LE BONS BAY.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 635, 15 August 1882, Page 2

LE BONS BAY.

List Friday waa not a pellicula rl 7 brilliant day for your ir-v/AlAg r.poAer to visit Ls "'Oen's, but after '-he Ate dreary •, ; ,*ea!iiei' A v/as eomctbing fo have a dry A;y -.ivi.-r or As iicail, and as tho gor-ia! llLv w:i.-*;A;o ;>,.;.'! | .i to the good hay i\ vA'l.vi v.\ ( 's fifo-ji'e---.i at jAal about the sui.ae tun': that bob MayAo laid his whip over the £;u-y loaders. Wiih blessings vu tho City Fathers we cantered, tl'.roi.gh the mud of Lavaud street, Mao's chr.rgor particularly distinguishing bin;self. He was pro - claiiiied by tka geiiUiuian ai a Toucb-

stone, and so ho may be, at any rate he was a touch-mud on the occasion. Both the horses, for some mysterious reason, slackened their pace When we arrived opposite Waeckerle's ancient hostelry. There was an interview with host Bayley, a gurgling sound, and we were fairly on tbe road. Up the old road we wended our way, Mac's numerous clients causing the usual stoppages. Numerous friends kept informrng us that the road through German Bay was impassible, and so after mature reflection we resolved to travel by the Long Bay and Summit road. Such being our lofty aspirations, we halted at the top of the hill to say good bye to the coach (or rather its occupants) where the roads diverge. The Lady of tho northern whip occupied tbe seat of honor on tbe box, bound for the far north, and had we known then of the.innocent stratagem that had procured her a much needed visit to her friends against her own industrious will, we should have had even a heartier laugh than we did. It was ht this part of the journey that our thoughts unconsciously wandered to tbe late tragedy that was enacted there. Here, to start with, was the very bank on which one witness had " dozed away a rosy hour" on the dreadful ni»ht. A little farther we came to Johnny Sunckell's gate, where the wild horseman first told his terrible tale to that awe stricken purveyor of meat, as he whirled past in his mad hunt for the minions of the law ; and a little above Mac pointed out the willows, the scene of the terrible deed itself, which will be henceforward placed in history on a par with the famous "Murderers Gully" of the Peninsula Stories. Looking at the surrounding residences, one can only be surprised how, after being mutilated,the unfortunate sufferer (.scaped being curried. There was plenty of mud on parts of tbe ioad, too, and we were glad when we reached the pretty German Bay Side School. It looked ve>y neat and tidy, and Mr Giles seemed to bave a nice lot of scholars. It certainly looks one of the most picturesque and neatly kept schools in Canterbury. A little further on wo came to the great stone which Mr Chappell is said to have kindly offered to any one who wou-d take it away, and then we came to the residence of the chairman of the Akaroa and Wainui Road Board itself, nestling under the slope of the celebrated mountain with the euphonious name. One could hardly rake up a scintillation of joy in inarching along the Summit road. In the dark, shady bends the thick ice crackled under the horse's feet, and all the sun had done, when he had a chanco, was to turn the frozen slush into greasy mud. We read the request on Mr Daly's gate, and we saw the Sandys estate, the owner of which need never be confounded with the sands of the sea shore, being far -too high for that. There is some grand land here, as is shown by tho size of the trees, which are of great girth, but are gnarled and twisted by the winds and the weight of snow they sometimes have to bear. There are also some grand rocks in this vicinity, but, being highly practical, we ourselves agreed that wo should much

