Tupu

Synopsis

This book is a well-written and exciting autobiography of Henry Edward Tautari Johnson describing the days of gum digging and whaling; of kauri logging and river rafting in 1800's New Zealand. It is of a time when hardy working men depended on a horse and dray and a team of bullocks for their way of life. He lived during a difficult period of New Zealand's history where his opportunist ability aided his survival in rough situations. Harry Johnson, as he came to be known, was a world traveler during a time when it was not popular. He records his experiences of his boyhood on a training ship to his voyage to Ceylon in pirate infested waters; until he becomes a captain of his own ship. He records his years as a soldier in Egypt, his visit to the Holy land and Europe. A great read for those who enjoy humor, pathos, and excitement.