ROUGH NOTES OF A ROUGH JOURNEY.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 585, 19 February 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

ROUGH NOTES OF A ROUGH JOURNEY.

We havo received tho following fragmentary notes of a recent trip, acrosu country, from Hamilton to Ohinemuri :—" I remember at one time reading home lines about 'rolling up an old coat' — and 'Jordan buing a hard road to travel I believe,' but if any unfortunate mortal had started with me, last Sunday, for Ohiuemnrx, he would have written that road down as a * hard ' one for a moral certainty. After I left Hamilton, the road for twonty-iivo miles, was all clear sailing, i pulled up at Evens and Mowbray's store to enquire what tho track- wus like through Mackays farm, but found that the swauips wero too wet to be crossed, so- instead of being ablo to ride directly across to 'Nicols farm, a • distance of nine inile3, I should have to go round by Matamata and Omahu, a distance of 75 miles. The whole of thiB . round would be saved if some 4.0 chains <of swamp were fascined. I understand "Mr Moore has offered to make the track !«&r £150. <Surely some steps ought to be

t.ilcuu to get this done, as it wouM put the now gold field within a day's rule of the Hamilton or Cambridge districts. A gentleman well Known in Hamilton, who I met liuic, kinJly offered to draw me a map of the road to Matamata. I mean to Ici'ep that sketch as a curiosity. He made a few scratches with hisponand explained that they were rivers, then came some marks which strongly reminded a person of fliea walking about on the paper; these were jotted down as swampy, the rest of the sheot was filled up wiLh imitations of caterpillars ; these, he explained to me, "wore hills. -I mournfully examined that map for a quarter of an hour, tlion put it in my pocket, and made up my mind that if J was to get to my journey's end it would not bo with its assistance. Travelling 1 on nine miles more,'! came to Mr Mac G 's farm. He offered to come down to the Waitoha and show me the ford, where I could got over dry. After two miles' walk wo suddenly came on a nasty muddy looking stream, which had far from a promising- appearance. My guide eyed the stream for a moment and asked if my horse could swim. I said, I thought he could, and advanced into the ■stream which came well up over my saddle flaps. My guido here asked if I could swim, but before I could answer, my 'moke' moved on. He oertainly found the bottom and I found the water up to my waist Mao G now callod out in a cheerful manner that I -was in about the worst part of it. 'If I did not say anything I thought a heap. From the Waitoha to Firth's lower farm on the Waiho, the road runsthrough'fiatcountry covered with Manuka. The only thing to be seen the whole way, was a largo wooriou monument placed by Mr J. C. Firth, over William Thompson's gravo. From Hamilton to the Waitoha is a good seventy miles vide, and not a lively one. On Monday I began my trip foe Mackay town, at live in the morning. For the first ten miles tho road was spleiidiil and I began to think all tho difficulties were exaggerated, but on reaching the Waiharakiki, I found I had crowed before I was out of the wood, as on my first attempt to cross, 1 tjot my horse stuck in tho mud. For two hours I tugged and« shoxited, but it was no use, so I started to tramp to uraahu, to get a native to help me. When' I arrived there I found the natives wore at a settlement farther 'down the river and had left only one or two old women in charge. I did all I knew to mako them understand that I wonted a' Maori and horses and would piy for them, b it for buirto reason they would not comprehend my Maori. This very nearly drove me to defepair, when a white man appeared on'tho scene, and on coming closer ho turned out to be an old chum I had not seen for over a yenr. If ever there was a good Samaritan in this world, my friend L was one. He got mo some miik from the natives to freshen me up, lent me his horse to ride, and started oft to look for a native to help me with my horse. After about a six-mile trudge, we met a party of natives and L bargained with one of them to go with me. ' His uame was James, and he ought to be hung without going before a judge. The first thing my lively guide did was to take me to what ho called a ford in the Waiho, and got me properly drenched. For the next five or six miles tho road was good and i he had no opportunity of leading me into

swamps, so ho made up by tolling mo j ancedotes about himself and family. By his own story he must be tho largest Maori landowner in New Zealand, and it was a perfect blessing when we arrived at the place whoro I had left my horse to Ltop tho tide of lies th.it was pouring forth from him. When my horse was lod to tho creek he objected to being stuck again, and rofused to cross. James hung on to his head and used ' cross ' words in his lingo. 1 1 stood behind and thrashed him, and said well, I wont say what I said. After about an hour at this amusement, he made a suddon - spring into tho water, upset the native and scrambled across. The journey back to Omahu went along all smooth till the native thought of a soda water spring and insisted on my going and seeing it ; it might have been jsoda water at one time, but to me, it smelt of brimstone, and certainly v.uited a dash ot brandy. . James relished it, which was only natural. If over a man will get his full quantum of brimstone by and bye, it is James, and I believe he knew this, and was accustoming, himself gradually to the dose. At the settlement the native pulled np to get some " kui." Heaven help the man who provides him With food. He eat about six pounds of bread and looked as if he could do more. By this time it was dark so vro had the worst end of the ride by moonlight. For about ten miles we jogged along all right, only having a few swampy oreolv* to cross whon tho nature of • tuo road changed from a dr*d fl.it to stony hills with deop gullies between. One of these gullies looked wet, and Jemmy hinted that I should go firu, but this child thought otherwise,. 'Here I showed my sense, my guide west first and nearly stack there Before ho had gone a cauple of yards his horse- sunk down to its girths and rolled on him. I inwardly chuckled at tho punishment he was getting, but as I couldn't do without him, besides was he not a black man and a brother, Kfter some bother, I managed to pull him cleir out. Tho mud he had on him had an odour of its -own which mingling with the "James bouquet" itself marie anything but a pleasing combination. The wretch now wont in for a new way -of cleaning himself he walked till we got to a pretty steep spur, sat down on the furze and slid for a few yards. When ho thought he had got rid off enough mud he walked to a pool of water, sut down in it and started washing what would have been his trou>ers if he had worn any. This entailed his lighting a firo to warm himself, and before ho could get one ho burnt all our matches, so when wo got to the si rip of bush at tho top of the Rotokohuwe had to go through in the dark. Once at the Rotokohu- 1 was in country I knew, and a couple of hours carried us into the Tairoa township. The place looked exactly the same as at the opening I of tho Ohinomuri field, with tho exception that Lipsey has got the hotel, which is an immense improvement. ■M'ter having gone over the road mentioned I can confidently say that a few pounds judiciously spent would make a good bridle track, and as there is plenty of feed all ♦•.ho way, stock could be taken to this goldted, and thence also to Grahamstown, advantageously from the Waikat6." * \ SILVEKPEN.