CULLING AND DEERSTALKING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14698, 4 December 1909, Page 13

CULLING AND DEERSTALKING.

ronm.'liv " , co;, , vori ' ,,ti <"' «it.h Mr Harold I'. 1 . 0 "J • u 'io lias recent lv teen tullmij-oiii soine .interesting information em- Imr 'r r f tt " h "S "* staf - of Ulc r«l Crpnl- °" l' ou ' el> J->inprle anclTiinaru 1 n,n' U """' y ' liste » s to IhJ IV ~oi," v o vicws (,f men o.; ?, S n ' : 'i < -' llu r of ilk '"' sub i jct I,as 'wen tied and perfected in a s ),or(. fpaco of ■ ' , "' t :V (-mmoll.v's hubiu of observu- '»* 20 odd years' experience t 0 = ion- L ~ r;lrtioS cnti,l ° llis r: r '.T' P -"'* |x ' ct tllan is "Worded V| K H'lnjietv at tho »ame." J Here is, of com*?, no necessity for culln,' on the liniarn Creek country. Kx-e.-m'nation is ihe only jxilicy. but'that this Will l>e readily accomplished j s doubtful, ■is continued shoot,u K viclniiv has 10■ eflect of driving the doer to t.1,0 j.onrc^t nlinill or ,i ■ J l ' - ,. , ' lle - v Ilot readily tlMlldotl litair feeding {.rounds, and would lirahably Iran, ( 0 remain under cover till nislittall, ami irtarn with <|;uvii to the Ml'OSt clump of hoes. After a month's hunting t.iey would require to be left in peace until they hud abandoned their nocWhen shooting could bo retinned. An instance of their <!is!iko to removing lo now quarters was fiven On rhe read outwards to tho high rollllh . v eacli morning was crossed a fan-shapixl o,i>ui, for the wecdiness of itd occupan-s A family party of 15 hinds and cV " ' I, 'l ]xif.--c:v>mn, and grazed in jvriect faicty. Ajfaiasfc (lie prevailing norl.ii v.im,i •.i/.Tis wns no possible chance of np-pre-'if-iiiDg wuhiu COO yard-s unseen, and dav alter i.?y •„!)■> same herd returned lo their grounds. (.Vnl factors aro usually spat in:: ot tneir cartridges, and seldom lire uiile-5 at niorforato distances; but in the liopi! of shifting the desr to other vallovs fpotcnl long range shots were fried on diilerenl. occasions. These had the effcct of driving- the deer into the bush at a ffctulo p.ico, bllt aluays well out of range. Ordinarily, when disturbed, deer will on-d-ce.vour to put a broad space of country between themselves and any intruders, but. m this case they appeared i'o fully appreciate the strength of their position,'and wero loth to abandon )l. In a. calm or nrainst. a soutlierlv wind tho basin would not ha\e provided tire same security, and with two or three good rifles coitlil have been easily "cleaned out"; but no change occurring the same herd rc-lainod possession to tho end, and with their numbers un({munched. Again, whilst shooting" umfcr tho Waterfall Peak—on the dark aide— dilicront moos of •dei.'r were cut oIF from the timber below, and tho survivors driven acrp.ss to the Dingle side of the range. In a ouy or two ii was found that they had returned, and settled down again, and this attachment- to their own pariictilai' valleys was. noticed on several occasions. Wlicn ui.-di.iturbcd they commence to feed downhill about c o clock iu the atternoon, rcturniug to their restin«-plaees on the hillside before the heat of the succeeding day has fa'.ily begun. Their vitality is extraOldlliary, u:Jc.s? fairly hit in the right place several bhots may lie required to provont (heir escape. 'The older guides speak regretfully ol the vanished glory of the Timarti country as a sktlltitig ground, and several places were ]»inted out where good heads had been secured m bvgouo years by -Messrs jlamlysido, 0. Turnbull, Roberts, Melville, Gray, and others. But it would bo- as reasonable to cxjuict a race of giants to develop among the slums of a gieat city ,-ls ir, would be to expeot red deer iO attain their highest development where sheep und rabbits unite to crop the lierbage bare. Uere. -is with the human lvtoe, poverty brings a long list of attendant evils in i>« train, and malfonns and weeds aro a? thick as "autumn leaves." Out on the Green Spur. _ and about the head of tho 1 imaru Creek, a- few goc<l heeds may still 'oe obtained, this country lyin;: close to tJie Devil's Block, and little frequented by oven the hardy and venturesome" inenuo.

