TALES OF THE WILDER= NESS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1110, 25 April 1911, Page 4

TALES OF THE WILDER= NESS.

J-- , ' ■ KURI, THE-WILD.DOG. i: (Bi Will Lavtson.) '-, .. .... :(AU Eights Reserved.) f Out in the little bush clearing where ithia surveyor's camp.had been,, the rain '■pattered, steadily-, down on deserted fern [ and manuka-bedding, on the ashes of the ' fire and on tho , boot-trodden ground. 1 Following th-eir work, the men had gone; ■ and had left no signs that would afford j any hint of therr probable destination to I a tawny-coloured dog of nondescriptI. breed, which snitfed .anxiously about tno , empty camping place. To and fro, round ) the bedding, down to the creek and. back v the beast nosed and ran, seeking a clue.' j The men had gone while ho had hunted -. .wild pig on his own account, and l-eturn- !* ing siitsd'from his successful hunt of n- ; sow and suckers, ho found himself alone! , J;All the- misery in his heart found vent !'in a long, mournful howl. Squatting on p the.wet ground and lifting his muzzio'to ? the gloomy!'skies, Kuri tho Dog that j owned* man as 'his master howled his j -heart out till the night crept over tho ! quiet bush, and only- the pattering rain J made any sound. • Then 'the dog sought • a dry shelter to; wait. Perchance his i master would return. Yet in his animal ; .wisdom he knew vaguely, that ho was ('deserted. . For. two days Kuri waited; ron the third he started out to find ! the men.

' The-rain'had cleared,'the sun shone l warmly-on the manuka-and small bush i -that clothed the valley. The dog's keeni'tst sense was that of hunger. Ho, com- ! ing upon fresh • rootings that told of the I near presence of pigs, he turned to fol- | low the fresh trail. Soon he came upon I. the drove enjoying a mud-wallow in a j-.-wet place among the fern. A veteran. !;boar,' armed with gleaming tiisks, lay' j contentedly in the warm mud. Near him j_were two'sows and a score of youngsters, ! \ varying? -in -size, from .half-grown ■ pigs to ».:m«re.'suckers. All unconscious of the f 'dog's: cautious approach, tlio pigs wallow-|:'-ed on. Presently a group of tho smallest I (trotted away into the fern. This was-the j.tdog's opportunity. Like-a flash he sprang i. ;at the nearest. There was-a squeal, a [(gurgle, and the survivors were scurrying I ; -and squealing their way back to the j eows.- The boar sprang to his feet, his i'little eyes Tolling. Bnt Kuri was £ome ' -distance away and - increasing his dis[■tance rapidly, tho dead-sucker carrie<l in ! 'his powtTful. jaws . that were , backed v.'iby that ' sinewy neck and threat hand , : 'strong chest and. powerful flanks Jγ and loins. Whatever 'his pedigree, this ij , dog was a splendid animal, an ideal pig f I dog, yet whereas in company with his j.imasfceir ho would have ignored the. i: email fry and attacked the big bear first, j; alone, he choso the- easiest method of

i Satisfying his appetite, usinj; a natural I cunning that had been dormant. And.

j moreover, in the whole process, ho made J no sound at all.- The dog'soon gave-up ; all thought of finding'his master. The : spirit of the wilderness was upon him. ;' All day he lolled in the hot sunshine. ; .When, night came, and a red moon rose : above .the forest -trees, he sat on the ! .sloping hillside and howled. And pre- . [sently came .an : answering howl. - Kiiri • iprielced his ears at the sound: Then, his : 'nose pointed to the rsoon, he sent another :jdismal choTd across the great silence of|.jthe night. ..Again the- answer, much Ho rose and trotted away through [jthe moonlight, and shadow, stopped onco • ' to. howl, and, getting an immediate ani his slow trot. At the J. (bank of <i stream. he paused and listen,;jed. Through tho fern on the opposite I "was'"''approaching.' Kuri' f .watohed and waited, w.hining expectantly. i'!A soft whine came'across-'the'brook, and i ft dog trotted clear of the scrub. ' For ! some minutes they regarded one another, the dog of,the wilderness and the dosr.ofthe. $vilis£d 'places. Swinging about, she Df.thfe wildernfjEs trotted;.along tho rivertianliJ3stnl>:hinin.g. Then. Kuri flung off the ISst '•■• >;t : -if -'vilisat'" ' bound-

