Grandfather’s Yarns

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 12, 23 June 1894, Page 12

Grandfather’s Yarns

CHASLAND’S MISTAKE. HOW IT WAS NAMED. EYES LIKE A HAWK. THE ACHERONa IN BLIGH S O UN D. GOVERNOR GREY AT PORT CHALMERS. • (Contributed). No. W- (1° “ Grandfather, don’t you think that Chasland’s Mistake is a queer name to give a place,” asked Fred this evening, looking up from his atlas. “ No, I think it’s a very appropriate' name,” said ‘Grandfather; “and if you come here I’ll tell you how it came to be so called.” “ One day Chasland and some other men were coming along in his boat when they §aw what Chasland himself called a ‘power of seal ’ on this headland. But they had no salt with them, so they came down as fast as they could to Port William, where Tommy had left his salt. “ When they got to Port William they were very mysterious and would not say a word as to where they were going, for they thought they were going to do a big stroke. But when they got back to the place where they had seen the seal there was not one to he found. By degrees the story leaked out, hut it wasn’t wdse to say 1 seal ’ to Tommy for some time after that. So perhaps the name doesn’t seem queer to you now, Fred, that you see where the mistake comes in. He should have" killed the seal while he was sure of them, but he was afraid the skins would not keep till he got them down to the salt, for seal, skins are not like most skins, having ayood deal of fat about them, and the weather was .not good enough to risk drying them: ‘

“ Tommy was a Sydney half-caste, and like most of his race had wonderful eyesight. Talk about a- hawk! No hawk that ever flew had a, keener eye than Tommy. ! “ Once he was out; sealing in the Glory brig with a. Captain Swindles, and they were wrecked. on : the Chatham Islands/ ; They had a boat, and Chasland’declared that he’jd come to New Zealand in it. It \yas , only a small open boat named the Paramatta; and qf .course they ran a great risk iti going; that'distance. • ■ ■ ’ ’ • ■ “ However Captain' Anglbm and Captain Swindles agrbed to go with him. Tommy’s Maori wife Poona was with with him, and he tried to persuade her to stay with the others till the next sealing season, when he would come back for them. She wouldn’t say whether she’d stay or not, but when they launched the boat and were just setting off she ran out into the water after them,’up to her waist, and they had to take her. “ That woman was fond of Tommy, and no mistake; and he was just as fond of her. He Was a grand chap, too ; but a terror to drink. “ Tommy steered all the way from Chatham Islands till they were quite close to New Zealand, and one fine morning when there was very little wind bnt rather a heavy sea running* Captain Swindles offered to steer so that Tommy could have a sleep. “ So Ohasland gave, him the tiller; but he hadn’t had it a minute before he let a big sea come right over the boat, so Tommy got up again and never let go the tiller till they were safely landed at Moeraki. “ But they were anxious to get down to the Straits to catch a sealing vessel that would take them back to Sydney ; and so Tommy climbed a hill to see if he could see any sign of a ship about. While he was up there he happened to glance at the little Maori house they were living in, which was more than a mile away, and through the tiny window he saw Captain Swindles trying to kiss Poona. Chasland ran as hard as he could down to

the captain, add, to use his own language, ‘slapped his, jaws for him.’ He was awfully .anxious to leave Swindles there, but Captain Anglem begged him to take the fellow with them.. Tommy did it, but oh, he was wild !

“ Afterwards Tommy Chasland went round in the Acheron with Captain Stokes, the Marine Surveyor. One night they were going up Bligh’s Sound. Chasland was taking her up, and the Captain was on the bridge with his night glass. ‘ We’ll have to stop now, sir, and let down the anchor,’ said Tommy. ‘ Oh, no, Chasland, we’re not near the shore yet,” answered the captain. ‘ 1 tell you if she paddles another stroke we’ll be ashore,’ said Chasland ; .‘can’t you see that tree on the flat ?’ But the captain could see no thing,and would not give the order to stop, and in half a minute they had touched bottom ; so they had to back her off and anchor. Allthe midshipmen were up at daylight to see if there was any tree, as Chasland had said, and there, sure enough, was a tree standing alone on the flat. After that, don’t talk about the way they believed in Tommy Chasland’s eyes ! “ But really his eyesight was wTonderful. Once he and another Sydney black named Malby were on Codfish, and the people there were in a great state because a son of the Wakataupuka (Bloody Jack’s cousin) had died there, and they were afraid that the Maories would come and kill some of them as a kind of sacrifice — : as was their custom when anybody of note died. So they were all keeping a grand look out, expecting every day to see the Maories coming.

“One day Chasland said that he could see them ‘coming in canoes through the passage at Raggity. He and Malby counted them at that distance —about five miles off.

“‘There are eleven, Tommy,’ said Malby. ‘ You’re a liar,’ said Tommy. There are only ten:’ But Malby told him to look behind the fourth canoe, close, to the stern, and he’d see a small one, and so: he did. . “On came the canoes ; and when they got close to the beach the people sent Tommy Topi—a young' chief — to tell them not to land, as the Codfish people were armed ready to fight. ‘ What do they want to fight for ?’ enquired the W*akataupuka. ‘ Oh,’ said Topi,’ 4 they think you are going to, kill some of them because of your son’s death here.’ i ; ‘ Tin not" going to harm anyone,’ said the chief. “ ‘He would have died all' the. same if he’d been with me. We have only come to have a: 'iangi over himv • ■ : , /' “ And what a feast and jollification they did have, to be sure.. No one would imagine that, anyone, had died. Of course those related to the dead did not join in the general carousing. They supplied the food and all their neighbours ate till they couldn’t see, while the bereaved ones mourned and fasted for a certain time.

‘‘ Tommy Chasland’s great expression was ‘ By the hole of my coat,’ Drunk or sober, good-humoured or bad, Tommy did everything by the bole of his coat. What it meant I don’t suppose he knew himself; It was a queer thing to swear by, but his coat was often noticeable for its holes.

“ When the first man-o’-war came to Otago, Governor Grey was aboard. She was lying outside, and a number of the boats went out to her and the men went aboard;

“ The captain was on the bridge, and he called out, ‘ls there a man there that will pilot, Her Britannic Majesty’s ship into Port Chalmers ?’ Not a voice: answered, though there were two' captains aboard that had been used to going in and out. “ Tommy Chasland waited for a minute, and as there was no response to the captain’s offer of £2O or £3O (I don’t know exactly how much), ‘ By the hole of my coat, sir, I’ll take her in for you,’ said Tommy. “ ‘ Come up, then, my man,’ said the captain, with -a laugh, and up went Tommy, and took the vessel up to Port Chalmers.

They offered him "the position of pilot there, but lie would not take it, on the plea of being too bld, : but he really knew that he wasn’t to be trusted!, as whenever he had money he got drunk. Now, boys, that will do for to-night,” said Grandfather, and to-morrow I’ll tell you about some eaves I know of round the west side.”