MOOSE HUNTING

Southland Times, Issue 20664, 20 April 1929, Page 8

MOOSE HUNTING

GOOD HEAD SECURED

THE FIRST IN NEW ZEALAND ALR’E. J. HERRICK’S SUCCESS The distinction of gaining the first moose head ever shot in New Zealand or perhaps in the Southern Hemisphere has been won by a New Zealander, Mr E. J. Herrick, of Hastings, who has just returned from a five weeks’ expedition into country, much of which has never been explored, at the head of Dusky Sound. The difficulties and dangers, and also the thrills, of treading where no man trod before were told yesterday to a Times reporter in a special interview with Mr Herrick who looked well bronzed after five weeks in the wilds. During those weeks, Mr Herrick and Mr James Muir, of Hawea Hat, were completely isolated, having been left there by the auxiliary schooner Britannia which, under Captain Hansen, had taken them out in a good voyage of five days.

This was not the first moose hunting trip he had taken, Mr Herrick explained. The last had been in 1924 when he had been accompanied by his wife, but no heads were obtained. Last year Mr Muir had visited the Sound and had noticed a tremendous increase in the tracks and other evidences of the animals and it was clear that they were flourishing in their new habitat ,and had established themselves over a wide area. Since 1910 when they were released they had apparently increased greatly in numbers but whether they would develop into an outstandingly large type of the species he could not say. They had originally come from the north-eastern coast ot America. No permits for moose-hunting had been granted except that, granted in 1924 to Mrs Herrick, and it was through the courtesy of the Southland Acclimatization Society that the present one had been procured. Preparations for Camp. The Britannia left behind her a large tent for the base camp, smaller tents for flying camps and a great store of provisions which Mr Herrick said, although intended for six weeks, were just about consumed in the five weeks the two sportsmen were at the Sound. Tinned foods and rice wero the staple standby while the red deer which abound were drawn upon considerably for the commissariat, although the heads generally were of a very poor type and not worth keeping. The base camp was erected on the wooded banks of the Seaforth at Suppei Cove and everything was stored there. Although a boat was also left by the Brit annia, it was impossible to take it up the river because of the huge jagged rocks that littered the bed of the mountain river. Moreover a constant source of real danger to the sportsmen was the speed at which the Seaforth or indeed any of its tributary streams would be transformed from a dangerous enough river to a foaming raging' torrent, two or three times the depth of. the former. Once, the river was crossed with comparative ease at 7.30 one evening; at nine it began to rain and by the following morning it was in full flood. Although they had a very good spell of weather the rainfall on that coast is tremendous and even when it does not rain the dew at night is saturating. The country itself is wild, but wonderfully beautiful and grand. Steep hills follow each other in a series of steps up to the mountains where at the 3,600 feet line the bush stops. Everywhere up to that line is covered with the most dense native bush one could imagine. In the damp climate, ferns grow to a height and a luxuriance seldom equalled, bush lawyers stretch out clutching tentacles in a network and pampas grass provides crested armies everywhere. Neither white nor Maori had ever set foot on most of the ground covered by the two sportsmen, and while Mr Herrick said that to the unimaginative eye the country was the same as the explored part, still the feeling that they “were the first that ever burst into that silent sea’’ of foliage gave a distinct feeling of exultation. Presence of the Weasel The wild life of the country reflected naturally its ignorance of humans. Deer, moose and native birds were almost the only animal life represented—almost but not quite, for the villain of the piece has crept in in the shape of the weasel. That this animal should have reached the district is a tribute to its tenacity and strength, for it could only have travelled overland through all the wild country that separates Fiordland from the rest of Southland. Its presence, said Mr Herrick, will almost certainly mean the gradual extinction of ground birds. He noticed wood pigeons, wekas, kakas and the footprints of the kakapo, but no sign of the kiwi. Ducks of course abounded. One very active form of life was the insect, .and one night almost all the time was spent in brushing spiders off the ’ sportsmen’s face and body. The multitude of them was astounding, and although there were no mosquitoes, the sand flies were absolute torture until one became use to them. They formed literally a black coating to the skin of the arms and face unless they were continually brushed off. With such a huge area of unknown country to work, the sportsmen had a herculean task to track down moose' which never congregate in herds, but travel either lone or in pairs. “We were very hicky indeed,” said Mr Herrick, “in getting the one we did. I have done a considerable amount of deer stalking, but I consider the moose to be very much more intelligent and alert than the deer. Its sense of sight, hearing and smell are all very acute, while the density of the bush assists them very much. One could be within 10 yards of a beast and yet be unable to shoot him on account of the thick undergrowth.” The method adopted was to set out from the base camp carrying between 60 and 80 pounds of provisions and other essentials as well as a small bivouac tent and strike out for suitable country for moose. Here the tent would be pitched and tracks followed up. If the country was unsuit-, able, the two men push on the next day. In all, six flying camps were set up. After a while, a hunter becomes able to read the message of the tracks like a book, and the time elapsed since the animals passed, the direction they were going, can all be ascertained. Several moose were seen, but most of them were very young and others were away before it could be seen what thy were like. One night, the sleepers were awakened by a noise; a moose was nosing around outside the tent. They immediately jumped up and ran outside, but it was a pitch-dark night and the rain was pouring down. Before they could show their noses outside the tent the animal was away, and it was impossible to pursue it through the forest on such a night. By daybreak the sportsmen were on its tracks and followed them a long way, but the wind changed and as it was not desirable that all the country to windward should be put on the alert, the chase had to be abandoned. Indeed when the Britannia called again after three weeks’ time had elapsed, no heads had been secured and it was ordered back again. Getting the Head. However, last Tuesday morning the hunters set out early in the morning before the sun was properly risen and followed some recent tracks that led across the river. The fording of the river was always an ordeal, not only on account, of the danger from the force of the rushing current, but also from the fact that wading hip high in a mountain stream before the sun has risen is a cold job. At any rate the tracks were

