A ROMANCE OF LAKE WANAKA.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 118, 13 February 1872, Page 7

A ROMANCE OF LAKE WANAKA.

BY JAMES LOCKHART. E

J 1 i tp (From the Australian Journal.) top [concluded.] i I peeped but next morning the ground i a3 white with snow. A Maori heh stood f 6 fiithin a yard of me, gazing with outstretched • Bfeck and curious eyes at the strange animal i JCo had invaded its lonely feeding ground. Mhe wind had fallen, and the skies were clear, j ’’but rays of mist still hung about the highest i l . r ‘ pbaks of the ranges, fiardly a bit of green jll Mas visible ; but the utter lifelessness of the ] > u fi en e was broken here and there where the r °fiow-water tumbled over the rocks, —some- r at Hmes in tiny threads of silver, but oftener in s )ar ing cataracts. When the sun looked over ; ’ e f| ie mountains, I scrambled down the creek, 1 intending to go as far as the waterfall, by way ] F killing the time. 1 had not gone far be- s r-• fpre Minx flushed a Maori lien and gave - le ®lhase in high feather. I billowed, as best I jbuld, just in time to See the tail of the dog ; finish after the hen into the ehasm of the fountain. As I looked in, striving to pierce i v t;Jhe darkness of the hole, I heard Minx giv- ; 8! Ipg tongue apparently a long distance under - Igpntp nt - I went in at once, carefully striking °1 jpatches as I went to keep clear of pitfalls. \ m As 1 groped my way onwards, the pi me 1 ■'Widened into an enormous vaulted passage, 1 ■ glittering with quartz and mica. The wax ] l|jesta which I carried failed entirely to light 1 the gloom overhead. I heard no more of < but as I stopped in the darkness to Lfflght a fresh match, I was surprised to see a glimmer of daylight a little distance ahead 1 jlf me. ! I felt my heart beat fast. Something told |jic I was on the brink of a strange discovery. ' I hurried toward the spark of day, and in a few moments stood beneath the sun on the - - other side of the mountain. Above me I 1 only saw a circular sweep of ragged ranges of dazzling whiteness, and around me the droop--0 .ing birches, powdered with snow. But, far i T roeneath me, (hemmed in with impassable barriers of ice,) I saw a green valley, of many i Jinnies i n extent, dotted with clumps of timber ; but no traces of man were visible, so i ~t far as I could see. Hundreds of tiny cascades, which fell from 1 , the cliffs beneath the snow-line, and buried 1 * themselves on the slope of birches, emerged i r l on the hem of the oasis, forming considerable Streams, which meandered through the val- 1 ley, uniting again into two portions near the i •centre of the oasis, and then disappearing ( - into the earth with a roar which was audible i from my point of Vantage. A cloud of mist find spray hovered above the mysterious j arched with a miniature rainbow, j < "beautifully tinted with pink and opal. It|, . Avas a glimpse of fairyland. It brought back j ] }§fo mv memory a scene I lull! once seen in a! j ; London pantomime, and had forgotten for j 1 Jinany years. ~ I began to hurry down the slope with all ] Speed. Minx met me, returning with some < •f feathers in her mouth, and a stream of blood liftbout her jaws. After a down-hill scramble < t)f half an hour, I paused on the fringe ofihe 1 Joiest before I ventured to show myself on i the open ground. Who could tell what kind ’oi®f beings might be living there, shut in from 1 jlghe rest of the world ! I could see no living 1 ■creature, as I peered cautiously out, with my i ? bat in my hand ; neither could I hear any ] •Sound of life. But some kind of human crea- < lure evidently dwelt there, for smoke was 1 ■Visible above the tree-tops at the farthest end ■pf the valley. ] )ii Tbe behaviour of Minx also troubled me. ( jpb® seemed greatly disconcerted, crouching 1 Avith drooping tail, and whining plaintively at s b luy ee t. I was somewhat excited, and half ; ®^ ra '-d to show myself alone and unarmed. \ 1 I made Up my mind at last, drew i W belt tight around my waist, and stepped i »tuit into the open valley, determined to take ] Iny chance. I had nearly gained the shelter 1 | another clump of timber, when a yell of i terror from Minx caused me to stop and look ( l-.vjS e hind me, startled and dismayed. Five or i r 81 x long-legged and long-necked creatures < Were close behind me, stalking with stately < steps in strides of immense length. In great < | ■ burned to fly ; but I reflected that the j I f wiftest human foot could be of no avail to 1 1 H'sav-e me from the gigantic things close at ] island. j |jS [ halted, resolved to show a bold front, and the meeting with quickened breath, i they came in silence, and stopped short ] Ipjivitliin two yards of me. When I saw their Barge and lustrous eyes looking down upon ] gne with a placid glance, my alarm quickly i subsided. Their prodigious stature and 1 Mength of limb were appalling, but their nature was evidently gentle, and they seemed i gAvell acquainted with men. Their heavy pin- j ■” Was S or S e °us beyond description, all i ®°ld and scarlet and glaring green. They j i sedately for a minute, waiting, it * j Seemed to me, for something. At last, one ( i them, with a graceful curve nf his long ] !|sck, inclined his head to a level with mine, i .lid with his yellow bill slightly open, emitted i ’ sweet gurgling sound like'water running : •ver pebbles. \ As I stood surveying the group in astonish- i nent wondering if I could entice one of them 1 o follow me out of the basin, my glance was ; rrested by another living creature, which ] tepped from the cover of the wood, and 1 ame towards n< ; was . arra yeci in the same gaudy colours i s the birds. As it drew near, I saw that it 1 ■as human, dressed in a gay kind of feather i irtle, bareheaded, and bare-legged below the 1 ,neo > but wearing rude flax sandals on its i

