Larkspur, J The Shepherdess's Fairy, «nd " Piper ' Ae^ better Icnxxwn as Nted i>evine. One of the boats on the upper deck formed a tempting pUoe far us to take up our position. W» all scrambled into one, and proceeded to ma&e oureerves, comfortable in it; soon we were joined by -Redwing and Tommy, Texas Jack and Firefly. We- were just nice and comfortable and beginning to enjoy the trip down the harbour when an. officer axing along sund ordered us all out of the boats, flowever, we -were not the only ernes in the* plight, as all the boats were full. We had to cast about then for new quarters, and! ended by scattering all over the 6hip. The trip «s far as the Heads was glorious ioi all of us. There was hardly any wind., the sun was shining brightly wnd the water *» smootihi 9S a mill pond. Not long after leaving Port Chalmers we passed the Wairimoo, bound for Dunedin. Outside the Heads we met a somewhat heavy head wind, whichi caused so little trepidation to those "who were making the trip for the first tiuw. I was up on the trip last year, but as there was little, if any, wind on thtct occasion and" the sea was nearly as oalm outside, as in the harbour, I hailed , the bead wind and Choppy se* with delight, as I wanted to see if I was -a .good sailor or not. It had no effect on any of us, however. Some of our band were dowmstairs lot part of the time, and going on & lrun>t to see what had become oi tihem, I found '■them dancing to the Accompaniment of a mouth organ, which in the capable ixands, or rather mouth, of Texas Jack was ■discoursing music sweet and 1 appropriate. Oenuairu was reach<ed in due course, and we could Jiaidly.get ashore for the dense mass of curious and thoughtless people 'who thronged' the wharf. The boat st/ays a very sbart time in Oaxna.ru, eoi we i*d not much, time for picnicking. We had •lunch and games, -and then, ranging ray comrade* before the even ready " box of tricks," I secured two --very good groups, which. I intend to hand in to you for insertion in the illustrated pages of the Witness, should they be suitable for reproduction. The whistle soon warned us that our time on shore was 1 nearly up, so we turned our steps to the boat again, and ■were soon on board. As usual, tnere were some who were left behind, but our party was oconiplete on the return. During tihe were unearthed!, and so far as I can rememtrip certain other members of oivr baud' ber the names of those who made the trip are a3 follow*: — Mattie, A Mother's Lass, Forget-me-not, Larkspur, The Shepherdess's Fairy, Firefly, Nora, Nellie, Zilda, The Duke's Amuser, Hoxana, Redwing, Tommy, Ned Devine, Ploughboy, Hairy, Texas Jack, Scots Grey, -and myself, which was not a bad muster at all. On the road down w« encountered 1 rough weather, and the good ship began to pitch, and toes & good deal, at which two or three of our party disappeared below and were not seen Again till we reached' the harbour. Those of us who were immune to the wiles of the tJeadly mal-ds-mer set to work to make thing* lively, and with, four mouth organs and Ned 33«v32i« a.zicl His pipes £ixn.o poL&s-ed tr&ry merrily. Our " Piper " Ned achieved no little distinction on the trip. Judge of his surprise when an officer all gold braid and brass buttons, approached our group and asked for the piper. Ned being pushed forward, this officer said* tihe captain wished 1 N"ed to take up his stand on the fore deck when th& boat was appiaoching the wharf and discourse sweet skirls and otherwise soothing music to the crowds afloat and ashore. A pardonable feeling of pride ewept over us as we escorted our hero to his post, end ably supported him with our "attentive attention " whilst the aforementioned delightful music floated far and wide o'er ssa end 1 land. Do you blame us fof being proud of our piper? More power to hia lungs! At the wharf our happy party broke up, «nd I, for one intend to be there next year if -oircumstances will allow me. Wi=hjbou and all the members of our D.L.F. Band a most happy and prosperous New Year,— Yours truly, INDIAN CHIEF.