ti»fc».'9is:^'»*BFr.-<«i«?»*

1

1 .V

J BOGS

(Spoi^tlftg Civisioft

NEW EDITION.— Vol. I,

R/VWDOJ^ B* l4E£

W. H. B. L O N G .

^fi^-

•-•^<^

■m

'^Isr^

H*^'

3 9090 013 411 U/b p

Webster Family Library of Veterinary fvledicine
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University
200 Westboro Road

■#5|

Modern Dogs:
Sporting Division

A

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

OF THE

MODERN DOGS

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

SPORTING DIYISKJX: Vol. I.

fA NEW EDITION.)
BY

RAWDON B. LEE,

KEWEL EDITOR OF " THE FIELD, "' AUTHOR OF THE HISIORIES OF
"the FOX TERRIER,'" "THE COLLIE."' ETC.

The Illustrations by ARTHUR WARDLE.

LONDON :

HORACE COX,

FIELD " OFFICE, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS. EC.

1897.

5

LONDON :
PRINTED BY HORACE COX, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAjVI's BUILDINGS, E.C

PREFACE.

In the following pages an endeavour has been
made to summarise the progress, and describe the
Sporting varieties of the dog as they are at present
known, and, I believe, appreciated, in the British
Isles. Without losing any of the early history, my
Avish has been to introduce matter bringing the
subject up to date ; not only so far as the work of
hounds and other dogs in the field is concerned, but
as they are as companions, and when winning, or
attempting to win, prizes in the show^ ring.

One or two new features have been introduced, or
rather revived, the most important change being in
connection with Mr. Wardle's illustrations. With
three exceptions these are not portraits, although
originally drawn from living examples. They are

vi Preface.

to be taken as typical specimens of the various
breeds they represent. The reasons for this de-
parture from modern custom will be obvious ; and
no doubt, for future reference, such pictures must
be more useful than any portraits of individual
dogs could be — dogs whose prominence before the
public is more or less ephemeral.

The exceptions are the drawings of the Grey-
hounds, Welsh hounds, and Kerry Beagles. For
the former, the extraordinary work of " Master
M'Grath " and " Fullerton," could not be passed
over ; besides, they form an admirable example of
two greyhounds, totally different in make and shape,
equally good in the field. This is the first occasion
upon which illustrations of Kerry Beagles and Welsh
hounds have been published in a work of this kind.
The drawing of the former is taken from a photo-
graph kindly lent me by Mr. Clement Ryan, of
Emly House, Tipperary, and is, I believe, quite
successful in conveying an idea of what a Kerry
Beagle is like. The Welsh hounds are portraits of
specimens in the kennels of Mr. E. Buckley, of

Preface. vii

Milford Hall, Newtown, N. Wales, and of the Hon.
H. C. Wynn, of Rug, Corwen, N. Wales.

Following the precedent of other writers, a point
scale is included in the description of each variety of
dog. This is done, not with an idea that mere
figures are of the slightest use in proving the excel-
lence, or otherwise, of any animal, but because
some readers, accustomed to such tables, might
think the book somewhat incomplete without them.

I thank all who assisted in providing subjects for
illustration and in giving valuable information that
could not have been obtained except from owners
who have made particular varieties of the dog a
special study. To them I dedicate this work, as a
slight return for their kindness and the interest
they have taken in its publication.

RAWDON B. LEE.

Brixton, Lojidon, May, i8gy.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. PAGE
The Bloodhound . . i

CHAPTER II.
The Foxhound 53

CHAPTER III.
The Staghound 109

CHAPTER IV.
The Harrier 121

CHAPTER V.
The Beagle 133

CHAPTER VI.
The Otter Hound 157

CHAPTER VII.
Welsh Hounds 173

CHAPTER VIII.
The Deerhound 199

X Contents.

CHAPTER IX. PAGE
The Greyhound 227

CHAPTER X.
The Whippet 259

CHAPTER XI.
The Irish Wolfhound 269

CHAPTER XII.
The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound 285

CHAPTER XIII.
The Great Dane or German Boarhound . . . 325

Index 347

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Bloodhound and Deerhound,

Front is p

Bloodhound Facing

Foxhounds

Harriers

Beagles

Kerry Beagles

Otter Hounds

Welsh Hounds

Deerhounds

Greyhounds

Whippets

Irish Wolfhounds

Borzois

Great Danes

lece.
53

121

153

173
199

227

269

285
325

CHAPTER I.

THE BLOODHOUND.

Although many writers have endeavoured to find
the origin of the bloodhound in the Talbot of ancient
days, there is no reason to believe that the former
had as great a connecting link with the latter as the
foxhound and other hounds, of both this country and
of the Continent. We have been told of black
Talbots^ others white in colour, some tawny, whilst
pied, or brown white and tan, specimens have
repeatedly been alluded to. No doubt from these
our ordinary hounds have sprung ; but the heavier
and more powerful bloodhound must have arisen
from some other source. What that source was
there is no means of finding out satisfactorily, and
the origin of the bloodhound, like that of most other
varieties of the dog, is likely to remain an unknown
quantity.

In many particulars the modern hound resembles
his progenitor of several hundred years ago, not in
appearance perhaps, but in character and in apti-

B

Modern Dogs.

tude for his peculiar kind of work, the latter at one
period of our history being of a particularly useful
character. He has been much used as a cross to
improve the olfactory organs, the voice, and the size
and strength of other hounds, particularly of otter
hounds and foxhounds ; but he has always had
admirers who kept him for his own sake — because of
his handsome and noble appearance, and because he
was faithful and affectionate. Others encouraged
him because he bore a vulgar and undeserved
character for ferocity not attained by any other
breed of dog.

Doubtless his name — " bloodhound," or sleuth-
hound — had a great deal to do with this, especially
as he had obtained a reputation for ability to find a
man, be he either thief, political offender, or other-
wise, by hunting the scent or line of his footsteps, as
another hound would hunt the fox or hare, saving
and excepting that he would not worry and attempt
to eat his quarry. Having run him, as it were, " to
ground," he would be contented with ''baying" his
man until his capture came to be effected. Certain
authors, to gratify their own ends, or serve their own
purpose, have repeatedly drawn upon their imagina-
tion in detailing, with an exactness worthy of a better
cause, horrible scenes between bloodhounds and
their ''prey," ending in the death or serious injury of

The Bloodhound.

the latter. These stories originally arose from the
''Southern States" of America when slavery was
rife, and it is now positively stated that the hounds
kept by the slave owners were not bloodhounds, but
half-bred foxhounds — Virginian hounds — which were
quite as loth as our modern hounds to attack a
human being, although they might have hunted him
to a tree or other place where he had taken refuge.
Slaves, as a fact, were too valuable to be indis-
criminately worried by bloodhounds, as some sen-
sational writers have told us was of everyday
occurrence.

The natural instinct of the bloodhound is to hunt
man rather than beast. As a puppy, he may put his
nose to the ground and fumble out the line of any
pedestrian who has just passed along the road.
Other dogs will, as a rule, commence by hunting
their master, the bloodhound finds his nose by hunt-
ing a stranger. There are old records of his being
repeatedly used for the latter purpose, whether the
quarry to be found were a murderer or poacher, or
maybe only some poor gentleman or nobleman
whose political belief or religion was not quite in
conformity with that of those bigots who happened
to rule over him.

Early in the seventeenth century, when the Moss-
troopers (but a polite name for Scottish robbers)

B 2

Modern Dogs.

invested the border counties of Cumberland, North-
umberland, and Westmoreland, it was found that
the ordinary means of arrest and punishment were
insufficient to stop the raids of the thieves, so special
provision was made that should, if possible, put an
end to their depredations. The Scots were fleet of
foot and active, and it was believed that the
employment of bloodhounds would strike terror
into the hearts of the marauders. The latter were
to be pursued '^ with hot trod fragrant delect, with
red hand (as the Scots termed it), with hound, and
horn, and voice. ^' Surely such a hunt as this was
exciting enough, and the hard-visaged borderers
would have little compunction in allowing their
hounds to give full vent to their savagery.

The following is a copy of a warrant issued in
September, 1616, to the garrison at Carlisle, giving
orders as to the keeping of " slough dogs : "

Whereas upon due consideration of the increase of stealths, daily
growing both in deed and report among you on the borders, we
formally concluded and agreed, that for reformations therefor,
watches should be set, and slough dogs provided and kept according
to the contents of His Majesty's directions to us in that behalf
prescribed ; and for that, according to our agreement, Sir William
Hutton, at his last being in the country, did appoint how the
watches should be kept, when and where they should begin, and
how they might best and most fitly continue. And for the
bettering of His Majesty's service, and preventing further danger
that might ensue by the outlaws in resorting to the houses of

The Bloodhound.

Thomas Routledge, alias Balihead, being nearest and next
adjoining to the Marshes (he himself having also joined them —
as is reported), order and direction were likewise given, that some
of the garrison should keep and reside in his the said Thomas
Routledge's house ; and there to remain until further directions
be given them, unless he the said Thomas Routledge shall come
in and enter himself answerable to His Majesty's law, as is most
convenient .... and that you see that slough dogs be pro-
vided according to our former directions, as this note to this
warrant annexed particularly sets down.

The slough dogs to be provided and kept at the
charge of the inhabitants, were as follows :

Beyond Eske, there is to be kept at the foot of the Sarke one
dog ; by the inhabitants the inside of the Sarke to Richmond
Clugh, to be kept at the Moate one dog ; by the inhabitants of
the parish of Arthured, above Richmond's Clugh with the Bayliffe
and Blackquarter, to be kept at Baliehead one dog.

Without quoting the whole of the warrant, it
may be stated that six other ''slough dogs" were
ordered to be provided and kept at the expense of
the following parishes, one dog in each : Newcastle,
Stapleton, Irdington ; Lanercost and Walton ; Kirk-
lington, Scaleby, Houghton, and Rickarby ; and
Westlinton ; Roucliff, Etterby, Staunton, Stanix and
Cargo, to be kept at Roucliff.

No doubt there was considerable difficulty in
obtaining the levy or tax from the inhabitants to
keep these hounds in condition fit to run down a
man, and not hungry enough to eat him when they
had caught him. In case of refusal to pay their

Modern Dogs,

dues to the sheriff or bailiffs appointed to collect the
same, the defaalters were to be put into gaol till
the amount was forthcoming. It would be quite
Interesting to note if such imprisonment was ever
enforced. Whether this was so or not, I have not
found any record to show, but it was said that the
hounds proved very useful for the purpose for which
they were provided.

The utilisation of bloodhounds in the above
manner did not escape the notice of Sir Walter
Scott. A King of Scotland, Robert Bruce, threw
hounds off his track by wading down stream, and
thus without touching the river bank contriving
to ensconce himself, squirrel-like. In a tree. The
great Wallace, too, was so sorely pressed by sleuth
hounds that to save himself he slew a companion,
whom he suspected of treachery, In order that when
the creatures came up, they remained with the dead
man whilst the living one escaped. Later the Ill-
fated Duke of Monmouth, who sought concealment
In a ditch, after his defeat by the Royal troops at
Sedgemoor, was discovered In his Ignoble position
by bloodhounds. Happily this was the last battle
fought on English ground, and it seems strange that
its cause, ''King" Monmouth, should be so captured
by means of a British hound. In 1795, two hundred
bloodhounds were, under British auspices, landed In

The Bloodhound, 7

Jamaica for the purpose of subduing a rising of the
Maroons. Fortunately this canine importation struck
such terror in the hearts of the rebels that they at
once laid down their arms and the war came to
an end.

Ho\vever, long before Sedgemoor and the time of
the border forays the bloodhound w^as used in this
country. Gratius Faliscus, and Strabo, about the
Christian era, mentioned the importation of dogs of
this kind from Britain to Gaul, and Oppian im-
mortalises in verse the Agassaeos for their exquisite
power of scent and great courage. These big dogs
were obtained from Britain for the ignoble purposes
of war. Afterwards they came to be used for
hunting the stag and other large game, and from
them are no doubt descended many of the fine
hounds still to be found in the possession of our
Gallic cousins.

Dame Juliana Berners, writing in her ''Book of St.
Albans,'' published in i486, does not appear to
mention the bloodhound, or sleuth hound, but the
Lemor or Lymer was probably the same dog, and so
called because it ran the line of scent, and not, as it
has been asserted, because it was the custom to run
it in a leash. Dr. Keyes (1570), mentions blood-
hounds as having lips of large size, and ears of no
small length. The learned doctor tells us how these

8 Modern Dogs.

hounds ought to be chained up in the daytime in
dark places, so that they become bolder and more
courageous in following the felon in the ^' solitary
hours of darkness." He likewise describes them as
being run in a leash which is held in the hand of the
man in charge of the dogs. This was to enable the
huntsman, shall I call him, to be up with the hounds
when his services would be required. It seems from
the same writer, that, in addition to hunting the foot-
steps of the felon, these dogs were also trained to
hunt the cattle that might have been stolen, a
purpose for which he says they were much used on
the borders. This may have been so or not, most
Hkely the latter, for a drove of stolen cattle would be
easy enough to track without the aid of a keen
scenting '' slough dog," though he might be able to
be of assistance in terrorising the thief if he were
ambitious to try the strength and powers of his
would-be captor.

From that period down to the present time, the
bloodhound was mostly kept as a companion, and
only occasionally has he been trained to '^ man-
hunting," to the terror of the poacher and the evil-
doer. For the latter purpose, he has proved of
great service, and many stories are told of the extra-
ordinary power a skilful hound may possess, through
its faculty in sticking to the original scent, however

The Bloodhound.

it may have been crossed and re-crossed by either
man or beast. Colonel Huldman mentions the
capture of some poachers through the instru-
mentality of bloodhounds, who hunted the men for
fully five miles from the plantation, in which they
were committing their depredations. Another case
is mentioned, where a sheep-stealer was discovered
by similar means, though the hound was not laid on
the man's track until his scent was at least six hours
old. Another hound is said to have hunted for
twenty miles a fellow who was suspected of having
cut off the ears of one of his former master's horses,
and the scoundrel was captured and treated accord-
ing to his deserts.

The Field had the following not long ago :
'' In 1854 Tom Finkle, an old superintendent of
police, M^as stationed at Bedale, in Yorkshire, before
the rural force was established. He was the owner
of a bloodhound named Voltigeur. Old Tom was
fond of company, and at that time sat for manv a
night in the public-houses along with the farmers
and tradesmen. When he was wanted for anything
particular at the police station, Mrs. Finkle would let
Voltigeur loose with, '' Go and fetch master," and,
no matter where "master" was, either in Bedale or
the neighbourhood, the hound was sure to find
him ; and the moment Finkle saw Voltigeur, the

lo Modern Dogs.

old superintendent knew he was required at the
station.

'' In the winter of 1854, or early in 1855, certain
burglars broke into a house at Askern, and stole a
quantity of silver plate and linen. The burglars,
heard by the inmates of the house, had to decamp
rather hurriedly, and a messenger was immediately
sent to the police station to report the outrage.
Old Tom was, as usual, with his companions at the
Royal Oak, whilst his wife was in bed. The latter
immediately got up and turned Voltigeur loose, with
the order, '' Go and fetch master." The hound was
not long in doing his duty, and Tom, jumping off his
seat, said to his friends, '' I am wanted at home,"
and hurried there as quickly as possible. His wife
reported the circumstances of the robbery to her
husband, who at once called his constable and
saddled his horse.

" The two then started off to the scene of the
robbery, and after visiting the house and learning all
particulars, they went outside. When in the grounds,
Finkle said to Voltigeur, "Where are they ? Seek
'em," and Voltigeur, putting his nose to the ground,
took up the scent and went away at a nice pace,
every now and then giving tongue. The night
being calm, Voltigeur's voice was heard by many.
The hound made out the line of the robbers on to

The Bloodhound.

the High-street leading from Borough bridge to
Catterick, and after going about three miles on the
High-street he stopped suddenly at a small water-
course that ran under the road. The superintendent
dismounted and looked under the bridge, where he
found a bundle containing a quantity of linen and
silver plate, part of the proceeds of the robbery. He
waited there for a time until his man came up, then,
remounting, ordered his hound on again. Voltigeur
put his nose to the ground, and went back along the
same road he had com.e for about a mile. Then
through a gate he made his way to an outbarn and
buildings.

" Here the bloodhound became more excited, and
was baying and giving tongue freely as his owner
and his man got up. The superintendent went to
one door, and the constable to the other. The
former demanded admittance, but all was still as
death, and the doors fast. Tom looked about the
buildings and found a crowbar, and was then soon
into the barn, where he discovered two men
concealed in the straw. They appealed for mercy,
and prayed him to keep the dog off, and they would
yield themselves up quietly. The prisoners were
then secured and searched, and upon them was
found the remainder of the stolen property. They
were taken to Bedale, locked up for the night, nex t

12 Modern Dogs.

day brought before the magistrates and committed
to the assizes, where they were sentenced to five
years' penal servitude each, there being previous con-
victions against them. Voltigeur was of the Duke of
Leeds' strain of bloodhounds, some of which were
at that time kept at Hornby Castle."

A more recent instance showing in what manner
bloodhounds may be of aid to the police is the
following, which occurred not very many months
since, but for obvious reasons the names and the
locality are not mentioned. Early in 1896 a constable
was out in the early morning, when about 6.30 a.m.
he came across a couple of notorious poachers who
were walking along a footpath through some fields.
They, seeing the constable, called out in alarm as a
signal to their companions, who were no doubt
coming behind. Owing to the darkness, the latter
escaped ; but the constable took some rabbits and
nets from the men he had met, for being in the pos-
session of which under such circumstances, they were,
later on, duly punished. At daybreak the constable,
accompanied by a young bloodhound bitch, his own
property, returned to the place, and w^as able to
distinguish the footsteps of a number of men who
had come out of a turnip field. They had separated,
some going in one direction, others in another.
The hound was put upon the tracks, and with her

The Bloodhound, 13

nose to the ground she hunted them across two
fields, going straight up to sundry bags of game
which had been hidden in a hedgerow. So far so
good ; but the constable w^as not yet satisfied, and
he took his hound back to where she had originally
been laid on the line. This time she went off in a
fresh direction, and soon left the policeman some
distance behind. He following up, ultimately found
her standing at another hedgerow, where more bags
of game were found concealed. These were secretly
watched all day, but the poachers must have
" smelled a rat," for none of themselves or their
families came near. This is rather to be wondered
at, for the bags were numerous and their contents
valuable. At night the constable and the lessee of
the shooting concealed themselves near the place
where the first lot of game was discovered. Now^
they had not long to wait, for in about half an hour
there came a sound of approaching footsteps, and
two men appeared, who immediately appropriated
the bags and their contents, w^hich included nets and
the usual poachers' paraphernalia. They w'ere at
once recognised, and, the spoil taken from them,
were allow^ed to go. Summonses followed in due
course, and when the case was heard a plea was set
up that they had not taken the game themselves, but
had been sent for it by their mates. Fines of 40s.

14 Modern Dogs.

and costs were imposed, or, failing the payment, a
month's imprisonment.

Now, in the above case a comparatively untrained
puppy was found to be of great use ; and had it not
been for her the two men would never have been
caught. There is no doubt they were members of
the original gang, and had taken part in the capture
of the game for which they were convicted.

The hound in question is one of our ordinary
bloodhounds, such as win prizes on the show bench.
She is by Chaucer ex Crony. Chaucer by champion
Bono, from Beppa, by Beckford out of Bianca.
Crony is by Dictator out of Dainty. Chaucer was
bred by Mr. E. Brough, and Crony by Mr. T. W.
Markland, whilst Mr. W. H. Cooper, of Hillmorton
Paddocks, near Rugby, bred the bitch who was the
heroine of the adventure.

A rather funny episode comes to us from a recent
New York dog show, and it bears on the same
subject. A Yorkshire terrier was stolen, a man was
suspected, traced to the railway, where it was found
he had taken a ticket for Baltimore. A telegram
beat the train, and the fellow was arrested with the
dog in his possession. However, in the meantime, a
happy idea struck the lady superintendent of the
show (this is an innovation which has not reached us
yet), who put a bloodhound, called Queen of the

The Bloodhound. 15

West, on what were supposed to be the tracks of the
thief. The hound made the hne out right gallantly,
and ultimately '' ran her man to bay." Unfortunately
for the lady superintendent, the hound had got on
the track of an ordinary visitor to the show, who had
little difficulty in proving his innocence, and after
suitable apologies the hunted man went away satisfied,
gratified probably that he had been constituted a
hero without the pains and penalties which are so
often attached to one who is out of the ordinary run
of men.

But dog stories, like the yarns of fishermen and
shooters, are apt to become rather monotonous
than otherwise, to say nothing of the exaggerations
that creep into them occasionally. However, the
authenticity of the above interesting accounts are
beyond reproach, hence deemed worthy of repro-
duction here.

Captain Powell, writing in 1892 on the convicts
of Florida (London: Gay and Bird), gives some
useful information as to the dogs used there in
tracking such criminals as may attempt to escape.
He says that, although bloodhounds were first used,
they were found quite unfitted for the purpose, and
at the present time foxhounds are utilised for man-
hunting in all the southern convict camps. These
hounds are trained when young to follow the track

1 6 Modern Dogs.

of a man who Is sent to run a few miles through the
woods ; and there is no difficulty whatever in so
training them. Indeed, the author tells us that he
has had hounds that were " natural man-hunters/'
and gives an instance where some puppies he was
rearing at the time a convict tried to escape were
put on his trail, and followed it until the man was
captured. Captain Powell corroborates what I have
already written, that it is a popular error to suppose
that hounds attack a prisoner when they, as it were,
run into him. When once the man is brought to bay,
hounds are a great deal too wary to venture close
enough to their chase to run the risk of a blow ; in
fact, they merely act as guides to the men who
follow closely on horseback. The convicts and
others have little or no fear of these hounds, and for
a few cents any stranger in the locality can obtain
one of the idle fellows, who are to be found every-
where, willing to be hunted by the pack. The
human quarry usually divests himself of a greater
part of his already ragged clothes, and, with a start
of a mile or so, makes his way over a rough and
wooded country until he finds a convenient place in
which he can keep the hounds at bay.

At Warwick, in 1886, an attempt was made to
hold trials of bloodhounds in connection with the
dog show held there. These were, however, a

The Bloodhound.

failure, excepting so far as they afforded an induce-
ment to owners of the variety to give a Httle time
and trouble to working their favourites, which
hitherto had only been kept for fancy purposes. A
little later, similar meetings were held at Dublin, in
the grounds of the Alexandra Palace, London, and
elsewhere, but in no case could they be called very
successful.

I had the good fortune to be present at two
particularly interesting gatherings, that took place
during the wintry weather of January, 1889, and
maybe the following particulars, written at the time,
give a better idea of the modern capabilities of
bloodhounds than could be written now. It must
be noted that the hounds mentioned were of the
so-called prize strains, were '* show dogs " in the
modern acceptation of the term, and, excepting
perhaps in ferocity, they would no doubt compare
favourably with any hounds of the kind that lived
fifty, a hundred, or more years ago.

Readers will no doubt be aware that, about 1889
and a little earlier, considerable commotion had
been caused in the metropolis by the perpetration
of some terrible crimes. The police arrangements
were entirely futile, and the murderers still remain at
large. The attention of the authorities was drawn
to the fact that bloodhounds might be of use to them

c

1 8 Modern Dogs.

in such a case. Mr. Hood Wright offered the loan
of his hound Hector, but, owing to the fact that
he required some indemnity in case his dog was
killed or injured. Hector remained at home.

Mr. E. Brough was then communicated with, and
he brought from Scarborough to London a couple
of his hounds. They had several '^ rehearsals " in
St. James's Park, where they acquitted themselves
to the satisfaction of the Chief Commissioner of
Police ; but it may be said that, though the line of
scent was repeatedly crossed by a strange foot,
without throwing off the hound, when the same was
done in the streets and on the pavement hounds
were quite at fault. Indeed, to be useful in tracking
criminals in a town very special training w^ould be
needed, and, personally, I believe that bloodhounds,
even with that training, would be useless in our
large centres for police purposes.

Under fair conditions any bloodhound will, in a few
lessons, run the trail of a man a mile or two, or more,
whose start may vary from ten minutes or a quarter
of an hour, or longer. Some of the more practised
hounds can hunt the scent even though it be an hour
old, and we know that a couple of Mr. Brough's
bloodhounds, early one summer's morning, hunted
for a considerable distance the footsteps of a man
who had gone along the road thirteen hours before.

The Bloodhound. 19

This is, of course, exceptional, but, with a proper
course of training during three or four generations,
there is no reason to doubt that bloodhounds would
be able to reliably make out the trail of a man who
had gone three or four hours previously.

That hounds will ever be got to track a criminal,
or anyone else, on the cold, damp flags continually
passed over by pedestrians, as in the streets of
London and other large towns, no one who under-
stands them will believe. Such work they never have
done, and never will do ; nor do the owners them-
selves aspire to such excellence for their favourites.
In country districts they may be of aid, but in towns,
so far as appearances are at present, the apprehension
of criminals must be left to the mental sagacity of
the official biped.

Bloodhounds might be of use in smelling out any
secreted article or a man in hiding.

In May, 1893, the dead body of a murdered child
was discovered by means of Mr. Markland's well-
known bloodhound Dainty. The inhabitants of the
locality round about, had been horror stricken by
what was known as the Wilmslow tragedy, and one
of the missing victims could not for a long time be
discovered. The hound we mention being brought to
the place by the police, hunted about, went into the
kitchen of the house where the tragedy had taken

C 2

2 0 Modern Dogs.

place, and ultimately made its way to the cellar.
Here it marked under a coal heap, and, the coals
being removed, a flag was found, and buried two feet
below it was discovered the body of the child in
question. Other hounds had previously been tried,
but not one of them had shown such excellent
olfactory organs as the old bitch Dainty. It was
thought the body had been under the flag for eight
to ten days. Similar cases could be given, but
such discoveries might as easily be made by any
terrier or other variety of the dog with ordinary
scenting powers.

The bloodhound stands alone amongst all the
canine race in his fondness for hunting the footsteps
of a stranger ; any dog will hunt those of his master
or of someone he knows, and of a stranger, probably,
whose shoes are soaked in some stinking preparation
to leave a scent behind. The bloodhound requires
nothing but the so-called ''clean shoe," and, once lay
him on the track, he hunts it as a foxhound would the
fox, or the harrier or beagle the hare.

To proceed with the following description of man-
hunting with bloodhounds :

The storm of Sunday had passed, and how deep
the snow lay in the streets and in the country places
on the Monday, are now a matter of history. The air
was keen and sharp, made so by a brisk north wind

The Bloodhound. 21

which blew on the Monday morning, when we left
Euston station for Boxmoor, where we were to see
two couples of Mr. Brough's bloodhounds run in the
open country without assistance of any kind, and
under any conditions which might prevail at the time.
Surely the surroundings could not well have been
more unfavourable unless a rapid thaw, immediately
following the snow, had made them so. At Boxmoor
the country was thoroughly w^hite. The snow lay on
the ground to an uniform depth of about eight inches ;
where it had drifted, occasionally we were almost up
to our knees. For a time the sky was fairly bright,
but later a blinding shower of snow fell, which
happily cleared off in about an hour^s time. At our
terminus we were joined by Mr. Holmes Pegler, who
brought with him a dog hound named Danger, by
Maltravers out of Blossom. This hound a few
generations back can claim some of the old southern
hound blood ; but he shows not the slightest trace of
this, being a good-looking black and tan animal,
though not then in the best form, so far as health was
concerned. He had very little preliminary training,
and thus afforded fair evidence of what a bloodhound
will do under adverse circumstances. Our small
party — which included, in addition to the gentlemen
already mentioned, three ladies in a sleigh. Dr.
Philpot', and Mr. W. K. Taunton — made the best way

2 2 Modern Dogs.

along the lanes to the Downs, and, ascended them,
on to the Sheep Hanger Common. Towards the
summit we found ourselves on one side of a pretty
valley, which even under its wintry garb looked quite
charming, and afforded some idea of the beauty of
the locality when summer blooms. However, before
quite reaching the hilltop it was decided to give
Danger a trial.

A man was selected for the purpose, and the
course he had to run was pointed out to him. The
thickly lying snow made locomotion very difficult,
and as even now there came a recurrence of the
storm, a comparatively short start was given. In
seven minutes from the time the man had set off,
Danger was laid on his track, and, picking up the
line in an instant, went away at a quick rate along the
hillside. We tried to run with the hound, but to do
this in the deep snow and keep Danger in sight was
impossible. After following him some six hundred
yards or so, we had to make our way to the tiny knot
of spectators on the hilltop, and once there saw that
he had lost the line, after running it well for some-
thing less than half a mile. In making a cast round,
he unfortunately struck the wind of the spectators,
and came back to them. Nor did he seem very
persevering in attempting to regain the scent, giving
us the idea that in previous trials he had not been

The Bloodhound. 23

allowed to depend upon his own exertions to recover
a lost trail.

Mr. Brough's hounds included Barnaby (one of
the couple brought to London at the instance of the
late Commissioner of Police) and Beeswing, with
Belhus and Blueberry, their offspring. The two first
named are well-known hounds on the show bench.
Barnaby had run at the Warwick trials ; the younger
animals are fairly good looking, and their work was
quite satisfactory. Blueberry was afforded the next
trial, a stranger to her acting as the quarry, taking
his route down the hill over sundry fences, going a
semi-circular course of about a mile. After eight
minutes' law the hound was unleashed, and had no
difficulty in hitting the line, though snow was falling
heavily. She carried it along at a good pace, quite
mute, and, a little at a loss at one fence in the hollow,
cast well around, re-found the line, and, without more
ado, ran it out up to the man.

At one portion of this trial a labourer crossed the
track, but the bitch stuck to her line, and was not
thrown out for a moment. Without resting, the two
couples of the Scarborough hounds had a quarry
provided in Dr. Philpot. For some distance he made
his way along the hillside, through scrub and stunted
bushes, down to a hedge at the foot of the vale.
Here there was a road, and, crossing this and a fence,

24 Modem Dogs.

the quarry ran up a bare field to a plantation.
Skirting the wood for three hundred yards, another
fence was reached, across this, along some bare
ground, by the side of another hedge, to the foot of
the hill where we stood. No better view of such a
trial could be had. This course was quite a mile.
As the four hounds were to start, they w^ere slipped
ten minutes after their quarry had gone. Barnaby,
a little slow in commencing, was not long behind,
and, with a fresh and cheerful burst of music, the
little pack raced along at an extraordinary pace, con-
sidering the depth of the snow. A little hesitancy
in the bottom, Barnaby made a cast forward, had
" it " again, " his wife and children " flew to his note,
and away they rattled up to the plantation.

The old dog's size and strength were useful in this
deep going, and he led the way ; but scent must
have been good, for, without losing it again, they
raced down the hill, and fairly caught their man
before he reascended from the valley. A good trial
in every way.

Possibly the prettiest hunt of the day was afforded
by Beeswing and Danger, with Master Pegler to be
hunted, and a ten minutes' start given him. These
hounds did not at the first hit off the line, but, when
fairly on the track, went through the scrub, down the
hill to the foot road, and over the fence without a

The Bloodhound. 25

check. Some nice work was done In the bare field,
especially where the quarry struck off at a sharp
angle, and along by the fence of the plantation.
They had no difficulty in making out the whole of
the course, which we would take to be about three-
quarters of a mile.

The final trial was run by the entire two couples
and a half of hounds, and with fifteen minutes' law
to the quarry. Now that the snow had ceased, the
pack quickly went along the right line down the hill
and over the first fence. In the middle of the second
field, some quarter of a mile from the start, Danger
seemed at a loss, and, turning back to his owner who
was following as fast as the deep snow would admit,
somewhat disconcerted the other hounds, as they
turned round to the voice of Mr. Pegler, who called
his hound up. Higher up the field Beeswing
appeared to be the one that struck the scent again,
her voice attracting her kennel companions, who
rattled along the correct track up to a hedge which
lay to the left. The quarry had skirted this
boundary line, and made his w^ay down hill to a couple
of hay stacks, or, at any rate, stacks of some kind.
He had doubled along the road here, but hounds
found him w^ithout the slightest difficulty.

Hunting and shooting men know scent is one
of the mysteries of nature. Here we were out on

26 Modern Dogs.

a day when one might reasonably expect that hounds
would be unable to run a hundred yards without
a check. Still, all these bloodhounds, with their
quarry given from seven to fifteen minutes' start, hit
the line, and took it along at a " racing pace,'' it may
be called, when the ten or eight inches of snow are
taken into consideration. The keen north wind, too,
must have been against scent, and one of the best
trials of all was run in a blinding snowstorm. Surely,
then, these bloodhounds have olfactory powers of
more than average excellence ; at any rate, that
Monday they proved to us their possession of such.
The men who acted as quarry had no knowledge of
these hounds, no strongly smelling concoctions were
smeared over their boots ; and, indeed, they had
been standing over the shoe tops in snow during the
whole of the time the trials were taking place. So
the '^ clean shoe " must in the end have been sadly
water soaked. These bloodhounds did all we
expected them to do, even more, and we are quite
prepared to see the same hounds, under more favour-
able circumstances, hunt a man's trail or footsteps,
though they be two hours old. Running singly,
each hound was mute ; together they gave tongue,
and their voices were very fine. It may be interest-
ing to state that, in their earlier training, with slight
exceptions, including a hound or two he worked in

The Bloodhound. 27

Staffordshire about 1876, Mr. Broagh's hounds have
" run mute," whether hunting together or separately ;
but, working them with a noisy basset, they were
tempted or encouraged to throw their voices, as they
now do when hunting in company. Of course, blood-
hounds vary in their voices, some being much more
free in their use than others, and a bitch of Mr.
Brough's called Brilliant was so fond of using hers,
that, when running the line, she every now and then
stopped, sat down for a few seconds, and poured
forth the most charming melody, which she evidently
enjoyed.

The trials arranged by the Kennel Club in 1889
were advertised to take place on the racecourse
adjoining the Alexandra Palace on Wednesday morn-
ing, at 10.30. As it happened, when that hour was
reached, the only one of the three judges present was
Colonel Starkie, who a little later was joined by Lord
Alfred Fitzroy. Then snow began to fall, few of the
stewards were in the dog show, and the prospects
seemed to favour an abandonment of the trials
altogether. Up to 11.30 o'clock nothing had been
decided upon, so Mr. Craven, with his couple of
entered hounds, went home. Next it was officially
stated that a decision would be come to at twenty
minutes to one, and it was then resolved to hold the
trials. The snow had by this time given place to

28 Modern Dogs.

rain ; a cold, chilly wind blew from the south-west ;
and these combinations, with the addition of the
wet, damp ground, upon which old snow lay three
inches or more in depth, made the surroundings as
unfavourable as they well could be.

Mr. Lindsay Hogg, in addition to the gentlemen
already named, judged, but the duties were almost
sinecures. Several tracks had been marked out by
small flags, and, although these courses were said to
be six hundred yards in length, they appeared con-
siderably more — probably that distance straight
away, with the run home additional. Each hound
was allowed a track of his own, which extended
along the racecourse for several hundred yards on
the flat, over sundry lots of railings, winding round
in the direction of a small plantation. The hounds
had to pass this, and then enter the road on the run
home.

The latter portion of the track was along the
same line by each man who acted as the quarry,
thus making the trials more difficult tests for the
hound ; though those that ran first must necessarily
have had the advantage, as the latter part of the
road was less foiled by one or two men than it would
have been by half a dozen. Two stakes were pro-
vided, the one for the " clean boot," the other for
the ^' not clean boot." The latter in this instance

The Bloodhound. 29

meant that the shoe soles of the man actino- as
quarry had been rubbed with horseflesh, the only
material at hand for the purpose. As a fact, the
second stake never ought to have been arranged,
and it is by no means to the credit of a bloodhound
that he should require such assistance ; the status
of the trials was thus reduced to the commonplace
'^ hound dog " trails, so popular in the rural districts
of the North of England. As matters progressed,
the bloodhounds actually hunted the clean boot
better than they did the soiled one, and we would
suggest that in future, when the '' not clean boot "
is to be run, terriers rather than bloodhounds should
be utilised for the work.

However, in due course one of the keepers out of
the show was despatched as quarry, with a start of
ten minutes, during which time he traversed more
than three-fourths of the course. Then the first
hound, Mr. B. C. Knowles's Koodoo, was slipped.
She struck the line immediately, but lost it after
going about a hundred yards, and, casting round,
hit the scent of some of the spectators, and, failing
to persevere, was called up.

Mr. W. J. Scott's Hebe HI., a smart bitch, Hke-
wise picked up the line quickly, and, running it a
little too much to windward, was at a loss for a
moment. She cast well, and without assistance

30 Modern Dogs.

struck the scent, and kept it until she turned the
corner at the plantation and out of sight of the
spectators. For a time Hebe tried to regain the
lost line, and looked like doing so until catching the
wind of a labourer, and rather startling him by
making his passing acquaintance. She failed to
finish her task.

Mr. R. Hood Wright's well-known Hector H.,
who had performed well at the trials in the grounds
at Warwick Castle two years before, and now nearly
eight years old, was, after the stipulated five
minutes, put upon the line. He did not start with
so much dash as the bitch had done, carried his
head nearer the ground, and ran the exact line the
quarry had taken. This he did well, and the manner
in which he leaped those railings the man had
climbed, and ran under those he had crept through,
interested the spectators not a little. There was no
mistake as to the correctness of his nose up to the
plantation ; but here, where the quarry had turned,
the hound was at fault. He cast about till striking
the line again, and was hard on the track of the man
on turning into the road home. This he stuck to
until near the goal, when he became somewhat dis-
concerted, no doubt striking the wind of the spec-
tators as he approached them. His trial was very
nicely run.

The Bloodhound. 31

Mrs. Danger's Jaff was absent, and Mr. E. Brough's
Blueberry strangely refused to run, though what we
saw of her work on Monday proved her an excellent
bitch, and her owner considered her about his best.
Mr. Brough's Barnaby, mentioned earlier on, went
quicker along the line the runner had taken than
Hector had done, and, like him, cleared or went
under the railings according to the mode the quarry
had adopted. Just before reaching the plantation
Barnaby lost the scent, but cast to the right and left
until it was struck again. He, too, was a consider-
able time out of sight behind the plantation, but on
reappearing in the road he was running the line of
the man, which he continued much as Mr. Wright's
hound had done, failing to quite come up to the
winning post for similar reasons.

Dr. Hales Parry's Primate was absent, so the
end of the stake was reached, there being four of
the nine entries that failed to meet their engagement.
The judges awarded the prizes as follows : First,
Mr. R. H. Wright's Hector II. ; second, Mr. E.
Brough's Barnaby; third, Mr. W. J. Scott's Hebe
HI.; the fourth, of course, being withheld. There
was little to choose between the first two, for both
ran excellent trials, considering the unfavourable
surroundings, and afforded ample proof, even to the
incredulous, that the bloodhound will hunt a man

32 Modern Dogs.

without even smelling any part of his person or
clothes until laid on the track of his footsteps.

The second stake is of no account whatever,
being that already alluded to, where the men acting
as quarry had their shoe soles smeared with raw
horseflesh. It was, however, thought that three
competitors of the five entries would run well, so the
time was taken, and Koodoo, who did badly on the
'' clean boot," now ran a brilliant course at a good
pace, going the distance, including a check behind
the wood, in five minutes. Hebe III. and Hector
II. both began well, but, losing the line at about
three-fourths the distance, failed to regain it, and
were called up. They were awarded equal seconds,
Mr. Knowles's Koodoo taking premier honours.

So much for the bloodhound trials ; and now,
when writing in 1897, they appear to have been
entirely discontinued, at any rate so far as public
exhibitions of them are concerned.

With the introduction of dog shows the general
public were enabled to see how far the bloodhound
survived, and the early exhibitions held at Birmingham
always included two nicely filled classes of this dog,
which many persons believed to be almost extinct.

'' Stonehenge," writing in 1869, says :

Until within the last twenty-five years, or thereabouts, the blood-
hound has been almost entirely confined to the kennels of the

The Bloodhound. 33

English nobility ; but at about that distance of time Mr. Jennings,
of Pickering, in Yorivshire, obtained a draft or two from Lord
Feversham and Baron Rothschild, and in a few years, by his
skill and care, produced his Druid and Welcome, a magnificent
couple of hounds, which he afterwards sold, at what was then
considered a high price, to Prince Napoleon for breeding purposes.
In the course of time, and probably from the fame acquired by
these dogs at the various shows, his example was followed by his
north-country neighbours, Major Cowen and Mr. J. W. Pease, who
monopolised the prizes of the show bench with successive Druids,
descended from Mr. Jennings' dog of that name, and aided by
Draco, Dingle, Dauntless, &c., all of the same strain. In 1869,
however, another candidate for fame appeared in Mr. Holford's
Eegent, a magnificent dog, both in shape and colour, but still of
the same strains, and, until the appearance of Mr. Reynold Ray's
Roswell in 1870, no fresh blood was introduced among the first-
prize winners at our chief shows. The dog, who died in 1877,
maintained his position for the same period almost without
dispute, and even in his old age it took a good dog to beat him.

About i860, Lord Bagot, of Blithefield, near
Stafford, had some very fine hounds, and was
successful with both the dogs and bitches he put on
the benches at the National Show in Curzon Hall.

Coming down to the present time, there are
perhaps more admirers of the bloodhound than at
any previous period of its history. Dog shows have,
no doubt, popularised him ; and, well cared for and
well treated, made a companion of instead of being
kept chained in a kennel or in a dark cellar, he has
lost most of his natural ferocity, and is quite as
amiable as any other variety of the canine race.

D

34 Modern Dogs.

Colonel Cowen, until his much lamented death in
1895, kept a hound or two at Blaydon, near New-
castle ; Mr. E. Brough, near Scarborough, is perhaps
our greatest breeder ; but good bloodhounds are also
to be found in the kennels of Mr. H. C. Hodson,
Lichfield ; of Dr. Sidney Turner, Sydenham ; of Mr.
R. Hood Wright, Frome ; of Miss F. E. Woodcock,
West Norwood ; of Mr. Walter Evans, Birchfield,
Birmingham ; of Mr. A. Bowker, Winchester ; of Mr.
A. O. Mudie, Herts ; of Mr. F. Gibson, Hull ; of Mr.
J. Kidd, Dundee ; of Mr. T. H. Mangin, Lymington ;
of Mr. F. de Paravicini, Oxford; and of Mr. M. H.
Hills, near Birmingham.

Here mention must be made of the pack of
bloodhounds, kept over twenty years ago by the late
Lord Wolverton, who hunted the " carted " deer with
them in Dorsetshire, in the Blackmore \^ale country.
These hounds, or most of them, originally came
from Captain Roden, New Grove, co. Meath, who,
about 1864, obtained several hounds, a couple or so
coming from Hinks, of Birmingham, the well-known
dealer. They were sold by Lord Wolverton to Lord
Carrington, who had them but a single season, during
which he showed sport in Buckinghamshire. From
here they went into the kennels of Count Le Couteulx
de Canteleu, in France (author of that excellent
work, '' Manuel de Venerie Francaise," a portion of

The Bloodhound. 35

which originally appeared in the Field in 1872), where
they have been useful in hunting both wild deer and
wild boar, and in crossing with many French varieties
of the hound.

Prior to this, Mr. Selby Lowndes had several
couples of bloodhounds in Whaddon Chase, where
occasionally they had a run after deer. One of his
hounds, named Gamester, bore a great reputation as
a man-hunter, and on more than one occasion was
useful in capturing thieves. This hound appears to
have been a waif from some other kennel, for he was
purchased from a hawker for ;^io, the latter using
him as a protection, and to run under his van.

Then it is said, bloodhounds have been owned by
the verderers in connection with the New Forest in
Hampshire, but they were known as Talbots, and
most of them were smaller than our modern hounds.
Mr. T. Nevill had a small pack at Chilland, near
Winchester, dark coloured hounds — black St.
Hubert's they were called. A well-known writer in
B ally's Magazine, gives a long description of them.
It was said they would hunt anything, from " the
jackal and the lordly stag, to the water-rat and such
' small deer.' " However, of late, bloodhounds have
not proved so satisfactory as foxhounds for hunting
deer, but, as stated further on, Mr. C. H. Wilson,
master of the Oxenholme staghounds, is using the

D 2

36 Modern Dogs.

former as '^ crosses " to improve the voice of hounds,
which have of late degenerated considerably in that
respect. Bloodhounds will not stand rating, have to
be kept free from excitement, allowed to hunt in
their own slow, quiet way, and the excitement and
''thrusting" of modern large fields are all against
seeing the staid bloodhound at his best. At the
present time there is no pack of bloodhounds kept
in this country for hunting purposes ; still, with the
many admirers of the race, there is little fear of the
strain being allowed to become of the past.

Thus our bloodhound has, in reality, suffered less
from a craze to breed for certain exaggerated
features than some other dogs have done. He is
still a fairly powerful and large hound, with great
thickness of bone, well sprung ribs, and considerable
power behind. I rather fancy that, like most large-
sized dogs, he fails more in his loins and hind legs
than elsewhere, nor does he, as a rule, carry so
much muscle as a foxhound. No doubt, in head
and ears he has much improved since the time he
was kept for the public good at the expense of the
inhabitants on the Scottish borders.

Some of our modern English bloodhounds have
been simply extraordinary in what are technically
called '' head " properties. Perhaps the finest hound
in this respect was Captain Clayton's Luath XL, a

The Bloodhound. 37

fawn In colour, a huge specimen of his variety,
weighing over io61b., but unfortunately spoiled by
his execrable fore legs and feet. On the contrary,
Mrs. Humphries' Don, that once did a considerable
amount of winning, excelled In fore legs and feet,
but was weak and straight in his pasterns ; a very
plain-headed hound, always much over estimated.
Mr. E. Nichols had a dark-coloured hound, called
Triumph, that excelled In head and ears, and perhaps
there has been no better hound In this respect than
Cromwell, by Nestor — Daisy, and bred by Mr. W.
Nash In 1884. The head properties of this hound
were so fine that on his death, In 1892, a model was
taken of them by Sir Everett MlUals, who had Crom-
well In his kennels at the time. But here a list
cannot be given of all the excellent bloodhounds
that have made their appearance of late years, the
dog-show catalogues afford a better selection than I
could supply here, and the owners of the kennels
named on a preceding page are certainly to be com-
plimented on the progress they have made with the
bloodhound, notwithstanding the difficulty to be sur-
mounted In rearing the puppies.

Mr. Edwin Brough, no doubt the most experienced
breeder of the present day, believes the modern
bloodhound to be much speedier on foot than in the
old days of the Mosstroopers, and there are now, in

38 Modern Dogs.

1897, I'l^orG really good bloodhounds to be found in
this country than has ever been the case. Perhaps
Bono, Bardolph, Burgundy, Barbarossa, Brunhilda,
and Benedicta, from the Scarborough kennels,
generally have never been excelled ; and now, in
1897, th^ ^^^ latter, as Bono and Bardolph had done
earlier on, often win the special cup awarded to the
best dog in the show. Mr. H. C. Hodson's Rameses,
RolHck, Romeo, and Rubric are all hounds of high
class, and the names of several others equally good
could easily be mentioned, including Mrs. Heyden's
South Carolina, Mrs. C. Tinker's Dimple, and Mr.
Bowker's Berengaria.

The pedigrees of our present bloodhounds have
been well kept during the past generation or so, and
their reliability in the Stud Book is undoubted.

The late Mr. J. H. Walsh ('' Stonehenge")
appears to have had a prejudice against the tempera-
ment and character of the bloodhound, formed
evidently by a very savage and determined dog of
Grantley Berkeley's, called Druid. Whether modern
dog shows have been the means of improving this
hound's temper, and making him as amiable and
devoted a friend as any other dog, I cannot tell ;
but, that he is so, no one who has ever kept the
variety will doubt. Bring a bloodhound up in the
house or stable and use him as a companion, and he

The Bloodhound. 39

will requite you for your trouble. He is gentle and
kind, less addicted to fighting than many other big
dogs ; he is sensible, cleanly, of noble aspect, and
in demeanour the aristocrat of hounds.

Of course, there are ill-conditioned dogs of every
variety, but the average bloodhound will develop
into as good a companion as any other of his race ;
he may be shy at first, but kindness will improve
him in this respect. In hunting, he is slower than
the foxhound, but more painstaking than are the
members of the fashionable packs. He dwells on the
quest a considerable time, seemingly enjoying the
peculiar sensation he may derive through his olfac-
tory organs, and will cast on his own account ; the
latter, a faculty that ought not to be lost, though
in many hunting countries, where a good gallop
is considered more desirable than the observation of
hound work, the master or huntsman assists the
hounds, rather than allows them to assist themselves.

The lovely voice the bloodhound possesses need
not be dilated upon by me, and moreover, he has a
power of transmitting that " melody" to his offspring
to an unusual extent. I fancy that our modern otter-
hound owes something of his melodious cry to some
not very remote crosses with the bloodhound ; and if I
mistake not, the late Major Cowen found this strain of
" Druids " useful in his well-known Braes o' Derwent

40 Modern Dogs.

foxhounds. Mr. C. H. Wilson, master of the
Oxenholme staghounds, is crossing his foxhounds
and harriers with bloodhounds, in order to restore
the voice and music which in a great measure had
been lost in breeding for pace.

If asked to recommend a large dog as a com-
panion, I should certainly place the bloodhound
very high on the list, possibly on a level with the
St. Bernard, and only below the Scottish deerhound
And in one respect he is better even than the latter ;
for he is not nearly so quarrelsome with other dogs.
Not very long ago, a bloodhound was running
about the busy streets of Brixton daily ; he never
snarled at a passing cur or terrier, and was the
favourite of every little boy and girl in the neigh-
bourhood. Had their parents known that the big
black and brown creature their children Avere petting
and stroking on the head was a bloodhound, the
ferocious dog of story books and history, what a
scene there would have been. And still more
recently it is no uncommon sight to see a lady and
her maid accompanied by three couples of blood-
hounds enjoying themselves on one of our most
frequented suburban commons. Here the big
hounds romp and enjoy themselves and seem to be
under better command than the collies and terriers,
with which all such districts abound.

The Bloodhound. 41

Sir E. Landseer, the animal painter, thoroughly
appreciated the bloodhound, its staid manner, its
majestic appearance. He, with Mr. Jacob Bell, kept
hounds of his own, and all know how he immortalised
them on canvas. His '' Sleeping Bloodhound," now
in the National Gallery, was a portrait of Mr. Bell's
favourite Countess, run over and killed in a stable
yard. It was after her death she was painted,
forming the subject, "A sleep that has no waking."
Grafton, in the popular picture, '' Dignity and
Impudence " was a bloodhound considered to be of
great merit in his day, now he would be regarded
as a very ordinary specimen.

Mr. Brough, writing in the Cent wry Magazine^
some few years since, goes at considerable length
into the training of bloodhounds, which is best done
by allowing the hound to hunt the '' clean boot,"
rather than one smeared with blood or anything else.
He says :

'' Hounds work better when entered to one
particular scent and kept to that only. Mr. Brough
never allows his hounds to hunt anything but the
clean boot, but begins to take his pups to exercise
on the roads when three or four months old, and a
very short time suffices to get them under good
command. You can beein scarcelv too earlv to
teach pups to hunt the clean boot. For the first

42 Modern Dogs,

few times it is best to let them run some one they
know ; afterwards it does not matter how often the
runner is changed. He should caress and make
much of the pups and let them see him start, but
get out of their sight as quickly as possible and run
in a straight line, say two hundred yards up wind on
grass-land, and then hide himself. The man who
hunts the pups should know the exact line taken,
and take the pups over it, trying to encourage them
to hunt until they get to their man, who should
reward them w4th a bit of meat. This may have to
be repeated several times before they really get their
heads down ; but w^hen they have once begun to
hunt they improve rapidly and take great delight in
the quest. Everything should be made as easy as
possible at first, and the difficulties increased very
gradually. This may be done by having the line
crossed by others, by increasing the time before the
pups are laid on, or by crossing roads, &c. When
the pups get old enough they should be taught to
jump boldly and to swim brooks where necessary.
When young hounds have begun to run fairly well
it will be found very useful to let the runner carry a
bundle of sticks two feet or two feet six inches long,
pointed at one end and with a piece of white paper
in a cleft at the other end. When he makes a turn
or crosses a fence he should put one of these sticks

The Bloodhound. 43

down and incline it in the direction he is going to
take next. This will give the person hunting the
hounds some idea of the correctness of their work,
though the best hounds do not always run the nearest
to the line. On a good scenting day I have seen
hounds running hard fifty yards or more to leeward
of the line taken. These sticks should be taken up
when done with, or they may be found misleading on
some other occasion. The hounds will soon learn to
cast themselves or try back if they over-run the line,
and should never receive any assistance so long as
they continue working on their own account. It is
most important that they should become self-reliant.
The line should be varied as much as possible. It
is not well to run hounds over exactly the same course
they have been hunted on some previous occasion.
If some hounds are much slower than the rest it is
best to hunt them by themselves, or they may get to
'' score to cry," as the old writers say, instead of
patiently working out the line for themselves.

