OVER BLENHEIM WAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1247, 2 October 1911, Page 4

OVER BLENHEIM WAY.

AMONG THE SHEEP AND GOATS, SOME STATION EXPERIENCES.

[BY "Mkre MERE."]

It was duo to ilio slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune, and not to any spint of emulation of the deeds of Marco lo o, Sven lledin, and other such people who prefer diversions from the beaten tine*, that <1 few years ago I was induced to explore tho Marlborough Country, and su iaequently Bpend some montlis on olio o the principal sheep-stations there— AVharainii. Occasional recitals to my friends ot what befell me, and wlwt 1 saw, during my life there liava been received at limes with as much credcmce as Louis do Jw „ mont's story in tho "Wide World ilat.azine," so hearing a whiter. of Mailuorougli in (he air, I thought an » n l )re ;>; in black and white might induce 111010 sympathetic attention. ~ ~ It was through the lure of an old-time friend that tho glamour of sheep-station life was east over me, and on a swept evening we embarked on tjie i. j net at Lyttellon for Kaikoura. llie embarkation was not accompanied bj mittering handkerchiefs—indeed, tho was less graceful but more d«"°» slra j"® in the shape of a team of sheep dowhich greeted my acquaintanceship I > rapidly twirling their chains round mj legs, and just misted throwing mo into tho harbour—a violent contact with t! whaa'f decking and a bleeding nose being the forceful outcome of the introduction. Kaikoura was readied after a nisiit s passage, and, overhauling our bicycles, w were soon on the road, a.nd n ,5\ s leisui-o.lv pedalling wo reached the Uatenoe River, and just over the bridge is Mr. Murrav's "Woadbank" Station—tl o borderland "of Marlborough. _ lie n. o from Kaikoura was indeed enjoyable, tlio scenery being entrancing 111 its beaiitj lovelv'seascapes on one hand anil verua.Tir, bush-clad hills on the other. A night at the Accommodation House and another (lav on the road saw our arrival at tho homestead at dusk, anil the substantiallooking residence, with its sohdly-eon-structcd outbuildings and stockyards, 1 to my city-brotl feelings a dash ot cnilisa- j lion once move. A sound nights rest found 1110 with a desire to know pomething of how "wool-kings" wore made, and I enlisted on tho roll of the station staff-next morning. "Whaniutu, perhaps, connot compare in extent with many or tho other itarlborough scions—its acreage hoi,ng somewhat between GOOO and <000 —puvelv grazing country in those days. Its frontage ruus for some miles along tho FPU coast, its northern boundary being tho lira I?ivor, and the southern tho Woodsido Stream, while at tlio back tho boundary fences touch lienmore. L'lat lands and rolling downs predomniato around tlio homestead, but further back the country is- of hilly, limestone formation, heavily fern-clad in places. As a factor on the etatiou I was placed in what I suppose might be called tlio alphabet class, and sent out with tho vaubit-poisoncrs to lay the tempting bit of phosphorised-pollard for "bunny. I quickly gained experience, ami doubtless in doing so relieved the tedium of the day's work for my fellows. Patentleather boots arc; r.ot the class of footwear suitable for sealing slippery hill-slopes, and as I was placed on the wing of the lino of poisoners, in a jjositibn overlooking a precipitous slope, sharply descending j into the rushing Uro Kivcr, I am afraid, I did not distribute my bag of poisonpellets with steady hand—for what time t I was not convulsively clutching a tussoeky mound I was keeping a sharp eye out 'for other pitfalls.. However, a' day or two saw mo through' the initial stages, with , a -'glimmering. of knowledge fts to the best '•.seta 0 to place the poison, and fortified "by a quick eye to pick out tho secluded spots where.muscles wed to Hatcountry'cxcrciso could be l?abbits were a .serious disputant with the stationholder than, and tho control of "bunny was a 'serious item in .the expenditure list, and to keep his family within reasonable Hriiits' fcwned,to'me the best that 'could.bk'Ebifcd'for: 1 " • I thovgradcfl into other classes of work, "a.cli-atiW, off,'"repairing fences, packing supplies out to tho bushfellers, and tree-planting for shelter purposes. It wa.s a long Arbor.Day to 'me that treeplanting, .extending over three weeks, and