Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/129

Rh down to the water’s edge. You now look out for the best camping ground you can find. Having found a place that suits you, you hobble the horses, after taking them back to the last bit of good feed you passed, pitch your camp, tie up and feed the dogs, break birch twigs for a bed, get supper, read for a while before ‘lights out,’ and then sleep. And how you sleep among the mountains after a long day’s ride or climb! Now you are in the very heart of the Kea country, and perhaps you



rouse up to hear the dogs barking and the Keas singing out overhead. Or you have been dreaming that you are on your way back to the station with the pack-horse loaded up with Keas’ heads and your fortune made, and you wake to find a dog loose among the ‘tucker.’ In either case it’s time to get up and get a move on if you are to be among the Keas before they camp for the day. Having breakfasted on the inevitable chops, you pack your lunch for the day’s hunting, the said lunch consisting of more chops (cold), slice of bread