NEW YEAR'S DAY ON THE THAMES RIVER.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1871, 2 January 1875, Page 2

NEW YEAR'S DAY ON THE THAMES RIVER.

(BY Jt ITTI^ATiC.) 5

" Moving accident! by flood, asid field." '; ' A stranger on Grahaw^wii "wharf oa New Tfeai's Eve, at \clo/e off; eleven J o'clock,ir/ght have observed «nTimber qf persons busily engaged'caiiying packages < of vpvious desciiptions,-wiMi aa attendaaf, { whose duty it was to cast a )Mle liglt oh the scene from a" lantein. The observer would have atonce cdirie to the conclusion that sever?!, of ♦he-lunaiios of the cominur'ty had got together with somje insp.ne object in view. -The night pirq-; inised to be wet and stormy from t^he, appe^?anee_j^he_s.lq^;-2chidi- Jiad^ beejL threat hing rain during the evening, but at this hour;-assumed eveii more unfavorable signs. Their object was a trs to the -jltoha. Mountain —..junjier the, circumstances; insane enough, and' quite in peeping with the peculiarities of some of" the excursionists. Had the strange observer been -curious enough to take,,an, inventory of the baggage of the lunatics,, it would have afforded bim amusement fbr rhis trouble. He might* hate seen a|i unusual allowance of rugs* blankets, ham.-, pers containing the comforts for the inner man, cases labelled P. BraiiHy, tent poles, axes, fishing rods, -guns, «fee, enough to furnish an' expedition to the moon,- or observe the transit of Vfeaiis. One of the lunatics was provided 'with a pocketbook of fishing flies,.-.determined to. settle a question a former expedition failed/, in. about the scientific name of certain fish in the Upper Thames '. "The water of the hot springs at the foot of Aroha was also to be pulled to pieces, *nd its properties known, as it was strictly provided for that no practical jpkes were to be, played with samples of mineral water, &c, (such having happened on a- visit in former years,). The very powerful steam launch Fairy was to take the lunatics on their' excursion. All having taken their seats, mostly on the baggage, and the crow (consisting of an engineer-ifi-chief and captain) in their respective positions, the order was given to cast off. Go astern, and of course the launch obeyed. A' photographic view of the boat and its occupants, would 'find a good sale, and had your correspondent the pen of a very ready writer a description would amusjo your readers. - There 'was one of the lunatics, who, though blessed with a'goocl standing complexion, considered it necessary to take a straw hat 12 inches ia the leaf, being fastened with a string. Another had an opossum, skin coat which 12 hours afterwards presented a' nioo appearance. About half-way between Grahamstown wharf and the mouth of the Thames IJiver our watches: told us that January Ist, 1875, had dawned upon us.' Our providore at once provided the whisky (and wretched stuff it was) to 1 wish happiness to each other on the^oe'eagion. One lunatic, known among his friends : for his dry wit and shootiiig propensities, congratulated, the company on the pleasing prospects . (it. was raining at this time) ~of happiness to be derived from the.' present , trip. He was .told to " shut up,".ifc being too serious a matter ,to jest about. Ho, of the straw hat, broke tbvth with " iio3l oil ye dark~waves~o.-'er tke t/oublcd tir}""coE3idering.it appropriate to Occasion, but evidently wishing Mag^to or some-. one else was by his side, hv he by her, side,.the-'gentler sex not l)oing alloyed. representatives on the present excursion* Another, with a, much dioro pleasing voice told us of tho "Fl^er of Dum- ■ * &

