The Hobelist. A TON OF GOLD! OR, THE NARRATIVE OF EDWARD CREWE. By W.M.B. A Tale of Local Interest.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2141, 13 November 1875, Page 4

The Hobelist. A TON OF GOLD! OR, THE NARRATIVE OF EDWARD CREWE. By W.M.B. A Tale of Local Interest.

"There is an ancient received tradition of the sala niander that it liveth in the fire, and hath forcealso to extinguish the fire^'-r-rßigoir. - ;•/.. :: >

I was again in Auckland with : ii6 occupation, and notmucn"money m.niypocket,. I certainly, -CQuld have gone vby aging aeain T \yith Janson, but I had had enough of sailing in his schooner for.a time. ■,_.'. \fjt.is an easy thing p make manej out of capital, though'it is easier, perhaps, to lose ifc. .1 had no capital, so was not troubled' f;thaV way? I anf $m? who never .could .work, foV anot£e£\iii'i» dirty, drudging, monotonous kind"oft wjay. I iave always been'att" employer," and onJy on rare occasions been one of the '.'^employed;" one of: ; the • great; rules of life is to keep your, coat .on: it is wiser and more intellectual tb; "boss "other peoplevthan, to- be," bossed ;"a worker with:. : his hands... seldom, makes much money. . , ■ . '. y .. - „„ !: Whyisthis ?' :M;; ;.- :::.;:•;:;>•. Because hia has hot time; to think, and work is welli and' Ms tb' pay 'ahothe'r: to think ;fbr;siim.'' •" <<"i ■ ' ■■ ;'if{

•Hetfd-work- is th'eohlj' sort that pays properly; for example,-1 have-xmly-one pair ofihapds^andrtheiTalue, of my-work does not greatly exceed the Qost of ray food and clothing; -.But if I employ ten men I make a little*— if *I- am:l'^pryVrout of every "hand's" labour, for. my'ten men wiWget through! mores "gang wos" in one day than I should accomplish in teii V":better still if you 6sin.emplqy twenty mep^ftyi or a hutidrecji gentle reader, become if- you' are not one' .alrea6!y-r-;a thinker, don't be selfish, think for;bthe'r people! ; ;_; I devoted" the next six weeks to ; the constructionof'a^ojrt^lM^obje^tjn^Ms wis W ■ liave a means "of'voyaging ■ about mainly to. certain ilocslitibsjl-had heard of,, as having any amount of Kauri forest, coupled with a. good site for a sawmill; also! tp- have an', eye to mineral resources 6f the country, and to collect and preserve what birds I could. I hoped that before .Lshould ;have completed my boat to fihdsbme one to join* with me in thes^eXpeditipas>... I had topis, and pQ&t fastenings^• nails',"" '&c:,. that I'bad brdugh't from England,, and'ifortunately had had some experience in this handicraffc, and as this boat iurned out afterwards "most useful and seaworthy, I am tempted to giyaher dimensions,- and some other information on this subject. i :

I built her whale-boat fashion, twentynine feet over,all, five.feeib eight,inches t>eaai| arid two feet, deep midships, sharp at both ends, the stern more bluff above the water-line -than the bow. > w ■ :

The keel, a piece of hard woodj-'twenty-four feet loDg, by one ; and three-quarter inches, the stem and stern-posts attached and., projecting wi(h a graceful; sweep equally over, each end two feel six inches, and risiDg three feet three inches.

:I was fortunate in getting some inangiobbards to build .her with, from my friends at the sawmill, and young 'Seth JEVafnley sent me, at the same time, a good supply of^Hata vines' fer timbers,_ and Poliutukawa for knees ; -the garboard streak was half an inch thick, above that a full threeeights, except.at thd niain bend midships, where'l left thWupper:edge of. each board a little fuller ; I;arrangied tho thwarts so that she would pull with five oars, two on one side, three on the other, and to steer with, a long steer .-oar,- which, is; a plan greatly for a \ boat,pf.this descfiption to the; ordinary rudder. \.'., ■ I had her partly 5 covered ;in, botli fore and aft, about five feet, thus forming a 6'onvenient place to" stow" away anything j I rigged my craft with a lug-sail.forward, and a spritsail aft, and found her.to work very well: neither sail was of any greatsize, but if, when blowing, hard, there was occasion,to take some sail in,.l unshipped ;the. foremast and set the spritsail in its place, thus using only one sail. I can assure you-that a boat fashioned, as above will lire in very heavy weather.: :

