DEER STALKING IN THE SOUTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

DEER STALKING IN THE SOUTH ISLAND.

By W. C. OLIVER.

(Specially written/or the Otayo Daily Times and II itnesn Chnt>tmuß Animal, 1007.)

fj ■•HERE are three things in New Zealand that oug-ht, / and doubtless will, bring- to out shoies in giowing- numbers as the years go b\ men ot means and leisure. 1 hese are magnincent alpine scenery; streams and rivers, numbering- o\ <. i < thousand, well stocked witn trout, unsui passed in tin ang-lmgf world, even including Norway and Lapland; ant herds of deer that are, of then kind, not to be beaten b those of any other countiy. A gooa many men, and some of the fair sex, too, have in them a strain of "Nimiod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.'' 1 ennj sun uiges us to "move upward, working out the beast, and let the ape and tiger die." There are those who think that the stalker may be moving in the opposite direction — cultivating the tiger. This is not so. There is no sheep-run »>i cattleranch wheie restrictive measures are not in toice to make the stock all that they should be. 1- ancy a tow lrun witn as many rt osters as pullets ! \\ liat endless feathered Waterloo theie would be! The slam of these, reducing things to healthy and kindly conditions, it is said, are not wasted, but serve man's table neec's. So may the noble hart in less degree, wJ en shot. And there are other considerations in life than those ot eating. The royal head, adorning hall, is "a thing ot beauty and a joy for ever.'' The ethics of the case need not, however, enter into this paper. A word ma> fittingly be said on the qiustion of health in this ton" nection. For the fairh robust there cm b ■ nothing under the sun more conducive to health and \igour < : mind and physique than a fen weeks' stalk. It meanplenty of exercise under the best possible conditions. Nothing but air tie purest, with sceneiy beautiful, wild, and in some parts awfully grand. 1 once le.uhec' an alpine peak while on the stalk, a little before dawn. The whole countiy ,\as imestel m dense fog. On reaching the mountain top I was just above the far-reaching cloud of white mist. There were only a few ptvks similar to the one on which 1 stood visible in the dist.iire, pin 'l^ out o' the wide sea of fog. When the sun rose, his first ra\ s touchec' the whole world into fi ime of gold. The "sea of glass mingled with fire"' commenced at once to i se into waves, then grea 'i regular ridges, and in a short time melted into the invisible It was a poem such as Milton never wrote. Then there must be added to these exhilarating conditions the mental icst thac conies with complete immunity from ordinary business worries and all the social taxes of city life. Turning now to localities it will be as w r\\ to start with the north, taking the \arious heicls southwards in their geographical order.

Nelson. The Xclson herd is now widely distributed. Kiom the neighbourhood of ILnclork in the e.-ist to the centre of the duller VaUev in 1h c west — -150 miles ;is the rp » flics — as well ,is directly inland, on *o the boundary of r.int'Timrv. they are to be found in ' onsiderable man bers. In fa< t. from the Sunny City as a centre one ma\ move in almost any din ction for over fif'v mile^ and be all the time nearly on deer country. The f 'How, as well „*. the jed. arc here The latter. how ever, altho vp ], some fine bucks have been j?ot, are quite restricted ir their rangfe, beinrconfined mostly to Aniseed Valley where they "fro first liberated The Xclson stagha.s one peculiarity 'hat distinguishes him from those of ! other herds in the colony. Tn mas= ' and length of antler he reaches j a hijyh average. I The ho m is also | remarkably dark | n colour. The proportionate want '

ot span is the peculiar thing. It was thought by man\ that the narrow space between the horns was due to Natuie s accommodation to circumstances. The counm abounds m bush, and it was thought that the narrow head, 01 want ot spread, was due to this, enabling them to find then way through the forest with iacihty. Want of span is due to ngid adheience to original t\ pe. The head of the original stag was picked up some \ears ago on the "Fringe Hill," where he had evidently died. It was n.ounted, and appeared with the Nelson head's in the late Exhibition in Christchurch. It had all the features exactly of the heads of to-day.

The season heie is opened about the 20th of February, and the stalker, for the license fee of £i, is entitled to shoot six heads. The season opens a month too soon. The rut does not commence till at least the 20th of March. Sportsmen have gone there at the opening of the season, hoping to secure some trophies in anticipation of the later opening in other parts of the country, and have been very disappointed. The stags do not join the hinds till well towards the end of March.

