The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1881.

Kumara Times, Issue 1479, 24 June 1881, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1881.

The following little incident relating to an old well-known West Coaster, and told by one, appears in the G. R. Argus this morning “ I met Mr King (formerly a night waiter at Gilmer’s Hotel,

also at WOstlandj and for whom Mr Bevan gave his first lecture), on the very day he received the money realised at that lecture, for which he expressed himself very gratefnl. He told me that he learnt the blind language in a week, and that he could find his home from any part of Melbourne without a guide, about a mile away. He looks exceedingly well in health. He also told me one incident which happened him not long ago. Mr Jobes and Mr Tonks, from Greymouth, paid him a Visit at his residence. Mr Jobes remarked that his place was well adapted for fort-ls; Strange to say some two or three days afterwards a waggonette came to his house fitll of fowls and one or two bags of wheat, and the man persisted in leaving them there, Saying they were for a blind man ; and he has ever since been inquiring for their owner ; but he tells me that he sells the eggs because they would get rotten, and he could see within a nicety how many eggs the fowls would lay to-morrow, although he is blind.” The Ross Advocate regrets to state that there are still several very severe cases of diphtheria raging in the town. On Tuesday evening last one case Was nearly terminating fatally. The patient, however, rallied and is, we are glad to say, getting better. The Baimsdale (Victoria) paper publishes a letter written by Mr George Bames, of Christchurch, to his father, in the course of which he says “ My luck in not going by the Tararua is something wonderful, I went from Christchurch to go in her, and waited all day to sail in her until twenty minutes to six in the evening when one of my mates here asked me to pay his fare to Melbourne and he would come with me. I put my hand in my pocket, saying that I had but £6, thinking I had £ls, viz., a £lO and a £5-note—-but to my surprise I paid away the £lO note for £1 note at the bank for the draft I was taking home with me, and as I had not paid for my passage I intended coming to the Bank, seeing after the cash, and going by the next train to catch the steamer. But I was delayed so long that I missed her, lost the £lO note, and saved my life. That was the best spent money I ever parted with since I was born. Had she gone anywhere near the time advertised, I assuredly should have been in her. Two of my mates said she would sink as soon as I told them of the loss of the money. Of course this and other such like sayings go for what they are worth. If Mr Barnes or Mr any-body-else had been on board, his presence, his actions, or the actions of others influenced by his movements, might have in scores of ways so affected the conduct of the officers of the ship, that attention to duty instead of negligence at that particular time may have caused the vessel to go in her proper course, and the Tararua be marching on the ocean waves to this day. An Indian trader and a Sydney bootmaker (says “Spectator”) were the most prominent of Mata’s supporters for the Adelaide Cup when he stood at 100 to 15. A New Zealander backed him later on to win several hundreds at 100 to 30. A week before the races he was first favorite at 3 to 1, Progress standing at 5 to 1. From reports to hand it would seem that while many knowing ones fancied him in it, few tipsters gave him a place. When Laycock was in Paris he wanted a pair of gloves. On entering a shop to make the purchase, the tradesman politely requested him to call again in a week. “Mais pourquoil” inquired the'aquatic hero. “Yell, sare, I’ave none one ’alf large enough. I vill kill a kid to-morrow and make you a pair. Zat is eef I can find a kid beeg enough.” In regard to the appetite of Chang, the Chinese giant, who visited Dunedin some years ago, the National Republican, Washington, has the following:—“For breakfast, when he was feeling well, he drank a large pot of coffee, a pitcher of milk ; he eat three pounds of steak, two good-sized trout, half-a-dozen hot rolls, with a few etceteras thrown in, and a lot of fruit to taper off with. Mr Chang always emerged from these dietetic contests smiling. The landlord felt relieved when Mr Chang had taken his departure. He was a very pleasant quiet guest, but £1 4s per day does not, as a rule, balance his table performance.” The Cromwell Argus reports a fatal accident which occurred at a sluicing claim at Moke Creek on Friday last, by which a miner named Thomas O’Kane lost his life. It would appear the claim was not being worked for a few days consequent orr the frosty weather, and the deceased took a walk from his hut to look round. His mates noticing his not returning at a time

they thonght he should, went towards the claim, ond found that it had caved in from all sides. At once the thought struck them that he might be under the stuff, and of coui’se lifeless. They promptly turned the wateT on from the dam, sluiced the stuff away, and found pool* O’Rane’s body in due course, dead, sllghly bruised about the arms and head. His body was at once taken into Queenstown, where an inquest was held. A writer in a Melbourne contemporary says : —Up at Muddleditch the police sergeant acts as clerk of Petty Sessions. The other day he asked in Court for an almanac, in order to find out what day of the week and month “this day week” would be. On being asked whether a remand for eight days would be a remand to that day week, he thus oracularly delivered himself ‘ 1 Eight days is eight days with civilians, but in the eye of the law seven days is eight days : so a remand for eight days is always filled up with nine days !” This settled the question.