It is a great advantage to get hounds accustomed
to strange sights and noises. If a hound is intended
to be brought to a pitch of excellence that shall
enable him to be used in thoroughfares, he should
be brought up in a town and see as much bustle as
possible. If he is only intended to be used in
open country, with occasional bits of road work, this

44 Modern Dogs.

is not necessary. Bloodhounds give tongue freely
when hunting any wild animal, but many hounds run
perfectly mute when hunting man. This is, however,
very much a matter of breeding. Some strains run
man without giving tongue at all ; others are very
musical."

In America they have established a bloodhound
club adopting their standard from that which was
formulated and published in an earlier edition of this
volume. Strange as it may appear, after all the
bloodhound stories and the slaves, America had to
come to us for bloodhounds, and I believe the first
couple sent over were from the Scarborough kennels
in 1888. These were bred from by Mr. Winchell,
Mr. Brough, and others. More, however, were
imported, with the present result. Thus it is not
likely that club members or others have discovered
any pure bloodhounds in Virginia or in any other of
the Southern States.

Not long ago some correspondence took place in
the Field with regard to what were called '' Bavarian
mountain bloodhounds." From a photograph of a
group forwarded to me, I had no difiRculty in coming
to the conclusion that these hounds were " blood-
hounds " but in name, being undersized and without
any of that dignity of expression and general
character which form such distinguishing features in

The Bloodhound. 45

our modern dog. Indeed these Bavarian hounds
possess even less bloodhound tvpe than the " Kerry
beagles " illustrated on another page. The Bavarian
hound is used for deer hunting in the mountains and
forests, and is said to run mute until he has brought
his game to bay, nor will he then worry or attempt
to eat the quarry. In height he is from igin. to
2oin. at the shoulder, and is mostly brown or liver
and tan in colour.

The points of the bloodhound are numerically as
follows :

Value.

Head 20

Ears and eyes 15

Flews 5

Neck 5

Chest and shoulders ... 10

55

Value.

Back and ribs 10

Legs and feet 15

Colour and coat 7^

Stern 5

Symmetry 7 J

45

Grand Total, 100.

Some little time ago Dr. Sidney Turner and Mr.
E. Brough compiled and carefully drew up the follow-
ing " Points and Characteristics of the Bloodhound
or Sleuthhound."

" Genei^al Character. — The bloodhound possesses
in a most marked degree every point and charac-
teristic of those dogs which hunt together by scent
(Sagaces). He is very powerful, and stands over

46 Modern Dogs.

more ground than is usual with hounds of other
breeds. The skin is thin to the touch and extremely
loose, this being more especially noticeable about
the head and neck, where it hangs in deep folds.

'^ Heigh f. — The mean average height of adult dogs
is 26in., and of adult bitches 24in. Dogs usually
vary from 25in. to 27in., and bitches from 23in. to
25in. ; but in either case, the greater height is to be
preferred, provided that character and quality are
also combined.

" Weight. — The mean average weight of adult
dogs, in fair condition, is 9olb., and of adult bitches,
8olb. Dogs attain the weight of iiolb., bitches
loolb. The greater weights are to be preferred, pro-
vided (as in the case of height) that quality and
proportion are also combined.

*' Expression. — The expression is noble and digni-
fied, and characterised by solemnity, wisdom, and
power.

^^Temperament.. — In temperament he is extremely
affectionate, neither quarrelsome with companions
nor with other dogs. His nature is somewhat shy,
and equally sensitive to kindness or correction by
his master.

'' Head. — The head is narrow in proportion to its
length, and long in proportion to the body, tapering
but slightly from the temples to the end of the

The Bloodhound. 47

muzzle, thus (when viewed from above and hi front)
having the appearance of being flattened at the sides
and of being nearly equal in width throughout its
entire length. In profile, the upper outline of the
skull is nearly in the same plane as that of the
fore-face. The length from end of nose to stop
(midway between the eyes) should be not less than

THE DOTTED LINES SHOW A FAULTY PEAK.

that from stop to back of occipital protuberance
(peak). The entire length of head from the
posterior part of the occipital protuberance to the
end of the muzzle should be twelve inches or more,
in dogs, and eleven inches or more in bitches.

" Skull. — The skull is long and narrow, with the
occipital peak very pronounced. The brows are not
prominent, although, owing to the deep-set eyes,
they may have that appearance.

48

Modern Dogs.

'^ Fore-face. — The fore-face is long, deep, and of
even width throughout, with square outline when
seen in profile.

'^ Eyes. — The eyes are deeply sunk in the orbits,
the lids assuming a lozenge or diamond shape, in
consequence of the lower lids being dragged down

and everted by the heavy flews. The eyes
correspond with the general tone of colour of the
animal, varying from deep hazel to yellow. The
hazel colour is, however, to be preferred, although
very seldom seen in red-and-tan hounds.

'^ Ears. — The ears are thin and soft to the touch,
extremely long, set very low, and fall in graceful folds,
the lower parts curling inwards and backwards.

The Bloodhound.

49

'' Wrinkle. — The head is furnished with an
amount of loose skin, which in nearly every position
appears superabundant, but more particularly so
when the head is carried low ; the skin then falls

into loose pendulous ridges and folds, especially over
the forehead and sides of the face.

'' Nostrils. — The nostrils are large and open.

'' Lips^ Flews, and Dewlap. — In front the lips fall
squarely, making a right angle with the upper line of
the fore-face ; whilst behind they form deep hanging

E

so

Modern Dogs

flews, and, being continued into the pendant folds of
loose skin about the neck, constitute the dewlap,
which is very pronounced. These characters are
found, though in a less degree, in the bitch.

'' Neck, Shoulders, and Chest. — The neck is long;
the shoulders muscular and well sloped backwards;
the ribs are well sprung ;
and the chest well let
down between the forelegs,
forming a deep keel.

" Legs and Feet. — The
forelegs are straight and
large in bone, with elbows
squarely set ; the feet
strong and well knuckled
up ; the thighs and second
thighs (gaskins) are very
, muscular ; the hocks well
bent and let down and
squarely set.

'^ Back and Loin. — The
back and loins are strong,
the latter deep and slightly
arched.

^' Stern. — The stern is long and tapering and set
on rather hiorh, with a moderate amount of hair
underneath.

The Bloodhound.

''Gait. — The gait is elastic, swinging, and free, the
stern being carried high, but not too much curled
over the back.

^^ Colour. — The colours are black and tan, red and
tan and tawny, the darker colour being sometimes
interspersed with lighter or badger-coloured hair,
and sometimes flecked with white. A small amount
of white is permissible on chest, feet, and tip of
stern."

There is little or nothing more to be said of
the modern bloodhound. That many writers have
given him an evil character, for which there was
no justification, none who are acquainted with him
will deny. Whether in his kennel or In the house,
on the show bench or In the country, he Is always
the same noble, sensible creature ; rather Indolent
perhaps, but a faithful companion, and interesting
as an object of admiration. He Is a difficult dog
to rear, being delicate In his Infancy, but once
over distemper and other dangers of puppyhood,
he Is as hardy as most, and certainly about the
least troublesome of all big dogs. Still, the pure
bred hounds cannot be recommended as watch dogs,
for they are not fond of barking at and making
known the presence of strangers ; and one of their
admirers says that his favourite hound would rather
" bay the moon " than by his voice proclaim the

E 2

52 Modern Dogs.

approach of bad characters — burglars, or such like.
A story came to us the other day that a convict
escaped from one of the Florida penitentiaries and
got well away before the hounds were put upon his
line. He. however, discomfited the creatures in a
cunning manner, for, providing himself with a
quantity of pepper, he strewed it on his track. This
not only quite prevented the hounds following him,
but, it is said, pretty nearly killed one of the best
of them, who persevered for a considerable time
longer than his comrades in endeavouring to make
out the scent of the fugitive.

CHAPTER 11.

THE FOXHOUND.

The most perfect of his race Is the foxhound —
perfect in shape, in pace, in nose, in courage. Not
one of his canine companions is his equal, for in
addition to his merits as a mere quadruped, as a
hound he is the reason for the maintenance of
expensive estabhshments, for the breeding of high
class horses, and generally for giving an impetus
to trade and causing a " turnover," without which
the agriculturist might starve and the greatness of
our country be placed in peril. Our bravest soldiers
have been foxhunters ; our most successful men
in almost every walk of commerce have had their
characters moulded in the hunting field, or later in
life have regained their shattered health by gallops
after hounds across the green meadows of the
Midlands or along the broad acres of Yorkshire.

At the present time there are about 200 packs of
foxhounds hunting regularly in the various districts of
Great Britain, and I am well within the mark when I

54 Modern Dogs.

estimate the cost of keeping up the kennels, in-
cluding hounds, food^ wages of hunt servants,
masters' expenses, &c., at over three million pounds
per annum. Nor do these figures attempt to cover
the ordinary expenses disbursed by those hunting
men who have not hounds of their own, the cost
of their horses, their keep, and other items. What
in addition these amount to cannot well be ascer-
tained, but he will be a bold man who attempts
to deny that foxhunting, as one of our national
sports, possesses a place in the economy of the
State. Special trains on our great railway system
are repeatedly run to fashionable meets of fox-
hounds. Some large hotels are to a considerable
extent supported by customers who visit them
because of their contiguity to foxhound countries.
We have been called a nation of shopkeepers
— a nation of foxhunters would have been more
appropriate. One way and another the expenditure
upon this healthy amusement during each succes-
sive season may be reckoned in millions of pounds
sterling, and still there are so called humanitarians
who decry the sport as a discredit to our country.
Lord Yarborough estimated the cost of hound keep-
ing at over four and a half millions yearly, and
estimates that 99,000 horses are engaged therein.
Again it is said that in Yorkshire alone over twenty

The Foxhound. 55

packs of hounds, including harriers and otter hounds,
hunting there, are kept up at a cost of not less
than 600,000/. per annum. Of course such figures,
in the absence of carefully compiled statistics, can
only be approximate. Some few years ago, a well
known master of hounds (Lord Middleton) found it
necessary to appeal to his country to support him in
continuing the hunt by subscription, he stating that
his family had spent over 100,000/. on the sport.

'' The fox was made to be hunted, and not to kill
geese and lambs," said a sporting farmer to me one
day, " and he likes it too," continued the good
agriculturist, '' or would he take such long rounds as
he does when he could lurk and skulk about and
thoroughly baffle hounds whenever inclined to do
so?" Maybe our good red fox does like to be
hunted ; at any rate, when bedraggled and beaten
he seldom looks sad and pitiful, and the hunter
loves him as much as he does his pack ; and why
should he not love him and hunt him at the same
time ? The most kindly of all men, Izaak Walton,
implies that an angler should love the worm with
which he baits his hook, and no one decried such
sympathy, excepting, perhaps, the cruellest men, or
those of the Lord Byron type.

Foxhounds have for more than three hundred years
been carefully bred and reared for hunting purposes,

56 Modern Dogs.

and for that length of time the sport has been
carried on in England pretty much on the same
lines as now, taking into consideration the change in
our mode of living and in the cultivation of the
land. But long prior to this period, foxhunting was
a fashionable pastime, and Edward II. had a hunts-
man named Twici, who, early in the fourteenth
century, became an author and an authority on sport.
He said :

Draw with your hounds about groves and thickets and bushes
near villages ; a fox will lurk in rude places to prey upon pigs and
poultry, but it will be necessary to stop up earths, if you can find
them, the night before you intend to hunt ; and the best time will
be about midnight, for then the fox goeth out to seek his prey
. . . The best time for hunting a fox is in January, February,
and March, for then you shall but see your hounds hunting
. . . Shun casting off too many hounds at once, because
woods and coverts are full of sundry chases, and let such as you
cast off be old and staunch hounds, which are sure. . . Let
the hounds worry and kill the fox themselves, and tear him as
much as they please.

And so proceeds the ancient royal huntsman, who
doubtless enjoyed his sport in those times with as
much gratification as do we ourselves at the present
day.

Although thus early there were hounds similar to
those of modern times, they were not kept entirely
for the purpose of hunting the fox, and to be actually
perfect in work they should not be entered to any

The Foxhound. 57

other quarry. There Is some amount of uncertainty^
as to the earhest date when hounds were kept
solely for the chase of the fox. I quite agree
with that painstaking and researchful writer, Mr.
W. C. A. Blew, who, in his new edition of '* Notitia
Venatica,'' ascribes the earliest date to a few years-
prior to 1689; for at that time the Charlton Hunt
in Sussex, conducted by Mr. Roper, who managed
the hounds for the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth
and Earl Grey, hunted the fox. Particulars of this
appear in the fifteenth volume of the "Sussex
Archaeological Collection." In 1750 the Charlton,
were called the Goodwood.

In the Field of Nov. 6, 1875, there is an illustra-
tion of an old hunting horn, at that time in the
possession of Mr. Reginald Corbet, master of the
South Cheshire hounds. On it there is the foU
lowing inscription: ''Thomas Boothby, Esq., Tooley^
Park, Leicester. With this horn he hunted the first
pack of foxhounds then in England fifty-five years.
Born 1677, died 1752." Here is another early date,
and where could be found plainer proofs, though some
writers have thrown discredit on them because they
thought it possible these hounds occasionally hunted
any out-lying deer that might be doing damage to the
farmer's crops. As well say some of our modern
harriers are not harriers because, when the legitimate

58 Modern Dogs.

chase is scarce, they have a day or two with the
'' carted'' deer.

There was a very interesting old hunting story
Lord Wihon writes, in his "Sports and Pursuits of
the English," that, not until 1750 w^ere hounds
•entered solely to fox; but against his statement
must be placed that of Charles J. Apperley, who
died in 1843, ^^^ ^^ favourably known under his no^n.
de plume of '' Nimrod." He says that an ancestor of
Lord Arundel of Wardour had a pack of foxhounds
at the close of the seventeenth century, thus about
coeval with the Sussex and Leicestershire already
named ; and the same reliable writer proceeds to say
that, remaining in the same family, they hunted in
Wiltshire and Hampshire until 1782, when they
passed to Mr. Meynell, a name historical in fox-
hound annals. Another such pack was that of Mr.
Thomas Fownes, who was hunting from Stapleton in
Dorsetshire very early in the eighteenth century; but
the Charlton Hunt and Squire Boothby's hounds
had before this been entered to fox, and, with our
present knowledge, with them must rest the credit
of being the earliest packs of foxhounds in this
country.

Mr. Fownes' pack went to Mr. Bowes, of Streat-
lam, Yorkshire; and the Belvoir hounds kennelled at
Belvoir Castle, near Grantham, with Sir Gilbert

The Foxhound. 59

Greenall as their master, are lineally descended from
those alluded to by Lord Wilton. Since these early
times and up to the present, every care has been
taken, and no expense spared, to produce a fox-
hound as near perfection as possible, in order to
follow the calling which finds such favour in our
land. Squire Osbaldeston, Colonel Thornton, Mr.
John Musters, Lord Henry Bentinck, and others
of a past generation ow^ned hounds that, either
collectively or individually, could not be surpassed.
With so much attention given to them, it was
no wonder a great writer on the subject arose,
and in 18 10 we have Peter Beckford's magnum
.op lis, which, so far as it goes, has had no rival
in its complete description of the foxhound, its
work and management. And what he wrote of
him is equally true to-day, lor no hound or dog
has changed so little in appearance and character
•during a century, as the foxhound. There have been
no crazes for fashionable colour, or for head formed,
•or ears hung, on purely fanciful principles. Hunters
wanted a dog for work, they soon provided one, and
have kept and sustained that animal for the
purpose.

The duties a foxhound has often to undergo are
of the most arduous description ; he is repeatedly
on his legs for eight or ten hours at a stretch, often

6o Modern Dogs.

galloping a great portion of that time, or may be
doing more laborious work in the thick coverts,
or even walking on the hard road to or from the
meet.

Though not bred with great precision and with
such care for pedigrees, as is the case with fashion-
able packs, there are lightly built hounds hunting in
the mountainous districts of Cumberland and West-
morland whose stamina must be phenomenal. Their
country is the roughest imaginable, up the moun-
tains and down the vales, edging precipices and
scaling deep, dangerous passes. Every season these
hounds have a run that may last into the teens of
hours^ beginning soon after daybreak and not ending
when stars have studded the heavens and hunters
are left far behind. A few years back hounds were
heard in full cry at ten at night, and next morning
stragglers found their way home to the kennels,
others turning up a day or two later. Some had
to be looked for, having become ''crag bound," i.e.,
clambered down to a projection in the rock from
whence they could not return. During such runs,
owing to the rough country, hounds do not go the
pace of ordinary foxhounds, but they possess
greater patience in working out a cold line, and are
perfect in making casts on their own account. The
latter a most necessary gift when they are at fault

The Foxhound. 6\

and no one near to assist them in hitting off the
lost Hne, for this hunting at the lakes is done on
foot — horses could not follow, nor mules either,
where men and hounds have to go.

In March, 1892, the Coniston hounds, the Rev.
E. M. Reynolds, master, had an extraordinary run
in the neighbourhood of Troutbeck and Kent-
mere. They were either dragging or hunting
for over ten hours, in a terribly rough and wild
country, and their fox, dead beat and only just in
front of them, had his life saved by a severe storm
' — the like of which is only known in the Lake
district — coming on, and effectually driving both
hunters and hounds off the mountains into the
valley. Although the finish was not far from kennels,
the hounds had been out for thirteen hours before
they were safe at home again.

A notable run was that of the Mellbrake, in
February, 1896. Drawing Withop Woods, which
skirt the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, they
roused four foxes. The pack, small as it was
(twelve and a half couples), divided into four, three
'of which, after very good hunting runs, killed their
foxes ; the fourth lot went right away out of sight
and hearing, and, although hounds turned up at
their kennels towards night, it was not ascertained
whether they had killed their fox or not. Hounds

62 Modern Dogs.

were entirely left to themselves, as it is too rough
a country to ride over. Probably the longest and
most severe run on record is that told by Mr. John
Crozier, for over fifty years master of the Blencathra.
This was in 1858. The fox was started soon after
noon on Skiddaw. He tried to shake off his pur-
suers by travelling in a ring several times, but finding
that of no avail, he took to the lowlands, going by
Millbeck to Applethwaite, past Crosthwaite church,
through Portinscale village, along Cat Bells, through
Borrowdale, and over the mountains into Westmor-
land. Still keeping to the south-west, fox and
hounds by midnight were at Black Hill, where shep-
herds heard them marking the fox at the earth.
The men went to the place, but under cover of the
darkness reynard got away towards Broughton-in-
Furness, in Lancashire. The hounds were found
next morning lying asleep near Coniston Crag, in
Lancashire. The distance in a straight line from
Skiddaw to the place where the hunt ceased is
thirtv-five miles, but at least another fifteen must
be added for the many deviations, thus making
a run of fifty miles over the roughest part of the
Lake district.

Here is another good hunt on the hills : One
Friday in November, 1896, the Coniston hounds
met near Stock Ghyll Force, Ambleside, to try for

The Foxhound. 6;^

a fox that had been doing mischief near Strawberry
Bank. A drag was soon found, which led into
Skelgill Wood, from whence hounds went away on
a strong Hne. The course taken was over the
shoulder of Wansfell, down past the Old Grove,
and away up the valley towards the " Highest
House ; " but before reaching this point the fox
swung to the left, crossed the Kirkstone road, and
went over the highest point of the Red Screes.
Thence he made down to Cayston, where he ran
completely round the head of Scandale on the
wall, a manoeuvre by which he got rid of his pur-
suers for some time. But the huntsman and others
coming up, hounds were cast forward to High Pike,
where he was again unkennelled among the crags.
Making at once for the highest point, he crossed
close to the '' stone man " on the top, and then sink-
ing the hill went down into the Vale of RydaL
The day was now growing cold and stormy, and
scent was not good, but hounds persevered at a
fair pace, driving him through Hart Crag on to
the top of Fairfield. Here a bitter gale was blow-
ing, and bringing up a thick mist. There was neither
seeing nor hearing, and all the followers of the
hunt could do was to collect all the stragglers they
could, and set their faces towards home. Mean-
while some eight or nine hounds drove their fox

•64 Modern Dogs.

away on to Helvellyn, and late In the afternoon
they were heard coming down into Wythburn. Here
they crossed the road close to their game, and in a
short time recrossed it, climbing again a little way
up Helvellyn. After a somewhat long check they
were heard, for it was now too dark to see, running
very hard; and then all was still. A search, with the
.aid of lanterns, for the fox proved fruitless, but hounds
w^ere got together, and kindly put up by the landlord
of the Nag's Head at Wythburn, the well-knowm
hostelry close to the foot of Helvellyn. There have
no doubt been longer runs than this, but few
higher, as hounds went over the very tops of Red
Screes, High Pike, and Fairfield, and were not
very far from the summit of the mighty Helvellyn.

Other more fashionable packs have had extraordi-
nary chases in their day, over a flatter country, and
where hounds were going hard and fast the whole
•of the time. The Duke of Cleveland's run near
Borough Bridge in 1738, which lasted from a quarter
to eight in the morning until ten minutes to six in
the evening, deserves to be a record. Other runs of
almost equal duration are still talked about, but with
•a good country, fast hounds, and bustling the latter
on by hard riding, to say nothing of the late hour of
meets, hunting runs are not of such a lengthy
-duration as they were years ago. Mr. Vyner tells

The Foxhound. 65

us of one with his hounds, in which the first eleven
miles were covered over pretty rough ground in
about fifty-three minutes, which must be taken as
something quite extraordinary, when fences and one
thing and another are taken into consideration. Such
a run in the open cannot be placed side by side
with the ''trail" hunt of Colonel Thornton and
others, to which allusion is made later on.

In the days of our great-grandfathers hounds met
at eight o'clock in the morning; now, excepting in
cubbing time, and, in a few exceptional countries,
the hour of noon has been reached ere huntsmen
and hounds appear on the scene. We have a luxury
in our modern sport — not to its improvement — that
our ancestors could never have even dreamt of.

There is a tale of a Northumberland hound,
descended from Colonel Thornton's Lounger, by
reason of his excellence called the Conqueror, that
ran a fox single-handed for eighteen miles, and killed
him in the end. A doubtful story rather. Another
hound of the gallant colonel's had been running riot
in covert, and on making her way out, evidently
on a strong scent, the whip gave her a cut with
his crop, which unfortunately struck out her eye,
which lay on the cheek. This did not stop the
plucky bitch, for, with her nose to the ground and
hackles up, she raced along the line, and in the end

F

66 Modern Dogs.

was first in at the fox's death, though in the
latter part of the run the pack had got on terms
with her. Thus she did not kill single-handed, as
the story is so often told.

In 1887, Comrade, a well known hound for " trail
hunting," was with her owner, Mr. J. Irving, Forest
Hall, Westmorland, in an allotment adjoining his
house. A fox jumped up in front of them, and,
although the going was rough and hilly, and three
inches of snow lay on the ground, the bitch never
lost sight, and after a grand course of more than
a mile, pulled her quarry down in gallant style. A
fine healthy fox, too, he was. This "trail hunting"
is a favourite diversion in the north of England, and
special strains of lightly-built foxhounds are used for
the purpose. The line is generally run over an
uneven country, and may extend for any distance
between four and a dozen miles. Hounds are started
from the same place, and the one coming in first,
having completed the course, which was laid with
fox's entrails, bedding, or some other strong scenting
matter, wins the prize. A good hound will usually
occupy less than three minutes in covering a mile.
At a gathering in Rydal Park, Westmorland, in
1895, where most of the best hounds in the country
competed, the course of about nine miles, over
rough ground, mostly on the hills, was covered by

The Foxhound. 67

the leading hound in forty-five minutes. At Newby
Bridge, at the foot of Windermere, in 1896, at a
trail promoted by Mr. Newby Wilson, a course of
ten miles was run in a little over thirty minutes,
though, in mentioning these records of hound pace,
it must not be forgotten that the distance is not
always exactly measured, nor are the times so care-
fully taken as is the case in foot and bicycle racing.
These hounds run almost or quite mute.

The match at Newmarket, in 1792, between Mr,
Meynell and Mr. Smith Barry, was perhaps the first
means taken to ascertain the pace of foxhounds,
though almost a hundred years earlier hunting
had been followed. Blue Cap and Wanton, who
•came in first and second, ran the course of about
four miles on Newmarket Heath in a few seconds
over eight minutes, but these hounds had been
specially trained for the purpose. However, Colonel
Thornton's celebrated hound Merkin, whose portrait
appears in Daniel's *' Rural Sports," ran a heat of
four miles, which she completed in seven and a half
minutes. She was afterwards sold for four hogsheads
of claret and a couple of her whelps when she Vv^as bred
from.. In comparing the time of this race with that in
Rydal Park, the difference of the courses must be
taken into consideration, and it is extremely likely
that Merkin would have cut her feet to pieces and

F 2

68 Modern Dogs.

been placed ho?^s de combat had she run over the
hills and rocks surrounding Rydal Hall. Trail
hunting is a common amusement in the north, and
good hounds for the purpose are of great value.
About four years ago there died a noted trail hound
named Mounter, a Lancashire dog, who during his
career had won ninety-seven first prizes at such
meetings, many of them of considerable value. At
the present time trail hunting is gaining in popularity
in the north of England, where it is encouraged by
the squires and others, who in many cases keep crack
hounds of their own, and in others subscribe hand-
somely for the prizes which are offered periodically.
One of the features at Grasmere (Westmorland)
sports, usually held in August, is the trail hunt, and
early in the season one of equal note is held dur-
ing Cartmel (Lancashire) races, and affords more
pleasure to the natives than do the galloping horses.

Perhaps the following letter from the Field with
regard to the pace of hounds may not be without
interest : '' This subject has interested me a good
deal during the past twelve months, for the following
reasons : We have in this part of the country, as
you probably know, a number of ' hound trails,' the
most important of which — our dog Derby — takes
place at the celebrated Grasmere sports.

"In August, 1894, ^ purchased a trail hound

The Foxhound. 69

puppy, aged 14 months, for the purpose of trying my
hand at training a hound myself to compete with the
knowing ones, and thereby also increase the interest
in this really pretty sport, by watching my own
hound running among the others. In this way I
have seen a good deal of this sport, and remarked
the extraordinary speed attained by these hounds
over hilly and often very rough ground. The usual
time occupied in running one of our trails is from
twenty-three to twenty-eight minutes, the Hne being
circular so as to permit of a view, and to enable the
finish to take place as near as possible to the start.

" Now when you come to discuss the length of
the trail, even with the men who have run it (and
who of necessity are intimately acquainted with the
ground), they will give you the most varied estimates
of the distance covered. You will be told seven,
eight, nine, or even ten miles. Only the week before
last there was a report of one of our trails in a local
paper : ' Distance, nine miles ; time, twenty-three
minutes.' The time given was correct, but in my
opinion the distance was vastly exaggerated. I
therefore determined to measure with a chain the
course on the fells over which my hound, in company
with two or three others (one, Mr. Stanley le
Fleming's Rattler, a first prize winner at Grasmere),
has been regularly run when exercising.

70 Modern Dogs.

" The time generally occupied in running this
course is twenty-five to twenty-six minutes, and the
fastest time in which the leading hound has ever
done it is twenty-four minutes and thirty seconds.
The distance, when measured with the chain, turned
out to be 6 miles 975 yards. This gives a speed of
fifteen and a half miles per hour over a pumping
course — very different from an ordinary foxhunting
country, of course — but with a scent more than
breast high.

" The course is certainly hilly, as the following
will show : On completing i mile 570 yards they
have climbed 1250ft.; in the next i mile 710 yards
they descend looft. ; during the next 1450 yards
they first ascend a further looft., and then descend
400ft. ; the next mile requires 400ft. to be climbed,
when they run a mile on comparatively level ground,,
and descend the 1250ft. again in the last mile. It
is practically all grass, with a few roughish places,,
and they surmount twenty-one stone walls averaging
5ft. 6in. in height.

" Last June I bought from a midland pack a fox>
hound bitch by Lord Gal way's Harkaway (89), dam
out of Firefly (86), and dam's sire Belvoir Weather-
gage, the reason given for parting with her being
that she was too fast for the pack. After a good
deal of perseverance we got her to run our paraftin

The Foxhound. yr

and aniseed trail with evident delight, and we then
put her into strict training, and ran her with the
others. Over the course described above, she never
came within three minutes of the other hounds, giving
her speed at the rate of fourteen miles an hour.

'' As we did not consider her fast enough, I have
lent her to my neighbour, the Rev. E. M. Reynolds,
master of the Coniston Foxhounds ; but the other
day, in company with Mr. Chas. H. Wilson, master
of the Oxenholme Staghounds, we ran the four trail
hounds a measured mile, straight. First of all up-
wind on the sands, against a very strong head wind.
Time occupied, two minutes thirty-two seconds. We
then ran them down wind on the grass. Time, two
minutes twenty-five seconds. No fences or obstacles
of any kind either time."

Foxhounds soon take to hunting game other than
their legitimate quarry, more quickly adapting them-
selves to the change of scent than one would imagine.
For years they have hunted the boar and stag
in various countries all over the w^orld, and the wolf
likewise. Two years ago Mr. F. Lowe took a draft
of hounds from various packs over to a friend in
Russia. He says :

" During our stay w^e had a trial with the fox-
hounds in an inclosed park, to see how they would
tackle a wolf. On the first dav the new hounds did

Modern Dogs.

not at once seem to understand it, but they soon
owned the Hne, and we had a fairly good burst ; and,
if we had been so minded, could have killed Mr.
Wolf. On the second day we had made up our
minds to have blood if the foxhounds could break
him up, which my host seemed to doubt. I gave
them a cheer or two as they began to feather on the
line, and away they went in grand style. Fred
Payne, of the Fitzwilliam, would have been delighted
with the advancement of Rambler's education ; and
the Atherstone were likewise well represented. The
music became a roar, and it was very quickly a case
of from scent to view and ' who-whoop ! ' The
pulling to pieces was quite after the English view
of the thing ; though the quarry was perhaps a
bit tougher, and they did not seem to care about
making a repast of him.''

In addition to his qualifications of speed and nose
the foxhound has a peculiar homing faculty, developed
to a remarkable extent. Hounds have been known to
return to their kennels from remarkable distances.
One draft that had been sent from the Holderness
into Kent were discontented with their new quarters,
and had almost reached their old kennels before
their absence from their fresh kennels had been
discovered. A Cumberland hound returned from
Sussex to its old home, evidently preferring the

The Foxhound. 73

mountains of its native county to the downs of
the southern one.

There is an old huntsman in the Enghsh Lake
•district, Tommy Dobson by name, who runs the
Eskdale pack. He is a bobbin turner by trade,
but manages to keep a lot of excellent working
hounds and terriers together, the farmers and
some landowners in that wild district giving him
so much a head for the foxes he kills. He hunts on
foot, for no horse could follow where he goes.
Repeatedly he has long runs ; his hounds get lost for
a time, but they usually arrive at their kennels the
day following the hunt. Dobson is a keen old
sportsman, and may be the sole survivor in England
of a class of men that can never be replaced. He
kills twenty foxes or so in the season, much to the
pleasure of the shepherds and farmers in this wildest
part of our Lake district, who paid him so much per
head from a fund provided for the purpose. Now
that Dobson has well passed his three score years
and ten, although he still hunts as of yore, ample
provision has been made for him when he feels
inclined to rest from the perils of the chase.

" Trencher fed " packs of hounds are not so
numerous as once was the case, though such are
still to be found. They get their name from the
fact that they are not kept in kennels, but individual

74 Modern Dogs.

hounds have separate homes with the supporters of
the hunt, and are regularly got together each morn-
ing a hunt is to take place. This is as a rule not
much trouble, for, hearing a blast or two of their
huntsman's horn, here and there hounds make their
way to their master, very much on the same principal
that the '' bugle call " rouses the soldier from his bed
and draws him to the place of muster. Packs of
this kind are, as a rule, not so extensive as our lead-
ing ones, which repose in kennels dry and airy, and
arranged on the most modern principles. One of
the oldest packs in the country is the *' trencher fed "
Staintondale, located between Whitby and Filey in
Yorkshire. Until recently this pack had, for upwards
of 200 years, been hunted by a farmer and supported
by farmers. Now the master is a Scarborough
gentleman, but he works his hounds on the same old
lines his predecessors had done before him. At the
close of the day there are no kennels in which to
house the pack, so each hound has to make its way
home as it best can ; and, says a recent correspondent,
after the day's work is over, '' As we reach different
points along the road, first one hound and then
another, at a word or sign from the huntsman, leaves
us, and, leaping a gate or stile, trots leisurely to its
home across the fields, with many a pause and
backward glance at the old huntsman and the

The Foxhound. 75

companions it loves so well. If the hound lives in a
remote part of the country, a piece of the fox's skin
is tied round its neck as a sign that a kill has taken
place. Sometimes two or three hounds living in the
same direction are dismissed together, and at times
they have a journey of eight miles to make alone.
This incident forms, perhaps, the prett'est of any
seen during the day."

A highly-esteemed writer on hunting, whose
familiar 7W/// de plume ''Brooksby" is known
throughout the world, writes :

''The essential talents of a foxhound are to be found
in his power of nose, drive, and tongue. It is not to
be expected that every member of a pack shall
possess these in equal degree, but the strongest
combination makes the best pack. And, as such
characteristics are mainly the product of careful
breeding, the family likeness that belongs to a high
class pack of foxhounds will probably pertain not
only to their appearance, but to their work in the
field. All foxhounds should draw covert well, i.e.,.
perseveringly and closely — a faculty that is the
result partly of education, partly of natural courage.
It by no means follows that a thin-skinned, highly
bred hound will not face briar, thorn, or gorse. On
the contrary, his pluck, even at the cost of blood and
wound, will often take him where his coarser coated

76 Modern Dogs.

relative would not dare to enter. Yet, though a
whole pack may be seen busily waving their sterns
as they push their way through bracken and furze,
it is generally one of only two or three hounds —
often almost invariably the same one — who first
rouses the fox. An extraordinary instinct appears
to belong, now and again, to some special hound,
who has the gift, as he or she enters covert up the
wind, of raising the head as if to take stock, and then
making straight for the fox's lair. This is probably
to be credited to exceptional power of nose. But to
whatever source it may be due, huntsmen will bear
me out in testifying to the frequent existence of such
faculty.

" Again, it is generally some single hound — or
one of only a few — who puzzles out the line down a
road, when all the others are helpless and mystified.
A huntsman, of course, soon gets to know upon
which of his hounds he can place reliance ; and,
indeed, at such time he orenerallv looks anxiouslv for
old Bonnyfield or Sarah to help him out of the diffi-
culty. No greater difficulty, by the way, exists than
in the arrival upon a cold, scentless road, unless it
be in coming to the junction point of four, any
of which his fox may have followed. (Memo. — If
there be one occasion more than another on which
the field should render assistance to a huntsman by

The Foxhound. 77

remaining perfectly still, it is when he is confronted
by four cross-roads.)

''The development of character in a pack of fox-
hounds (we can best speak of them en masse,
though the evolution is but the combined training
of a hundred pupils), depends so much upon the
influence and sympathy of the individual huntsman
that we often see a pack temporarily made, or
marred, in a very few seasons. The confidence and
eager obedience which hounds show to their hunts-
man is evident from the time he calls them out of
covert for a flying start, to the supreme moment
when, every effort of their own being exhausted, he
has the opportunity of carrying them to the line of
their sinking fox, and there leaving them to run, with
hackles up, to the death. By the reliance and
readiness evinced by a pack of hounds in their
huntsman, you may best take the measure of his
talent for getting them to hunt. Foxhounds are
very keen critics.

'' Their fox away, down a quiet cool breeze, it is not
less than marvellous how quickly eighteen couples of
hounds will force their way through brake and thicket
and thorn, to the man they trust. Fifteen couples
will be with the horn, in, perhaps, sixty seconds ; the
other three couples ere sixty acres are crossed,
though they have to dive and dart through twice

78 Modern Dogs.

sixty sets of galloping hoofs. For in the vital
urgency (as accepted, at all events, in the shires) of
starting close on your fox, it pays not — nay, is held
hardly to be justifiable — to wait for every hound.
Such practice, besides involving loss of valuable
time, might, perhaps, induce the stragglers to believe
that after all there was no hurry, and that next time
they can afford to come forth more leisurely still.
There is little fear now that, if worth their salt,
they will soon reach the front, whatever difficulties
they may have to encounter. And herein is
evidenced another instance of the drive and courage
of a foxhound.

''Eighteen couples all together — or at least with a
front some ten couple broad, the rest in a cluster in
close and vociferous attendance — the horn pushed
back into its case ; one scream of encouragement
and delight from the ruddy, deep-mouthed, hunts-
man ; fifty good fellows riding as near abreast of each
other as the nature of the country will allow — this is
the old picture ; and this is what many a man will
tell you has brought him in touch with Paradise.
Ah, those sheep have been over the line! Steady,
gentleman, steady ! Now you shall see the drive of
a foxhound, as we draw rein to give them time and
room ; and the huntsman stands mute, with a silence
more eloquent than any immature exposition on his

The Foxhound. 79

part. To the right they swing wide — a twenty acre
•cast. To the left they swing back, making good
their ground in a longer sweep still. Then up go
their heads as they gallop back — every old hound in
the field knowing to a yard the spot where last the
line was felt. Sit still, Jim, sit still! They haven't
half done. Your talent is not wanted yet awhile.
Old Nabob and Ravishc^r are already feathering
forward. Out ring their tocsin notes. Ye'et, old
fellows, well done. They have the situation in a
moment ; they dash past the crowded flock ; gain
the unfoiled ground, and the scent in full power, as
they reach the fence — and the glad pursuit goes on
as merrily as before.

'' But the dash of the earlier minutes has sobered
down. Their fox has made all use of the moment's
breathing time to put further distance between
himself and those terrible voices. Travelling down
wind — as ninety-nine times out of a hundred he will
when pressed — he finds the clamour of pursuit
growing fainter ; and now, though sorely strained- —
almost burst, as the term goes — by his first efforts,
he has time to pull himself together, and carefully to
avoid any sign of danger in his path. Thus he
sheers off from a plough team, w^hisks aside from a
hedgecutter, and doubles for his life from a sheep-
dog. Now it becomes a question on the part of

8o Modern Dogs.

hounds — not of drive, but of nose — not of dash, but

of patience ; and this is a time when consideration

on the part of the field is again absolutely essential.

You would not rush up from either side upon your

setter when at point. Why, then, try to baffle a

much more excitable animal, when he, too, is working

to his best ability, and needs, above all things, not

to be driven or hurried. Yet, as the pace slackens.

the rearguard come up, and, if allowed, will of a

certainty over-run the van, and over-ride the hounds.

Now is the master wanted — if hounds are to have a

chance. Then will come out their faculty of nose,

their instinct of hunting, their patient unravelling of

a skein to which — nine times out of ten — they hold a

better clue than can be suggested by the cleverest

huntsman. Yonder it is, down a wet, chilly furrow !

Mark that rogue Ramilies yonder — silent, though

running hard ! Mark him for the draft, Jim ; or

hang him, if you like, to-morrow ! Hark forward to

Prompter, my beauties ! He'll tell you all about it.

Now we are on the grass again. Now they are

storming ahead ; and we'll unbutton his waistcoat

yet. Never mind that holloa, Jim. There are more

foxes than one running about the country. I told

you so. They've left it behind. And look at their

bristles. See old Marigold go to the front. That

means blood, for a thousand. Ten minutes more,

The Foxhound. 8i

and they race into view. The young ones are
speediest at sight. But 'tis for Hector, the cup dog
of two summers ago, to grip and to hold. Fifty
minutes and a six mile point. Who-hoop ! my
beauties ! Every hound up. And the blood of
Belvoir Weathergage to be found in at least ten
couples."

The largest packs of foxhounds are, as a rule,
divided into dogs and bitches, each sex running
separately and distinctly on different days. The
''ladies," as they are mostly called, are said to be the
smarter in the field, and to possess dash and casting
powers in greater perfection than the ''dogs." In
some few of the big packs dogs and bitches are run
together, being matched according to size as nearly
as possible. The dog hounds are, of course, the
bigger of the two, and run from 23 to 24 inches at the
shoulder, the bitches being from one to tw^o inches or
so below that standard. One of the smallest pure
foxhounds that ever ran with hounds was the Blue
Ransom, of the Pytchley, and said to be about 17^
inches, whilst the giant of the race, the Warwick-
shire Riddlesworth, was 27 inches. At the present
time our most extensive packs are the Blackmoor
Vale, with 90 couples of hounds ; the Badminton,
formerly the Duke of Beaufort's, 75 couples ; the
Belvoir, 64 couples ; the Puckeridge, 62 couples ;

G

82 Modern Dogs.

whilst the Berkeley, Crawley and Horsham, South
Berks, Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Garth's have each 50
couples of running hounds in kennel. Other packs
number anything between the nine couples of the
Coniston to the 58^ couples of the Oakley, and the
55-|- couples of the H.H. (Hampshire).

For a hundred years or more, it has been, and still
remains, though some packs now discountenance it,
the custom to '' round" the ears of foxhounds,
which is neither more nor less than shortening their
aural appendages, to prevent the latter getting torn
in covert, or in going through or over the fences.
This is done at about four months old. Most hound
puppies leave the kennels, after being taken from the
dam, to be located, '^walked" with the farmers and
other friends of the hunt. Here they are fed well
and wax strong until the time comes round, during
April and May, for them to return to the kennels, to
be properly entered with the cubs in the autumn.

The occasion is utilised for a '' show of the
puppies." Prizes are awarded, silver tea and coffee
pots and such like ^' useful pieces of furniture " dear
to the farmers' wives and daughters. A pleasant
day is spent ; the Master gives a luncheon, and he
"toasts " and is " toasted " in return.

The hounds each year drafted to make room for
the puppies are usually the perquisite of the hunts-

The Foxhound. ^2>

man, and they may go to other kennels, or become
squandered over distant parts of the universe, where
they form a connecting Hnk with '' home." Or they
may go into the hands of some dealer or other, who
finds a ready market for them to an enterprising
theatrical manager, who seeks to add to the truthful-
ness of some country scene the increased attraction
of a " scratch pack." During the past few years
foxhounds have repeatedly appeared on the stage in
our leading theatres, where, to the sound of the horn
of the ''super" and the clash of the orchestra, or
the strains of " John Peel," their reception has been
such as any debutante might have envied. But a
stage hound's life behind the scenes cannot be a
happy one, nor are their exercising grounds, through
the thronged streets adjoining our great thorough-
fares, so healthy as a roll on the grass in the
Pytchley pastures.

As to the " rounding " of the ears, " Stonehenge "
believed it useful In " preventing canker either from
foul blood or mechanical injury. . . . The sole
use of an abnormally large ear, as far as I can see,
is to aid the internal organ of hearing, and It is only
found in hounds which depend upon co-operation for
success — that Is to say, that hunt in packs. In this
kind of hunting, the ear is required to ascertain what
is given out by the tongues of the leading hounds,

G 2

84 Modern Dogs,

so as to enable the tail of the pack to come up ; but
whether or no ' rounding ' diminishes the sensitive-
ness of the organ of hearing, I am not prepared to
say. It is, however, admitted by physiologists that
.he external ear aids by the sense of hearing, and as
this large folding ear is confined to hounds hunting
in packs, which, as above remarked, depend upon
hearing or co-operation, it is reasonable to suppose
that the hound's large ear is given to him to aid this
kind of hunting ; and, if so, it is by no means clear
that ' rounding ' is an unmixed good."

Foxhounds on the bench of ordinary dog shows
are more a rarity than otherwise, though, whenever
they do appear in such an odd position, always prove
an attraction. In Yorkshire some attention was
given to special exhibitions of foxhounds about
twenty-five years ago, but they never appeared to
quite take hold of the Tykes, and were allowed to
lapse, the last of them being a large gathering that
took place on Knavesmire, in 1877. Following this
came the establishment at Peterborough, that is
held in June, and it has so grown under its excellent
management, that it now must be recognised as one
of the institutions of our land. At Peterborough
Hound Show, Masters, Huntsmen, and Whips, meet
as on a common threshold, and they talk of their
prospects, admire the hounds, and criticise the

The Foxhound. 85

awards in the most friendly spirit imaginable A
day at Peterborough is one that hunting men look
forward to as a kind of connecting link between
that time when hounds race on a burning scent, and
when they are the pets of the household. Almost
all the best foxhounds of the day are to be seen at
Peterborough Show, and no prospective Master
should miss the gathering ; few of the present
Masters do so.

Already I have mentioned the odd price for which
Merkin was sold, but it seems rather strange that
w^hilst comparatively useless dogs of a purely fancy
breed occasionally bring from ;^5oo to ;^iooo
apiece, a whole pack of foxhounds may often
be purchased for the latter sum, or even for less.
There are hounds that a master would not sell at any
price, but if he would there could scarcely be the
demand for them at such enormous figures as a
terrier, a sheep dog, or a St. Bernard will often com-
mand. Mr. Corbet bought that crack pack the
North Warwickshire for 1500 guineas, but John
Ward paid 2000 guineas for the same hounds when
they went into his hands. Mr. Osbaldeston knew
what he was about when, in 1806, he purchased the
Burton for 800 guineas; but when the '^ Squire's"
hounds came to be sold at Tattersall's in 1840,
they realised 5219 guineas (Sir Reginald Graham

S6 Modern Dogs.

said 6400 guineas), which may be taken as the
best on record for a pack of foxhounds. Some of
them went back to Mr. Harvey Combe, and Lord
Cardigan bought ten couples to remain in the
Pytchley country. Against this may be set the
modest item of 1 5 guineas which twenty-one couples
of the Haydon hounds brought at auction in 1884;
but this lowly record was beaten in 1895, when the
Forest of Dean foxhounds were sold for a five
pound note. There were fourteen couples of hounds
here. Ten couples of Mr. Osbaldeston's realised
2380 guineas. Then, in 1845, Mr. Foljambe's hounds
sold for 3600 guineas ; Lord Donerail's, in 1859, ^^^
1334 guineas; Mr. Drake's, 2632 guineas; and, in
1838, Ralph Lambton paid Lord Suffield 3000 guineas
for his highly-bred hounds. These are, no doubt,
the most unusual prices ever made for foxhounds.
In 1867 the Wheatland hounds were sold at Tatter-
salFs in different lots for £^^0. In May, 1894,
twenty-four couples of entered hounds, four and a
half unentered, and sundry litters of puppies — the
Herts and Essex — sold at Rugby for 675 guineas ;
and in 1896, Mr. Vaughan-Davies' pack realised at
Aldridge's, in St. Martin's-lane, 139 guineas for nine-
teen and a half couples of entered hounds, and
58 guineas for seven and a half couples unentered.
Yearly, at Rugby, drafts are sold by auction almost

The Foxhound. 87

at any price, varying from a sovereign to ;^io a
couple. These figures will give some idea of the
value of a pack of hounds at the present day.

" Stonehenge '^ jocularly remarks: ''Nose com-
bined with speed and stoutness have always been con-
sidered as the essentials for the foxhound, but of late
years, owing to enormous fields which have attended
our leading packs, and the forward riding displayed
by them, another feature has been demanded, and
' the supply ' in the ' grass countries ' has been
obtained in a remarkable manner. I allude to the
gift peculiar to our best modern hounds of getting
through a crowd of horses when accidentally
' slipped ' by the pack. This faculty is developed
to a very wonderful extent in all packs hunting the
' Shires,' varying, of course, slightly in each, and it is
no less remarkably absent in certain packs otherwise
equal to the Quorn and its neighbours, or even
superior to them." I may say that through force of
circumstances this valued gift of self-preservation
has lately been exhibited by Her Majesty's and some
other packs within easy railway distance of our great
metropolis.

Allusion has already been made to the eminent
French author on Venerie, le Comte de Canteleu,
and the accompanying translation of a letter from
his pen will, I think, be of interest :

88 Modern Dogs,

^' I have a perfect knowledge of the foxhound, and
I am also fairly well informed as to the packs where
the best blood is to be found. There are also
plenty of packs of otter hounds infused with the
blood of my old Griffons crossed with other breeds.
I supplied a number of hounds to the otter hound
pack belonging to Mr. Waldron S. Hill, Murray-
field House, near Edinburgh, from whence a good
many of my hounds were scattered over England for
otter hunting, to Wales amongst other places.
Moreover, during the war of 1870 I sold Mr.
Waldron S. Hill seven or eight hounds, the result
of a cross with the wolf. I think, I remember, he
told me he sold them to go to North America for
cariboo hunting.

'' I have a high opinion of the strength, endurance,
and stamina of the foxliound. Bat then why does
he last so short a time ? When seven or eight
years old he is completely used up, whereas the
French hounds of former days (my own Griffons for
instance) would last eleven or twelve years. The
best quality of the foxhound, apart from his health,
is his determination to capture the quarry and to
burst him at the finish of a run. Unfortunately he
cannot keep up the pace in our forests, which are so
full of thick thorns, and he is apt to lose the line of an
animal emitting a very slight scent; then, not having

The Foxhound. 89

a very good nose, he cannot recover it. Another
point is that no attention in the training of hounds
in England has ever been given to the question of
' change,' which is of so great importance to us.
And so it is that, excepting for wild boar hunting, the
foxhound, which is so apt to change his animal, is
not much used in France.

'* When by good luck a foxhound is discovered
that guards ' change,' he is, as a rule, perfection,
and with a finer nose than any of his sort.

''I should just Hke to show you now an old
Saintongeois of mine which I use for the wild boar.
He will hunt yesterday's drag of an animal, often
twelve or fourteen hours old, and will unharbour his
pig at a distance of six to nine miles. The rest of
the pack (foxhounds, and, nevertheless, very good
ones, selected for me by Mr. Merthyr Guest out of
his own kennels), following the old hound in complete
ignorance, and going from right to left on the line
without being able to own it until the arrival of the
hound at the midden of the boar» The poor old
fellow is covered with wounds, and the only wonder
is that he has not been killed ten times over.

" I expect to see a great improvement in the
English foxhound as regards voice, fineness of nose,
and the quality of ' change,' because people in
England have been buying many of our Saintongeois

go Modern Dogs.

and Vendee hounds, and certainly the EngHsh hounds
we are now receiving are more suitable for our pur-
pose than formerly. It will not, however, do to go
too fast, because unless able to acquire hounds of
the very highest stamp, the result will be to pro-
duce cross-breds with less stamina than our old
breeds. Recollect that with my Griffons, so staunch
and hard, I have hunted old wolves over fifty miles
from find to finish, and on several occasions both
my own horse and that of my huntsman have died
from the severity of such runs.

'' In my opinion the English buy too many of the
Vendee hounds ; they would do far better to acquire
those of Saintonge and Haut-Poitou, which are
much superior to the Vendees, a breed which has
been subject to such a variety of bad crosses that
one never knows what will be the result. And
finally, the hounds that really guard change are the
St. Hubert's (or bloodhounds), the Saintongeois, and
the Poitevins."

The following is from an article by Mr. G. S. Lowe,
that appeared in the Field some half-dozen years
ago, and as it deals more fully with our present
strain of foxhounds and their pedigrees (there is a
foxhound stud book now) than I could, there is
excuse for its republication :

'' The casual observer in the hunting field might

The Foxhound. 91

not be Inclined to appreciate the laudations bestowed
upon certain hounds in almost every pack. Hounds
run very much in one form, and a huntsman of, say,
forty years' experience might call up hounds to
his memory to number in the aggregate several
thousands, though in speaking of any exquisites he
will refer to two or three only that, according to his
idea, were incomparable. The faults of even good
foxhounds must be, therefore, numerous — far more
so, I expect, than the casual observer could detect,
as faultless hounds, it would appear, crop up in the
smallest proportions in the lifetime of a huntsman.
Mr. Osbaldeston was generally in a position to have
the best of hounds only, as in the heyday of his
career, at any rate, he had an immense pack, hunted
his own hounds six days a week, and, in the style in
which he rode over Leicestershire and other countries,
it can be fairly asserted that he was never separated
from them. It is said that he depended on his
hounds with a flying fox, speaking very little to
them, but observing all they did, and in strong gorse
he went in with them himself, and could make them
hunt like spaniels. With all this experience, though,
Osbaldeston had one hound out of the many he had
to do with, of which he would speak with exceptional
regard up to the very time of his death. I remember
it was told me that a friend met the veteran in a

92 Modern Dogs.

billiard room, years after he had given up hunting,
and, the conversation drifting into matters of the
chase, the squire got upon the line of Furrier, and
there was no getting him off it. He expatiated on
the merit of this hound as the best ever bred ; and it
must be remembered also that, when Osbaldeston
bred hounds, he supported his opinion by breeding
from this hound to such an extent that he could take
a pack into the field made up entirely of Furrier's
progeny.