Rakaia

This will be known as the Canterbury herd. Ten years ago t!i • Canterbury Acclimatisation Society imported some deer from game dealers in London, and they ha.c thriven and multiplied . markablv. Four gentlemen who had taken a deep interest in s( curing them were privileged to shoot one each this season, and the four heads tney < btamed were of phenomenal growth, one of t.iem weighing 2 2 lbs- -bare skull and horns. While good in span, the length and mass of horn is remarkable, one horn pleasuring 47in. The brow tines of one head were i6in. For

a few \r.ns \et shooting will piobabh be leslrictcd to n.iuow limits, until the held has giown, anJ <o\< i s ,i wichi langc of c duntiy.

F \LLOW l)kl-R

Tapanlj

In the Albui\ district, South Canterbury fallow deer were liberated some years ago, and tliey ha\e multiplied and now irached the stage when they may be shot. Ine J>iue \iountains <it Tapanui. in Otago, is realh the place where fallow bucks aie sought b\ mam sportsmen. Last season theie were issued about se\enty licenses for the Tapanui district. For well-nigh tv\enty vcars stalkeib have visited this locality, and generally have had ver\ fair sport. Not a lew really splendid heads have been got, and notwithstanding the growing- numbers of sportsmen tiiev are still secured; but of course with greatei difficulty. 1 he time was when they were plentiful enough on the slopes and gullies of the southern side of the mountain. I have shot several good buck-, within a mile of the township. That day has practirallv passed. The thinning and destruction of native bush, coupled with the indiscriminate woik of the pot-hunter, hive driven the herd back nto the dense bush on the east side -f the range. The Black (hilly used to be a famous locality, about fi\e miles to the north of the township. At the foot of this gulh stalkers often camped, and found plenty of game all over the range immed ately above them. As many as fifty deer have been seen streaming out of a turnip field in the early morning, up towards the range, near here. It is now years ago, but I still have a lively recollection of my first day's experience in Black Gully. Before daybreak I had made my way well up the range to the south of the ordinary track. There was barking far and near, but ultimately I singled out one whose sonorous notes gave him distinction, a mile to mv left, and well up the range. I was near him, without loss of time, after a tu«sle through scrub and brush, rough enough for anything, lie had some iozen does with him, and they were scattered about

while he moved round and round in a patch of undergrowth, for a long- time invisible, though i was within a hundred yards of him. Breathless, I had to lie behind a tree, with a doe within a few yards of me, for ten minutes, when at last part of the body of the vocalist came into view, and a message from my Express dropped him. His fine head is now in the office of the Otago Acclimatisation Society. Fallow deer are more pugnacious than the red. During the whole time of the rut the bucks are fighting each other. After the roaring has commenced it is the exception to find a buck that is not covered with scars. I have never seen a red deer try to get his horns into man, but a wounded buck I ha\e seen put forth repeated and frantic efforts to assail his human enemy. They are more wary to approach in the bush than the red are. Their sense of hearing is more acute. I ha\e trampe*.. many hours where they have been numerous, coming across their warm beds by the dozen, just vacated, without ever seeing ont of them. With all their alertness they at times make mistakes. I had followed one, at a safe distance one day, down a steep spur and across a gully, where I expected him to stop. For hours I watched and moved about where he ought to be discovered, in vain. At last I gave it up as hopeless, and started for camp. Accidentally looking over my shoulder to my amazement and joy, there the buck was, not over a dozen yards off, and walking straight on to me. We caught sight of each other at the same moment. It is hard to say who was more surprised. There was not much time given to inspection on either side. It did not cost him a moment's pain to lose his head, and 1 was very pleased to have such a nice burden to carry backto camp.

To-day it is necessary to camp on the east side of the mountain, where most of the deer aie. There is little difficulty involved in this, as facilities for transport of one's tent and thing-s can easily be grot in the township. The greater part of the Blue Mountains is pre-eminently suited to the habits of fallow deer, and g-ood for little else. It is very desirable that the Government should be urged to make all the eastern side of the mountains a forest reserve, or national park. Important as the deer are, in the light of the large numbers who yearly spend their holidays healthily in their pursuit, the bush scenery in those eastern gullies and ravines is simply magnificent. No Englishman has grounds — whatever art can do — to be compared to the wealth and beauty of foliage there to be seen. These glorious sights, too. are sufficiently near big centres of population to be seen by the many.

