In the Taranaki Back-blocks.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1920, Page 1 (Supplement)

In the Taranaki Back-blocks.

IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUNNY WARITU. ' (Written for the News, by ' ; C.S.L.) "Behind the glory of God,'' or at the back of beyond, is where you'll find this ranch. It k situated at the head of a wide valley, the house being built on a terrace, and converging at this point, other valleys cross and recross each • other, among the foothills. As far .as jhe eye can reach the hills are cleared? with clumps of shelter bush here and there. But climb the point behind the house on a fine, frosty morning and a glorious panorama opens out; range upon range of forest hills-sweep to the wide rim of the horizon, where as sentinels stand the four .great) mountains—Egmont, Tongtvriro, Euapehu and Ngaruhoe, with misty spaces, indicating the sea, between. As the station ditty has it:— T've seen the l.akes of Killarney, And 1 tell you 'tis no blarney, That their beauty is no patch on ■■ The valley of the sunny Waritu; So if you love a pleasant vallev, With its free unfettered ways,' • And you've nothing else to do" Pack up your portmanteau And visit this sweet valley in The sunny Waritu." "JUST AS YOU LIKE." And if yon ride up to the gate and cooee, very likely the louseabout will appear. "Are the family at, home?" "Just as you like," with a wide grin. Glancing at the house with its open doors and windows you most decidedly ''like." "Shall I leave my horse .here?" ".lust as you like." And starting up the path you fling behind you a "solong," and "just as you like," follows amiably after. But if by chance you had dismounted some miles away at Rewa vo'u would find that Peter Christiansen,"its owner, has three *ons, No. 1, Peter Christian, No. 2, Christian Peter, No. •'!, Peter Christian Peter. No brain fag here, you see. But here we are at the door'of the ranch house—comfortable, roomy and up-to-date, with its patent gas-light and hot-water service. And right here you'll meet Jack Smith. Everywhere you go you find/ Smiths crop up". One remembers the old chestnut: An old lady walking down Fourteenth street in New a huge sign painted on one the buildings, "The Smith Manufacturing Company," "Ah," she said with a deep sigh of satisfaction, "I always wondered where all the Smiths came from." But the Smiths I've met have l ever been straightforward and manly fellows, every one of them. A REAL CAPTAIN COOKER. • i And after dinner, on the terrace, [ your pipes drawing well, .Tuck will tell | of an adventure of his. He had gone I to a distant, part of his run, where he i had nome 'lmshfallors "at work, and they complained that the wild piss they depended on W ment had all'decamped. Next, morning, starting homewards | across the clearing, he saw a solitary | sow rooting busily at the fern. Glanc- I ing round, and deciding that the pig was on' its wild lone, he carefully" I stalked it, and when near enough, his I sheath knife (which every bushraan carries) soon hamstrung it'. He was just about to cut its throat, when a loud snort sent him hot foot for the fiMtut giuap in tight, ARftawly j

' missing the infuriated charge of *& ' enormous boar— a real old Captain 1 Cook.. The animal tried again Mft t again to climp the stump, but » fctoK i from Jack's heavy watertight DOOtj would send it off. The boar was tr£ ; mendouely persistent, and kept at the ; same game all day, never moving fat 1 enough off for Jack to make a data fo» j liberty. When he was thoroughly f*f» i gcd out from this clog dancing ttant a shot was heard near by. The bosh- , Callers were shooting birds, and this ; made the bonr go off at top speed, and i Jack limped back to the camp. > One pig story led to another, and an j object on a near-by hill, which on an to* 1 spection through field glasses proved to j be a pig calmly sleeping with its, back '• to the side of a cow lying down, was 1 pointed out as corroboration ol the i story. A farmer with his tea billy (a 71b t syrup tin) in his band, ran into a mob-of i young sucking pigs. They scampered 08 t save one, which for safe "conveyance tras i put in the tin. Reaching home, the; pig was put -in a box, and the tin filled i with fresh drawn milk from the cow. The young pig, ravenously hungry, drank I the lot, and then was again popped lftto i the tin, into which it fitted as cosily a* before. "Since that time," said .the ! host with a twinkle in his eye, "that pig follows the cows around, and there . he is." > MAIL TIME. * I But wait for mail day in the bush. It , is the chief event of the week. Every- ) body round the ranch has been working at full speed trying to get all thechores done before the mailman's arriviff. Before he's well off his horse the marl-bag is rushed in and sorted, ,snd' the contents distributed. The boss picks out the last Daily News. If there is any,, news tremendously intereVting, (inch a* ■the aeroplane accident in New Plymouth, it is read aloud, and everybody presses round to read the A "few min- ' utes spent in remarks, and silence reigns again. Yes; it is the halcyon hour. Then after tea, a general interchange of news takes place. The men discuss the stock prices, whilst the women pass around their letters and peep at the serial stories in the weeklies, and happiness—ihough it sometimes throws deep shadows, too, at some untoward regrettable happening in the outside "world— reigns . supreme. ' TRUE DEMOCRACY. You'll find in this little kingdom of VYaritu the true democratic spirit. The men are always very keen on the boss getting a better price for his fats than the next fellow, and when they are away for their holidays they'll brag about 'our valley" and "our stock" to further orders. Often contractors for the various f«nc- . ing and bushfalling jobs bring their wives with them to do the cooking. One such woman was not the dazzling success she might have been. Every night her husband would ask, "What pudding is there, Martha ?"'and she would always reply: "No pudding, John; only rice." And when the rice remains and the cold potatoes were fried together for breaklast, the disgust of the gang was profound. r ( Very likely it was this same young some described who, when told off to kill a sheep for some Maori shearers, slaughtered an ancient ram. The Maoris were very pleased at the fine big carcase until it was cooked. Said Matanga, the rook: "By korry, the first day we tew (stew) tew and tew; no blooming good—too tuff; next day, tew, and tew, and tew—break yiur blooming teef; t'ird dav -tew and tew. By 1 Vry-tender as tikin (chicken)!" But "shadow and shine" is life and *he ranch has its deep tragedies, too' Not far away an old pioneer was working away clearing his run. He was quite alone Sp ittmg open a giant rimu trunk one day ins liana got jammed as the wedges slipped. No aid was near He was entirely helpless, and so he s | o wlv died. • But as all good thing, come to an'end. you return to civilisation with the last the station ditty ringing i„ your "Sometimes the lads are out There's a Captain Cook about But the boss will always ola'dlv welcome you. J And the boys are full of fun When their day's work i„ ( i on e_ i But Captain Cook with haricot- . " lon 11 wish yourself in Jericho Or *|iiKttin» round a camp lire' eating Irish stew. laimg In the dear old «u]| Vi In the rum old gully' ' Wit "i; U " Sil > v ' ; .-liimney all ' fn ,, |he t i y °"« , ' r0, * ~ob," »'v.. I" Die gully in the valley In the dear old valley In l he sweet old valley * J