TRAPPERS’ PRIVATIONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21131, 15 September 1930, Page 9

TRAPPERS’ PRIVATIONS.

SNOWED-IN IN THE BUSH. - . SHELTER OF PERN TRUNKS. •; Snowed in with nothing but dense * bush all round, nothing to eat exceptj opossums, arid a little flour and water, 1 no tent, and sleeping .between wetblankets every night for three weeks—/• these were some of the hardships suffered .by two young men from Christ-' church who recently returned after about ' five miserable weeks spent in the bush , near Ikainatua, on the West Coast, trapping opofesums. ' One of the young men told some of his adventures to a Sun reporter. - He said that he and his pal did quite, well at opossum trapping last season, ; and the two of them thought they would ■ try their luck again. However, judg- ' mg by. their experiences this season they are . not likely to spend another season" at it. * The spot selected by them this season was i the bush at Ikamatuo. They 1 ' had no tent, so erected a shelter of the trunks of fern trees, split up the centre.! The first two weeks in the bush were *i quite good, but after that a snowstorm' completely trapped the two young fellows' m the bush. Their « hut ” was covered with snow, and it came in through ‘ the roof, wetting everything. With" all the tracks blocked with snow these two young trappers found they could •• not get out of the bush. Of provisions tliGy had little, and unless the anew * cleared it would bo impossible for them to obtain any. With, a rifle they might ; have been able to get a deer, but they, had no rifle. . 1 ' In a day or two they found themselves without food at all, with the ex- ! ception of a supply of flour. Several " attempts were made to get out of the ’ ousn, ibut the tracks were completely t covered by the snow, arid there was : always a risk of getting lost. For several days the young trappers ‘ ate nothing |iut “ dampers ” of’ flour and water, and then they cooked ' th carcasses of opossums. However, they were riot the only trap- , pors caught in the bush with the snow. ' as they discovered one day when tryimr to find a way out. The paif happened to stumble across a shelter similar to ' their own, and in it they found a com-,. pavativcly young man, who was in a worse plight than themselves. With ‘ them tense cold he had been reduced to u state^ of almost complete cxliaustion. His hands were too cold to enable , him to set a fire, and for days he had been living on raw opossum meat. He could hardly walk. The snow had ' to be dug away to enable the young men to get into the hut. The trappers had been snowed in the bush for nearly three weeks, and a few days after the finding of the other trapper, they managed to find their wav out and summon help. J They had obtained 70 opossum skins each, but after they had paid for their ' licenses, the Government royalty, the stamping of the skins, their train faro« and other incidentals, they found them! selves left with nothing but the cv • penencc.