Grandfather’s Yarns

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 8, 26 May 1894, Page 5

Grandfather’s Yarns

'THE FIRST SCHOONER IN THE NEW RIVER. SPHERING A CAPTAIN’S NOSE. (Contributed). No. "0> 7 “ Yes, yes, so I did, boys,” said this afternoon, when we told him that he had promised to tell ras about the first ship that ever came into the New River. “ There was nothing’ extraordinary about it, only that it was the first : ship that ever came up here, so I hope you are not expecting anything exciting,” he said. “Itwas in’37. We were whaling in shore parties then at the New Ifciver, and a schooner came in in Ilf arch with our casks and. a cooper from Sydney. The schooner’s name was the Sydney Packet. Of course we boarded her, and when she dropped her anchor and the sails were clewed up. Captain Bruce ordered the steward ~ta> bring up the grog, and treated all Stands. An Irishman belonging to -fee ship flourished his glass, citing — Here’s to Port Palmer and the River T^y!” “ You see the cunning fellow -thought that by saying this he would another glass, because Ned Palmer, a part owner, was aboard, : and Captain Bruce was a Scotchman, ,<so be named the river Tay out of com.jpliment to him. However, Paddy’s christening did not stand, as you ;/3kn.ow. “ The year before we were down in €£fcago (Dunedin) onboard the Sydney IFaxjket. One ‘day Captain Gatlin .csame to us for help. You see he had riiH his brig (The Genii) ashore in Hurakanui Bay. The sails were all set when it happened, in the dogwatch between six and eight in the -evening, but when she touched bottom instead of doing anything to try and .-get her off, he lowered the boat and '■merit off to Otago to try and get help, leaving the first mate in charge. When he got into Otago harbour he went first to Mr Weller, then to a brig ■trailed the Nimrod, and then he came the Sydney Packet- He wanted sill, the assistance he could get. The -captain of the Nimrod, and all men the cabin of the Sydney Packet, except Jimmy Katore and myself, •vnffeat with him. He had been rowing about in the harbour for over an hour . snxd then he stopped again to buy some grog, and then again to get a Keg of water. Jimmy Katore called emit to him—‘You’re a bright captain, 310 ix are, with a ship ashore, and here yan are fooling away the time, first getting rum and then yon get water ta cool your coppers, and very likely your ship is going to pieces all the lime.’ “ When they reached the place where the Genii went ashore not a thing was to be seen. They rowed about for hours, and when it grew Hark flashed lights about. The brig was safe enough. The mate, Bill Otilly, after the captain left, turned sill the water-casks, which were kept osi deck,.bung downwards and let the water run out. This lightened the ship %-ery considerably, and a breeze just then setting in from the land the ship soon floated off. Gully told me afterwards that he saw the lights but would not make any sign. He said ■±h&t if he had been able to navigate tins ship, or if there bad been a navisgator at all on board thej l- would not Have waited for the captain at all, bub liave gone straight to Sydney. Next caroming the Captain and others saw tshe Genii and boarded her. When dolly told them how he managed to get- her off, Captain Bruce said —‘You vaaast have been very careless to let Sber go ashore.’ ‘ Who said I let her .rga ashore ?’ said Kelly. ‘ Why, your esapfcain said so,’ answered Bruce. <Sbxliy never said another word but valent belew to the cabin where Captain d&tliu and all the others were. Goihg »p to the captain he said— 1 Did TffasL say that I let her go ashore in my

