Θήραμα το 1879....

[giorkos]

Γεια σας πάλι,

σε ένα άλλο βιβλίο που θκιαβάζω τωρά (Cyprus as i saw it in 1879 ) δηλαδή αμέσως μετά που μας 'ενοικιάσαν΄οι Εγγλέζοι που τους Τούρκους (1878) πάλι γίνονται αναφορές στο κυνήγι στη Κύπρο...
επειδή σε μερικούς άρεσε το προηγούμενο ποστ σχετικά με την πανίδα οπως αναφέρεται σε άλλο βιβλίο του 1760, παραθέτω μερικά αποσπάσματα που έχουν να κάνουν με το κυνήγι στη Κύπρο του 1879 όπως το είδε και το αποτύπωσε τούτος ο εγγλέζος....
λινκ για το βιλίο για όσους θέλουν να το θκιαβάσουν ολόκληρο....

https://archive.org/details/cyprusasisawitin00bakeuoft

και εδώ τα αποσπάσματα σχετικά με το κυνήγι....μέχρι τη σελίδα που διάβασα ως τώρα... ξεκίνησε από Λάρνακα, Αρπέρα, Δάλι, Λευκωσία , Κούκλια Αμοχώστου Βοκολίδα ,Γαληνόπορνη προς Απόστολο Ανδρέα...


Καλό θκιάβασμα...και αν σαςν ενδιαφέρουν άμαν βρίσκω έτσι κομμάθκια να σας τα παραθέτω....
(τα παρακάτω διαδραματίζονται τέλος Φεβράρη αρχές Μάρτη )


Αρπερα -Λάρνακα
-------------------
This party was now in movement, and I intended
to make a preliminary detour from the Nicosia route
to visit the springs of Arpera, about eight miles distant,
which supply the town of Larnaca.
In every country where I have travelled I have
observed a human weakness among the population on
the question of "game ;
'^ there is a universal tendency
to exaggeration ; but the locality of superabundance
IS always distant from the narrator. As you proceed
the game recedes; and you are informed that "at
about two days' march you will find even more than
you require." Upon arrival at the wished-for spot:
you are told that " formerly there was a large quantity,
but that times and seasons have changed ; that about
three marches in your front will bring you to a hunter's
paradise," 8zc. As Cyprus was an island of only 140
miles in length, there would be a limit to these boundless
descriptions ; but I had already heard enough to assure
me that the usual want of veracity upon this subject
was present in the accounts I had received. The newspaper
correspondents had just contributed ridiculous
reports to their several employers. Because the
market of Larnaca was well supplied with woodcocks,
red-legged partridges, and hares, at low prices, these
overworked gentlemen of the pen rushed to a conclusion
that the island teemed with game : forgetful
of the fact that every Cypriote has a gun, and that
numbers were shooting for the consumption of the
few. Larnaca was the common centre towards which
all gravitated. As the rate of wages was only one
shilling a day, it may be imagined that sport afforded
an equally remunerative employment, and game was
forwarded from all distances to be hawked about the
public thoroughfares. The fact is, that game is very
scarce throughout Cyprus, and the books that have
been written upon this country are certainly not the
productions of sportsmen.


Αρπερα -Λάρνακα
=================

There was no game
beyond a few wild red-legged partridges, although the
appearance of the country had raised my expectations.
On the following morning I rambled with the dogs
for many hours over the range of hills which bounds
the plain upon the north, and from which the river
issues. These are completely denuded of soil, and
present a glaring surface of hardened chalk, in the
crevices of which the usual prickly plants can alone
exist. Some of the hill-tops exposed a smooth
natural pavement where the rain had washed away
all soluble portions and left the bare foundation
cracked In small divisions as though artificially inlaid.
Now and then a wretched specimen of the Pi7ius
Maritima, about six feet high, was to be seen vainly
endeavouring to find nourishment in the clefts of the
barren rocks. I do not believe the tales of forests
having formerly existed upon the greater portion of
Cyprus: It would certainly be impossible for any
species of tree to thrive upon the extensive range of
hills near Arpera, which are absolutely valueless.
In many places the surface glistened with ice-like
sheets of gypsum, which cropped out of the cold white
marls and produced a wintry appearance that increased
the desolation. I walked for some hours over successive
ranges of the same hopeless character. Great numbers
of hawks and several varieties of eagles were hunting
above the hill-tops, and sufficiently explained the
scarcity of game. The red-legged partridges found
little protection In the scant cover afforded by the
withered plants, and I saw one captured and carried off
by an eagle, who was immediately chased by two others
of the same species, in the vain hope that he would give
up his prize ; he soared high in air with the partridge
hanging from his claws. On the same day I saw
another capture, and there can be little doubt that the
partridge forms the usual food of these large birds of
prey. The British government has already protected the
game by establishing a close season and by a tax upon
all guns ; but there will be little benefit from the new
law unless a reward shall be offered for the destruction
of the birds of prey which swarm in every portion of
the Island—eagles, falcons, kites, hawks, ravens, crows,
and last, but in cunning and destructive propensity not
ihc least, the ** magpies." These birds exist in such
numbers that unless steps are taken to destroy them it
will be hopeless to expect any increase of game. When
;i magpie wakes in the early morning his first thought
is mischief, and during the breeding season there is no
bird who makes egg-hunting so especially his occupation.
Upon the treeless plains of Cyprus every nest is
at his mercy.