'' Harry Ayris lived, I think, sixty years with the
Fitzhardinge pack, and in an interview with him
about fifteen years ago, when the old fellow was over
eighty, I put the question straight to him as to the
best hound he had ever seen. ' Cromwell,' was the
ready reply, ' and no man ever hunted another like
him.' It was difficult, then, to get Harry Ayris off
the line of Cromwell ; and it was no easier task to
make the late John Walker believe that a better fox-
hound had ever been bred than Sir Watkin Wynn's
Royal. Lord Henry Bentinck had several favourites,
and, for the benefit of those after him, he left a
written record, showing how these particular hounds
excelled their fellows. This is in manuscript still, I
believe ; but I am perfectly assured that the leading
hound breeders of the day have seen it, and hence
the great leaning of late years towards the pack that

The Foxhound. 93

came originally [rom Lord Henry's benches. One
might go considerably further back, to quote how
Mr. Corbet is said to have spoilt his pack by exces-
sive in-breeding to Trojan ; and how Sir Thomas
Mostyn committed the same mistake by appreciating
the blood too much of a famous bitch called Lady.
It is sufficient, however, to note that this sort of
allegiance to certain hounds has had a marvellous
effect on hound breeding, and that such hounds can
be regarded as landmarks through a veritable maze
of pedigrees ranging over half a century. No animal
of any sort whatever has been bred to in the same
persistency as can be traced to the Osbaldeston
Furrier ; he was the best hound of his day, in the
opinion of an experienced authority ; and that opinion
was followed by such hound breeders as the late
Mr. Foljambe, the late Lord Henry Bentinck, and
the late Mr. Parry, besides a host of others, not
excepting those who attended to the well-being of
the almost classical packs of Belvoir, Brocklesby,
Fitzwilliam, and Badminton.

'' There have been hounds in considerable
numbers that could boast of temporary reputations,
but they have not secured lasting fame ; and I
should be inclined to limit what might be called the
standard favourites to a dozen since the days of the
Osbaldeston Furrier. Others may be inclined to

94 Modern Dogs.

differ from my selections, but they will catch my
meaning if they will trace recent pedigrees to their
sources, and will regard such hounds as are seen at
the Peterborough show. It is seen that during
years of breeding there has been no loss of size and
bone, to begin with — no loss of quality, as shown in
clean necks and shoulders, and general carriage ;
and, if looks can be taken for anything, there can
have been no loss in pace, or in such qualities of
shape that suggest power and stamina. Hunting
men of various countries can decide whether fox-
hounds are not as good or better than they have
ever been ; but a very strong feature in maintaining
the qualities and characteristics of the foxhound has
been the system of keeping several celebrated
foxhounds in view when going in for high breeding.
Mr. Parry, so long associated with the Puckeridge,
had two hounds called Pilgrim and Rummager, both
entered in 1840, and the latter was a great-grandson
of the famous Furrier, whilst Pilgrim was descended
from another celebrity known as the Belvoir Topper.
With this couple of hounds Mr. Parry stamped his
pack, as they were always kept in view, as it were, and
before Mr. Parry left off hound-keeping his kennel
had a very high reputation for blood. Of late years
whole packs have been established from the Belvoir
Senator, and others have been benefited in a similar

The Foxhound, 95

degree, through holding to the Burton Dorlmont
line, the Drake Duster, the Wynnstay Royal, the
Grove Furrier, or the Berkeley Castle Cromwell.

'' To come to the notable twelve that have been,
and may still be, esteemed as ' landmarks ' of hound
breeding, I should, of course, name the Osbaldeston
Furrier, a Belvoir-bred hound, as he came in a draft
from the ducal kennels, and was by their Saladin
out of their Fallacy, and thence going back to
Mr. Meynell's hounds of 1790. It has been stated
that Furrier was not so much a perfect working
hound as a hard runner, as he was inclined to be
jealous and impatient on a cold scent ; but he was
the leading hound in every fast thing, and he never
did wrong when holding that important post of
honour. He was the sire of Ranter, and to that
hound Mr. Foljambe was principally indebted for
the Furrier blood, as his Herald and Harbinger,
entered in 1835, were by Ranter. Herald was the
sire of Wildair, sire of Wild Boy, sire of Modish, the
dam of The Grove Guider. Harbinger and Herald
appear several times in Barrister's pedigree, as, for
instance, he was by Rambler, son of Roister, son of
Captive, a daughter of Herald's ; and the dam of
Rambler again was Dorothy, her dam Dowager, by
Songster, a son of Sybil by the Osbaldeston Ranter.
The sire of Roister again was Render, son of Riot,

96 Modern Dogs.

by Ranter, and It is therefore not diflBcult to trace
several lines of Furrier in the Grove Barrister, a
hound well in the memory of all breeders of the
present day. The Fitzwilliam claim a line to
Furrier, chiefly through Hardwick, a hound entered
in the Milton kennels in 1843, ^Y ^^' Drake's
Hector out of Goldfinch, her dam Frenzy, by Fatal, son
of Ferryman, son of Furrier. Hardwick was the sire
of Handmaid, the dam of Hardwick of 1851, and the
latter sire in turn of Hercules and Harbinger. There
was another double Furrier cross in the Fitzwilliams,
as their Hero and Hotspur were by the second Hard-
wick out of Ransom, by Mr. Foljambe's Roister.

" Another famous line from Furrier, and through
the same kennels as the above, is traced to the
Burton Dorimont, a hound spoken of in Lord Henry
Bentinck's diary as a thoroughly good foxhound.
He was got by Roderick by Mr. Foljambe's Roister,
named above as out of a Herald bitch. There was
a double cross of this sort in Dorimont, as his dam
Daffodil was out of Dairymaid by Driver, son of
Harbinger, brother to Herald, and a third cross to
Furrier might even be traced through the Belvoir
Chaser. There is Dorimont blood In the Fitzwilliam
kennel, as Dagmar and Daphne were by him ; and
their Selim of 1 869 was out of Dagmar, and Sellm
is the sire of Balmy, Bloomer, Remedy, and others

The Foxhound. 97

on the Milton benches, that have been bred from.
Dorimont is largely represented also in the Oakley
kennels, and, if I am not much mistaken, Sailor, a
sire of note at the present time, from Lord Ports-
mouth's kennels, traces directly to him. At any
rate, I know there was a good deal of the blood in
Mr. Lane-Fox's kennel through a hound called
Damper; and very few kennels, I expect, are without
the strain. Dorimont was a branch from Furrier,
but I should accept him as one of the corner stones
of the stud book amongst my twelve selections.

"The Drake Duster is another not to be forgotten
by anyone who has ever thought of breeding hounds.
He was entered in 1844 by the late Mr. Drake, so
long associated with the Bicester, and he was got
by Bachelor out of Destitute, the former running
into Mr. Warde's sort, and the latter to the Belvoir.
The last named famous kennel got many good
returns of their own blood from Duster, as Siren,
the dam of Singer, was a daughter of his, and
Singer was the sire of Senator. The most important
line of the day is therefore due in a measure to the
Drake Duster, as it can ^vell be said that every
kennel in England has gone in more or less for the
Senator strain, and if there was anything to complain
about, it was a fear that too much of it might be
infused into some channels by way of in-breeding.

H

98 Modern Dogs.

However, the oldest huntsmen, the late Jack
Morgan amongst others, have assured me that for
dash and drive there has been nothing like them,
and it was a characteristic with all hounds straining
from the Belvoir Singer that they were veritable
tyrants on the line of a sinking fox, and savages at
a death. There was a hound in Lord Poltimore's
called Woldsman, by Comus, out of a bitch nearly
sister in blood to Siren, and he had to be coupled
up as soon as possible at a kill, as he was not
particular about mouthing another hound in his fury;
and two sons of his, afterwards with the Bicester,
and their descendants again, were just like him.
Another great descendant from the Drake Duster
was the Belvoir Guider, a son of the former, out of
Gamesome, by General. To Guider must be
credited the foundation of Lord Portsmouth's pack,
as his Lincoln and a host of valuable bitches, bred
from in due course, gave to the Eggesford pack its
high reputation. Guider also left his mark with the
Bramham Moor and Sir Watkin Wynn's ; but his
stock has not been so widely distributed as the Sena-
tor's. Senator was entered in 1862, and, like Duster,
he was out of a bitch called Destitute, the dam also
of Render, and she was by Sir Richard Sutton's
Dryden, by Lord Henry Bentinck's Contest. Besides
the field qualities noticed above as belonging to the

The Foxhound. 99

Senators, all are very beautiful hounds that strain
from that line. Very perfect necks and shoulders I
have ascribed to them, and they are invariably full
of quality, whilst their colours are, as a rule, per-
fection— the Belvoir tan, and hare-pied hue blended.

'' I spoke of Lord Henry Bentinck's Contest in
the above remarks relating to the dam of Senator,
and that relationship alone might entitle him to be
selected among the celebrated twelve to be con-
sidered as a pillar of the hound stud book. There
is, however, something else to boast of to the
memory of Contest, as he was the sire of Harry
Ayris's favourite Cromwell, and the blood of the
latter runs through the Badminton, the Croome
particularly, through Lord Coventry's Rambler, and
it is also largely represented in the Quorn, besides,
as a matter of course, being mixed up in all the
Berkeley Castle pedigrees. Cromwell was bred
from at Berkeley Castle in the same sort of pro-
portion as Furrier was used by Osbaldeston, as the
entries during his lifetime show, and he was noted
for getting excellent workers.

" The beautiful colours of the Senators may not
be due to Contest, as I think I have been told that
he was a grey-pied hound, and Cromwell was that
colour, as I have seen his skin. The goodness of
Contest, however, is explained in his noble owner's

H 2

loo Modern Dogs.

diary, as, if there was one particular favourite with
Lord Henry more than another, it was Contest,
considered by him to be the best of foxhounds in
any part of a run ; and, as in the case of Mr.
Corbet's Trojan, Contest was an extraordinary wall
and gate jumper. His blood can be traced to the
three good-looking sisters that made up the two
couples of the Warwickshire in the older bitch class
at Peterborough — namely, Factious, Fair Maid, and
Faultless, as Archibald, their sire, was out of a bitch
by Lord Coventry's Rambler.

'' I have mentioned the Osbaldeston Furrier, the
Grove Barrister, the Drake Duster, the Burton Dori-
mont, the Belvoir Guider, the Belvoir Senator, the
Burton Contest, and the Berkeley Castle Cromwell
in this article as the most celebrated foxhounds to be
traced to throughout all records. This makes up
eight out of my proposed party of twelve ; and I
have no hesitation in giving as additions the Burton
Regulus and the Wynnstay Royal. It Avould be
impossible to enlarge too much upon the good such
hounds have done ; and it would be impossible to
say which of the two has influenced high breeding
most. Royal is represented to a large extent at
Belvoir, Badminton, Mr. Garth's, the Bramham
Moor, and numerous other kennels ; whilst the
Burton Regulus, besides adding much to the con-

The Foxhound.

tinuance of the high prestige belonging to Lord
Henry Bentinck's pack, now mostly identified as the
Blankney, is credited with a vast amount of merit
contributed to the Badminton, Berkeley Castle, the
Fitzwilliam, the Quorn, and the present Burton pack.
It now becomes a little difficult to name two more,
and I think the honour might fall on the Badminton
Flyer of 1839, as he gave the Fitzwilliam Feudal to
the hound world ; and the latter was the sire of
Foreman, sire of Forester, sire of Furrier ; and so we
can finish up as we started with a Furrier, in the
hound of that name, held in so much esteem by the
late Hon. George Fitzwilliam and George Carter,
and the ancestor now of a very big tribe."

The Foxhound Stud Book, already alluded to,
first published in 1865, appearing periodically, and
edited by Sir Cecil Legard, is a useful and careful
compilation.

The points and description of the foxhound are as
follows :

Value.
Head 15

Value.
Elbows 5

Neck 5 I Legs and feet 20

Shoulders 10 ' Colour and coat 5

Chest and back ribs ... 10 | Stern 5

5

Back and loin 10

Hindquarters 10

60
Grand Total 100.

Symmetry

40

02 Modern Dogs.

1. The /lead (value 15) should be of full size, but
by no means heavy. Brow pronounced, but not
high or sharp. There must be good length and
breadth, sufficient to give in the dog hound a girth
in front of the ears of fully i6in. The nose should
be long (4jin.) and wide with open nostrils. Ears set
on low and lying close to the cheek.

2. The 7ieck (value 5) must be long and clean,
without the slightest throatiness. It should taper
nicely from the shoulders to the head, and the upper
outline should be slightly convex.

3. The shoulders (value 10) should be long, and
well clothed with muscle without being heavy,
especially at the points. They must be well sloped,
and the true arm between the front and the elbow
must be long and muscular, but free from fat or
lumber,

4. Chest and hack rihs (value 10). — The chest
should girth over 3oin. in a 24in. hound, and the
back ribs must be very deep.

5. The hack and loin (value 10) must both be
very muscular, running into each other without any
contraction or "nipping" between them. The
couples must be wide even to raggedness, and there
should be the very slightest arch in the loin, so as to
be scarcely perceptible.

6. The hind quarters (value 10) or propellers are

The Foxhound. 103

required to be very strong, and, as endurance Is of
even more consequence than speed, straight stifles
are preferred to those much bent, as In the grey-
hound.

7. Elbows (value 5) set quite straight, and neither
turned In nor out, are a sine qua non. They must be
well let down by means of the long true arm above
mentioned.

8. Legs and feet (value 20). — Every master of
foxhounds Insists on legs as straight as a post, and
as strong; size of bone at the ankles and stifles
being specially regarded as all important. The feet
in all cases should be round and cat-like, with well
developed knuckles, and strong pads and nails are
of the utmost importance.

9. The colour and coat (value 5) are not regarded
as very Important, so long as the former is a
'' hound " colour, and the latter Is short, dense, hard,
and glossy. Hound colours are black tan and white
— black and white, and the various " pies " com-
pounded of white and the colour of the hare and
badger, or yellow, or tan. In some old strains
the blue mottle of the southern hound is still
preserved.

10. The stern (value 5) is gently arched, carried
gaily over the back, and slightly fringed with hair
below. The end should taper to a point.

I04 Modern Dogs.

II. The symmetry (value 5) of the foxhound is
considerable, and what is called '' quality " is highly
regarded by all good judges.

Weight of a dog hound, from yolb. to 8olb. ; of a
bitch hound, from 6olb. to 7olb.

Such figures are, however, not required by a hound
judge, who as a rule detests numerals when they
are supposed to have any bearing upon the animal
which he deems to be excellence itself, and far
removed from any other variety of the dog known
to the civilised world. Rather than on '' points "
and figures, he would rely on Whyte Melville, who
sang so melodiously and truly of the '^ King of the
Kennel," who stands

" On the straightest of legs and the roundest of feet,
With ribs hke a frigate his timbers to meet,
With a fashion and fling and a form so complete.
That to see him dance over the flags is a treat."

In these few pages about foxhounds I have not
endeavoured to lay down any law as to manage-
ment and conduct of the pack, which may well be
left in the able hands of the masters and huntsmen ;
and, indeed, to deal fully with all appertaining
thereto a whole volume rather than a few pages
would be required to make the story complete.
Farmers and agriculturists complain of hard times,
and require all the support which can be given

The Foxhound. 105

them. Hunting men can assist them materially in
purchasing their hay and oats in the country which
affords them sport ; even their horses, too, in many
cases. That master of hounds who purchases his
chief provender from round about the kennels is the
true friend of the farmer; and wheat and oats, ground
together, form an excellent hound meal. When
required, steep in cold water, and then place in the
copper of hot water ; boil to a pudding, w^hich allow
to cool, and there is the healthiest of food for the
pack. Add to the mixture flesh, if it is handy, or
whenever it can be procured, and you will find the
cost per hound per week not more than tenpence. A
well-knov/n master of hounds recommends the above,
but twice a week a little powdered sulphur is mixed
with the food — his hounds never have mange, and are
as sleek and glossy as can be desired. Masters, too,
must not omit to pay the '' poultry bills " when such
are put in, for the loss to the farmer's wife of her
ducks or fowls or geese is a serious matter in these
days of struggling to keep the wolf from the door.
Of course, one knows the heavy expenses connected
with hunting a pack of hounds, and was it not stated
by an old and respected master that he calculated
the cost of a good run was ;^5 a minute ? However,
be that as it may, there is no doubt that every pains
ought to be taken by the foxhunter, the shooter, and

io6 Modern Dogs.

the farmer to act in unison, give and take a little
from each other, and thus try to promote the sport,
the pastime, and the work of all.

The. season 1896-7 commenced in a notable way,
inasmuch as three of our leading hunting establish-
ments underwent very great changes. The Field,
in its summary appended to its annual hunt table,
says : " The decease of Lord Fitzhardinge has
caused the Berkeley to become a subscription pack
without a Berkeley being at the head of it, a circum-
stance which may not have happened before ; as for
the dozen or so of years during which the hounds
were in the hands of a sort of company, Berkeley
Castle was strongly represented in the management
until a private pack was once more started, which
was the second beginning of that owned by the late
Lord Fitzhardinge, the subscription pack becoming
the foundation of the Old Berkeley, that country
being comprised in the wide area hunted by the
original Berkeley Hounds in the last century. No
longer, again, do we find the Duke of Beaufort's
name in the list of masters, as the head of an esta-
blishment with a lengthy and interesting history.
The family connection with the hunt is still main-
tained by the Marquis of Worcester being joint
master with Mr. R. E. Wemyss ; but, nevertheless,
the present is a noteworthy period in the history

The Foxhound. 107

of the Badminton Hounds, which were originally
staghounds, and according to tradition only changed
to fox as the result of an accident ; for, had not the
staghounds been allowed to run riot and hunt a
fox after a blank day in search of their proper game,
the transition might have been longer delayed.
Thirdly, we come to the Belvoir, a famous pack,
established as far back as 1 730, when five noble
lords, viz., John, Duke of Rutland; George, Earl of
Cardigan ; Baptist, Earl of Gainsborough ; John,
Lord Gower ; and Scrope, Lord Howe, met and drew
up a formal agreement as to how the hunt should be
carried on. All details were provided for, the sum
and substance being that each of the above-named
proprietors should pay a hundred and fifty pounds
' into the hands of Alderman Child,' of Temple
Bar, and that more money should be paid if the hunt
required it. The agreement further specified that
the hounds should be nineteen in number, and not
more than twenty inches high. The establishment
was to consist of a steward, one huntsman, six
whippers-in, and two cooks, ' to be turned off, paid,
and disposed of by the majority of the party.'
Twice within its long history has the Belvoir pack
received outside help. On the death of the fourth
Duke of Rutland, in the last century, Sir Carnaby
Haggerston was at the head of a committee

io8 Modern Dogs.

appointed to carry on the hunt during the minority
of his son, and once more, about 1830, when the
then Duke of Rutland resigned and ^ became a
mere subscriber,' the hounds were lent to Lord
Forester and another to carry them on until the
Marquis of Granby came of age, which would have
been in three or four years' time ; but, as a matter of
fact, the late Duke of Rutland did not take to them
until the year 1857, when he inherited the title.
Still, the temporary masters were but warming-pans,
pending the happening of a certain event ; but now
the severance from the family is complete, save for
the subscription, which is doubtless forthcoming
from the Castle. Sir Gilbert Greenall has pluckily
stepped into the breach, and we may expect that
he will worthily uphold the traditions of this historic
hunt."

CHAPTER III.

THE STAGHOUND.

As this hound is neither more nor less than a fox-
hound under another name, but trained for a different
purpose, I would rather he followed the latter than
preceded him, though older associations and modern
customs might entitle the so-called staghound, or
buckhound, to the premier position.

He has been used, or, at any rate, a somewhat
similar animal to him has long been used, for stag-
hunting, and we are told by historians that, in the
times of the Normans, villages were depopulated,
and places for divine worship overthrown, in order
that the nobles might have their parks in which to
keep their deer. Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, was
one of these, and, according to Stowe, the first of
its kind in England. So great a hold had hunting
on those whose position allowed them to enjoy the
pastime, that Edward HI., when at war with France,
took with his army a pack of sixty couples of stag-
hounds ; and in the reign of Elizabeth a pack was

lo Modern Dogs.

kept at Simonsbath, Somersetshire, which hunted
the red deer on the moor by the Bade, just as it is
hunted to-day. But it is not my province here to
enter into the ancient history of each variety of
dog, and, so far as the staghound is concerned,
I must be contented with thus briefly drawing
attention to his ancient Hneage.

Although some hundred years or so ago there was
every appearance of a speedy decline of stag-
hunting, owing to enclosures, high fencing, and
similar sport to be obtained by other means, the
retrograde movement was retarded. At the present
time there are eighteen packs of staghounds in
England and seven in Ireland, a considerable
increase on what has previously been. Owing to
the working of the Ground Game Act, which, in
many parts of the country, has almost exterminated
hares, those who followed the latter with harriers
had to give up hunting or seek a fresh quarry. The
latter was mostly done, and deer, "carted" or
otherwise, have thus become a common chase.
The chief packs which have so changed of late are
Sir John Amory's, in Devonshire ; the Oxenholme,
Westmorland ; and Mr. AUen-Jefferys', Somerset-
shire. Sport with the carted deer is pretty
certain, as when one hind or stag will not run as she
or he ought to do, another is speedily provided,

The Staghound.

which it is hoped will take a straighter line, affording
the hounds an opportunity for hunting, and, what in
modern times is unfortunately considered of more
importance, give horses a chance to gallop and
exhibit their jumping powers at the fences, or their
amiability in the lanes or on the roads.

As a loyal subject, I ought to make some mention
here of Her Majesty's Staghounds or Buckhounds,
kept by the State, which, kennelled at Ascot, hunt
the country round about, where the overworked city
man seeks to regain his failing health by a gallop
over a highly cultivated country. The Royal pack
of forty couples, as at present constituted, may be
said to date back to 1812, when the Goodwood
foxhounds were presented to the Prince Regent, as
they were faster than the old-fashioned, lemon-pied
Southern hounds or talbots, the original constitution
of the pack.

Of the original hounds, much has been written,
and in 1895 ^^ J- P- Hore published his "History
of the Royal Buckhounds." Without quite agree-
ing with all the painstaking compiler tells us as
to the antiquity of the hunt, there is no doubt buck-
hunting was a Royal sport even as early as the time
of Edward HI. In Queen Anne's time there were
two packs, and when Ehzabeth reigned, the hounds
cost the national exchequer ;^ 1 64 6s. "jd. They cost

1 1 2 Modern Dogs.

more now. However, it would be out of place here
to enter fully into the history of this Royal pack, and
those who yearn after more knowledge of this kind
can easily gain it from other sources. At the time
I write, hounds are well matched and most uniform,
the dogs standing about 24 inches, and the " ladies^'
22-|- inches at the shoulder.

The above measurements may be taken as about
the standard heights of the staghound, though the
Devon and Somerset, which hunt the wild deer on
Exmoor and on the Quantock Hills, are rather larger.
The rough country of coombes and thick gorse
necessitates as big a hound as can be obtained, so
25 to 26 inches is the standard Mr. R. A. Sanders,
the present master, seeks to acquire, and he uses
entirely dog hounds, drafts from various foxhound
kennels. Not more than one bitch has been in this
pack for a dozen years or so, and no puppies are
bred by the hunt.

There is no doubt that the chase of the wild red
deer is glorious sport, and the genuine lover of
hunting, one who likes to admire hounds work, and
the cleverness of the horse, cannot do better than
run down to Dulverton in the season, and see how
the Devon and Somerset hounds can go. Long
stern chases are common with them, and the forty
minutes bursts in the Midlands after the fox, give

The Stag hound. 113

place to three hours here behind a more noble
quarry.

The pack consists of about thirty-four couples
of hounds, a certain number of which are tufters.
These are mostly old hounds, whose duty it is to
find the deer, work out his line, and get him separated
from the remainder of the herd ; the full pack is
then laid on, and so the hunt goes. The number
of these tufters taken out depends upon the
size and nature of the covert to be drawn, four
couple of them being the usual complement. They
are selected from the pack on duty for the day,
because of their staunchness and eagerness in draw-
ing, but especially for their voices and aptitude for
giving tongue. A mute tufter is of course worse
than useless, and, as a fact, "staghounds" have a
great tendency to run mute.

In autumn, say from the 12th of August to
through October, the stag is hunted, and at the end
of the latter month hind hunting commences and
continues to April, and as many as a hundred stags
and hinds have been killed in one season.

The present pack dates actually from 1827
(though antiquarians may identify it with that at
Simonsbath two hundred and thirty years earlier),
and with slight exception, the Devon and Somerset
have ever since shown the perfection of sport.

I

114 Modern Dogs.

It may be interesting to note that the "old pack,"
which had been bred on Exmoor, was sold to go to
Germany in i8i i, and what has been produced from
it, with no doubt suitable crosses, is hunting there
still. Although the staghunting in the West is
carried out on modern lines, its ancient history is
not forgotten. The houses of the country families,
of the Aclands, Fortescues, Fellowes, Bassets, and
many others are hung with " heads " dating from the
last century ; the silver buttons with the hunt device
on them are handed down from generation to
generation, and those worn by the late master, Mr.
C. H. Basset, who resigned at the close of 1893-4,
and whose grandfather hunted the hounds from
1 780 to 1 786, are over one hundred and twenty
years old. Mr. R. A. Sanders is the present
master.

In 1896, Sir John Heathcote Amery, who had
hunted with great success about Tiverton, established
his pack as staghounds, and without interfering
with his neighbour the Devon and Somerset, who
are giving him every support, will no doubt be able
to afford many good runs in the future after the
wild red deer.

In some other parts of the country, stags and
hinds are hunted indiscriminately (the Queen's prefer
haviers, cut at four years old), the former being

The Staghound. 115

deprived of their antlers in order that they cannot
injure themselves or each other when in confinement,
and both are specially fed and prepared for the
chase. They are seldom hurt, either when being
hunted or when taken, and the same animal will
afford a run time after time.

I have always had an impression that our ordinary
modern staghounds seldom go with the fire and
dash other hounds do that are continually blooded,
but this may be fancy or prejudice on my part.
Every now and then some, perhaps well-meaning,
persons, who are totally ignorant of sport, its
usages and value, make uncalled for attacks upon
stag hunting as usually conducted, and where
the animal, at the end of the run, is saved. Their
case always fails miserably, and what proof of
cruelty they seek to force upon the public is un-
reliable and the product of a fertile imagination.

As already stated, the staghound, or buckhound,
and the foxhound are identical, though the former
is often enough confounded with the Scotch deer-
hound, a dissimilar animal in every way. The
change of quarry does not appear to have made
any difference in the character and disposition of
the animal. The staghound is just as kindly as
the foxhound, he can gallop as fast, and is said to
possess as good a nose ; in coat, colour, and forma-

I 2

ii6 Modern Dogs.

tion they are Identical — and hard, thick feet, good
legs, with strong loins, are a sine quel non in
both.

The staghound does not undergo the operation of
having his ears rounded. He can boast of having
taken part in extraordinary runs, one in Essex,
continuing for seventy miles before the deer was
killed. But this must have been nothing to one
that is said to have occurred in Scotland and
Cumberland, some time in the year 1333 ^^ ^334)
when Edward Bahol, King of Scotland, went to hunt
with Robert de Clifford, in his domains at Appleby
and Brougham. It is said that a single hound
chased a '' hart of grease " (an eight year old
stag) from near Penrith to Red Kirk, in Scotland,
and back again, a distance that could not be less
than eighty miles, even by the straightest road.
The stag, in attempting to regain Whinfell Park,
from whence it started, just managed to leap the
wall, when it fell dead, the noble hound also falling
lifeless, on the other side of the fence.

This may be true or not, possibly not. Some early
writers said the dog was a greyhound that took
part in this wonderful run. Others have said it was
a deerhound, but it is more likely to have been an
ordinary hound of the country, answering to our
present staghound, than anything else. The antlers

The Staghound. 117

of the stag were, It is said, placed in a large oak tree
in Whinfell Park, and in the course of time became
engrafted there.

Thus spoke the king : " For equal praise
This hand this monument shall raise !
These antlers from this oak shall spread ;
And evermore shall here be said
' That Hercules killed Hart of Grease,
And Hart of Grease killed Hercules/ "

Here they remained until 1648, when one of the
branches was broken off, it was said, by certain
soldiers in the Scottish Army, at that time on the
'' war path." Ten years later the remainder was
taken down by some mischievous persons at night
(Lady Ann Clifford's diary). The ancient trunk of
this tree was removed from where it stood, on the
high road between Penrith and Appleby, during the
present century.

A pretty story is told in connection with Her
Majesty's buckhound Rummager. Some years ago,
Frank Goodall, the then huntsman, met with a severe
accident in the hunting field, and when assistance
was to be rendered as he lay insensible on the
ground, Rummager was by his master's side, and for
a long time would allow no one to approach him.
On the story being related to Her Majesty, it was
ordered that poor old Rummager should become a

1 1 8 Modern Dogs.

pensioner, have extra quarters and comfort bestowed
on him, and so live out his natural life. His progeny
remain in the kennels at Ascot, among the pillars of
the present pack, which now has J. Comins as
Royal huntsman, and the Earl of Coventry as
" Master of the Royal Buckhounds." It seems
rather strange that the mastership of the Royal
Hounds, once hereditary, is now a 'Apolitical"
appointment, a Liberal holding the office when that
party is in power, and vice versa It is said that in
their early days the Brocas family held the position
for 270 years, when Thomas Brocas, the thirteenth in
succession, sold the appointment to the Watsons, of
Rockingham Castle. The emolument connected
therewith is ;^i5oo per annum for the master, whilst
the salary of the huntsman is only one-sixth of that
sum.

In the above I have dealt more particularly with
the Devon and Somerset Staghounds and Her
Majesty's Buckhounds, they being considered the
leading packs of the kind in this country. However,
in Ireland we have the celebrated Ward Union,
within easy distance of Dublin, the kennels being at
Ashbourne, Co. Meath. These hunt three days a
week. The Co. Down, South West Meath, Long-
ford, Templemore, and the Roscommon likewise
provide sport for the stag hunter in Ireland, and

The Staghound. 1 19

with the general surroundings of all these hounds no
fault can be found.

In England Lord de Rothschild's may be men-
tioned as a strong pack, numbering about thirty
couples of hounds, and they are kennelled at Ascott,
near Leighton, in Bedfordshire. The Enfield Chase
liKewise have twenty-three and a half couples of
entered hounds, and the Surrey twenty-five couples,
and whose country being round about Redhill, and
pretty handy for the Londoner, usually produces
larger meets of riding men than some of the
neighbouring farmers like.

There is a pack of twenty-five and a half couples,
and a very old one, that still hunts the New Forest ;
and a capital centre for the visitor to work from is
Lyndhurst or Brockenhurst. Captain Lovell, on
his retirement in 1893, ^^^ hunted these hounds
for upwards of forty years, w^hen they were but
known as the New Forest Deerhounds. It need
scarcely be said here that the deerhound is a
different animal altogether. Captain Lovell's last
meet as master was about a record one, for a
'' royal " was killed after running some sixteen miles
in about an hour and a half. The New Forest
Hounds hunt both the wild fallow and red deer, the
former annually until the first week in May. As
there are comparatively few red deer in the forest,

I20 Modern Dogs.

this fine beast is only hunted as occasion requires,
three or four times during the season. Mr. E. F.
Kelley is the present master, and he has got an
excellent pack of hounds round about him.

CHAPTER IV.

THE HARRIER.

Unless some very considerable change takes place,
it is extremely likely that the harrier will not survive
very many generations, at any rate in this country.
His type has not been strictly defined for years, he
has varied much in height, and has lately been
crossed with the foxhound to such an extent as to
further endanger his extinction. Moreover, several
packs of harriers have recently taken to deer and
stag hunting, and thus are still further losing their
identity.

Years ago much hare hunting was done on foot,
and hounds were bred for this purpose, to find
their own hare by questing and hunting her through
all her windings and ringings, with a care that the
modern foxhound-harrier, with his dash and go,
would not take pains to bestow. The latter is
almost as fast and keen as the true foxhound ;
he has, like him, to be fleet enough to get out

122 Modern Dogs.

of the way of careless riders, and give a sharp and
merry burst, rather than a careful hunting run.
Most hounds now kill their hare in from half an hour
to an hour, and no wonder that they can do so when
sometimes they have a turn with the fox, and
perhaps oftener a chase with the " carted deer."
The latter almost a necessity, because a mistaken
and ill-judged legislation has caused hares to become
very scarce in some districts, where a few years ago
they were plentiful.

The harrier is quite as old a hound as any other.
Caius calls him Leverarius, and the Book of St.
Albans mentions the hare as a beast of chase in
the same list as the fox, the deer, and the wild
boar. Still, perhaps, as with most harriers to-day,
those of Dame Berners' time would be as much at
home with the timorous hare as with the cunning
fox or the fleeter red deer. Some modern writers
have gone so far as to say that such a thing as
a true harrier, one without any dash of foxhound
blood in him, is not to be found. Beckford wrote
of the harrier as a cross-bred hound, and his own
were bred between the large slow hunting southern
hound and the beagle. They were fast enough, had
all the alacrity desirable, and would hunt the
coldest scent. These attributes, added to their
plodding perseverance, gave them a distinctive

The Harrier, 123

character, which, as already hinted, has well nigh
departed. Still, all the harriers of sixty or seventy
years ago were not so slow and careful as Beckford's
undoubtedly were, for there were complaints that in
1825, the Kirkham, Lancashire, hounds were too fast
for the hares they hunted. These, however, were
big hounds, and not unlike the Penistone of
to-day.

There are masters of harriers whose pride is still
in the purity of their strains, though maybe, at some
time or other, a point or two has been stretched for
the infusion of new blood to maintain the size and
standard required. Not very long ago sundry
letters appeared in the Field on the matter, result-
ing from certain awards at a recent dog show. In
one case, Mr. Allen-Jefferys, Hythe, near South-
ampton, who owns a pack of black and tan harriers,
which originally came from Sir Talbot Constable,
with which he now hunts the deer, complained that
he was beaten by half bred foxhounds. Possibly
this was so, but the winners were neater all round,
and smarter than the black and tans, and thus
more suitable for the show ring and the bench.
Owing to a scarcity of hares in his country,
Mr. Jefferys' harriers have been entered to " deer,"
and now may be found in the table of stag-
hounds.

124 Modern Dogs.

I confess myself rather disappointed with Mr.
Jeilerys' black and tans, as they were not so good
in either feet or ribs as I expected to find them.
Sir Talbot Constable began to breed such hounds
as these about thirty-five years ago, by crossing
beagles with St. Huberts, and then breeding in
and in. This being so, Mr. Jefferys may well
find the puppies difficult to rear, as he says they
are. He is endeavouring to perpetuate and harden
the strain by crossing with a so called smooth coated
Welsh harrier, black, or black and tan in colour.
Mr. Jefferys claims for his hounds that they are one
of the few packs of harriers without any admix-
ture of foxhound blood, but what they lose in this
respect they gain in another, for underneath them
there lurks some of the bloodhound nature, and I am
told they are excellent at carefully working out a
cold scent, and that they take ''rating" badly.
However, they are interesting hounds, evidently
about t8^ inches, and I believe that they received
quite their due when in the ring at Peterborough in
1 89 1, and at Bath the following year. Not long ago
I came across one of Mr. Jefferys' strain in the
Oxenholme kennels, an old hound of excellent
shape and form, beautiful in type, but not quite
so clean in front as he had been when in his
prime.

The Harrier, 125

The Lancashire chaps have always been very
partial to harriers, and the Holcombe have for long
been a noted pack. They are required big and
active in the district, and although they win prizes
as harriers, I consider that their height, 22 inches,
should quite put them out of the category of hare
hounds. The Rossendale Harriers, also 22 inches,
claim to be pure harriers, but, like other Lanca-
shire hounds, they are big ones. Mr. Sperling's
18-inch harriers, that hunt from Lamerton, near
Tavistock, are more my idea of what a harrier
should be. 1 remember, both at Peterborough and
Exeter shows, seeing a few couple of lovely hounds
from the Seavington Hunt, and shown by Mr.
Langdon. Rosebud and Rapture especially took
my fancy — a couple of '' hare pie " bitches,
with character enough for anything, without
any lumber about them, and minus the thick,
heavy bone of the foxhound. I was told the
master had twenty couples at home quite as
good, his hounds averaging about 19^ inches at
the shoulder.

Mr. Webber had some pretty harriers at the same
Exeter show, at which hounds formed certainly the
feature. I need scarcely say that harriers like the
Seavington caught the judge's eye at Peterborough,
though they were hardly used that year when the

126 Modern Dogs

Brookside beat them. The latter is one of the
oldest harrier packs in the country, and it is said
that it has hunted round about Rottingdean, near
Brighton, for over 1 20 years. The present master,
Mr. Steyning Beard, has a lot of hounds that it
would be difficult to equal, as their success both in
the field and in the ring will testify. There is in
existence a painting of a pied hare that was killed
on Lewes Downs by the Brookside harriers in
1771.

Sundry packs of harriers, running to not more
than 18 inches, are to be found in Wales; whilst
other excellent hounds in the list of the Rural
Ahnanac are the Windermere harriers (late Colonel
Ridehalgh's), of which Mr. Bruce Logan is the
master ; they hunt round about Bowness and
Windermere in the Lake district. Although,
comparatively speaking, small — they are about
18-inch hounds — I can scarcely call them pure
harriers, though useful hounds, that have to hunt
and " find " for themselves, and surmount " the dark
brow of the mighty Helvellyn " often enough when
the meet lies near the foot of the mountain at
Wythburn. Heavy hounds would no more do for
hunting the hares here than they would do for
killing foxes. And with the Windermere harriers
the runs are longer and actually more interesting

The Harrier. 127

than they usually are with bigger and, therefore,
speedier hounds.

There are something over one hundred and twenty
packs of hounds hunting the hare in England, less
than half a score in Scotland, and about thirty in
Ireland. The standards of their height vary very
much indeed, from the 24-inch Sandhurst and the
23 inches of the Edenbridge and the Penistone to
the 16 and 1 7 inches of the Aberystwith. Some
are called pure harriers that have little claim
to the name ; others bear a variety of appella-
tions which signify " cross-bred." It is, how-
ever, likely some greater uniformity may be reached,
as a Harrier Stud Book (Waterlow and Sons) is
now published, and its editor seems to be taking
pains to make it reliable and useful as a work of
reference.

The harrier in his purity is difficult to obtain ; he
should not exceed about 19 inches in height, and, as
a rule, his skull is broader and thicker in proportion
to the width of the muzzle than is the case with the
foxhound. The harrier is often coarser in his coat
than the foxhound, which may be ascribed to
crossing with a rough Welsh hound, which, though
rare, is still to be found in some parts of the
Principality. He has not, or ought not to have, his
ears rounded, and masters are not nearly so

128 Modern Dogs.

particular about their marking or colour ; in fact,
blue-mottled harriers, with a dash of tan in them,
were often enough to be found, and considered a
favourite colour until the foxhound cross was
introduced. We have seen that show judges will
award prizes to black and tan harriers, but fox-
hounds of that colour would soon be sent to the
right about.

One of the most notable harrier packs is the Peni-
stone, that are not " harriers " at all, but old Southern
hounds, said to be without foxhound or other cross
for two hundred years ; and equally old and pure are
the Edenbridge, which are called pure Old English
hounds.

The Hon. C. Bampfylde had the Aldenham Piper
and Valiant at Peterborough in 1891, when one of our
best hound judges described the first named as about
the best hound he ever saw, so straight in front, where
they often fail, Belvoir tan marked and generally as
'' handsome as paint." This from a *' foxhound
man," who can, as a rule, see no hound so perfect
as his own fancy, is praise indeed. Other noted
packs are Mr. J. S. Gibbon's (the Boddington) ; the
Craven, hunting from Gargrave, in Yorkshire, and
from whence some hounds were sent to America last
century ; the Fox Bush, the old pack was destroyed
on account of rabies in 1880; the Holcombe,

The Harrier, 129

perhaps the oldest of all ; the Marquis of Angle-
sea's ; the Taunton Vale, and Mr. Sperling's, the
latter kennelled at Lamerton, in Devonshire. As
already stated, few of them are without the taint of
'' cross."

Generally speaking, the pure harrier should have
distinguishing characteristics of his own. He ought
to be from 16 inches to 19 inches, and no more, not
thick and cumbersome in bone, deep in chest, and
not so high on the legs in proportion to his height
as the foxhound ; ears unrounded and set on rather
low, head thicker in the skull, and tapering more
towards the muzzle than is the case with the fox-
hound ; legs and feet as good as they can be had,
but it is exceptional to find the former perfectly
straight in front, and so the pure hounds are at a dis-
advantage when competing against the " absolutely
straight" foxhound cross. Stern carried gaily, loins
as strong as possible, with stifles well turned and
muscular. The true harrier is not such a level
topped hound as the foxhound. Colour anything
you like of the hound shade, although the '^ blue
pied," with a dash of tan about the head, is hand-
somest ; and one authority goes so far as to say that
he never saw a bad hound of this colour ; coat like
a foxhound's, though sometimes it is longer and
harsher. I have shown that some authorities admit

K

130 Modern Dogs.

black and tan, and who shall say that they are
not correct ?

I should apportion the points as follows :

Value. Value.

Head, ears, and character 20 I Stern and hind quarters 5

Neck 5 I Legs and feet 15

Shoulders and chest ... 10 Size and symmetry 20

Back and loins 10 Coat and colour 15

45 55

Grand Total 100.

It is not very often that classes for harriers are
provided at our shows, though such are occasionally
met with in addition to those alluded to elsewhere.
Darlington, that lies in an excellent sporting district,
in the autumn of each year holds a great exhibition
of horses and dogs, has had some excellent groups
of harriers, most of which were from packs hunted
on foot ; harriers likewise have classes provided for
them at Peterborough, and at the Exeter dog show
there is always a capital entry.

So far as hunting the hare on foot is concerned,
the most enjoyable part, to my mind, was when
the meet took place at, say, eight o'clock in the
morning. The scent or line of a hare was struck.
This the hounds would slowly work out, and perhaps
occupy the greater part of an hour in what was

The Harrier. 131

called the " quest." Puss was in fact hunted fairly
to her "form," or "seat," was then "see-hoed," and,
after a ringing run, which all enjoyed, was killed
in the open or on the road. Such hunting is seldom
seen nowadays, when the meet is at 11 o'clock.
The hare is roused from her " seat," and if the fast
hounds, hurried on by excited horsemen, do not
rush into her straight away, the run seldom lasts
half an hour.

The harrier can boast of a pack of its kind whose
"master" is a lady, and Mrs. Pryse-Rice shows
the best of sport two days a week round about
Llandovery, in South Wales. One day in December,
1896, there was an excellent meet at Pentretygwyn
schoolhouse, and a hare was soon found which
simply " flew," for a matter of forty-hve minutes
leaving horses and men far in the rear, and finally
was lost to her pursuers amongst the rocks near
Craigyrwyddon coverts. From the heather on Bwlch-
gwyn another hare was soon afoot, and she first
made her point for the open mountain, but, turning
back ere she got to the fence, crossed Berthddu,
Maesforch, Gorllwyn, &c., to Bronydd, and bent
to the right over many farms, by Ffosywhied to
Waunlwyd, where she was viewed dead beat ; time
one hour and twenty-five minutes. Unluckily, a
fresh hare jumped up, and, it being impossible to

K 2

132 Modern Dogs.

stop them, hounds went away over Blaenglyn,
Troedyrhiw, Maesbwlch, Tirygroes, and topped the
open mountain for Trecastle. Turning back on
the far side, they were stopped at dark on Dolfawr.
Hard Hues no blood after three such runs. But
the gallant little pack, with their sterns up, did not
seem to think so as the '' master " gathered them
together and proceeded on her weary trot of twelve
miles back to kennel. Mrs. Rice's harriers are 15^
inches, and have extraordinary noses, as well as
being able to go a great pace. The above " day
in December " is just mentioned here to show that
harriers are not by any means deficient in pace,
and it is extremely likely that in a hilly country,
for actual hunting, they are much better than
the ordinary foxhound of the shires. A couple
of hours is by no means an unusual run in the
mountainous districts of Wales, where, perhaps, at
the present time "harriers and hare" may be seen
at their best.

t

s.

C H A PT E R V .

THE BEAGLE.

This is perhaps the only variety of hound that has
profited by the institution of dog shows. He has
done so because he is small and affectionate, pretty
and docile, and in many respects admirably suited to
be a '' pet dog." Unfortunately, he is so true to his
instincts of hunting the rabbit, and even the hare,
as to prove rather a nuisance than otherwise in
country places, where his bell-like, melodious voice
will be continually heard in the coverts where the
little hound is bustling the game about, much to
the annoyance of the head keeper and his under
strappers.

The 'beagle, by some writers said to be the
" brach " of past generations, can boast of ancient
lineage. Perhaps he was one of our original British
dogs, but, as an old writer very truly observes, "his
origin is lost in the mists of obscurity." Whether he
actually was the " brach " or " brache " is quite a
matter of question, for this name was applied to any

134 Modern Dogs.

dog which hunted by scent ; even the bloodhound
was so called. The earliest appearance of the word
appears in the Arthurian legend of Garvaine and
the Green Knight (1340). " Braches bayed, there-
fore, and breme (loud) noise made." Markham
uses it as applied to a bitch, thus : '' When your
bratche is near whelping," &c. Caius does like-
wise. Shakespeare and other writers use the word
in varying senses ; Jameson, in his Scottish dic-
tionary, defining it as a hound which found and
pursued game by scent. However, it does not
matter much whether the " brach " was the original
beagle or not, but the latter came from under his
cloud about the time of good Queen Bess, who was
said to be the fortunate possessor of a pack of hounds
so small that they could be carried in a lady's
glove. Well, either the hounds must have been far
smaller than the least of our toy terriers of to-day
(which is extremely unlikely), or the glove of more
capacious dimensions than a "fives Dent and Ald-
croft " of the present time (which is extremely
improbable), or the story an exaggeration (which is
perhaps true). So there is only one conclusion to
be arrived at, that these so-called '^singing beagles"
of our virgin queen were somewhat of a myth, or
that one of them, and not the whole pack, could be
ensconced in "my lady's gauntlet." William III.

The Beagle. 135

also kept a pack of beagles, and when, in 1695, he
hunted them during a visit to Welbeck four hundred
horsemen were out, a number which is not ap-
proached at the present day, when such hounds are
usually followed on foot.

Approaching more modern times, George IV. had
a pack of beagles of which he was so fond that one
of the best portraits of himself was taken in their
company, he being surrounded by his merry little
pack ; and most typical hounds they are, full of
character, and almost better than any we know at
the present day. Colonel Thornton hunted with
them on Brighton Downs, and expressed himself sur-
prised with the pace they could go, and found a good
hunter more useful than a pony in following them.
A good beagle is slow but sure ; he dwells on a cold
line until he puzzles it out, and, throwing his
musically sweet voice, calls the remainder of his
fellows to him and away they gallop and cry, crawling
through fences or topping stone walls, on the scent
of poor puss. Beagles run very keenly, but are not
so savage on the line as a foxhound.

The author of " Thoughts on Hunting," having
heard much of the excellence of a certain pack
of beagles, sent his coachman to fetch them, in
order that the diminutive hounds might be given
a fair trial. The coachman was evidently not the

136 Modern Dogs.

proper person to have the charge of hounds, and,
in bringing them along the road, they became
terribly riotous, going for pigs, sheep, horses, cattle,
birds, deer, and almost everything that moved in
front of them. However, in due course the pack
arrived at its destination with the loss of only one
hound ; and, on being asked what he thought of
them, the coachman replied that they were the
'' best hounds he ever saw, for they would hunt
everything." At the close of last century Colonel
Hardy had a pack of beagles which were taken to the
meet and to the kennels again, when possible, in a
couple of hampers strapped across the back of
a pony. It is said that these hounds, kennelled in a
barn prior to hunting next day, were stolen there-
from ; hampers, horse, and all disappearing, nor was
their whereabouts ever discovered.

'VStonehenge," in '^ Dogs of the British Isles,"
gives an interesting account of the late Mr. Crane's
rabbit beagles, a Dorsetshire pack, which all round
has certainly never been excelled for excellence in
the field, and beauty on the show bench. '' Idstone,"
the writer of that article, says : —

'' He has seen them on a cold, bad scenting day
work up a rabbit and run him in the most extra-
ordinary manner, and although the nature of the
ground compelled the pack to run almost in Indian

The Beagle. 137

file, and thus to carry a very narrow line of scent, if
they threw it up it was but for a moment. Mr.
Crane's standard is 9in., and every little hound is
absolutely perfect. I saw but one hound at all
differing from his companions, a little black-tanned
one. This one on the flags we should have drafted,
but when we saw him in his work we quite forgave
him for being of a conspicuous colour. Giant was
perhaps the very best of the pack, a black- white-
and-tanned dog hound, always at work, and never
wrong. He had a capital tongue, and plenty oi it.
A bitch, Lily, had the most beautiful points. She is
nearly all white, as her name implies. Damper,
Dutchman, Tyrant, are also all of them beautiful
models. The measurement of Damper was : Height,
gin.; round the chest, i6in. ; across the ears, I2in.;
extreme length, 2ft. 4in. ; eye to nose, 2-|-in. Mr.
Crane's standard is kept up with great difficulty.
He has reduced the beagle to a minimum. Many
of the mothers do not rear their offspring, and
distemper carries them off in troops. Single
specimens may occasionally be found excessively
dwarfed and proportionately deformed. These
hounds would perhaps be wanting in nose or intel-
ligence if they could be produced in sufficient
force to form a pack ; but Mr. Crane's are all
models of symmetry and power, and are as accom-

138 Modern Dogs.

plished and as steady as Lord Portsmouth's hounds.
The Southover beagles are as small as it is possible
to breed them (in sufficient numbers to form a pack)
without losing symmetry, nose, intelligence, and
strength."

The above was written more than forty years ago,
and Mr. Crane died in 1894. ^e kept his favourite
little hounds right up to the time he died, and, so far
as can be made out, was one of the very few men of
late years who had anything like a substantial pack
of hounds which did not go over, say, 10 inches in
height. He had produced his in conjunction with
Mr R. Snow, Chudleigh, and in the end both owners
must have bred a little too much in and in. During
a correspondence with Mr. Crane, some two years
or so before his decease, he told me he had
latterly lost a great many hounds from distemper
and other causes, and towards the end his inimit-
able and diminutive pack had dwindled away, until
not more than three or four couples were left,
and those of no great merit. Seven couples of
old and young hounds died almost at the same
time, so it can easily be seen their replacement
was impossible.

Had Mr. Crane lived a few years longer, perhaps
he would have been able to obtain some new blood,
for just now our little rabbit beagle, pocket beagle,

The Beagle. 139

dwarf beagle, or whatever you like to call him — and
name him anything but a toy — has quite an increas-
ing number of admirers. At the most recent show of
the Kennel Club, held in October, 1896, there was
the best entry of beagles brought together of late,
still, at some of the Sussex shows held a few years
back we have seen capital gatherings. Now the
extra collection had been attracted at the instance
of the Beagle Club, who guaranteed a certain
proportion of the prizes. The tiny hounds, such
as were classed under 10 inches, shown by Mrs.
Chesshyre, of Walford, and by Mr. W. R. Crofton,
of Totton, Hampshire, were extremely dainty crea-
tures, well made, full of muscle as a rule, and
hardy enough to kill a rabbit or to beat the coverts,
for which most of them are used. Such have
neither pace nor strength to run down a hare, but
are merry hunters ; and so long as by inter-breeding
they are not allowed to degenerate into toys, with
crooked legs, huge round heads, weak faces, and
spindle shanks, our really old-fashioned and
charming little "royal beagle" may continue to have
an increased number of admirers.

At one of the Kennel Club shows, held over
twenty years ago at Alexandra Park, Muswell Hill,
Mr. G. H. Nutt showed a lovely pack, and treated
his many friends with a taste of their quality. The

140 Modern Dogs.

late Mr. E. Sandall ran a trail, and after due law the
little hounds were uncoupled. They soon made out
the Hne, and merrily throwing their voices, gave us a
pretty bit of hound-work through the shrubberies.
Up to within two or three years ago Mr. Nutt kept
beagles near Pul borough, both wire haired and
smooth, but these were larger than those he had at
the London show named. He was master of as neat
a little pack as man need desire, which he mostly
used to beat the coverts for rabbits and pheasants,
instead of employing human labour, which I always
considered a little more dangerous for the dog than
it would have been for the man.

