The Storyteller.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2131, 4 March 1908, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Storyteller.

LARRY’S YARN

DIGGER’S LUCK—THE PERSISTENT PIG—AND A HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

(By A. Hope Blake.)

Gold digger, is it? I tell you, sir, I’ve had about twenty years of it in different parts of the world. I've dug for gold, and fished for gold, sluiced for gold, and, without using bad language, I’ve dammed and blasted for gold. I’ve dammed livers and creeks, and blasted rocks. A digger’s life is one of, mostly, pure luck, good or bad, but it takes a lot of bad luck to make a digger cry a go. Oir Gabriel’s, in 'Ol, four of us had a claim; the only fault with it was that we did too well. Due of my mates, I suppose thinking himself a bit of a millionaire, took it into i is head to go to Dunedin and do a bit of shopping. .We knew right well that most of his purchases would be of Kinahan, Henuessy, or Danville's manufacture, but we couldn’t make him change his mind. A few days after our claim was jumped, as three men were not allowed to work lour men’s ground. We had to shift right off, and soon had the pleasure of knowing that the new party were making a good haul out of our claim. Bad luck l With my mates, I’ve shepherded one claimon the Molyneux for over three months; this was where the fishing came in. The river went down, what we were waiting for; and when wo wero knocking off for the day the gold could be seen here and there on the bottom, a splendid prospect for the next day. I tell you, sir, we were in high spirits that night, and you may bet your bottom dollar that the peep o’ day found us on the banks ready to scoop up our pile. But, bad luck, the river, with never a sign of rain about ns, was bank high -and running like a mill race. I swear, sir, that put us out of conceit of the great Otago river. We' there and then struck tent, and made off in the direction of Miller’s Flat, Mount Benger, or Fox’s; we- wern’t quite sure where we’d pull up. Did I do any good there? Well, sir, I tell you we struck it pretty thick on one claim on Miller’s Flat. Diggers’ luck again, but the other way this time. I’ll tell you how it came about. We were digging and washing for some months with varying luck, sometimes making tucker, moretimes not that; so we put the peg in and decided to strike across the ranges for the West Coast, i Next" morning one of our mates, old Dutchy, a very stubborn character when lie liked, made a speech on the question. “Veil, mates,” he said, “I’m goin’ to dry six more pockets, mid den if no kuller show up I gif her up for a ploomin’ sliicer.” Just by way of humoring our staunch old Dane, we agreed. Going to the mouth of the shaft lie was lowered down with a lot of good-humored banter, the parting shot being, “Don’t pocket any of the gold, old man.” We waited at the mouth of the shaft, showing more impatience than interest in old Dutchy’s whim. After a while a voice from below was heard calling out, “Mein Got, boys! Pull up -an’ vash!” This was a startling •cry for us, coining as it did from the quiet Dane.

Judging from his joyous shout to wash, he 'must have struck a rich vein, or, perhaps—hotter still—a pocket. He had surely bottomed in his last six buckets. I tell you, sir, we pulled up with a will, and were soon rewarded by feasting our eyes on the precious metal which was freely showing on the surface of tho bucket. To make a long story short, we each put a good few hundreds by from that claim after condemning it, and never once complained of the trouble we were put to by our “good old Dutch” on that occasion. Diggers’ luck again. Well, it doesn’t take diggers long to make up their minds, so after working out this claim, tho great account of the West Coast, like a loadstone, drew us in that direction. It was too much of a roundabout and waste of time going back to Dunedin and shipping for tho coast, steamers were scarce those times, and it meant a loss of three or four weeks; no, sir, we weren’t built that way. A day or so after saw us under way once more. M e knew there was the range ahead of us to be crossed, but dkln t reckon up many more, equally hard to got over, beyond, but mountains, rivers, gullies, no, .Sir, not even wild animals or snakes ever stopped diggers from a gold rush once fairly set in. It took us about ten days to got over those hills, and I’m certain t’would take me longer than that to tell you of all the fun we had before we got through. There were places, Sir, that would make a goat turn pale at the thought of having to go up, but we did. At times'we’d come to- a full stop at the head of a precipice; it was either go back and follow another spur of the mountain, a waste of time, or go down tho face of the cliff. -We overcame this little trouble by making a strong rope of flax and woodbines from the trees which were plentiful, -and by this means saved miles of travelling. The trip took longer than we reckoned upon, and our tucker was sunning very low, but the knowledge that we were coining to inhabited country once more kept up our spirits. Thero would soon be a chance of getting a fresh stock.