Iβ Ifist vestige of civ*. <on, and bouh id across the stream. Together "the TacediUp the bank, and away through th moonlit scrub, away to' a lonely plact among the, hills, where in sheltered caves to which no' open track led, a pack of 'wild ,dogs t dwelt. As he scrambled in some 'excitement np the dog-track'through . tho thick scrub, Kuri suddenly barked as 'civilised dogs' do when, they cannot contain,'.their feelings. Instantly his ; companion swerved him, .snarling and "bristling , her rnff. Down the slope a big do? charged at Kuri. Kuri met ■the attack by n. side leap and snap at the other's fore-leg, and, turning smartly, jmshe'd his assailant before .he could "re- {■ cover; and bowltd 'him That ended .'.ike conflict. Kuri learned that barking )-was : not correct form in the wild dog ,'cliqne; .the'-.other dog learned that this .Taw-]o6kihff;po\verfnl recruit could fight. Both these items of knowledge were very ,nsefulvt6 Ku'ri'the Wild Dog.'■",-* ' ' . On'the following night,, the moon being 'high,: the*pack of eight'wild dogs, males and females,'sallied out to'• tic some ' h"unt* ling,'and,' as a matter...of .course, "Run' )went with , them. There "were all kinds—! ffiheep-dogs principally; '.interspersed with 1 !'sraooth-haired'cattla;'and pig dogs, whose: •progenitors had strayed. 1 as. Kuri had done,_and, dropping'.the'h'abits of man'steaching, .had "acquired" new and' •less 'desirable : o'nes ■ of : their. ow.n;! ' ,'i'hey:, slunk along in 'silence,, ears.cock- : ed, every moveinentr'Suggestins? iantiolt I. lend ; fear. , of some grent ' enemy—thoir r.jenemy Man.. Through tangled manuka, t' ("over '.-.stonj; ', ridges, they ' travelled,.-. ; anil ■ icama! p«se.ntly'"to clear.;grouud....' J Here , I they; paused:' -Tins was;'sheep ■' coujitry:' ■ i"A small mob .were just over tho spur in ;i* holloWj. At sight of , the dog:, they ; "scampered away, occasionally leaping 1 i-high •in the moonlight. Silent as mere : ; wolves the dogs followed, Kuri finding it ', ! hard'.to refrain'from barking, for ho had "•fcot yet become accustomed to the idea