Greater attention appears to have been given to
the beagle in the South of England than elsewhere,
and the county of Sussex has usually been noted for
them. Indeed, the handsome blue-mottled speci-
mens were at one time known as Sussex beagles ;
and I fancy that from this county first sprang the
variety with a wire-haired coat, not unlike a miniature
otter hound or Welsh hound in appearance. Mr.
H. P. Cambridge, of Bloxworth, is alluded to by
" Stonehenge " as having a pack of 13-inch beagles
in which there were some rough hounds. One of
the best of these, black, tan, and white in colour,
originally came from near Cranbourne. About thirty
years ago I saw a peculiar little beagle, some

The Beagle. 141

12 inches in height, with extraordinarily long ears,
characteristic face, but rather long in the body.
Merry was wire-haired and sandy in colour, not
unlike a pale-coloured Irish terrier. She was in
the North of England, but where she came from
I could never make out. Her first public appear-
ance was on the bench, where she was shown by
her owner, a sporting dealer in oilcake, who
had been a great wrestler in his day. Mr. W.
Lort, the judge, was so taken with the little hound
that he gave her first prize in the '' variety class."
She had a lovely voice — a thorough hound, but quite
unlike any beagle I ever saw before or since.

Recently, a number of excellent black and tan
beagles have been introduced, some of them so
perfect in their way as to beat others of the more
orthodox colour. The old bitch Musicwood, bred by
the late Lord Wentworth, appears to have been the
progenitor of many of these black and tans ; she was
at one time the property of Mr. E. J. Cackett, who
then resided near Brentwood. They are mostly
about 14 inches in height, and the best specimens of
the strain are undoubtedly Rasselas and Forester,
which were placed first and second in an ordinary
class at our last great show. Mr. Joachim has been
extremely successful with the one, and Mr. Lord
not much less so with the other. Musicwood has,

142 Modern Dogs.

indeed, been a useful matron, for at the show in
question she was dam of a first and second prize
winner in larger sized dogs, great dam of first and
dam of second and third in bitches, grandam of
the first prize winners in rabbit beagle dogs and in
bitches, and grandam of both the dog and bitch
which won the championships. Her stock are not
all black and tan, some being ordinary hound
marked and blue - mottled ; but almost all her
progeny have turned out well. These black and
tan beagles are no doubt interesting, but I consider
them a bad colour ; they are difficult to see in the
distance, and are not nearly so pretty as the
" mottled" or " spotted beauties" which are much
the commoner of the two. Perhaps these black and
tans have been placed over others on account of their
undue length of ear, which, folding bloodhound-
like, should certainly not be taken as a beagle
characteristic.

Amongst the best of rabbit beagles some dozen
years or so ago was the blue-mottled '' Blue Belle,"
shown by Mrs. Reginald Mayhew, and afterw^ards in
America. Here was about as perfect a little crea-
ture as could be imagined, and the most hypercritical
could only say she was a little weak in face. She
had such character, the best of legs and feet, so
difficult to obtain in perfection on either beagle or

The Beagle. 143

harrier, a perfect body, loins, back, stern, and ears
to correspond, and she was as merry as a grig
and when on the line of hare or rabbit as melo-
dious as a peal of wedding bells. Blue Belle was
purchased at one of the Sussex exhibitions when a
puppy for about thirty shillings.

Since that time several lovely little hounds have
been introduced, Mr. Crofton's Opera and Prima
Donna, barely 10 inches in height, being, no doubt,
the choicest of the smaller ones. Of the larger, Mr.
Lord's Robin Hood and Lignum have never been
excelled, and Mr. Joachim's Reader, Lonely,
Lonely IL, and Piccolo are as handsome a two
couple as man need desire. At Brighton one
annually sees a handy lot of beagles, which are used
for work on the Downs, the master of them (Mr.
F. Daniel) being ever foremost in advocating their
interests.

Most of these smaller beagles are used for rabbit
hunting and for working the coverts, which duties
they perform most admirably. Mr. Lord has a very
ingenious way to get a maximum amount of work
out of his pets. Residing not far from large, uncul-
tivated tracks of moorland, about three-quarters of
an hour before unkennelling his hounds he sends
out a man with a drag, who lays it for three or four
miles, and then liberates a rabbit, the latter usually

144 Modern Dogs.

adding another mile to the hunt. His meets last
season were every Saturday at ten o'clock from
November to April. He also shoots rabbits over
them. Mr. Lord's beagles are from 1 1 inches to
12 inches in height.

Mr. Crofton, who has kept beagles for more than
twenty-five years, likewise uses his for rabbit
hunting, rabbit shooting, and an occasional drag
hunt. He prefers them lo inches, or as much
under as he can get them. His earliest hound
was picked up in Winchester, an almost perfect
little fellow, which belonged to a builder there ;
there was no pedigree with Pilot, but his blood must
have been of the purest, as when mated with a bitch
obtained from a gamekeeper not far from Stockbridge,
excellent puppies resulted. Later, another bitch was
added to these kennels from Sussex, but, owing to
various circumstances, Mr. Crofton was never able
to attain to the dignity of the mastership of a full
pack. Still, he has always had a few couples of
hounds not cKceeding lo inches, and his smallest were
a couple which did not exceed 8 inches. These were
excellent workers, and lovely little pets. One was
presented to a lady who resided in London, and
the way it contrived to find material to hunt in
Kensington Gardens was extremely funny. It went
away on the line, throwing its voice merrily, much to

The Beagle. 145

the amusement of everyone. Mr. Crofton doubts if
he ever possessed a more perfect beagle than this
' Httle favourite called Tiny.

As to breeding beagles, Mr. Crofton says that
he is in favour of breeding in and in to a consider-
able extent, but when he finds that the puppies
are deteriorating in any point, he buys a young
bitch whose pedigree he knows to be good, and
particularly strong, even to exaggeration, in cer-
tain points where the others fail. This is better
than using a strange dog hound. His beagles,
with slight exceptions, are kept in kennels, and
after a day amongst the rabbits care is taken that
they are thoroughly dried before being fastened up
for the night. By judicious treatment Mr. Crofton
finds his little favourites to be quite hardy, well able
to do severe work, and are not more liable than
other dogs to disease. Moreover, he considers his
smallest hounds the best w^orkers, and the most
intelligent and pleasant as companions. These
rabbit beagles w^eigh pretty heavily for their size,
owing no doubt to their thickness of bone and
strong backs ; such as are about twelve inches run
from 131b. or 141b. to nearly 171b. each; whilst
the eight and ten inch go up to plb. or lolb. in
weight.

Perhaps there is a fashionable future for these

L

146 Modern Dogs.

miniature hounds, especially as the Beagle Club
is encouraging them. Previously they were heavily
handicapped in the show ring by having to compete
against larger hounds, and here, as in coursing and
horseracing, ''a good big 'un can always beat a
good little 'un." Still, there is a quaintness and a
character about these rabbit beagles which I always
greatly admired, and their merry movements and
silvery cry after their game delighted me much.
It does not matter much what colour the beagle is ;
many prefer the blue mottles, but any hound colour
will do — even black and tan.

During the past few years the wire coated beagle
has not been much in evidence, and few seem to
care for them now that Mr G. H. Nutt has given
over his pack. It has been said most of these '' wire-
hairs " contained a terrier cross, which showed itself
in the production of shy puppies distinctly deficient
in voice. Mr. Gwynne, of Folkington, Sussex,
however, owns a nice little pack of wire coated
hounds which are entirely free from any suspicion
of terrier strain. Some fifteen or sixteen years
ago Mr. Gwynne obtained two and a half couples
which he was told had been produced with wire
coats through a remote cross with the otter hound.
Long before that time a Sussex farmer kept a few
couples of the wire haired beagles at Chiddingly ;

The Beagle. 147

they stood about fourteen inches, and bore a reputa-
tion of " always being able to kill their hare, however
bad a scenting day it was." Mr. Gwynne keeps them
chiefly for rabbit shooting, and they w^ork wonder-
fully well. The kennels contain some seven or
eight couples (not including puppies), and the
endeavour is to keep them to about thirteen inches
In height, but some are an inch less, others an
Inch or so over the standard. Since Mr. Gwynne
has devoted attention to them, he has been com-
pelled to use a smooth beagle as an out-cross.

In 1892, a stud book of packs of beagles was
published by Waterlow's, it forming part of the one
for harriers already alluded to. The first volume
contained the names of a dozen packs only (there
were over double that number In existence), w^hlch
are supposed to be a foundation stock, but I am
afraid that some of the entries are not so pure as
many of our show hounds, which were not Included ;
nor were Mr Crane's, Mr Nutt's, and Mr Ryan's,
the latter the Kerry beagles, alluded to later on. The
volume has been continued yearly, but with no
Improvement, so far as the hounds specified are
concerned.

It Is common knowledge that masters of hounds
abominate dog shows ; still when the very best
of a variety are to be found oftener on the bench

L 2

148 Modern Dogs.

than in the field, animosity against exhibitions must
be sunk. Most of the packs entered in the Stud
Books, consist of big, rather large hounds, many
from thirteen to sixteen inches, and the oldest
pack is the Royal Rock, hunting from near
Birkenhead, Cheshire, established in 1845 ^Y
Colonel Anstruther Thompson, who brought them
out of Essex. The Bronnwyd beagles, Sir Marteine
Lloyd's, with the kennels at Llandyssil, South
Wales, in his family since 1846, have been carefully
bred from true strains. The Cheshire Beagle Hunt
Club have some hounds good both in appearance
and work, which on more than one occasion have won
leading honours at Peterborough. Christ Church,
Oxford, has beagles of its own, originally established
in 1874, but the pack experienced vicissitudes,
especially in 1886, when, dumb madness breaking
out, the entire kennel were destroyed. The then
Master, Mr. F. B. Craven, soon obtained twelve
couples of merry little hounds, and the establish-
ment is now as strong as ever. Near London, at
Surbiton, Colonel Turner and Mr J. Fisher are joint
masters of the hounds which Mr. R. W. Cobb got
together in 1882, and the Stud Book (1895)
includes the Cursis Stream Beagles, with kennels
at Chapelizod, near Dublin, Mr. J. Godley being
master. The Peover, Cheshire, Mr. R. L. Crank-

The Beagle, 149

shaw master, is also an important pack. According
to the hunt tables in the Rural Almanac, there are
about forty packs of beagles hunting in various
parts of the country, some of which no doubt have
more than a dash of harrier blood in their veins.

In appearance the beagle is a diminutive harrier,
with equally long and pendulous ears, not so level in
back as a foxhound, but in other particulars much
like him. However, the best beagle colour is
certainly the "blue mottled," already mentioned, but
in addition the ordinary hound markings are good,
and black and tans, not of the Kerry size, are
repeatedly met with, and are evidently admissible.
The smooth coated hounds are usually understood
to be most desirable, but the rough, or wire haired
variety is admired by many persons, and in all
respects is equally as good as the other. In
hunting, the beagle is a merry, keen, hard worker, he
can make casts for himself, and possesses a peculiarly
bright, clear, and silvery voice. The smaller, or
rabbit beagles, are especially sweet in their cry, and
no doubt on this account obtained the name of
" singing beagles," by which title they w^ere
known hundreds of years ago. In height there is
much variety, those used for rabbits varying from
nine inches, the standard of the late Mr. Crane's, at
Southover, up to, say, twelve inches.

ISO Modern Dogs,

Others vary from twelve to sixteen inches, but
when we reach the latter height, there is a near
approach to the harrier, and so to the foxhound; the
cross with the latter having been made with the idea
of improving the legs and feet of the smaller hound,
a change of blood that naturally has a tendency to
do away with type.

The following scale of points and description of the
beagle has recently been issued by the club which
looks after its interests :

Head of fair length, powerful without being coarse,
skull domed moderately wide with an indication of
peak, stop well defined, muzzle not snipey, and
lips well flewed.

Nose black, broad, and nostrils well expanded.

Eyes brown, dark hazel or hazel, not deep set
or bulgy, and with a mild expression.

Ears long, set on low, fine in texture, and hanging
in a graceful fold close to the cheek.

Neck moderately long, slightly arched, and throat
showing some dewlap.

Shoulders clean and slightly sloping.

Body short between the couplings, well let down
in chest, ribs fairly well sprung and well ribbed up,
with powerful and not tucked up loins.

Hind quarters very muscular about the thighs,
stifles and hocks well bent, and hocks well let down.

The Beagle. 151

Fore legs quite straight, well under the dog, of
good substance, and round in bone.

Feet round, well knuckled up, and strongly
padded.

Stem of moderate length, set on high, thick, and
carried gaily, but not curled over the back.

Colour y2Ci\y recognised hound colour.

Coat. — Smooth variety : smooth, very dense, and
not too fine or short. Rough variety : very dense
and wiry.

Height , not exceeding sixteen inches.

General Appeara?ice. — A compactly built hound,
without coarseness, conveying the impression of
great stamina and vivacity.

Classification. — It is recommended that beagles
should be divided at shows into rough and smooth,
with classes for " Beagles not exceeding sixteen
inches and over twelve inches," and '' Beagles

not exceeding twelve inches"

Value,

Head 20

Ears 10

Eyes and expression ... 10
Body 15

55

Value.

Hind quarters 10

Legs and feet 20

Stern 5

Coat 10

45

Grand Total 100.
Pocket beagles must not exceed ten inches in

152 Modern Dogs.

height. Although ordinary beagles in miniature,
no point, however good in itself, shall be encouraged
if it tends to give a coarse appearance to such
minute specimens of the breed. They shall be
compact and symmetrical throughout, of true beagle
type, and show great quality and breeding.

Disqualifying Point. — Any kind of mutilation.
(It is permissible to remove the dew claws.)

The real and proper work of the beagle is to hunt
hares and even rabbits, and such charming little
hounds as some of those already alluded to, do
this work wonderfully well. Any man of ordinary
pedestrian powers can follow them from start to
finish, for a rabbit does not as a rule live long before
hounds — and, as all know, will go to ground at the
earliest opportunity. The hare, too, fails to go
away at such a break neck pace when the slower
beagle is plodding after her, as she succeeds in
doing when bullied and flustered by the dashing
harrier with a lot of foxhound blood in him.

From the earliest times there have been at least
three varieties of the beagle, ordinary smooth coated,
rough or wire haired, and others black and tan in
colour. Richardson, in 1851, writes of a Kerry
beagle, which, he says, is " a fine, tall, dashing
hound, averaging twenty-six inches in height, and
occasionally, individual dogs attain to twenty-eight

J

The Beagle. 153

inches. He has deep chops, broad, pendulous ears,
and when highly bred is hardly to be distinguished
from an indifferent bloodhound." The same author
further says they are used to hunt the deer, and that
there are two packs in the neighbourhood of
Killarney.

I have made enquiries in various parts of Ireland,
as to the survival of the Kerry beagle and his present
whereabouts. One of the packs alluded to by
Richardson — that of Mr. Herbert, at Muckross — was
discontinued as long ago as 1847. These hounds
were twenty-six inches in height, most of them
black and tan in colour, some of them all tan. The
other pack alluded to by the same authority, that of
Mr. John O'Connell, at Grenagh, Killarney, was
dispersed at the same time, which was during the
distressful period of the great famine, when many
of the Irish gentry, almost ruined, were compelled,
under the Encumbered Estates Act, to sell their
family domains at an enormous sacrifice. I could
name more than one instance where a valuable
estate was sold for five years purchase ! The late
Mr. O'Connell's hounds, were likewise black and tan.
A few couples of these hounds were taken by Mr.
Maurice O'Connell's nephew to Mr. John O'Connell,
who kept them at Lake View, increasing his pack to
about twenty couples. In 1868 he, however.

154 Modern Dogs.

handed them over to Mr. Clement Ryan, of Emly,
CO. Tipperary, who now preserves the only pack of
Kerry beagles (the Scarteen) in the kingdom — -not
many years ago they were the most popular hounds
in the south of Ireland.

At Darrinane a pack w^as kept for many gene-
rations ; the late Mr. Buller, of Waterville, and Mr.
Chute, of Chute Hall, all in County Kerry, had
small lots of hounds. I have had kindly forwarded
to me a description of this hound as he ought to be,
and it was compiled by Mr. Macnamara, of Killarney,
who has made a special study of the variety.

'' Head. — Moderately long broad skull, oval from
eyes to poll, about same length from nasal indenture
between eyes to point of nose — should slope or
slightly arch from eyes to point of nose. Forehead
low, eye-brows strong and raised somewhat, cheeks
not full. Eyes large, bright, and intelligent, varying
in colour from bright yellow to deep buff, and deeper
brownish yellow. Muzzle long, slightly arched
round, and full under. Nose fine in texture, not
square, but slightly tapering. Nostrils large.
Upper lips hanging, and fuller towards the corner
of the mouth. Teeth level, of elegant form, and
strong.

'' Ears. — Large, pendulous, falling below the neck,
and set on low on the side of the head.

The Beagle. ' 155

" Body. — Muscular, fairly thickset, moderate
length, strong, well set on legs.

'' Neck. — Slightly arched, thick, nearly level with
the back of the skull at the point of joining. Skin
full in front, and dewlap developed.

" Chest. — Deep, not broad underneath. Shoulders
strong, and broad across the back, which is moderate
in length, and strong.

'^ Loins. — Broad and muscular, and slightly arched.
Thighs thick and slightly curved.

" Tail. — Long and evenly furnished with hair,
thickest at the root, and carried curved upwards
from the loins.

'' Legs. — With plenty of bone and muscle, short,
and strong ; .feet round and close.

'* Coat. — Hard, close, and smooth.

" Coloiu\ — Black and tan ; blue mottled and tan ;
black, tan, and white ; tan and white.

'' Height. — 22 inches, more or less, which should
depend upon the depth of the body."

I have dwelt thus long on this hound because, so
far as I am aware, its description has not hitherto
been published, and because there is a likelihood of
this fine old variety becoming as extinct as the
dodo, and, perhaps, it is in danger of being forgotten
altogether.

Mr. Ryan writes me that his hounds average about

156 Modern Dogs.

twenty-four inches, are smooth coated, black and tan,
with *' very long ears, and hanging jowls, but have
no strain of the bloodhound in them. They are
remarkable for their tongue, which is rich and
wonderfully sweet. Their noses are very keen, and
in work they are true and persevering. Not so fast
as the foxhound, they possess a considerable turn
of speed, are docile, and take to hunting at once.''

These beagles at Emly were formerly restricted
to hare hunting, but with the increasing scarcity of
that quarry the master has had to fall back upon
deer, and he and their followers have been very
much pleased with the sport they afford with the
hare until November, and with the deer for the
remainder of the season. Mr. Macnamara further
says that their cry in the chase is full, sonorous,
and musical; when hunting in full cry the head
is thrown upwards frequently ; on trail their note
is of prolonged sweetness.

Allusion has been made to the Stud Book, which,
published by the Association of Masters of Harriers
and Beagles, has now reached its sixth volume. It
is carefully edited by Mr. L. E. Rickards, and will
no doubt be useful in preserving the identity of both
these varieties of the hound.

CHAPTER VI.
THE OTTER HOUND.

There is no finer type of the canine race in this
country than the otter hound. His hardy, character-
istic expression, shaggy coat, and rough wear and
tear appearance, have always reminded me of that
ancient British warrior so often depicted in our
boyish story books, but who, perhaps, with his coat
of skins, his shield, and hirsute face, was the inven-
tion of the artist rather than the actual inhabitant
of our island.

It has been said that the otter hound is a cross
between the Welsh harrier, the southern hound, and
the terrier. Perhaps he may be so, but more likely
not, for a good well-grown specimen has more coat
than any ordinary terrier or the rough Welsh hound,
and he is bigger than either. My own opinion is
that he has been crossed with the bloodhound at
some not very remote date. The black and tan
colour often appears in some strains, and his voice
in many cases resembles the full, luscious tones of

158 Modern Dogs.

the bloodhound more than the keener ring of the
foxhound. Prior to the outbreak of the Franco-
German war, Count de Canteleu sent a number of
French griffons to Scotland, where it is said
that they were dispersed throughout the country.
However, I have not been able to trace their blood
in any of our modern hounds. Still, these French
hounds would no doubt have been very useful for
that purpose. Some twenty-five years or so ago,
Mr. J. C. Carrick, of Carlisle, was desirous of
getting a fresh cross into his pack, and, with that
intention, obtained a hound — a southern hound it was
called — from the Western States of America. No
pedigree could be obtained, but it was a particularly
handsome animal, and more like the picture of the
southern hound in Youatt's book on the dog than
anything I ever saw. Mr. Carrick was afraid of the
fresh blood, so the Virginian importation did good
duty on the show bench in the variety classes instead
of impurifying a pedigree which was quite as free
from taint as that of any other variety of the dog.

I forget who recommended a cross between a
bulldog, an Irish water spaniel, and a mastiff, as the
most likely way to produce otter hounds. Certainly
an ingenious idea, and worthy of the writer, who thus
easily got out of a difficulty which more practical
and learned men than he had failed to solve. We

The Otter Hound. 159

have the otter hound, let that suffice, and let his
valued strain be perpetuated, and the popular masters
of our packs long continue to give the best of all
sport to those somewhat impecunious individuals
who are not provided with the means to keep a hunter
or two to gallop after foxhounds. Forty or fifty
years ago otter hunting appeared to be on the wane.
Perhaps the rising generation of sportsmen of that
era becam.e discontented with the nets and spears
that were commonly used to facilitate the kill.
These cruel appliances are now abolished, and the
only place fit to contain them is the lumber room
or the museum of some country town. Hounds are
so bred that they can, with a minimum amount of
assistance, kill their otter unaided, and specially
excel in their work during the early part of the hunt,
if they are but let alone.

Throw off on the river's brink, and hounds will
soon hit the line of an otter, if one has been about
any time within three or four hours before, or maybe
they will speak to scent even older than that. The
olfactory organs possessed by the otter hound have,
to me, always seemed something extraordinary.
The cold, damp stones by the water's edge, or a
bunch or clump of grass adjoining, are not the
places where scent would lie well. Still, there is the
fact : a hound will swim off to a rock in mid-stream,

i6o Modern Dogs.

put his nose to the ground, sniff about a little, and,
if the otter has been at that spot even for only half
a minute, that hound will throw up his head and, in
a solo so sweet to the ears of a hunter, let all know
that he is on the line.

And it was ^' Ragman " who never told a lie — can
I call him a canine George Washington, without dis-
paragement to America's great president ? I have
seen foxhounds well entered to the otter, but the
rough hounds were always first to own a stale drag.
The latter are so much more staid and steady when
past their puppyhood ; know their work so well,
appear to enjoy it too, and take to hunting their
favoured game at quite an early age.

It is stated of the Rev. John Russell, the great
Devonshire sportsman, that, desirous of having a
pack of hounds to hunt the otter, he endeavoured to
make one. He said he followed the rivers for two
seasons, during which he walked upwards of three
thousand miles, and never found an otter, although
he says *' he must have passed scores, and he might
as well have searched for a moose deer." No doubt
the popular clergyman's foxhounds had been entered
to fox. Now, with even a lot of otter hound puppies
quite unentered, he would not have had such long
and fruitless journeys ; they would soon have hunted
something, and if now and then they had run riot on

The Otter Hound. \6\

a water rat, a moor hen, or a rabbit, they would
have struck the scent of an otter before very long —
i.e., If such game were plentiful In the district.

My early experience of otter hunting was much
sooner consummated than that of the Devonshire
sportsman. We had an otter hound puppy, quite
unentered, an old bitch, dam to the puppy, and a few
terriers. The second time out we struck a strong
scent by the edge of a lovely stream in our north
country. Old Rally, who, later on, very often failed
to speak, even on a strong scent, now gave tongue
freely ; her young son put his nose to the ground,
threw up his head, and yelled every now and then,
and quite as often fell head over heels into the
water ; the terriers yelped and barked, and evidently
thought they were in for a big rat battue.

The young hound settled dow^n and swam across
the pool. Higher, Rally marked under a tree root.
An angler hard by prodded his landing-net handle
down into the ground ; all of us jumped upon the
surface, and quietly there dived out a huge otter !
And he made his way down stream. Then we had
him in a long pool, about twenty yards wide, nowhere
more than five feet deep, no strong hovers on either
side the bank ; but below us was dangerous ground.
So a shallow was guarded by two of us, with our
breeches rolled up and long sticks in our hands.

M

Modern Dogs.

Well, we hunted our otter up and down that pool
for two hours. He was given no rest; he came
quietly to a corner Avhere the water was shallow ;
Rally and her big puppy were there. They
saw the round, brown head and bead-like eyes,
and furiously rushed on to their game. What a
row ! What a fight ! The terriers were there ; all
of us were there. Torn jackets and torn coats. It
was a wonder that during the me/ee our otter did
not escape and we ourselves be the bitten ones.
How it all came about none of us well knew, but a
quarter of an hour later, three lads, a man, and a
fisherman, were sitting in a green meadow, where
wild hyacinths made the hedgerows blue and the
clover was imparting fragrance to the air. They
were sitting there with their hounds and their
terriers, and whilst the scratch pack rolled and dried
themselves amongst the earlier summxr flowers, we
were gazing in astonishment at an otter weighing
25-llb. — one that we had killed ourselves with the aid
of our two hounds and terriers. We had walked three
miles to perform this feat, and, need I say, that in
less than two years from that time that locality had
as good a pack of otter hounds as man need desire.
Our Mentor of the day was our huntsman.

Notwithstanding this experience of my own,
almost all old hunters say that many years careful

The Otter Hound. 163

work are required to perfect a pack of otter hounds.
Squire Lomax, of Clitheroe, over a quarter of a
century ago, had the misfortune to lose his entire
pack through an attack of dumb madness. Now
his were perhaps the most accompHshed lot of
otter hounds any man ever possessed. Each hound
was perfect in itself, and the pack might have
found and killed an otter without the slightest assist-
ance from their esteemed master, who had taken
years to bring them to their state of perfection.
'' You will soon get another pack together, Mr.
Lomax," said a friend. '* No," w^as the reply, " my
old hounds took me the best part of a lifetime to
obtain, and should I recommence again, I should be
an old man and past hunting, before I got another
lot to my Hking." Mr. Lomax for years hunted the
Ribble, Lune, and other rivers in the north.

Mr. Gallon, of Bishop Auckland, who met his
death whilst otter hunting in Scotland, was another
great authority on this hound, and his opinion was
pretty much the same as that of Mr. Lomax. But
good sport can be had without having hounds quite
so perfect as those mentioned.

I am, however, getting a little in advance of my
text, and something must be said of the earlier days
of the otter hound. King John is said to have had
a pack, of which he was very fond. Although thus

M 2

64 Modern Dogs.

early otter hunting was considered royal sport, the
otter was only placed in the third class of the beasts
of the chase, ranking with the badger and the wild
cat — even the timid hare and the hard-biting marten
taking precedence. However, that he was highly
valued, even in those days, for the amusement
afforded, may be inferred from the fact that Ed-
ward II. (time 1307), had, as part of his house-
hold, a huntsman and subordinates to look after
his otter hounds. Sometimes the King's otter
hunter resided in the hall, and was served there ;
on other occasions he had his own residence, and
lived as he liked. Anyhow, he had " twelve otter
dogges " in his care, and in addition a couple of
greyhounds. Then there were ''two boys" to
look after the hounds and feed them. The master
of the otter hounds was, as the times went, fairly
well rewarded for his duties, he receiving in addi-
tion to " a robe in cloth yearly, or a mark in money "
— the latter 13^. 4d. — and an extra allowance of
four shillings and eightpence for shoes, twopence
per day wages. Each of the so-called '' boys "
vvas remunerated at the rate of three halfpence per
day. The latter did not appear to have any per-
quisites (tips are a more modern institution), but
they would doubtless reside in the house or at the
kennels.

TJie Otter Hound. 165

It would have been interesting to know as a
certainty the class of hounds the above were, but
there is little doubt they were hard in coat and
rough in hair, much as they are at the present day.
Some time later the otter hound appeared to become
less fashionable. He was kept by the " tinkers,"
and similar class of roving individuals, on the
northern borders. There were a few in Wales.
Early in the present century they were not uncommon
in the south of Scotland, in Devonshire and the
west, and in the north of England. Since, the otter
hound has become a greater favourite, and at the
present time, during the season, which may be said
to last from the middle of April to the end of
September, some eighteen to twenty well regulated
packs hunt the otter in various parts of the
kingdom.

In a few cases, usually in Devonshire, foxhounds
are almost entirely used ; elsewhere the packs are
composed of the rough-haired otter hound, with
occasionally a couple or so of foxhounds to assist
them. Still, each variety of the hound should stick
to that game for which nature intended him, the
foxhound to the fox, the harrier to the hare, the otter
hound to the otter. The latter is mostly followed on
foot, and the foxhound is too quick and fast, though
many like him because of his dash. In the staid-

1 66 Modern Dogs.

ness and care of the otter hound lie his character,
and he will give better sport in most cases at his
own game than any other hound.

Some of the most noted packs of the present
day are those of the Hawkstone, which originally
belonged to the late Hon. Geoffrey Hill, who died
in 1 89 1. They ultimately passed into the hands of
Mr. R. Carnaby Forster, who hunted them until 1895,
when Mr. H. P. Wardell took the mastership, and
who continues to show excellent sport. Mr. Hill,
who hunted from Maesllwch Castle, in Radnorshire,
had the pack from his brother, Lord Hill, in 1869,
and from that time to the day of his death had
improved it immensely. There were twenty-five
couples in the kennels, all good-looking, handsome,
rough hounds, perhaps not so perfect in this w^ork
as those of Mr. Lomax, but in " sortiness " they
have never been equalled. They were well cared
for ; the members of the hunt had a handsome
costume, and hounds were taken to and fro in a van
made for the purpose. From 1870 to 1890 these
hounds killed 704 otters, no fewer than sixty-two
being accounted for in one season, the best on
record that of 1881. In 1893 ^^^7 killed forty-
one otters in forty-eight hunting days, but if a pack
kills, from a dozen to two dozen otters during the
four or five months they hunt, a bad record is not

The Otter Hound. 167

made, for sometimes when the waters are in flood,
or the hay crop remains uncut, hounds may not
be out for a week, or even a longer interval may
intervene between one meet and another.

The Carlisle hounds are another noted lot, and,
with a slight interval, during which Mr. James
Steel was the master, that position w^as occupied by
Mr. J. C. Carrick for over a quarter of a century,
viz , until 1894, when Mr. G. A. Mounsey Heysham
became master, and now, in 1897, ^^ ^^^ ^^^ assist-
ance of Mr. Carrick as secretary. For some time
the Carlisle hounds were as invincible on the show-
bench as by the river. Then '' the Kendal " sprang
up in the sister county, and, with the late Mr.
Wilson, of Dallam Tower, as master, Troughton as
huntsman, and having extraordinary success in
breeding young hounds, they won all before them
in the ring. Afterwards the late Mr. W. Tattersall
took these hounds in hand, hunting them until 1891,
when they were sold as stated below. However,
Sir Henry Bromley, who in 1895 came into the
Dallam Towner estates, resuscitated the Kendal
pack, and is hunting them at the present time,
there being about twenty couples of hounds in the
kennels.

The Kendal Ragman was particularly successful
at stud — no one ever had a better hound at work,

1 68 Modern Dogs,

and he lasted eight seasons. He was a black and
tan, rather short in coat to be quite right, but what
there was had an extraordinary texture, so hard and
close and crisp that I have seen the w^ater standing
in drops thereon, quite unable to penetrate the dense
covering. This hound it was I saw take the head of
an otter right in its jaws as the game came up for a
breather close to the bank upon which Ragman was
standing. The otter was very nearly finished
outright ; it would have quite killed any other
animal, for the fangs of the hound had gone deeply
through the bone of the skull, perhaps just missing
what might have been a vital part. These Kendal
hounds were sold for something like ;^2oo to Mr.
Carnaby Forster, of Tarporley, Cheshire, at the
commencement of 1891, who incorporated them
with the Hawkstone already alluded to. This was.
perhaps, the cheapest pack of hounds ever sold ;
there were about twelve couples, with some terriers,
and I am pretty certain that, placed publicly in the
market, ;^iooo would have been obtained for the
lot.

Another old master of otter hounds is Mr. John
Benson, of Cockermouth ; but half a dozen years
ago his hounds were discontinued, and in their place
came a subscription pack, of which Mr. Harry Clift,
who has served a very long apprenticeship to the

The Otter Hound. - 169

sport, was at the head. But more changes were
brewing here, and at the present time Mr. H. P.
Senhouse is master, and Mr. J. H. Jefferson is
working and hunting secretary. Mr. F. Collier now
hunts his late uncle's hounds, which are perhaps
better known as the Culmstock. Mr. W. Collier,
down Devonshire way, hunted the otter for over fifty
years, and Mr. Cheriton in the west likewise, but
both appear to have preferred the dash and go of
the foxhound to the sedateness and care of the pure
variety. Mr. W. C. Yates has had some good
hounds in his time. I once saw the latter — Mr.
T. Wilkinson, of Neasham Abbey, hunting the
pack during an off season, when he had not one
of his own — kill three otters in one day, in Lanca-
shire. Mr. Yates latterly hunted in Ireland, but
in 1896 he sold the whole of his pack to Sir Henry
Bromley. The Squire of Neasham, after an idle
season or two, again got together his favourite
hounds, and is still hunting in the neighbourhood
of Durham, and goes into Northumberland occa-
sionally. The latter county once had a pack of its
own, the property of Major Brown. In Scotland,
Captain Clarke Kennedy, some years ago, kept
otter hounds ; so did Dr. Grant, of Knockgray;
and the Duke of Athol and others, nor can the
west country hounds of Mr. Trelawny's be omitted.

yo . Modern Dogs.

Of more recently established packs, there are the
Dumfriesshire, with a popular master in Mr. J. Bell-
Irving, and an equally popular huntsman in Mr. W.
Davidson ; Mr. Edmund Buckley's (Wales) ; The
Rug, the Hon. C. H. Wynne, master ; The Pem-
broke and Carmarthen, Mr John Evans, master ;
and the Bucks, Mr. W. F. E. Uthwatt, master ;
may be specially mentioned. There are also other
otter hounds hunting in Devonshire, Somersetshire,
Hampshire, Yorkshire, Carmarthenshire, Merioneth-
shire, Brecknockshire, in county Wexford, and near
Dublin. Captain Dawson (Otley, Yorkshire) kept
a pack of otter hounds for some years, but sold
them to Sir Henry Bromley, in 1894, because of
the scarcity of otters in his locality. Then Sir
Cecil Legard had a pack in Yorkshire, which he
gave up about the same time for a similar reason,
and his hounds went to Mr. Assheton Smith, of
Vaynol Park, who only kept them a couple of
seasons, when they were sold to Mr. John Evans,
master of the Pembroke and Carmarthen Otter
Hounds.

The dog otter hound should stand about 25 inches
at shoulder, the bitch about 23 inches. The best
and most favourite colours are the blue and white,
though not so much mottled as the beagle, and a
iiard looking pepper and salt colour. Yellow and

The Otter Hound. 171

fawn, and yellow or fawn and white hounds are like-
wise good old colours, and, as I have said, black and
tan is not amiss, with, maybe, w^hite on the breast
and feet ; but black tan and white in patches is not
nice on an otter hound, however gaudy it may be on
others of the race. I have also seen one or two
almost white hounds, but never one of the latter
W'ith the correct coat, which should be hard and
crisp and close, as water and w^eather resisting as
possible, and not too long. Often the long coats
incline to an indication of silkiness in texture, which,
however, is preferable to a soft, woolly jacket. In
build an otter hound should be like a foxhound,
strong, level, and w^ell put together, stern carried
gaily, feet close and particularly hard, and this is
even more desirable than in a foxhound, as being
one minute in the water and another on the hard
rocks and stones tries the pads very much. A big
foot is likely to increase the pace in sw^imming. The
head must be long, jaws strong and powerful, eyes
giving a certain sedate and intellectual appearance ;
thev sometimes show the haw, which is no defect.
Ears long and pendulous, close set, in order that
the water may be kept from penetrating into some
of the delicate internal parts. However, what an
otter hound ought to be the illustration preceding
this article will best inform the reader searching

172

Modern Dogs.

after information. A nice weight for a dog
hound is from 6olb., to 751b., and for a bitch about
lolb. less.

Points.
Value. Value.

Coat 20 Head and ears 20

Legs and feet 20 Back and loins 10

Hind quarters and stern 10
Neck and chest 10

Shoulders

Symmetry and colour ..

60
Grand Total 100.

40

»

iSr.

CHAPTER VIL

WELSH HOUNDS.

Many writers have more or less casually alluded to
Welsh hounds, but their information does not go
beyond telling us that they resemble foxhounds in
all but coat, which in the Welsh variety ought to
be wiry haired and not quite smooth. And as a
fact we know so little, or absolutely nothing, about
the origin of the ordinary English foxhound, that it
is no wonder we are equally lacking in information
concerning the Welsh hounds, whose praises have
so often been sung. What the hounds were like
which are included in the rules and regulations of
Howell the Good, there are no means of knowing ;
nor, as far as one can discover, is there any book or
magazine article which attempts to sketch, even in
the merest outline, the history of the Welsh hounds ;
whilst, equally notew^orthy and somewhat odd, no
drawing or illustrations of them have hitherto
appeared in any book about dogs.

In the hunting treatise of Edmond de Langley,

174 Modern Dogs.

Duke of York, fourth son of Edward III., mention is
made of Kennitis. Now, a rough Welsh rug or
cloth was, says Jesse, called a Kennet, and he
thinks these Kennitis might have been the Welsh
harriers sent by the Prince of Wales to Count
d'Evreux.

The earliest Welsh hounds known appear to have

been kept at Margam, and were the property of Sir

Thomas Mansel, who, records tell, gave them to

Mr. Jenkins, of Gelly, and these were more or less

rough or wiry-haired. A correspondent, a famous

Welsh fox hunter, informs me that these old Gelly

hounds were for the most part black and tan in

colour, varying in height from 17 to 21 inches;

excelling in legs and feet. Their heads and ears

more inclined to the bloodhound type, than do those

of the modern strains, having considerable peak, and

•ears hanging well down and pendulous. Their necks,

backs, and loins were good. Their voices were

exceptionally fine, one old sportsman likening the

music of the Gelly pack when in full cry to the tones

of an old church organ. It must not be forgotten,

these far-reaching notes were of great importance

in hunting this rough and in those days sparsely

populated country. The present squire of Gelly

still retains some few of the old strain.

There are many packs of hounds in Wales which

Welsh Hounds. 1 75

are actually only Welsh in name, and much con-
fusion has been caused by the inference conveyed
by many writers that all foxhounds and harriers in
the Principality are of the old wiry-haired or hard-
coated strain. Such is far from being the case, and
it is doubtful whether even the hounds of Squire
Talbot, which, to the glory of the pure Welsh
hounds, are credited with an extraordinary run from
Margam to Llanelly, were quite, free from " foreign "
strain.

Not very long ago a hunting correspondent of the
Field was astonished to find a so-called pack of
Welsh hounds the common foxhounds of the shires
and elsewhere ; and so recently as last year the
writer went over to Aldridge's to see a pack of
Welsh hounds which had been sent up, from the
neighbourhood of Aberystwith, for sale. These, too,
were English foxhounds, many of them of fashion-
able blood, and none of them had an atom of ''wire-
haired " coat to denote that they were originally
descended from the native hound of the Princi-
pality. This was Mr. Vaughan Davies' pack.

x\t the time the Gelly hounds were in their prime,
there was another noted Welsh pack kept by the
late Squire Jenkins, Lanharran (uncle of the present
squire), but they differed greatly from the ''Gelly" in
colour, for they were mostly white — lemon and white

176 Modern Dogs.

sometimes turning to darker colours, such as red and
a grizzled black and tan, but white predominating
— being the favourite colour of the Squire. Here
they had smooth as well as rough hounds, and par-
ticular attention was paid to their music. I have
heard it stated by old hunters who knew these
hounds well, that of all the packs they had ever
hunted with, they never saw or heard one that
excelled the Lanharran. After the death of Mr.
Jenkins, they were handed over to the late Mr. W.
Morgan, Tremains, who carried them on until his
death. They were later on removed to Braich-y-
Cymmer, in the Ogmore Valley, where, after a few
years, they found their way back again to Llan-
harron. From thence Col. Blandy Jenkins drafted
them to different packs now hunting in Glamorgan-
shire— principally to the Ystrad. There was
another pack of Welsh hounds, viz., the " Croes-
cade," kept by one of the best sportsmen and finest
judges of Welsh hounds that Wales ever possessed
— the late Mr. William Perkins, of Croes-cade.
These were similar hounds to the Lanharran, both
in make and shape, but their voices were not so
fine. I believe in the present day a good deal of
this blood found its way into the kennels of Lord
Tredegar and the Llangibby.

1 should rather fancy that the pack of hounds

Welsh Hounds. 177

which contains the greatest amount of " pure Welsh
blood " is that of the Ynysfor, hunting round about
Penrhyn Deudraeth, Merionethshire, and of which
Mr. John Jones is the master. This is a smallish
pack of thirteen couples, which hunts pretty much
all the year round, after the season for fox being
over, otter hunting being successfully followed. The
country is perhaps as rough as any in the United
Kingdom, and Mr. Jones finds the Welsh wire haired
hounds, of which about half his pack is constituted,
the best animals for his purpose. They have been
in his family for three generations, which extend in
this case over one hundred years. The father of
the present master bred from the hounds of old
Mr. Rumsey Williams, of Penrhos, who kept a
pack, mostly of Welsh blood, near Carnarvon at the
beginning of the century, and in a great measure
the present Ynysfor hounds are largely descended
from them. Fresh blood has from time to time
been obtained from various districts in South Wales,
where the rough haired hound is generally believed
to have been originally produced, or, at any rate,
two or three generations back, it was more easily to
be found there than elsewhere.

More recently, Mr. Jones secured new crosses
from the kennels of the late Colonel Pryse, of
Peittyll, near Aberystwith, and from other hunts

N

78 Modern Dogs.

in the southern portions of the PrincipaHty ; whilst
in a few cases he has crossed with well-bred
English foxhounds. The hard, wiry coats, how-
ever, remain in most instances, as well as the
peculiar character and excellences common to
the Welsh harrier. As is the custom with most
hounds which hunt a rough country, the meets are
in early morning, and foxes are found by hounds
questing and hunting the drag until their game is put
away, then the run is generally over terribly rough
country, in which, of course, hounds are at times left
very much to themselves. For this purpose nothing
can excel the Welsh " wire hairs," even if they
have a remote bar sinister on their escutcheon.
These Ynysfor hounds are from 20 inches (bitches)
to 22 inches (dogs) in height, and vary in colour,
some being black and tan, others wholly tan, whilst
the remainder are the ordinary hound colours.

Of course, what has been written here, and appears
later on in the chapter, more or less indicates that
the really pure Welsh hounds, absolutely without any
intermingling of foxhound or harrier blood, are
most difficult to obtain, but that such are still
highly valued in some quarters may, I think, be
taken for granted.

There are other packs containing more or less
Welsh blood still existing in the Lanwonno, Ystrad,

Welsh Hounds. 179

Tyn y Cymmer, Treharris, Merthyr Old Court, and
the Pentyrch ; the latter are black and tans, and it
is said they originally came from the Gelly. When
living in Glamorganshire the present master of the
Pembroke and Carmarthen Otter Hounds hunted
them for both fox and hare. The last named pack
possess two wonderful Welsh hounds of the Lan-
harran strain, Langer, and Gaylass. They are
lemon and white in colour, and have hard coats,
good voices, and no day is too long for them. They
were originally purchased from the Llangibby Otter
Hounds.

At the present time there is a certain demand
for these Welsh wire-haired, hard-coated hounds ;
for, however opinions may differ as to their
qualifications when placed alongside the modern
foxhound, there do not appear to be two opinions
as to their suitability for otter hunting. Masters
of hounds fortunate enough to possess a couple
or so, speak of them most eulogistically, especially
so far as their hard, crisp, water-resisting coats
are concerned ; arguing that a coat of this character
is more readily dried than the rougher one of the
true otter hound ; moreover, it is not so much in
the way when swimming, and their constitutions
are good. I do not think there is anywhere in the
Principality or elsewhere an entire pack of the

N 2

i8o Modern Dogs,

pure Welsh hound, either of harrier or of foxhound
stamp (for there are two varieties), with the wire-
haired, crisp coat. The colours are various, a few
being black and tan, whilst ordinary hound markings,
and such as are of a dark grizzled red and white,
appear to be most in favour.

In going through the annual hunt table published
in the Field on Oct. 17, 1896, I found there were
some twenty-four packs of hounds kennelled in
Wales, but only one is alluded to as Welsh, and
this is the Merthyr Old Court pack, which are
Welsh harriers, but their height is not given.
They hunt from near Merthyr Tydvil. There
are Welsh hounds in the Llangibby and also in
the Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen. As already
said, masters of otter hounds value the strain or
variety highly. Mr, T. P. Lewes, who hunts from
Ffosrhydgaled, Llanfarian, near Aberystwith, has a
few couples of pure bred wire-haired Welsh fox-
hounds ; and in the Ynysfor, whose kennels are at
Ynysfor, Merionethshire, the variety may be found as
already alluded to. Mr. J. H. Jefferson, Cocker-
mouth, secretary of the West Cumberland Hunt,
tells me that they have one or two Welsh hounds,
which are valued highly, and they would breed more
of them were they able to find suitable material.

The Hon. H. C. Wynn, at Rug, near Corwen,

Welsh Hounds. i8i

and Mr. E. Buckley, at Newtown, Montgomeryshire,
both appreciate this variety, and to these two
gentlemen I am very much indebted for being able
to produce the illustration which precedes this
chapter. Here are two types of the Welsh hound,
the one the Hon. H. C. Wynn's bitch Lively, an
unmistakable harrier ; the other Mr. Buckley's
Landmark, quite the foxhound in character. The
latter is undoubtedly one of the finest hounds I ever
saw, straight in front, with beautiful shoulders, lovely
neck, perfect feet, and as sound now as when in his
prime, although he must be six years old, and has
done a big share of hard work during his time.
With loins and hind quarters equally perfect, he is
as level and as symmetrically made as any dog I
ever saw. In colour he is red-grizzle and white, and
his coat is hard, crisp, and as thoroughly water and
weather resisting as that found on any hound ; his
height is 24^ inches at the shoulder, and he scales
841b. when in nice working condition. It will be
seen that his ears are rounded. He, with a similar
hound, came from Mr. Reginald Herbert, master of
the Monmouthshire ; they had no pedigree, but were
said to be pure Welsh foxhounds — a description
which is, doubtless, thoroughly correct. Lively is
much the same colour as Landmark, but perhaps
the grizzle red is rather more tawny than that of the

i82 Modern Dogs.

dog ; she measures 20 inches in height at the
shoulders, is 54lb. in weight, and is likewise an old
hound without pedigree. Mr. Wynn bought her with
a similar hound in Ireland, whither she had been sent
from Glamorganshire ; her kennel companion was
killed in the kennels at Rug. Lively is an excellent
hound in work, and as a brood bitch has proved
most successful. Unfortunately, she has always
been mated with a smooth-coated English harrier,
the puppies being very often all wire coated, some of
them possessing more coat than their dam, who is
a pretty bitch, with considerable character about her.

These hounds are excellent types of their family,
and Mr. Wardle's drawing conveys better than words
can, what an old-fashioned, wire-haired, Welsh
hound is like. Mr. Buckley says he finds his couple
or so *' useful for otter hunting, as they take the
water well, and do not seem to feel the cold so much
as otter hounds, because their coats dry sooner than
the longer ones of the latter when coming out of the
water. They show extreme delicacy of nose in
picking up and working out a cold drag ; but their
voices are very poor and their note quite common-
place as compared with the melodious otter hound."

The Hon. H. C. Wynn speaks in similarly
eulogistic terms of the Welsh breed, and of his good
bitch Lively in particular. She has produced him

Welsh Hounds. 183

the very best hounds he has in his pack — a work-
manlike lot, who can hunt hare and fox and otter, as
occasion requires, and do this three or four days a
week and turn out fresh and frisky at the end. One
of the stud hounds in the pack is Curfew, a son of
Lively's, who, although sired by an English hound,
has as much, or more, coat than his dam. He is a
fine fellow, about 21 inches in height, and can
drive hare or otter as well as any hound. Of the
Welsh hounds, Mr. Wynn says " they excel in work-
ing without assistance, and are seldom at a loss,
even when the huntsman is not with them, when they
overrun the line. When such is the case, they will
spread out like a fan, individually try here, there,
and everywhere, with the inevitable result that some
hound or another hits the missing line, speaks to it,
and other hounds, galloping up, do likewise. Then
they are away as brisk as ever ; there is no sitting
down and waiting about for assistance." As a matter
of fairness, I must state that all owners of Welsh
hounds do not speak in a similar strain. A well
known master, who owns a few couples, says that
where " there is one good hound there are fifty bad
ones — noisy, riotous, ugly, ill-conditioned brutes," and
this he ascribes to in-breeding. Most of the finest
hounds have, he says, degenerated in the matter of
bone and substance, and after three seasons' work

184 Modern Dogs.

they are inclined to hang on the line of a fox and
become noisy. The latter fault he finds not only with
the pure Welsh hound, but with the foxhound cross.

Some time ago a hunting correspondent in the
Field took exception to some Welsh or half bred
Welsh hounds he saw, accusing them of '' babbling"
and other heinous offences. They were not, how-
ever, long without having their cause thoroughly
championed by those who knew a great deal more
about hounds than did the fault finding writer in the
first instance. I do not think I can do better than
reproduce the letters of, at any rate, the two writers
who first came to the rescue of the strangely
vilified hounds.

" Linehunter " wrote: '' I venture to think that
your correspondent is not in possession of sufficient
data regarding the Welsh foxhound to warrant the
conclusion he appears, judging from his letter, to
have arrived at. He speaks of the Welsh hound as
being so ' shy ' as to require to be ' coaxed over a
road if horses are standing in it.' He also describes
him as being so free with his tongue as to throw
it continually ' when casting for the line.' Further
he asserts that he will not ' stand the whip.'

'' With regard to shyness, it is quite possible to
find some trencher-fed packs, many of whose
members would trot off home if they had a severe

Welsh Hounds, 185

cut with a thong, the reason really being that such
packs have next to no kennel discipline ; and, when
collected together for a day's sport, extremely resent
chastisement for hare or rabbit hunting, and accord-
ingly go home to Molly the milkmaid, or whoever
has been the best friend of their infancy, for comfort
to their wounded feelings. I have occasionally seen
a hound go home in this way, but very seldom. In
all my experience of Welsh and Welsh crossed
hounds, I have never seen such an occurrence as
' coaxing hounds across a road ' because they were
in abject fear of horses standing in it. Occasionally
a puppy or two may not relish a crowd of horses,
but, ' given a decent scent,' as the venerable
master of the Llangibby observed to me, ' they
would go through a regiment of soldiers.'

" Such shyness as I have noticed in Welsh or
crossed Welsh hounds has been due rather to defect
of discipline than to defect of character. If a hound
be kept at a farm and only brought to kennel for
hunting he will not stand the amount of whip and
rating that a kennelled hound will readily endure.
The master of the Llangibby, Mr. John Lawrence,
whose unrivalled experience of Welsh hounds entitles
his opinion to the greatest consideration, assures me
that he considers the charge of shyness as against
the Welsh hounds devoid of all foundation.

1 86 Modern Dogs.

*' There is a point in their character that I must
not fail to notice, and that is their curious and sturdy
independence. Doubtless many hound men would
dislike this trait extremely. We do not. We
cherish it as most precious, a quality second to none
in the animal's composition. Without it we should
not kill half the wild stout foxes that we do. I do
not know that I can explain this quality better than
in the words of a gentleman who saw the Llangibby
account for a fox in a difficult country, and said,
' Lawrence, your hounds don't hunt like hounds, but
just as if they were wild dogs.' This conveys my
meaning. They hunt as a wild animal pursues his
prey, to kill and have its blood, paying as much
attention to the game they have in hand and as little
to their huntsman as they conveniently can. At a
check, when an unjumpable ravine or a dingle that
must be circumvented intervenes between them and
their huntsman, you do not see them standing still
shaking their sterns, and looking wistfully for their
human friends to come and tell them where to try.
No ; they spread here and there, all over the place,
busy as spaniels, crossing and traversing, till
presently one hits it off, and away they go to cry.
This very independent nature of theirs makes them
a trifle more headstrong in their work than some
men might like. For instance, you have to stop

Welsh Hounds. i8'

them about six times before you can get them off a
fox's line, and they will break away and rush at a
covert through all the whips that ever rode and
holloaed. But did not Whyte Melville write of his
typical hound that

Rating and whipcord he treated with scorn ?

