The Cruise of the "Rita."

Southland Times, Issue 18059, 31 January 1903, Page 4

The Cruise of the "Rita."

A STEWART ISLAND 001-IDAY

(By Our Extra-Special Correspondent.)

VIII

On our return to civilisation cuce more the commodore, who had evidently quite changed his mind re consorting with lady friends on shore, having consulted the skipper, announced his consent to our giving up a day of tho trip proper, to have them on board and j^ive thein^ the chance of a steam up the inlet. Each man was to Invite his own friends to the number of 5. On Tuesday morning it poured but still a section of the ladies invited, braved all that end arrived punctually. As for the remainder, — we were to start at 1.0 j wo did bturt at 12.15. With 87 oo board, vbe "Hita" seemingly quite in her element, carried us gaily to. Swain's sawmill where most of the party had lunch. A

pleasant day was passed in the bush, so

pleasant indeed that the men of ■ tho " Rita," in face of the fact !iat they had been round the best part of the south ofl tho Island, thoroughly explored Pegasus, gone up Gog, been "had" by the tide, in a word that tney had spf nt 11 consecutive days in unbounded enjoyment, with one voice proclaimed l the l£th the queen of them oil. What of that for gallantry— real or assumed. The day was, from our point of view, a great success. How those invitod enjoyed it, is not mine to tell. Before tea, and after the ladies were seen safely ashorje, the programme of the " Rita" concert was drawn up and the evening toilet made. The chairman through various misadventures did not leave Thule Bay until 7.55 and when he arrived, the hall was packed. In the memory of the Islanders, no such attendance had ever been before— men clinging to the window panes, perched on the mantel-piece, mounted on the blackboard and looking in the window from the outside, tier above tier of them. The " Rita" Band upheld Its reputation. When Signior ■- ■ ■ ■(I fear to commit myself) listened, in surprised pleasure to this unheard of union of

strauge instruments, and fled not from

the room with anguish— torn tympana you will understand that tho band was a noble one. There were 16 itSms, half of which were given by the 11.T.C.U. No encores were allowed among them but 'When the audience vociferously applauded a local star, Murray explained that the jurisdiction of tho " Rita" Co. did not extend beyond the men who formed ; it. The concert was a great success and £6 15s was taken in aid of Anglican Church. Thero was b. dance after wuaUg—tO~7WlilCh luorc than lialf of tbe B.T.C.TJ. waited. If I had not already told something of tho same nature, what better thing could be told than

how the

promodore whom the bos'n

had pathetically implored to see that no more sugar was put in his bunik that night, kept his promise. 'He put no sugar in their bunks perhaps, but it was at his instigation that their pillows were covered with flour, that bottles were put beneath the bos'n mattress to show that the bottom of his bunk wa* still there, that tent poles *ere placed beneath the commodore's for the same purpose, that a mattress was lashed to the ladder* so that the descending one would feel in vain for a foot-hold, that a string tied to the lai'ge tin-box was stretched across his downward path, which when trodden on, would sond the delicately-poised box crashing ro the floor with a noise that would cause the startled one to think that every demon was let loose upon him, that the floor was strewn with' bottles, and by him, that we, the sub-enactors of this little tragedy, were enjoined to keep dumb as an oyster" When about midnight we heard their approaching oars, it was his voice that said, "They come." Oh 1 tho horror of it when the first man, cold as the bottom of an ether bottle, came bounding. along the .deck and amazedly dropping down the hatchway like a splash of milk' and arousing the

whole bay with the crash of tin boxes

and the lightning display of his meteoric language. But I must surely bore

the ever patient reader with this true account of that single day's occurences.

[ On Wednesday we sailed to Oban via Horse-Shoe Bay and passed Victoria's Bathing Ground. This is a, little place where an old Maori was used, whenever she misbehaved, to take his wife, who called herself Queen Victoria, x out in his boat aud. then pitch her overboard. We also passed the "Wallaroo," of course dipping our ensign to her. That was "tug" day, and five of the party were to leavo us. It was a sad time when we saw them depart, far, far from gay themselves, to civilisation and its ways. Principally do I remember the bos'n's

lengthened face, when, just as tho tug was going, the remainder of us yelled after him to the usual call of 1, £>. 3.

