A RATTLING BURST WITH THE OTAGO PACK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 5405, 16 June 1879, Page 3

A RATTLING BURST WITH THE OTAGO PACK.

Did our spirts quail ;.t a new four-iail, CouM a ■ diuu:o" tlO'ablebnnk u-i, Ere nerre and sinew bi|Mu to /ail In lhe Ooimils-hiii of Planer ? our 1 100 ) rati rapid-y, ti'd when Couli we sir.d a me.ry aws-countor then, a. B\-;ggU\g (til over timber ? Tho weather of Saturday morning was about as dismal aid uninviting "as could be, for a small but perpetual rain kept falling all tha time, and rendered everything damp and uncomfortable. In fact it was what tbey call in Scotland a "iioft day." Anxious glances were cast from time to time at the barometer, but its steady tall left small ground for hope. Searchius; iospic'ion of tho skies afforded evdn leßs saUsfactio , and it became apparent lo everyone that h^vy going and muddy clothes • would ba the order of tho day. However, the rain did abata » ii'.tle from olf the earth as the day wire on, aud by 2 p.m. a good number of horsemen m'ght have been eeen making their way to Wnkiiri, the locale of the meat. Ere long th?re were fully 40 horsemen and two ladies on tbe ground, and, to my eyes, the field, though str.aller, sieitwd mora like hunting thau usual, for the bad weather hud weeded out the butteifly ekm =nt aad tho=e who merely came for a constitutional canter, with a view to that ge.it'.a agitation of tho liver ■without which that long-suffering orgau is apt to become an instrument of the fiercesS opprtssion. About 3 o'clock Mr Bradley saLt his uuunus into cuv^r, and but little time wad waited era the leading hounds spoke with no uncertain sound, an.l amid a thundoriDg cr.tsh of melody the pack went off on a scent liieait high. The cover from which the scent led was somewhat stony, and dotted hera aud thsra witli flax aud gorse. As the rain had nude everything s'.ippcry, some canny steering war, iitooful to avoid coining t:> grief. Apost-nnd-rails was the maiden jump, aud thie, thouyh of fairly goodtize, was taken by all without ft mi.itako. Another fence of the name sort and quvli'.y wa-t taken in very good style, notwithuand'.n;; the fact of i ls being on the verge of a r<ithft' steei. declivity, which mide a safe landiug lMlber an uncertain event. The next obstacle to progress were much more formidable, and had hbout them no romance what--ever. They were srme three awainpy creskbottjn.s, too wide to bo jumped by any hcrsj under the euo, and their black and miry aspect was very strongly |fuggestive if tlmo Slough of Desymd that co nearly j.rovoi fatal to the bero of the "iusjjir. d Tinker." A swamp must be bad indeed to stop a New Zealand horse, and thoug'» Sivero plunging and a wide-spread distribution o! mu-1 and water took pliee, all got through naf<-, but dirty. The road was njw •crots"d, and .". jump over a gorte hedge biought the field oi-.ce in ra to terra Jirma. A gallop up hill brougi.t a he^'ge in view, and all got s.ifely over. All this time tha hounJ^ were streaming away " like good una," and tho pacj was made so hot that it became a •qu?Btiiu of tho "survival of tbe fittest." The padiiock now being traversed wai pound though steep, and as the field was pretty well together, it was everybody's ambition to be in at the •death. Asiarp turn to ths le:t was the next move on the bonrd, and here the attention wa< claimed by a good stone wall, with an up-hill take-off. T<> such a fitld as Saturday's wa>, "stone walls do not a prinoo rcake," and this w»s taken uiti'iout any trouble. Plougn was now the ord?r of the day for a little way, un'.il the brow of thr? hill was" reached, when another =stono dyko h:>va ia tight. Thii lei into grass pasture, &nd was t iktsu by several riders abreas'. The hounds ware now not very far ahead, but still ruunir.g at a merry pice. Tha scent here became ra'hf-r c.-Id, and for a few seconds the pack teemed at fault. . The slight check se-ved to let tho horse < get their wind, when the pack tora away ovnr a high stone wall to the right, ap hill. Hears were again hardened, for this ■one looked a teaser. So it was, and more than one turned ln-ad at it. It did not, however, prove a s.opper to those next in hand, and a succefstin oS pratty jumps took place over it. Evrnt m!ly all got safely over, and ths kill took place ia a grassy paddock. A wtlcome clie-jk < f 20 minutes or so ensued, and all aimed that the pace had been unusually good. Meanwhile another run was sketched ou"-, and Mr Taggart departed on hia odorous «rr.ind, mounted upon a very likelylooking grey colt from Otepjpo. After Bufii cientlawtaibienallowedhim, Mr Bradley made a cast, and the pa:k weie soon in possession of a buroiog scent. The route of this run was intended to be almost the same as that of the .first run, with the slough of despond omitted,

