Grandfather’s Yarns.

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 26, 22 September 1894, Page 10

Grandfather’s Yarns.

(All Bights Reserved).

AH’ OLD - TIME SNOW - STORM. BILL GAYLEY AND THE YANKEES.

SOME GRUESOME SIGHTS. No. 2¥. I

“ Grandfather, it’s snowing hard,” cried Jack the other day in a delighted‘tone ; “do come and see.” “So it is, my boy,” answered Grandfather. “It just reminds me of the heavy fall of snow we had in Otago in ’36 v It lasted for three days, snowing day and night. It was the heaviest fall of snow I have ever seen in New Zealand. “ I remember it was at its worst on the 4th of July. There were three Yankee whalers in Otago then —the Columbus, the Martha, and the Mechanic —besides a Sydney whaler and our two large shore parties. “ All of us went up to Mr Weller’s to help the Yankees to celebrate the glorious Fourth, and we did have some fun, too —snowballing, singing, dancing, and carousing to our heart’s content.

“ My boat steerer, Bill Gayley, sang a song that none of them ever heard before, called the ‘ American Star.’ It was ridiculous to see the Yankees’ delight —they jumped as if they were mad. Gayley had to sing it again and again, and they nearly all wrote out a copy of it. “No mistake Gayley had a magnificent t voice—so powerful, yet so wonderfully sweet. He used to sing the Grimaldi songs splendidly. I believe he was offered large sums of money to become a professional singer, b\it he always refused. “ I don’t know who Gayley originally was, for, unlike most of the men, he never mentioned his early life, but I am sure he was a gentleman by birth. He was awfully fond of telling about when he was captain of the forecastle on board the .Royal Sovereign in the battle of Algiers. I’ve gften heard him wax eloquent about the attack they made one afternoon. They fired a broadside of grape shot on the natives ashore, and before the poor wretches had recovered from their astonishment thousands of them were killed, and presently the water running past the ship was the colour of blood.

“ The Algerian guns were cemented in, otherwise, if they could have elevated or lowered them, they could have sunk the men-o’-war. As it was they fired on the Royal Sovereign and knocked two of her ports into one, and she would have been sure to sink but that the Admiral signalled another ship to go and take some of the fire off her. Next morning the Admiral sent his first lieutenant ashore with a flag of truce (and here Gray ley generally melted into tears) ; he was received by the enemy with no great pleasure. ‘Couldn’t King George have serlt me anything better than a beardless boy ? f he was asked. ‘Oh,’ replied the lieutenant, ‘ if he thought you wanted something with a beard, no doubt he’d {have sent you a billy goat !’ l “‘ No insolence,’ growled the old Turk, ‘or I’ll put you into one of those guns and fire you off.’ ‘Do,’ said the lieutenant, ‘ and, see those ships out there ? Well, they’ll make me a grand funeral pile.’

“ However, after the Christian slaves were freed a good number were brought on board the Royal Sovereign. Gayley said he never in all his life saw such a pitiful sight. Plenty of them had their tongues cut out, and there were all more or less disfigured with hard work and ill-usage. “ Poor old |Bill Gayley, he was neyer tired|of going over and over his; life in the Royal Sovereign. His singing was a real treat, though'; many’s the time he sang a glass of grog all round out of the skipper of the old ship’s company. I’ve seen

Mr Weller when he was dying draghimself out of bed for the sake of hearing Bill sing. “ Grandfather,” said Bertie, “ I can’t get over that poor boy you told us about that was hanged. How could you go and see him p” “It was just habit, child, I sup-, pose; hanging was so common ; in. those days that one thought no more of looking on than you do now when you see a drunken man dragged off to the police station. “ I was only about seven when I first saw a hanging case. My father made me go to see it. All children went in those days; it was thought to be a warning to them not to do the thing. For it is not the love of good but the fear of the consequences of evil that keeps the criminal class down ; so my father always said. “ There were nine men hanged that morning ; there had been ten connected with the crime—a brutal murder and robbery —but one man; turned King’s evidence, and escaped. “ They were taken out in a bullock cart to Cascade—a place about two miles out of Hobartown. They sang hymns all the way out. They were followed by crowds of people. “Before this all the hanging,had been, done on a tree, but now for thefirst time a gallows was erected. Some of them were Romanists, and‘ they had a priest there as well as parson Bedford. It was dreadful tohear some of them praying, and crying. and calling on their God for mercy

“ It was a terribly harrowing scene,, and it sank deep into my childish heart. For weeks and months I could think of nothing else, and it was .ever before my mind’s eye. One after the other they were hanged. They all died characteristically—• some feigning indifference, and' running laughing up the steps, qthers sullen and morose, and others .again thoroughly unnerved and hysterical,, screaming, struggling and crying.

“ At last the last man’s turn came j; he was a huge, burly, red-headed man. As he swung out the rope broke, and he fell to the ground. The hangman ran round and picked the fellow up quite unhurt. Then Major Bell, who was [standing by, put spurs to his horse and galloped into town to ask the Governor for a repineve ; the Governor seemed inclined to grant it, but his wife (Mrs Sorell) would not hear of it. “ While Major Bell was away a dead silence reigned on all the assembled crowd, till the clatter of horse's hoofs was again heard again, and the suspense was over. The fellow made no sign, but accepted his fate with stolid indifference. The rope did not break a second time ; but the drop fell, and killed a dog that was standing under it* A moan ran through the crowd. The bodies were put into the bullock cart and taken back to Hobartown for burial. I remember then clinging to my father, sobbing and trembling with grief and horror. The man who had turned King’s evidence had a dreadful time of it; the boys, and even the men used to stone him, and he had to leave the place, for fear of his life.”