TALES OP THE MOLYNEUX.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 149, 17 September 1872, Page 6

TALES OP THE MOLYNEUX.

NO 11. WHO COULD HE BE ! Some years ago, at the time the roadt Queenstown was in progress, we were cam*.at a place on the Kawarau River, near ft debouchment of the “ Roaring Meg” stream called the “Natural bridge,”—a short de scription of which en passant maynot be amis* This singular freak of nature has been cause by an immense slip having taken place from the adjacent range, and filled up the river bed to a height of 50 feet with solid rock; tb stream having been unable to surmount tb difficulty, seems to have cut for itself a sub. terranean outlet. , The mighty current coraei rushing down against the rocky barrier, and disappears to return to daylight 200 feet lower down. The evident smallness of the aperture as compared with the great volume of water produces a frightful whirlpool, about 20 yards in diameter, in the gorge or basin at it, mouth ; and it was in this I saw a spectacle I can hardly yet think of without shuddering One evening, as my mate and I were about to “sling the billy,” he started to get a bucket of water. He had only a few yards to go ti the basin above-mentioned, and was backia an instant, —minus the bucket. His appearance rather alarmed me ; his eyes looked like those of a rat in the mouth of a terrierstarting out of his head. ‘ ‘ What on earth is up with you I” I asked. Some minutes elapsed before he could compose hinisj* sufficiently to tell me, that “ as he was goii| to dip his bucket, up popped a naked man a feet from him in the water, and after sailing round twice in an upright position, turned a summersault and disappeared. I was so startled,” said he, “that I dropped my bucket and it sank, and it’s a mercy I did not follow it.” So thought I, looking at bis terrified countenance. “Well, said I, “ let’s go and have a look at the bold swimmer.” He averred, however, emphatically, that nothing would tempt him to go near the whirlpool taat night. 1 went down and watched fora short time, but saw nothing, and concluded to go to the tent and have tea. I chaffed my mate about the apparition until lie got rather sulky ; and as it was now moonlight, I lit my pipe and took up my station on a rock commanding a clear view of the pool. After patient waiting for half an hour 1 was rewarded by seeing something ; and, oli horror! that something was a dead man, apparently quite naked, and with such an awful ghastly look on his visage, upturned t»the moonlight, that I confess, although generally considered Il'1 l ' tty free from nervousness, I felt vorviuuca inclined to follow my mate’s example aid fairly run for it. However, I sat for smie time watching his gyrations, sometimes with his body out of the water to the waist, again with his feet in the air as if diving, and auou lb citing on his breast or back. Occ isionallv a stronger eddy than usual would make him spin round on bis own axis, and imparted such a natural and life-like appearance to his evolutions, that 1 caught myself speculating upon the possibility of his being a water-sprite or a merman, and guardian of "the dismal

sunned cavern through which the troubled water had to pass in its course to the sea, Finding the fascinations of his fishlike gaze, combined wicii the weird and sombre surroundings, exercising a sort of spell over my senses, by a str, ng effort I left my seat, and going to the t« n% apologised to my mate for u y unbelief in hi; s:ory, and proposed to try and get the poor derelict out. This he Hath refused to do, so I determined to make the attempt myself. Upon search 1 found we had no rope, so I concluded to let the matter rest until morning. I slept badly that night. I fancied I could hear horrid, strange, nnacj countable noises, and once I awoke and cop!menced, Fa'cr mister qni cx in arils, — and ; t"'ind myself damp, cold, and trembling. Fortunately my mate slept, or ho would have had the laugh of me and no mistake. At dawn S 1 was up, and at the first glance saw the sad spectacle. The daylight further revealed the i fact of a pair of boots being on his feet, and | a leather belt round his waist. His horrid | grim look effectually settled the question of I breakfast fonny mate and me. I procured sonn flax, and made a line, which I endeavoured to throw over his body. Several times I sneer e led, but on commencing to haul, he always slipped through the noose. The precipitous 1 nature of the sides of the basin, which were | perpendicular except for a few feet where we stood, lessened our chances of catching him. 1 Sometimes he would remain under water for a long interval, and suddenly turn up quite unexpectedly out of our reach. As we had lour work to attend to, we deferred our at* I tempts until evening. We resumed them inI elieetually. I had made a hook, with which I I several times caught him, but the lleshbejjl | probably decomposed from long submcrsMP i gave way when the strain tightened : so at last wo gave up in despair. The “ unknown and unwept” continued his horrible ami increasing waltz for the next day and night, and in the morning ho disappeared forever. Who he was — what he was — where he came from—and how he came tnere —are questions which will only be solved on that dread day when Earth and sea shall yield up their longhidden secrets. Hatter.