Now I’m going to toll you something I shouldn’t perhaps, but it took place so many years -igo that it must lie forgotten tong since. ' l't was the only time I ever took a hand in a highway robbery, and this is how it came about. I tell you, sir, we were ;i pretty rough looking lot then, following the track to the Coast, when we happened to overtake a man with a pack-horse going to some of the outstations. The most pleasing sight to us was a bag of flour on his pack. Ho was v asked to sell some to us as we had ' ■ £*u,} right out of iloilr and were starving for a bit of damper. His answer came very quickly, “Bo gorrah, I’m not afther packin’ • sixty miles over mountains and through rivers to sell it to you fellows, I tell J'\ n °l' f' lr sale,” and with that, “ />g his horso a touch of the whip, moved on. One of our,males snapped' hold of Aim,l,o«l „,ill~l 1.;

suiting the action to the word, commenced to unstrap~tho load. This was too much for our friend, who. pulling his jacket off, wanted to light any of us singly, threatening all sorts of vengeance when he got the chance. Taking no notice ol' this, our mate with the shooting iron in his hand, put on his fiercest look and ordered the damper dust to bo served out, each one taking so many pannikins full, and all tlio time our Hibernian friend was cursing us for robbers and everything that was bad. This partover, our mate still keeping up his savage look, spoke to the packer as follows: —“Look here old man, you’ve threatened a lot and you were a fool for doing so. Ye see we must protect ourselves ! Now what to do with you I hardly know, they say dead 'men tell no tales, and if we tied you up here and Toft you you mightn’t be noticed for a year or two, and you might catch cold you see.”

“Oeh! fur the love of heaven!” shouted the packer, “don’t do that, shoot me first.”

“Well, wo’vo been thinking seriously over the matter and have decided that tho sentence of this very high court is that for refusing to sell and using threatening language we condemn you to receive one shilling for every pannikin of Hour wo took from you, with the thanks of the court for giving it so cheap.” The effect of these words on the carrier was as good as a play to look at, first showing fight, then fear at the idea of being tied up or shot, he nearly fell down, but when tho sentence was fully given and the money placet! in his hands, he shouted: “Och! be the powers, I’m only sorry it wasn’t a ton” of tho same you were aftlier robbfn’ me of at tbe same price.” After this we continued out journey, leaving Pat. to continue his way rejoicing. It was a law amongst diggers, and a law seldom broken, that when anything in the way of tucker was refused after payment was offered, such as a sheep from a station owner or other necessaries, it could be taken, and the owner might- whistle for payment. Well, we got over the pass iroin Canterbury and safely across the treacherous- Teromakau. The next claim we took up was in Hokitika. A bend where the river had branched out into two, and wo were sure of good, payable gold being got there. We were doing first rate when, “diggers’ luck” again, a Hood came down covering the whole place, and nearly putting us past any more digging. We very luckily managed to place some provisions in the fork of a. tree, out of the way of the water, or we would have starved, as it was, we were for six weeks cut off from the rest of the world, and had to do the best we could on bacon and -flour—we had plenty of fresh water. It was bacon and damper for breakfast, damper and bacon for dinner, right through, till I felt I could never look a pig in the face again. Well, sir, this puts mo in mind of something. Ha! ha I lia! The very thought of which always makes mo laugh. I must tell you about a pig we once had. Wo were steering for one of the- rushes; when going through some fern-covered country, our dog bailed up a sow with a litter of young ones; we called off the dog, and I managed to catch one of the youngsters. I said, “Well, boys, wo’ll keep it till it’s fat enough, then he’ll make a nice roast.” Wc hadn’t far to go, so we carried the little beggar until we got to where wo pegged out a claim and built a shanty. We worked there for a good many months, and did fairly well. Mick, as we called the pig, had grown, and got in good condition, but somehow or other lie never got fat enough to tempt us to make a meal off him. We used to leave him and the dog, who were great friends, outside our hut when we went to our gold washing. At. times they -both followed us, Mick nearly always. On one occasion, however, just after we had laid in a fresh stock of provisions, we noticed that he had not shown up at all. The dog was there, but no sign of Mick!