After all was complete I took her for a trial, without any companion, up the river to my friends at the mill. '

The wind was ahead, when I set sail, but thire was '. plenty* Qf ifc,: and 'with a good flood-tide, in my Jfavpuiy I was not very long before. I had "turned- her all the way to the mouth of. the creek ;. when I gained a certain reach, I coo-ed, thinking "some of them might chance to hear, for though a full mile by water, by land I was just less than half that distance." ■■■•

Ahead of mie, paddling: up the creek, were a pair of drunken; sawyers in a canoe ; ■ they were quarrelsome and inclined to be fightaiiv.e with each other, a risky amusement,in so crank a<yesse3.

And sure enough. I had not watched the pair long, before the canoe first'half filled ■with, water, and then turned over, precipitating the noisy drunkards into the stream. They were incapable from too much grog, or else lacked skill, to swim. At this moment I espied Jael Fearnley standing on the bank, and shouting for her to jump on board my boat;when near? enough for her to do so, I steered close in, sailing past at a great rate with the wind astern, and rubbing against-the shore \ Jael ac.complislxed this.rather acrobatic feat very cleverly.- I could see: all this time the inebriated pair ahead of me, trying:tohold on to the slippery bottom of the canoe—a most difficult achievement—and if not quickly relieved by me, they "would certainly have been drowned. : "We were riearing them fast, so brailing up the spritsail, I told.Jael to seize hold of one of theVirienas wccaine up'to them, and that I would take the other,, first letting go the halyards of the lug.- The two ,wet, half drowned,' and miserable sinners were muchrfrightened, and.cjuite sobered.; vowing all,manner of reformations, as we drew them on Board, one at a, time, it taking all my strength; to. haul the limp creatures over the gunwale. V : " Kr'Fearnley," I said, asVwe sat before the fire, that evening' "will those- two sawyers whomiJaeL and-I-pulled^b^it of ■thecreelr be ;better ,mem Sifter;looking death:sb- closely in the;face? ''■ Ofie-igan Irisniarij anrl most /probably a Eoftian

Catholic ; the other I daresay, thinks he belongs to Some church or sect." wjlllnofc ItKink,much, about $& matter^ nreplied Mr; Fearnly ; -'I iiien are always loath to believe themselves to be very bad, and, without knowing it* -hojiey and therefore, hoping, doubt tfcb teaching that proclaims terrific torments after* death to the greater portion of; poor humanity. -' '; ; ? i: r"' 1 "TheJßoman Catholic is the best off, for his church, has told him all his duties; and what he has got to do is to ask no questions; indeed," she thinks for ; him. tThe mass of mankind would be happier to have it ro, blindly believing in. theirchurch, as they necessarily must who neglect inquiry. s "Most other Christian believers are encouraged to read their Bibles, arid to think for themselves ; one result of whichhas been to split them up; into over fifty difFerent sects." • "-Well, MrVPearriley, .yoii have.trdVel-i led and knoGke.d:ab^pt,^seeing and kjtiow-t iDg many people^ and reading, 'alsbf-hotf a few books^-I should like ito/hear your