lane." T-kosc who wert not present.maj be reminded that the songs, with th* ongmo beating time, were very nice' though tlie.,captain, at this early stage, remarked that tbe time kept by the engine was not good, and asked our engineer tf give her more steam ; to which the chid engineer remarked he had " given her alii he could n<f more," owing to salt water being in the/boiler. The scientific lunatic felt called upon to examine the engineer ?? H^wjatipn, anj knowledge^, Jhe. latest improvements in engines, and' in partlculaHhe .peeuljarjtjef oi>.M« own boiler. The officer promptly HoCi Kirn to jnspect^tMbbilejv'and tliat eeriSiu coeki>ouw inform;.him: the amount of waiter j at present being; boiled up, remarkW thatJ he even thjiyught there ypamore fff'wtiM required ,amount,pf s4f in ■ iU -fWrJ suit of the inspectiqn was not »itisMsf^^M soffictf&to ".*•£- Tie Kflits were t*f !■ time ordered out.*-and each lun&cit; VJp|e^ pared ;tb Jrdatfe hini^lf-feomferfebltfT Ate tour o clock neM itt6rmng we found ourl ?teame| r tied ...toXftzt bush..at.jptutaia, and npbn; asking oiarOaptaiii his reasons; for "so- doing/ he replied; "To getupj steam. (Encouraging this>l>n a pleasurfl . trfP-;l|The, significant look«poa, each&cel at thir\pnnounte©eEt,,ira3/'iuiarcieii^ toi make the ' v"tiullesY" ask il •the' company were? happy;r TT)ur-.firsj •breast; > in, the,, nim: year^wfr-*ttj| while- »teamr,'wft ß gettm#:np,< #Hfl#-f4iri^ was#onjing^down: in i towenti t £ah,d with' the proipecfc of not reaching- Ohmemuri before, noon ; : for .^hat witbwtot of steam, the ebb tide and a frcsli in the river,rjji{j boat coulc|.not make much, head way. llie j «pirits4bf theiluriaticsf were hot at the boiling .feoint, water, in Jhejboiler, van low, 1 r and tbe - scientific lunatic remarked^ wewerenott^fee.envied., -With steam*t4sr by the indica^ 'we made a fresh *?&** * "and'got.a_"few"m;lps W» V^D called a^her haft, bunielf j leUing go the anchor/ while the fire wa*» -lo^kedjafforrtAncoufictt" of war was now: ;-"^ d'a?* r *°? inspection bjripuir scientic brother who tried each cock in "turn/forMttingin -Ijis «wa«itness^tlMJt-*noaier lunatic': wis? aiding"•cld«9*: 'by and that. r steam - and" water. :^ produced anytlimg.':;l)ut.;v;a:: cp^fprtabfe.sleel. ,pg, ; pr. as h^.^fiji: it.^mwl^;"^ was parboiled according to the moat upproved system^of cooking by stoa».j' ■Thig was the lunatic from Victoria, r wh\>jnwi, more foolish moment than usual p'romuifed. to visit the Land of Lore, or Aroba, as called by the chiMren of the soil. Mentioning thofe. chS'irett recalls tin idea of one of;itjje£;4un^ticsr^q,^i% a view to ,the,.more "„,opening .of the cbuntrv, providea hiMself with tobacco— sheepwaafe^jg -pnrP°se«r7fWehnhe hadJ^^ ijaformed was. much valued by the \ unsophisticated |ab ri>rifeinal§ in tlfefjtt|»>effc66nfey; J7fle ; was thejunatie «poken of as witty in |he first part of this narrative, jn\Lch^fiiyen to Long Drire^s acdlliiby 1 mines: Among the pilgrim there wks the scribe:! of^.liittiinarjr wflbknowiij fojr| its 'knowledge of native matter?, Uufc he was under the present cir^nmstances evidently not at homer -. like worst^uJbjecMihatii com- -. pft**ti«i£.