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leet. I was horrified to gee that the wan was ioaeless, although otherwise his face appeared joOd-humoured enough. “ Weel, friend,” said the man, in the broadest of Scotch accents, “ what d’ye think if the moa ; queer creatures, are they no’ I Ye cam’ in through the side o’ the hill, aae doubt. Faith, if they catch ye, I’m sorry [or ye.” What danger may I dread ?'* I stammered in reply. “ Danger ! Faith, they ’ll nip the nose aff per face afore ye ken whaur ye are. Look at me !” “ Who mutilated your face in that way?” [asked. “The aboriginal inhabitants, my man. They did it with my own knife, and I couldna say them no. They used bits o’ flint things afore I come and made a rough job on’t ; they mak’ a cleaner cut noo wi’ my whittle. I cam’ in through the hole in the hill on the same errand as yoursel’—lookin’ for my pile —and ye see what I got for it.* 1 “ Why don’t you run away ? The road is still open,” I said. “ Hoo can I show a face like this among ither folk ? Besides, I’ve got twa wives and a Wheen bairns, and I dinna like to leave the bodies.” “ How do you live ?” “ Oh ! we hae plenty o’ moas’ eggs and taties, and we mak’ giiid whusky frae the fern-root, ye ken. We get drunk whiles—women and a*. Lord, we play some queer pranks then, I wadna like to speak aboot jist the noo. D m it, when I think on’t, I’m afeard I’ll gang daft.” “ Have they lived here always?” “ They have lived here all their days, and their forbears afore them. In the wars, lang syne, it was a place of refuge, like.” “ Do they mangle their own faces in that way ?” “Every deevil o’ them—men and women. Man, they think it maks them bonny. Oh ! they ’re a droll lot.” “ Is the tribe numerous ?” I continued. “Twenty-five men and fifty women,— neither more nor less.” “What is done with the surplus population ?” “ Oh, they just put them out of sight in a canny way.” I thought it high time to beat a retreat back the way I came, and hinted my wish to the man. “ Oh, ye need n’t bo afeared yet cnoo. Ye’ll get a sight o’ them frae the corner of the wood. The tribe gathers this morn ng—it’s the day o’ the saedfeese. I think ye're a countryman o’ mine. I’m an Edinbro’ man mysel’. I hope ye ’re no a Glasgow body.” You may be sura I put in my claim of be ing a townie on the spot. T.ie mov birds still stood around uS, with listening ears and quiet eyes. Turning to the largest of them, he spoke some words to it in a strange language. The bird crouched down ma n its belly, and my friend mounted upon its bade with great alacr'tv. “ Gis us your hand,” he said, “and I’ll help yo up. This ane can carry twa.” The next moment I was sitting in a soft seat among the feathers ; the men rose to its legs, and we started.with the spe.d of a late mail train. The bird beaded for the top end of the valley, apparently guided by a wave of the hard to the right side or the left. It was a calm morning, yet it Seemed blowing a hurricane past niy cheeks as wo skirred along. I could only set niy teeth hard and hold on to the belt of Nosey. All at once a sudden fear struck me—;ould Nosey be trusted ? Was it not a trap to decoy mo