opinion^''" ---w* rrr;.; ;i:i:: £.: ■ \;~.rv.~";:--" vr;;.;r: " My opinion," he replied, "is that it is all a 'muddle,' and for some years past; I hare never bothered my head with these matters." j rv*r"i?' A n ?•;■;• "But surely,?'^sked, "-,ono.|©f >the fifty mus]b,.be in the right.' ..'....; , "It iriay be so/'-replied: the bldmaiisJ " but I cannot see that that follows." The next morning I returned .to. .Auckland, taking Seth Fearnley and his dbg Brush with me, for we proposed going to the Island of Itogitbto; to shoot goats* which, at the time I write of, were very rtumeyous; VWe called at the towii bin our way to'prbvisioh' the boat for a few days, and for my guni, some powder, shot, ! and ball, together with that most useful article when travelling, viz., a tomahawk —nothing so. handy: you cut your'fire:: wood with it when you camp,: alsoirff\you have to build « hut, a Yankee tomahawk is the best tool possible for- the purpose. W.e.again,set sail that same eveni.ng, in- ! tending to camp"in Bfdnken Bay,.which is a most snug anchor.age, ,thje, passage,' indeed, between the island Eangitqtb and Mbtutajpu^^-Is'a plac^wherelbho'-crews bf coa:sting-vesse]s; freque'ritiy resort, Jwh,en ' outward-bound, to recover by abstineride' from their late inebriations at the town '< whence its Bacchanalian designation. •..■;- •; Eangitoto is a mass of scoria rocks, the ! roughest placebo scramble, over imaginable, whilst a^oiirney to topis certain destruction to a pair of boots be tliey ever so .^strong. A quantity of stumpy trees^hrujwj s^i jfci-tcii grass^fine rootj-; I age -amdn|st the rack's,"atfd' seemingly^ supply abundant food to the goats, with which the island is overrun.- 'Not [ many ladies have been to the top, which is rather a feat even for a man, but I Have understood that the summit was reached j by Lady Tranklyn, the wife of the illlusllrl6uTAir"cticiie"xglorer; I"'il " " ' "'■■""". We camped the ;first night under a tent we rigged up with the two boats' sails, and mighty- comfortable w,e .made ourselves, softening "our couch on that bit of sandy shore with a layer of toi-toi beneath our,blankets. .;,,.: ; '.■:'.

Not having a rifle, we could not shoot at long distances: however, the next day we managed to gefc two old goats and four half-grown kids, the latter were fair, good eating, but "tilling the other was sheer waste, except that we saved the skins, curing them with alum. I almost doubt, if I had been without Master S'eth whether I should have got a single shot, the: "goats': were so shy there was ho': getting near- them. However, under my companion's direction we scrapbled up/ a Considerable into'the interior of the island, and then, looking down, we could observe .the animals below

"Goats," said my youthful ITimrod, "do not see tilings so readily that are abc-veJthein: as What is oh the; level or below-where they stand; arid besides, at any alarm they make for the high grounds" '. : '"'.'■-■ * ; Kemarks of a similar ..character.aye &aHe^nUK^^ly-pai!fe6f;''tjbie:?:Histbry?of Robinson Crusoe.' I mention the circumstance as a passing tribute to that most wonderful eollectipn of Tiseful information. .../ ; ,": ;,;,:-■: Tyro cbasting-schooners came into the bay-duripg the night, and with them the next morniug we traded away some of our go'af-muttpn for t^n pounds of biscuit, two handfuls of salt; and a fishing-line tritli hooks attached. -"■"' : :

" Seth," said I, " what do you say to a -trip across tp the.Great Barrier Island? We have enoughVto last us a week, and if wo do run short there are people living on the island, both ft lute folk and Maories, from whom we could get a fresh supply."

My companion was very, willing to go, riot only to the Barrier Islahd.but to any other place that I might propose ; indeed if I had been in w.ant of a mate to voyage across the thousand and odd miles of ocean that separated us .from Australia, he 'would not have hung back or feared to-risk the undertaking in our boats.

We stayed soilie time on board the larger of the two schooners, The Morning Light, learning all we could from some of the men who had visited most of the harbours on that island. rfhe skipper also proved very obliging, giving me permission to make a copy of a eljart he had in his cabin,-in which both the Great and Little Barrier Islands were shown.

It was about 11.30 when we set sail on our voyage with a good breeze of wind from south-west which was on our quarter. An hour must have passed since our departure from Eangitoto, indeed that island with its three peaks (which, by the way, have much the same appearance from whichever side you view them) was beginning to look small, whilst the Little Barrier was becoming more distinct.

We had hardly spoken ajyordj eackholding communication with ihs own thoughts, though Seth, perhaps, who was standing in the stern sheets; with both hands upon the steer oar, had enough to do to steer the boat, without having,time to think of other matters. I was minding the sheets of both sails. .1 hold it is a foolish thing to niake a; sheet fast. I have seen one boat turned over by that 1 rick,, and have known of several others which have come to grief. ..