Independent, wilful, determined they are, and not
the sort to be ' tufters ' staghunting, and stand still
politely at the crack of a thong. Shy they are not.
If shyness were one of their weak points, would they
stand the crowds out otter hunting, or would those
two bitches by Llangibby Danger and Sultan, to
borrow ' Brooksby's ' words, ' in fair weather and
foul, on a cold scent or a hot one,' have gone to the
front with the Pytchley ? No, they would have
come home post haste to Wales to recount how
those terrible ' fields ' of the shires rode over their
sensitive sterns.

" And now as to their babbling when casting for a
line. I think I speak correctly when I say that this
fault is rare. I have often seen Welsh hounds mad
to begin work, hardly restrained by the whips,
throwing their tongues all the way from the meet
to the first draw. Allowed to go, I have often seen
them rush with a crash of music, at the fence of the
covert. Once inside, silence reigns until one of

1 88 Modern Dogs.

them crosses the drag. Let us have a clear
understanding as to the difference between speaking
on a drag and babbling. The Llangibby master
desires me to say that any hound that threw his
tongue while casting for a line would cease to be a
member of his establishment, for that, in his opinion
no fault could be worse. Speaking to a drag is an
entirely different thing. This the Welsh hounds do,
and, in fact, often hunt the drag of a fox for a
considerable distance, with abundance of music, up
to where he is lying.

" The practice in vogue years ago was to drav/ a
mountain side or other likely ground very early in
the morning, and allow hounds to follow the steps a
fox had taken in the night until he was unkennelled.
I have heard old sportsmen say that this drag work
was the prettiest part of the day's hunting.

" Nowadays, when hounds meet at ten or eleven
o'clock, and when foxes are far more abundant than
they used to be, the drag-hunting system is not
often tried. Nevertheless, it has been quite common
in recent years, and fairly late in the morning, to
hear such hounds as old Llangibby Wiseman and
Mr. Blandy Jenkins's Charmer, or the present
Llangibby Danger, speaking to the line of a last
night's fox, and their bell-toned comrades joining in
one after another, until a crash of voices, hoarse and

Welsh Hounds. 189

heavy, long-drawn and deep, shorter and higher
pitched, where EngHsh ancestry comes in to modify,
proclaims that an old traveller is on foot to try
conclusions with the relentless foes, ' the yell of
whose war cry is borne on the breeze.'

'' But let all houndmen interested in my favourites
take notice that they are a dying race, as every year
passes fewer in number, more and more crossed with
English strains. Soon they will be ' improved off
the face of earth,' unless more lovers of such
antiquities are found. The policy of crossing with
English blood has been admirable up to a certain
point ; but the difficulty now is to find a real Welsh
hound to maintain the balance of qualities. They
are nearly all half, quarter, and eighth bred. Never-
theless, there is sufficient of the old-fashioned blood
in some South Wales kennels to preserve the old
reds and grizzles well into the next century, if some-
one would stick to breeding them without further
admixture of English blood."

Another correspondent, signing himself '^ Welsh-
man," wrote : '' I am quite ready to admit that some
people may have noticed peculiarities in the Welsh
hound, such as ' speaking to a drag,' which must
have astonished them considerably. In days gone
by, when hounds were kept in Wales (as they are
now in some of the more mountainous and unride-

90 Modern Dogs.

able parts) for the sake of destroying foxes, and
foxes were scarce and very hard to find, this power
of ' owning to the drag ' of a fox was most essential,
and I have not the slightest doubt that it was one of
the most valued and chief characteristics of the old
Welsh foxhound. Now things are changed, and
there are very few packs in Wales where the Welsh
hound has not been crossed with the English, and
consequently their ' cry ' has considerably diminished
(in fact, it must have been with one of the few
remaining pure, or nearly pure, Welsh packs that
Lord Willoughby, who had written to the Field
on the subject, can have noticed hounds speaking
to a drag), and I think that so far as ' speaking to a
drag,' or * throwing their tongue when being cast '
(this must be wrong at any time), is concerned, the
loss is a step gained in the right direction ; but here
I must stop and claim, for the cross-bred Welsh
hound, hunting powers superior to the best bred
hounds in England.

" With regard to their showing symptoms of
' shyness,' I do not think it is a general trait in
their character, but they would be likely to appear
so, unless entered amongst large fields of horse-
men, but this would apply to all hounds equally.
Your correspondent does not state what other
' disadvantages ' they may have, but goes on to say

Welsh Hounds. 191

that ' the Warwickshire hounds when drafted into
Wales develop all, or many, of the good qualities of
steadiness and staunchness of the Welsh hound.'
This is a sweeping assertion, and, if true, would
(unless he claims for the Warwickshire hounds
exceptional hunting qualities denied to other English
packs) have caused the Welsh foxhound to have
become extinct long ago, as there can be no doubt
that, in other respects than hunting qualities, the
English hound holds the field. As a matter of fact,
I have heard from those who ought to be able to
give a practical opinion {i,e., those who have entered
the two sorts side by side in the same entry) that
the only advantages the English hound has over the
Welsh are looks and stoutness, and perhaps some
would add steadiness from riot during their first
season.

" There can be no doubt that the English
hounds have for generations been fairly tried in many
Welsh packs, and, with the exception of the above
named qualities, they have been found wanting ;
whilst, on the other hand, I have never heard an
instance where the cross-bred hound (for I do not
believe in the pure-bred Welsh hound in any country
except where riding to hounds is impossible) has
been fairly tried and found wanting in England. If
the English huntsmen are certain that the hunting

192 Modern Dogs.

qualities of their hounds cannot be benefited by the
cross, their reluctance to try it is intelligible, for
most assuredly the Welsh blood will not improve the
appearance of their packs ; but can they be thus
sure without a fair trial ? I think not."

About the same time, '' Cymru Bach," who also
thoroughly understood what he was writing about,
said : "As a Welshman who has hunted Welsh
hounds all the year round for some fifteen years,
the epitaph on the tomb of my father's old hunts-
man, containing the following doggerel, defines the
various sports : —

Here lies old Rice, a huntsman nice,

Who cares for neither fox, hare, or otter ;

His hounds he'd feed whene'er they'd need.
With horseflesh from the slaughter.

And he hunted all in their turn, with an occasional
moonlight diversion after a badger. . . . Were
I still hunting in Wales I would have none other
than Welsh hounds, considering them to be more
suitable to the country than the English, which,
from high breeding, high feeding, or continual
lifting to get out of the way of the modern
steeplechaser, have not such good noses as the
Welsh hounds. In England I should be very glad
to see a judicious cross to help to remedy this
serious defect ; but this will never be as long as

Welsh Hounds. 193

there are hound shows, and hard riders on blood
horses ; you cannot cross a Welsh hound (rough)
with an English hound (smooth) to make a picture.
The Welsh hound is a more determined worker,
which remark will also apply to hounds in the moun-
tainous countries of the north of England, such as
Cumberland ; both parts of the country claiming
that they can hunt a fox until darkness, when a peg
has been put in the ground where they have been
called off, and the hounds taken to the spot early
next morning again to continue the run. I am
writing of some thirty years ago, when daybreak
was the time for the meet, which is not the case in
these indulgent days. The W^elsh hound is
especially a good hunter along a road, over a plough,
and even on heavy snow\ I have had some really
good hare hunting on the mountains. The Welsh
hound has plenty of music, which is very cheery,
and essential in hilly and woodland countries, and
without which the hounds would often be lost for the
remainder of the day. The Welsh hound may be
more shy, when brought into England, than the
English hound, which might be accounted for thus :
In Wales the fields are small, counted by their tens,
while in England they are counted by their scores.
At home I do not consider it has this fault. The
Welsh hound is not so fast as the English hound,

O

94 Modern Dogs.

because, if with all its music, speed were added in
such a country, the fields would never see or hear
any more of the pack until it had found its way
back to the kennels during the following week pro-
bably.

''I cannot agree that the Welsh hound takes more
whip, that is in cases where discipline is taught in
the kennels, on the saaviter in modo et fortiter in re
principle. As an all-round worker the Welsh
hound is certainly bad to beat. All my lot, princi-
pally wire-haired, were very good on an otter, and
after Christmas, with the assistance of a few old
foxhounds as finders, were very steady on our moun-
tain foxes ; and many a badger have they accounted
for on our moonlight excursions. Hares were
supposed to be their legitimate game, and we could
kill plenty, with often a straight-necked one going
over the hills and far away, as if a fox were in front
of hounds. At this sport I never lifted them, giving
wily puss every chance for her life. I remember
on one occasion suddenly losing our hare on an
open hill, and trying round and round to put her up
again ; she had doubled back, and at last catching
sight of her squatting in a deep wheel rut nearly
covered over with water ; hounds must have walked
over her several times. I took them to the spot over
and over again, before they got her up of her own

Welsh Hounds. 195

accord ; needless to say she ran only a very short
distance, being stiff and chilled, before thev were
rewarded with their well-earned whoo-whoop and a
taste of blood. I consider the Welsh hound the
best for Wales, the English hound for England ; the
styles of hunting, owing to the natural as w^ell as
the other requirements of the two countries, more
especially in the present day, being so vastly
different.

'' During the past fifty years English hounds
(smooth coated) have been extensively used in
Wales, and, such being the case, the cross that is
now being ' tried so successfully ' should not be
called a cross with the Welsh hound, but rather with
the hound from Wales, virtually an English hound,
which has undoubtedly increased its scenting
qualities from such cross, the colder hunting country
and the lesser amount of lifting. I think there are
very few cases where English masters of hounds
have crossed with the original rough Welsh hound —
in fact, there are very few in the Welsh packs. In
the Radnorshire and West Herefordshire, which Col.
Robert Price, a late master, had hunted for more
than five-and-twenty years, there were several of the
old wire-haired Welsh hounds, which he always
valued at their weight in gold ; but he was compelled
to go with the times, and get a strain of English

O 2

196 Modern Dogs,

blood for his flying Herefordshire country, where
horses and men are faster than those over the Welsh
hills, and where hounds must be got out of their
way."

Mr. P. J. Savile Foljambe wrote that in 1871 he
purchased, at Lord Wemyss's sale, three unentered
bitches, by Lord Queensberry's Talisman, a hound
with a good deal of Welsh blood in his veins. Two
of these bitches were most determined hard runners,
with plenty of tongue, but not too much of it. The
third had the best nose over dry or rough fallows of
anything in the kennel. She was, he believed, the
best all-round foxhound he ever had, and a capital
fox finder. Three or four of the litter, which Mr.
Foljambe did not take, were of the colour of blood-
hounds.

I think that a capital case in favour of the Welsh
hound has been made out, and one has yet to find
where the cross, when properly done, has not been
found useful in its introduction with the modern
foxhound. To hunt the otter, the Welsh hound, in
the state as pure as it can be obtained now, is said
to be harder than the ordinary otter hound, and his
close, hard coat sooner dries than the longer and
often softer one of the hound so common in the
north of England. There appears to be two types of
the Welsh hound nowadays, whatever was the case

Welsh Hounds. 197

formerly, and there is quite as much difference
between Landmark and Lively — portraits of which
head this article — as there is between a foxhound of
24 inches and a harrier of 18 inches. The descrip-
tion of them, as given on another page, is that of
the Welsh hound as he ought to be, and this chapter
cannot better be concluded than in the words of an
English M.F.H., who, with considerable experience
of the Welsh cross, wrote : '' It is probably needless
to say that, if a master of hounds wants to show at
Peterborough, or is very particular about the looks
of his pack, he must have nothing to do with the
Welsh cross. I do not know anything about pure
Welsh hounds, but this makes the third season in
which I have hunted som.e hounds with a Welsh
cross in them. The two disadvantages of the cross
seem to me to be appearance and the difficulty of
breaking these hounds from riot. They require a
great deal more whip than English hounds, and it
takes far more trouble to get them steady. The
advantages appear to be these : They enter quicker
than English hounds ; they hunt better by them-
selves, and persevere more when their huntsman
cannot get to them ; they have more tongue, and, I
am inclined to think, rather better noses. I have
never had one of these hounds which babbled, or
threw its tongue when going into covert, and I have

198 Modern Dogs.

never seen any sign of their being afraid of coming
through horses."

Allusion has been made to the special faculty the
Welsh hound is said to possess in hunting the drag
or '' quest," i.e., in striking the scent of a fox where
he has been on the prowl over night or early
morning, and slowly and carefully making it out
until he is unkennelled. This hunting the '' quest "
is not entirely confined to Welsh hounds and to
Wales ; for it is still the custom with such packs as
the UUeswater, the Coniston, the Eskdale (Cumber-
land), and perhaps of some others which meet in
the North of England. In my early days most
north country harriers adopted a similar method,
and, meeting at eight o'clock in the morning, there
was always some pretty questing and hunting the
" drag " before puss was " see-hoed " away from her
form in the stubble or in the hedge bottom. In
such cases there is no danger of hounds being
ridden over, and it is a custom which must certainly
improve the scenting capabilities of hounds. 1
fancy it is in the latter particular that our wiry-
haired Welshman has been oftenest found useful
when mated with the foxhound, which, however
perfect he is said to be, can, like anything else in
this world of ours, be improved and made even
'' more perfect."

CHAPTER \M I I .

THE DEERHOUND.

Failing any further information on the subject
than we at present possess, it will always be a moot
point whether the hounds used for Queen Elizabeth's
delectation at Cowdray Park, in 1595, that "pulled
down sixteen bucks in a laund," were ordinary
greyhounds or Scottish deerhounds. The latter
were likely enough to be fashionable animals at the
close of the sixteenth century, for they had already
been described by Hector Boece, in his History of
Scotland, printed in France 1526-7, which by royal
command was translated into English in 1531.
Thirty years later, Gesner, in his '' General History
of Quadrupeds," gives an illustration of three
" Scottish dogs," one of them answering to our
modern deerhound in general appearance. The
drawing for this was supplied by Henry St. Clair.
Dean of Glasgow at that time, whose family kept
the breed for very many years, an interesting story
in connection therewith being told on another page.

200 Modern Dogs.

Good Queen Bess was fond of her dogs and the
sport they showed, and there is nothing unreason-
able In supposing that those provided for the
purpose above-mentioned In Cowdray Park were In
reaHty deerhounds. However, whether my supposi-
tion be correct or otherwise, there Is no gainsaying
the fact that this mention in the Scottish history
is the eadlest to be met with where the deerhound
is actually alluded to.

That he was highly valued by the clans or chief-
tains of his native country may be judged from the
following pretty story told by Boece. On one
occasion many of the PIctish nobility repaired to
Craithlint, to meet the King of Scots to hunt
and make merry with him, where they found the
Scottish dogs far excelled their own in " fair-
ness, swiftness, and hardness, and also in long
standing up and holding out." The Scottish
lords gave their guests both dogs and bitches
of their best strains ; but they, not contented,
stole one, belonging to the king, from his keeper;
and this the most esteemed hound in the lot. The
master of the leash being informed of the robbery,
pursuit was taken after the thievish Picts, who, being
overtaken, refused to give up the royal favourite, and
in the end slew the master of the leash with their
spears. Then the Scots mustered a stronger force,

The Deerhound. 20

including those who had been engaged in hunting,
and they fell upon the Picts. A terrible struggle
took place, one hundred of the Picts were slain and
" threescore gentlemen " on the other side, besides a
great number of commoners. The latter, poor
fellows, not being deemed worthy of numeration in
those bloodthirsty times, and, so long as the hound
was recovered, little thought would be given to the
dead " commoners " w'ho fought for its possession.
Moreover, it w^as stated few of the combatants
knew w^hat they had been fighting about.

Another interesting story is that relating to the
family of St. Clair. King Robert Bruce, in following
the chase upon the Pentland Hills, had often started
a " white faunch deer," w^hich always escaped from
his hounds. He asked his nobles if any of them
possessed dogs that they thought might prove more
successful. Naturally, there w^as no one there so
bold as to affirm his hounds better than those of the
sovereign, until Sir William St. Clair came forward.
He would wager his head that his two favourite
hounds, "Help" and "Hold," would kill the deer
before she could cross the March burn. Bruce,
evidently of a sporting turn, at once wagered the
Forest of Pentland Moor, to the head of the bold
Sir William, against the accomplishment of the feat.
The deer was roused by the slow, or drag hounds,

202 Modern Dogs.

and St. Clair, in a suitable place, uncoupled his
favourites in sight of the flying hind. St. Clair
followed on horseback, and as the deer reached the
middle of the brook, he in despair, believing his
wager already lost, and his life as good as gone,
leaped from his horse. At this critical moment,
"Hold" stopped her quarry in the brook, and
" Help " coming up, the deer was turned, and in the
end killed within the stipulated boundary. The
king, not far behind, was soon on the scene, and,
embracing his subject, " bestowed on him the lands
of Kirton, Logan House, Earncraig, &c., in free
forestrie." Scrope says the tomb of this Sir William
St. Clair, on which he appears sculptured in armour,
with a greyhound (deerhound) at his feet, is still to
be seen in Rosslyn Chapel.

A common but erroneous idea has prevailed, that
the Irish wolfhound and the Scottish deerhound
were identical, and, indeed, that the latter was merely
an ordinary greyhound, with a rough, hard coat, pro-
duced by beneficent Nature to protect a delicate
dog against the rigours of a northern climate.

About the end of the sixteenth century (1591), we
are told that the Earl of Mar had large numbers of
deerhounds, but at the same period the Duke of
Buckingham had great difficulty in obtaining Irish
wolf dogs, a few couples of which he wished to

The Deerhound. 203

present to " divers princes and other nobies." So
the Irish dog was even then becoming extinct, but
the Scottish one survives to the present day, and is
now more popular and numerous than at any previous
period of his existence. Still, judging from what
Pennant, writing in 1769, says, the deerhound must,
about his time, have been rare in certain districts, for
he says, " he saw at Gordon Castle a true Highland
greyhound, which has become very scarce. It was
of large size, strong, deep chested, and covered with
very long and rough hair. This kind was in great
vogue in former days, and used in vast numbers at
the magnificent stag chases by powerful chieftains. '*
Even the Kings of Scotland were wont to command
those of their subjects who had good hounds to bring
them together in order that they should have a
suitable hunt, and their commands were freely
responded to by the presence of the Earls of Argyle,
Huntly, Athol, and others.

Towards the close of the past century and early in
the present one the deerhound was by no means so
uncommon in various parts of Scotland as some
have inferred. A good many were scattered up and
down in various holdings, especially in the western
portions of the Highlands, extending to the Hebrides.
The smaller farmers kept one or two, and so did
many of the shepherds, who were never loth to

204 Modern Dogs.

chase and kill a deer, and when a stag, or even hind,
was not to be had, the deerhound was trained to
hunt and kill foxes and otters, and other small game
or vermin. After the rebellion of 1745, a good deal
of uneasiness and unpleasantness remained, and the
animosity caused thereby was a long time in being
allayed. In many instances the Highland residences
were neglected, their owners going to reside on the
Continent or elsewhere. Their hounds were, there-
fore, spread abroad in out-of-the-way places, and
thus perhaps came the impression conveyed by
Pennant of their scarcity. Mr. George Cupples
("Scotch Deerhounds and their Masters") tells us
the lowlier families used these hounds in competing
against each other, and matches between certain
celebrated hounds in adjoining districts were fre-
quent. No doubt the deerhound, under such
surroundings, would improve, especially as he was,
to a certain extent, more of a companion than
when kept in a large kennel.

In Johnson's tour to the Hebrides in 1773, Boswell
makes several allusions to the dogs and hounds.
He says : " In the Isle of Sky is a race of brindled
greyhounds larger and stronger than those with which
we course hares, and these are the only dogs used

by them (the islanders) for the chase

Th(^ deer are not driven with horns and hounds.

The Deerhound. 205

A sportsman with a gun in his hand watches
the animal, and when he has wounded him traces
him by the blood." The same quaint volume
says that on one occasion the young laird of Coll
"was sporting in the mountains of Sky, and when
weary with following his game repaired to Talisker.
At night he missed one of his dogs, and when he
went to seek for him in the morning found two eagles
feeding on his carcase." Scottish hounds were by
no means uncommon then in the Hebrides and on
the western coast, where considerable pains were
taken to preserve the strain in its purity and
strength, and no doubt, in a great measure, we are
indebted to these smaller farmers for preserving a
fine variety of the canine race when it was within
quite an easy distance of almost entire extinction.
It is possible that, had the Irish wolfhound been
favoured in a similar manner, and obtained equally
warm admirers, there would have been no occasion
for the resuscitation of the breed by the introduction
of the deerhound and German boarhound cross.

One or two authors have assumed that the
modern deerhound is a cross between the foxhound
and the greyhound, or between the bloodhound and
the greyhound, but this I consider quite incorrect, nor
in my researches have I been able to come across
anything likely to sustain such a statement. If the

!o6 Modern Dogs.

deerhound is to be found in greater numbers now
than previously, it is only because more attention is
paid to his breeding, and because the many strains
that a hundred years and more ago were in the out
of the way places of the Highlands have, by better
communication, been brought within the radius of
canine admirers. Scrope, in his "Deer Stalking,"
published in 1838, has naturally much to write about
the deerhound. He it is recommends the fox-
hound and greyhound cross, and says that the
celebrated sportsman Glengarry crossed occasionally
with bloodhounds, still Macneill of Colonsay, who
wrote the article in " Days of Deerstalking," that
deals mostly with those hounds, confesses that there
were still pure deerhounds to be found w^hen he
states them to be very scarce at the time he wrote.
Maybe they were scarce, but not sufficiently so as
to induce people to attempt to reproduce them by
such an unhallowed alliance, and perhaps, as stated
above, they were not quite so scarce as he imagined.
In addition to the hounds kept by the farmers and
shepherds. Lord Seaforth had a large kennel, and
the strains of the MacDonnels of Invergary House,
of Cluny Macpherson, of Colonel Mitchell Strath-
maspie, of the Lochiels in Lochaber, one of whose
hounds was said to have killed the last wolf in
Scotland ; of the Dukes of Gordon, of the

The Deerhound. 207

McKenzies, Macraes, and Macleods, were all of
considerable reputation. The pedigrees were care-
fully guarded, and it is said that Dr. Ross, parish
priest at Kilmonivaig, was prouder of the blood of
some of his hounds, which were said to be of a pure
and rare strain originally possessed by the Duke of
Gordon, than he was of his own ancestry, traceable
to the Earls of Ross.

A favourite sporting author from my earliest boy-
hood days has been Charles St. John, who, in
his " Highland Sports," writes so charmingly and
naturally of all he saw and shot and caught during his
excursions. He wrote but eight years after Scrope,
still he says that the breed of deerhounds which
'' had nearly become extinct, or, at any rate, was very
rare a few years ago, has now become comparatively
plentiful in all the Highland districts, owing to the
increased extent of the preserved forests and the
trouble taken by different proprietors and masters of
mountain shootings, who have collected and bred
this noble race of dogs regardless of expense and
difficulty." Not a word about Macneill's crosses or
of those of Glengarry ; and I am happy in the belief
that our present race of deerhounds does not contain
the slightest taint of bloodhound or foxhound blood.
If it did, surely the black and tan colour and the
greyhound markings would continually be appearing.

2o8 Modern Dogs.

I have yet to see a black and tan deerhound, or one
similar to a foxhound in hue.

What a striking and life-like picture St. John
draws of Malcolm : '' as fine a looking lad, of thirty-
five, as ever stepped on heather," and of his two
hounds. Bran and Oscar, whose descriptions tally
with what I shall later on give to be those of a deer-
hound. There was no bloodhound or foxhound stain
in Bran and Oscar, and well might such handsome,
useful, faithful creatures, or similar ones, be worth
the ;^5o a-piece they would have brought even forty-
five years ago.

Since St. John wrote, many deer forests have been
broken up into smaller holdings, and to this, perhaps,
may be attributed the fact that "coursing deer"
is not followed so much as in his time. There
are still a few forests in which a deerhound may be
taken out to assist at the termination of a stalk ; but
as the red deer is now mostly killed in " drives," a
sort of battue in which the shooter can sit at ease
until the deer come along, to be shot in a somewhat
ignominious manner, the deerhound as such is little
used. A stalker will find one useful at times, but
even he is supplied with such a perfect rifle, so
admirably sighted, and he is such a good shot that
the stag seldom requires more than the hard bullet
to kill him almost dead upon the spot.

The Deerhound. 209

Some few years ago the Earl of Tankerville, in
a series of articles he wrote for the Field, made
allusion to the deerhound. He said many that he
saw "were beautiful, swift, and powerful. Some are
able to pull down a stag single handed, but the
bravest always gets killed in the end. The pure
breed have keen noses as well as speed, and will
follow the slot of a wounded deer perseveringly if
they find blood. The most valued are not neces-
sarily the most savage, for the latter (the reckless
ones) go in and get killed, whilst the more wary, who
have taken the hint after a pug or tw^o, are equally
enduring, and will hold their bay for any indefinite
time, which is a merit of the first importance."

Lord Tankerville continues, that he was informed
of a remarkable deerhound, belonging to a poacher in
Badenoch, that never missed a deer. In due course
he obtained the hound, and called it Bran. Later
on it saved the life of a keeper from the furious
attack of one of the wild bulls of Chillingham. After
being delivered to his new home, Bran was placed in
the kennel, and it was thought that the pallisades
with which it was surrounded were sufficiently high to
prevent any dog getting over them. However, Bran
did succeed in scaling them, and Lord Tankerville,
having paid his money and lost his dog, was con-
siderably upset, and never thought of seeing the

P

2IO

Modern Dogs.

hound again. However, in a few days the
''poacher" brought back the errant Bran, who
had, in fact, reached his old home before his master,
who was considerably astonished, on reaching his
cottage, to see his old companion rush forward
to meet him. The distance between Chillingham
and the man's cottage was about seventy miles,
and to take the shortest route, which Bran no
doubt did or he would have caught his master on
the road, he must have swum Loch Ericht.

Naturally modern dog shows have done much to
re-popularise the deerhound, now that he is so
seldom required for that purpose for which, shall I
say, nature first intended him. How Httle he is used
in deer stalking may be surmised by a list that
appears in Mr. Weston Bell's monograph of the
variety (1892). Here some fifty-eight forests are
named, and in but about seven of them is the deer-
hound kept. The collie is now more frequently
trained and used to track the wounded stag, because
he works more slowly, and is therefore less liable to
unduly scare and alarm the deer. From the earliest
institution of dog shows, classes have been pro-
vided for the deerhound, and these have resulted
in a number of excellent animals being benched of
a uniformity and quality that our excellent friend
Charles St. John would scarcely have thought

The Deerhound. 21

possible, and Archibald Macneill would have deemed
incomprehensible.

There is no handsomer dog than the deerhound —
he has the elegance of shape, the light, airy appear-
ance of the greyhound, a hard, crisp, and picturesque
jacket, either of fawn or grey brindle, an eye as
bright as that of the gazelle, but loving, still sharp
and intelligent ; and a good specimen has not a bad
feature about him. His disposition is of the best ; he
is sensible and kindly ; and friends of mine to whom
I gave a puppy, on its death refused to be consoled
by any other dog than one of the same variety.

" It's a blooming lurcher," is the yokel's idea of a
deerhound, an opinion in which the cockney corner
man evidently coincides. Either will pass a rude
remark about your aristocratic canine companion.
The Scotsman away from home, be he out at
elbows, or otherwise, pays compliments to the dog.
If his shoes are down at the heels, the chances are
he is the sole survival of a chieftain of some great
clan, and, on the strength of your possession of one of
his native quadrupeds, will seek to allay his thirst, or
penchant for Glenlivat, at your expense. Still, I do
not fancy that the deerhound is quite so popular as
a companion over the border as he is on this side the
border. Englishmen have paid greater attention to
his breeding ; the honours to be gained at shows

P 2

212 Modern Dogs.

make it worth while their doing so ; and, being more
difficult to rear than most other dogs, he requires
greater care in bringing up, and, if not allowed con-
tinual exercise, will become crooked on his fore legs,
and out at the elbows — ungainly enough in little
dogs, but a terrible eyesore in big ones. They will
not rear well in a kennel.

It has been said the deerhound is uncertain in his
temper with children ; in some cases this may be so,
but not in all. Again, it has been stated that when
a puppy he will chase anything that moves in front
of him — sheep, poultry, &c. What puppy will not?
All young dogs are alike in this particular, and if not
carefully watched will, like your favourite little boy or
girl, be for ever getting into mischief.

Deerhounds, like all dogs, require careful early
training, and when once broken off sheep and other
" small deer," are as safe and reliable in the fields as
any other of the canine race. As a fact, I believe
that both pointers and setters, greyhounds, and even
the collie himself, is as '' fond of mutton " as the
often maligned dog about which this article is being
written. Many dogs have been spoiled by their
manners being neglected during their puppyhood ;
no doubt others will be so in the future, and it is a
pity that one so docile, handsome, sagacious, and
aristocratic as the deerhound, should obtain an evil

The Deerhound. 213

name through the negHgence or over-indulgence of
its owner.

As already stated, dog shows have been of infinite
advantage in raising the deerhound to its present
popularity, though prior to this epoch, what Sir
Walter Scott writes of his Maida and other favourite
hounds, with Landseer's fine paintings, had made
the general pubHc anxious to see such handsome
hounds in the flesh. The first show at Birmingham,
in i860, provided two classes for them, but there
were few entries, and both leading prizes were taken
by Lieut. -Colonel Inge, of Thorpe, near Tamworth,
who, at that time, possessed a capital strain of deer-
hounds. Later on the numbers increased, and in
1862 there were ten competitors in the dog class,
but they were a mixed lot, though the winner, called
Alder, bred by Sir John Macneil, was a splendid
specimen, which again took leading honours two
years later. The succeeding show had, for some
reason or other, a capital entry, sixteen in the one
class, six in the other, and these included several
dogs from the Highlands, one of the latter, called
Oscar, now beating Alder, who looked old and worn,
and was past his best.

About this period Lord Henry Bentinck took great
pride in his deerhounds, and kept a fine kennel of
them. In 1870 they were sold by auction in

214 Modern Dogs.

McDowell's rooms, Edinburgh, when sixteen hounds
realised 296/. 16^. The highest figures were 50
guineas for the thirteen-year-old Factor, 40 guineas
for Elshee, 30 guineas for Fury, the others bringing
30, 26, 20, and 19 guineas respectively. Mr.
McKenzie, Ross-shire; Mr. J. Wright, Yeldersby
House, Derby; Mr. Menzies, Chesthill ; Mr. Grant,
Glenmorriston ; Colonel Campbell of Monzie ; Mr.
Wright-Omaston ; Lord Boswell ; Mr. W. Gordon,
Guardbridge, Fifeshire ; Lord Bredalbane ; the Duke
of Sutherland ; Mr. Spencer Lucy ; Mr. George
Cupples, author of "Scotch Deerhounds and their
Masters " ; and Dr. Hadden, have at one time or
another had good deerhounds in their kennels, as
well as many others of the older Scottish families.
The Dukes of Richmond and Gordon for generations
kept a fine kennel of deerhounds, and the remnants
thereof, which included a couple or two of grand old
hounds, were brought from the Highlands to Ald-
ridge's in London, where they were sold by auction
in 1895, realising sorry prices, varying only from
one guinea to six guineas each.

In 1869 we find a Cameron of Lochiel sending
to Curzon Hall and taking a first prize with Torum,
who afterwards became the property of Mr. H. C.
Musters. Torum had been sent from the Highlands
because he was too big for work, and Mr. Donald

The Deerhound. 215

Cameron was surprised at his winning, for his hound
stood 32in. in height, and w^eighed i2olb. The
following year he sent Pirate and Shellock,
brother and sister to Torum, and both much better
than he in symmetry as well as in work. However,
size again told, as it so often does now, and
Torum won once more, with Pirate second, whilst
the bitch was first in her class. Sir St. George Gore
was a frequent exhibitor, and in 1865 he showed a
deerhound that was almost smooth, a big coarse, ugly
greyhound in appearance, that of course did not take
a prize. Mr. H. C. Musters, Captain Graham, of
Rednock ; Mr. J. H. Beasley, Northampton; Mr.
G. W. Hickman, Birmingham, and a few others who
admired the fine form of the Scotch hound, were
exhibiting about 1870. The following year had Mr.
Dawes' Warrior, who won so many prizes up and
down the country, mostly in variety classes. How-
ever, prior to him came one or two exceptionally
good hounds, Mr. Beasley's bitch Countess especially
so ; nor must Mr. Hickman's excellent dog Morni
be omitted, for he was not only good to look at, but
could boast a lineage which contained some of the
bluest blood of the day. Indeed, it was said by
many good judges that Morni was far ahead of any
deerhound they ever saw, and that, even with the
accident to his stern, which necessitated his retire-

2i6 Modern Dogs.

ment after three years' successes, he was good
enough to beat the best. Another almost perfect
deerhound was Mr. Hickman's Lord of the Isles, of
whom a Cameron of Lochiel said he was beyond
criticism. The head of this splendid hound is
printed on the little pamphlet issued by the Deer-
hound Club, and which contains its rules. Unfortu-
nately Mr. Hickman only obtained one litter of
puppies by him, but of these Fingal was sire of
more good hounds of one uniform type than perhaps
any other dog of the variety who has succeeded
him ; to wit, Enterprise, Earl H., Ensign, Esquire,
Rossie Blake, Brian, Bruar, Beppa, Blue Bonnet,
and some few others.

Lord of the Isles, bred by Mr. H. P. Parkes, in
1875, was a grandson of Morni, and during his show
career was pretty well invincible. Tara, a daughter
of CuchuUin and Morna, all with Morni for their
sire, were '' lions " in their day ; and Mr. Hickman
subsequently owned Barra, Princess Marjorie, and
many more, which were always well able to at any
rate hold their own, at the Birmingham, London,
Warwick, and other large shows where they were
entered. Following a few years later was that fine
old hound Bevis (Mr. Hood Wright's), so sober
and sedate that in his declining years he took
to the stage, and appeared with great success

The Deerhound. 217

at one or two of the Sheffield pantomimes at
Christmas.

There are now, at least a dozen shows held
annually, at which classes are provided for this
variety, and naturally new breeders have sprung
up. Mr. J. Harriott Bell, of Rossie, Perthshire, has
got together a kennel containing a number of
splendid deerhounds (this kennel was originally
established by Mr. E. Weston Bell, whose untimely
death was much regretted) ; and Mr. W. H. Singer,
of Frome, Somerset ; Mr. Walter Evans, Birchfield
Birmingham; Mr. R. H. Wright, Frome; Mr. W.
Gibbons, Stratford-on-Avon ; Mr. A. Maxw^ell, now
of Bedford, formerly of Croft, near Darlington ;
Major Davis, Bath ; Miss Rattray, Swindon ; the
Duchess of Wellington ; Mr. M. Goulter, Hungerford,
Mr. W. C. Grew, Moseley, Birmingham ; and Mr. H.
Rawson, Midlothian, all possess deerhounds of the
highest merit. Perhaps the best of their race
during most recent years have been or are: Sir
Gavin, Fingall II., Earl II., Ensign, Shepherd, Swift,
Enterprise, Royal Lufra (a beautiful headed bitch, for
which excellence she won a special prize at Bath a
few years ago), Rossie Blue Bell, Rossie Blue Bonnet,
Rossie Beppa, Selwood Morven, and Mr. Jenner's
Dinah ; the latter one of the old sort, not too big,
abounding in character, and possessing a charming

2 1 8 Modern Dogs.

look out. And there are many others, ahnost if not
equally good to look at, on the show bench.

The deerhound, in colour, should be either brindled
in various shades, blue, or fawn ; white is detrimental,
though a little on the chest or feet does not matter
very much. Pure white dogs are occasionally found,
but it is not a deerhound colour, any more than it is
that of a collie, though Mr. Morton Campbell, jun.,
of Stracathro, near Brechin, had a white hound
of considerable beauty ; it was obtained from the
Highlands, and its pedigree is unknown. I prefer
the darker shades of colour ; the darker brindles are
very attractive, and, in actual w^ork, it is a colour
that tones well wath the surrounding rocks and dark
heather. The largest and heaviest dogs are not to
be recommended, either for work or otherwise, they
cut themselves on the rocks, and are not nearly so
active and lithe on the rough ground as the lighter
and smaller specimens. The dog should not, at any
rate, be more than about thirty inches at the
shoulder, the bitch from one to two inches less.
One or two specimens have been shown, and won
prizes too, that measured up to thirty-two inches,
and even an inch more, and it is said that Bran,
figured in " Dogs of the British Isles," was thirty-
three inches ! At the Kennel Club's show in
October, 1896, Mr. W. C. Grew show^ed an eighteen

The Deerhound. 219

months puppy called Kelso which measured 32!
Inches in height. This was certainly the best big
deerhound I ever saw, for there was no coarseness
about him, and he was thoroughly symmetrical,
although losing somewhat in character on account
of his rather light coloured eyes. He won all the
prizes he could win, including one given to the best
deerhound in the exhibition.

The following heights and weights of some of the
best deerhounds of the modern standard may be
interesting, and all are excellent specimens in every
way, and perhaps equal to anything that has yet
been seen. Mr. Walter Evan's Fingal II. stands 2g^'
inches at shoulder, and weighs Sylb. ; his Earl II.,
28f inches and 8ilb. ; Duke of Brewood, 30^
inches, weighs 881b. ; and his bitch. Enterprise,
stands 29 inches, and weighs 851b., a big weight for
a bitch. Mr. W. H. Singer's well-known dog, Swift,
is 791b. weight, and 30 inches at the shoulder; and
his bitch. She, weighs 721b., and stands 26-^ inches.

With eyes of sloe,

And ears not low ;

With horse's breast,

And deep in chest ;

And broad in loin,

And strong in groin ;

And nape set far behind the head —

These were the dogs that Fingal bred.

2 20 Modern Dogs.

In general form the deerhound should be like a
greyhound : ears similar, loins likewise, legs and feet
equally good. In his character he differs from the
smooth hound considerably, as he does in coat, which
is hard, crisp, and close, not too long, whilst silkiness
on the top knot, and elsewhere, is not desirable. In
galloping or running he carries his head higher than
a greyhound, nor does he lay himself down so closely
to. his work ; he appears, indeed, to be on the look
out for contingencies, and does not, as a rule, go at
his greatest pace, unless actually required to do so.
He hangs back, as it were — maybe to avoid a
stroke from the stag, or to look out for the proper
place to seize. One hound will seize one part, one
another. '' Bran's point of attack was always at the
shoulder or fore leg, whilst Oscar had a habit of
biting at the hind leg, above the hock, frequently
cutting through the flesh and tendons in an extra-
ordinary manner, and tumbling over the deer
very quickly," says St. John in his '' Highland
Sports."

His endurance is great, his scent keen, and
Ronaldson Macdonnel, of Glengarry, instances one
hound which, held in a leash, followed the track of
a wounded stag, in unfavourable rainy weather, for
three successive days ; then the quarry was killed.
The story goes, that this stag was wounded within

The Deerhound. 221

three miles of Invergarry House, and was traced
that night to the Glenmoriston. At dusk, in the
evening, the stalkers placed a stone on each side of
the last fresh print of his hoof, and another over it ;
and this they did each night following. On the
succeeding morning they removed the upper stone,
when the dog recovered the scent, and the deer was
that day hunted over a great part of the Glenmoriston
ground. On the third day it was retraced on to
Glengarry, where a shot at close quarters brought
the unprecedented drag to a conclusion.

When hunting, the deerhound runs mute, as he
does when coursing, but when the stag is brought
to bay, the hound opens, and by his "baying" or
barking, attracts his master to the spot, where,
maybe, in some pool, with a steep rock at his
back, the noble monarch of the glen bids defiance
to his foes.

In puppyhood, the deerhound is delicate, and
difficult to rear, that scourge known as distemper
carrying him off in large numbers. This is, no
doubt, owing to continued inbreeding, but with our
increasing knowledge of canine ailments, and some
slight introduction of fresh blood, which may
perhaps come through the Irish wolfhound and his
Great Dane cross, the mortality is decreasing.

During 1892 a club to look after the welfare of

2 22 Modern Dogs.

the deerhound was established, and issued the
following description of him :

Head. — The head should be broadest at the ears,
tapering slightly to the eyes, with the muzzle taper-
ing more decidedly to the nose. The muzzle should
be pointed, but the teeth and lips level. The head
should be long, the skull flat, rather than round, with
a very slight rise over the eyes, but with nothing
approaching a stop. The skull should be coated
with moderately long hair, which is softer than the
rest of the coat. The nose should be black (though
in some blue-fawns the colour is blue), and slightly
aquiline. In the lighter-coloured dogs a black
muzzle is preferred. There should be a good
moustache of rather silky hair, and a fair beard.

Ears. — The ears should be set on high, and, in
repose, folded back like the greyhound's, though
raised above the head in excitement without losing
the fold, and even in some cases, semi-erect. A
prick ear is bad. A big thick ear hanging flat to the
head, or heavily coated with long hair, is the worst
of faults. The ear should be soft, glossy, and like a
mouse's coat to the touch, and the smaller it is the
better. It should have no long coat or long fringe,
but there is often a silky, silvery coat on the body of
the ear and the tip. Whatever the general colour,
the ears should be black or dark-coloured.

The Deerhound. 223

Neck and shoulders. — The neck should be long —
that is, of the length that befits the greyhound
character of the dog. An over-long neck is not
necessary nor desirable, for the dog is not required
to stoop to his work like a greyhound, and it must
be remembered that the mane, which every good
specimen should have, detracts from the apparent
length of neck. Moreover, a deerhound requires a
very strong neck to hold a stag. The nape of the
neck should be very prominent where the head is set
on, and the throat should be clean-cut at the angle
and prominent. The shoulders should be well
sloped, the blades well back, and not too much width
between them. Loaded and straight shoulders very
bad faults.

Stern. — Stern should be tolerably long, tapering,
and reaching to within i^in. off the ground, and
about i^in. below the hocks. When the dog is still,
dropped perfectly straight down, or curved. When
in motion it should be curved, when excited in no
case to be lifted out of the line of the back. It
should be well covered with hair, on the inside, thick
and wiry, underside longer, and towards the end a
slight fringe not objectionable. A curl or ring tail
very undesirable.

Eyes. — The eyes should be dark ; generally they
are dark brown or hazel. A very light eye is not

2 24 Modern Dogs,

liked. The eye is moderately full, with a soft look
in repose, but a keen, far-away look when the dog is
roused. The rims of the eyeHds should be black.

Body. — The body and general formation is that of
a greyhound of larger size and bone. Chest deep
rather than broad, but not too narrow and flat-sided.
The loin well arched and drooping to the tail. A
straight back is not desirable, this formation being
unsuitable for going up-hill, and very unsightly.

Legs and feet. — The legs should be broad and
flat, a good broad forearm and elbow being desirable.
Forelegs, of course, as -straight as possible. Feet
close and compact, with well-arched toes. The
hind quarters drooping, and as broad and powerful
as possible, the hips being set wide apart. The
hind legs should be w^ell bent at the stifle, with great
length from the hip to the hock, which should be
broad and flat. Cow hocks, weak pasterns, straight
stifles, and splay feet very bad faults.

Coat. — The hair on the body, neck, and quarters
should be harsh and wiry, and about three or four
inches long ; that on the head, breast, and belly is
much softer. There should be a slight hairy fringe
on the inside of the fore and hind legs, but nothing
approaching "the feather" of a colley. The deer-
hound should be a shaggy dog, but not over-coated.
A woolly coat is bad. Some good strains have a

The Deerhound. 225

slight mixture of silky coat with the hard, which Is
preferable to a woolly coat, but the proper coat Is a
thick, close-lying, ragged coat, harsh or crisp to the
touch.

Colour. — Colour Is much a matter of fancy, but
there is no manner of doubt that the dark blue-grey
is the most preferred. Next comes the darker and
lighter greys or brindles, the darkest being generally
preferred. Yellow and sandy, red or red fawn,
especially with black points, i.e., ears and muzzles,
are also In equal estimation, this being the colour of
the oldest known strains, the McNeil and the Chest-
hill Menzles. White Is condemned by all the old
authorities, but a white chest and white toes, occur-
ring as they do in a great many of the darkest
coloured dogs, are not so greatly objected to, but
the less the better, as the deerhound is a self-
coloured dog. A white blaze on the head, or a
white collar, should entirely disqualify. In other
cases, though passable, yet an attempt should be
made to get rid of white markings. The less white
the better, but a slight white tip to the stern occurs
In the best strains.

Height of dogs. — From 28In. to 3oIn., or even
more If there be symmetry without coarseness, but
which Is rare.

Height of hitches. — From 26In. upwards. There

Q

2 26 Modern Dogs.

can be no objection to a bitch being large, unless
too coarse, as even at her greatest height she does
not approach that of a dog, and, therefore, could
not have been too big for work, as over-big dogs
are. Besides, a big bitch is good for breeding and
keeping up the size.

Weight. — From 851b. to 1051b. in dogs ; from
651b. to 8olb. in bitches.

The club did not issue the numerical value of the
various points, but I should place them as follows :

Value.

Legs and feet 10

Coat 8

Value.

Head and skull 15

Eyes and ears 10

Neck and chest 10

Body, including loins ... 10
Thighs and hocks 12

57

Stern 5

Colour 5

General symmetry. 15

43

Grand Total 100.

CHAPTER IX.

THE GREYHOUND.

Not one of our British dogs has had such justice
done to him by writers on canine matters as the
greyhound. He has always been popular, and, being
probably the oldest of his race, no doubt quite
deserves all that has been said and written of him.
So far back as the second century, A.rian gives us a
long and painstaking work on coursing, which, in
1 83 1 was admirably translated from the original
Greek into English by George Dansey. In 1853
that great authority on the greyhound, '' Stone-
henge," produced his excellent and reliable work,
and I fancy the latter will survive as the best of all
for very many years to come.

Whether, in the first instance, our earliest dogs
hunted by sight or scent I am not going to attempt
to decide here. Both forms of " venerie" may have
been followed at the same period ; the deer and the
hare hunted by sight, the wolf, stag, or other beast,
by scent. The earliest coursers, dating back to

Q 2

2 28 Modern Dogs.

what may be called the uncivilised period of our
history, were assisted by nets, and then by bows
and arrows, in taking the game, for at that period
there were few cultivated stretches of land, free from
forest, of sufficient extent to allow the long courses-
common at the present day. However that may be,
greyhounds pretty much of the shape and form they
are found now were known prior to King Canute's
time, when no one of less degree than a "gentle-
man"— possibly a freeholder — was permitted to keep
greyhounds.

Mr. Gardner Wilkinson, in his great work on
Egypt, gives copies from the Egyptian monuments
of dogs used in coursing being taken to the ground
in slips, and loosened therefrom in the modern man-
ner, and no pains were spared to properly train the
hounds for this sport. Two of these are similar to
our greyhounds, though perhaps shorter on the legs,
two are more like our modern pointer or foxhound,
others resemble a Borzoi or Russian wolfhound,
whilst a fourth type is like a big coarse, smooth-
coated Irish wolfhound. These were the hounds
kept at the time of the Pharoahs. Centuries before
the Christian era Xenophon had used greyhounds for
coursing which had been sent by the Romans from
Britain, and Ovid describes the "greedy Grewnde
coursing the silly hare in fields without covert."

The Greyhound. 229

In the British Museum there is a fine old sculpture
of two greyhounds fondling each other, and this was
taken from the ruins of Antoninus, near Rome. In
Dansey's translation of Arrian there is an excellent
engraving of this beautiful work, and other sculptures
of even an earlier period are to be found, in which
the greyhound type of dog is predominant. Confined
however, to the "gentleman," coursing could not
become very popular, especially when even he ''was
not allowed to take his greyhound within two miles
of a royal forest unless two of its toes were cut off."
Even so late as 1853 ^^ch greyhound had a tax to
pay of 22^. each, whilst other dogs, maybe of equal
value, could be kept at a charge by the State of
from 15^. 4^. to Ss. 2d. each.

However, still keeping to old times, we find our
old sporting sovereign King John, receiving, in
1203, "two leashes of greyhounds," amongst other
valuables, in return for the renewal of a grant to a
certain right, and the same monarch repeatedly took
greyhounds in lieu of money where fines or penalties
had been incurred and forfeitures to the Crown
became due. Two of these are on record, one being
*' five hundred marks, ten horses, and ten leashes of
greyhounds;" the other ''one swift running horse
and six greyhounds." Thus early, we read of a brace
(two) and a leash (three) of greyhounds, when

230 Modern Dogs.

ordinary hounds were known In " couples." It has
been said, though there is no proof in support of the
assertion, that the " Isle of Dogs,'' some four miles
from the city of London, obtained its name from the
fact that certain of our monarchs had kennels of
greyhounds and other dogs there.

In the times of the earlier King Edward, Kent must
have had some notoriety for the excellence of its
greyhounds, for, according to Blount's ''Ancient
Tenures," the land owners in the manor of Setene
(Sittingbourne) were compelled to lend their grey-
hounds, when the King went to Gascony '' so long
as a pair of shoes of ^d. price would last."

The erudite Froissart tells the following story of
Richard II. which, maybe, redounds as little to the
credit of the wretched sovereign as to the dog ; for
the one proved grossly superstitious and the other
exhibited a degree of faithlessness that one does not
expect to find in a hound. The king had a favourite
greyhound called Mithe, his constant attendant, and
so attached to his master that it would follow no one
else. One day Henry, Duke of Lancaster and the
king were talking together, when suddenly Mithe left
his royal master and commenced to fawn upon the
duke, whining and showing such pleasure as he had
never before done to a stranger or even to a guest.
Lancaster expressed his astonishment at the

The Greyhound. 231

behaviour of the greyhound, but the king said,
" Cousin, this bodeth great good for you, as it is
an evil sign for me. That greyhound acknow-
ledgeth you here this day as King of England,
as ye shall be, and I shall be deposed. Mithe
knows this naturally, so take him ; he will follow
you and forsake me." And the story concludes that
ever after the dog forsook the weak and vacillating
Richard II., became the companion of his '' cousin,"
and, in the end, affairs turned out as the king had
prognosticated.

Henry VIII. was fond of coursing, and records are
extant of his losing money therein by bets, which he
made with Sir William Pickering, Lord Rochford,
and others. The Royal coursing meetings some-
times took place in Eltham Park. There appears to
be a peculiar fatality attending these royal attach-
ments to the greyhound; for we have Charles I.
with one as a companion. " Methinks," said he to
Sir Philip Warwick, '* I hear my dog scratching
at the door. Let in Gipsy." Whereupon Sir
Philip, who opened the door and let in the
monarch's favourite, took the boldness to say r
'' Sire, I perceive you love the greyhound better
than you do a spaniel?" "Yes," replied the King,
" for they equally love their masters, and yet the
hound does not flatter them so much." This

232 Modern Dogs

unfortunate monarch met his death on the
scaffold.

But let us leave such a troublous period, and at
once enter upon that epoch in the history of the
greyhound when he was used much in the same
fashion as he is to-day. In Elizabeth's reign the
first rules and regulations as to coursing were drawn
up at the instance of the Duke of Norfolk, and they
are very similar to those of the present day. That
dog which led to the hare, won, if no other points were
made ; the hare had to have twelve score (?) yards
law ; two wrenches stood for one turn ; a go-by was
equal to two turns. If a dog that led and beat his
opponent stood still in the field, and refused to go
further he lost the course ; if, by accident, a dog
was run over in his course, the trial was void, and
he who did the mischief had to make reparation.
There were other regulations likewise, but this
short summary will show how closely they approach
the rules in force at the present time.

In 1776, the Earl of Orford established the
Swaffham (Norfolk) Coursing Club, the earliest of its
kind, and contemporary writers tell us this was the
turning point in the popularity of the sport. In
I 798, the club numbered twenty-four members, there
being one vacancy, and in addition there were the
lady patroness, the Marchioness of Townsend ;

The Greyhound. 233

vice patroness, Countess of Cholmondeley ; assistant
vice patroness, Mrs. Coke, and one honorary member,
the Earl of Montraith. Following Swaffham in 1780
the Ashdown Park Meeting was established by Lord
Craven, Lord Sefton, and Lord Ashbrook, and this
exists at the present time, and is by far the oldest
established coursing meeting we possess. The
Altcar Club, established in 1825, and the Ridgway
Club, in 1828, still amongst the leading meetings
of the year, are well supported, and appear to have
a long and useful existence in front of them.
Swaffham was resuscitated on more than one
•occasion, and in 1892, and ever since, meetings have
been held there. Other old fixtures that may be
mentioned were Malton, in 1781 ; Louth, 1806;
Newmarket, 1805; Midlothian, 181 1; Ardrossan,
established a few years later, and, although there
is no specific date given, Mr. W. F. Lamonby,
the keeper of the "Stud Book" believes that the
Biggar meeting was in existence prior to the present
•century, but like many other of the early gatherings,
it has long been discontinued.