and a few mor« walls thrown in. The field now raced for the atone wall across which they

had newly come. It was a much handier jump from thin side than frjm the other, and was surmounted without a mistake. A rapid curve to the left led the field to the second wall. This wajj topped in splendid style, as in the first run. Thu edge of a ploughed field was here skirted for a little diatance, and about half-way down the paddock the hound* took the wall, followeil by the field in compact order. A rapit gallop over grass and down hill followed, anc the hounds romehow ovtrrau the scent, and caused several walls to be omitted from tbe programme arranged for. They continuedto run on until they Dicked in on the scent, which lay over a gorsa hedge. The pace was here Vtry warm, and the hedge wa3 taken flying. So was the next, and a pretty sight it was to see the run at this stage —dogs, horses, and man going like mad. Is tho horiso, lor he takes hii shareNot in p.-ril alone, but in feverish bliss, And In_longing to do an.i dare. Another tura brought the field to more broken ground, and it became apparent that care wou'd have to be exercised in getting safely to the other side of an upper portion of that same creek which had proved itself such a trap fur the unwary in the first nr-. Inciui In Soyllam qu; vult v Ura Chirybdin, is a lino that might very truly be applied to the field on this occasion, for a special detour had bfon mn/le to gat round without courting too close q^rter-i with this \vatero')ur<e. "There's a beautiful land over there," was thought if nut sung by a good inw.y, but to get "oi-er thtre" was not so easy. Maay horses rtfm-ed to tempt its ugly depths. Suina r.f the morn imtetuom tcr.iruble;! through somehow, at tho rik of straining their horses in every limb. Net much more remains to ba told. The reffmiuhii; fences wer» got nv^r comfortably, and the kill t.:ok place oq a littls hill naar the road. Everybody Becme.l pleased with the spoit, nrh-'ch was undeniably good. The runs were both short, but to compensate for this, the pace «a? extremely good. No casualties occurred, the horses saoming to jump unusually well. Thi so who were at this run will not so m forget it. Thanks are duo to Messrs A. and J. M'Farlane and to Mr Kedzlie, who were good enonith to allow the Club tbe use of their land. The Misses M' Master were well mounted on Black Besa and that mare's dam respectively, and rode in the forefront of tie bittlo all the time. Miss Jone3 and Highflyer were conspicuous by th:ir absence, and general disap pointment s«med to be felt at this unusual state of affair*. Firat-class form was shown by a great many ot the sterner sex. The foremost of the most forward seemed to bs the following :—Mr 0. Turnbull, on Blaz«; Mr Htronach, on Beaumont ; Mr W. Stuart, on Native ; Mr It. Turnbull, on Playboy ; Mr M'Master, on Larrikin ; Mr D. Christie, on a bay horse ; Mr Walter Miller, on a brown hcrsi; young Goorlay, on JTrostfisb. (this horse hus changed hands, and is now Mr Gjurley's property); young Taggurt, on Dalesman. Some good ridiDg was shown by many otkers, but the ibove were undoubtedly the best up. I have to express my regret for Mr Petre'a absence, and to hope that ha will soon be to the for* again. Mr Bradley wan well mounted on th» game little Bothwoll. Maurice Glaasett, on .1 urk1, ftc.6ct os \voip. I uadoisland that the Hunt Club is getting many new msmbera, and that it bids fair to become a strong institution. The community would do well to support it cordially. John Peel.