We were rushing along famously now on' the top of a sea, "now sideling down .into the trough, and as our course was not quite with the swell, the motion of the boat was very quick and lively.

V Seth," I asked, presently. "I do not know-how you may feelj but I am getting hungr^rand shall take a light, and modest repafct off a biscuit and some of the' kid (some pieces of which, we had roasted the night before); They are not very invitiug specimensVaf ::c6bk9d' niutteu,; but t aai hungry/ oli Sethy and could ea'fij piece of roast lnanjwith applesauce, and don't the

Mabries say, and they are judges, that it ' goes ' like pork ?" s ".,Qh, Mr.9r,ewe.r-T.wish yjruwould nOM iam so. iI am vory queer* iam afraid I am going to be sick.' ■"?■«• My advice, to you, Seth, is—don't! or at least "wait'until I have finished my dinner."

" You must come -steer," he replied. "Be quicks-take the: oar —oh! I can spell homore! " *■' ■* Oh, horror of horrors,' bo witness old; men and children, young men and maidens and newly married couples on your way to la belle France ncross the streak of silver, sea, be.witness, .while, with deathpale face and bloodshot eyes, you long for the motionless, land. , , - ,

There groans the millionaire,—there totters his wifeV the abject slave of the fat stewardess; this heap of mortality is a learned ; professor.; f that, woful ijguro has" sung comic 'son&s —meanwhile a talkative little .Frenchman lustles ab,out with an infallible,cure which nobody will '■■Hef} arid rre;cotints the praiseStof " Alsoap's Pell Ell, and the glories of BrighMy poor companion, Seth Pearnley, did noF'get any better as time went on, indeed he became rather worse. Certainly he had-his lucid JDyteryals after every recurrin|v|ff4rf hefHad made toff throw himself piecemealaway," as it were,into the sea, \ during which: '•pej'ibij of csbhv^lesoen(ce i> exhorted him not to look at the sea, to lie in |h.o. bottom of. the boat with, his head lower than the rest {of his body—hot to move or speak, and to do his'best to think of nothing.- : . ■•■=•••■■ lT)r some three hours we slipped along throiigh' tile water famously, gradually 1 ' levying Eangitoto dim and indistinct : in the dis'tancei Whilst at the i same ' ti'n^e'" the Great Barrier Island, which' at Ihe commencement of our voyage had appeared .like-an indigb-blue.cloud, now rose out of tlje, sea, clear and welldefined to our view some six miles ahead., , : . -

"I'hope, Seth, t yre jsliall'hit tliq ri&/\t entrance into Port iKtzrby. Thiere are two w&ys in, the most sbittherly,'br ' liitle pass age,' i 3 ..somewhat difficult for a stfaibger to find, so we "will aim for the ;.'. big-ship passage,' which, lies more' to the' ;fipr|h.•,; .4 splendid run we :haVe;ha^i" I continued, "not so much to boast of as regards time, you know, for with more jwind astern Tel^aru {for so r had named my boat) would haVe done the distance in five -hours, and -that., time ,;.has already pa|sed since *e*sta|'te^,cah,d:istill there is near half k dozen miles* between us and that cape we see to the north, which I Hiakfeito be!'r^ellingbon^Hfeafln*44 round •which is bur way into Port Fiwrby, 1 and, once there, we.shall.be in comparatively smooth water, 'andvtheh all your seasickness will vanish; indeed, I'll wager that you are" already getting hungry with the idea of a jolly supper ashore in some pleasant bay, where on the locks wo shall find Oysters ' galore." "^ -*-■ - - ---.• " Oh, Mr Crewe,l.4o>wish you would not talk so much about., eatiug. The thought of food of any kind is horrid; indeed I almost doubt whether I shall ever require any again." Presently we rounded the headland at some distance from the cliff, several rough rocky islets studding the sea near its base and along the beach, making as the long swell broke.over .them,, a ne.ar apprbach>undesirables;'.?; •»^ ■■ "

Port Fitzrdy'is reputed to'fe one of the finest harbours in the Southern Ocean, eclipsed of course by Port Jackson (Sydney,) Rio de Janeiro, and some two or three others. In sailing by the big-ship passage, this magnificient harbour presents Hitle or np to a stranger, norls the passage a bad one witli a leadng wind. "We were told by : :the skipper of the Morning Light," remarked my companion " that the Hapuku fishiDg-ground is just off ."VVeUington Head, and ; another, iiear sduthermast" end of this! Barrier island, and no doubt .there f are several others known to the natives."

