DANGEROUS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 696, 20 August 1875, Page 4

DANGEROUS.

A contributor to a Wellington paper says ; —lt is a dangerous thing to put gunpowder on a lire instead of potatoes, and so a man near Muugaroa found out last week, lie was one of a party, who, like poor Paddy in the song, “ worked upon the railway,” and it was his turn to cook for ids mates. There was a small kog of gunpowder in their hut, and some of the powder had been put into a hilly. The cook got his potatoes ready, and stood them on the floor for a while in another hilly while he went to the wood heap. When he came back he put a hilly on the fire, and waited until its contents should lie cooked to frr the heef-steaks. One of his party came to see how soon dinner would be ready, and found him sitting down and trying to understand the row between the Hon. Dr Pollen and the Provincial Government. So soon as he could get his thoughts disentangled, he said dinner would he ready in a few moments after the potatoes were cooked. So his mate wont to the billy, took the cover off, said, “ Oh ! blazes !” in capital letters, and fled to the lone hush. The cook thought that perhaps his friend had been reading the Wairarapa Standard, and, like Sir George Grey, fancied there was “ death in the pot,”'but nevertheless went to the fire and also looked into the hilly Then he tried to go out of the door and a mile beyond in a jump. But before he had got the seventeen hundreth part of his intentions there was a hang, and he wont unintentionally through the window, along with the heef-steaks, a pickaxe, knife and fork, two plugs of tobacco, a Glilh. weight, and a box of matches. Ho then went on through the air. During his journey ho heard another hang, and the wharo was disintegrated. Those who came in somewhat of a hurry to the spot found nothing hut hits of tilings around, and, not seeing "the cook there, thought he had gone into an ■atomic condition to that bourne, &c, and that they would have to gather up the fragments that remained of him in a sack. But they presently found him sitting on a stump, and thinking that the great railway scheme had suddenly developed into the 'battle of Armageddon. The general opinion in the neighborhood, f.o a correspondent tells me, isithat he put the gunpowder on instead of the potatoes.