prefer these latter m a disintegrated state on the surface of tho slushy succession of bog holes (termed by courtesy a track) over which we were traveling. About here we saw some traces of Mr Malmanche, in the shape of rows of posts intended to fence in a part of the Lyon & Roberts estate. Over the hill at last, and, looking down, the beautiful bay lay clear in the cold sunshine. Near the shore the sea was unveiled, but a haze lingered over it a little further out, ,md embraced it so lovingly that i.o one could tell where sky ended and sea began. A solitary stcamor was passing, and her smoke curled away in a thousand fantastic shapes in the morning air. I should call this part of the Bay the " Naval Reserve," for here a number of nautical gentlemen are living peacefully, -after their stormy ocean experiences. beautiful is this part of the country, the hill side totaras. with their rich golden green foliage and quaint, squat, bushy tops, being very noticeable features of the landscape. There is not much time, however, to look about one, for you have to v/atch your horse pretty carefully. The road is simply a disgrace to civilisation, and one wonders how it is possible that S'*-me steps are not taken to make it better, but we suppose it will all come right in time. There is a legend that a trap was brought over this road, but to us, in going over it, this tale seemed a grim mockery, ami we came to the conclusion it must Save i-een packed over in several pieces. Tbos* were our thoughts near the top of tho hill, where dense'foliage and great ;*G*'i*s i-iiadow the bends so deeply, tbat at every ctep of the horse the clay gives a so/; of. stilling gulp, as if sorry to release hi: feet, and where the creeks run trickling over tne road unconscious of the cruel confinement of culverts. Lower down, iiowc'.e;*, v/e caino upon two residents who had {Alain a contract from the Road Board '.o ameliorate the condition of the road. Nov,-, we daresay this will turn out all right in the end, but if anybody did evil that good might come, those were the men. They were cleaning an inside gutter, and throwing the results into the centre of tiie track, where it speedily becomes a part of the prevailing slush. If is tnie you could ride down the gutter, but for the occasional trees that overhang tho read . Talking of those overhanging trees, there are some of them that aro a caution. it seems to be the rule that when a tree fails on tho road it should be left, there and the track made round it, but when a tree fails over tiie road, stoop and go under. Some of these trees on the Summit road have been stooped under for one is afraid to say how long ; »and we shudder to think what might be tho fate of a tall stranger following this track on a dark ;iighi. However, enough of the roads for the present. We wore soon past our trouble, v.'A found civilisation and gorse hedges ■tear Messrs Dawber's and Condon's properties. Tiie head of the actual valley, ear Mr !■'. Aid ridge's, is very beautiful. L'uere are a number of magnificent gum. md conifers in the neighborhood, whosa o'iuge contrasts admirably with that of bo native trees, and the rushing creek, •retty schoolhouse, and snug, sheltered icunesteads are very picturesque. Down ho valley rode wo, our knight of the ham-iV-r making- the warmest enquiries regardrig the bebt time for holding the Le Bon's •Jay cattle sale. Tne general idea was hat tiie lr.;;t Friday in August (the day elected) was too early, and that it would ■c better to holu it later, when there was aore feed, and just when the dairies were tailing and the cocksfoot paddocks shut p. Need we say that our genial friend nuked popular opinion, and tbe sale was iostponed till some time in September. 'our correspondent, in the course of these

conversations, became ' deeply impressed with the high class of people residing in this locality. He was astonished to hear •'Tho Duke," "The President," "His Reverence," and other members of tho nobility and clergy, spoken of in a shockingly familiar manner ! Going on a little further, we met Mr Win. Barnett, who took us to the sea bo ich. He was full of a project which, it appears, is attracting much attention in Le Bon's circles just now, viz., the formation of a practicable road to the jetty. At presont it costs a great deal to get"produce away, for it has all to go in a punt to the vessels, and this makes tho freight very heavy. The jetty is now only used by Mr Dalglish, who has a timber shoot down to it, the old road leading to it being impracticable, whilst tbe cost of making it fit for traffic would be prohibitive. Drays, however, can go to the beach within a few chains of the wharf, and it is estimated that, at a cost of some £300 or -£400, a good road could be made to it. This once done, and the wharf extended a few feet further into deeper watei,-there vvould be an enormous reduction in freights, I understand that it is in contemplation to make an effort to get this important work accomplished, partly by subscription amongst residents, and partly by outside aid. Nearest tbe sea beach of all ia the Domain, which, in its present state, seems to me to be far more fitting for the amusement of rabbits and seagulls than human beings, for it is principally sand. One wonders that it is not planted with Pinus insignis, Pinus maritima, and other conifers, which flourish in similar soils elsewhere. They would soon grow up, and in time it might become a very attractive resort, for no doubt in years to come this beautiful Bay will carry a largo population. " Mac and mo " went back up the other side of the valley. He pointed out to me the scene of the fatal struggle, and we had a look at the late residence of Mi D. Wright, and wondered how he had managed always to get home safely up such a track. Air Smith's big house looked very handsome, and we admired it much. It looked beautifully kept. When we got to Mr Oldridge's we had a hearty welcome and a good dinner, which we enjoyed much after our long ride. Hero (as with Mr Barnett) we had a discussion on tho question of the mails. At present, as described in a letter which lately appeared in our columns, they go on Monday and Friday, which practically means that it is a week before the answer to a letter can be received from Christchurch Tuesday would bo a better day, but with the new arrangement that is late coach night, and the mailman would hardly be able to get home early enough over the bad roads. We had a conversation afterwards with Mr Condon on tbe subject, and he thought that for the present it would be an improvement for the mail to be

carried on Tuesday morning instead of Monday night as at present. By this means they would get their Akaroa letters and papers of a day later, and yet send their bag to Christchurch by the same mail—a decided improvement. However, at the end of this year the mail contract expires, and it is then hoped that a triweekly mail will be arranged, which will be a great blessing. We had an uneventful ride home to tho top of the hill, and then, in spite of tho fearful tales we had beard, we determined to try the road to German B iy, thinking it hardly possible it could be worse than the Summit road, and knowing it was very much shorter. Well, it is more of a shoot than a road just at present. All you have to do is to keep in the middle ot il and go down with a sort of mud aval.niche. We were glad enough to reach German Bay, mid never appreciated a tolerable road more than he did on that occ tsion. There was just daylight left when we reached Akaroa to see Waeekerle's Hotel on our way home.