THE HERMIT OF MOUNT CARGILL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3338, 6 March 1918, Page 24

THE HERMIT OF MOUNT CARGILL.

NA correspondent writes: "Near tho summit of Mount Cargill there lives a hermit who has passed the allotted span, but is still hale and hearty. The mountain attracted him in the days if its woodland and porcine glory, lhougn fie looks down upon a gay and growing city its allurements have no charm tor him, and he rarely visits it. He first saw the light of day midst the bleak mountains of Donegal, and his love of the mountains, their moods and solitudes, has never left him. His abode is a fair copy of that dear *;abin in far-away Erin which he calls 'iome. It ia a boulder and clay hut, 1011 'by 6ft by 6ft, roofed over with axe-hewn wooden slabs. Two piecesVof glass of 6m by lOin give all the light required, while two well-braced slabs form his door, which is rarely closed. This primitive abode is divided into the usual "but" and bon by posts sunk into the clay floor. Ihe living, work-a-day end contains the fireplace, fchich is built of a series of round, mediumsized boulders, piled the one above the other and bound together with clay. The Jiirnic'ure consists of Jhree log stumps as chairs, while two slabs supported by posts driven into the floor make a, table. The other end of the cabin contains one tree (■•tump for a chair, while some sacks stretched between posts form his couoh. The cooking utensils consist of an iron pot and and a tin teapot, while the eating titensils consist .of a knife and fork, two earthenware mugs, and several canisters of various sizes. In this humble abode he ha* spent several years. During the heynay of Mount Cargill he was engaged bushfailing and working for the surrounding farmers. His requirements were small, so that almost all the money earned was deposited in the Savings Bank., For several vears past he has done no work but gather firewood and grow a few potatoes and cabbages. "Do j'ou ever feel lonely?" he was asked. "Faix, thin, no," was the quick reply. "I only needs go to the door and see an' hear an' feel plenty o' me neibors down in that sink" —pointing to Dunedin. '•Do you read much then?" "Well, noo, I'm not much after raiding, an' what's the good o' it? Only stuffing your head wi' lies and nonsense. I says me prayers, an' I thimc. an' think, an' think, an' nobody's hurt an' nobody's wiser." "How is it you never got married?" "Spliced, is it? Shure. thin, I lave her in Slieve Cree, for, God bless her, Norah was too young to go aroaming." s The riddle was solved. Here he was, a-thinking, thinking, thinking, and listening to a far-off voice crooning, "Come back to Erin. Mavourneen, Mavourneen."