ANECDOTES OF THE LATE

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1003, 18 February 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

ANECDOTES OF THE LATE

.AN (OVERFLOWING'HOUSE,;-':' v-' | ' "I'wasengaged by a Manager fora (our in{ 'the mining towns'ifi'Siefra Nevada 1 ; l 'bu'sihess,j as a inle, in these small places was'remuiierat-j iiig. ;'The ! pebple ; iv'ei i e rough,'g'obd-heaftsd, I but given.; l alher' to quarrelling j' ! at no time j Was it safe to refuse'a' r liquor,'' I discovered, j 1 Difficulties'' 'avoided,' 1 they'-we're■ pleasahtj people to get on with, At Ofoville-we witness-' ed one of the, periodical floods 'that visit the; hilly district; -'On'-'bur thiid'day set in' one ofj the autumn rains. Familiar'asThad been to tropical falls; before saw such.a per-; sistent downpoiir.: . For! ! four,;days one in-i creasing cascade of water descended,: TrieThealreibe'ing situated'in the-.valley .was-un-j approachable on the first night;: The next! mornii.ig the wates had risen to the stage, andj by night, all appearance of a building was sub-! merged. The Theatre and i)s stock of sceneryj and my dresses stored.Uiere had.vanished,en-] lively, The waler, now crept up. the. hill andj invested our luitel. By degrees we were driven' fi.omtlie ground .flour upstairs, till the whole; of the household had to reside in the garrets.; Fortunately for. us,'(he'.water.'did not'.rise! liightr, and in.a day' or two rapidly subsided,; As soon as, it ; uys safe I accompanied, the' ALnidgcr (a native of Dublin), to the Theatre,: All was desolation and liquid mud,' "Ahi: Mr. bi|lou,"said he, "look at the state of the: Uiaina now.,, Wlio.ilie devil would believe'a; filciiiivger.eoiild be ruined by overflowing houses ?" It was a sorry jest, and it brought pour consolation."

.A BENEFIT, . ; -,.-..-.; " Our calamity from the floods brought in lots of sympathy and troops of friends.,, In a 1 fcrdays the miners, held a meeting,' and organised a subscription and a complimentary] benefit for. our losses. These rough; generous fellows' were not only considerate.; but sympai thetic in their benevolence. • All appearance of charity was carefully .excluded from their .programme,,, They printed bills, sold tickets, 1 and improvised a stage with table's .'end' bed-: curtains in the large room'of the hotel,which could not accommodate one-tenth of the audH ence at' a.tirne.; A .constant relay of- visitors occurred every quarter of an hour, and many saw nothing of the performance; but good humour prevailed,;aiid plenty of drink; few,' except the ladies, being sober either before or! behind'the' curtain,, the ''Hibernian ! finishing (fie'last act'of Stultety'in front of; thd 'bar,' which effect, though'novei, did hot iin-j .prove the termination of .'Tbe'.Gamesler,'' 1

■•• THE FLATHBADS.';■•-.' ' i Dillon visited professionally all the English- , speaking parts of the globe, ' To' his'visit to Astoria, Washington 'Territory 1 ;, he often jocui larly alluded, : " I travelled," said; Dillonj '." through' heavy rains to Astoria, and on my arrival learnt that,no vessel would leave for New Zealind for five .weeks, ■• To 'my dismay I also learnt there was ho'hotel'or other place of accommodation' for slrangeis in thelown', • the 'city' consisting of a large, lumber shed and some huts for the workmen,' To the kindness' of the foreirian'of these workslwas ultimately |. indebted 1 for the only" shelter available^— a log hutsomedis'tancein the'woods, the proprietor of which liad re'cenllybeeri found murdered dh'his Way home.''On laking'poss'essibn • the friendly foreman gave me this advice":--,; 'This is a rouglilbcatipn,'this is : ; every'.'nun j has got to take'ea're of himself, he has;''don't I quarrel;-' don't go out unarmed; and, abov£ all, give -thcrn. '"'Flathead Injuns. "' irwide berth,'' Theciisse's are more given'to robbing and murdering.than swopping goods in Iradej, Yon keep a sharp look oul,' ! I followed'this advice, and ' looked out' So carefully that. I seldom showed my hose outside tlte'doon One day I resolved ,to inspect ray wardrode", and save it from the damp. - I spread out in. glittering array the gorgeous.appareli of .the. Shakespearian drama to air, and was regarding .the brilliant colours with some.,professional pride,: when .the opening,that did duty tor a window, was,suddenly obscured,: and, J looking up, I beheld one of the ' dangerous:cusses' I had been warned against—a Flathead Ipdian; My first impulse was to look for' the poker!; 'ray second not to find it, for I observcd'niy red brother had both'knife and tomahawk about him, and visions of a coroner's inquest unpleasantly obtruded, in which I might form the subject of inquiry. Dismissing all thoughts of violence; I grinned and nodded tothe savage : ih response to his astonished looks'and gult-ir-. aladmiration. Wc mutually grinned,;noddcd, and grimaced at each other for some time, but I Soon perceived that this was not satisiyirigtp the untutored child of the woods, His, acquisitive right hand clutched to possess my finery, whilst his,left coquetted' with Kis knife in a' way suggestive-of .'a'surgical operation,'" To ; put an end to this embarassing'position', I

'^iiiiljihed'aifeW(ld , bslrich;fia^er--iiJp l , iantfgal/d'it'HiihV' 11 'Willi ayeil : of;ileli'gl\jp.. , bouMd away'ihfbthe woods;'and j*; 1 ginrjihg'to'congfatu|ate myself tipbri'my finesse iti so easily pelting 1 rid ! b£' him 'when'a'seriK bf '■ discordant ; ytills/' each' repetition; getting nle; aiid'my original licqiiaintanct?, with'my Te'alhu'r'vjoinwith'evident va'hity through the cartillagcuf his nose and followed hy all'tlie Flathead' nation; surrounded my habitation-' 1 ' 1 The gesticulations, struggles for place' ;arid : -yells ''were alarming.'.' : 1 now saw 'the 1 dinger ; ami etfor of exposing a theatrical wardrobe'tp's'u'ohpeoriie. ■'Each l savage ! present : yelied' and clanioure'd at the open'wiridbw for a sirnilari Resent,' and; in'posttive alarriiii I. tli'rew oiif 'amongst thorn the jewelled'tiara 'of King John, Which, 1 caiisirtg' a; scfamblejthe possefeof 1 bounded away wjlh.his piize'fbilowcd ; bjr ! the' others,''eager tb'.dispossfss'hinrofit.' Thus ended lYiy acquaint, arice with tlie'.Flatheads,' which resulted in a good fright''and a partial 1 -. loss of. my prope'ttyi" .;;-'- ,' : ■•''' - ][ -[■'■■