Mention has already been made of Lord Orford,
a nobleman of great sporting proclivities, and of
unusual eccentricities. If reliance can be placed
upon the ''Sportsman's Cabinet," published in 1803,
and I believe there is nothing to the contrary, it

234 Modern Dogs.

contains some particulars of greyhound coursing just
prior to that date that may be of interest. His lord-
ship's bitch Czarina is said to have won forty-seven
matches without being beaten. She had no puppies
until about thirteen years old, when she gave birth
to eight, all of which lived and coursed. The last
match that Czarina ran took place when her owner,
confined to the house, was supposed to be watched
by an attendant. However, just as the two grey-
hounds were slipped. Lord Orford, looking wild as he
was, and ill, came on to the field riding his piebald
pony, and no one could restrain him from his
anxiety to view the course and gallop after the
dogs to see his favourite bitch win, which she did.
The trial was barely over when Lord Orford fell
from his pony, and, pitching on his head, expired
almost immediately.

Afterwards his greyhounds were sold, and Czarina
with the pick of the kennel purchased by Colonel
Thornton, at prices ranging from thirty guineas
to fifty guineas apiece. These appear to be pitiful
sums when compared with the 850 guineas Fullerton
produced in the sale ring in 1888, and, though
the matches run by Czarina cannot be compared
with the work done by the late Colonel North's
crack, both having, comparatively speaking, a
similar record, the two may be placed side by side.

The Greyhound. 235

Major Topham's pure white dog Snowball, up to
the close of last century, was said to be the best
greyhound yet produced, and was a cross between
the Norfolk and Yorkshire strains, each equally
fashionable at that time. Snowball won ten pieces
of plate and forty matches, and his owner accepted
every challenge that was made for him to run^
irrespective of the kind of country, rough hills,
abounding with fences, or otherwise. Whether the
greyhounds of that day had greater staying powers
than those of the present time, or were not so-
handy with their teeth, or the hares were stronger,
we know not, but Snowball's chief performance was
in a course '' extending over four miles without
a turn, including a hill half a mile (sic) in height^
twice ascended." He is said to have won this trial
with his sister, whom he beat, killing the hare close
to Flexton. A dog like Master McGrath would have
saved himself such a long trial by reason of his
extraordinary skill with his teeth. Now, a greyhound
must not only be fast, but a "good killer," to prove
of extraordinary merit. Courses of four miles, ''up
and down a high hill twice," would quite preclude
any modern greyhound getting to the end of a stake^
w^hen perhaps he might have four or five courses to
run before being returned the winner. Major, a
brother to Snowball, and both out of Czarina.

236 Modern Dogs.

already mentioned, was said to be the faster of the
two, but without the stamina of his brother ; still he
was successful in his matches, which at that time
w^ere much more common than they are now, when
coursing meetings are more numerous.

The latter quickly attained the position they hold
at the present day, for they afforded capital sport to
the million at a minimum cost ; they were the means
of producing first-class dogs, and as now a man to
keep a greyhound need not of necessity be a
"gentleman," or of extraordinary means, coursing
obtained a hold on the public second only to
those gatherings which took place on the race-
course. Even at this time, say about 1850, the
licence to keep a greyhound cost more than it did
for any other dog, viz., 12^. 6d. This was an
arrangement that the growing liberality of our
Government soon abolished, and after various
changes a greyhound has to pay but the "js. 6d. duty,
just the same as though he were a mongrel terrier.
I do not know that anyone objects to this, or has
hitherto looked upon the equalisation of the dog
licence as specially dishonourable to those of the
canine race which can lay claim to an ancient
lineage.

Although a few years ago an attempt at a
change in the general arrangements and conduct of

The Greyhound. 237

coursing meetings was made by certain private
companies, who gave large prizes, and arranged
stakes for which the entry fee was £2^, and of
which more later on, they did not shake the
popularity of our great gathering — that known as
the Waterloo, and run over the fiats at Altcar, not
far from Liverpool.

No doubt this Waterloo meeting, which was
established in 1836, and has been continued yearly
ever since, is the most popular one of the kind
ever held — the chief prize is valued at ;^5oo,
the stake being made up of entrance fees by
sixty-four subscribers at £2^ each. A portion
of the money goes to two minor stakes, the
" Plate " and the '' Purse," competed for by dogs
beaten in the two early rounds of the Cup. It must
be stated, however, that during the first year the
Waterloo Cup was an eight-dog stake; in 1837
sixteen dogs ran, and from 1838 to 1856 thirty-
two dogs competed. From the latter date till now
the arrangements have been as they are at present.
Here, as a rule, the best dogs in England, Ireland,
and Scotland compete, and for an owner of grey-
hounds to win " the Cup " is an honour as high as
that achieved by a racing man who wins '' the
Derby " — the Waterloo Cup is the blue ribbon of
the leash. It may be said that there is actually no

238 Modern Dogs.

cup, but the winner of the honour, in addition to the
stake already mentioned, receives a silver collar
which he retains uncil the meeting following the one
at which he won the stake.

Going back not many years there are met with
such well-known names as Cerito, winner of the
Waterloo Cup three times when a thirty-two dog
stake ; Hughie Graham, Larriston, Judge, King
Lear, Captain Spencer's handsome dog Sunbeam,
Mr. Blackstock's Maid of the Mill, Canaradzo,
Cardinal York, Sea Rock, Roaring Meg, Chloe,
Mr. G. Carruthers' Meg, Brigadier, Lobelia, Sea
Cove, Bit of Fashion, Miss Glendyne, Greater Scot,
Herschel, Mr. Pilkington's Burnaby ; Bab at the
Bowster, Pretender, Chameleon, Muriel, Peasant
Boy, Gallant Foe, with Coomassie (only 44-llb.
weight), the smallest greyhound that ever won the
" Cup," and she did so twice. Of course there were
other great greyhounds, but the blood of those
above, or of many of them, will be found in the
pedigrees of the most successful dogs of the present
day.

The advent of Lord Lurgan's Master McGrath, as
a puppy, in 1868, caused a great sensation. He was
a rather coarse animal in appearance, but he could
gallop faster than any dog he ever met, and was
extremely "handy" with his teeth, i.e., he usually

The Greyhound. 239

struck and held his hare after the first wrench or
two. Thus he invariably made his courses short,
while his subsequent opponents were consequently
handicapped by longer trials. This son of Dervock
and Lady Sarah, who was bred by Mr. Charles
Galway, of Waterford, ran unchallenged through the
Cup that year, and in 1869; in 1870 he was beaten
by Lady Lyons (Mr. Trevor's, but running in Colonel
Goodlake's nomination). The following year he
succeeded in leading and beating every dog he
came against, and had the honour of winning
three Waterloo Cups out of four times trying —
a feat which everyone thought would never be
equalled.

Master McGrath was feted ; he was taken to
Windsor and introduced to the Queen, money would
not buy him, and he died quietly in his kennels,
in Ireland, at BroAvnlow House, near Lurgan in
December, 1871. So popular were the victories of
the great Irish dog with the people generally, that it
was said the advent of another Master McGrath
Avould do more to suppress sedition in Ireland than
any Land Act or Home Rule Bill any Government
might offer. This celebrated greyhound was black,
with a few white marks on him ; he weighed only
541b., and, as already stated, was considered to be
actually invincible in the work that he had done.

240 Modem Dogs.

winning in public thirty-six courses out of thirty-sevem
in which he competed.

But there was the Irish dog's equal, indeed, more
than his equal, to come, and in 1888 Mr. James-
Dent, a Northumberland courser, who had already
proved very successful with his kennel, had a puppy
by Greentick — Bit of Fashion, by his favourite Paris
by Ptarmigan — Gallant Foe ; Paris was of the same
litter as Princess Dagmar, who won the Waterloo'
Cup in 1 88 1. This puppy, FuUerton, believed to
be exceptional in speed and cleverness, before
competing in the Waterloo Cup, was purchased by
Colonel North (who died in 1896), at that time enter-
ing heartily into the sport of greyhound coursing.
Eight hundred and fifty guineas was the sum
given for the puppy, the highest price, stated
publicly, ever paid for a greyhound, though pri-
vately, it has been said, much higher sums have
been obtained.

A statement appeared that one of Colonel North's
dogs. Young Fullerton by Greentick — Bit of Fashion,,
and not sired by the dog his name would imply, had
been sold by auction for 1050 guineas. This was
incorrect, as the dog was not sold, and still remains
in Colonel North's family. FuUerton's trials were sO'
good that he started second favourite for the
Waterloo Cup in 1889, ^^^' ^^ ^^^ great Irish

The Greyhound. 241

dog had done a few years before, fairly spread-
eagled all comers, and ultimately divided with his
kennel companion Troughend. In 1890 Fullerton
won outright; he did likewise in 1891, and being
kept back for the following season's Waterloo, not-
withstanding an indifferent trial that he had run in
public, started once more a warm favourite and
•eventually won his fourth great victory.

But Fullerton's historical career was not yet
ended. Placed at stud his list was speedily filled at
the unprecedented fee of forty guineas, his world-
wide reputation being indicated from the fact that
several nominations were received by cablegram
from the United States. He failed as a sire, so
was again put in training and reserved to appear
■once more on Altcar's plain for the Waterloo Cup in
1893. N^ greyhound of his age, which was now six
years, by those best able to judge was considered to
liave the remotest chance of running through such
a stake without defeat. Still Fullerton was so
popular with the public that he again started a very
great favourite. How he struggled through his first
course and was beaten in his second by Mr P. B.
Keating's Full Captain — running in the nomination
of Captain M'Calmont — is now a matter of history,
and so, almost ignominiously, did the great grey-
hound close his career on the coursing field. He

R

242 Modern Dogs,

had placed stakes to the value of ;^i9io to the
credit of his owner.

More misfortunes than the great one at Waterloo
awaited Fullerton, for in March of the same year he
was lost near London, and not recovered for some
days, when he was found wandering about in a half
starved condition by a walking postman. The
grand old dog was taken to Eltham, Colonel North's
residence, and there led a happy life until the death
of his gallant owner early in 1896. Later he was
presented to his breeder Mr. E. Dent, is still the
favourite at Short Flatt Tower, and late in the same
year was on view at one of the local dog shows in
Northumberland. Shortly afterwards, " Vindex," the
coursing correspondent of the Sportsman, told us
that Fullerton, when having a ramble, came across
a hare, which he chased and killed, running his
course as truly and well as a puppy would have
done. In all, this extraordinary greyhound ran
thirty-three courses in public and only sustained twQ
defeats, they being in the final of the puppy stakes
at Haydock Park, where, after being hard run, he
was beaten by Greengage, owned by Mr. Gladstone,
and, as above stated, in the second round of the
Waterloo Cup by Full Captain. Fullerton, a
brindled dog, with a little white on him, scaled about
651b. weight when in training, and he, with Master

The Greyhound. 243

McGrath, form the subject of the illustration imme-
diately preceding this chapter. I need hardly
draw attention to the great difference in build and
general formation of the two best greyhounds that
ever ran.

It is rather difficult to compare the respective
merits of these two great greyhounds, which I have
mentioned at considerable length because of their
unsurpassed excellence. The Irish dog was cer-
tainly the better killer ; maybe not quite so fast as
the Northumbrian dog, who in his 1892 Waterloo
also exhibited determination and gameness that
must stamp him in that particular as second to none
— nor did he lack the latter quality when defeated
the following year. As an old dog Fullerton did not
go quite so well as when in his prime, but he was
as keen as ever, if not quite so perfect in covering
his game. The year of Fullerton's defeat was a
rather peculiar one so far as the Waterloo Cup was
concerned, for the winner proved to be Count
Stroganoff's Texture, a bitch that had been pur-
chased at Rymill's Repository for 1 10 guineas, when
she went into the possession of her fortunate
owner, who is a Russian nobleman. Thus, low
prices do not always mean inferior merit, and in
the same season Ruby Red, who won at Carmichael,
had been purchased just before for 13 guineas.

R 2

244 Modern Dogs.

Mr. Russel's Red Rover and Rosary, who were
successful at the same gathering, had been included
in a London sale, and, not reaching their reserve of
thirty pounds, returned to their old kennels, where
they soon far more than paid for their keep.

There was another extraordinary dog, or rather
bitch, that flourished between the years 1867 — 1870,
by many good judges considered even superior to
Lord Lurgan's and Colonel North's great dogs ; but
she was not, though her courses were run on a
greater variety of ground than were those of either
of the '' cracks " already mentioned. Both were,
it may be said, '' bottled " up for the great meetings.
But Mr. Blanchard's red or fawn bitch Bab at the
Bowster, by Boanerges — Mischief, when brought
out went in reality as well at Altcar as she did
at the Scottish National, where she won the
Douglas Cup on two occasions. She also ran
second for the Waterloo Cup, won the Great Scaris-
brick Cup twice, and during the three years she was
to the fore had sixty-two courses to her credit and
losing but five. "Bab" was a handsome animal,
weight 471b., though perhaps not quite as speedy as
Fullerton and Master McGrath, was quite their
equal in cleverness, and well deserves her place
here, for no other greyhound won so many courses
in public. One celebrated performance of hers may

The Greyhound. 245

be noted. This was at the Brigg meeting, in the
Elsham Cup. Mr. Blanchard's bitch had a terrific
course when running a bye, and after the trial had
ended the hare got on to the railway Hne, and here
she was run along the hard and rough " permanent
way " for at least a mile before puss was killed.
Although Bab at the Bowster was much exhausted
when taken up, she divided the Cup next day.
Some of these Lincolnshire hares w^ere very strong,
and, like those of Stranraer, Ridgway, and a few
other places, often enough ran their pursuers to a
standstill. Very different from those at our
'' inclosed meetings " !

It will be seen from what has been written that
not one of this leash of celebrated greyhounds was
of exceptional size. The late Colonel North's dog
is the biggest of the lot. It is seldom indeed that
the over-sized dog, even one so big as Fullerton, is
good ; he may be fast enough, but, as a rule, is
awkward and ungainly when next the hare, and
cannot turn in such little space as the smaller dog,
who nicks in, keeps close on the scut of puss, and
wins the course. Still, here, as elsewhere, a good
big one will beat an equally good little one, the
difficulty being to find a good big one. At the
Altcar meeting in November, 1896, Mr. Leonard
Pilkington ran two puppies, between which there

246 Modern Dogs.

was an extraordinary disparity in size, Pontarlier
scaling 721b. and Pescara just half that weight.
Both ran well, and are, undoubtedly, high-class
greyhounds.

About twelve years ago, inclosed meetings for
greyhounds were inaugurated, and I believe, during
the time the most important ones continued, they
seldom flourished. Considerable harm was done by
them to the sport of coursing. They were g te-
money meetings, run in inclosures, with hares that
might have been turned down " the night before the
race," for anything publicly known to the contrary.
Puss was sent through an opening, near to which
the slipper stood ; he let her get away, then slipped
his dogs. The hare had, perhaps, a distance of
800 yards to go before she reached a refuge, into
which her pursuers could not enter. Usually she
escaped ; before doing so she might be turned a few
times, but a very fast hare could reach the covert
without being turned or wrenched by either dog.
A thousand-pound stake was to be won at one
meeting, at Kempton Park, not far from London.
Big prizes were also provided at Haydock Park near
Liverpool, where they did their best to breed their
own hares, and at Gosforth, near Newcastle. How-
ever, with the exception of that at Witham, not
one of them has proved pecuniarily successful, and

The Greyhound. 247

it and the Massereene Park (Ireland) gathering
are the most important of the survivors. They
are, however, not encouraged by the older class
of coursing men, who consider them too much like
the rabbit coursing with terriers and whippets, so
popular in the North of England, and affording
more a test of pace than of the actual all-round
merits of a greyhound.

The pedigree of the greyhound has for many
years had considerable attention. The National
Coursing Club, established in 1858, rules all matters
appertaining thereto ; and no dog can win a prize
at any coursing meeting that has not been duly
registered in the " Greyhound Stud Book," which
costs a few shillings only, and those of '' unknown
pedigree " cannot compete at all.

The Council of the National Coursing Club is
decided by election, those minor clubs with over
twenty members each having the privilege of being
represented in what may be called the coursing par-
liament. In 1895-6 there were forty-one members
of the council.

Although a well-known coursing authority, named
Thacker, started a coursing calendar about 1 840-1,
the present calendar was not commenced until 1857,
'' Stonehenge" being its first editor, and succeeding
him, and until 1891, "Robin Hood" (Mr. C. M.

248 Modern Dogs.

Browne) '^ occupied the chair." At his death the
duty devolved upon Mr. B. C. Evelegh. of the Field,
writing as '* Allan-a-dale." The first keeper of the
'' Greyhound Stud Book " was Mr. D. Brown, well
known as '' Maida " in the columns of Belies Life
and the Field for many years. During eleven years
Mr. Brown most ably conducted the registration
affairs of the National Coursing Club, and his retire-
ment, on the grounds of ill-health, is a distinct loss
to the '' Stud Book." Mr. W. F. Lamonby, also on
the coursing staff of the Field, is, as I write, keeper
of the '' Greyhound Stud Book." For a great many
years Mr. Lamonby has been, and still is, well
known by his contributions written over the name of
'' Skiddaw."

The recent publication of the Coursing Calendar
contained reports and particulars of fifty - nine
meetings for the season 1894-5. From this the
extent of the sport may be judged, though some
years ago its popularity appeared to be seriously
threatened by legislation that gave a tenant the
peculiar privilege to kill ground game on the land he
farmed, irrespective of agreement to the contrary
with his landlord. Though hares are scarcer in some
parts than they were, the sport has not, in reality,
suffered very much, nor with the support it receives
on all hands, is it likely to do so in the near future.

The Greyhound. 249

And more recent legislation, affording hares a certain
close time, during which they are not to be sold,
may be the means of reviving some meetings that
had already become defunct.

The greyhound as a '' show dog " is a failure,
rather than otherwise. With few exceptions, the
best animals in the field have not possessed that
beautiful shape and elegance of contour that is
attractive in the ring. Master McGrath was as ugly
a dog to look at, from this point of view, as could be
imagined ; Fullerton is better, but his appearance is
by no means taking. Mr. J. H. Salter has had one
or two good dogs in the field that could win on the
bench, though Mr. T. Ashton's Jenny Jones was,
perhaps, the most notable exception to the general
rule, she having been so consistent a performer as
to be heavily backed for the Waterloo Cup of 1888.
This, however, she failed to win, though running
into the last four, when she was beaten by
Herschel, a dog of great reputation in the field, and,
later, at stud. As a bench bitch she was about as
good as anything of her day, which has been proved
under many good judges. She died in 1894. In
December, 1891, Mr. H. T. Clarke, of Abingdon,
made what I fancy is a record, for his black dog,
Carhampton, then over three years old, won second
prize at Birmingham show, and the following week

250 Modern Dogs.

ran through a nine-dog stake at the CHffe Coursing
Meeting. A most unusual occurrence, for a grey-
hound in condition to run is not in a fit state to
compete successfully on the show bench. Another
" bench winner " and good performer was Mr. H. C.
While's Maney Starlight, who was first at Birming-
ham in 1894-5, ^^^ ^'^^ ^ stake at Newport, Salop,
early in 1896. Her sister Scandia was also a
good-looking bitch, and clever likewise, she taking
part in the Waterloo Cup in 1895.

Bab at the Bowster was handsome enough for
exhibitions — very much the stamp of Jenny Jones,
— and Lauderdale, who for a long time, when shown
by Mr. T. Sharpies, was perfection in shape and
form, and a fast dog too, but it was said, '' his
heart was in the wrong place." The best show of
greyhounds is usually to be seen at Darlington at
the end of July, and the committee there have
usually a " coursing" man to judge them.

Allusion has been made to Fullerton competing in
the Waterloo Cup in his fifth season. Another old
runner is Mr. J. McConnochie's Maut, who, when
seven years old, ran a capital course at the Mid-
Annandale Meeting in October, 1896, being unfor-
tunate in being beaten in the second round through
the hare favouring her opponent. As a rule a
dog in his second season is at his best, and it is

The Greyhound. 251

exceptional to find one running on with any great
degree of success until his fourth season.

At the present time, the spring of 1897, there are
a number of particularly strong kennels of grey-
hounds, and none more so than that of Messrs
G. F. and C. J. F. Fawcett, of Lancashire, who,
during the past few years, have been peculiarly
successful — as a rule with dogs of their own
breeding. In 1895 they ran second in the Water-
loo Cup with Fortuna Favente, Mr. Pilkington's
Thoughtless Beauty being the winner ; but the
following year they won the trophy outright with
Fabulous Fortune. In 1891 the same kennel ran
up with Faster and Faster, and achieved a similar
position in 1892 with Fitz Fife. In addition,
they have won at all the leading meetings, and
are likely for some time to come to hold a leading
hand in the sport of coursing.

Mr. Leonard Pilkington, St. Helen's, is almost
equally successful, he winning the Waterloo Cup
in 1888 with Burnaby, and in 1895 ^'ith Thought-
less Beauty, which was, however, run in the
nomination of Mr. Carruthers. In 1886 his
very fast and clever bitch, Penelope II., was
runner up for the cup. In his kennel there are
dogs and puppies of sufficient quality to lead one
to believe that his successes have not yet been

252 Modern Dogs.

exhausted. The expenses of keeping a kennel of
greyhounds are very high, and, although many of
the stakes to be won are valuable, coursing can only
be considered an expensive amusement, and we
fancy that neither Messrs. Fawcett or Mr. Pilking-
ton, with all their successes, have made it pay. In
one season — 1885-6 — the latter won in stakes about
;^I900, and this included the Kempton Park ;^iooa
stake, which was placed to the credit of the St.
Helen's courser by means of his dog Phoebus. In
1894 the same owner's stakes amounted to ;^'iioo,
but in the following year they did not reach ;^8oo.
But the expenses of training, railway fares, &c.,
would, doubtless, far more than swallow up such
sums, large though they seem. I should not be at
all surprised to find Mr. Pilkington's total of £igoo
for the season a record one, notwithstanding the
recent triumphs of Messrs. Fawcett.

In Scotland, Sir W. Anstruther, Sir R. Jardine,
Mr. J. Russel, Mr. W. Patterson, and others,,
hold first-class dogs in their kennels. Ireland as
coursers has Mr. G. J. Alexander, Mr. F. Watson,
Mr. Swinburne, Captain Archdale, Mr. R. M.
Douglas, and many others, most of whom have
had or will have greyhounds which can hold
their own anywhere. Gallant little Wales is not
without her representatives, of whom the Marquis

The Greyhound. 253

of Anglesea and Mr. T. Jenkins, Carmarthen,
may perhaps be at the head. From Russia we
have had Count Stroganoff competing successfully
with hounds trained and bred in this country.
Other leading kennels are those of Lord Masham,
Yorkshire; Hon. O. C. Molyneux, Windsor; Mr.
W. H. Smith, Kidderminster; Mr. J. Trevor, Lich-
field ; Sir T. Brocklebank, Lancashire ; Dr. J. H.
Salter, Essex ; Mr. R. F. Gladstone, Lancashire ;
Colonel Holmes, Essex ; Mr. J. Quihampton,
Hants ; Mr. F. E. C. Dobson, Durham ; Messrs.
Smith, Suffolk ; Sir W. Ingram, M.P., Kent ; Sir
Humphrey de Trafford, Lancashire; Mr. H. Brockle-
bank, Lancashire ; Mr. G. Bell Irving, Sussex ;
Mr. W. Paterson, Dumfries ; Mr. R. Paterson,
Biggar; Mr. H. Hardy, Cheshire; Mr. R. V.
Mather, Lancashire; Mr. M. G. Hale, Suffolk;
Mr. T. P. Hale, Suffolk; Mr. F. Waters, Lanca-
shire ; Mr. T. Graham, Cumberland ; Mr. Hamar
Bass, M.P., Derby; Mr. J. Haywood, Sussex; Mr.
C. E. Marf^eet, Lincoln ; and Messrs Reilly, Cam-
bridgeshire.

The following are the points and description of
the greyhound as compiled by " Stonehenge," and
adopted generally by all coursing men at the
present day.

The head should be fairly large between the ears,

254 Modern Dogs,

the jaw lean, but by no means weak, as, if it were
so, he w^ould not be able to hold his game, and there
should be little or no development of the nasal
sinuses ; the eye full, bright, and penetrating, a
good eye is a si/ie qua non ; ears small, and folding
down when at rest, but raised in semi-prick fashion
when animated ; teeth strong and the mouth level
(many of the show greyhounds are overshot, which
gives the dog an extra long and smartly cut jaw) \
neck fairly long and a trifle arched rather than
otherwise.

The shoulders must be well placed, as oblique as
possible ; the chest fairly deep, and as wide as may
be consistent with speed. A '' narrow-fronted,"
shallow-chested greyhound is no use. There should
be good length from the elbow to the knee,
compared with that from the knee to the ground.
Feet hard and close, not so round and cat-like as in
the foxhound, and with the toes well defined or well
developed.

The loins strong and broad ; back powerful, and^
in the speediest and best dogs, slightly arched.

Hind quarters very muscular ; stifles strong and
well bent — a straight stifled dog cannot gallop ;
hind legs well turned and shapely, and, as in all
speedy animals, somewhat long, looking by their
curve even longer than ihey actually are ; the tail

The Greyhound. 255

is generally fine and nicely curved, but some strains
carry more hair than others.

Colours vary — blacks, brindles, reds, fawns, blues,
or slates, and these colours mixed with w^hite. One
hue is as good as another, though white is con-
sidered indicative of a certain amount of weakness —
still there have been good dogs almost pure white,
Snowball, Scotland Yet, and Canaradzo to wit.

In disposition the greyhound is, as a rule, kindly
and amiable ; dogs in high training are apt to
be unreliable, and during exercise may fight and
seriously injure each other.

The following are the points : —

Value,

Head and eyes i o

Neck 15

Chest and fore quarters 20
Loin and back ribs ... 15

60

Value.

Hindquarters 20

Feet 15

Tail 5

Colour o

40

Grand total, 100.

Weights vary, and, as already stated, a competitor
at a meeting in 1896 had two puppies running, one
of which weighed 721b., the other but 361b., and yet
both went fast and approached the end of stakes.
The smallest bitch to win the Waterloo Cup was
Coomassie, who scaled 441b., and we doubt if a
heavier dog than Fullerton, who weighed 661b., ever

156 Modern Dogs.

won the great prize. Thus, a greyhound may weigh
anything between 361b. and 75lb.

The points of the course are as follows : —
Speed: which shall be estimated as one, two, or
three points, according to the degree of superiority
shown. The go-by : Two points, or, if passed in
the outer circle, three points. The fii7^n : one
point. The w/^ench : half a point. The ki/l : two
points, or, in a descending scale, in proportion
to the degree of merit displayed in that kill, which
may be of no value. The trip, or unsuccessful
effort to kill, or where a greyhound fiecks the
hare and cannot hold her, one point. There are
also penalties for refusing to fence ; where a dog,
from his own defect, refuses to follow the hare
at which he is slipped ; and where he stands still.

Of course, in dealing with a trial between two
greyhounds, very much rests with the judge, and
there is no doubt that the two judges of the
generation are Mr. G. Warwick, who officiated at
Waterloo for ihirteen consecutive years, and his
successor, Mr. James Hedley, who, since Mr.
Warwick's retirement, has done duty at the same
meeting for twenty-three years without a break.
Almost as much depends upon the slipper, and after
the celebrated Tom Raper, who died in 1893, ^^^
who was par excellence in his line for a quarter of a

The Greyhound, 257

century, T. Wilkinson followed him, and now T.
Bootiman Is the leading exponent of this arduous
and difficult department of greyhound coursing.

A good many greyhounds have from time to time
been shipped to America and to many of our colonies,
but coursing of late has not made any great head-
way outside Great Britain. In Australia at one time
It seemed progressive; there was a "Waterloo Cup"
run for, and at great expense hares were Imported
from this country, the trials taking place in enclosed
grounds. I believe a great deal of money was
expended In promoting the sport, which, although
of a high class, was ultimately allowed to lapse. As
a fact, the Colonists did the thing so well at the
commencement that their Waterloo Cup was worth
as much as ours, and they had Mr. G. Warwick, our
crack judge at that time, over to officiate at the
inaugural meeting, which took place In 1874, and at
other meetings which took place later on. How-
ever, the importation of greyhounds was beneficial,
inasmuch as their crosses enabled the colonists
to produce a strong, heavily-made, fleet-footed dog,
very useful In kangaroo hunting ; indeed, a variety
of the canine race which is perhaps of more use than
any other in the Antipodes.

Although greyhound coursing has never made
great headway on the Continent, meetings of a seml-

s

258 Modern Dogs.

private nature are periodically held in France, at
which one of our best English judges, Mr. Brice,
officiates. He has also been invited to St. Peters-
burg and Moscow for a similar purpose, and there
he has had his duties varied by being asked to give
his opinion on the trials of Russian hounds, Borzoi,
when slipped to the common wolf of the country.
It need scarcely be stated here that in Russia the
sport of coursing is only participated in by the
princes and nobles, with which that country abounds,
and whose wealth is prodigious.

/

CHAPTER X.
THE WHIPPET.

With, I believe few exceptions, the whippet or snap
dog has not been included as a distinct variety in
any book on English dogs. Still, it is now, and has
been for some time, quite a variety of itself, and
amongst the colliers and other working men in the
north of England, including Lancashire and York-
shire, none is so popular or provides so much
amusement.

Originally the "whippet" was a small dog — a
cross between the Italian greyhound and some
terrier or other, partaking in general appearance
more of the greyhound cross than of the terrier.
Thus, in many parts of the north, the dog is still
called an " Hitalian," the local pronunciation of
the name of that country from which it is supposed
the fragile toy dog first came. He is also known as
a " running " dog, the reason for which will be
obvious, and is likewise called a "snap" dog because
of his ability to snap or hold quickly and smartly a
rabbit or any other small animal.

S 2

26o Modern Dogs.

The whippet in perfection is a miniature grey-
hound, built on the lines of a Fullerton or of a Bab
at the Bowster, but smaller in size. It is kept
specially for running races and for coursing rabbits
on enclosed grounds arranged for the purpose, and
for which it undergoes a course of training suitable
to the circumstances. These coursing and running
matches may be considered the popular pastime
amongst a very large class in the mining and manu-
facturing districts northwards in the neighbourhood
of Newcastle, in Durham, Lancashire, and Yorkshire
especially.

Several attempts have recently been made to
extend the popularisation of the whippet, especially
so far as its running powers are concerned. The
Kennel Club, for the first time in 1892, gave it an
entry in the Stud Book, and classes have been
provided for it at several south country shows.
Such had repeatedly appeared in the catalogues at
Darlington and elsewhere in the north, but they
seldom filled satisfactorily, and as a "bench dog"
I need scarcely say the whippet is not likely to be
any greater success than the greyhound. The
entries made in the Stud Book are few, and most of
the dogs there are minus a leading part of their
history — namely, their pedigrees.

About the time the Kennel Club acknowledged

The Whippet. 26

the whippet, attempts were made to form clubs with
more or less ''tone " about them to encourage dog
racing, but none of them got beyond an initial stage,
although they were no doubt considerably assisted
by the publication by Mr. L. U. Gill, of Freeman
Lloyd's " Whippet or Race Dog," a very complete
compendium of all that appertained to that dog and
its sport. Then at the Ladies' Kennel Association
show in 1895, held in the Ranelagh Club grounds,
whippet racing formed one of the attractions (?).
It, however, fell flat, and generally the attempt to
popularise this sport with the better class of people in
the south of England has, to say the least, not been
a success. Its surroundings have not, as a rule, been
of the highest in the social scale, nor have the rabbit
coursing matches and tests of speed always been
conducted by its owners in the fairest way possible.
Various tricks are tried by the unscrupulous to
prevent an opponent's dog winning, and a trainer or
his friend has to be a sharp man in his line, to run
successfully the gauntlet of all that is placed in his
way during a match for money where such dogs
compete. And it must be confessed that, not-
withstanding the fairness, honesty, and firmness of
the ow^ners of the enclosed grounds where dog races
and coursing take place, and of the umpires and
referees, the general spirit of the sport is not the

262 Modern Dogs.

most wholesome in the world. Of course, these
remarks are not applicable to all owners of whippets
— many of whom are as straightforward and good
sportsmen as ever owned a dog — but there can
be no doubt that the popularity of the variety
has been kept back and will continue to be so
by those ^' black sheep " to whom allusion is made.

As I have said, the whippet ought not to be a big
dog, weighing, from 1 2lb. to, say, about 251b.
when in training. However, some of them are
much heavier than this, and many of the so-called
champion rabbit coursers reach 4olb. in weight
or even more. I have known a thoroughbred
greyhound take part in one of the big handicaps that
are held during the season in the neighbourhood
of Manchester and elsewhere. It scarcely remains
for me to say that these bigger dogs are the direct
cross with the greyhound, and some of them are
built on such lines, and contain so much grey hound
blood, as to be scarcely distinguishable from the
real article.

Such animals are fast, clever with their teeth, and
oftener than not run straight into their rabbit,
" holding " it without a turn, the one that does so
winning the trial, irrespective of the capacity it
shows for working, turning, or making the points as
in coursinor hares. The law allowed varies from

The Whippet, 263

anything between 30 and 70 yards, and directly the
rabbit is dropped the dogs are sHpped, the latter
being done by a skilful man, specially appointed for
the purpose. Handicaps are made according to the
weight or height of the dog ; in Newcastle-on-Tyne
and the surrounding districts, the latter being the
custom — -the dog being measured from the top of
the shoulder blade to the pad of the foot — whilst in
Lancashire and Yorkshire handicap by weight is
preferred. In all cases a dog has to allow a bitch
three yards start. These customs or rules likewise
apply to dog racing, as dealt with later on. In
some of the more important handicaps, each couple
of dogs, as they are drawn together, have to
compete the best out of five or even more courses.
In minor affairs, one rabbit for each trial is made to
sufiBce.

Private matches between two dogs are frequently
run, and such often enough create as much interest
as the handicaps, notably when two '^cracks"
are competing. Here the conditions may vary
somewhat, the start given the rabbit being specially
named, and the number of courses being usually
the best of twenty-one, or, perhaps, of thirty-one ; a
certain interval, generally five minutes, being allowed
between each trial.

However, if the whippet is to become generally

264 Modern Dogs.

popular, it will not be by means of an ability to kill
rabbits. The dog racing by him will be more likely
to find favour with the public. Those who are not
connected with the sport will be surprised to find
the hold it has obtained amongst the working classes
in the north. There are repeatedly from one hun-
dred and fifty to over three hundred such dogs
entered at one competition, the trial heats of which,
three dogs taking part in each heat, being run as a
rule one Saturday, the finals the Saturday following.
This day is a half-holiday with the miners and work-
people, hence its selection, but other meetings are
held on the recognised Bank holidays, and some-
times on the Monday.

Dogs of all sizes compete in the same stake, they
being handicapped according to height or weight,
if unknown ; otherwise according to their perfor-
mances, weight, &c., of course, likewise being taken
into consideration. The most useful size of the
whippet is, probably, a dog scaling about 2olb. or
so, and the pace such an one can go for a com-
paratively short distance is extraordinary. 200 yards
having been covered in i 2^ seconds. It is generally
considered that a dog about 151b. is the speediest
animal in proportion to its weight.

Before these dogs have attained sufficient pro-
ficiency to take part in a handicap or match, they

The Whippet, 265

must undergo a certain tuition, during which they
come to run at their greatest speed. All prelimi-
naries being arranged, the dog makes an appearance
at one of the many "running" grounds. Here a
course is laid out on the cinder path, the distance
usually being 200 yards. At one end the various
handicaps are marked out, three dogs start in a heat,
and each, as in ordinary pedestrianism, has a side
allotted to it by draw or otherwise. The starter is
behind the dogs, pistol in hand. A friend of the
owner holds his dog on the mark, the owners or
trainers run in front of their dogs up the course call-
ing to them, and dangling something attractive — a
chicken's or pigeon's wing, perhaps, or a piece of rag,
a towel or an old shirt ; rabbits and live stock are not
allowed. These owners or trainers havino^ reached
the limit of the course, the pistol is fired, the dogs
are slipped, and at their full pace urge on to the goal
where their trainers await them. Near there the
judge is placed, who quickly and promptly pro-
nounces which dog wins, and so the fun goes on.
The rules are stringent to a degree, as all rules ought
to be (subject even to no appeal in a court of law),
and any man slipping his dog before the pistol is
fired is disqualified, not only for that heat, but for
the whole stake. The sport is exciting enough, and
if it does not attract the thousands that gather to

266 Modern Dogs.

see the ''final" of a Sheffield handicap, the atten-
dance is usually quite large enough to be pleasant.
I need scarcely say that the training of these running
dogs is made a " profession/' and a skilled man is
well paid for his work.

There are dogs that will not run these races to the
best of their ability, some preferring to have a growl
or fight with an opponent ; others, more kindly dis-
posed, seeking to romp and play. To guard against
such canine breach of discipline, an arrangement can
be made by erecting long strips of canvas, and be-
tween each strip a dog runs, thus quite out of sight
of its opponent, until the judge and goal are reached.
This plan is frequently adopted, as some of the very
best animals, after competing repeatedly under the
ordinary system, become either careless or quarrel-
some, and refuse to '' try," contenting themselves by
running alongside an antagonist, and losing the race
by a head, and the owner's weekly wage and more at
the same time.

Some time ago, Mr. T. Marples wrote an exhaus-
tive article on coursing and running by whippets.
He says that " at times, especially in winter, when
snow has to be cleared from the ground which is
harder than usual, many of these dogs run in what
are called ' stoppers ' — leather gloves that are placed
over the claws of the fore feet, the latter being apt

The Whippet. 267

to be injured by the suddenness with which the dogs
stop at the end of the race." These are, of course,
only required where the racing is done on a cinder-
path, and would be quite out of place on grass
during rabbit coursing.

As to handicapping, the same writer tells us that
as a rule a dog 151b. weight is taken as the basis of
the handicap, and he is given or takes three yards,
according to size, irrespective of the allowance for
sex alluded to earlier on. However, when the dogs
"reach about 271b. in weight, they are pretty much
equalised, just as an increase is given to small dogs
down to about 81b. in weight. For instance, a dog
of 151b. would give one of 141b. three yards start;
but one of 131b. would receive seven yards from the
151b. dog, and in all likelihood a lolb. dog would
receive from eighteen to twenty yards in the two
hundred. Then, in turn, the 151b. dog would receive
three yards from the i61b animal, and from one up
to 2olb. the 151b dog would receive ten or twelve
yards start," irrespective, of course, of penalties
for previous successes. Novices are usually given
an advantage of about 2lb.

The above seems a somewhat complicated
arrangement, but it is thoroughly understood by the
handicappers.

I need scarcely say that these whippets when in

268 Modern Dogs.

training are fed on the best food that can be pro-
vided ; they are kept warm, sleep in the house in a
cosy corner, and are muzzled and sheeted when
outside. Their owners are for the most part working
men, and instances are not isolated where their wives
and children have gone with empty stomachs, whilst
the dogs and their masters regale on rump steaks
and chops cut from a leg of mutton.

Perhaps it may be mentioned that during the past
twenty years or so the sport with ''running dogs"
and " rabbit coursers," as conducted in the north,
has flourished amazingly, and personally I regret
that it has done so to the detriment of the more
manly pedestrian exercises, wrestling, and the clever
game of knur and spell.

The points and general description of the whippet
are, excepting so far as size is concerned, identical
with those of the greyhound as they appear on a
preceding page, though occasionally comparatively
rough coated or wire-haired whippets are met with.
Such, of course, show breeding back to the wire-
haired terrier, or perhaps to some cross-bred
'' lurcher," a few of which are still kept for poaching
purposes in various parts of the country. Need I
mention that for rabbit coursing staying power as
well as pace is required in a whippet, whilst for
racing speed alone is the desideratum.

^'

CHAPTER XL

THE IRISH WOLFHOUND.

Some there are who beHeve that this historical
hound became extinct soon after the last wolf was
killed in Ireland, which happened in 1710. Others
hold the opinion that it never became extinct at all ;
but survives in the Scotch deerhound, with which
they say it was identical. A third division have
equally strong opinions, something between the two,
which are to the effect that so recently as eighty or
ninety years ago very few real Irish wolfhounds
remained, and these not readily traceable back to
the oldest strains ; and some advocate the smooth
greyhound as the true article. Then, to complicate
matters still further, the Great Dane has become
mixed up in the controversy, and one great authority
has stated that the original wolfhound, or the dog
from which he sprang, was brought over to Ireland
in the sixth century, B.C., by the Celts, during their
migration from the shores of the Black Sea. It has
also been urged that the wolfhound and the Great

270 Modern Dogs,

Dane, as we know them now, had a common origin,
and that they were the foundations of the mastiffs
and other large dogs which, at a later period, had
in a measure made Great Britain famous for its
powerful and ferocious varieties of the canine race.
Many authorities of the past generation write to
prove that the Irish wolfhound, if not a Great Dane,
was a smooth-coated creature very like him ; and
additional evidence that such was the case is to be
found in the following instance.

Some eight or nine years ago, I was shown by the
Earl of Antrim a life-sized painting of an enormous
hound which had been in his family for about a
hundred years. Through generations this had been
handed down as a true Irish wolfhound, a noble
creature that had saved the life of one of his lord-
ship's ancestors under peculiar and extraordinary
circumstances, so the faithful creature had its por-
trait painted. Now this dog was a huge southern
hound in appearance, marked like a modern fox-
hound, with long pendulous ears, possibly an animal
identical with the matin of old writers. The paint-
ing, which I believe is in the Kennel Club, gives
the idea that the subject had, in life, stood about
thirty-four inches high at the shoulders.

It was but natural, when I introduced this interest-
ing discovery to the public through the columns of

The Irish Wolfhound. 271

the Field, that discussion and controversy thereon
would arise, and such was the case. Little new
material as to the history of the Irish dog was
elicited, and it was to be regretted that Lord Antrim
could afford no further particulars as to the animal
to which attention was first drawn.

The following is one of the many stories extant
of the Irish wolfhound " at home." '' In the moun-
tainous parts of the county Tyrone, some time in the
sixteenth century, the inhabitants suffered much
from the wolves, and gave from the public fund so
much for the head of one of these animals. There
lived an adventurer, who, alone and unassisted, made
it his occupation to destroy these ravagers. The
time for attacking them was long after dark, and mid-
night was fixed upon for doing so, as that was their
wonted time for leaving their lairs in search of food,
when the countrv was at rest and all was still ; then,
issuing forth, they fell on their defenceless prey, and
the carnage commenced. There was a species of
dog for the purpose of hunting them called the wolf
dog ; the animal resembled a rough, stout, half-bred
greyhound, but was much stronger. In the county
Tyrone there was then a large space of ground
inclosed by a high stone wall, having a gap at each
of the two opposite extremities, and in this were
secured the fiocks of the surrounding farmers.

272 Modern Dogs.

Still, secure though this fold was deemed, it was
entered by the wolves, and its inmates slaughtered.
The neighbouring proprietors having heard of the
noted wolf hunter above mentioned, by name
Rory Carragh, sent for him, and offered the usual
reward, with some addition, if he would undertake
to destroy the two remaining w^olves that had com-
mitted such devastation. Carragh, undertaking the
task, took w4th him two wolf dogs and a little boy
twelve years of age, the only person who w^ould
accompany him, and repaired at the approach of
midnight to the fold in question. / Now,' said
Carragh to the boy, ' as the two wolves usually
enter the opposite extremities of the sheepfold at
the same time, I must leave you and one of the
dogs to guard this one, while I go to the other. He
steals with all the caution of a cat, and you will not
hear him, but the dog will, and will give him the
first fall. If, therefore, you are not active enough
when he is down to rivet his neck to the ground
with this spear, he will rise and kill both you and
the dog. So good night.' ' I'll do what I can,'
said the little boy, as he took the spear from the
wolf-hunter's hand.

" The boy immediately threw open the gate of the
fold, and took his seat in the inner part, close to the
entrance, his faithful companion crouching at his

The Irish Wolfhound. 273

side, and seeming perfectly aware of the dangerous
business he was engaged in. The night was very
dark and cold, and the poor httle boy, being
benumbed with the chilly air, was beginning to fall
into a kind of sleep, when at that instant the dog,
with a roar, leaped across, and laid his mortal enemy
upon the earth. The boy was roused into double
activity by the voice of his companion, and drove
the spear through the wolf's neck as he had been
directed, at which time Carragh appeared, bearing
the head of the other.''

One might have expected to find something reliable
and convincing as to what the Irish wolfhound really
was in the " Sportsman's Cabinet," published in
1803. Here we have an excellent engraving from a
picture by Reinagle, of a huge dog, an enormous
deerhound in fact, the identical creature popular
reputation stated such a dog to be. Unfortunately
the letterpress describes quite a different animal —
more of the Great Dane type than of the deerhound.
And so the authorities who wrote at the time differed
quite as much on the matter as do the admirers of
the variety at the present time.

To Captain G. A. Graham, of Dursley, Gloucester-
shire, we owe considerable gratitude for the trouble
he has taken to resuscitate the Irish wolfhound. En-
thusiast though he be, he is not like so many other

T

274 Modem Dogs.

enthusiasts, led away to say things he cannot prove,
or, indeed, to lay claim to his hounds being de-
scended in a direct line from those animals which
may have or may not have killed the last wolf
near Dingle over 200 years ago. The gallant
gentleman acknowledges that the breed in its
original integrity has disappeared, but he believed,
when first writing on the subject twenty years since,
that so much of the true strain remained that, with
the aid of the modern deerhound, and with judicious
management, the breed in its "pristine grandeur"
could be recovered.

The difficulty, to my mind, would be to exactly
define the original Irish wolfhound. The popular
idea — and this is not always correct — was of a
big powerful dog, with a wire-haired or rough coat,
built on the lines of a deerhound, but altogether a
heavier and stronger animal. What height a full-
grown specimen should be there is a diversity of
opinion. Old writers have said he was as big as
a donkey ; others that he stood from 36 inches to
40 inches at the shoulders. In the museum of the
Royal Dublin Society there are two skulls of wolf-
hounds dug out of barrows by the late Dr. Wilde.
The dimensions of them have been very useful to
those who believed in the bigness of the wolf-
hound. Unfortunately for the side of the latter,

The Irish Wolfhound, 275

these skulls, when carefully measured and compared
with others of living dogs, deerhounds, wolfhounds,
and greyhounds, could not have been possessed
by animals more than 29 inches high at the
shoulders.

However, it is not my province here to say what
kind of an animal the historical Irish deerhound was,
whether there were tw^o, three, or four varieties, or
whether any dog that would tackle and hunt a wolf
was from the moment he did so called a w^olf-
hound. This would only be similar to that which
occurs in our own days ; for have we not the
ordinary foxhound called a staghound or a buck-
hound w^hen he is entered to hunt the deer ?

Mr. G. W. Hickman, of Birmingham, has written
most exhaustively and carefully on the subject on
one side; so have Mr. H. Richardson, Captain G. A.
Graham, Mr. R. D. O'Brien, Limerick, and others
on another side. I have to deal with '' Modern
Dogs/' and so the wolfhound, as he is now resus-
citated, must be described by me. There is no
doubt that by careful crossing between certain dogs
obtained from Ireland about 1841 with the deer-
hound and the Great Dane, an animial of a certain
distinctive type has been obtained, which, in its
turn, breeds perhaps quite as truly, up to a certain
standard, as most other canine varieties. Captain

T 2

276 Modem Dogs.

G. A. Graham, who must be said to be the chief sup-
porter of the modern variety, says that his own strain
'' he can trace back to those had by Richardson in
1841-42, though not beyond 1862 from father to
son. He says the breed had been kept up by Mr.
Baker, of Badylohm Castle, and Sir John Power, of
Kilfane, from 1840 to 1865, or thereabouts. He
further says that on good grounds it was beheved
that ''these dogs were descended from Hamilton
Rowan's so called, last of his race, Bran by name,
a fine dark grey, rough hound, that was his constant
companion." Captain G. A. Graham had a grand-
son of Kilfane Oscar, a dog he obtained from Sir
Ralph Payne-Gall wey, and from this he traces the
purity of the blood as far back as it will go. He
advocated a cross with the Great Dane and deer-
hound, and latterly, on the popularisation of the
Borzoi, or Russian wolfhound, has suggested a
third cross with that variety.

Some of the Irish wolfhounds seen at modern
exhibitions are extremely fine animals, docile and
quiet as they recline on their benches, and by no
means quarrelsome, evidently quite contented with
their lot. Indeed, they possess an excellent reputa-
tion as companions, especially such as are not the
first cross between the two modern varieties already
alluded to. I think it was at Brighton show in

The Irish Wolfhound. 277

1895, ^h^^ Mr. W. K. Angelo showed a particularly
fine " Irish wolfhound," Goth II., who stood 34
inches at the shoulders, and weighed 1341b. at
eighteen months old. An extremely handsome hound
this, which, on inquiry, I found had the Borzoi
Korotai for his grandsire on one side, and besides
he included deerhound and Irish wolfhound blood.
In addition his grandsire, on his dam's side, was an
imported " Siberian wolf dog or sheep dog." This
hound, and others of the same strain in Mr.
Angelo's kennels, have been and are used success-
fully in Scotland for coursing deer.

Never having been the fortunate possessor of any
Irish wolfhounds, and being desirous of obtaining
the best information about them as companions,
I wrote to a friend who at times had kept two
or three of them, and who would gladly give me
his opinion. That friend says the Irish wolfhound
is very good with children, is the best domestic pet
of any big dog, and none more useful in a quiet
country place. He never had a case of anyone
being bitten by his Irish dogs, though, from their
size and appearance, they are a great deterrent
to bad characters and the tramping fraternity
generally. Some of the strains that contain the
Great Dane first cross are not quite of the same
disposition as the others, being not nearly so digni-

278 Modern Dogs.

lied in their demeanour, and inclined to steal
whenever an opportunity is afforded them so to do.
They are exuberantly affectionate, seldom at rest a
moment, but still not quarrelsome. The finer strains
are generally more lethargic, stately, and sedate ;
strong in their attachments to an individual, and
extremely quiet and good-tempered with other dogs ;
the latter often approaching to softness. Still,
when roused and angry, they can give a good
account of themselves, and punish their enemy
severely. In no degree are they quarrelsome for
they are quite as reliable in temper as the modern
deerhound.

This is not a bad character for a dog that one
requires to be an every-day companion either in town
or country ; and certainly, so far as I have studied
and noticed the variety, I must agree with the excel-
lent testimonial the Irish wolfhound receives from
one who has kept him for half a generation.

This dog has been recommended as likely to be
useful with " big game," not elephants and hippo-
potami, but with wolves, hyenas, and such inferior
animals as are to be found in South Africa and other
great hunting countries. Whether they would do so
well as either the pure Dane or the Deerhound is an
open question. They are not sufficiently smart and
active to cope successfully with powerful beasts of

The Irish Wolfhound. 279

prey, though perhaps, if brought up to the work and
at an early age trained to hunt, they would be able
to do as well as any other breed of dog. But it is
folly for a young fellow to obtain a hound of any of
these varieties — Great Dane, deerhound, or Irish
wolfhound — from some of the show kennels, rush
him over to the Cape, or into the interior of Africa,
and expect him to take as kindly to hunt " the king
of the forest " or the leopard as he would to accept-
ing a biscuit from the hand of some fair mistress-
An Irish wolfhound requires to be properly entered
to game just as carefully as do the pointer, setter,
and retriever ; and generations passed in kennels or
in the drawing-room have no tendency to improve
him as a destroyer of wild animals when they come
in his way.

A modern Irish wolfhound is in appearance just a
big and rather coarse deerhound, and, previous to
giving his description as drawn up by the Wolfhound
Club, the following statistics of the height and weight
of some of the best specimens will perhaps not be
without interest : — Captain G. A. Graham's Brian,
figured in " Dogs of the British Isles," stood 30J
inches at the shoulder, and weighed ] 281b. ; Dhulart
was 31 inches at the shoulder and 1 261b. weight ;
Banshee, 29! inches and loilb. weight; Mask, 30;^-
inches, and io61b. weight ; Tara, 29 inches and about

28o Modern Dogs.

loolb. ; Fintragh, 29f inches, and iiolb. weight.
Colonel Gamier showed a particularly fine young
dog at the Kennel Club's Show at Islington in 1888,
which unfortunately died soon after the exhibition.
The hound, called Merlin, stood 1,1, inches at the
shoulders, and, though unfurnished, scaled 1501b.
He was fawn in colour, and undoubtedly the finest
specimen of the race I have seen or has yet appeared
at any of our shows. Already have I referred to
Mr. Angelo's Goth II., who at eighteen months old
measured 34 inches at the shoulder, and scaled
1341b. Another hound of Mr. Angelo's, called
Torrum, and who has killed several deer, is i^i^ inches
at the shoulders; whilst Mr. Trainor's Thuggum Thu,
shown at the Kennel Club's Show in October, 1896,
was quite 34 inches in height, and a well-made dog,
too, but, like all of his cousins, inclining very much
to the deerhound type. Another very good speci-
men is Mr. Crisp's Bran, bred by the Earl of
Caledon, and standing 33 inches at the shoulder.
He is a steel brindle in colour, but, unlike Thuggum
Thu, who inclines to the deerhound, shows his Great
Dane descent, though in jaw and other particulars
he excels. Perhaps a better bitch has never been
shown than Captain Graham's Sheelah, described
by one admirer of the variety as the best bitch he
ever saw. She was about 30 inches at the shoulders,

The Irish Wolfhound. 281

wheaten in colour, with a few black hairs inter-
mingled, and with black points, and showed neither
undue deerhound or Great Dane blood. Moreover,
she proved an excellent brood bitch, being dam of
Dhuart and Mr. Hood Wright's Starno, both excelling
in type, which is so difficult to find in the present
generation.