The Axis. These beautiful spotted deer of India were once fairly numerous at Bushy near Palmerston. The first time I strolled oxer the place I counted seventeen in one mob. It seems a thousand pities that means were not taken to secure these, or a few at least, to remove them to some locality affording: suitable conditions of grrowth and safety. Deer yards, erected by Mr Rich, were there too; and into these a few turnips would have decoyed them almost any night. To capture them was an easy and inexpensive thing-. That opportunity was not taken by the powers that be, and now what might have been a fine flock is practically extinct for purposes of sport. From India, or Ceylon, where they abound, they could be replaced. Cost and years would, however, be involved. North Otago. Forty years ago a few pure Scotch red deer were liberated on the Morven Hills. They have thriven splendidly, and now must number thousands. The country being- largely alpine, with plenty of feed and shelter, with no animal life, except the rabbits to disturb them, they have all the conditions of success. The most of the country which they cover is unsuited for stock of any kind, owing to the heavy falls of snow in winter. The chief stalking centres, or localities, are these : — The Dingle, Hunter, Timaru Creek and Devil's Block, Ahuriri Gorge, Maitland Creek, and the country about Long-slip, and as far south as the Lindis. This latter embraces the locality where the herd fhst took root, and it abounds in hinds and second-rate stags; but towards the middle and latter part of the season big stags come here from other parts. For the sportsman not caring to face rougher country, and who would be satisfied with moderate trophies, to be got without much toil, this is an ideal country. It is the most accessible of all too, and just the best place for those being initiated. The country is all open, so that there are no bush difficulties to contend with. The Ahuriri Gorge gives a stretch of about twontv miles of fine deer country, and comparatively easy of access. Vehicular conveyance can be got to

camp. Timaru Creek and the Devils Block skirt the northeast side of Lake Hawea, and are of comparatively < asy access from Pembroke or Hawea Flat. Theie are largo patches of bush, with open ridges and large basins towards the top of the ranges. Every season a considerable number of fine heads are got here. The Dingle is a valley twenty miles in length as the crow flics — the river running into the top of Lake Hawea — with ranges rising on both sides to an altitude of six and seven thousand feet. The lower part is mostly bush-covered, while the upper part is mostly open country. There are over a dozen gullies running back from the valley into the ranges, with five and twenty deer in each, on an average. The Hunter is parallel to the Dingle, separated by a single range, and is about fifty miles in length, the river being of considerable size. There are about twenty considerable creeks falling into the Hunter from the west side, from a mile to a mile and a-half apart, with bush for the first few miles, and then open ridges towards the top of the ranges, giving the very finest stalking conditions. Fine heads are got he^e every year.

The Stalk. To stalk well involves endurance, patience, and considerable skill. The hnest stalkers in tiie world are the loresters and keepers in the bcotch veer forests. They are to the manner born, liiey have grown up with the herds, and know all their wa\s, with every possible wind current in any particular locality. 1 had the pleasure of spending: several seasons in tneir companionship on the stalk in the Highlands, and can well understand an incident I came across lately in an English magazine. An Indian prince was under Donald^s care, and during" ihe former part of the day the swarthy nobleman was treated with every mark ot respect — titled right and left. By-and-bye they neared game, and the prince was rather exposing himself to the sight of ihe deer, when Donald whispered, with intense emphasis, "Down! down! you black tevil !" Well, the stalk m the open country in Otago ib very similar to that in the forests of Scotland, requiring similar methods. Deer are wondeifully sharp of vision, up to half a mile ; beyond this their eye is not better than that of man. At long distances 1 do not think it is as good. Their power of hearing is vastly superior to mans. 1 was watching a stag with a fewhinds one da\ , having their mid-day rest, in a spot where they could not be approached to within range. They were quite a mile away. The stag was uttering a roar occasionally. I uttered a roar in imitation, which I think a human being would not distinguish from the real thing, in the hope of securing a challenge and possible approach. They were up and away instantly. Their power of scent is the most wonderful, and they depend more on it than thc\ do on eye or ear. I was making my way up into one of the basins in the Dingle one tl.iy, when in an opening in the bush I saw a stag Iving about thirty \ ards to my right. I affected not to see him, as T was anticipating better game ahead. I had haidly passed when he g>t up and followed me like a dog — coming almost uncomfortabh near. I was probably the first human biped he had even seen. In a little he caught my scent, and was away like the wind. With a fair wind the\ are safe to pick up the "taint at a mile. Deer have intelligence to use the senses they possess tint arc- abnormally efficient. They generally are found where t^e eye has a good range or. one side and the sense of smell giving them command of the