"Who caught tho groper?" Tn the afternoon tto saw the " Wallaroo" and at G. 30 a.m. next morning lefit for Port William, arriving there at 8. As»the place is well known and by tbis time you must be as tired of reading descriptions of scenery as lam of trying to write them. I won't say a single word about that. It is the place where the old Immigration Barracks were.. It was here that a number of Shetland Islanders were sent with 12 months supplies, a cow and a boat. They ate the first two of these, sold the boat, divided the money and came away. They were brought out at the instigation of Sir R. Stout.. In the afternoon we went to see Mr and Mrs Wilkinson, the only residents and photographed their pretty fern-decorated house. On Maori beach,, which we visited later, there was quite a plantation of dead tree-ferns, and an innumerable quantity of the rarer Shells. In some places here grass j grows, four feet high. »

f On© Of the beaches we visited in Port Adventure was a scene of a Maori tragedy. Almost the whole of the Maoris of that district got ill with that common: malady, measles, and,* in the inevitable/course of events, became very thirsty. They crawled right down to a fresh water stream there orhd drank and drank of its cool and soothing, water. Soon after, the wbor»> #f themi diod and the remaining natives after Jurying tbeir tribesmeh, left Tort Adventure. Tht grave mounds were quite plain a few years ago, but the ground was overgrown with ipint when we saw it.

About 5 o'clock we returned to Oban, getting a good view of Lee Bay from tho sea-side, and noticing where the cable joins tho telegraph. That was the last night on board and everyone w.iys downcast with tbo thought, as. the poetic one - expressed it, that Stewar^. Island would never'- see ~us for niftiiy, many dayß •to cojne. Even - the prombdore, Vbo," tb* v-eveni^g Tbejfore, war

roaring in the next cabin when he who had made the graceful descent, was wigging the peaceful scribe re the childishness pf trick-playing, had now no energy to deviso more schemes, an,d nothing much happened till we left next morning for the Bluff, amidst cheers and waving handkerchiefs. lt poured incessantly the whole way across ; nevertheless the comment of the Commodore on this wet cold trip across the straits was, " I never enjoyed anything more." Those who stayed on deck enjoyed themselves. Of the state of two of those who remained berow, 1 prefer ta say nothing. ~ When the Bluff was reached and the steward called in to a solemn congregation of the B.T.C.U. 1 cannot remember Murray's masterly speech in full but it was to the effect that among the men * of the " Rita" it had ever been the rule to trail the seasick ones behind the vessel or to dip them In tho ship's tank— the boy steward was a bad sailor— and, that he might be the better enabled to remain below water, ho had pleasure in presenting him with a I weighty little bag.

lt was decided to havo a little reunion of the Company in the Crescent Hotel that evening, and nt it, the tonst of the evening was " The Proinoilore." proposed by the Commodore, who, released at last from tho unxirties of command, now lapsed into a facetious vein and. besides reminding; the company, that it was the proinodore who had one night risen in his bunk and passionately exclaimed. " Kill him, kill him ; cut his throat " (an utterance more interesting perhaps' to us than to the general reader)) reminded them of the trouble he had taken to make tho trip a success ; he had planned with tho infinite patience of genius ; his administration had been nothing less than masterly. He had much pleasure in presenting Ivini with a matchbox as a representative of a little memento of the trip ho would subsequently receive. The Promodorc replying remarked that in catering for 10 men ho. had slightly over estimated the food supply, but had considerably underestimated the supply of fluid. A voice :| "Very good thing you did." He was wholly taken by surprise at the idea of receiving anything for the trouble he had taken. He had been many cruises but this was the best of them all, it had been a. labour of love (Murray — " Love's labour has evidently not been lost this time.") and it wns his hope that the same party would meet again next year, perhaps to go another cruise. He thanked them sincerely. " They d— mn sketcher bodies" and " The Scribe" were the only other new toasts. An excellent evening was spent unspoiled by such an enormity as the advent of white shirts and high collars once more. Next morning we saw the last of that "merrie companio." As the Commodore, guide and protector to the last anxiously enquires about tho luggage the millionaire gravely responds "Oh ! its away for*arrt". The longest tale "has an end and so has this one. If

it helps to popularise the form of holi-day-making we found so pleasant that the world-exploring millionaire wanted another month of it ; if it has shown you tiie ship, captain, cook ami crew you want when you go a-touring round Stewart Island ; if it is in any degree a little momenta of their trip to the Big Time Co.. Unlimited ; above all dear readers if it has interested you at all, then the object of the "Times" is well accomplished.

FINIS