AN OLD WHALER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2201, 16 August 1889, Page 2

AN OLD WHALER.

An old man named Richard Wells died at Otaki on July 28th, who bad soen some ops and downs In the colony. He arrived about 50 yearß a^o, with a whaleboat's orow from Victoria, an I wa* foe many years engaged lv whaling In the vlolnlty of K.plti, Walkanae and Otakl, He Is said to have been the first white man who crossed the Wanganul bar and sailed up that rlvar. f^ls be did with the •ssls.anoe of a Maori woman, td whouV be was afterwards married, and he succeeded m establishing friendly relations with the natives on the b.nka of the river. When the Maori war broke out Wells waj oaptured by the Maoris, but wbb aiv.ed from torture and death by the wife of a Maori chiftf, who *'tapued" him. He was kopt a prisoner for a considerable tin}*,' daring whioh he becamb qqlte aa expert ftjkori and was eventually released po the payment of a rahsqa-'by. thi New Zealand Oompany, consisting of tobaooo, b'anketa, etc. \y.lla then went mates with a man named Smith In a B*wyering business and out the timber for tho old Oomraerolal Hotel at Wanganul. In 1852 he wont into the pig trade, curing .tntrn and drlvbg some to Wellington, a rem.rk.ble f«at la those days. He was for'soma tlma skipper of a small vessel trading batweon Wanganij! and Wellington and la's-ild tb haye secured the aqquitt.l of a gentleman How 00-npyl^g a'gotfi posifclou In Wangandl. He was taking hlin to WelHj'gtotf for trial on a charso of p 'Intlog q loadedi v,\xn aSauothet, withlnt'-tit to 46 grievous bodily harm, and on the voyage Wells got hold of the gun and took the spring out, so that when the tilal oame ob thaguawM prored to he * bwqlwi

W...0- i. 1868 h.- * ent to Wak*u_. d:g»ii.i*s, -r.d from tbenoe to Wa ?» -. rV ahnot 10 yea-s ago he w*at u< BSaotwatu. One of thr ju yat 'ho -rq i.-at ... WoUa prov d to -nv. been ou crtw cf Ue whaUr to whlo'i <i<--belmgodl Wel a was on h : s w*r Wel Up j.*''*:-*" »fte r a. ebee.CJ of 30 > -i whsn -i- v t-s tel et\ ill ne»r thi to •• his old wL-v'-log .xploits.