The Outht of the Day.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 17

The Outht of the Day.

'. I ■ cannot', recollect how. it camo about that. I, acco.mpan'icd,your "father, when, ho 'started'.with, his" stock—hut. so it ■ .fas.' From Weill's letter to' you, which brings to my mind another ' circumstance,. it must have been tho. end of April, 1844, when your father , and myself started fj'om the Hutt .with his sheep. Beside oiir two selves we' had a' man and boy, and two pack mares, "Gypsy" and. "Spitfire," which had been imported from Sydney, to carry our blankets, provisions', etc. ,AVo also had a net to.fold the sheep at night! AVo ourselves carried'some few necessaries 'on our backs, vand • quart pots and pannikins -sluhgl on. a belt "round I our waists. Tho clothing outfit in those . days for country .settlers and travellers was moleskin trousers, blue, serge shirt, and that much-prized headcovering (when it could be obtained), a New South. Wales cabbago-treo hat with a long black ribbon. . The older the hat tho moro it was valued. Indeed, 1 have blown a now. 0110-willingly exchanged for a much older article, perhaps because it did not look so "new-chummy." They were difficult to procure, havingto be ordered from Sydney, and the price high, from 255. to £2,_ hut the time they lasted was surprising.. As far as I recollect our first day's journey was as far as Okiwi Bay, where Mr. Donald, afterwards of 11anaia, then lived, and wo camped on the beach close to a rocky point , which we could only cross at low or half-tide, which would be about break' of day next, morning. We made a good iiro on tho beach, had our .supper, smoked our pipes, and after seeing the horse's were safe on the tether, curled ourselves in our blankets and went .to sleep, your father impressing oh us tho necessity of an early start and engaging to call us", which ho did before there was a sign of day dawn. After boiling our pots of tea and having breakfast wo sat by tho firo smoking our pipes until it was light enough to start, but wo waited in vain,' though your father declared it was getting lighter every moment. At last all but ho rolled themselves in their blankets again, and after an hour or two's sleep daylight did appear. Tho' fact was that, having no watch, or only ono which declined going, your father, had called us ataboai midnight 1 After passing this Took the track followed tho ridge of hills nearest tho beach whoro Clifford's' sheep were running, and then again on' to the beach, at the mouth of tho. Wainui-o-mata, and from there followed tho coast to tho mouth of tho lake. . Tho stages wo made wore but short, partly on account of their being no track, but that between 'high and low watery which was very stony, tho greatest part of tho way, and also as thero was plenty of feed for tho sheep wo did not ne<Kl. to hurry them. Indeed, people, as a rule, did not hurry themselves or their stock'in those days. At several places along tho cost —Parangaru, Orongo' Orongo, and Muka Muka—tho '.Wellington Natives had made fishing, villages, to which thoy resorted during tho fishing season, but which', were temporarily deserted at tho time wo passed., .