It is rather unfortunate that so fine a dog has not
attracted popular fancy. Had it done so, there
would have been as much a run on the Irish w^olf-
hound as there has been on other and perhaps less
deserving varieties. The club to look after its
interests is fairly successful, but there is a sad lack
of enterprise amongst the general public. Even the
natives of the Emerald Isle themselves have refused
to answer the call, although, in the national emblem
of Erin, an Irish wolfhound is lying beside the harp,
and, as a rule, the prizes at Dublin for the national
breed of dogs are swept away by the Saxon invader.
Their terrier they patronise, but neglect the woll-
hound and the Kerry beagle. Had it not been for
a Scotsman, Captain G. A. Graham, this canine
relic of a mighty race might even now be extinct.
To prevent its becoming so, earnest admirers of
the dog, such as he, with the Hon. Miss Dillon ;
Colonel Gamier ; Mr. W. K. Angelo, Brighton ; the
Earl of Caledon ; Mr. Hood Wright, Frome ; the

282 Modern Dogs.

Rev. H. L. O'Brien, Limerick; Mr. Bailey; Mr.
G. E. Crisp; Mr. Playford, Ipswich ; Mr. J. Trainor,
Liscard; Mr. Williams, Llangibby ; Mr. W. Allen,
Cardiff; and some few others, do their best, and
usually possess some few specimens of the article
as genuine as it can be obtained. Most of the
bigger shows provide classes for Irish wolfhounds,
but the competition therein is never strong, and
the chief prizes are usually taken by one or other
of the gentlemen to whom allusion has been made.

The following is the description of the variety as
drawn up by the Club :

I. General appearance. — The Irish wolfhound
should not be quite so heavy or massive as the
Great Dane, but more so than the deerhound, which
in general type he should otherwise resemble. Of
great size and commanding appearance, very mus-
cular, strongly though gracefully built ; movements
easy and active ; head and neck carried high ; the
tail carried with an upward sweep, with a slight curve
towards the extremity. The minimum height and
weight of dogs should be 31 in. and 1 2olb. ; of
bitches, 28in. and 9olb. Anything below this should
be debarred from competition. Great size, including
height at shoulder and proportionate length of body,
is the desideratum to be aimed at, and it is desired
to firmly establish a race that shall average from

The Irish Wolfhound. 283

3210. to 34in. in dogs, showing the requisite power^
activity, courage, and symmetry.

2. Head. — Long, the frontal bones of the forehead
very shghtly raised, and very httle indentation between
the eyes. Skull, not too broad. Muzzle, long and
moderately pointed. Ears, small and greyhound-Hke
in carriage.

3. Neck. — Rather long, very strong and muscular,
well arched, without dewlap or loose skin about the
throat.

4. Chest. — Very deep. Breast, wide.

5. Back. — Rather long than short. Loins,
arched.

6. Tail. — Long and slightly curved, of moderate
thickness, and well covered with hair.

7. Belly. — Well drawn up.

8. Fore-qitarters. — Shoulders muscular, giving
breadth of chest, set sloping. Elbows well under,
neither turned inwards nor outwards. Leg. — Fore-
arm muscular, and the whole leg strong and quite

straight.

9. TTind-quarters. — Muscular thighs, and second

thigh long and strong as in the greyhound, and
hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out.

10. Feet. — Moderately large and round, neither
turned inw^ards nor outw^ards. Toes well arched and
closed. Nails, very strong and curved.

284 Modern Dogs.

1 1 . Hair. — Rough and hard on body, legs, and
head ; especially wiry and long over eyes and under
jaw.

1 2. Colour and markings. — The recognised colours
are grey, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn, or any
colour that appears in the deerhound.

13. Faults. — Too light or heavy a head, too highly
arched frontal bone ; large ears and hanging flat to
the face ; short neck ; full dewlap ; too narrow or too
broad a chest ; sunken or hollow or quite level
back ; bent fore-legs ; overbent fetlocks ; twisted
feet ; spreading toes ; too curly a tail ; weak hind-
quarters, cow hocks, and a general want of muscle ;
too short in body.

CHAPTER XII.

THE BORZOI OR RUSSIAN WOLFHOUND.

There is no dog of modern times that has so
rapidly attained a certain degree of popularity as
that which is named at the head of this chapter.
A dozen years ago it was comparatively unknown in
England ; now all well-regulated and comprehensive
dog shows give a class or classes for him, which are
usually well filled, and cause quite as much interest
as those for our own varieties. Indeed, the Borzoi is
a noble hound, powerful and muscular in appearance,
still possessing a pleasant and sweet expression, that
tells how kindly his nature is. He is one of the
aristocratic varieties of the canine race, and the
British public is to be congratulated on its discern-
ment in annexing him from the Russian kennels,
where, too, his reputation is of the highest.

In the early days of our dog shows. Borzois,
then known as Siberian and Russian wolfhounds,
and by other names, too, occasionally appeared on
the benches. Most of them were similar in type to

286 Modern Dogs.

those we see now, and no doubt have a common
origin with the ordinary Eastern or Circassian grey-
hounds, occasionally met with in this country. But
the latter were usually smaller and less powerful
than their Russian relative. According to the
''Kennel Club Stud Book" a class for "Russian
deerhounds " was provided at the National dog show
held at the Crystal Palace in 1871. This was not
the case, but a foreign variety class was composed
almost entirely of Russian hounds, and one of them,
Mr. S. T. Holland's Tom won the first prize. Lady
Emily Peel and Mr. Macdona were exhibitors at the
same show.

It will be nearly thirty years since the Czar of
Russia presented the Prince of Wales with a couple
of his favourite hounds, Molodetz and Owdalzka.
These his Royal Highness exhibited on more than
one occasion, and bred from them likewise, Mr.
Macdona having presented to him one of the
puppies. History repeated itself when in 1895
H.R.H. the Princess of Wales was presented with
a splendid hound called Alex, from the Czar's
kennels, which has met with a considerable amount
of success at several leading shows. In 1872 Mr.
Taprell Holland showed an excellent hound in the
variety class at Birmingham, for which he obtained
a prize. Even before this, specimens of the

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 287

Borzoi (sometimes called Siberian Wolfhounds)
were met with on the benches at Curzon Hall.
In 1867, Mr. J. Wright, of Derby, had one called
Nijni ; and three years later the same exhibitor
benched an excellent example of the race in
Cossack, a grandson of Molodetz, already men-
tioned as having belonged to the Prince of Wales,
and being from the Imperial kennels. Perhaps the
earliest appearance of all on the bench was in 1863,
when the then Duchess of Manchester showed a
very big dog of the variety at Islington, and bred by
Prince William of Prussia. I have the authority of
Captain G. A. Graham for stating that this hound
was 31 inches at the shoulders, quite equal in size,
as he was in power, to some of the best specimens
now on our shores.

Thus, after all, this fine race of dog is not quite
such a modern institution in our country as would
be imagined, though the earlier strains, I fancy,
must have been lost, possibly on account of the
inter-breeding consequent on an inability to obtain
a change of blood. Communication between the
eastern and western divisions of Europe is now
much more rapid and easier of accomplishment than
in the early days of dog shows.

Advancing a few years, Lady Charles Kerr occa-
sionally sent some of these Russian hounds to the

288 Modern Dogs.

exhibitions, but most of them were small and some-
what light and weedy — far from such powerful
animals as the best that are with us to-day, and even
they in height do not reach that which belonged to
the late Duchess of Manchester, and already alluded
to. Of course, long before this, the dog, in all his
prime and power, was to be found in most kennels
of the Russian nobles. Some of them had strains
of their own, treasured in their families for years.
Such were mostly used for wolf-hunting, some-
times for the fox and deer, and bred with sufficient
strength and speed to cope with the wolf — not,
indeed, to worry him and kill him, but, as a rule, to
seize and hold him until the hunters came up.

In 1884 a couple of Borzois, which even then we
only knew as Russian wolfhounds, were performing
on a music-hall stage in London, in company with a
leash of Great Danes. The latter were, however,
the cleverer "canine artistes," though the former the
handsomer and more popular animals. I fancy
their disposition is too sedate to make them
eminent on the boards, resembling that of the
St. Bernard and ordinary Highland deerhound,
neither of which we have yet seen attempting to
emulate the deeds of trained poodles and terriers
in turning somersaults and going backwards up a
ladder.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 289

A correspondent, writing to the Field in 1887,
gives the following description of the Borzoi, and it
is so applicable to him at the present time as to be
worth reproducing here. He says this Russian hound
'' Is one of the noblest of all dogs, and in his own
land he is considered the very noblest, and valued
accordingly. Like all things noble that are genuine,
he is rare ; and, like many other highly-bred crea-
tures, the genuine Borzoi is, from in-breeding,
becoming rarer every year. By crossing, however,
with the deerhound and other suitable breeds, the
race will no doubt be kept alive with stained lineage.

'' From the earliest times, the great families of
Russia have bred the Borzoi jealously against each
other for the purpose of wolf hunting, but there are
now few really good kennels of the breed. There
are, I believe, various kinds of Borzois — the smooth,
the short-tailed, &c. — but by far the handsomest,
and the only one of which I have personal know-
ledge, is the rough-haired, long-tailed strain. Of
these I have seen but very few good specimens in
England, and, in fact, have seen prizes given at
shows to very inferior specimens entered in the foreign
class under his name. The true Borzoi is shaped
like a Scotch deerhound, but is a much more power-
ful dog. In height he should be from 26in to 32in.,
with limbs showing great strength, combined with

U

29Q Modern Dogs.

terrific speed power. Indeed, their speed is greater
than that of an EngHsh greyhound. This quaHty is
clearly shown by the long drooping quarters, hocks
well let down close to the ground, and arched loins
of such power and breadth as to give the dog almost
a hunched appearance. The coat is silky, with a
splendid frill round the neck, well-feathered legs, and
a tail beautifully fringed on the under side. The
carriage of the tail is peculiar, as it is almost tucked
between the hind legs, so straight down does it hang
until at the end it curls slightly outwards with a
graceful sweep ; but this, like the bang tail of the
thoroughbred racehorse, adds to the beauty of the
quarters. The depth of these dogs through the
heart is quite extraordinary, giving them, with their
enormous strength of loin, a very powerful appear-
ance, and it seems strange that they do not possess
more staying powers than they are generally
accredited with. The head is very beautiful, being
nearly smooth, and with immense length and strength
of jaws, armed with teeth which make one feel glad to
meet the Borzoi as a friend. The eyes are bright
and wild, and have the peculiarity of varying in
colour with the colour of the dog. Thus, a white
dog marked, with lemon eyes ; a mouse-coloured,
eyes of the same tinge, and so on.

'' The favourite colour of all, and by far the rarest

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 291

for these dogs, is pure white, but this is seldom met
with. The usual colour is white, marked with fawn,
lemon, red, or grey more or less mixed. Perhaps
the prettiest features of all in the Borzoi are its ears,
which are very small, fringed with delicate silky hair,
and should be pricked with a half fall-over like a
good collie's. In his movements he much resembles
a wild animal, and has quite the slouching walk
and long sling trot which is a characteristic of his
born enemy, the wolf. Yet to see a Borzoi trot out
with his long swinging action, and then just break
into a canter, has always reminded me of a two-year-
old cantering down to the post. The muscles on the
quarters, thighs, and arms should be well developed,
as these dogs are intended, and in fact used, to
course the wild wolf. Strong must be the muscles,
long the teeth, and indomitable the pluck of the
Borzoi, who has to encounter single-handed the wild
Wolf in his own haunts. No doubt the Borzoi, on
such occasions, remembers the well-known^ fact that
the favourite meat of the wolf is dog, and acts
accordingly. It is usual, however, to employ two
Borzois to course a wolf, and it is only the best
specimens that can be trusted to account for one
single-handed."

Perhaps, before going more fully into the Borzoi
as a British dog, the following extract from an article

U 2

292 Modern Dogs.

by Mr. F. Lowe, who a few years ago spent some
time in Russia, will give an idea of the extent of
the kennels of the Borzoi hounds, and the value
placed upon them in their native country. He says :
" In the south of Russia, from which I have just
returned, I had the good fortune to be the guest of
a keen and well-known sportsman, Mr. Kalmoutzky,
who, since coming into the inheritance of a magnifi-
cent property of something like twenty square
miles, has built kennels which 1 should say are
not surpassed in any country — being very large
in size, and as near to perfection in detail as can
well be imagined. The lodging houses, numbering
three, are benched on two sides, and at each end
there is a room for a man ; three kennelmen being
allowed for each kennel, two of them on duty night
and day. This gives nine kennelmen to the kennels
and, with five other officials, the number of men
employed on it are fourteen. It is necessary to
have men in attendance at all times, as the wolf-
hounds are very quarrelsome, and terrible fighters.
Each kennel has a large yard of more than three-
quarters of an acre. In addition to the above, there
are commodious kennels for puppies (and these
buildings are heated with hot air), cooking houses,
and a hospital. There is telephone communication
from all the kennels to Mr. Kalmoutzky's house,

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 293

and he expects everything to be In readiness for a
hunt in ten minutes from the time he sends his
orders.

'' In the kennels above described can be seen
perhaps the finest pack of wolfhounds in the
world, numbering twenty-two couples. They form
a magnificent collection, their owner having spared
no expense in getting the best to be found in
Russia, and of the oldest blood. Some of them
have cost ;^3oo each ; and the estimated worth
of the pack is considerably over ;^5ooo.

" A perfect wolfhound must run up to a wolf,
collar him by the neck just under the ear, and, with
the two animals rolling over, the hound must never
lose his hold, or the wolf would turn round and
snap him through the leg. Three of these hounds
hold the biggest wolf powerless ; so that the men
can dismount from their horses and muzzle the wolf
to take him alive.

" The biggest Scotch deerhounds have been tried,
but found wanting ; they will not hold long enough.
And to show how tenacious is the grip of the Russian
hounds, they are sometimes suffocated by the very
effort of holding. Some of them stand 32in at the
shoulder, are enormously deep through the girth,
and their length and power of jaw are something
remarkable. They have a roach back, very long,

294 Modern Dogs.

muscular quarters, and capital legs and feet. In
coat they are very profuse, of a soft, silky texture,
but somewhat open.

" I took the journey to Russia with eleven couples
of foxhounds, as additions for Mr. Kalmoutzky's
pack. I bad cases made to hold two hounds, so
that I had eleven of these big packages, which went
as my personal luggage, the weight being a ton and
a quarter. It took me exactly seven days to get to
my destination, from Dover via Paris, Vienna, and
Jassy ; and I was met in right regal state, as there
was a carriage and four for myself, another for Mr.
Kalmoutzky's steward, and five waggons, each
drawn by four horses, for the hounds, with seven
chasseurs to take charge of them.

" We had nearly forty miles to drive ; and the
hardy little Russian horses did this at a hard gallop,
over plains, with no roads, and there were no
changes. We were just under four hours doing this
wild journey ; and my good friend and host, who did
not expect me to arrive so early, had gone out on a
wolf-seeking expedition ; but on his return, the first
thing, after a most hearty welcome, was to inspect
the kennel, with which I was, of course, greatly
delighted. He would not show me the wolfhounds
at this moment, as that inspection was reserved
until after dinner, when they were all brought into

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 295

his study, one by one, and their exploits separately
recorded. Noble looking fellows they are ; and by
their immense size and powerful frames, 'of much the
same formation as our English greyhound, they are
admirably adapted to course big game. They look
quiet, but the least movement excites them ; and in
leading them even through the hall, from the study,
there was very nearly a battle royal or two. The
Russian chasseurs, though, beat any men I have
ever seen in handling a hound ; and their influence,
apparently all by kindness, is extraordinary. I
noticed that even the puppies at play made for the
same spot in trying to pull each other down —
namely, by the side of the neck under the ear ; and
this mode of attack seems instinctively born in
them. The wolf's running is perfectly straight, and
if he attacks it is straight ahead ; he will only turn
if caught in a manner to do so ; and a dog laying
hold of him over the back or hind quarters would be
terribly punished. The clever wolfhound never gets
hurt, no matter whether he or the wolf attacks first ;
and some singular trials of this sort have taken
place.

'' Recently, a very big wolf, that had been cap-
tured with much difficulty, was matched against any
two hounds in Russia. The challenge was accepted,
and the wolf placed in a huge box in an open space.

296 Modern Dogs.

The moment the trap was pulled the wolf stood and
faced the spectators ; on the hounds being slipped
on him he attacked them; but they avoided his rush,
and pinned him so cleverly that the wolf was muzzled
and carried off without the least difficulty ; where-
upon an enormous price was paid for one of the
hounds.

" The Russian style of hunting would not meet
all our English views of sport; but there is doubtless
a deal of excitement about it Mr. Kalmoutzky's
domain is entirely on a plain, with scarcely any
woodlands at all. It is all like a '' sea of grass,"
the going being as good as on Newmarket Heath,
with here and there the land turned up in cultivation,
but looking much like patches in the vast expanse ;
so also did the reed beds of 300 or 400 acres each,
and these are the coverts for the wolves and foxes.
These reed beds are mostly eight or nine miles apart,
so English foxhunters could see what a gallop could
be had here ; better than Dartmoor or Exmoor, as
the turf is perfect, no rough ground, and the hills
little more than undulations.

" Special hunts would have been arranged on my
behalf, but, alas ! like our own frozen-out sportsmen,
I had to be disappointed, as frost and snow inter-
fered. However, one morning I was given an insight
into wolf coursing, by one that had been previously

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 297

captured being let loose on the snow. First a very
noted hound was slipped to show how one could per-
form single-handed. The start given to the wolf
was about 200 yards, and in about 600 yards the
hound had got up, and in the next instant had taken
hold by the neck, and both seemed to turn head
over heels in a mass. The next course two hounds
were slipped, and these ran up to the wolf one on
each side, catching him almost at the same moment;
the foe was then powerless, and seemed to be as
easily muzzled as a collie dog.

" I remarked to my host that I did not think the
hounds seemed to go quite as fast as our grey-
hounds, and he replied, 'No, they do not. We have
tried them, and the greyhound is the faster ; but
none of your breeds have the hold of our hounds.'

"The plan of a regular hunt was fully described
to me. It is decided to draw a reed bed, and verv
quietly a mounted chasseur with three wolfhounds is
stationed on some vantage ground near. Other
points are guarded in the same manner, and then
the head huntsman rides into the covert with a pack
of foxhounds. The oldest wolves will break covert
at almost the first cheer given to hounds ; but the
younger ones want a lot of rattling. However, the
keen eyes of the men and hounds soon detect wolves
stealing away ; the three hounds are then slipped, a

298 Modern Dogs

gallop begins, and generally, in the course of a mile
or less, the wolf is bowled over. The chasseur then
dismounts, cleverly gets astride the wolf, and collars
him by the ears, the hounds still holding on like
grim death. Another chasseur rides up, slips a
muzzle on the wolf, which is then hauled on to one
of the horses, tightly strapped to the Mexican sort
of saddle, and taken off to a waggon in waiting near.
Foxes are similarly coursed and killed with fox-
hounds, the latter being stopped at the edge of the
covert."

The following account of a wolf hunt, from the
pen of an English officer, will perhaps be found
interesting, as it deals with one or two matters not
alluded to by Mr. Lowe :

'' Some years ago, while I was in the Russian
service, the officers of a cuirassier regiment gave
' ours ' a chance to see these fine dogs work. We
had been trying to hunt wolves with our pack of
boarhounds, but with little success. Occasionally
we shot one, but, though our dogs could bring the
biggest boar to bay, they were useless in tackling
wolves. Several of the boldest and fiercest hounds
had been crippled by the savage brutes.

" One day a courier rode over with an invitation
for all of us to go to Bielowicz two days later. The
Czar's wolfhounds were expected to arrive at the

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 299

lodge at that date, and fine sport was promised.
' Don't trouble to bring any weapons,' the letter ran,
' for these are the dogs we have told you so much
about, and they are to do all the work.

" Of course we all clamoured to be allowed to go,
and gained our point with our good-natured colonel.
As there were fifteen of us then on duty, it was
arranged that three parties of five should each take
three days off, for it took two days to go there and
back. My party got off first, and by riding all day
we reached the lodge before night. The cuirassiers
gave us the best of welcomes and a fine dinner, to
which the chasseur en chef was also invited. The
gentleman had for twenty years had charge of the
Czar's wolfhounds.

" After dinner he ordered his men to bring in some
of the best dogs for our inspection. An attendant
dragged them in one at a time, not without some
trouble ; but as soon as they saw the chasseur they
became as quiet as lambs, and did anything he
ordered. He w^as very proud of them, and gave us
interesting details of their prowess. One huge
fellow, called Dimitri, had the repute of being able
to catch and hold the largest wolf single-handed,
and the chasseur promised to show him off to us the
next day.

" As the coverts to be drawn were seven miles

300 Modern Dogs,

away, we took an early start. Twelve chasseurs,
each leading a fine wolfhound, rode in advance ;
four attendants, with a pack of common hounds,
followed. Next came a big iron cage drawn by four
horses, in which the captured wolves were to be put ;
for, while small and inferior wolves are killed, all the
largest are kept for the young wolfhounds to practise
upon.

'' As soon as the common hounds were sent into
the underbush, hares and foxes came rushing out,
but the boars and wolves were harder to start. The
chasseurs had taken up good positions along the
edge of the forest, where a stretch of open plain
offered a splendid chance to see the fun if any
wolves were driven out. I kept with the man who
had charge of Dimitri.

" With ears erect and nose in the air, this fine dog
seemed to take as much interest in the sport as any
of us. Though the barking and baying hounds
in the coverts came nearer every second, he never
moved a muscle nor made a sound. Suddenly a
big, black wolf rushed out of the scrub, gave one
glance around, then started off for the next covert a
mile away.

'' All the dogs tugged at their leashes ; but not
till the wolf had a clear start of two hundred yards
did the head chasseur's bugle ring out. It was

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 301

DImitri's call; and as he was loosed, he gave one
fierce howl and then bounded silently away.

" With such tremendous energy did he start that
his feet hardly seemed to touch the ground. Every
leap seemed longer than the last ; and as he grew
smaller in the distance, he looked like a big rubber
ball bouncing over the plain. In less than a minute
he had overtaken the wolf and seized him by the
neck under the right ear. A cloud of dust flew up
as dog and wolf rolled over and over ; but when it
cleared away, we saw that Dimitri had brought the
beast to a standstill. His chasseur had followed
him as quickly as his horse would run. On coming
up the man jumped down, and, getting astride of the
wolf, fastened a strong muzzle over its jaws, secured
a chain round round its neck and dragged the now
skulking animal back to where the cage stood.

''In the meantime other wolves had been started,
and several of the dogs were hard at work. When
two were loosed in pursuit of one wolf, they ran
alongside of him, one on each side, until a favourable
opportunity offered, when, with a sudden snap, one
would seize the creature. As the wolf turned to try
to free himself, the other would get a grip that
prevented him from moving at all.

" So surely and neatly did these dogs do their
work that not one was bitten, although no animals

302 Modern Dogs.

can do quicker or more damaging work with their
jaws than wolves.

'' Seven wolves were driven out of that covert,
but only two were thought to be worth keeping.
They were put in the cage, and we moved on to the
next likely spot. In the course of the day the dogs
caught sixteen wolves, not one got away when fairly
out of cover, and we returned to the lodge with five
fine live wolves.

"While discussing the ways of wolves that
evening after dinner, one of us ventured to express
a doubt whether even Dimitri could successfully
face a wolf at bay. The speaker was satisfied that
the dog could seize and hold a running wolf, but did
not believe he could avoid the savage attack such
an animal makes when cornered. Before we left
next morning he was convinced of his error. The
largest captured wolf was turned loose in an
inclosed yard, and Dimitri was set on him. Seeing
himself trapped, the wolf did not wait for the dog
to attack, but rushed straight at him.

" The two animals met and closed, rolling over
and over ; but when the struggles ceased, Dimitri
had the wolf securely by the neck, and had not
received a scratch. Our friend, the chasseur en
chef, offered to bring out other hounds that could do
this feat as well as Dimitri ; but we were convinced.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 303

As our time was up, we departed, regretting that we
could not take a few of the Czar's wolfhounds away
with us."

Following the publication of Mr. Lowe's article
some correspondence ensued, and Colonel Wellesley
forwarded an interesting communication he had
received from Prince Obolensky on the subject.
His Royal Highness, who has a famous strain of
Borzoi of his own, and may be taken as a leading
authority on the breed, says :

*' The dogs that have been catalogued at various
shows in England for the last three years are pure
Borzoi, and have come originally from the best
kennels in Russia. For instance, Krilutt, Pagooba,
Sobol, Zloeem, and others were not ordinary working
hounds, but dogs that were admired in their native
country, both on the show bench and in the field.
Pagooba, for example, who is of exceptional size for
a bitch, has several times pinned wolves single-
handed.

''The English traveller mentions the size — viz.,
32in. — of the dogs he saw as tremendous. There
are exceptional cases where the Borzoi has stood
very near that height. At the dog show in Moscow
this year a dog called Pilai measured 3iiin., or 80
centimetres ; but the average height is from 28in. to
29jin. It often proves to be the case, however, that,

304 Modem Dogs.

for working purposes, the smaller dog shows itself to
excel in speed, pluck, and tenacity.

" For wolf hunting I personally prefer the English
greyhound, acclimatised here (i.e. born in Russia
from English parents) ; but I am also a great admirer
of the Russian rough-coated Borzoi. I may claim
to know something about the latter, because for
many years I have bred and hunted them, and my
dogs are the lineal descendants of those bred by my
grandfather, General Bibikoff, who was himself
renowned for his sporting proclivities, and for the
excellence of his breed of dogs. So valued is that
strain now, that it can be found in most of the best
kennels in Russia."

In addition to sport with Borzois obtained in the
above manner, occasional meetings are held where
hares are coursed; and ''bagged," or rather ''caged,"
wolves treated in a similar manner. Judging,
however, from what I have been told of such gather-
ings, they are by no means desirable or of a high
class, so need not be further alluded to here.

It is but natural that with the popularisation of a
new variety of dogs, some discussion should take place
thereon. In the present instance, an attempt was
made upon the name of the hound, but as the word
Borzoi had obtained general acceptance, was easy
to pronounce, and not too long to puzzle even a

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 305

child, the "raid" failed. It is now adopted by the
Kennel Club, by the chief Russian authorities, and no
doubt that hound once known as the Russian wolf-
hound will remain the Borzoi to the end of his
days. On this matter. Prince Obolensky says :
" I am glad to see English sporting papers adopting
the Russian name for this breed, for the word itself
(Borzoi /;/as., Borzaia fern.) means ' swift and hot-
tempered ;' and though poets sometimes apply the
expression to a high-spirited steed, it is,, with this
exception, always applied to greyhounds only ; for
this reason the English greyhound is called, in
Russia, ' Angliskaia Borzaia,' or English Borzoi.''

Some little time before the above was published,
Lieutenant G. Tamooski, writing from Merv, pro-
posed the term '^ Psovi," which means literally ''thick
coated," as a fit name for the dog as it is known in
this country, because he says "Borzoi" means any
coursing hound whatever.

The Duchess of Newcastle, Colonel and the Hon.
Mrs. Wellesley, the Duke and Duchess of Welling-
ton, Mrs Morrison, of near Salisbury ; Lady Innes
Kerr, Mr. A. H. Blees, Mrs. Coop, Mrs. W. B. Stamp,
Mrs. E. H. Barthropp, Mrs. M. E. Musgrave, Mrs.
G. W. Fitzwilliam, Miss A. M. Head, Mrs. Young,
Miss M. Thompson, and many others, have given
particular attention to the Borzoi, and they, with

X

3o6 Modem Dogs.

Mr. K. Muir, an English resident in Moscow, who
brought over with him, during a visit to this country,
a couple of excellent hounds, own, or have owned,
animals perhaps as good as can be found in any
Russian kennel. Their best specimens are much
stronger, and more powerful than most of those seen
at our earlier shows. Mrs. Wellesley's Krilutt was
measured to be 3oin. at the shoulders, and pretty
nearly loolb. in weight, and Mr. Muir's Korotai was
half an inch taller, and said to be i lolb. in weight.
Both were Russian born, and proved their ability to
win prizes at St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well
as in our own country. Like the rest of their race,
they are "thick coated dogs" — the smoother ones
are not liked in this country — not so hard in their
hair as the English deerhound, but the jacket is
closer, and, if not so straight, is perhaps the more
weather-resisting of the two. As the Russians
themselves say that the two kinds of coat, thick and
comparatively smooth, appear in puppies of the same
litter, there is no other conclusion to arrive at, that
they are one and the same variety. At any rate,
they are allowed to be so in this the land of their
adoption.

Considerable interest was taken in the extra-
ordinary collection of this hound that appeared at
the Agricultural Hall, Islington, in February, 1892.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 307

Here, many classes had been provided, the result
being, an entry of about fifty. These included a
splendid team from the "Imperial Kennels," most of
which belonged to the Grand Duke Nicholas. How-
ever, three were actually the property of the Czar,
including a beautiful bitch called Lasca, and a
couple of dogs, Oudar and Blitsay. Oudar was a
particularly fine hound, and though in bad condition,
consequent on his long journey from St. Petersburg,
he stood well with the best of our previously
imported dogs, and in the end gained second
honours in perhaps as good an open class as was
ever seen anywhere. He stood 30^in. at the
shoulders, and scaled about 1051b.

Most of these Russian dogs were sold, some of
them for high prices, Oudar realising ;^20o, the
bitch already named as much, and the then Lord
Mayor of London was presented with a handsome
specimen. Their " caretaker" had instructions to
sell the lot, but none for less than ^^20 apiece. The
strains in this country have been improved by these
importations, and any fears as to degeneracy from
inter-breeding may now be set at rest. Another big
dog of the race was Colonel Wellesley's Damon,
3ofin. at the shoulders, and about iiolb. in weight,
but when we saw him he did not quite equal in
symmetry and general excellence such dogs as

X 2

3o8 Modern Dogs.

Krilutt, Oudar, Korotai, and may be of another
dog, imported by Mr. Summerson, of Darlington,
called Koat, afterward H'Vat.

To dwell a little more upon the very best speci-
mens seen in England — Krilutt and Korotai, with
Oudar and Ooslad, have been and still are equal to
anything I have seen. The latter, a fawn hound, is
rather smaller than the others, but on one occasion,
at least, he beat Korotai, a decision with which I
did not agree ; for if Ooslad was a little finer in the
head, his opponent beat him in coat, colour, power,
size, and in all other particulars. Korotai was a white
dog with slight blue markings. It is said that w^hen
in Russia he had run down and overpowered a wolf.
His strain was of the highest and most valued pedi-
gree, and I certainly liked him the best of any of his
race I had seen until Oudar came on to the scene.
However, at the show^ already alluded to, the latter
was not in good condition, and suffered defeat ;
Korotai winning chief honours in an extraordinary
fine lot of dogs. Krilutt had been in the challenge
class ; Oudar was first in a division for novices,
and at the present time he is well cared for in the
kennels of The Duchess of Newcastle at Clumber,
and, although now over eight years old, is able
to take more than his part against the best on
the show bench. At the present time there are

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 309

over fifty Borzois at Clumber, of which Velasquez
and Velsk, by Korotai — Vikhra, are perhaps the best
couple ever bred in this country. Tsaritsa, bred by
Count Stroganoff, also deserves special mention, a
bitch by many good judges considered the best of
her sex ever exhibited.

Argos (Mr. O. H. Blees's), a black and tan in
colour, was also a very nice hound, excepting so far
as the colour goes, which is not good. The owner
of the last named Borzoi, w^ho is a Russian, has
repeatedly been an exhibitor in this country, and
at the Kennel Club's show, in 1891, he took first,
second, and third prizes in dogs, but was not so
successful in bitches, where Mr. F. Lowe won, with a
powerful and excellent specimen he had brought with
him from Russia, and called Roussalka. She w^ould,
no doubt, have been useful here, but, unfortunately,
died soon after the show. Colonel Wellesley's
bitch, Pagooba, and Mr. R. B. Summerson's dog
Koat, afterwards H'Vat, were hounds of high class.

Of these many excellent specimens, Colonel
.Wellesley must have the honour of being first in
the field with Krilutt, who made an early appearance
— and a most successful one it was — at the Kennel
Club show, when held at the Alexandra Palace in
1889 — the year of the bloodhound trials. Krilutt
had come with a great reputation as the winner

3IO Modern Dogs.

of a silver medal at Moscow, and quite bore out
all the good words that had been said of him.
Exquisite in coat and colour — the latter white with
light markings of pale fawn — he stood taller than
any other dog in his class, and up to this period and
for some time after was certainly the best Borzoi I
had seen. Since, two or three have appeared that
are, I believe, quite his equals. Whether it is worth
while mentioning a dog named Zloeem, which, a
year later, had been purchased in Russia by an
American gentleman, Mr. Paul Hacke, is an open
question. However, it was said that Zloeem could
lower the colours of Krilutt and all other opponents,
and at Brighton and the Crystal Palace was pro-
duced for the purpose of doing so. How com-
pletely he failed is now a matter of history — a
second-rate dog only when at his very best.
Since the above dogs flourished many good
specimens have appeared, notably H.R.H. the
Princess of Wales's Alex, who has been particularly
successful on the bench ; Mrs. Coop's Windle
Courtier, the Duchess of Newcastle's Velasquez^
Vikra, and Milkha ; Mrs. Kate Sutton's Vera HI.,
Mrs. Barthropp's Leiba, Mrs. Musgrave's Opromiot,
Mrs. Stamp's Najada, and some others, the names
of which do not occur to me.

It might be well to mention that considerable

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 31

risk is run by the loss of these dogs immediately
after their arrival in this country. To my personal
knowledge, three or four deaths have so taken
place. No doubt the changes of food, in their
manner of living, and in other surroundings,
bring on a complication of disorders not unlike
ordinary distemper. That handsome bitch, Rous-
salka, brought over by Mr. F. Lowe, died soon
after it left his kennels — it cost its new owner
;^ioo; and Mr Muir's Korotai had a narrow
escape, lying at death's door for several days.
Being a dog of strong, hardy constitution, and w^ell
nursed, he contrived to pull through.

The usual colours of the Borzoi are white with
markings of fawn in varyino^ shades, of blue or
slate, sometimes of black and tan. The latter is
not considered good, nor are the whole colours
which are occasionally seen — fawn and black and
tan. Some of the white dogs are occasionally
patched with pale brindle, which, however, is not
so well defined in its bars or shades as that colour is
found on our greyhounds and bull dogs. Many per-
sons object to the brindle or " tiger-coloured " marks,
and Colonel Tchebeshoff, one of the great authorities
on the breed, disqualifies black, and black and tan,
and white with black spots, as indicating descent
from English or Oriental greyhounds. Still, against

12 Modern Dogs.

this opinion there is a famous picture, in the posses-
sion of the Czar, of four Borzois chasing a wolf. At
least one of these animals has the appearance of
being black and tan, with an almost white face, very
broad white collar and chest, white stern and hind
quarters.

The size of the Borzoi and his coat will have
been surmised from what has already been written.
His general appearance will be seen from the
illustration. As a companion he is highlv spoken
of, but, like all other dogs, he must be brought
up for the purpose for which he is intended.
In most of the Russian kennels he is kept solely
for hunting a savage animal (by a few only to be
used for fox and hare), and to do so successfully
must be savage himself. Those which have been
reared in this manner, and not had the benefit of
civilising home influences, are not to be trusted any
more than would one of our own foxhounds. But,
as I have said, properly brought up and educated,
he will be found as companionable as the best —
no fonder of fighting than the deerhound, faithful
as the collie, and as handsome and picturesque as
either. His naturalisation with us is accomplished,
and I can see no reason whatever why he is any
more likely to be eliminated from " Modern Dogs "
than the St. Bernard. He will be used here as a

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 313

purely fancy variety ; there are no wolves for him
to kill, hares and rabbits are out of his line, and
deer must be left for the big foxhound and the
Highland deerhound.

I have written of the Borzoi as we know him
here, and as he will in the future be known, taking
no account of the various strains said to be in the
Czar's dominions, and the following description of
him, translated from the Russian by M. A. Boldareff,
a member of the Imperial Hunt, Moscow, and which
appeared in the Stock Keeper in July, 1896, will be
found interesting :

" The general appearance of the Borzoi is noble
and elegant. This is shown in the shape of the
head, the silkiness and brilliancy of the hair, and
even in the gait, which should be full of energy and
grace. The different points of the dog, taken
separately, have no value in the general appearance ;
the dog may have defects in head properties, in the
body, in the legs, the coat may be too short, but
nevertheless its air of nobility and elegance, its blue-
blood aspect, will indicate purity of breeding. Only
pure blood and careful breeding for several genera-
tions will impart this look, which excites the
admiration of connoisseurs of Borzois and all other
lovers of dogs.

"It is a pity that nowadays many of our sportsmen

314 Modern Dogs.

surrender general appearance for perfection in other
points, so that the Borzoi of high and noble quahty
is becoming rare.

" The pure race of the Borzoi is principally
characterised by the shape of the head, the
ear, and by the tail. Many breeders concen-
trate their attention upon the head, and disdain
the tail.

"We find, on the contrary, that the tail is one of
the most characteristic points of race, because its
thinness, its elasticity, and its shape, which resembles
a reaping hook {a), among all the Russian breeds
(we consider the Crimean and Caucasian varieties as
Russian) belong exclusively to the Borzoi (b).

" Muzzle slightly arched and forehead prominent
are typical of the Borzoi, but when the arch is too
pronounced or the forehead too prominent, they are
faults.

" The skull must be long, oval to the sides, and
have a small slip to the back part of the head^
finishing by a prominency sharp enough and well
pronounced. Every other form is not typical.

"The muzzle is long, thin, and clean, the nostrils

{a) A comparison very popular among Eussian hunters.

(//) The writer forgets the greyhounds of Poland, whose tails are
exactly of the same shape as the Borzoi, only covered with very
short hair.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound, 315

rather large and slightly projecting over the lower
jaw. The nose must be black {a).

" The eye must be full, and of oblong shape
(an oblique eye Is a defect, and a round one Is
not typical) ; It must be of a dark colour In a dark
lining (/?). Its expression Is austere, but certainly
not when mdoors or when the dog Is caressed, but
at liberty or while hunting.

" The ear Is small, thin (Its thinness is a proof of
high blood), having the form of a wedge. It must
be very mobile, and Is sometimes carried erect like a
horse's ear (r).

*' This last quality Is one of the best proofs of
high birth. The hair that covers the ear must be
very short, soft as satin, and must not grow In
bunches. The dog should carry its neck like an
English greyhound, but the Borzoi's neck Is shorter,
and Is not so straight. The shoulders should be flat
and well seen ; the elbows must not be turned out-
wards, but should be clear of the sides of the dog.

" The arch of the back of a dog must be quite

(«) A nose not sufficiently black, even when it has the colour of
flesh, must not be considered as a proof of bad race. It is simply
a symptom of poorness of blood.

[b) A light eye and the absence of a dark linmg represent the
same defect as a light nose.

(c) A favourite comparison with Russian amateurs.

3i6 Modern Dogs.

regular and make no impression of a hump. The
arch seems higher than it really is, because the hind
part of the dog is higher than the fore part. The
bitch has the back less arched, but even a high arch
must not be considered as a great defect.

" The ribs of the Borzoi must descend as low as
the elbow They can be either flat or round, their
form depending upon the breadth of the back ; but
they must never be too round {a). The ribs must
gradually get smaller to the stomach. The stomach
is drawn in and quite hidden behind' the groin. The
groin of a dog must be small ; the less the better.
A bitch must have it longer.

"The hind quarters are long and broad. The
dog is more sloping than the bitch. A short and
drooping loin is a great defect, because it forces the
hind legs to be quite straight {b).

" The fore legs are quite straight. The bone
must be flat from the side, and not round. The foot
resembles that of a hare {c), with toes of medium
length. On each toe grows a bunch of hair, long

{a) Not so round as the sides of an English greyhound.

{b) Many huntsmen begin to prefer a sloping loin. The reason
is that this form was common to the majority of coursing winners
in Russia.

(c) Comparison generally used by Russian amateurs. We
consider a cat foot a fault for Borzois.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 317

and thin {a). The under part of the paw is of an
oblong form.

'* The hind legs are parallel one to another,
slightly set back (not too much).

" The thighs are fiat, with very broad bones. The
muscles are flat, long, and firm.

" The tail is thin, but strong in its beginning,
growing gradually thinner and thinner to the end ; it
must be elastic, have the form of a sickle, and be of
medium length. Its upper part is covered with
curly hair, but the hair on the lower part is long
and slightly undulated.

'' The hair of the dog is curly on the neck, slightly
wavy on the back of the dog — as far as the loins —
and again more wavy on the thighs, much shorter on
the sides, but falls long and satin-like from the chest.

'' Personally, we admit as typical colour of the
hair only white, grey, yellow, and white spotted
with grey and yellow (^)."

In Russia, although judging dogs by points is in
vogue, the procedure connected therewith is arranged
on different lines to that followed in this country.

i^a) Not for dogs in field condition.

{b) All pur amateurs were quite astonished when we heard that
a black dog (1 think its name was Argos) was proclaimed champion
in England^ This colour is one of the first proofs of a great deal
of Crimean or Caucasian blood.

Modern Dogs.

For instance, forty-five is taken as the complement
indicating perfection, and each point of the dog is
given five, no particular one having a greater number
allowed than another. However, to modify this the
various points are placed in order of precedence,
according to the Russian standard, they being as
follows : Hind legs, fore legs, ribs, back, general
symmetry, muzzle, eyes, ears, tail.

In 1892 a Borzoi club was established in Great
Britain, and the following is their description of the
hound :

Head. — Lonof and lean. The skull flat and
narrow ; stop not perceptible, and muzzle long and
tapering. The head from the forehead to the tip of
the nose should be so fine that the shape and direc-
tion of the bones and principal veins can be seen
clearly ; and in profile should appear rather Roman
nosed. Bitches should be even narrower in head
than dogs. Eyes dark, expressive, almond shaped,
and not too far apart. Ears, like those of a grey-
hound : small, thin, and placed well back on the
head, with the tips, when thrown back, almost
touching behind the occiput.

Neck. — The head should be carried somewhat low,
with the neck continuing the line of the back.

Shoulders. — Clean, and sloping well back.

Chest. — Deep, and somewhat narrow.

llie Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 319

Back. — Rather bony, and free from any cavity in
the spinal column, the arch In the back being more
marked In the dog than In the bitch.

Loins. — Broad and very powerful, with plenty of
muscular development.

Thighs. — -Long and well developed, with good
second thigh.

Ribs. — Slightly sprung at the angle of the ribs ;
deep, reaching to the elbow, and even lower.

Fore legs. — Lean and straight. Seen from the
front they should be narrow, and from the side broad
at the shoulders and narrowing gradually down to
the foot, the bone appearing flat and not round as In
the foxhound.

Hind legs. — The least thing under the body when
standing still, not straight and the stifle slightly
bent.

Muscles — Well distributed, and highly developed.

Pasterns. — Strong.

Feet. — Like those of a deerhound, rather long ;
the toes close together and well arched.

Coat. — Long, silky (not woolly), either flat, wavy,
or rather curly. On the head, ears, and front legs it
should be short and smooth ; on the neck, the frill
should be profuse and rather curly ; on the chest
and rest of body, the tail, and hind quarters, It should
be long. The tail should be well feathered.

320 Modem Dogs.

Tail. — Long, well feathered, and not gaily carried.

Height. — At shoulder of dog, from 28 Inches
upwards ; of bitches, from 26 inches upwards.

Faults. — Head, short or thick ; too much stop ;
parti-coloured nose ; eyes too wide apart ; heavy
ears, heavy shoulders; wide chest; "barrel" ribbed ;
dew claws ; elbows turned out, wide behind.

The colour ought to be white, with blue, grey, or
fawn markings of different shades, the latter some-
times deep orange coloured, approaching red. Pale
brindled marks on the white ground are often found,
and are not objectionable, and fawn dogs with or
without black muzzles are not unusual. Whole
colours are unsatisfactory. The lighter marked
animals are the handsomest and the most admired
in this country, though, as stated earlier on, one or
two heavily coloured dogs of great merit have been
shown here.

One Russian admirer of the breed gives some of
the characteristics of the Borzoi as follows : '' The
structure of the body of a pure bred Russian Borzoi
astonishes everybody by its thinness, elasticity, and
form of the bones. The muscles are not hard and
cushion-formed, but on touching, nearly elastic and
long-stretched, which enable these dogs to reach
any other animal at a short distance with a few
leaps. They have a soft, silky, and glossy coat, the

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 321

hair never hanging down in short hard locks. The
character of the dog is mostly morose, but as a pet
his intelligence mostly increases, but the most
astonishing thing is his sharp-sightedness and rage
against other animals when hunting.''

According to our English notion of awarding
points I should make those of the Borzoi as follows:

Value.

Head and muzzle 15

Ears and eyes 10

Neck and chest 10

Back and loins 15

Ribs 10

60

Value,

Thighs and hocks 10

Legs and feet 10

Stern 5

Coat 5

General symmetry 10

40

Grand Total, 100.

The height for a dog should be from 27 inches to
31 inches at the shoulder ; a bitch about two inches
smaller. Weight, a dog, from 75lb. to 1051b. ; a
bitch, from 6olb. to 8olb.

I do not know that measurements are. as a rule,
any great guide in determining excellence, still the
following figures relating to the well-known Krilutt,
and published in the Dog Owner^s Annual for
1892, will give some idea as to what a perfect
Borzoi ought to be when analysed statistically
in inches: ''Length of head, 11^ inches; from
occiput to between shoulders, 11^; between

VOL. L Y

32 2 Modern Dogs.

shoulders to between hips, 23 ; between hips to set
on of tail, 6 J- ; length of tail, 21 inches ; total length,
73J inches. Height at shoulders, 30J inches ; girth
of chest, 33; of narrowest part of '' tuck-up," 22;
girth above stifle bend, 13 ; round stifle, 11^; round
hock joint, 6^] below that joint, 4^; round elbow
joint, 85- ; above that point, 8f ; girth, midway
between elbow and pastern, 6^ ; round neck, 1 7 ;
girth of head round occiput, 16J; girth between
occiput and eyes, 16J; girth round the eyes, 13! ;
and girth of the muzzle between eyes .and nose,
9 inches. Weight about gSlb.

As to the above. Captain Graham tells me he
measured Krilutt carefully on more than one occa-
sion, but could not make him more than 29! inches
at the shoulders, and I have made his full height
bare 30 inches.

It may be said that I have not entered with
sufficient fulness into the history of the Borzoi, as he
is known in Russia, and given the names of the
various strains some writers claim there are in his
native country. We are, however, contented with
the animal as we have him here, and to tell his
admirers that there is a strain of the hound, known
as the Tchistopsovoy Borzoi, another as the Psovoy
Borzoi, that the Courland Borzoi is extinct, and
other such matter, would be a little too confusing.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 323

And really so much has appeared about this dog
since his popularisation in this country that is of
doubtful truth, care ought to be taken in what is
reproduced.

One recent writer tells us that, even so far back as
1800, certain Borzoi of the Courland strain were sold
for from 7,000 to 10,000 roubles apiece, which, in
our money, cannot be computed at less than from
1000/. to 1500/. a head! No wonder that so valu-
able a hound has become extinct (on the principle
that the best always die), and it is interesting to
learn that, at a time when we in England were giving
50/. each or little more for our very best hounds,
more than twenty times that sum was being paid in
Russia for similar quadrupeds.

Still the Borzoi always did flourish in the
dominions of the Czar, and the Imperial kennels at
St. Petersburg usually contain from fifty to sixty full
grown Borzois and almost as many puppies. There
are fourteen men kept to look after and to train them
to their proper work, and the nature of this I have
already stated. Whatever may be urged to the
contrary, it must further be said that, in pace and
general excellence for hare coursing purposes, this
Russian hound is far behind our own good grey-
hound ; but, as already stated, it is not our admira-
tion for him as a sporting dog which has made him

Y 2

324 Modern Dogs.

fashionable. His shape and elegance have made his
fortune here, nor, so far as the present outlook is
concerned, is it likely to wane in the near future.
Perhaps before this volume is in the hands of the
public a special exhibition of Borzoi will have taken
place, for arrangements for holding one at South-
port, Lancashire, are in progress, and it will be
under the auspices of the Borzoi Club. Her
Grace the Duchess of Newcastle has consented to
judge, and, no doubt, the novelty of a canine exhibi-
tion of the kind will ensure its success, especially as
it will be the first occasion upon which a lady of
such social distinction and noble family has officiated
in the judging ring.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE GREAT DANE.

Here is a dog, not an English animal, but one
thoroughly acclimatised to the rigours of our climate,
and fairly naturalised. Still, it seems as it were only
the other day (it is nearly thirty years since) that
''Stonehenge" (Mr. J. H. Walsh) refused to give it a
place in the first edition of his ^' Dogs of the British
Isles," which Mr. F. Adcock then requested him to
do.

I do not think that this dog (under which name,
following the Great Dane Club's good example, I
include boarhounds, German mastiffs, and tiger
mastiffs) has made great progress here. Fifteen
years since he appeared in a fair way to become a
favourite. The ladies took him up, the men patron-
ised him, but the former could not always keep him
in hand. Handsome and symmetrical though he
may be, he had always a temper and disposition of
his own, which could not be controlled when he
became excited. Personally, I never considered the

326 Modern Dogs.

Great Dane suitable as a companion or as a
domestic dog. He might act as a watch or guard
tied up in the yard, or, may be, could be utilised in
hunting big game, or in being hunted by it in return,
but he always seemed out of place following a lady or
gentleman. When the early orders came into force in
London and elsewhere, commanding all dogs to be
muzzled or led on a chain, the Great Dane received
a severe blow. Muzzling amazed him, and made
him savage, the restraint of chain or lead was not to
be borne. The dog pulled ; his fair mistress had
either to free him from the chain or be overpowered.
She did the former, and her unmanageable pet
chevied a terrier across the road, and the m.ischief
was done.

In that suburb in which I reside the Dane was
numerous enough before the various rabies scares
and the muzzling orders. He could not be confined
with safety, so he had to be got rid of, and where
once a dozen boarhounds reigned not one is now to
be seen. This is, I think, an advantage few owners
of dogs find fault with, for he, when not under control,
was fond of fighting, and his immense strength and
power gave him a great advantage over any other
dog. Some twenty-five years or so ago, in the ring
at a provincial show in Lancashire, Mr. Adcock's
then celebrated Great Dane, called Satan, got at

The Great Dane. 327

loggerheads with a Newfoundland, and the latter,
poor thing, was shaken like a rat, and would soon
have ceased to live, excepting in memory, had not
three strong, stout men choked off the immense
German Dog.

This was about the time he was being introduced
to this country, or may be, rather, re-introduced, for
I am one who believes that a hundred years ago
there was in Ireland a Great Dane, not a wolf-
hound proper, but an actual Great Dane, just as he
is known to-day. Hence the confusion that has
arisen between the two varieties. From paintings
and writings of a past generation there is no difficulty
in making out this dog to be as old as any of the race
of canines that we possess, but as he is brought
forward here as a British dog, his history before he
became such would be out of place. However, it
may be said that M. Otto-Kreckwitz, of Munich, a
great authority on the breed, says that " the nearest
approach to the German Dogge (the Great Dane) of
our time is one which is represented on a Greek cojn
from Panormos, dating from the 5th century B. C.,
and now in the Royal Museum, Munich. This dog
with cropped ears is exactly our long-legged elegant
Dogge with a graceful neck." The same authority
takes exception to the name of the Great Dane on
the grounds that, as he is now, he was actually made

328 Modern Dogs,

in Germany and thus should be called the German
Dogge on the same principle that we have the
English Mastiff.

Amongst our earliest specimens of the race,
Satan, already alluded to, must take a leading place,
though his temper was so bad. He was a heavily
made, dark coloured dog, with a strong head and
jaw, that would not be at all popular with the present
admirers of the variety. However, his owner, Mr.
F. Adcock, was an enthusiast, and by his patronage
of the dog, and his subsequent establishment of a
Great Dane Club, did more than any other man to
bring the strain prominently before the British
public.

