RED DEER STALKING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19350, 10 December 1924, Page 10

RED DEER STALKING.

ALL A SPORTSMAN NEEDS TO KNOW. CAPTAIN T. E. DONNE’S INTERESTING- WORK. (Fbom Oub Own Correspondent.) LONDON, October 21. From this time onward sportsmen of this country may go out to New Zealand thoroughly versed in all that pertains to the complete and perfect deer-stalker. Captain T. E. Donne, C.M.G., has published a work which is so comprehensive in its scope that "it must inevitably rank as a text-boon for stalkers for very many yeans to come. The author has not written it in a hurry. It has been a work of love with him for some years, and in recent months in his retirement he has found time to complete it and prepare it for publication. Although it would seem that the author has almost exhausted his subject, it is understood that what has already appeared is only half of his material, and another volume is expected to follow. “ Red Deer Stalking in New Zealand” (Messrs .Constable and Co.; 21s) contains all the information that anyone who is interested in red deer could possibly wish to know. It deals with the sport in New Zealand with such a. fullness of interesting detail that even those who have never fired a sporting rifle in their lives may take a very real pleasure in learning of the wild life to be met with in the sparsely-inhabited regions of the dominion. For the would-be stalker or for those who are already familiar with the sport in other countries the book will be an inducement to seek this land where even the man of the most moderate moans can have as good a time as the man of wealth and leisure. It must be remembered that as much ns £SOOO has been paid for the shooting rights of a Scottish forest for one season.

Cantain Donne approaches his subject gradually, and gives a general statement regarding the dominion for the benefit of such people as believe it to be a part of Tasmania or people who still inquire if the "blacks” may he shot at sight. "The Old World hunter,’ ’sava the writer, “goes to Scotland for red deer; Canada for moose: the United States of America for waniti. mule, and Virginia deer: India for sambar, axis, and tahr: Japan and China for sika deer; the parks of England for fallow; and the Alps of Europe for chamois. New Zealand contains all of these varieties of game animals, and its climate and other physical conditions are eminently suitable for them.” Captain Donne does not go into detail concerning the hunting of ; these rarer animals, which perhaps is just as-well.

No one can say .he was -not warned concerning the hard work that is entailed in a season of stalking. "The mountains are high, steep, and rough, the gullies numerous and deep, the rivers wide and rapid, distances comparativelv great,, and the inconvenience many. His heart, lungs, and legs require to be in good working order, and hie spirit strong within him. . . . There is a great wealth of verdure and a riotous entanglement of trees, bushes, vine®, ferns, and* flowers, so closely intertwined that one’s gvery steprf and movement is impeded by vegetation. The treacherous ‘lawyer’ clings to his clothing, tears his hands and face; the einuoiis ’supplejack’ trips his feet, grips his waist, and winds itself about bis neck; often he makes progress in humble manner on his knees. The scenery is glorious, and Switzerland, Norway, Canada, North America, and Italy have each their physical prototypes in this wonderful little country. Water is plentiful and good, and may be freely drunk with safety; the climate is temperate, the air clear and bracing.”

Having made up his mind to sail for New Zealand to stalk in spite of the warning, the sportsman is fully informed as to what things to do and leave undone. He is even told all about the different sailing routes, and what to do on arrival in the dominion. A description is given of the stalking districts, and information and suggestions on a large variety of subjects. Crossing rivers, mosquitoes and sandflies, forest fires, poison plants, losing one’s way, food and drink for the lost, are all preliminary subjects which are discussed with a wealth of stories which point the moral. A chapter with the title of “Stalking yarns” gives the writer on opportunity of recounting a number of his own interesting experiences over many seasons spent in the wilds. But he goes further afield and tells many captivating stories of early days which have little or no connection with the wily stag. THE' HOVER OP NATURE. A sixth chapter deals with New Zealand birds which the stalker may see. This surely is an example of the author's thoroughness. But then it must be remembered that the actual destruction of a finely antlered animal is not the solo nor indeed the main fascination of the sport, as many well-known hunters have already told us. Captain Donne lots himself go to some purpose on, this point. “To the lover of Nature,” ho writes, “the best of the world is on the high mountains. To be there amidst their grandeur at the dawn of a fair day, is to ho enthroned more gloriously than King Solomon ever conceived possible in his most exaggerated dreams of magnificence. The deep blue cloud-flecked eky, from which the ‘Father of Lite’ has just outshone the twinkling stars, forms an illimitable and majestic canopy which is without compare. The ever-chang-ing, strong, brilliant colours, and the soft, delicate tints which blend in such exquisite harmony, and so gorgeously embellish the eastern horizon convey to the mind a sense of infinite beauty beyond all art. The ruged peaks are dazzling in their splendour, and a broad belt of colon?. shining brighter than the brighest band of burnished gold, outlines their contour in a glory of light inconceivable by the imagination. The perfumes of a myriad forest flowers are wafted to the hunter’s senses on the gentle whisper of a pure, light air. They may not be as beautiful as the rose, as brilliant as the rhododenron, or as sweet as the carnation, and yet the average man with human sensibilities experiences greater delight and pleasure from their more modest colouring and less pronounced fiagrance than from the more gaudy hues and pungent scents of their sisters in cultivation. They are, to him, the decorations of an unfamiliar world, and being met with in solitary and romantic regions, their presence seems to express a friendly and pleasing welcome." NOTHING FORGOTTEN,

Having led up to the main themes leisurely and gradually, the author, none the less, attacks these with a thoroughness which is remarkable. The telescope, the ammunition, the hunter’s knife, and even the choice of a stalking mate are subjects dealt with in detail.

" In a camp in the wild country,” says the author apropos of the last-mentioned subject, “the of a man stands out like a cleanly-cut cameo, and if he has a mean streak in him he betrays, it. Here there are no superficial conventions behind which it can bo concealed. Therefore, in selecting a nifte to accompany you, endeavour to get a sincere man of reticent manner and few words. A talker is a bore; when hunting he is an unqualified nuisance, and not always to be relied on; moreover, the quiet, reserved man is usually the one to show true grit in adverse circumstances. A fat man, or one out of condition, will likely prove to be an impediment from start to finish, and spoil the whole, trip. A good stalker must be a good climber as well as a good shot.” A chapter headed “Notes on Camping” would serve as a useful text-book, not only for stalkers, but for anyone who finds himself under canvas in the summer time. Every detail of a camper’s outfit, every expedient for greater comfort is considered and explained by ’ one who has obviously spent