other side. Tiicic are positions where the king or the held considers botli of these inadequate, and then he plants his watcher. 1 have noticed this sentn business repeated!}. I knew of a hnc stag once in one of. the higher basins in the Dingle, and made up m\ mind to get him it possible. He was between live and six thousand feel up, but by ten o'clock I was in his neighbourhood. With some ten hinds, he was on a patch of grass of a few acres, while all beyond was rock and shingle. It was impossible to get within a quarter of a mile of them, except at one particular spot, where a small gulh gave possible approach to within two hundred yards of them. On that one spot there stood an old hind, looking down the small gully, like a bit of statuar} . Till late in the e\ening i w ate lied, and hoped for a change in the piogramme; but no. Several times during that long day that hind got tired of her vigil and walked back to the others; straightwa} her lord sent her back to her post, with little ceremon\. It is the foiling of this wonderful wariness and securing the trophy- -intelligence against instinct — that give to the stalk its rhicf interest. Walking on to a stag, or dioppmg on one t li.it by pure accident happens to run across one's line of manli, may be put down to good luck; and, apart from the head, there is really nothing in it. The mere shooting of a stag, to the real stalker, has no more in it than shooting a goat or any other animal. It is the stalk — the game of chess — that carries all the virtue with it An incident from my stalk in the Dingle last season will illustrate both these points. We had readied camp with a cleai day before the season opened, and having got e.erything into shape about our camp between the afternoon of our arrival and noon of the next day, there was an afternoon free for rest or sight-seeing. 1 elected to have a walk up the valley, and climb one < f the ridges to the right, and explore the country with telescope in anticipation of the morrow. T soon picked up a mob of deer with the glass, about two miles across a gully opposite to where I was. I counted thirty hinds, four or five youngish stags, and one king, wearing such a crown, and sustaining it with such ample proportions of body as I had not often seen. It thrilled one. The nerves tingled, and the heart commenced to be emphatic in its register. They were in a choice spot, easy of approach : wind and everything favourable. A two hours' smart walk, and I could have had him. The season did not open until the morrow, so after a careful inspection of all things, I returned to camp and reported what I was going to do in the morning. After a night that was neither dreamless nor hopeless, and a hearty breakfast, T was early on the war trail for that particular stag. With his four clear points on each top his massive size, and remarkable grey, shaggy coat, there could be no mistaking him if seen again. As soon as T came within sight of the locality I discovered the deer still there. The wind had, however, shifted from , the north-west to the south-west, claiming another

Wav of approach.

They were in a basin a little

o\er half a mile wide, in shape resembling a horse's hoof, the frog being- represented by a rlattish ridge in the centre, and very near the top of the range. Until tairly near them 1 had only to climb a ridge to their left, winch ga\e comparatively easy going. \\ hen about one-tnird up I discovered a hind and her calf right m my way. Here was a danger. The ridge was too steep, with rocks and shingle slips, to admit of sidling stiaight round; so I had to retrace my steps and take the ridge some distance further up the valley. This was success tuny done, and by n o'clock I had reached the margin of the basin, shgntu above the herd. There they were scattered over the basin from side to side and from top to bottom. I could see ovei twenty hinds and six stags, but his Imperial Highness was nowhere to be seen or heard. There was one blowing his trumpet like a raging lion, every now and again, but ne was> also invisible. Ultimately I detected the white tips of his horns among some long grass, half a mile across. Once he rose to his feet for a few seconds, and 1 made him out to be a very pretty io-pointer. Where the big fellow could be was the mystery. It was impiobable that he should desert such a harem; and, if near, it seemed equally strange that he should be silent with a smaller stag proclaiming himself king of the castle. J watched and scanned things from every safe point until 5 o'clock, when it was time to turn home, which I then did, leaving everything undisturbed. I had not gone over two 'nundred yards when I caught sight of a stag approaching the deer from below me. He had three fine lines on each top — a good royal at least. But, surely he could not be the big fellow ! The big fellow seemingly was gone, seeking fields and pastures new. Here was another passing two hundred yards below me, down the ridge. There was no stalk. The rifle went up and he went down. Just as I reached him, to take his head, all the dcci were streaming away ur> the opposite ridge — four hundred yards from me, — and, with them, the big fellow. He had been lying by himself in U.ng snow grass all day. Tc try for him at four hundred » r ards would be foolish. Next day I covered the whole ground