I J that there was no master to apprise ,oj ; 'the progress, of the'.'hunt. ~, In: , -a'/very. , jlittlo time the sheep became exhausted. : Kuri, breaking away, raced up to the ; leader of the sheep, ami. with a'swift slash laid the throat open. As it fell, , tho she-dog that, had brought him to £he ;■ pack .camejiip and began to . eat. All . -about, the sheep were. dropping- in. exihaustion, and the wild dogs wero eating .them alive. Kurt saw -the thing in a : different light. One after the other he : .gave each victim the'; throat slash-.that ' ended pain,'- for he had been taught to , -kill when hunting, while these outlaws ' -did not know how. Their wild instincts so long smothered in their bondage had not nil revived with their return toi the' : wilderness. Since it was not necessary ; to kill they did not bother to do it. • Kuri fed with his companion of the : night before. ■ When they had' gorged, the ; wild doss set out on tho return, to the hills. Kuri, whining softly, led his mate ■ away by another pathway to a country of denra manuka. He hail done with the ■ pack, and henceforth would be a leader. For months they hunted pigs, and some- : times sheep.' During this time a litter of .- pups, were born in a well-hidden place in the scrub. • -Returning—from the , 'hunt, Kuri's mate found always, a clamorous, : hungry family -awaiting her,, and after • th'iy had passed the • milk-feeding stage. ;• and were yet. too young to hunt, she fed ■ them on the half-digested food that she : -had gorged at the kill. The time came when pigs w-ero scarce. , Then Kuri .turned his attention to sheep. In a night he and his family would run ' down and worry twenty or thirty sheep > and probably exhaust sev-sral hundreds. And as the pups grew and learned from him the joy of killing for the killing's sake, the flocks in the back-lai\ds suffered, and the story of the depredations of this new pack of wild clogs spread through the adjoining country. A reward of five pounds was offered for the slaving of ench dog in the pack. But Kuri would never touch a bait—anything thai* smelt of the man-smell was a thing to be avoided. A shepherd, who was determined to extfvTmirafr tho dogs, cut a .lump from a dead bullock, dosed it wit'i -.vrsonic, all Without touching it with i anything but a knife, and dragged it. nn : a wire all about a sheep-paddock, finally ■ leaving it lying on tho -grass. Kuri came in the night, smelt it and walked ! away. Next night the pack appeared ; in a- paddock several mil™ away ! in much, more open country. Thpy were. i becoming bolder, so the sheen-men 'decided I to hunt them with rifles and deer-hounds'. i Two of these powerful dogs wore owned I by a sheep-farmer living some distance I awny. They Were > 'brought to the scene. i, and very enrly one morning Hie hunt { moved out to seek tha';dogs. Kuri' was ■ resting in an open' space among the 1 manuka when he hoard the deep bnving a£ a dog, and smelt tho man-smell on

the wind, AVarning the pack, ho slunk into the manuka. But its limits were confined, and when the-great deer-hounds aided by some smaller dogs broke through the outer fringe of it, Kuri led his pack stealthily out at tlio far side, and, following a depression, they were a-quarter of a mile away when tho riders saw them. The ring- of a riflo and a ballet-thudding in a dog that ran at his aide told Kmi I the case was desperate. Tho last time he heard. , a rifle ring ho was on tho other side of the hunt. Perhaps ho did not remember that. Over his stbulder, as he ran, he saw two huso light brown shapes springing towards him. AIL round and behind ran his pack that ho was to lead to safety. .For u time a ri,llo occasionally, sent a messenger among them, but as the depr-hottnds closed np, ruul the risk of shooting- them..arose, the guns were silent. Tho'-.jioaMst cover was half a mile away. , , just 'behind ■.him » young dog (jijddonly yelled, in terror as, ft deer-hound, .'caught "up to him. .JJeif; instant there was.a snap and a .scurry, and.the yoiins dog's neck was broken.; To escape this' destroyer,'Kuri swerved' sharply to tho left, and ran for dear life, .blindly am ■without purpose. The (leer : hound lielcl on after the main, pack.' • One: of the riders, reining sharply. , took ■ deliberate, 'aim at, Kuri. .Tlie.v. r bullet::.pbi*RCtl clean ■tKroug]v; , .Kuri's"liulSs.,'::;; , Goughiug and staggering; ilreHrkdito-nm, but fell, and t!ie man-rode,Ub.-:tp..finish -liim. home- ' thing iu ; the. dog's'colour made him pause. Dismounting he walked to the dyins animal. This was no ordinary wild dog, it seemed to him. "•Why,-dash me, it's old-Kuri that we lost Ifist year:" , ■' •• Another mail had come up. , "Herj's your lost dog," the first man said as the other dismounted. "Old Kuri! don't say it's Kuri!" he replied. The dog opened its eyes at his voice, and tried to crawl to his feet. "Kuri, old boy, I looked everywhere for you, but never thought you'd come to this. I often wondered, Jim, what do? it could be that killed so clean. Kiiri, old man!" ,■; "With his old master's voice sounding it seemed out of the dim past, and the hand ho knew fondling-'his'.head, Kuri the Wild Dog died. '■•■•,■•.-; :•■',"<•■■?