Through Judge Gresson’s influence I obtained temporary employment under the Land Office, but to join permanently would require the payment of a fee for which I had not sufficient funds in hand.  It was suggested that I should write home and ask for assistance, but this I objected to do.  I merely mentioned the circumstances, leaving the rest to chance, and in the meantime I was engaged to accompany a survey party down the coast, which would start in a few days.

CHAPTER VII.

     I JOIN A SURVEY PARTY—­TRAVEL TO THE ASHBURTON.

The survey party consisted of a Government Surveyor Mr. D——­, his assistant H——­, and myself, with a few labourers, and our destination was Lake Ellesmere, some 15 to 20 miles down the coast, where a dispute between the squatters and the Provincial Government boundaries was to be decided.

We started in a rough kind of two-wheeled cart, into which Mr. D——­, H——­, and I, with our provisions for ten days and the survey instruments, were all packed together with our respective swags of blankets and the cooking utensils.  This vehicle was pulled by one horse, and as we had no tents we would have to camp out most of the time.

We reached our destination the same evening, when, tethering the horse, we proceeded to make ourselves comfortable for the night round a camp fire, whereon we boiled our tea and fried chops, and after placing the usual damper under the hot ashes so as to be ready for the morning, we rolled our blankets around us and with feet to the fire, slept soundly.

My duties consisted in dragging the chain or humping a theodolite knee deep in water or swamp, but I learned much even in this short experience which proved of subsequent value.

On our return, Mr. D——­ had to diverge to a small farm, if it could be called such, owned by two brothers named Drew, having some work to look into for them.  These Drews were the sons of a clergymen in England, and they had lately come to New Zealand with a little money and no experience, taken a small tract of land in this swampy wilderness, and settled down to farm it.  The buildings consisted of a wretched mud hut, some twelve feet square, a small yard, and a few pigsties.  What a habitation it was, and what filth and absence of management was apparent all over it!  Failure was stamped on these men, and on their surroundings; it was clear they could not succeed, and yet they were not drunkards or scamps or reckless; on the contrary, they were quiet and good-natured, and appeared to be hard-working, although it was difficult to see what work they really did.

For two days we stayed here, all five of us sleeping at night on the floor of the hut.  There were no bunks.  I was very glad when that duty was over.

These Drews soon after gave up the farm; one died, the other I saw two years afterwards, the part-proprietor of a glass and delph shop in Christchurch, but only for a time.  That inevitable tendency to failure engraved on the Drews followed him to the glass shop, and the latter became, in due course, the sole property of Drew’s partner.