Δαλι
---------------
On the following morning seven natives of Dali
appeared—all Greeks—accompanied by the ex-robber,
whom I regarded as " a wicked man who had turned
away from his wickedness," with whose antecedents I
had no concern. They had brought their guns, which
were at once submitted to me for an opinion of their
merits, with a vain expectation that I should pronounce
them to be " English." I was to be guided to a spot
about an hour's march distant, where partridges and

hares were said to abound, and it appeared that an
impromptu shooting-party had been arranged especially
lor my amusement.


I am not very fond of such sporting meetings, as
the common guns of the people, which are constantly
missing fire when required to shoot, have an awkward
knack of going off when least expected ; my mind
was somewhat relieved when the tactics were explained,
that we (nine guns) were to form a line of skirmishers
about two hundred yards apart, commanding a mile
of country.


The few partridges were very wild, and saved my
dogs the trouble of hunting by showing themselves
at a couple of hundred yards ; the only chance of
shooting them depended upon stray birds passing
within shot when disturbed by the long line of guns.
I only bagged one partridge and a hare, and the
rest of the party had the miserable total of two birds.
This was a fair example of the sport on the bare
hill-sides of Messaria.




Κούκλια Αμοχώστου
----------------------------------
While the camp was being
arranged I took my gun and strolled with the dogs
into the narrow valley below the mill. The waterwheel
was at work, and the people were engaged in
cleaning cotton, as the machinery was adapted for
both purposes of grinding corn or of ginning cotton
when required. There were plenty of snipe In the
marshes below the cotton-fields, for which rushes, low
bushes of tamarisk and other shrubs, afforded excellent
cover. I quickly bagged two couple and my first
Francolin partridge, and was just in time, before dark,
to assist the dinner.

στον πενταδάχτυλο 8 μίλια ανατολικά της Κερύνειας
----------------------------
While I had been admiring the view, my dogs had
'been hunting the dense bushes to very little purpose,
and although we scrambled for more than two hours
over the mountain, we only moved ten or twelve redlegged
partridges, which rose upwards of a hundred
yards in front of the gun ; it was quite impossible to
obtain a shot. With an empty bag, but with a new
impression of the country since my view of the landscape
in the north, I turned homewards, and reached
camp late in the afternoon, my spaniels having no *
doubt a low opinion of Cyprus sport, and of the
unfair advantages taken by the ever-running red-legged !
partridges.




Γαληνόπορνη 1
---------------
It was a wild route to Gallibornu, through a succession
of small valleys separated by wooded heights,
and bounded by hills, either bare In white cliffs, or with
steep slopes thickly covered with evergreens. We
passed a few miserable villages, one of which was
solely inhabited by gipsies, who came out to meet|
us clad in rags and extremely filthy, but the faces!
of the women were good-looking. We crossed nu-|
merous watercourses in the narrow bottoms between!
the hills; their steep banks were fringed with bushes

which formed likely spots for woodcocks, but my do^s
found nothing upon the route except a few partridges
.111(1 francolin, although, as usual, they hunted through-
: the march.


Γαληνόπορνη 2
-----------------
The village of Gallibornu was about half a mil(
beyond our camp at the extreme end of the valley, but
situated on the heights. The people were extremely
civil, and it would be difficult to determine the
maximum degree of courtesy between the Turks and
Greeks of Cyprus. I strolled with my dogs up the
steep hill-sides, and the Turks, seeing that I was fond
of shooting, promised to accompany me on the following
morning to some happy hunting-ground, which, from
my Cyprian experience, I believed was mythical.
On waking the next day I found the Turks, true tc
their promise, already assembled by the servants' tent,
and eight men were awaiting me with their guns.
They had a sporting dog to assist them, which they
described as ''very useful for following a wounded
hare ; only it was necessary to be quick in securing it,
otherwise the dog would eat it before your arrival."
I

