MOVING SHEEP ON THE ROADS IS NO EASY TASK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23115, 13 August 1938, Page 1 (Supplement)

MOVING SHEEP ON THE ROADS IS NO EASY TASK

By ANON

J)ROVERS have been later upon the road this year than usual. One always expects a mighty exodus of sheep from the East Coast to . the Waikato during the autumn months, but a month ago they were still on the move, although winter is half-way through and the ewes heavy in lamb. The reason, of course, has been the necessity for replacing the heavy losses caused through the deadly eczema scourge ; rather than face a fresh season with depleted flocks, the farmers have been obliged to take the risk of moving sheep at this time. The result has been a harvest for the drover, but a long spell of heavy work for his patient horses and clever dogs. Lately I drove across from the west of the North Island to the east. Having passed through that part of the country where, in spite of cold weather, the sight of poor, miserable sheep rubbing ceaselessly at their skinned faces makes a nightmare of a particularly green and smiling land, it was a relief to meet healthy sheep trekking through in great mobs to bring new blood to northern flocks. Not Welcomed The sheep met on the road were from the coast country and untouched by the evil. They were travelling well but, welcome though the sight or them might be, we found it slow work to pass 110

Drovers and Their Splendid Dog,s

fewer than nine mobs in a gorge that extends for thirty miles where the narrow road seems to twist endlessly between the swift, dark river and the towering hills, and where open watercourses alternate with narrow bridges. Our presence, I am sure, was not altogether welcomed by the drovers, and most certainly not by the dogs. Their task is a heavy and monotonous one without this complication. Nowadays the strain upon men and dogs is far heavier than it used to be, and the master must be more certain than ever that he can rely upon his servants. Working dogs are always the most interesting of animals, but it was the conduct of the leading dogs we met that particularly impressed me. We would come suddenly upon a mob after rounding a bend. Barring our way, with 110 thought of his personal danger, holding the sheep by the power of his eye and bark, so intent upon his job as to ignore our presence completely, would be one of those nondescript, unimpressive looking dogs, with bloodshot eyes and rough coat, tired and obviously footsore. Yet he appeared to be infinitely more intelligent than the average passer-by one encounters in these narrow places. The Leader It is the job of the leading dog to go ahead of the mob; the sheep follow him, and it is his responsibility to hold them in case of sudden emergency. With the roads motor-ridden as they are, such moments are numerous enough. His master is usually not very far behind, particularly if the mob is a large one; for in that case there are usually Several men, and the one who "takes

the first cut" uses his dog to lead the way. This animal is therefore particularly important, and to obtain a good leader drovers will pay a high price, since these dogs are "born" and rarely "made." They must work alone and possess enough initiative and judgment to take sole responsibility until help can come to them. One old drover I know possesses a working dog which he lately told me he values far more highly than he does his wife. However, last year the place of Rock as first dog in the district was threatened by the arrival of a newcomer called Tip. The shepherds declared that Tip was a phenomenon, and that Rock had better look to his laurels. Masters' Jealously Each man, of course, swore by his own dog, for shepherds are almost as bad as mothers of talented children. Curiously enough, some of their masters' jealousy seemed to be imparted to the dogs, for, although neither was quarrelsome, they had only to meet to rush at each other in fierce conflict. "One of those dogs'll be the death of the other," their little Avorld prophesied. In the end the affair was settled with mutual honour and without bloodshed. For it happened that both men were droving, but in opposite directions; because tlieir mobs were comparatively small • they were each travelling aloile and, of course, aware of the other's presence on the road. Since the drover's worst nightmare is the "boxing" of sheep, they took elaborate precautions to pass each other at noori while one mob was being paddocked. But something went wrong with the arrangements and the two mobs eventually met without the slightest warning at a particularly narrow spot; each man came round the corner to see with dismay the entire road apparently filled with his rival's sheep. But the mobs did not box, for when the men had, with tireless patience and inexhaustible profanity, succeeded in pushing their way to the front, they found their two dogs 6eated almost back to back, each holding his own mob. Time of Respite How long the situation could have endured who shall say, for the mobs were very close when help came; but each man swore that his dog would never have allowed the mob to pass, save over his dead body. -The strange thing was that this trial shared by the antagonists-healed the feud; as soon as they were released from their watch the two dogs repaired to the river, and in its cooling waters their peace was made. The worst tragedy that can befall a drover is to lose a valuable dog owing to the brutal carelessness of a speeding motorist. It is often 011 the outskirts of a town that such a disaster happens, when the dogs are tired and footsore on the tar-sealed roads, and when the motorists consider the world peculiarly their own. I have seen a faithful dog run down the moment after he has cleared a way for the intruder, nor has the speed-fiend even stopped to inquire the fate of the animal whose brains and manners are so superior to his own. Small wonder that drovers—themselves tired and irritated at the close of the day—have been known to fall upon the author of such a tragedy; small wonder, too, that so few of them now offer to clear the road before the oncoming car; they will run 110 risks with their most valued and precious possession. And now at last lias come a plfeasant time of respite to the drover and his dog: there will bo comparatively little work on the road now until the summer; a few men take jobs on stations to help with lambing and docking, but many have little cottages on the outskirts of the towns where they spend the winter peaceably, leaving their hearths once a week for short droves from the sales. This year the time of rest has been long in coming, but the rewards have been rich enough to let men and enjoy their off season.