"BULLY" HAYES IN NELSON.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1372, 24 February 1912, Page 15

"BULLY" HAYES IN NELSON.

STORY OF "THE BLACK DIAMOND." Not one of tho ltaat sensational in- ~ cidents in tho lifo of Nelson was. 1 lia . > visit to tho place, in 1801, of Captain. ■ W. 11. Hayes, known over a great jection of the English-speakinc we-rid,. <is. '. "Bully" Hupec* tho iaJc "pirate" of tho -"■ < Pacific. Hayes was at that time fairly ';- notorious at some New Zealand ports, "■ - notably Auckland, I.yttclton, the Bluff, :i "J Duncdin, and Hokiiika, and owing to tho .Y dare-devil nature of his exploits, his:, namo was <v household word, especially with tho younger generations. When ill ■ Nelson the boys oi' the district used to congregatfl and follow him about as ho •• swaggered down the streets and point to ■ ■- him with admiring eyes, as a hero of," romance. The story of Bon, "Bully". - Hayes came to Nelson is a clear-cut nar- .'< ■•' ralivo teeming with sensational details, >■ ..* but spaco will permit only .a . brief ~re-' ■ ferenc.e to the facts which' nro vouched' <• for by many old Nelson residents.'Hayes,''-. '. who, by tho way, had only- one ear—he <..;; lost the other in -an argument-in a Call'-', fnrnian mining camp—was master of the brigantiue Black Uiamoud, with which vessel he had been tailing about tho New, Zealand coast for quito a number of years. Tho Black Diamond was lying at Auckland in ISO 4 and Hayes booked fares and handled the cash of ;ii intending passengers, whom he was going to lake to Lytlrltan. He also handled some of their' luggage and .after attending church on ''.' a certain Sunday evening, he camo aboard '.' and cleared two days before his advor-' ; tiscd time for sailing. It appears that '■'' tho Black Diamond had just brought a ' cargo of coal from Newcastle to Nelson, ■ • but being short of money Hayes had gono to Auckland and had sold the cargo. The -, owner of tho coal had been informed of the non-arrival of the vessel in Nolsoni.'"'and he issued a warrant for its detcn.tion. This warrant was sent on to Nelson', a place touched at by everybody of any consequence in those days. THE CROIXELLES DISASTER. Hayes left Auckland having on board : with him his 20-year-old wifo (formerly • a Miss Buckingham), his thirteen months'.-.« : old child, his brother-in-law (Mr, Gcorgo, i ■ Buckingham), and also a maid, and pps-, ~:'•* sibly in a spirit of freak he nailed,, for-, ■ the Crohelles, .arriving there about An-.,.' gust 10, ISiif. lis met uomo. residents.;,',!.; there, amongst them .Messrs. Askew,-;W., •;■ Turner, 'W. Holland, l'awson,.. mid..',.. M'l.areu, and engaged them to cut,.firewood for the Black Diamond. Ho never, ~. paid them, and during tho lime ho vns,;; at tlie.Ooi.vclics, he lost his wife, child. ... and brother-in-law through tho alleged; foundering of Askcw's yacht, tho .Water-*. . witch, which Hayes had borrowed to tako. , his family for a. run down the bay. Thero is ovct'y reason to believe, tlint^ Jlnypf),,,,, sunk tho yacht after braining his wil'e . . in a fit. vi temper, and stunning hio ,„, brother-in-law and the maid, but no--'.,, thing was ever distinctly, proved v against him. Mrs. llnyes's skull was nfterwards found'wilh two big dents in it, but bv that time Hayes was away , in home other part of tlie.,world, mak- . ing further lurid history. Hayes gave., the Nelson residents a graphic account of the supposed accident. He declared v that tho Waterwitch was blown ovor, and .'., ho was thrown into the water, supporting himself with two oars, his wii'o under olio arm and his child under tho other. The pnssnso was slow and laborious, and very sooii the baby was drowned. Ho kissed it beforo letting it go, and then confined his attention to his wife, whom ho states was drowned in his , arms. Ho declared that he was two ■■, hours in the water before ho let his , wife'u body go, and that it was only after great' difficulty he got ashore, As a matter of fact, if he got ashore, he must have gono into tho water again; as he was picked up by a boat. Hayes wroto a letter to the "Colonist" on September 1, 1864, tbnnking the settlers, especially Mr. and Mrs. A. ltankin, and Mr. M'Lareit for tho help they had rendered on that occasion. • '

