THE ADVENTURES Bullocky Bill.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 432, 28 December 1889, Page 5

THE ADVENTURES Bullocky Bill.

By W.-W. EARL;, Kihiiciri, Thamks.

NE of the atatiori hands at my father's, place in the North is , an old man-of-war'sman called ♦Bullocky Bill.' Ho used to drive , the bullock team, but age and infirmities left him only tit to cook for the hands and do odd jobs about the homestead. 'Nearly fifty, years ago Bill was a * powder .monkey' on board H.M.s. Hazard, lying in .the ' Bay iof Islands, in the time of Hekes war.' There were' 'stringent regulations prohibiting the ship's boys, whose duties w«re connected with gun-powder, from smoking. The * Hazard' was at work firing occasional cannon shots at the Maoris whenever a group of them appeared within range. Bill was' discovered taking a sly whiff of his pipe, while on duty, was severely rope'sended and" mast-headed for four hours. From His elevated position he could sco much 5 that was going -on ashore, at the time the natives were sacking the town of Russell. He was much struck with the bravery and 'wonderful coolness of the Maoris". One brawny, naked fellow ho saw was carrying on his ( ,baek a large sack of flour, which, he "was taking to his canoe on the beach/ A six-pounder canon ball trom the Hazard struck the sack of- flour and blew it in a cloud about the Maori's ears. Putting his fingers to his nose, in the elegant fashion learnt from Europeans, the Maori went back and fetched another sack, with- which amidst shot after shot from the Hazard's six-pounders he paddled out of range, Struck with admiration at the pluck of eriemy,'and boiling with indignation at the punishment he had just received, Bill swore "to himself lie would desert and turn Maori. That same night, during the second watch, he slipped quietly overboard and swam for the shore. . A few bullets from the ship's sentries flopped harmlessly in the water around him. When he got ashore he was instantly seized by a Maori sentry, and two grim warriors were told off to take him before tho great chief Hdani Heke. ' With the aid of a missionary native, who could speak a little English, he gave Heke to understand that he had deserted from his 1 ship and wished to fight with the Maoris. The great chief, Heke, looked at him for a' moment with intense disgust ; suddenly he squirted a mouthful of tobacco juice straight into Bill's eyes' and ordered the warriors to take him out of his sight. Heke evidently . had a strong dislike to traitors. The next day Bill \vas sent inland in charge of an armed party, to the Maori stronghold of Ruapekapeka. Here he was eniployed casting bullets and making cartridges for the ■ use of the Maoris, for which purpose lar^e quantities of lead and stores of gunpowder had been brought from Russell. At Ruapekapeka nearly all the people consisted of women and children and ' old men, all the young warriors having gone to the front to fight. Bill tried his best to acquire a smattering of the language, in which he was greatly assisted by apretty Maori girl named Mere Mengakeia, who had taken a gieat fancy to Bill. For some months Bill had a very rosy time of it, but at length the Maoris, after making a gallant utand at Omapere Lake nnd Ohaewai, fell back on the fortress, Kuapekapoka, where they were soon bes'eiged by the British troops. When Bill .saw the place surrounded by soldiers and eailors from the ships he know that he must soon 'fall into the hands of his countrymen, to* dangle by the neck at a ship's yard-arm : for 1 deserting. Aided by Mere he was determined to make an attempt to escape from' the pah, in which he succeeded.' > : Guided" by Mere, he got safely through ' the British lines, and succeeded- in reaching 'Keikhoe. ' While he was at Keikhoe news 'reached* the < village- that Kuapekapeka had fallen into the hands of the Ensr'glish"and many brave warriors had been slain. A greafc'tangi'took place, and the grief stricken multitude suddenly deter1 mined to kill BilKand cook him, as a part : of their great feast in memory of the dead. -Poor Bill gave- himself up for lost, and already imagined his limbs swimming in gravey before the 'hungry 'Maoris'. In,Jbhis great emergericj Mere, Kis sweetbaart, was at her wit's end how to save Bill's life. Mere's father was a, great Tohunga, or priest, and she implored him to use his influence oh Bill's behalf, but all that Marake could do was to make Bill tapu, ho that the Maoris could neither kill nor eat him. This did nob, ' however, save him. Close by. the village is a high volcanic mountain palled Putahi, at the top of. which is a deep,' da,rk, bottomless crater, in which the Maoris.are accustomed to this day to bury their dead. I This .mountain and. burialplace are consequently tapu, andthe Maori ; being, determined to get rid. of Bill, ' and being debarred by the tapu from killing and eating hun, determined, as he was tapu and holy, that he' should be buried alive in the tapu mountain. ' ' , With great pomp and ceremony and \ amidst the lamentations of Mere, Bill was ' conducted , to : the tqp of ,the. mountain, a; where, tfoe great concourse of Maoris danced a wild war dance. After binding Bill with i flax c to a sheet of, bark they slid him down the Crater into the bowels of the mountain. 'Bilt having* heard somethjmg' of volcanoes i expected",to find himself .engulfed in molten lava; but to his agreeable surprfse it was only a plunge, after a terrific fall, into a dark.pool of warm water. After swimming for a few r minutes his feet a rock . on which > he was able to < stand and take stock, of bis surroundings. It' was pitch dark down there', and looking" up'through the vast height which he had fallen^ the great aperture at the top looked -like a small looking-glass. His bonds of flax and the bark had been ripped 1 off j during .hia descent?,'- so ha< was free to '" help himself if any mode of escapecould be found. Being a sailor he did not 1 despair { at' fir'eb'of'*' being' 'able' to* r 6cramble up the rugged Bidee of the crater,' butafter numerous futile attempts,' ending always in atfall • 'rind & plunge, he gave up the idea' of climb•'ingotft.^ -« r *<-'- .^ '> ■ <-" ">'• * " X,'[ f ,*F;il^d, 'wijh^disrjftir jkei 'swam", round )ahd, Wicl 'round .the pool .like' a rat/ihV,tub, ■;'- of, watery sninjy atfce'mpti.ng*^|) gWout. , Afcj '■ oi. the water.. ,j .Swimming boldly '^n' he, '.Quickly JP^p^mmseirjn an utiae-Jgirouh^ channel. .jalong wmch.hecqnt^nuedto swim for several hours', dccasionallyjcatching hold" of thorough g^dea oi the' :i cavern v to'get a rest.' 'At leffgWhis eye3 ! were dazzled by, a ''n b drii^r"6f 'WS^htf ''points' Sparklin g' like , <Uam6h.de atim'i distance, in front of^bira. ' 1

•Striking out wi , all his might those bright specks .soon .grew larger, until, they proved to be the bright light of the blessed sun .shining through a network of foliage which hung , over the mouth tof a cavern* out of which Bill floated on to the broad bosom of Omapere Lake, which lies at, the base of Futahi. All $he,rest of Bill's adventures sink into insignificance and, are scarcely worth relating when .compared "vj^bh the above remarkable incident. Old Bill now sits smoking his pipe on the stops of the men's hut, in view of Mount Tutahi, and when he talks; about his adventure he ends up with the order, } Aye, aye, Master Will, when I flips my bloomin' cablo yous will bury my old hulk adovn fchab bloomin' mountain.'