and found the herd in smaller companies, not far apart, the young stags were all there, but no trace ot the one v «mted. The following day 1 gave them a rest, and went elsewhere. A third visit disclosed them in the onginal spot, with the big stag in charge. 1 had a young friend with me this time, and after climbing- three parts up the range, with several minor excursions, *econcxuded tnat the v md was so tnck> mat the safest way would be to retrace our steps entirely and take a ridge going up some distance to our right, cross the top of the lange, and possibly get on to them from the upper side. This we did, and after se\en hours" hard going, we came to the margin of the ridge where we should be within range. We were close enough to the wind then. Cautiously I looked through the grass, and there they were — all on the go too! Did my young tnend show Innisfit, and so give us away? I read lately in T. Martindale's charming book., "Sport, Indeed," a story which I shall give. Two men were on the stalk, one thin and wiry, the other vast. They had struck a trail, and the thin fellow, lifting his eyes, saw a stag coming straight towards them: "There lie (limes! Lie down!' whispered the tliin chap, but, seeing no reduction in the size of Its i tund brother, he again shouted under his biirath, "Lie down! Lie down!" Then came an answer from the man of proportions: "Confound it all, I am lying down!'' "The deuce you are. Then stand up, and perhaps the stag won't see you. ' Well, whether seen or winded, or moved by natural impulse, our first peep showed the herd in wild flight. I fired, and missed. So d-d my friend. 1 do not think the\ really saw us, and ciossing over the frog in the horse's hoof— the small ridge in the basin--thcv dropped rather leisurely into the gulh beyond,

and did not reappear. Noticing which, we lost no time in covering" the quarter of a mile either, and on reaching the top of the small ridge, there they were standing across the gully, only two hundred yards away. I soon had a bead on the big" fellow, and he fell in his track, stone dead. He was a remarkably fine 14-poinler, with massive horns, all the tines being- regular and symmetrical. The bare skull when boiled clean, with horns, scaled nineteen pounds. From nose to tail he measured se\en feet nine inches, and four feet eight inches immediately behind the shoulders, and must have been well on for five cwt.

The story of this stalk is to illustrate the two points I have mentioned. The shooting of the royal practically amounted to nothing more than aiming at an animal that happened to pvalk into that particular spot, as I was passing along. It intailed no skill on my part, except the little there was in lolding- a rifle straight. In ihe case of the big fellow it meant ;even hours' exercise of all the skill and shrewdness that one

could command. There were thirty-six pair of e\es, all on the watch, and as many noses testing every puff of wind, to reckon with. It is these things, and not the mere act of shooting that creates the real interest.

lain deeply on the ranges for days I have seen the hinds make repeated efforts to get to lower open countn . but their lord would have none of it. He eats not. noi does he will that they should go where they can get feed. Stags are to be found in the bush also. In fact, they have taken to cover in growing numbers. This is one feature of their wariness. Bush stalking is not by any means so pleasant and the chances are not so good, but it has its fair possibilities. Where the roaring is frequent it is possible enough to get on to the jrame. But even when the game is approached, the chances of examining the head with the glass, which every careful stalker will aim at doing", are brief and difficult. There are a few spots in the Dingle where many fine stags have been got on the open flat hv the river. "Lucky Flat"" is one of these, about half a mile above Cotters'. Trie number of skeletons on those few level acres tell their own tale. Most stalkers well fill their licen=e. returning with their trophies and interesting memories, which is the best evidence that the stags are got. whethei on high ranges, in the bu=h. or on the flat.