THE "BLACK DIAMOND" ARRESTED. ,: '' Meanwhile- tho .'law, had determined.to',,',,( seise tho Black Diamond in accordance, with the terms of tho warrant. Messrs'. . I W. Akersten, 13. Pierccy, W. Turner, TV, Astlo, - \V. Dayman, and Johnson wero, [ sworn in ns special constables, and went down in a whalcboat to look for ; antine. Tho party was under, thecoin-. ; ... maud of Mr. Akersten, a strongly-built, man, who had looked death in the face\ M v. on many an occasion, and to whom aftorwards, Hayes told the story of his li'fo, . '. They boarded tho ship quietly at dead,, of night, but on getting over the taffrail were confronted by. Hayes, who fcroci-, ously demanded tho meaning of tho noc- ~ turnal visit. He was informed of tho ~ facts, and seized an axe, when the. whoje..;;,, party wero on to h'ini, and very soon had. . : him looked up with tho mate and stow- ~'.. nrd in tho cabin. Tho Black Diamond was steered for Nelson, and.after,ho had,..,, promised good bohaviour, Hayes was liberated. It was only for a lime, however, for ho was found to bo making an attempt to seize tho vessel, and ho was therefore again locked up. Arriving at Kelson, Hayes and his men wero put ashore, and knowing his resourceful character, Akersten took tho precaution to unbend all tho ships sails, and hoovon unshipped the wheel and tho binnacle, and placed them in his sail loft, On shore, Hayes several men around, him with the intention of seizing tho ship that night, but ho was ohagrincd to note that the boat had only barospars. When bo learned Inter that tho wheel ' and binnacle had been removed, he remarked : "Well, they call this Sleepy Hollow, but I'm d d if I can see , ■', where the name comes in." It. appeared.; that Hayes intended, after seizing tho. Black Diamond, to "shanghai" Akersten,' ... against whom at tho hmo he had a ; deadly enmity. Later Hayes threatened Akersten, and that individual offered to '... fight'him with his fists. They had a., set-to in the back yard of the Coach and Horses notel, in which Hayes got considerably tho worst of the encounter. I, Thereafter tho two men wore friendly, and Ilaycs gave Akersten nn account of , , his variegated lifo to that time. • 'This-- ■ Mr. Akersten afterwards wroto down, n.. the story covering thousands of lines of- • manuscript, He also collected a, great'■•'•■. mass of newspaper clippings describing" .. : riaycs's various exploits ns they occurred.! . The whole is now in tho hands of a ~. Kelson resident, who intends shortly to ' • publish it.

HAYES AND THE JOURNALIST. While in Nelson Uaycs found fault with some criticism in the "Colonist," written by the lato Mr. B. Jr. Luckio, tlio editor of the paper. Ho walked round with n horsewhip with the intention of squaring matters, and to "cut his hido into bootlaces," but Mr, Luokic was away ■ sleeping at the time, and later Hayes evidently thought better over the matter, as ho never again troubled the editor. While in Nelson, Hayes had soveral Court ■cases oyer tlio claims of (ho men who had been cutting firewood for him, but Apparently he camo well out of the litigation. . DRAMATIC EXIT. Time hanging heavily on his hands, and the Black Biamond being lost to him,' ho planned to carry off the fchooner Polly and two girls, for whom' ho was going to find good situations, ho said, in the Islands, but gossip about his disaster, at tlio Croixelles spoilt his arrangements, and finally, after being over two months in the neighbourhood, he made a dramatic exit, springing .six feet on.to the rig-' ging of the Lord Ashley, after that boat had left the N<>lson Wharf one Sunday morning for Sydney. lfc> left behind him numerous inquiring creditors. Mrs. Akorsten still lives al tli-s Port Nelson,, while, amongst others who knew Hayes, nro Mr. Mansford, of the bowling Mrs. Fnirey an old resident, stales that "Bully" Hayes was a picturospun figure, with nn unpleasant-looking face. In Dunedin ho used to sport u frock tot' and a bell-topper, and it was his boast that he could adapt himself (o any companv, Hayes married Miss .Buckingham in Arrowtown. Be is believed lo h.ivn been' bom in Valparaiso in 1818, but his proper naino was not Hayes. He iva« killed by his ship's steward, while running off with another man's \vife~from San Francisco, nml was thrown overboard while still alive. Akerston came to Tasmania when quit* a boy, and. when in haibour (here ha pulled lxnv oar nl. a regatta, at which' were present tlio Erebus and Terror and Sir .lohn ami Baily l'nuikiiu. Alccrslen'.i boat won Ihe raer. and as he was !]-,,. voiiiigr"! rf.v.-.T a! lli:- galiierin;:, he iwk congratulated by both Sir lohn Mini Lady l'rauklin, and awarded a prize.