SWAN DRIVE.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15316, 28 June 1915, Page 4

SWAN DRIVE.

BELGIANS REAP LITTLE BENEFIT. A SMALL BAG.

In spite of Hie interest taken in tho Lake Efiesmere .wan drive on Saturday, tho good cause in which it was held, and tho elaborate preparations made to carry it out, it was not very successful, if success is to be measured by slaughter. Tho fact is that the swans had something to do in tho matter, and declined to be driven, preferring to continue their residence on tho lake than to patriotically provide food for tho-Belgians. Very few general particulars have filtered through in regard to the actual bag, but enough is known to indicate that it was certainly not large, and the .sanguine prophecies of tallies approaching a thousand or so wero not realised, m fact, it seems doubtful if many more than a hundred or so fell to tho guns, who were very numerous on the northern and north-eastern edges of the lake Mr Edgar Stead formed one. of tho crow of the fleet of launches which were intended to drive the swans on to tho guns, and he gives the following interesting and amusing account of tho day's sport: — . "While we wero getting the little launch ready," he said, "we could hear a good deal of shooting in Coe's Bay, and round the Seiwyn mouth; and through the fog could see swans flying to- and fro. AYe set off down the river with a dinghy towing-behind, and soon reached the lower huts. Here were traps and horses, and tents, just liko on tho morning of the 'first,' and men with guns all over the place. Some wore hunting pukeko in the swamp, somo standing in tlio rushes on cue river-bank, and others occupying the mimis used for duck-shooting iv tbo lako. Most of tho latter, despite tho Drive Committee's request to the.contrary, had set out duck decoys, while several had already shot some swans and propped them up as decoys. "Over the lako the fog seemed rather thicker than over the land, so that about three-quarters of a mile was the limit of vision. We. saw several launches moving about in tlie mist, so wo mado towards them for instructions. Before wo reached them, however, they made an apparently concerted movo to the east, so wo fell into lino and proceeded with them. In a very short time, however, they were all going in different directions, mostly heading in towards the 'No. 2', and the Sands. Presently we got wit-.-signalling range of our commodore.; launch, and he came alongside to give u s instructions. Then all the launches from that vicinity gathered together to discuss tho. situation. .

"It was certainly most amusing. There we were—six of vs —all huddled together, with nothing in sight hutwater and-fog. Someone suggested that wo should, make for the 'Timber-yard' ,at the -western end of the lake: others suggested Kaituna at tho ea.vtern end. Someono asked:.' Where is Kaituna:-" Everyone held a different view, aud there was no point of the compass that was quito left out in tho cold. One launch owner stoutly maintained that the Ninety-mile Beach was iv a certain direction", and just then the s '-n shone through the fog and we saw ho was pointing due north, while the beach was due south. Finally we decided to form in line with about one hundred yards between each boat, and to take a direction at right angles to' the wind. ' . "Off we started, and within ten minutes no threo lwats were in a straight | line, and the distances between them ' varied from two hundred to five hundred yards. We tried to keep our direction,'until all tho rest had disappeared in tho fog, some to our left, some to our right, and one straight ahead. Finally we saw land ahead, which w<> recognised as the Long Spit. When wo got near enough to take our benrings we found that the wind had changed to tho west, which had put our reckonings out. The time was then two o'clock, there was no other boat m eight, and wo couldn't hear any, so wo decided to make straight up tho beach and cut across the lake to tho Seiwyn before dark. This wo did. -■'_- fore leaving tho beach we took careful note of the wind direction, and set our course accordingly, and in about an hour and a quarter ran very'nearly on to tho month of tho river. Hero wo picked up a boat that was stranded, for want of petrol, and towed it up the river. The occupants had already rowed a heavy launch half-way across the lake. It was raining hard when wo reached the huts. s o we quickly packed up and started home. "Thero aro. to my mind, two reasons why a .swan-drive, organised on similar lines to this que nm*t always fail: The first i*. that the lake is so big that the birds will always, fly Ikicl. round the ends of tlie line, even if the line is kept. The second is that the line never will be kept. On a small scale the scheme might work, but not on a larger one. The only six swans we got, or shot at, were birds that could not fly. As we ran towards a flock of birds, all would get up save one or two, and these we would 'try out,' and if they could not fly properly wen hunt them till we got 'them. All that were able to do so, rose out of range and kept out of it. And that's what happened to us. but the interesting stories will be those of the men who didn't find their way home, and stayed out on the lake ail night!"