I liavo often wondered since how many of those trees survived my unpractised hand. Certainly, n forestry expert would iiave had many things to tell me had ho teen in v eai;ly efforts. At last, whoa the mustering season came round, I was launched on my first serious lono hand, and t with somewhat unlooked-for results. "With niy dog, Hags, at heel, I joined the mustering band, and with tho other men received the instruction froni the head musterer to bring the various mobs of sheep to a given spur. I soon gathered my flock, and with tho assurance that all was well started", as I thought, back for the joint mustering point, but tho topography of tho country was not as firmly implanted in niy mind as I thought, and I worked in ti too-circuitous direction, and the outcomo "was that, liko little 80-l'cep, I found that I had lost my sheep-they had disappeared into a dcnsely-bush-clad gully. At this trving point in my career as a shepherd, a luslty, rusty-looking boar sidled up alongside of mo out _of the undergrowth. One look at liini then ignominious flight. Allowing a discreet irtorval to elapse, I onco moro sought my erring sheep, and the welcome bark of tho faithful Hags gave mo heart of graco that he was leading them back to • tlio proper path; and so it proved. It was a mob of nbont 700 that took tlio charge into the gully, and 1 hope that it was with tho full tally of the brigade ' that IX arrived greatly belated at tho meeting point. Expericntia docct—and I learnt moro about mustering later on. At other branches of sheep-work I did not become proficient. I did start one day ti shear'a sheep, and the encounter developed into a wrestling bout-all holds allowed so far as I was concerned. I threw tho sheep, the sheep threw me;,! sat down, and so did the sheep-no armistice, though. When wo wero both thoroughly exhausted tho referee ill the shape of the shed foreman intervened, and tho sheep was released front my clutches, to go into those of the butcher, and 1 was deputed to tho station-books for tho rest of tho day. Of course, on a sheep-station one must becomo' a horseman, and the best time 1 could fmd for equestrian performances was Sundav morning. A "kind' fellowbeing lent mo his cattle-horse-an old &ta"cr who needed no word of command or "touch on lus bridle to understand his duties. Mounted a la Tod Sloan, I started forth for riding practice. Without warnin" tho charger broke into lull gallop, headed straight for a fence, and turned off quickly "at right angles-but I did not go with him. X cleft the air over the fence like an aviator. The assembled "hands" wero full of sympathy, and with much alacrity remounted me. les, the cattle-horse knows many tncks, and through a long period of perseverance it was with bumps and bruises that I became acquainted with somo of thorn. For recreation, the men on a Marlborough station indulge in a good deal ot pi<*-shooting, which is a relaxation ot value to the run, as tho wild pig causes much loss through its attacks on the lambs. Somo of tho old hands show Vent fearlessness and pluck in their war on the pigs, and a battle between a dog with fighting blood in it and a boar, or a sow with litter, is indeed thrilling. Goats abound on some of the rocky precipitous heights, but at times of bushfires they are driven clow in, nud then to the stranger in tho land it is a case of "sweet TCdinbro' I smell thee neo. Space forbids the retailing in this article of much of the other incidents of station life, but I cannot, conchulo without some mention of the denominations given to tho various items on the station bill of fare, principal among which are:— lsullookys or "Coclcv's Joy" ' (treacle). llrownie (cake), "Kanaka Sweat' (sugar), and "Tho Cow" (milk). It was with ieehngs of r-c.'p'et that I departed from Wharanui. and 1 now look Kiel: upon that: period of attention to the "Call of the Wild" as something more than a pleasant memory. Mr. riowilen expressed his views nt Marvlebone Police Court recently on the duties of the police with regard to stro-'t musicians. It was, he said, the duty of a constable, when a householder complained to him of street musicians, lo take tho musicians into rustody if they refused to move away. T'lio fact that other householders lilcod to have the musicians (here did not alter the law or the constable's duty towards it.