A Curious Thing

A hinci. on giving- buth to her faun, plants it in a spot wheie it is nor lively to be disturbed. During tie day bao returns and suckles it, once 01 twice. She does not remain by it. Sin strikes her foot on the ground and dow n the \ oung-ster lies until his mother sees fit to return again. Now. it a man happens to come along-, dropping- across the young-ster, it will follow him without any trace of fear, lust as a \oung- lamb often cioe^ But if once the fawn has followed its mother for a single run it is as fearful of the app roach of man as an old deer is. This remarkable chang-c takes place not gradually, but immediately. The following- of the mother and the dread of man and dog 1 come tog-ether. : Heads and Point:-.. There 1^ an idea common enough that stags multiply their tines b> their ' years. In other words, that they ', have eig-ht points at four years, ten i at five, and twelve at six. This is pure ; 1 fiction. In rare cases a stag: has i become royal at five. The great i majority of stag's would never be- < ! come royal. Prob- ably 70 per cent. 1 would never have more than ton

points, ivoyals beget royals and ten-pointers ten-pointers. Royals being: much less numerous than ten-pointers, so will their sons be. Points are not everything. They are only one thing". As a matter of fact, a royal may be a poor specimen enough, or

he ma\ be ma|rMi<. 1 ha\e seen a ten pointer intiniteh superior to some n>\als, or even tourteen-poinw-i s. Mass, length, span, and synimettN, as well as points 01 tines, have to be taken into account in determining the value ot a head.

biddable liunibeis, but ne\ei saw a right. Two 1 have witnessed in this colon}. One was in the Dingie, when a good royal and an eleven-pointer tried issues. The\ met each other with a lush on a steep face. With biou to brow ihe\ moved side on, up linl, until they reached level ground on the top, apparently by mutual consent. Then they thrust at each other, moving: rounu and iound and up and down — sometimes on their knees and sometimes on all fouis, — their hinds looking on the while. One ever comes in for a losing game, and in this case it was the royal. The \ anguished seems to know that Ins life depends on his escaping clear from the antlers ot his enemy, and that is generally done, as it was in this case, by a tremendous bound. I saw two good stags brought into Nelson one day that were both shot while fighting. They weie doing battle in a paddock close to a farmhouse. The farmer put a bullet into each barrel of his fowling- piece and shot them both. They were too intent over the fight to notice anything else. When the first fell, the

other continued thrusting- at him until he laened his fatal leaden message also.

would. These malformed trash beget their kind. If permitted to live they will do so on an increasing ratio. If our deer •country were alike in physical features all round, and touched by man and stock alike on every side, it would be different. The deer are attacked from the south and east. In the north they are never disturbed, and there go the big stags as soon -as the rut is over, the malformed and small fry lingering behind with the hinds, so that they are found with them still when the rut sets in again. The mischief is done before the big" stags have returned to capture their hinds again. It is only towards the very close of the season, if at all, that the large stags reach the hinds on the south-east side of the ■deer country; meanwhile the small fry and malformed have had the game all to themselves in these parts. Mr Wallace found things much better m the Hunter than on the Devils Block. Ihe reason is obvious. The Hunter is contiguous to the retreat of the large stags, and is the first ground they reach as the season opens, and at once they take possession of the hinds that are there. The malformed have no chance then. Unfortunately, hinds are much less plentiful there than ■they are south and east, where the rubbish have their fling.

Length of antlers, 42 inches ; number of points. 15 , and one offer. pieces and hung- over the fire during breakfast in the billy, until brought to the simmering point, and left during the day where only little warmth will reach it from dying embers. There will then be less than an hour's cooking needed on return to camp in the evening-, which, with a little seasoning, will form a stew that will leave nothing further to be desired. The dried

dropped either from pocket or sheath in the scramble sometime! involved ir> the stalk, in which case the ordinary article would dc in a pinch to remove the head. Several times I have known th< knife to be lost during the stalk, and in one instance, as then was no smaller substitute, it entailed a long tiamp back t< camp betore the stags head could be secuted.

The Cost.

Twenty pounds should cover the cost of a stalking trip to any of the localities mentioned ; and to some, such as Tapanui, not more than half this amount. Those choosing the lower Dingle, Timaru Creek, or the Hunter would come via Pembroke or Hawea Flat. The Upper Dingle, Longshp, Morven tj ills, Ahuriri Gorge, and Maitland Creek are readied via Oamaru and Kurow. Messrs 11. and C. liodgkinson, of Pukewi, near Oamaiu. have taken parties for several seasons to the most of the ()tai>o grounds. They know all the countries well, aie born stalker, 'ncl fine fellows. Mr Munro, coach proprietor, of Kuiow, also take* stalkers to their various elected camps, lie keeps a nne supply of coaches and pack horses, and is mo<t reliable and obliging in every sense. There is now