watch ?’ The captain could not deny it before so many who had heard him. Gully was mad with rage. He took hold of the unfortunate captain’s nose and wrung it. ‘ You scoundrelly liar,’ he said; ‘ you know well that you ran the ship on shore, and on purpose, too, you old villain.’ ‘ You see, gentlemen,’ turning to the others, ‘ Captain Catlin has made a very, bad voyage, and be is ashamed to go back to Sydney. All his crew that were on lay wages have deserted, and the present crew.are on monthly wages, so you see he would not have been sorry to lose the brig.’ This may have been so, but all the same when they went back to Sydney Gully Avas tried for wringing the captain’s nose, and he lost all his wages, and his lay as well, through it. Ca ptain Catlin was a very bad master. Three times he had his crew up for mutiny. “ I don’t understand what a lay is,” said Fred. '* Don’t you,” said grandfather. “Well, it is very easy to understand. If they had a lay, or a share, they got a certain amount of everything that was got. The lay was agreed upon before the voyage was commenced. Some had a fifteenth, others a twentieth, and so on. They worked for this instead of wages. If the voyage was a good one they all did well, and if nothing was made all the crew got no tiling. That year the Sydney Packet was to take us all down to Rhnapnka. As we were starting’ one afternoon, there was a head tide on, and the schooner missed stay. Ned Palmer called out to Bruce to try her again. He did, but she missed again, so they tried to veer her round. She was almost round, when her stem caught in the rocks, and she stuck. “ They lowered a little boat under the hows to try and put the warps in. to run out the kedge, but there was such a ripple bn that they were frightened of upsetting the small boat. There were a good many women aboard, and they were all frightened. My wife threatened to jump out and swim ashore. She was a good swimmer, but I knew she could not do that, so I got John Tobv, Harry Fife, and two others of my boat’s crew to help. We lowered a big 5-oared ‘boat belonging to Jim Brown, and we were off without being noticed by anyone. “ When I was coining back I could hear them saying to one another, ‘ Who took Jim Brown’s boat ?’ and when I Avent on deck the captain asked me why I took it, and told me I had no business to do so. I told him that I had told Jack Owens to come with his big boat to haul the Packet off, and that he and seven or eight men were coming at once. Then the captain changed Iris tune altogether, and thanked me for my thoughtfulness and promptitude. “ That was not really Avhat took me ashore, as I told you, but I thought I’d take the praise to myself, as the accident wouldn’t ha\-e happened only that the captain was rather oroo'irw and I thought that in his present condition he’d never get the schooner off, so I conducted myself as if I had done something very virtuous, when in reality the thought of bringing Jack Owens to the rescue only suggested itself to me when Ave saw his boat as Ave went ashore. “ Well, about nine men came in the big whaleboat and they soon hauled the Packet off, but it AA r as decided to anchor till morning. Ned Palmer Avas aboard, and he promised the men five gallons of rum for saving his ship for him. He got out of giving it to them that night by saying that it Avas not handy to get at. Now Palmer was a very mean man, and he intended to sneak off in the morning without fulfilling his promise if he could. “But the men knew him well enough, and they were determined to keep him to his word, and at daylight next morning, just as we Avere heaving up the anchor they came alongside. Captain Bruce gave them all a nip, and Ned Palmer told them he thought they had done very well — two nips the night before and one

tins morning. But they were not going to be done with so easily. They spoke very roughly to him about it, and called him all sorts of things. “ Then Jimmy Katore came to the rescue. ‘ Captain Bruce,’ said he, ‘ fill up these men’s keg and Til pay you for it, and if no one pays me, I’ll report you to the underwriters as soon as we get to Sydney, and then the insurance agent will pay me.’ “ He said all this to frighten Ned Palmer. You see, the Sydney Packet had been ashore several times, and neither Palmer nor the captain had reported it as they ought to have done, so if Spencer were to carry out his threat they would both have got into trouble. “ The men, when they got their grog, pulled off a little way and then tasted it, thinking that they might have been put off with water. When they found it was the real thing they gave ‘ three cheers for good old Jimmy Katore,’ and ‘ here’s luck to you, Captain,’ but as for Ned Palmer, they wished him something not worth repeating. We made a quick run down to Rhuapuka, and there we left the Sydney Packet, which went on to Sydney, and now, boys, there’s the tea-bell, so I can’t tell you any more just now.