followed up the valley through swampy country (and Mr Herrick assured a reporter that the swamps there were real swamps; knee deep morasses of soft red mud). Suddenly, on coming out of the thickest growth into a patch of more or less open swamp, they saw a fairly large stag on the other side. With a great deal of care, they were able to get into position and Mr Herrick shot it through the heart. The animal was old and in poor condition, but the antlers were fairly good and measured between three and four feet, across. The head weighed 95 [rounds and the skin 85 pounds, so that it was no small job to transport them back to the base camp over the rough country. The meat was delicious to eat, although the animal was old; it was better than any beef. '

The moose is the largest of all the living deer family and stands six feet from the sole of the feet to the wither and is enormous in proportion. Its head measures two feet in length, the nose being thus much larger than a horse’s. Its antlers which are proportionately big, are palmated. Mr Herrick expressed a doubt that they were going to be very much palmated in New Zealand. ' A moose will climb anywhere and swim anywhere. The precipitous bluffs, descending straight into the water, .that, were such a drawback to the progress of the sportsmen, were no obstacle to the moose, for if they could not climb over them, they would swim 200 or 300 yards through the swirling water to round them. Their food is the leaves and the bark of various native trees and the reporter was shown a photograph of a tree trunk which had been barked to a height of eleven feet, a good example of the tremendous height of the animals.

“It was the most wonderful trip in my life,” Mr Herrick concluded, “and if I was ever granted another license, I would seize the opportunity to visit the Sound again. Now that we've got to know something of the country, we feel that a lot of the spadework has been done, although I am sure there will always be plenty left to do. Above all I should like to pay a tribute to Mr Muir, to whom such a great part of the success of the trip was due. If a definite route and a service was arranged for calls at his country, I feel sure that its majesty and beauty would be appreciated by tourists.”