Armed with instructions from the rnliiif powers I had ridden out to the shooters" camp, mid, turning eastwards from tlio Timaru homestead, had allowed mv horse to luck Ins way along a narrow track and among Iho boulders at. the fords. Outsklo it Jiou-hiiK noitl.orly had whipped the waters ot tiio lake to foam, hut in the narrow between the hills Iho force of the v. nil! w;t.s broken, and tlio air was comparatively still. To 0110 who knows and love.? the hills, their solitude and restful peace journeys such as this are forgotten os tasks. lhi- pleasure of the cver-ohang-mg scene remains, and at every lxind somethine; ol interest was revealed, shortenine the journey and baguiling the time awav. Now a watchful hind would load her charges to a clearer space to observe (he stranger's movements far Mow; or, again, a. Tittle Stoh|) would witter up tlio hillside on our approar.h to i-j.ich the safer ground above. In a deep and shaded pool a noble trout, was Iymi and swimming in and out. just wnore the white and broken water met the blue; and further on a pair of nesting ducks flow from a scrubby bank ami vanished up the stream. Decaying tent-poles and stumps of fallen trce.s marked tlio place where our track-making parly h::d camped years lvcfor<\ l-iifc the "whistlers' Mw haunt above the rapids was silent and rlijserM. Bof-h shootorti were awav from camp, so leaving my parcels in the tent I rodo onwards towards iJolainy's claim. Returning itmn m rcfim iL bocanio evident t.hat a hind nm:,:; sail try duty on a sharp ridge above or her thrci, mates, had attracted the attention of another bcsulw myself, and although 1»5 dolh;s harmou:;;;i well with the surrounding country, his rapid movements betrayed one of the stalkers in his up. preach, although Ins route was well hidden iron, the watchful <!m- on the same level, lie bad almost attained the crest when the ec-nlry moved over towards him, and stood lor a. moment before presenting her broadside ill sprucing away. It war, a snapshot #t Simrt. range, and the result was apparent bfore Iha sound ha<l travelled far. .Seen gainst the sunlight the stricken animal appesrof! to le-sp upwarcKs, ;m<l, turning over in t.ho spring. lo fall with such rigidity OS to bounce Lcfcn; lyin.r s t.i|j I,i(|,' e and active the stalker had' leaned out on to Ihe crest, and. (lisciuimng; liflo rest, or cover, had opened tire on the remnimncr • hr;:i\ A V.hite spurt, of du*t showed whore a bulla had si ruck in front of their retreating leader, and as he swung in his tracks another caught him full and fair, and left him lying anions the stones. Three more shcts were lircd, and presently the stalker appeared to signal that, the four had been secured. As tile skins liavo a corlam commercial value they are carried in and raved, and when obtained, as in this * Whistler (blue mountain ducks) were at one !iii:e very common and tame. Their friendly and f«ir!«s ftttituda lias bean taken full advantage of by imparted vermin. They are nw rarely aecn, and only in the wildest ana wort inaccessible places, wall back in v ro

instance, at the ends of a day's RtaJkin?, aro easily dealt with. Wbea shot oarly in the day and carried to its close, tha woighti of three or four green hides add greatly to Ulo shooter's laboura, and hamper His movements considerably, Good stalkers often dilate on the largo number which can bo accounlod For in any one day, and doubtless a wholesale slaughter ooukl bo made by them—if the deer wero eecuroly yarded. Tho work in itself is by no means easy, but the ntlrnctions of the sport and the free and indeixmdent life compensate tho strikers for disappointing days, toilsome climbing, and the rough and broken weather frequently experienced.