HUNTER’S BAG

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 December 1939, Page 17 (Supplement)

HUNTER’S BAG

Just as they were cooked we heard

Mundy whistling. He had done very well. His bag was two kakas, a pigeon and another eel. We finished the crayfish ns an appetiser as we cooked the dinner. I went to the river and dug up the eel that I had cached. It was frozen as if it had been in a cooler. Mundy soon had the frying stone ready and while the fish were cooking he and Jackie cleaned the other game and placed it in the cooler. After we had finished dinner we had a snooze till 4 o'clock. Then Mundy wanted to know if I had any red rag. but we had none. He wanted it to attract woodhens that had been calling during the morning. The only thing that 1 could think of was to polish'his pannikin. I did this with fine ashes and it proved a success. I Just before dusk Mundy went to the place where he had heard the woodhens calling, and made a bit of a screen with ponga fronds in which to sit with his snare. There was a hole in front for the hen to come through. In the front of this hole the pannikin was placed. When all was ready he whistled the woodhen's call and made the grunts and boom that a challenging weka utters. He was soon answered. Up came one. On catching sight of the shining object it poked its head through the hole to investigate. Mundy was ready and placed the snare over its head and pulled the string. He caught three in this way. While he had been away Jackie had slewed the kakas and pigeon. It would have been nice if we had had bread with it. "Never mind." said Jackie. "Bread next week, but no birds then." After tea they scalded the wekas. We wanted to have them for lunch next day. We took their insides out under the wings. Mundy went to the river and got some small stones about the size of a bantam’s egg. With these, when red hot, he filled the hens. Then he split a sugar bag and made cloths, in which he rolled the birds separately. I had a look at mine next morning. It was cooked all right but I browned mine , before tying it up again. The remain- , ing eel was cooked for breakfast. ' While we were eating it I thought I’d had enough eel for a time! ,