The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-20
AIT M]AT AIRS [L0Qa[H'Uo
Bv JOHN ARTHUR BARRY.
rruop on "sTEyE BROWNS BUNYIP" I'm THE GREAT phii'
tconvrsbt. 1887 john

1
| ward. to another and larger platform
| whore in a, large hut, we were to live
| The only way to get down to terra hrma
| was by ladders. At low water all you
could see was mud and dozens of ALL
| gators who used to come down river
| close to for salt water bathing. Every
where. almost down to the sea, STOOD
great trees $50 feet high, growing close
together. elbowing each other, so tO
sneak; and, as if that wasn't enough.
creepers. ferns and underground of adj
descriptions filled up every vacant chlnk
between them. On this impenetrable
face of woodland the efforts of the
workmen and builders had merely left a
slight scratch-even by this time rapidly
greening over. Nature heals her sears
in that country almost as soon as re-
ceived. The light itself was merely a
big lantern carrying eight wicks, kero-
sene fed, and hung to the roof Of the
meat safe. That is had been badly
wanted. primitive as it was the remains
of several vessels emphatically wit
messed.
MY boss was there already, a cross
bred, surly-looking customer-father
Dutch. mother Malay. She kept house
for us-a skinny old bag, with a nose
like an eagles, and a bigger mustache
than could boast of in those days. Her
sons name was Peter-Peter Klopp.
Presently the schooner went away
and left us. And what life it was!
Nothing to do after trimming the lights
of a morning and sweeping bucketsful
of moths out of the roundhouse, except
sit and smoke and look out across the
10 ms hInn M
high mountains in the distance-sleep,
eat, watch the ships coming and going
or pull faces at the monkeys up amongst
the tall trees that waved their heads 20
feet above ours.
''At times the traffic was pretty thick
it was always peculiar. Junks from
Swatow, bound for Amboyna and Ceram
for sanddalwood, swallows nests and
beche de mer; country wallahs' from
Penang and Singapore, going round to
Benjamrassin for coffee and rice; steam
tramps from Australian ports loaded up
to their gunwales with coal for Manila:
and smart little topsail schooners fly
ing any flag that took their fancy, and
ready to pick up anything that wasn't
too hot or too heavy for them, from
bushel of nutmegs to holdful of
.blackbirds' But, with the exception of
a Dutch gunboat. the Bitten, acting as
a sort of seapatrol, who called on us at
long intervals, We had no visitors at that
Arts point.
Peter and his old bag of mother
soon discovered We're confirmed opium
smokers. and when they went in for Il
regular spree, and began to suffer re-
covery, they made things hum in Mon
key island, as | called it. Once / was
fool enough to interfere and stop Peter
from choking the life out of her. For
thanks, the pair turned on me; but |
managed to dress them down, although
Peter nearly got his knife into me. And
can tell YOU laughed Harding, paus-
ing in his story, and rising to conjure
again with the kettle and other adjuncts,
that two to one, with precious little
room. and a break-neck fall if you're not
careful, isn't as funny as it might be-"
Having replenished the glasses and re-
filled and lit his pipe, Harding proceeded:
.'Well, after this, | could see that the
two had taken a down upon me; and as
|, on my part, was heartily sick of the
whole contract. / told the officer who
commanded the Bitten, next time she
called, that l wanted to leave; and that
the sooner he found a substitute the bet