_A WILD PIG HUNT._
Next morning, after an ample, and, I may say, luxurious breakfast,
pipes were lighted and a start made for the property to be
inspected--distant about three quarters of a mile--to reach which
another trip on the water had to be undertaken. A punt belonging to my
host was got under weigh, and with two good men at the oars the journey
was quickly accomplished, the latter part of our row being along a bank
shaded by willow and other trees.
We landed on a limestone beach, and a sloping ascent covered with tall
grass brought us to the house. It possessed six rooms, and a passage
running the entire depth, terminating a each end with a door. The
sitting-room and but one bedroom were lined and papered, and the rest
of the house was only in a half finished state. A verandah ran round
three sides of it, but part of the flooring was wanting: to make the
house comfortable a considerable outlay was required. The outdoor
portion of the property consisted of two orchards, containing together
three hundred and sixty fruit trees. In one of them were a number of
well-grown peach trees covered with blossom, together with some orange,
lemon, and other sub-tropical trees. The second orchard--about two
acres in extent--was filled with apple and plum trees three or four
years old. A grass paddock of fifteen acres enclosed by a wire fence, a
stockyard and pigsties, three or four acres of very pretty bush fenced
in and bordered on one side by the water, and an acre or two of grass
land about the house planted with ornamental trees and flowering shrubs
of various kinds, completed the property, for which four hundred pounds
was asked.
The view of the Kaipara from the verandah was lovely, and altogether I
was extremely pleased with the place, though it was evident that the
aid of a carpenter and painter would be required to make the house
habitable. I determined, therefore, to think the matter over well and
to ascertain the cost of completing the house before making any offer.
The inspection over, we returned in the punt, and after lunch strolled
over part of my host's farm of between four and five hundred acres. On
the next day a pig hunt in the bush was arranged, in which Mr. C----,
a sporting bachelor residing in the neighbourhood, was invited to
participate. My bearded friend did not accompany us. We started about
eleven in the morning, my host carrying a gun, Mr. C---- an axe and
a butcher's knife, and myself a tomahawk. Three pig dogs--a breed, I
think, between the bull and the collie--followed at our heels, and
after walking about three quarters of a mile we entered the bush.
How comes it, I wonder, that the magnificent New Zealand forests are
stigmatised with the name of "bush." If we turn to the dictionary
we find that bush means a thick shrub. The forests here, however,
are composed principally of gigantic trees, not thick shrubs, and to
give them such an unworthy name is only misleading. No scenery of the
kind in any part of the world can excel in beauty the forests of New
Zealand, and it is much to be deplored that they are not dignified with
a more befitting title.
The ground where we stood was clothed with ferns and mosses in
endless variety. Immense trees stood here and there, whose moss and
fern-covered trunks rose to a height of sixty or seventy feet, and
then broke into a crown of branches which met and interlaced overhead,
forming a canopy through which the light of day but dimly penetrated.
[Illustration: Heavy Bush, Matakohe.]
Nikau palms, tree ferns, and small native flowering trees grew
between these giants, and from their branches hung clusters of lovely
white clematis, bush lawyers, supplejacks, and other climbing plants.
Although it was blowing freshly when we entered, not a breath of wind
could now be felt, nor a sound heard, except the glorious deep note
of the Tui--or parson bird--the harsh cry of the New Zealand parrot,
and the gentle cooing of the pigeon. About us fluttered numbers of the
bushman's little feathered friends--the fantails--spreading their large
white fan-shaped tails as they darted hither and thither, and flew
fearlessly within two feet of us. It seemed almost sacrilege to disturb
the beautiful solemnity, but we had come to hunt wild pigs, and hunt
them we must. My new sporting acquaintance was impatient, so away we
went, the dogs heading us, and disappearing out of sight. We wandered
on for some time in silence, listening for the dogs. At last one gave
tongue, and we hastened in its direction; again the sound faintly
rose, and shortly afterwards, further to our right, a distant noise of
yelping, barking, and grunting reached our ears.
"Come along! they have got a pig bailed up!" cried Mr. C----
excitedly, as he plunged out of sight in the thick undergrowth, quickly
followed by my host and myself.
I found rapid bush travelling by no mean easy of accomplishment. At
one moment my legs were caught in a supplejack, from which I would get
clear, only to find myself firmly hooked by the claw-shaped thorns of
the bush lawyer; then after a desperate struggle and many scratches
would escape from its clutches, to become entangled the next minute in
a bunch of Mangi-mangi, a fine wiry-stemmed creeper, which hangs in
clusters from the trees.
I ascertained afterwards that my companions carried pocket knives, and
cut away the obstacles as they presented themselves. Being heavily
handicapped by my inexperience, I arrived at the scene of action a bad
third, though in time to see the _coup-de-grâce_ given by my host to a
small pig which one of the dogs had seized by the ear while the other
two were barking a chorus of approval.
The animal being pronounced a good subject for discussion at the dinner
table, was dressed on the spot by my two companions, and hung up in a
tree with a piece of flax--a capital substitute for a rope--to await
our return. A fresh start was then made, and the raid against the pigs
prosecuted with vigour. The dogs seemed delighted with their success,
and anxious to secure fresh laurels. In a short time a more open part
of the forest was reached, and here the dogs started three large boars,
which came tearing through the trees with bristles erect. A bullet from
my host's gun slightly wounded one of them, and he turned and charged
towards us, grinding his tusks in his rage. To reach us he had to cross
a small gully with steep banks, and this he was no sooner in than a dog
had him by each ear. He succeeded in ripping one, but the other held on
bravely, and a crack on the head with the tomahawk finished the boar's
career. He was too big and coarse for eating, so we left his body where
it fell, and satisfied with our sport, turned for home, carrying to
the edge of the bush the carcass of our first victim, which we tied on
a fence, and our host on reaching the house sent his man back with a
horse to bring it on.
The last day of my visit was devoted to fishing. My bearded friend
assumed command, and under his direction a fire was lit early in the
morning beneath a large copper boiler; a certain proportion of the
preserving powder was introduced in the water with which the copper
was filled, and the mixture allowed to boil, while we sallied forth to
catch the fish.
A net about one hundred yards long was produced by my host, and laid
in the punt, together with two stakes to fasten the ends in the mud.
We put off, and in a couple of hours had captured over a hundred fine
mullet, and as these were sufficient to fill the two tubs, the net was
hauled up, and we returned to the shore. The fish were then packed in
the tubs, the heads fitted on, and the preserving preparation poured
over them through holes afterwards plugged with corks.
The success of the day's fishing decided me to make an offer for the
property I had inspected, and I finally agreed to purchase--a reduction
being made on account of the unfinished state of the house.
Having arranged with a local carpenter to do the necessary work, I
returned to Auckland quite satisfied with my investment.