NEW PUBLICATION!

Southland Times, Issue 1228, 25 March 1870, Page 3

NEW PUBLICATION!

SOMK ACCOUNT OF MT TRIP TC NEW BITER FERRY, In the year 1870. Br Jbbbjoah Fusbos, D.T>., A.S.S. [N.B. — All rights of reproduction and translation are reserved by the Author.] CHAPTEB I. Shortly after daybreak on the morning of the 14th February, 1870 (that day of all days to the juvenile portion of the fair sex) we, that is to say, Patrick Maboney, Robert Barns, John Seefer, "William Slooombe, aud my worthy self, after humping our smogs (I think you have had the literal meaning of this bush phrase given you in a late eiiition of your contemporary) as far as the jetty, we found the tidy little craft, which had been chartered by 'myself for the voyage, and owned by j Captain West, late of the Lprdy Clyde, ■ chafing its sides against the piles — -which j you know are placed there to support the aforesaid jetty — evidently as eager to start on this dangerous enterprise as myself. I may mention here that Captain West wanted to join our party, to which, of course, I demurred, it being my intention from the first to be Boss (another bush phrase), both on sea and land. Besides, John Seefer (who, for the sake of brevity, I Bhall for the future call Jack) being a sailor-man, and, as he facetiously observed, A 1 at' Lloyds, stated that as he could reef, hand, and steer a craft of these dimensions, viz., balf-a-ton register, himself, and in any weather, to save complications I felt compelled to decline the honor of Capt. West's company, promising, however, that should anything turn-up (except the boat) . from the expedition, such as a goldfield, a coalfield, &c, &c., I would lay him on. ~ Well, after seeing all our dunnage — as Jack called it— safely stowed away, all hsoAscat-headed (curious phrase, isn't it ?) the anchor, when I gave orders to set the main sail and jib, which were duly accomplished, my lads giving three cheers, whether for Capt. West or myself, I could not make out.) The wind, which bad been blowing through the night from the N".|E., suddenly chopped to the N,|W., which of course is only one point, but even one point is something to gain sometimes, when I immediately ordered Jack to get ready to jibe the sail. Putting the helm hard-a-lee, to assist Jack in the operation, I experienced, as I thought, a slight shock of earthquake, followed by a crunching, grinding sort of noise. Im* mediately the man on the look-out, > Patrick Mahoney (who I shall call Pat for the future), shouted out, " Breakers I a-head, by jabbers." " I'll break your head, Pat, if you don't get out quick and shove her off," said. l, for, sure enough, we had run foul of one of those, sandbanks bo abundant in our harbor. Poor Pat, who was anything but a bad sort of fellow, was overboard in a minute, and, with the assistance of Jack, Bob, and Bill, aided with two oars, and the sprit, which I ordered to be taken out of the sail, succeeded in getting once again into the channel. I hat, which, although not an expensive, was a new one, having lately purchased it at Mair and Q-arven's shop in Deestreet, and not being blessed by Providence with a very luxuriant crop on the top of the cranium, I should have felt great inconvenience, not to say anything of the danger of a stroke of the sun (coup-de-soleil), the heat of the weather being excessive at that time. It happened in this way. After having ordered Jack to get ready to jibe the vessel, and the helm had been put a-lee, two birds started out of the rushes (wi-wi-wi) contiguous to where our craft ran aground." My attention (being a naturalist) was at once directed to the said birds, which I found, upon close examination through my fieldglasses, to be two black swans (Nigroque similima Oygnd). I had scarcely uttered the classical term of same (of course to myself) when I received a blow, the geiration of which is almost indescribable, being between garroting and burking, or half-strangling, half-smothering feeling, which I had to endure for at least a minute and a half, as the more I floundered about the more entangled I got, until my situation being observed for'ard, Jack hastened to the rescue, and, after some trouble, succeeded in extricating me from the painful position, having, as Jack said, three round turns of the main sheet tightly compressing the throat, and the same number of folds of canvas, entirely closing the orifice, called by Jack the " tater trap." TJpon getting once again free from all incumbrance, I found that my" hat {j>otae\ r was missing. After searching all over the vessel, Pat, who was on the look-out, observed it floating out to sea about 6 fathoms ahead of the vessel, being ebb tide, and could scarcely be restrained from having a swim af ter~ it. We soon came up to it, and it was just as Pat was in the act of picking this unfortunate hat from the briny that we ran ashore. When again fairly under weigh, everything went on smoothly. Jokes passed, and all hands laughed heartily at the little .contretemps, and, as Bill said, all hoped that the old proverb of a bad beginning making a good ending, and vice versa, would be exemplified in our case. TJpon looking at my chronometer, I found it was just eight bells (12 noon). At the same time, Bob, who had taken the look-out watch from Pat, sung out— " Bed buoy ahead !" " Where away, ?" Jack exclaimed. " Starboard bow ; half-a-mile off!" lat once made up my mind to moor our vessel to this floating beacon, Sipe all hands to dinner, and wait the ret of the flood. {To le continued.)