A GABRIELS GULLY CORPSE IN 1861.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1282, 24 September 1886, Page 4

A GABRIELS GULLY CORPSE IN 1861.

(‘ Canterbury Times.’ On a gold rush there are all sorts of ■queer experiences. As a rare mixture of adventurers find their way to the heart of it, so every variety of provender good, bad, or indifferent, is shot upon the Tom Tiddler’s ground, as upon a safe market. The writer was sauntering along the highway of one of the golden gullies, amidst tents, store®, shanties, and grog shop 3, all -those dispensing comforts displaying a flag and staff, some the red, white, some the lion rampant, some the green, and not a few the stais and stripes, with here and there .a tricolour or an Italian flag, when an excited and stentorian voice was heard, “ Sacre voleur! You deed zell ze saucisses? Zatstoof vas shtiuke? I vos last night dead. Yot ze dam you mean, to try an me empoison ? I vill zee ze polls—you von shicer storekeeper. You get for notings zose cat meat, and empoison me, and make pay one chelin and zixapence a bound ; ■fripon, zat you air!” This attracted attention, although a row more or less "was a matter of no moment; but this “man seemed intent upon some purpose, and was accompanied by three • or four others. He was a scion of some distinguished house, and had a rare development of forcible language. A photograph of it would make a writer’s fortune. Turning to hj s mates, t! This is the thief that poisoned me,” he went on, “ with his rotten sausages,” and he went on, nineteen to a dozen, with a volubility that would he a tortune to a Salvation Army ora* tor. The storekeeper, a bluff, stoutbuilt Englishman, stood in well feigned surprise. “What the—so forth - do you mean, man? What are you jabbering about?” “Jabberecn, you zay, and you z e the theef zat zoald me ! Ah, reon joli garcon, I veel make it hot!” The storekeeper was alone, and myself and another were the only lookers on. He denied any knowledge of what the French gen tleman was referring to, and laughingly added, “ Why, you d—d fool, wouldn’t 1 show them ? Things like that sell.” Tho olhev continuing his abuse, the storekeeper, seeing by this time a few friends about, ordered him and bis •gang to clear. They threatened, but soon saw the other was supported, and withdrew uttering all sorts of threats. When they were gone we asked the storekeeper what the lark was. Seeing himself amongst friends, he gave a quiet chuckle and began; “Well, boys, I’ll tell you. It’s a rum go; there’s no doubt about that, and Though it would be no loss if the fellow shuffled off, I’m g'ad he hasn’t. My father cleared a T'unedin store of lots of odds and ends, and amongst them was a cask of Germans—splen-did-looking full-bodied Germans—and he thought they would be a treat for ’em alter their lantern-carcassed sheep •and Captain Cook’s pigs, besides leaving a good margin of profit, being invoiced at only 3d a pound. When our drayman brought them up yesterday I showed them at once, and a few were for them, amongst others the French ■man who kicked up the row. We had them for supper ourselves last night, I tasted them, but George, the drayman, walked into them like an Arctic vovager. About three this morning lie'was moaning and groaning worse than a revival meeting. We dosed him with pepper, and poured brandy nnd whisky into him enough to float a harm. It looked like a ca-e of dving. However, in the end our cure worked ; lie threw stuff of his stomach, and it was plain the sausages were at the bottom of tho mischief It struck me like a flash what might have happened, so as soon ns a chance offered the whole lot went to the bottom of a thirty foot abandoned shaft. That was how I stood so stiff with the Frenchy. By George' if they had been in sight! Wouldn’t be hive lud me? I remember the others who had had some. This fellow was the only stranger, I went round to their tents, and found that luckily they had not broached them. I told them the position and made all square. Then I felt sort of safe. Passing the storekeeper’s place

pretty often, we now and then had a chat, and he laughingly told mo that Frenohy had subsided, and he had heard no more of him. One day, soma time after, it was rush oh, and the site was a block of ground near my friend the storekeeper’s, and amongst the abandoned shafts. As usual, the old holes were taken possession of; and, as luck would have it, who should get hold of the very shaft in which the Germans were buried but the French man and his mates. Besides the earth which had been thrown over them at the burial, what with v the droppings from the shaft’s sides, and the wet, there were some two or three feet of dirtv slush to be cleaned out. But gold had been struck near, and they were on. The ground was pegged out, windlass rigged, and down went one of Frenehy’s gang to begin operations. Up came the slush in the buckets, and we heard the man below sing out, “ Sacre milk tonnerres I mais il y a une odeur de cing cents diablea in las I" (Sacred thousand thunders, hut there is a smell of 500 devils down here !) and Frenchy on the surface had a curl in his nose as if he smelt something not too ravishing “ But be quick then and let us have her cleaned out!” In a little while it seemed as if the man below had had enough of the perfume, for up he came and down went his mate for a spell. He had hardly begun work, when he let out, in a voice of thunder, “ Why didn’t you tell me there was such a stink of the infernals down here ? Hoist up the bucket, and quick too.” And in a minute or two, “ Name of G—, it’s a corpse! here are his entrails. Hoist me up for the love of Mary !” and up he came, the picture of terror. It made a sensation, for men had been missed. The police were informed. Down came the inspector and con* stables, and one ot the men was sent down to inspect. He reported at once that the stench was sickening. The inspector ordered him to grapple it in some way. all in a lump if he could, if not, some part of the body. There was a big excited crowd about by that time. They were waiting anxiously for the corpse. In a minute or two “ Haul up !” came from below, and the constable and his subject came to the surface. By the light of day the remains were closely inspected, and turned out to be most extraordinary bowels—they were German sausages. There was a roar trom the assembled mourners. Frenchy was most disgusted and excited. “Teins /” he shouted, “ c'est <.es saucissts de of sacre voleur" (There, there are the sausages of that thief). The police returned to quarters to inform the coroner. The storekeeper had a quiet grin over the business, and, need it be added, that the occasion was taken advantage of, and more hard drinking than bard work done during the remainder of the day.