into the hands of the savages ? Ho had spoken of a sacrifice ;—what kind of a sacrifice? Y ery likely human. It was awful ! Suppose Nosey was faith hi l , would the terrible bird stop at the w r ord of command ! That was another fearful point. My right hand stole round to my sheath-knife. I had made tip my mind to let out the lifeblood of Nosey, and stick the moa somnvheie about the short ribs, when the sp'ed slackened, and we stopped in a secluded angle, well sheltered from observation. The b'rd crouched again, allowing us both to slide softly to the ground. Making a gesture of silence, and carefully parting the branches with his hands, niy comrade took a survey ,of the valley beyond ns. He soon withdrew his head, and observed that they were meeting for the “ sacrifeese.” “ Ye manna stop long here, but tak’ a keek for yoilrsel’—tak’ a keek for yoursel’,” said Nosey. I followed his example, and looked into a park-like enclosure, dotted here and there until a flowering tree which I had never seen before. A number of savages wore squatted around a, Urge fire, dressed in the costume of my gui le. One man alone stood on his feet. He was a fellow of monstrous stature, and carried a long warlike weapon in his hand. Even at the distance of a hundred yards, I could see that, they had all tlie same hideous look about the face. In sp : te of their gay feathery attire, I thought they were a very repulsive lot of beggars altogether. 1 was just about to withdraw my head, when a naked creature jumped into the group, shrieking wildly, pursued by five or six long-legged fellows, also naked. Before 1 had time to ask the meaning of what I saw, the mail pulled me aWay, muttering, apparently to himself, “ Rough wark —rough w T ark ! Ye’re lang enough here.” He seemed greatly disturbed for a moment, and tried to hide his face. Avoiding my eyes, and looking beyond me, he said, “They are wanting me owre yoonder, and I maun awa’ to do a gruesome deed, and see what nc> white man ever saw

except mysel’. Talc this, however,” In continued, putting a bag of nuggets into my hand, “ they wili never be ony use to me ; and wnen ye get into better company think sometimes upon pair Sandy M‘Bride, an Edinbro’ man like yei'sel’.” Be turned away and pissed out of sight amortg the bushes, With the tears ruilumg down his poor mangled face. I made all haste on the back track, and j soon got on the safe side of the mountain. I struck my tent on the next morning, and, to cut short a long story, here I am ; and, what is better, here is the bag of lluggets —twelve petmd weight of them, us near as I can judge. ******* I was inclined to discredit his story, but the gold was a reality,—all heavy waterworn nuggets of great size. California Jim left me next morning for the purpose of gohig to Europe, and I have lost I sight of him ever since. For many months I could not get his story out rtf my head. In the following summer, I actually weilt up the Wanaka, knocked about the ranges for a fortnight, looking for the hole in the mountain, but I was obliged to return with a couple of frostbitten toes, cursing the day I ever saw the waterworn nuggets of California Jim.