Page:Tales-of-Banks-Peninsula Jacobson 2ed 1893 cropped.pdf/143

excessive geniality and knowledge of the sea attracting all the sailors from the whalers. He was a capital townsman, being the life and soul of the place, and might be seen almost any day with his glass in his hand, looking out seaward for the arrival of fresh vessels.

The whaling vessels used always to come in for supplies about Christmas-time, and it was no uncommon thing to see a dozen in harbor together at that time, and, as will easily be imagined, a brisk trade was done with the residents for fresh provisions of all kinds. During the rest of the year, however, the arrivals were few and far between, and there was often great scarcity of certain stores, and the arrival of a small vessel from Wellington, which was really the depôt for everything from England, was quite an event. There being no outside trade, with the exception of the occasional traffic with the whalers, the residents really depended on their gardens for their existence. There were no butchers, but everybody kept pigs, and when one person killed, it was divided all round, the compliment being returned. There were also great herds of goats running on the hills. These were owned by a great many people, and used to be got in at intervals, when the different owners would mark the kids with their own mark, and some would be killed for the general use. The pigs were an intolerable nuisance, as they were not kept shut up, but wandered where they liked, doing a great deal of damage. When Governor Grey visited the place in 1847, the inhabitants petitioned him to put a stop to this indiscriminate pig keeping in the streets. He granted the petition, ordaining that all pigs in the town of Akaroa should be kept in confinement. Finding this was rather expensive, many of the residents took to the hills with their pigs and their cattle, where they could run them undisturbed. Mr. McKinnon