^si)eaking as to .his position among" lunatic^ was. he irho made the arrangementc for the' excursion, and wfic> \ when at large, j|;cennec|pd f wiUi greatest and most successful mercantile specula,ti©n of thir country. It was mentioiied, when matters were at their worst, that he should be tkroirn overboard as a sacrifice^ to the Gods,; but his usual harmless^ disposition was Allowed to override the fulfilment of the sHg^estioD. AfUr the council of war, it .was decided that, as the Fajry r (she .was called .by,-qther names during the trip) should be roqueited t» s take.us.jback at all f possible speed. Such . a/ course 'necessitated, letting go the ancherV'to get steam up for a "spurt,".; which was., accordingly done. It ihonld] be remembered^ ill this t<me the rain was; falling, arid the wincl blowing, with the : most evident, intention of makings it asj uncomfortable as possible for the lanat£ca| The ninth and ,remaTniuing r lunatic (notP before mentioned ivt this narrktive)—who is commonly known for his attention to the duties of D. Engineer— at this time * called upon the possessor the : straw som^| brero to again commence that little song of J his about'the place where the words 1 " While life's breaker^ o'er that bark should glide; still, might. he find some one sitting by his side," occur, as under th9ia circumstances it would be moat apropos ;M but it must be related that he met wlthl no response, :4he:.singer at the time * being more inclined to provide discomfort for his-: companions in misery, ?nd with a recklessness of feeling regardless 1 whether he went ove*board;-or the boiler burst, all owing to, tho, fact of being anchored' in a long reach; ef the river exposed to the wind and waves, and an attack of sea sibkhess.' Steam at'6o,'thff ;: engineer announced his readiness to proceed, whiphthe Fairy tried to do, bufc owing to the anxiety of some-ofL-tbs^na- i tics,,,thai the feed pump shouk^e kept'going, and plenty-<?f water omght to 'bo : seen in. ; the} giiagc . tho pressure very sbdri^fell-to 14 degrees and brought} the boat,to ; au, anchor once again. I|he witty, lunatic, who informed the company that.lie lived near4h.e Kurpnuijv expressed bis op'nion the " Indicator" was hot working*", andr.felt „ resigned to a bed in the bottom of the 1 river, "owing.to. Jth.e accidental bursting | of a hqilefi so the papVrs would state " at 1 once settled himself to regam his lost I energies, Jas he afj^rwards saidi^by the i time each an event as he prognosticated | came to.pa^: ■„ The ,papsage r to the lower mill, bw>ied by Mr' GiKbons, at Kirikiri was /'passed mostly...-in? lS siJeßice, : ; on the,, 'part of the lunatics," t>y - the^ engineer in.owasional naps, by the boat in "spurts*' or a few mile's, after which tho Rapfiun congratulated . the,. company upon the last.Beirig;|;,(/,g^;sp.uVifci* i and pro:'9>seded;to let. go? the *t\phpr preparatory to getting up ptetm for another. At 10 a.m. the Fairy leached the mill wharf, i

much to the gratification of the lunatics, several of whom bid her in flattering terms goodbye, and a happy new year, being determined not to trouble her with their presence again. The nr'H hands welcomed (with certain remarks as to the propriety of their being allowed at la^ge, tno lunatics), who, after gettiug provender IVora the boat, made a good "^teakfasl and proj ceedcd.to .walk overland to Shortiand: The trip from "the m'U during tlie heaviest ; of the storm' was snjs^.as.all-.readors of this nan^itiva can faiicy. Guir engineer, with a bottle of P.BJfor the -veary and . low spirited, led the w&y j tho scientific ,;lunatic, still maints^«d .his character^ ttorkmg out. a -fn Euclid any two s^es "ofc a triangle are F-great^^l^^G tbiuL," by-taking Jthe I direcf: road through swamp and mire, tU s]ijfhte*t regard to the depth Pfeedii'tinessof tlie same; "-A'ftisfito hour's trikap. tho party reached <he Kauaeranga swo)leu with the fresh, which,by several routes \ras" across in boats; and, so ended the ever-to-be-remembered trip, witji niany «omplimontary remarks upon •team boats m general, and the Fairy in particular, wishing effchother a "Happy New Year," and"better luck-next time they took a trip to. the .Upper Thames.