When we went back to our shanty, we saw signs in plenty of him. I swear, sir, you never saw such a mess. The pig had rooted a hole under the house, and had sorted our tucker in a very thorough manner. He had tasted and tried everything within his reach. Such a mess you never saw! Butter (a great rarity), flour, sugar, tea, cheese, bacon, and I don’t know what beside, all in one beautiful mixture on the ground floor. Our chaps were raging mad, and I’m afraid if Mick had shown up just then he’d have got a knock that would have put an end to liis prospecting. But that pig was a born politician in his way, for 1 swear, sir, he never came near till he heard us all roaring with laughter. Then he came to the door, looking more like a miller or a baker than a decent x>ig. I saved his bacon that time; I couldn’t help but admire bis intelligence.

Another time, duing the night, it started hailing and raining something terrible. We heard the dog snapping and snarling in his kennel, and the pig squealing and grunting like anything. This concert went on for a long time, then all was quiet once more. In the morning, what do you think, we found the dog standing outside his kennel shivering like a leaf, and, I swear, sir, if the blamed pig wasn’t sleeping like a top inside. There was intelligence for you! Well, the worst part for us now was coming.

You must kuow that diggers, after slaving for a long time, especially when successful as we were, dearly love a good spree, by way of recreation, so we were off to town, which was about fifty miles away, the next day; and although we didn’t mind a dog following us, we drew tho line at a pig, however clever, doing the same thing. Wo made it up to give Mick a big feed in the hut, shut him in, and clear away as fast as we could. He’ll think wo are at the claim, and will he jolly well sold when ho can’t find us, was the general opinion expressed. This was done most successfully, and we were all laughing at having outwitted his pigship ; we were fully four miles away from our place, when what

few satisfied grunts, and followed on with the dog as cool as a cucumber. We decided thou to sell, or give him away at the first place we came to. This -happened to be a small accommodation house. Before getting our dinner we had made a bargain with the owner for him. Dinner over, wo once more made tracks, feeling quite a weight off'our minds, at having got rid of our triend so easily. Hut 1 toll you we were soon undeceived on that point; we hadn’t got as far away from him tis we did in our first attempt, when wo could just make out Mick’s melodious tones being wafted by the gentle breeze to our delighted ears. Wo stood and looked at each other almost spellbound for a minute or so, and then; well, if that pig could only have heard the remarks passed on his accomplishments, and tho warm wishes expressed for his future welfare, I think he would have turned back and walked with us no more. Mick was covered with mud, and had evidently rooted his way out again. Look here, boys, says one, thero’s no use trying to get rid of him to-night; let him rip, we’ll reach town to-morrow some time, and I guess I’ll fix him and his little capers. Upon my mate promising not to hurt him, I agreed. Being chief owner and greatest friend of Mick’s, I didn’t like the idea of our chaps killing him, he -seemed to me almost like ono of our party, and it looked as if ho meant to remain so. Wo reached the town at last, went to an hotel, left our swags and Mick at the same place. As capital always has its dignity to keep up, wo soon put off the digger’s smocks, and replaced them with up-to-date outfits, as becoming men of means. Wo were delighted to find that Mick’s imprisonment had been successfully accomplislied this time. Six o’clock came, and a big crowd for dinner, ladies and gentlemen, the rough and the refined, all had to take pot luck in those times. The dinner was about halfway through, our first decent meal for about eighteen months, when I.swear, sir, if there wasn’t tho pig again, fighting liis way from the kitchen through the door into tho diningroom, singing out his top notes all the time. Some of the ladies looked like fainting. I felt as if I were falling down a shaft. Mick, after running hero and there, sniffing and squealing, between one fellow’s legs, and again under some ladies’ petticoats (be was no respecter of persons) ,made straight for me, and with a grunt of satisfaction, came to a standstill, and pushing his greasy snout between the-rungs of my clnir, showed as plain as if he said so, I’ve found my master a't last-. I didn't acknowledge tl'.o ownership, hut fool of a fellow at the table asked out loud if I could tell him tho breed of my dog. The next day that pig was sold to a butcher as prime dairy fed! Ami I don’t think I’ve ever ate a bit of bacon or owned a- pig since.