It is a little curious that to catch some kind of fish, and Hapuku is one: of-them, you must anchor your boat precisely lon the right spot;. a : few .yards jpne way or the other, and the chances are you catch no fish. You must know, their haunts and taking the well-known ~ bearings 'oh the shore, cunningly drop your " mud-hook " so that you exactly swing with the tide over the right spot. "So very little does it," continued Seth, "that'l have seen a man seated.in the,stern, pull up fish hand over fist, whilst another in the bow could not get a bite." As you may suppose, it is a matter of great importance to the natives to know; the bearings of a "ground" where they can infallibly catch fish. I have known a native, a lucky finder of a new and good Haupku ground, to receive from his tribe a considerable " utu " (reward). On :the island of Motiti, in the Bay of Plenty, the natives refuse- to .boil a Hapuku's bead and shoulder, having a iirmi belief that the doing so would be certain to drive all fish of that species from their usual haunts.

" We will take the first likely bay for a camping-place for the night," I said, "and this place I conclude, to be the island set down in my rough copy of the chart as Xaikoura," " which means," said my companion, "a place where you may eat crayfish,',—who, novr that we were in smooth water, was almost himself again?

These crustaceans are capital eating in moderation, but to digest much of such aldermanic food would require the services of a gizzard and some small pebbles.

"There is a bay, Mr Crewe, pretty Avell sheltered, except from the JST.E. What say you; shalll we lower the sails and pull in shore, for what wind there is now*'draws ahead ?..'■" ;'/ ;

This bay pi'oved, on a closer inspection, to be only a moderately good place to anchor the boat for the night, should it chance to come on to blow from the north or east. However, Seth had had enough of the sea, and I too was wishful to stretch my legs ashore,,so here we landed and with tke aid of our tackle and some skids we soon had our boat above highwater mark. . y

Taking the sails out of the boat Lproceeded to rig up a sleeping tent, whilst my companion set about collecting wood for a fire, and cutting fern for a " whariki," a foundation to cover the groundandon which to spread our blankets. ;

Travel with much or little luggage, be guided by your fancied requirments, your possessions, and the means of transports but do not journey in the colonies without a pair of good white blankets and a sailor's bag to contain them, to keep them clean and ;dry, and for J;he übiquitous blow-fly.' Bed or blue-dyed blankets are too dark hued wherein to conveniently detect, catch, and kill those spring-heeled and bloodthirsty habitants of interti'opical regions.. JSnter a'■deserted native"whari" or bushuian's hut, see ! the floor is alire

yvitli fleas. They are on you in a moment, lean and hungry.

What can they .have lived upon for months since the dwelling was vacated ; and not only lived but'multiplied without thoir proper and normal alimentation P

Can we attribute their rapid increase, like that of the Copta and Irish, to a necessitous and, iii the insect's case, an unknown vegetable diet? " Here is a log that will make a seat in front of our tent," said my companion, throwing a great lump of driftwood from his shoulder. "Do you knoTf," continued Seth, " this dry, sandy bay beach, is just the kind of placo where we may chance to see the poisonous spider of the country, so if 'cither of us are bitten, wo shall certainly lay the blame on this insect; ho h a dark-coloured follow, with, a red spot on his back, and thoonly venomous creature in NW'Zealand'; his bite, though Tory unpleasant, is: not at all dangerous to an adult, but the .natives will toll you that children stung by thisspidor have died."

In ray opinion tne novelty and pleasure of camping-out does not pall with much'? repetition : I conclude that those traveljlefe whose, list of impedimenta includes a': ipair of iyory'-ibacked hair-brushes, a box 1 of ainher-pilfs.^and a dressin'^go^wi, Will not iHdorso tlio above sentiments;' /f

To be continued.