I advised them to leave this "useful dog" behind, as
; hostilities might be declared by my three English
i spaniels in the event of his swallowing a wounded
ihare. This being agreed to, we all started, and,
I
crossing the valley, entered a gorge upon the other
i side. We now ascended naked hills of pure crystallised
I gypsum ; the strata were vertical, and the perfectly
I transparent laminae were packed together like small
(sheets of glass only a few inches in width. It was
easy to walk up the steep slopes of this material without
slipping, as the exterior edges, having been exposed to
the weather, had become rough, and were exactly like
coarse glass placed edgeways. We spread out into a
line of skirmishers extending up the hills upon both
sides of the gorge, and quickly arrived in very likely
ground covered with dwarf-cypress. Here the dogs
immediately flushed partridges, and a Turk having
wounded one, a considerable delay took place in
searching for it at the bottom of a deep wooded hollow,
but to no purpose. We now arrived at lovely ground
within a mile of the sea, forming a long succession of
undulations, covered, more or less, with the usual
evergreen brushwood as far as the eye could reach.
This uneven surface, broken by many watercourses,
was about eighty feet above the water-level, and
descended in steep rocky ledges to within a few
hundred yards of the sea, where the lower ground was
flat and alternated in open glades and thick masses of
mastic scrub ; the beach being edged by drift sanddunes
covered by the dense jungle of various matted
bushes.
There was a fair amount of game in this locality,
land had the Turks shot well we should have made a
tolerable bag ; but they did not keep a good line, and
many birds went back without being shot at, while
others were missed, and altogether the shooting was
extremely wild. The sun was hot by the time we had
concluded our beat; I had shot five brace and one
hare, including some francollns ; and the rest of the
party had collectively bagged three brace. It was
late in the season for shooting, but the birds were not
all paired, and I have no doubt that in the month ol
September this portion of the Island would afford fair
sport, although no great bags could be expected. I was
surprised at the absence of woodcocks ; throughout
my rambles in Cyprus I had only seen one, although
they were cheap in the market of Larnaca. The fact
is that every bird shot by the natives is sent straight
for sale ; therefore an immense area is hunted for the
small supply required by the Europeans in the principal
towns.


Γαληνόπορνη 3
----------------
I amused myself
with wandering over the hills with my dogs, examining
the rocks, and shooting sufficient game for our own
use. I could generally bag enough for my lad to carry
home conveniently over this rugged country, and a
hare or two in addition to partridges were more
appreciated when stewed than when carried up the
precipitous hills. I never tasted any game so delicious
as the Cyprian hares ; they are not quite so red or
curly as the European species, but the flesh is exceedingly
rich, and possesses a peculiarly gamey
flavour, owing to the aromatic food upon which
they live. It is difficult to obtain a shot in the
thick coverts of mastic bush, and without dogs I
do not think I should have shot one, as they were
generally in dense thickets upon the mountain sides,
through which beaters could have hardly moved.

φεύγοντας από Γαληνόπορνη , 14 μίλια από Απ. Ανδρέα
------------------------------------------------
At first sight the Httle bay was a tempting refuge,
It upon closer examination I observed ominous dark
, patches in the clear water, which betokened dangerous
reefs, and other light green portions that denoted
sandy shallows. The cove is useful for the native
; small craft, but would be unsuitable to vessels of more
than seven feet draught of water. I had observed
that francolins were more numerous since we had
arrived upon the sandstone formation, and the cock
birds were calling In all directions ; the locality was so
. inviting that we felt Inclined to remain for a few days
in such a delightful spot ; but the season was too far
• advanced for shooting, and I therefore confined myself to
, killing only what was absolutely necessary for our food,
and I invariably selected the cock-birds of francolins.
I
I do not think these birds pair like the partridge, but
i I believe the cock Is polygamous, like the pheasant,
as I generally found that several hens were in his
neighbourhood. It is a beautiful game bird, the male
; possessing a striking plumage of deep black and rich
I brown, with a dark ring round the neck. It is quite a
different variety to the mottle-breasted species that I
have met with In Mauritius, Ceylon, and the doublespur
francolin that I have shot In Africa. It Is
considerably larger than the common partridge, but
not quite so heavy as the red-legged birds of Cyprus,
although when flying It appears superior. The flesh
is white and exceedingly delicate, and it Is to be
regretted that so valuable a game bird Is not Introduced
into England. I generally found the francolin in the
low scrub, although I have often shot It either in the
I

cultivated fields or in the wild prickly low plants upor
the open ground which have been misnamed heather.
The habits of this bird have nothing in common with
those of the red-legged partridge, as it is never found
upon the bare rocky hill-sides, which are the general
resort of the latter annoying species, and although the
scrub bush may contain both, there is a marked
difference in their character. The red-leg is a determined
runner, and therefore a bad game bird for the
shooter, as it will run ahead when first disturbed and
rise far beyond shot range, instead of squatting like
the grey partridge and permitting a sporting shot.
The francolin is never found upon the bare hill-sides,
neither is it a runner in the open, although it will
occasionally trouble the dogs in the bush by refusing
to rise until they have followed it for some distance,
precisely as pheasants will run in covert until halted
by the '' stops " or by a net. I am not sure of the
power of resistance to cold possessed by the francolins,
as they are seldom met with upon the higher mountains
in Cyprus, but are generally found upon the inferior
altitudes and low grounds : still the hazel-huhn of
Austria is a species of francolin which resists the
intense cold of a central-European winter.

[MARIOSE]

Φίλε Γιώργο πολύ ενδιαφέρον τα αποσπάσματα, ευχαριστούμε.

Άμα πετυχαίνεις κομμάτια καλά να τα ποστάρεις να τα διαβάζουμε!