COPYING DIOGENES

Taranaki Daily News, 4 January 1933, Page 8

COPYING DIOGENES

MAN WHO DWELT IN A STUMP. STRANGE HOME IN A RATA. Diogenes of old was supposed to have lived in a tub, and it may be supposed, from the length of time spent in this peculiar abode, that he found the experience not altogether unpleasant and not wholly unsatisfactory. At a small country centre in Central Taranaki Diogenes had, until fairly recent years, a peculiar counterpart in the shape of a man who, eschewing recognised modes of civilised living, built himself a home in a hollow rata stump where he lived peacefully and perhaps philosophically for a number of years. This story is true. The man had no particular need to live in a stump but, having decided to do so, he proceeded to knock some of the higher projections off the top of the decapitated rata and to fill in the hole with old galvanised iron. This iron he picked up where and when he could, and, of course, as is the .habit with old iron, each sheet was of indifferent length and plentifully supplied with holes. Considerable ingenuity was displayed in arranging the roof, and it looked all right until one night the vicinity was visited by a heavy downpour of rain. That was when the weakness of old iron became uncomfortably apparent, so the morning found the man damp but determined, vigourously overhauling his remaining supply of iron. That day he erected a second roof, taking care that the holes above did not coincide with the holes below. He thought this would fix those pernicious raindrops that had proved so inescapable the night before, but alas, water is endowed with all sorts of creepy properties, and the merry little drops after squeezing through the upper holes gaily trickled down the channels, insinuated themselves into the lower apertures and pattered disconcertingly upon the restless form below. This experience led to the erection of a kind of tent inside the stump, and thereafter the man slept in reasonable comfort, albeit he was occasionally troubled from lack of drainage. At first a doorway to the unusual bedliving room presented difficulties, but this man was determined to live in his stump, and he considered the matter attentively. Most people are familiar with the type of doors affixed to stables, and the idea seemed to appeal, perhaps because his home so closely resembled a loose box in size and appearance, or perhaps because the man himself was fond of horses. At any rate, that was the manner of ..entrance he decided upon, and forthwith he set himself to build it. Once again he made the familiar rounds of scrap heaps, old sheds, road sides and workshops, searching not so much for iron as for suitable pieces of wood and particularly for hinges. In a measure he was successful, but hunt as he might he could not discover sufficient hinged appliances to more than support one opening. Eventually he boarded up what was to have been the upper door and contented himself with crawling in at the lower. . Now this man, while easily satisfied and simple in his needs, yet delighted in bodily comfort. He was poor in this world’s goods, yet desired a bed. Once more the collecting began, and from somewhere he borrowed thread and needle. All of a fabric, cotton or woollen, that came his way he sewed patiently together until he had a cumbersome, rather bulky but wholly satisfactory mattress and blankets of a kind. Bedstead he had none, nor did he desire such luxuries as window or wardrobe. He cooked chiefly outside, though few knew his source of sustenance, and, it is regrettable to have to state, fewer cared. There he lived through winter and summer tintil illness struck an unkind blow and a period of enforced attention in hospital was indicated. Whether it was the sudden return to the ease of a springy couch and the comfort of clean sheets, or whether he simply had had enough of stump living cannot be told, but he never came back to the hospitable rata. The section later changed hands and the new occupier removed the familiar landmark, effectively blotting out what was perhaps the most unique abode of man in enterprising New Zealand. ELTHAM BOWLING TOURNAMENT. TIPLADY TWICE WINS SKIPS. A pairs tournament was held by the Eltham Bowling Club yesterday, resulting in a win for M. Kitchen (lead) and Tiplady (skip), the latter after playing off with J. R. Stewart and R. Thomas. A similar tournament was held on Monday. Tiplady was the winning skip with four wins. Franks, McQueen and Grenville as leads also had four wins and in a play-off Franks was the winner.