The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1878-05-19
ADVENTURES IN TEXAS.
o,.ull of a BOylsh Droam-An English
Youths Adventures In Texas and
New England.


,n Ifred by stories of Frontier LiI'
no,rrmImed 10 iiecGne Ohiei Among
,ne Uonanchcs-IdOla Shattered by
nnac Experience,
melolowng biographical sketch o.
r,,ss Graham Is taken from The New
y,,k sun. Mr. g., better known in
r.ya.as "Commancho jim" was the
urnups grahpic lrontiercorrespondent
during his stay in the State
lanes Graham lie an Engishman
thirty years old, lie was born in Br'
mnGham, and recelyad u CLASSICAL edu-
,odSp, lle lett school when fifteen,
,0er walIuwing through six books OF
Vrdl StllusIs history vi CHtline's
con.p.racy and Oyld's metamorphoses,
lie Was proficient ~ history aud geog-
rpry, developed a taste Tor drawing
amid spenk u little French, aud had
u.Ipd lp to his knees in Euclid. He
ra, AN inyeterate reader, but there
MONS To have been no partition bes
tween his perception and Imagination.
IIemirly reveied IN the literary produc-
lions of Wayne Reid, Gustaye Aymard,
Fenmore Cooper, and others, Natu.
rally fond Of hunting, fishing, and aths
letc sports, the stories Of border life
and Indian warfare were branded upon
his mind, and n yearning for the Amer.
lean praiies, the malice scrub OF Austria.
ia, and the golden sands Of New Xea-
land controlled all his actions. When
a mere boy he ranged on horseback
around a barnyard, armed with a bow
and arrows, and practiced upon the
calves and horned cattle After he left
school delegation of Maori chiefs Wis,
tied England. Young Graham saw
them in the Town Hall at Birmingham,
leaning on their spears and squatting
on mats, They were tattooed from
head to foot, and smacked their lips over
every tender baby that they saw on the
streets. Their appearance recalled the
experiences Of Captain Cook and other
adventmers, and fired the blood of the
Imaginative boy. His parents were in
good circumstances, and had vainly ems
deayorcd to turn his thoughts into
business channel, The father was II
lawyer, but the sight of brief drove
james from the office. He had no eyes
for anything but gun or dog. A Mr..
Jenkins interpreter with the New Zea>
land chiettains, was friend of the fam.
iIy He toresaw trouble unless the boy
was allowed to follow his natural bent.
Jenkins had an idea that thorough exe
PrIence would cure his wild fancies,
and through his intercesson the father
dyanced money for trip to Auckt
Rnd
James went to New Zealand in clip.
per ship, and quickly found situation
as Q shepherd on the plains of Canter-
bury, The life proved distasteful. He
would sit under a flax bush or cabbage
tree all day long listlessly watching the
sheep, There was neither hunting nor
fishing, and savages were as scarce as
ayages in London. One day he heard
lumOrs of the discovery of gold on the
west coast. A stampede followed. Every
body seemed insane. To use Graham's
words, merchants, shepherds, lawyers,
cergymen and sailors, shouldered their
wags and started for the Hokitika
mines" Graham was among the nuns
Oer He got q taste of the life that ne
hncied he would fancy. The diggings
were in barren and desolate country.
Graham and his party were forced to
cross the backb bone OF the Central
Island, great range Of mountains ccv>
cred with snow, When twenty-five
miles from the diggings their provisions
gave out They met party on the
way back, who said that "the rush was
aduiier" Graham and his comrades
turned back. Scores of men were
starving around them. Three days they
went without provisions. A half pint
Of Hour cost half a dollar. Graham says
that he gave sovereign for pound of
salt beef The next day he killed a
XVII, or tailless bird with useless wings,
about the size Of a prairie chicken. 1t
was a godsend, and enabled the party
Togo thirty miles further, to Taylor's
sheep station, where they bought
quarter Of mutton, and for the first
ume IN three weeks enjoyed square
meal They had been living on damp
FL, or dough baked in the ashes. 1t
was The rainy season, and they had
worn no dry clothing for twenty days.
TFaham says that his teeth were so
loose that he thinks he could have
pulled them out with his fingers, After
resting at Taylor's sheep station two
Jays, they started to walk to the next
aaCh' sixty miles away. The rain fell
In torrents,
"llle crossing q mountain stream
@'leu the Teramaqua, Graham saved
mv me OF carpenter who was carried
1TGI oy the rapidity Of the current,
'ue man gave him small piece OF
IyaVoh, which Graham divided among
nsSeven companions. The Maoris gen.
LSny cross the mountain streams with
,Is e stones upon their heads, to hold
%vn down and keep their feet from
U'ing carried from under them. White
a4Vn lake hold of each others hands
, s"u srlng across; but the carpenter at
JIup'ed to ford it alone and was carried
""h' The continued drenching and
~olt kept the Graham party very
t gVaN' out the carpenters bacon gave
h. strength to to reach tent erected
%ii some enterprising fellow thirty-fiye
o 'a,,yS from Taylor's station. He sold
c S5"oNers, sardines, canned oysters,
S agese and brandy. Graham's money
J J~a run out, and he was Suffering with
N %:seh,tary but he managed to secure a
Gnu oil cheese and crackers, and the
6 %pehter treated him to glass of
ws ruuy, lie met many persons on the
\ ' 70 the diggings, and spent an hour
oo,o answering their questions. At l
r ,'oyk that evening he reached the
ta sJvn one Lance,superintendent Of Can
,sry Province. Lance owned about
Il, Vn'y'hve thou sand head of sheep.
NIUE met uraham on the road seven
hue ,es from mis- house. The boys starvN
sseonulton, gaunt frame, and sunken