It was not, however, until 1884, that special
classes were provided for them at Birmingham,
the Kennel Club having acknowledged them in their
stud book the same year. However, at both places
he, a year previously, had classes given him, but as
a *' boarhound," and since, with his name changed
to ''Great Dane," '' boarhounds " and ''German
mastiffs '^ have become creatures of the past.

I have a note of a big black and white dog,
shown by Sir Roger Palmer, about 1863 or 1864,
which was said to be 35 inches at the shoulder,
2oolb. weight, and a Great Dane ! I never saw a
dog of this variety approaching this size, and at that

The Great Dwne. 329

time a two hundred pound weight dog had not been
produced. Satan himself, a very heavy dog, would
not be more than, perhaps, 1501b. at most.

Coming a little later, we find that in June, 1885,
a dog show, devoted entirely to Great Danes, was
held at the Ranelagh Club Grounds, near London.
This was just at the time when the animal was reach-
ing the height of his popularity here, and a noble
show the sixty hounds, benched under the lime trees
in those historic grounds, made. Never has such a
collection of the variety been seen since in our island*
and, need I say, never such a one previously. The
great fawn dog, Cedric the Saxon, was there, perfect
in symmetry, and a large dog; carefully measured,
he stood 33:^ inches at the shoulder. With Captain
Graham, I took the heights of several of these big
dogs on that occasion, and it was extraordinary
how the thirty-five and thirty-six inch animals
dwindled down, some of them nearly half a foot at
a time.

The tallest and heaviest hounds we made a care-
ful note of were Mr. Reginald Herbert's Leal, who
stood 33f inches at the shoulders, and weighed
1821b. ; M. Riego's brindled dog, Cid Campeador,
who stood exactly 33-J^ inches, and his weight was
1751b. This couple were the tallest dogs of their
race I had up to that time seen, but, at Brighton

330 • Modern Dogs.

show in 1895 I weighed and measured a dog called
Morro, the property of Mr. Woodruffe Hill. He
stood fully 34 inches at the shoulders and scaled
1901b. Height is a great consideration in the breed,
the club's standard being from 30 inches to 35
inches for a dog, and from 28 inches to 33 inches
for a bitch.

It would appear that, within the last eighty years
or so, considerable improvement must have been
made in the size and power of the Great Dane.
Sydenham Edwards, who wrote of him in 1803, said
he was usually about twenty - eight inches in height,
though, occasionally, he would be found thirty - one
inches. The same writer goes on to describe him :
'^ Ears, usually cropped ; eyes, in some, white, in
others yellow, or half white or yellow. A beautiful
variety, called the Harlequin Dane, has a finely
marked body, with large or small spots of black,
grey, liver colour, or sandy-red, upon a white ground
. . . . The grand figure, bold, muscular action
and elegant carriage of the Dane, would recom-
mend him to notice, had he no useful properties ;
and thus we find him honoured in adding to the
pomp of the noble or the wealthy, before whose
carriage he trots or gallops in a fine style ; not noisy,
but of approved dignity, becoming his intrepid
character he keeps his stall in silence," Edwards

The Great Dane. 331

further says this dog must be muzzled, to prevent
him attacking his own species.

Contrary to the above statement we have that
of Richardson, who, writing about 1848, says the
Great Dane is a dog of gigantic stature, standing
from thirty to thirty-two inches in height at the
shoulders, or even more. He says the ears are
short, and drop down very gracefully. At the
present time they are big, and hang down in a
fashion so ungainly, that until quite recently it was
the custom to crop them, an operation that was
best performed when the puppies were about three
weeks old, and when suckling their dam. One
large breeder, Mr. E. H. Adcock, followed this
custom successfully, and the wounds were soon
healed by the contact of a mother's tongue.
Others " cropped " their puppies when three or
four months old, some still later, w^hen the dog
was more matured, say at eight or nine months,
but at that time it was a nasty job, and a terribly
unpleasant one, to him who took it in hand.
Happily this cropping is illegal nowadays, and is
only alluded to here as one of the follies of a fast
passing away generation.

Perhaps it was the custom to have these dogs
shorn of part of their ears that led to their,
comparatively speaking, non-popularisation, for it

332 Modern Dogs.

is difficult to find proficient operators, who run
the risk of fine or imprisonment if the cruelty
they perpetrate be brought to the notice of the
authorities.

A few years ago, I was attending one of the
Crystal Palace dog shows, and engaged in conversa-
tion with a man, well known as a skilful performer
on the ears of terriers and other dogs. Walking
past the benches where the Danes were chained, we
were startled by a terrible growl and furious lunge, a
huge brindled dog springing up and making violent
attempts to reach the man to whom I was talking.
Luckily for him the chain and collar and staple
held. I never saw so much ferocity depicted on the
face of any animal whatever, as there was on the
countenance of that Great Dane. It would have
been bad for that man had it got loose. Need it be
said, we soon gave it a wide berth. '* What was the
meaning of that?" said I to the fellow, who was, in
reality, very much frightened and shaken by the
occurrence. '* W^ell," said he, '' I know the dog, he
was badly ' cropped,' and about five months ago,

Mr. called me down to his place to * perform '

on his ears again. We had a terrible job with him,
and I guess the dog just recognised me, and wanted
to have his revenge. I shall have nothing more to
do with cropping * boarhounds,' " continued the

The Great Dane. 333

whilom operator, " nor do I think I shall go near his
bench ; no, not if I knows it ! "

I fancy from the above and other experiences I
have gained, that no other variety of British dog
possesses the same strength of mind, and is so ready
to resent a supposed injury as he. It is dangerous
to thrash some of them ; they may turn on you, or
will surlily growl ; and in fighting with any opponent
they are not always able to discriminate between the
hands of their master (who may be interfering in the
combat) and the throat of an opponent. Still,
faithful and intelligent, many of them are thoroughly
trustworthy when their master is about — not always
in his absence. They possess great power and
activity, and are most symmetrically built. The
Great Dane is usually a good water dog, but there
are some which will not swim a yard.

As we know him here as a companion and a guard
only, no more than passing allusion need be made
to him as a sporting dog, to hunt the wild boar and
chase the deer. That he was used for these pur-
poses long before he came to be a house dog there
is no manner of doubt, for his portraits can be
recognised in all the great pictures of hunting
scenes that took place in the Middle Ages.
This is the reason I place him in the group o£
Sporting Dogs.

334 Modern Dogs.

That he is thoroughly amenable to discipline I
found some few years ago, in 1884, during a visit to
the Oxford Music Hall, in London. Here Mr. Fred.
Felix, a well-known trainer, had a group of performing
dogs, which included three Great Danes, and all good
specimens, especially the best trick dog in the lot, who
no doubt gloried in his name of Grandmaster. These
dogs went through a variety of performances in an
extraordinarily kindly and willing manner, jumping
through hoops, walking on their hind legs, sitting on
chairs, jumping over each other's backs, with all the
docility and more of the freedom than the poodle would
have displayed.

Grandmaster made some astonishing leaps, and
two of the hounds had a "make-believe" fight, growl-
ing, seizing each other, and rolling on the stage as
they might have done in a less friendly strife. The
latter was a performance I have not since seen
attempted, and must be a most difficult thing for
a trainer to teach. I do not know when I was
better pleased with a group of performing dogs
than I was with these Great Danes. I have seen
other showmen performing with them in a cage
of lions, and similar dogs formed a portion of
"a happy family" of wild beasts that a few years
since proved a great attraction at the Crystal
Palace.

The Great Dane. 335

Again it is not unusual for the Dane to be
trained to find truffles, a well known edible fungus
which grows underground.

A friend of mine who has kept the variety for
years, and still owns some exceedingly fine specimens,
says the Dane appears to have a peculiar dislike to
pigs of any kind, and coming across either one
or a '' sounder" is pretty certain to lay himself out
to attack them. This scarcely gives the impression
that he has had any connection with Ireland, where
the pig is so common.

As special attention has been called to the Great
Dane as a companion, allusion to that dog belonging
to Prince Bismarck may not be out of place ; still
Tyras, the dog, was, in his palmy days, not a very
much greater favourite than his master came to be
later on. Maybe, the happiness of two countries
was on at least one occasion placed in jeopardy by
the action of the German Chancellor's hound. It
has been said that a somewhat spirited conversation
was proceeding between Bismarck and the Russian
Prime Minister Gortschakoff. The latter, gesticu-
lating rather more violently than usual, led Tyras,
who lay reposing on the rug, to suspect an attack
on his master, so, springing at the proud Russian,
he brought him to the floor. Apologies were profuse
and accepted. Prince Gortschakoff was not bitten.

336 Modern Dogs,

only frightened, and the peace of Europe remained
undisturbed.

A writer in the Kennel Gazette gives the following
interesting description of Prince Bismarck's favourite
dog: I reproduce it here, as it will assist my readers
in arriving at the character and disposition of the
ordinary Great Dane :

** Of all the dogs that have a place in history,
Tyras, the noted Ulmer dog of the German Chancellor,
is the only one whose death has been deemed of
sufficient interest to be cabled round the world as
an event, not merely of European, but of cosmo-
politan interest. Indeed, the record of Tyras hardly
ended with his life, for the cable has since told the
world that the first visitor to Prince Bismarck on his
recent birthday was the youthful emperor, who
brought as a present another dog, of the type of the
lamented Tyras. For nearly sixty years Prince
Bismarck has owned specimens of the Great Dane,
and generally has had one or more of unusual size.
His first hound, acquired while living with his
parents at Kniephof, was one of the largest ever
seen, and was an object of awe to the peasantry
of the district. This dog afterward accompanied
his young master to the college at Gottingen,
where he speedily made his mark. Once when
Bismarck was summoned to appear before the rector

The Great Dane. 337

for throwing an empty bottle out of his window,
he took with him his enormous hound, to the great
dismay of the reverend dignitary, who promptly
found refuge behind a high-backed chair, where he
remained until the hound had been sent out of the
room. Bismarck was fined five thalers for bringing
this '' terrific beast ^' into the rector's sanctum, in
addition to the punishment meted out to the original
offence.

"As a law student and official at Berlin, during
his travels in many lands, throughout his
diplomatic career at Frankfort, St. Petersburgh,
Paris, and elsewhere, as well as at Varzin and
at Friedrlchsruh, Bismarck has always had
the companionship of one or more of his favourite
dogs. Probably the one to which he was most
attached was Sultan, which died at Varzin in
1877. Tyras, who was of unusual size, and of the
slate colour, which is most popular in Germany,
was then quite a young dog, and he was the
constant companion of his illustrious owner till the
time of his death, sharing his walks, his rides, his
business, and his meals, and keeping guard in
his bedroom at night. Owing to his uncertain
temper, he was not often seen in the streets or
gardens of Berlin.

"■ He was, indeed, regarded more as belonging to

VOL. I. Z

33^ Modern Dogs.

the '' Pomeranian Squire" side of the Prince's life
than to his official establishment. At Varzin or
Friedrichsruh, however, the two were inseparable.
No sooner was the most absolutely necessary
business of the morning dispatched, than the
Reichskanzler sallied off with the " Reichshund ''
at his heels, and for the rest of the day, the long
light coat, and the battered felt hat of the famous
statesman, were not greater objects of interest
than the huge dog which followed him every-
where, on horseback or on foot."

At the present time the best Great Danes in
England are owned by Mr. Reginald Herbert ; Mr.
R. Hood Wright, Frome; Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Horsfall,
Diss; Mr. C. Petrywalski, London; Mr. R. Leadbetter,
Berkshire; Mr. S. Pendry, Windsor; Mr. R. Coop,
St. Helen's, and some few others. He is not in
many hands, and, although the entries in the Kennel
Club's stud book keep up their numbers fairly well,
the old Great Dane Club itself had but twenty-seven
members when it ceased to exist in 1895, consequent
on the rule the Kennel Club adopted with regard
to the abolition of cropping. Another club was
immediately started, and at the time of writing, it
has over forty members. Now the classes at
Birmingham, the Crystal Palace, Brighton, Liverpool,
&c., secure entries quite equal in number to any

The Great Dane. 339

since the introduction of the Dane in this country,
the new club evidently popularising the Dane as a
show dog.

Perhaps the best all-round Great Dane we have
had here was the brindled bitch Vendetta, first
exhibited by Mr. Reginald Herbert, and sold by him
to Mr. Craven for a large sum. She was not a par-
ticularly big bitch, though perhaps taller and heavier
than she looked by reason of her lovely symmetry.
She stood 31^ inches at the shoulder and weighed
1401b. ; but in general form and correctness of type
of head, without lippiness or hound-like appearance,
she was pretty nearly perfect. Windle Princess (Mr.
Coop's) is another beautiful bitch, and again not
a very big one. Mr. E. H. Adcock's Ivanhoe, a richly
coloured brindle dog, has repeatedly and deservedly
won prizes at our leading shows. Mr. Wilbey's
Hannibal the Great was thought to be the best of his
year, an enormous animal of immense power, but
perhaps a little heavier and too mastiff-like in
head to quite please some of our insular prejudices.
He came to this country with a reputation as the
best of his race in the land of his birth, which was
Germany. This dog unfortunately got strangled in
his kennel in August, 1892. Other good dogs are, or
were, a Belgian dog, Herr Dobbelmann's Bosco
Colonia, fawn in colour, who won prizes at the

Z 2

340 Modern Dogs.

Agricultural Hall in 1897; ^^^^^ ^^y» Corsica,
Harlequin Nero, Bouchan, Sea King, Leal, Baron
of Danes, Norseman, Queen of Saxony, Windle
Princess, Earl of Warwick, Windle Queen, Selwood
Sambo and Selwood Ninon, Count Fritz, Hannibal
of Redgrave, Mammoth Queen, Snow King, and
Senta Valeria, the latter a harlequin bitch of great
excellence which, when shown by M. Aaron, took
leading honours at the Crystal Palace in 1895 5 she
is now the property of Mr. R. Leabetter.

As to the heights and weights of prominent winners,
the following may, perhaps, not be without interest :
— Norseman was 33 inches at the shoulders, weight
1551b.; Sea King, 32^ inches, weight, i681b. ; eal
33f inches, weight, i82lb. ; Young Leal, 33^ inches,
weight, 1541b. ; Prince Victor, 33 inches and 1501b.
weight ; Cedric the Saxon, 33-I- inches and i yolb.
weight ; Baron of Danes, 33^ inches and 1551b.
weight; Ivanhoe, 33 inches and i681b. weight;
Marco, 34 inches and 1901b. weight ; Earl of
Warwick, 33 inches and 1 751b. weight ; Dorothy,
3o|- inches, 1251b. weight; Challymead Queen,
30-|- inches and 1251b. weight; Corsica, 31 inches
and 1401b. weight; and Ranee, 29 inches, 1051b.
weight.

The original Club had a hard and fast rule abso-
lutely disqualifying any dog with cankered teeth or

The Great Dane. 341

Avith a joint or more removed from the end of the tail.
These disabihties have, however, been removed by the
new club, who elect to leave disqualification or other-
wise for such defects altogether in the hands of the
judges. I do not know that Danes are more
afflicted with "cankered" teeth than any other
dogs ; but, with respect to their '' tails," cases
have occurred where a dog has had a joint or two
amputated, in order that the appendage did not
curl at the end. The sore or bare place remaining
was accounted for by the hound dashing his stern
against the kennel walls or benches, a habit which
frequently causes trouble to the caudal extremity of
some big smooth-coated dogs.

As to cropping, the rule of the Kennel Club is to
the effect that no dog born after March 30th, 1895,
can, if cropped, win a prize at any show held under
Club Rules.

The standard of points and description of the
Great Dane as adopted by the new club are as
follows :

I . General Appearance. — The Great Dane is not
so heavy or massive as the mastiff, nor should he
too nearly approach the greyhound in type. Remark-
able in size, and very muscular, strongly though
elegantly built, movements easy and graceful ; head
and neck carried high ; the tail carried horizontally

342 Modern Dogs.

with the back, or slightly upwards, with a slight
curl at the extremity. The minimum height and
weight of dogs should be 30 inches and 1 2olb. ;
of bitches, 28 inches and loolb. Anything below
this shall be debarred from competition. Points :
General appearance, 3 ; Condition, 3 ; Activity, 5 ;
Height, 13.

2. Head. — Long, the frontal bones of the forehead
very slightly raised, and very little indentation
between the eyes. Skull not too broad. Muzzle,
broad and strong, and blunt at the point. Cheek
muscles, well developed. Nose large, bridge well
arched. Lips in front perpendicularly blunted, not
hanging too much over the sides, though with well-
defined folds at the angle of the mouth. The lower
jaw slightly projecting — about a sixteenth of an inch.
Eyes, small, round, with sharp expression and deeply
set, but the '^ wall " or '' china " eye is quite correct
in harlequins. Ears very small and greyhound-like
in carriage, when uncropped. Points, 15.

3. Neck. — Rather long, very strong and muscular,
well arched, without dewlap, or loose skin about the
throat. The junction of head and neck strongly
pronounced. Points, 5.

4. Chest. — Not too broad, and very deep in
brisket. Points, 8.

5. Back. — Not too long or short ; loins arched, and

The Great Dane. 343

falling in a beautiful line to the insertion of the tail.
Points, 8.

6. Tail. — Reaching to or just below the hock,
strong at the root, and ending fine with a slight
curve. When excited it becomes more curved, but
in no case should it curve over the back. Points, 4.

7. Belly. — Well drawn up. Points, 4.

8. Fore- quarters. — Shoulders, set sloping ; elbows
well under, neither turned inwards nor outwards.
Leg : Fore-arm, muscular, and with great develop-
ment of bone, the whole leg strong and quite
straight. Points, 10.

9. Hind-quarters. — Muscular thighs, and second
thigh long and strong, as in the greyhound, and
hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out.
Points, 10.

10. Feet. — Large and round, neither turned in-
wards nor outwards. Toes, well arched and closed.
Nails, very strong and curved. Points, 8.

1 1 . Hair. — Very short, hard and dense, and
not much longer on the underpart of the tail.
Points, 4.

Colour and Markings. — The recognised colours
are the various shades of grey (commonly termed
"blue"), red, black, or pure white, or white with
patches of the before-mentioned colours. These
colours are sometimes accompanied with markings

344 Modern Dogs.

of a darker tint about the eyes and muzzle, and with
a line of the same tint (called a " trace") along the
course of the spine. The above ground colours also
appear in the brindles, and are also the ground
colours of the mottled specimens. In the whole-
coloured specimens, the china or wall eye but rarely
appears, and the nose more or less approaches black,
according to the prevailing tint of the dog, and the
eyes vary in colour also. The mottled specimens
have irregular patches or " clouds " upon the above-
named ground colours ; in some instances the clouds
or markings being of two or more tints. With the
mottled specimens, the wall or china eye is not
uncommon, and the nose is often parti-coloured or
wholly flesh-coloured. On the continent the most
fashionable and correct colour is considered to be
pure white with black patches ; and leading judges
and admirers there consider the slate coloured or
blue patches intermixed with black as most
undesirable.

Faults. — Too heavy a head, too slightly arched
frontal bone, and deep '' stop " or indentation between
the eyes ; large ears and hanging flat to the face ;
short neck ; full dewlap ; too narrow or too broad a
chest ; sunken or hollow or quite straight back ; bent
fore-legs ; overbent fetlocks ; twisted feet ; spreading
toes ; too heavy and much bent, or too highly carried

The Great Dane.

345

tail, or with a brush underneath ; weak hind-quarters,
cow hocks, and a general want of muscle.

Standard of Points.
Value

General appearance 3

Condition 3

Activity
Head...
Neck...
Chest...
Back ...

5

15

5

8

47

Value.

Belly 4

Tail 4

Fore-quarters 10

Hind quarters 10

Feet 8

Coat , 4

Size (Height) 13

53

Gra7td total, 100.

Scale of Pomts for Height divided as follows :

Dog of 30 in., or Bitch of 28 in Points

31 in. ,, 29 in ,,

32 in. „ 30 in

33 in- '> 31 in

34 in. „ 32 in

35 in. „ 33 in

o
2

4
6

9
13

So much for the Great Dane, Ulmer dog, German
boarhound, German dogge, or whatever his owner
likes to call him. I have been told that I am not
one of his staunchest admirers, and that the fore-
going chapter is a little biassed against him. I do
not think this is the case. T am certainly no
advocate for keeping these enormous dogs as com-
panions, and, although they find favour in what may

346 Modern Dogs.

be called their native country, and some foreigners
keep them as house dogs here^ they are not gener-
ally popular as such. Their great activity, muscular
development and power should make them of par-
ticular use where dogs are required for big game
hunting, and, being pretty hard in constitution, they
are certainly better adapted for the purpose than
our British mastiff, or the converted bulldog. Per-
haps the Great Dane might cross efficiently with the
latter, and produce a more powerful dog than the
ordinary bull-mastiff cross, which is often bred
and trained as a watch dog and as an assistant to
the game-keeper in such districts where a dog is
required by him on his rounds at night.

INDEX.

PAGb;

Adcock, Mr. E. H 331

Adcock, Mr. F 327

Agassseos, the 7

Aldenham Piper (harrier) 128

Alder (deerhound) 213

Alex (Borzoi) 286

Alexandra Palace Show in 1889 309
"Allan -a- Dale" (Mr. B. C.

Evelegh) 248

AUen-Jefferys', Mr., harriers 123
American Bloodhound Club.. 44
Amery's, Sir John Heathcote,

Staghounds 114

Angelo, Mr. W. K 277, 280

Anglesea's, Marquis of,

harriers 129

Anne's, Queen, Staghounds iii

Argos (Borzoi) 309

Arrian's work on coursing 226

Ashdown Park Meeting, estab-
lishment of 233

Ashton, Mr. T 249

Athol, Duke of 169

Ayris, Harry 92

Bab at the Bowster (grey-
hound), her performances ... 244
Badminton Hounds 81

PAGE

Baily's Magazine 35

Bagot's (Lord) Bloodhounds 33

Bampfylde, Hon. C 128

Barnaby (bloodhound) 23, 31

Bassett, Mr. C. H 114

" Bavarian Mountain blood-
hound " 44

Beagle packs 148

Beagle, proper work for 152

Beagle, size and points of 149

Beagle Studbook 147,156

Beagle, the, an ancient dog... 133

Beagle, used for covert shooting 143

Beagle, the Kerry 152

Beagle, wire- coated 146

Beagle, varieties of 152

Beagles at Brighton 143

Beagles at the shows 139

Beagles beating coverts 1 40

Beagles' ears 142

Beagles in the South of Eng-
land 140

Beagles kept by Royalty 134

Beagles, pack of small 1 34

Beagles, the, and the coach-
man 135

Beard, Mr. Steyning 1 26

Beckford, Peter 59

34S

Index.

PAGE

Beeswing (bloodhound) 23

Belhus (bloodhound) 23

Bell, Mr. J. Harriott 217

Bell's, Mr. Weston, mono-
graph of the deerhound 210

Belvoir Hounds, origin of 58

Benson, Mr. John 168

Bentinck, Lord Henry 92

Bentinck's, Lord Henry, deer-
hounds 213

Berkeley, Grantley 38

Berners, Dame Juliana 7, 122

Bevis (deerhound) on the stage 216
Bismarck, Prince (Great

Danes) 335, 356

Blackmore Vale Hounds 81

Blees, Mr. O. H 309

Blencathra Hounds, great run

with 62

Blew, Mr. W. C. A 57

Blitsay (Borzoi) 307

Bloodhound bitch tracking

poachers 12

Bloodhound characteristics... 2, 51
Bloodhound Club in America 44
Bloodhound kennels, somegood 34

Bloodhound, points of 45

Bloodhound, the modern 36

Bloodhound, the origin of i

Bloodhound trials at Boxmoor 20
Bloodhound trials at Warwick 16

Bloodhound trials in 1889 17

Bloodhound used as a cross ... 2
Bloodhound as companion

33. 38, 40

Bloodhounds as crosses 36

Bloodhounds hunting

3, 8, 10, 12, 17, 20, 35, 41
Bloodhounds in the Southern
States 3

PAGE

Bloodhounds in the streets ... 19
Bloodhounds must be quietly

handled 36

Bloodhounds of 1897 ••• 3^

Bloodhounds, pack of 34,35

Bloodhounds sent to Jamaica 6

Bloodhound's voice, the 39

Blount's "Ancient Tenures" 230

Blue Belle (beagle) 1^2

Blueberry (bloodhound) ... 23, 31

Blue Ransom (foxhound) 8r

Boar Hound (Great Dane)

328, 345

Boece, Hector 199

Boddington harriers, the 128

Boldareff, M. A., on the Borzoi 313
" Book of St. Alban's," the ... 122

" Boot, clean," hunting 20

Bootiman 7, 257

Border thieves 3

Borzoi a Russian name 305

Borzoi as a companion 312

Borzoi, British breeders of

the 305

Borzoi, colours of the 311

Borzoi, description of, by ^L A.

Boldareff 313

Borzoi, description of, from the

Field 289

Borzoi, different strains of 322

Borzoi, first exhibited 287

Borzoi kennels at St. Peters-
burg 7,27,

Borzoi, Mr. F. Lowe on 292

Borzoi new to England 285

Borzoi or Russian wolfhound . . . 285

Borzoi, points for judging 317

Borzoi, the Princess of Wales' 286
Borzoi, some good specimens 310
Borzoi, value of the 307, 323

Index.

349

PAGE

Borzois at the Agricultural

Hall in 1892 306

Borzois at the shows 286

Borzois coursing hares 304

Borzois hunting the wolf ...293-303

Borzois in Russia 288

Borzois, Mr. Kalmoutzky's

pack of 292-298

Borzois on the stage 288

Borzois, the best seen in Eng-
land 308

Borzois, the Prince of Wales's 286
Bosco Colonia (Great Dane) 339

Boswell on the deerhound 204

Boxmoor, bloodhound trials at 20
" Brach," the, in Arthurian

legend 133

Bran (deerhound anecdote) ... 209

Bran (Irish wolfhound) 280

Brice, Mr 258

Bromley, Sir Henry 167, 170

Bronnwyd beagles, the 148

" Brooksby " on the foxhound

75-81

Brookside harriers, the 126

Brough, Mr. E....18, 31, 34, 37, 41
Bruce, King Robert, and the

" white faunch deer " 201

Buckhounds, the Royal 1 1 1

Buckley's, Mr., Welsh hounds

181, 182
Burnaby (greyhound) 251

Cackett, Mr. E. J 141

Caius, Dr 122

Cameron of Lochiel's deer-
hounds 214

Cambridge's, Mr. H. P.,

beagles 140

Campbell, junr., Mr. Morton.. 218

PAGE

Canteleu, Le Comtc de, on the

foxhound 34, 87

Carhampton (greyhound) 249

Carlisle otter hounds, the 167

Carrick, Mr. J. C 158, 167

" Carted " deer no

Cedric the Saxon (Great Dane) 329

Century Magazine, the 41

Charles I. and his greyhound 231

Charlton hunt, the 57

Chaucer (bloodhound) 14

Cheriton, Mr 169

Cheshire Beagle Hunt Club... 148

Chesshyre's, Mrs., beagles ... 139

Christ Church, Oxford, beagles 148

Cid Campeador (Great Dane) 329

Clarke, Mr. H. T 249

" Clean Boot " hunting 20

ClifTe Coursing Meeting 250

Clift, Mr. Harry 168.

Clumber, Borzois at 308

Coachman and the beagles ... 135

Cockermouth otter hounds, the 168

Co. Down staghounds 118

Collier, Mr. W 169

Comins, J 118

Coniston hounds, extraordi-
nary runs 52, 61

Constable's (Sir Talbot)

hounds 124

Contest (foxhound) 99

Corbet, Mr. Reginald 57, 93

Cossack (Borzoi) 287

Countess (deerhound) 215

" Couples " of hounds 230

Coursing abroad 25 7

Coursing clubs, establishment

of 232

Coursing club, the earliest 232

Coursing Calendar 247

350

Index.

PAGE

Coursing fixtures, early 233

Coursing in enclosures 246

Coursing in early times 227

Coursing judges and slippers 256
Coursing meetings of the pre-
sent day 236

Coursing rules in Elizabeth's

time 232

Cowen, Colonel 34

Crane's, Mr., rabbit beagles... 136

Craven harriers, the 128

Craven, Mr 27

Croescade Welsh hounds, the 176

Crofton, Mr 143

Crofton's, Mr., beagles 145

Crofton's, Mr. W. R.,

beagles 139

Cromwell (foxhound) 92

Cromwell (bloodhound) 37

Crony (bloodhound) 14

Culmstock otter hounds 169

Cumberland and Westmore-
land foxhunting 60

Cupples, Mr. George 204

Curfew (Welsh hound) 183

Cursis Stream beagles 148

Curzon Hall Dog Show 33

■" Cymru Bach " on the Welsh

hound 192

Czarina (greyhound) 234

Dainty (bloodhound) discover-
ing a dead child 19

Damon (Borzoi) 307

Dane, the Great 325, 346

Dane, the Great (Club) 328, 341
Dane, the Great (cropping)

33i> 332, 338
Dane, the Great (disqualifica-
tions of) 341

PAGE

Dane, the Great (exhibiting)

338, 340

Dane, the Great (for big
game) 346

Dane, the Great (Harlequin) 330

Dane, the Great (Prince Bis-
marck) 335

Dane, the Great (Size of)

328, 329, 340

Dane, the Great (Useful for
crossing) 346

Danes, Great (names of noted)

339» 34«
Danes, Great (performing) ... 334
Danes, Great (Ranelagh show

of) -. 329

Danger (bloodhound) 21,22

Danger, Mrs 31

Daniel, Mr. F 143

Dansey's " Arrian " 227, 229

Darlington Show 250

Davies, Mr. Vaughan 175

Dawson, Captain 170

" Days of Deer Stalking '' 206

Deer coursing 208

Deer " drives " 208

Deerhound anecdotes 200, 201

Deerhounds as companions ... 211

Dcerhounds at the dog shows

210, 213

Deerhound Club's description . 221

Deerhound colours 218

Deerhounds difficult to rear ... 221

Deerhounds, education of 212

Deerhounds, endurance of 220

Deerhound exhibitors 214

Deerhounds, form of, and

method of attack 220

Deerhounds, heights and

weights of 219

Index.

35^

PAGE

Deerhounds

the sixteenth

century 202

Deerhounds in Scotland in the

eighteenth century 203

Deerhounds in the Hebrides... 205
Deerhound kennels, some first-
class 217

Deerhounds little used in deer-
stalking 210

Deerhounds, principal strains

of 206

Deerhounds, points for judging 226
Deerhounds, prices realised

by 214

Deerhound, Scotsmen's opinion

of 211

Deerhounds, size of 218

Deerhounds, some owners of

good 214

Deerhound, the, in Queen

Elizabeth's reign 199

Deer hunting no

Deer prepared for the chase. . . 114
Dent, Mr. (greyhounds)... 240, 242
Devon and Somerset Stag-
hounds 112

Devon and Somerset " old

pack" 114

Dhuart (Irish wolfhound) 281

" Dignity and Impudence " ... 41

Dinah (deerhound) 217

Dobbelman, Herr 329

Dobson, Tommy 73

" Dogs of the British Islands " 136
Dogs on the Egyptian monu-
ments 228

Dog" Owners' Anriual 321

Don (bloodhound) 37

Druid (bloodhound) 38

Duster (foxhound) 97

I'AGE

Edward II. 's otter hounds 164

Edward III.'s staghounds 109

Elizabeth's, Queen, beagles ... 134

Fabulous Fortune (gre3'hound) 251

Faliscus, Gratius 7

Faster and Faster (greyhound) 251

Fawcett's, Messrs., kennels ... 251

Field, the, 9, 35, 44, 57, 68, 90,

123, 175, 180, 184, 209, 271, 289

Fingal (deerhound) 216

Fitzroy, Lord Alfred 27

Fitz Fife (greyhound) 251

Foljambe, Mr. P. J. Savile ... 196

Forester (beagle) 141

Forster, Mr. R. Carnaby 166, 168
Fortuna Favente (greyhound) 251
Fownes', Mr., pack of hounds 58

Fox Bush harriers, the 128

Foxhunting in Cumberland

and Westmoreland 60

Foxhunting season of 1896-7... [06

Foxhound, the 53

Foxhound, " Brooksby" on the

75-81

Foxhound " drafts " 82

Foxhound, duties of a 59

Foxhound, Le Comte de Can-

teleu on the 87

Foxhound, Mr. G. S. Lowe on

the 90-101

Foxhound pack, earliest 57

Foxhound packs, size of 81

Foxhound packs, their in-
fluence on the country 54

Foxhound, points of the loi

Foxhound Studbook loi

Foxhounds as otter hounds ... 165
Foxhounds, cost of keep-
ing 54

35

Index.

PAGE

Foxhounds, division of larg-e

packs 8 1

Foxhounds, great runs with 60-66
Foxhound's homing faculty ... 72

Foxhounds, management 104

Foxhounds, number of packs 53
Foxhounds of a past generation 59
Foxhounds on the show bench 84

Foxhounds, prices of 85

Foxhounds, pace of 67

Foxhounds, "rounding" ears

of 82

Foxhounds, " Stonehenge " on 83
Foxhounds taken to Russia ... 71

Foxhounds, a best twelve 95

Foxhounds, the smallest and

the largest 81

Foxhounds, "walking" the

puppies 82

Full Captain (greyhound) 241

Fullerton (greyhound) 234, 240,
241, 242, 249

Fullerton's performances 240

Furrier (foxhound) 93

Gallon, Mr 163

Gamester (bloodhound) 35

Garnier, Colonel 280

Gaylass (Welsh hound) 179

Gelly hounds, the 174

George I V.'s beagles 135

German Boarhound 345

German Dogge 345

German Mastiff 345

Gesner's "General History" 199
Goodall (Frank) and Rum-

mager (anecdote) 117

Goodwood Hunt, the 57

Gore, Sir St. George 215

Gosforth Meeting 246

PAGE

Goth n. (Irish wolfhound) ... 277

Grafton (bloodhound) 41

Graham, Captain G. A. 273, 275,

280, 281, 287, 329

Grandmaster, (Great Dane)... 334

Grant, Dr 169

Greyhound course, points of

the 256

Greyhound, description of the 253
Greyhound kennels, expense

of ' 252

Greyhound kennels, in Ireland 252
Greyhound kennels in Scotland 252
Greyhound kennels in Wales 252
Greyhound kennels, leading... 253
Greyhound kennels, some

strong 251

Greyhound, points of the 255

Greyhound, popularity of the.. 227
" Greyhound Stud Book " ... 248

Greyhound tax 236

Greyhound, the, as a show dog 249
Greyhounds, aged, running . . . 250
Greyhounds (sculptured) in the

British Museum 229

Greyhounds in Canute's time 228
Greyhounds in the classics ... 228

Greyhounds, King John's 229

Greyhounds, prices of 234,240,243

Grew, Mr. W. C 218

Griffons, French, sent to Scot-
land 158

Gwynne's, Mr., wire-coated
beagles 146

Hannibal the Great (Dane) ... 339

Hardy's (Colonel) beagles 136

Hare hunting in times past ... 121

Hare hunting on foot 13c

Harlequin, Dane, the 320

Index.

35,

PAGE

Harrier, description of 127

Harrier, distinguishing charac-
teristics of the 129

Harrier packs, number of 127

Harrier pack with a " lady

master " 131

Harrier, points of the 130

Harriers in Lancashire 125

Harriers, packs of small 126

Harriers, size of 1 24, 1 27

Hawkstone otter hounds 166

Haydock Park Meeting 246

Hebe HI. (bloodhound) ... 29, 31
Hector n. (bloodhound) ... 18, 30

Hedley, Mr. James 256

Henry VHI. coursing 231

Herbert, Mr. Reginald... 181, 329

Herschel (greyhound) 249

Heysham, Mr. G. A. Moun-

sey 167

Hickman's, Mr., deerhounds

215, 275
" Highland Sports," St.

John's 207

Hill, Hon. Geoffrey, his otter

hounds 166

Hill, Mr. WoodruflFe 330

Hodson, Mr. H. C 38

Hogg, Mr. Lindsay 28

Holcombe harriers, the... 125, 128

Holland, Mr. S. T 286

Hore, Mr. J. P iii

Huldman, Colonel (anecdote

of bloodhound) 9

Hunting horn, an ancient 57

Hunting story, an interest-
ing 58

H'Vat (Borzoi) 309

'" Idstone " on the beagle 136

VOL. L A

PAGE

Inclosed meetings for grey-
hounds 246

Inge, Lieut. -Colonel 213

Irish wolfhound, origin of the.. 269
Irish wolfhound as a companion 277
Irish wolfhound (anecdote) ... 271

Irish wolfhound breeders 281

Irish Wolfhound Club 281

Irish wolfhound, description of 282
Irish wolfhound difficult to

define 274

Irish wolfhound. Earl of An-
trim's portrait of 270

Irish wolfhound not very popu-
lar 281

Irish wolfhound, size of 274

Irish wolfhound, uncertainty as

to, among writers 275

Irish wolfhounds, heights and

weights of 279

"Isle of Dogs" 230

Jaff (bloodhound) 31

Jefferson, Mr. J. H 180

Jenkins' , Squire, pack of

Welsh hounds 175

Jenny Jones (greyhound) 249

Joachim, Mr 141

Johnson, Dr., his tour in the

Hebrides 204

Jones, Mr. John 177

Kalmontzky, Mr., 292-298

Kelley, Mr. G. F 120

Kelso (deerhound) 219

Kempton Park Coursing 246

Kendal otter hounds 167

Kennedy, Captain Clarke 169

Kennel Club Show, 1896 139

Kennel Club's Show in 1891... 309

A

354

Index.

PAGE

Kennel Club trials (18S9) of

bloodhounds 27

Kensington Gardens, beagle

hunting in 144

Kerry beagle, points of 154

Kerry beagle, the 152

Kerr, Lady Charles 287

Keyes, Dr 7

King John's otter hounds 163

Knowles, Mr. B. C 29

Koodoo (bloodhound) 29

Korotai (Borzoi) 306, 308

Kreckwitz, Otto, Munich 327

Krilutt (Borzoi)... 306, 308, 309, 321

Ladies' Kennel Association ... 261

Lady (foxhound) 93

Lamonby, Mr. W. F 233

Landmark (Welsh hound) ... 181

Landseer, Sir E 41

Langer (Welsh hound) 1 79

Lasca (Borzoi) 307

Lauderdale (greyhound) 250

Leal (Great Dane) 328

" Leash " of hounds 229

Legard, Sir Cecil 1 70

Le'veraruis 122

Lewis, Mr. T. P 180

Lignum (beagle) 143

"Linehunter" on the Welsh

hound 184

Lively (Welsh hound) 180

Llangibby hounds, the 176, 187

Lloyd, Freeman 261

Lomax's, Squire, otter hounds 163

Lonely (beagle) 143

Lonely IL (beagle) 143

Longford staghounds 118

Lord of the Isles (deerhound) 216
Lord, Mr 141

PAGE

Lord's, Mr., rabbit beagles ... 143

Lort, Mr. W 141

Lounger (foxhound) 65

Lo veil , Captain 119

Lowe, Mr. F., on the Borzoi... 292
Lowe, Mr. G. S. on the fox-
hound 90-101

Lowndes, Mr. Selby 35

Luath XL (bloodhound) 36

Macneill of Colonsay 206

Macneil, Sir John 213

"Maida" (Mr. D. Brown) ... 248

Major (foxhound) 235

Malcolm (deerhound) 208

Man hunting by bloodhounds

3, 8, 10, 12, 17, 20, 41

Manchester, Duchess of 287

Manc}^ Starlight (greyhound) 250
" Manuel de Venerie Fran-

9aise " 34

Markland, Mr 19

Marples, Mr. T., on whippet

racing 266

Masserine Coursing Meeting. . . 247
" Master of the Royal Buck-
hounds," the 118

Master McGrath (greyhound)

235. 238, 239, 249

Matin, the 270

Maut (greyhound) 250

Mayhew, Mr. Reginald 142

Mellbrake hounds, notable run

with 61

McConnochie, Mr. J 250

Merkin (foxhound) 67

Merlin (Irish wolfhound) 280

Merry (beagle) 141

Merthyr Old Court Welsh

harriers 1 80

Index.

355

PAGE

Middleton, Lord 55

Millais, Sir Everett 37

Molodetz (Borzoi) 286

Monmouth, Duke of, at Sedg-

moor 6

Morni (deerhound) 215

Morro (Great Dane) 330

Mosstroopers, the 3

Mostyn, Sir Thomas 93

Mounter (foxhound) 68

Muir, Mr. Kenneth 306

Musicwood (beagle) 141

Musters, Mr. H. C 214

National Coursing Club 247

Newby Bridge, trail hunting

at 67

New Forest deerhounds 119

Nichols, Mr. E 37

Nijni (Borzoi) 287

" Nimrod " (Charles J. Apper-

ley) ^ 58

" Notitia Venatica " 57

Nutt's, Mr. G. H., beagles

139. 146

Obolensky, Prince, on the

Borzoi 303

O'Brien, Mr. R. D 275

O'Connell, Mr. John 153

O'Connell, Mr. Maurice 153

Ooslad (Borzoi) 308

Opera (beagle) 1 43

Orford, Lord 233

Oscar (deerhound) 213

Oscar (Irish wolfhound) 276

Otter hound, description of ... 170

Otter hounds in the north 169

Otter hounds on theshowbench 167

Otter hound, origin of 157

A

PAGE

Otter hound packs, the most

noted 166

Otter hound, points 172

Otter hounds, royal packs of... 163
Otter hounds, some recently

established packs 1 70

Otter hunting with a scratch

pack 161

Otter hound work 159

Otter hounds, value of 168

Oudar (Borzoi) 307, 308

Owdalzka (Borzoi) 286

Pace of foxhounds 67

Pagooba (Borzoi) 309

Palmer, Sir Roger 328

Parry, Dr. Hales 31

Payne- Gallwey, Sir Ralph ... 276

Pegler, Mr. Holmes 21

Penelope II. (greyhound) 251

Penistone harriers, the 128

I Pennant concerning the deer-
hound 203

' Peover beagles 148

I Pescara (greyhound) 246

Philpot, Dr 21

Phoebus (greyhound) 252

Piccolo (beagle) 143

Picts and Scots, fight be-
tween 200

Pilkington, Mr. Leonard... 245, 251

Pirate (deerhound) 215

Poachers tracked by blood-
hound 12

Pontarlier (greyhound) 246

i Powell, Captain, on the blood-

i hound 15

Prima Donna (beagle) 143

Primate (bloodhound) 31

Pryse-Rice, Mrs 131

A 2

.S6

Index.

PAGE

" Psovl," a suggested name ... 305

Puckeridge hounds 81

Queen Elizabeth's deerhounds 199
Queen of the West (blood-
hound) tracking a thief 14

Radnorshire and West Here-
fordshire pack 195

Ragman (otter hound) ... 160, 167

Rally (otter hound) 161

Raper, Tom 256

Rapture (harrier) 125

Rasselas (beagle) 141

Reader (beagle) 143

Red deer, chase of the wild ... 112

Red Rover (greyhound) 244

Red Ruby (greyhound) 243

Regulus (foxhound) 100

" Reichshund," the 338

Reinagle's picture of a wolf-
hound 273

Reynolds, Rev. E. M 61

Richard II. and his hounds

(anecdote) 230

Richardson, Mr. H 275

Riego, M 329

Riddlesworth (foxhound) 81

Robert Bruce and the blood-
hounds 6

Robin H ood (beagle) 1 43

" Robin Hood " (Mr. C. M.

Browne) 247

Roden, Captain 34

Rory Carragh, the wolf-
hunter 271

Rosary (greyhound) 244

Rosebud (harrier) 125

Roscommon staghounds 118

Ross's, Dr., deerhounds 207

PAGE

Rossendale harriers, the 125

Rothschild's, Lord de, stag-
hounds 119

Roussalka (Borzoi) 309

Royal (foxhound) 92

Royal Rock beagles 148

Rummager (staghound) and

his master 117

Rural Almanac, the 126, 149

" Rural Sports," Daniel's 67

Russell, Rev. John 160

Ryan, Mr. Clement 154

Rydal Park, trail hunting

in 66

St. Clair, Henry 199

St. Clair, Sir William, and his

deerhounds 207

St. John, Charles, on the deer-
hound 207

Salter, Mr. J. H 249

Sandall, Mr. E 140

Satan (Great Dane) 327

Sanders, Mr. R. A 112, 114

Scandia (greyhound) 250

Scarteen pack of Kerry beagles 154
" Scotch Deerhounds and their

Masters" 204

Scots and Picts, fight between 200
Scott, Sir Walter, anecdote of

the bloodhound 6

Scott, Mr. W. J 29

Scrope's " Deer Stalking " ... 206

Seavington harriers 125

Senhouse, Mr. H. P 169

Sharpies, Mr. T 250

Sheelah (Irish wolfhound) 280

Shellock (deerhound) 215

Siberian wolfhound 285, 287

' ' Singing beagles " 149/

Index.

357

PAGE

"Skiddaw" (Mr. W. F.

Lamonby) 248

Slave hunting" by blood-
hounds 3

" Sleeping Bloodhound," the 41

Sleuth hound, the 2

" Slough Dogs," warrant for

keeping 4

Smith, Mr. Assheton 170

Snowball (greyhound), extra-
ordinary performance of ... 235

Southern hounds 128

South-west Meath staghounds 118
Sperling's, Mr,, harriers ...125, 129
"Sportsman's Cabinet," the

233> 273

Staghound or buckhound 109

Staghound packs in England

and I reland no

Staghound runs, some extra-
ordinary 116

Staghounds, heights of 112

Staghounds, Her Majesty's ... in
Staghounds in the reigns of
Edward III. and Queen

Elizabeth 109, 1 1 1

Staintondale hounds 74

Starkie, Colonel 27

Starno (Irish wolfhound) 281

" Stonehenge " 32, 38, 83, 87, 136,
140, 227, 247, 253

Strabo on the British dog 7

Strog'anoff, Count, an owner of

greyhounds 243

Stud Book pedigrees 38

Surbiton beagles 148

Swaffham (Norfolk) Coursing
Club 232

Talbot, the .- i

PAGE

Talisman (Welsh hound) 196

Tamvoski, Lieut. G 305

Tankerville, Earl of, on the

I deerhound 209.

I Tara (deerhound) 218

I Tattersall. Mr. \V 167

! Taunton, Mr. W. K 21

i Taunton Vale harriers 129.

I Tchebreshoff, Colonel 311

I Templemore staghounds 118

I Texture (greyhound) 243,

! Thornton, Colonel 65, 135,

Thoughtless Beauty (grey-
hound) 251

Thuggum Thu (Irish wolf-
hound) 280

Tom (Borzoi) 286

Tom Finkle and his blood-
hound 9

Torum (deerhound) 214

Torrum (Irish wolfhound) 280

" Trail hunting " 66, 68, 72

Trainor, Mr 280

Trelawney, Mr 169

"Trencher-fed" packs 73

Triumph (bloodhound) 37

Trojan (foxhound) 93

Tsaritsa (Borzoi) 309

" Tufters " 113

Twici, Edward II.'s huntsman 56
Tyras (Great Dane) 336

Ulmer Dog

Unclean Shoe,
trackinor the . . .

336, 345

bloodhound

\'aliant (harrier) 128

Velasquez (Borzoi) 309

Velsk (Borzoi) 309.

Vendetta (Great Dane) 338

35B

inaex.

PAGE

Voltigeur (bloodhound anec-
dote) 9

Wales, H.R.H.the Princess of 286

Walker, John 92

Wallace and the sleuth hounds 6

Walsh, Mr. J. H 38

Warden, Mr. H. P 166

Ward Union staghounds 118

Warrior (deerhound) 215

Warwick bloodhound trials ... 16

Warwick, Mr. G 256

Waterloo Cup winners 238

Waterloo Meeting, the 237

Webber's, Mr., harriers 125

W^ellesley, Colonel 303, 309

Welsh hounds, character of ... 183
Welsh hounds compared with

English 191

Welsh hounds cross 197

Welsh hound described by a

Welshman 193

Welsh hound dying out, the... 189
Welsh hounds hunting the

"quest" 198

Welsh hounds in packs of other

hounds 180

Welsh hounds, origin of 173

Welsh packs not necessarily

Welsh hounds 174

"Welshman" on the Welsh

hound 189

Welsh hounds, shyness of 184, 190
Welsh hounds, the earliest

known 174

Welsh hounds, two types of ... 181
Welsh wire-haired hounds,

demand for 179

While, Mr. H. C, 250

Whippets and their owners .... 267

Whippet handicaps 263

PAGE

" Whippet or Race Dog " 261

Whippet, origin of the 259

Whippet, the, in the Stud-
book 260

Whippets, method of handi-
capping 267

Whippet, the names given to.. 259

Whippet racing 261,264

Whippet, size of 262

Whippet training 264

Whippet, what used for 260

Wilbey, Mr. E 339

Wilkinson, Mr. T. (Otter

hounds) 199

Wilkinson, Tom (slipper) 257

Wilkinson, Mr. Gardiner 228

Wilkinson, Mr. C 169

William III.'s beagles 134

Wilmslow tragedy, the 19

Wilson, Mr. C. H 35, 40

Wilton, Lord 58

Winchell, Mr 44

Windle Princess (Great Dane) 339

Wire-coated beagles 146

Witham Coursing Meeting ... 246

Wolfhound, the Irish 269-282

Wolfhound skulls found in

barrows 274

Wolf hunt described by an

English officer 298-303

Wolfhunting by Borzois... 293-303
Wolf hunter, the (anecdote) ... 271
Wolverton's (Lord) pack of

bloodhounds 34

Woodstock and other places
depopulated for deer park... 109

Wright, Mr. R. Hood 18, 30,

281, 336

Wright, Mr. J 287

Wynn, Hon. H. C 180, 182

Index.

359

PAGE

Wynnstay Royal (foxhound) .. loo

Yarborough. Lord 54

Yates, Mr. W. C 169

PAGE

Young Fullerton (greyhound) 240
Ynysfor Welsh hounds 177

Zloeem (Borzoi) 310

Advertisements.

SPRATT S PATENT
LIMITED

DOG FOODS.

PATENT MEAT **FIBRINE" VEGETABLE DOG

CAKES (with Beetroot), 20s. per cwt. ; 10s. 6d. per ^-cwt. ; 5s. 6d. per
i-cwt. ; 2s, 9d. per 141b. ; Is. 6d. per 71b.

Percentage of Meat. — We make our " Fibrine " Dog Cakes with 7, 10,
20, 25, 30, and 35 per cent, of meat. Any of these percentages can be
obtained, no extra charge being made up to 25 per cent, inclusive.

PATENT COD LIVER OIL DOG CAKES (large), per

cwt. bag, 21s.

PATENT GREYHOUND MEAT FIBRINE DOG

CAKES, per cwt. bag, 21s.

HOUNDMEAL (in three grades), Nos. 0 (for pups), 1
(Medium), and 2 (coarse), 18s. per cwt. bag.

BONE MEAL, per cwt. bag, 14s. 6d.

PATENT PUPPY CAKES, l>er cwt. bag, 20s. ; per 141b.
tin or box, 4s. ; per 71b. tin or box, 2s.; and in Is. tins. Packed also
in cases, price per cwt., 23s. ; per f-cwt., 12s. ; per i-cwt. 6s. 6d.

PATENT COD LIVER OIL DOG CAKES (small size)

for Toy Dogs and Puppies, per cwt. case, 27s. ; per ^-cwt. case, 14s. ;
per i-cwt. case, 7s. 6d. ; per 141b. tin or box, 4s. ; per 71b. tin or box,
2s. ; and in Is. tins.

YOUB TRADESMAN OR STORES WILL SUPPLY YOD.

SPRATT'S PATENT Ltd.,

BERMONDSEY, LONDON.

[1]

Advertisements.

No. 93.

TERRIER SIZE

No. I2h

Eegistered Dog
Kennel.

Note.— These kennels must
^_ not be compared with the
cheap class of kennels adver-
tised. Cash prices, including
registered Sliding Benches.
Terrier size .. £1 1 0
Eetrieverdo. .. 1 12 6
Mastiff do. .. 2 15 0
Trough, 3s. each.

Range of Dog Kennels and Covered Runs.

Cash Price, Carriage Paid.
.r^i^^f^^ Each House 6ft. by 5ft..
'H^H and each Eun 8ft. by 5ft. ,

£39 15s. /^
Prices of larger sizes ^ ^
on application

No. 63

Double Ferret Kennel with Runs.

Cash Prices.
4ft. by 3ft.

by 2ft.
£1 15s.
Larger

No. 122. Improved Double Ken-
nel with Runs, for Terriers.

Cash ].rice, Carriage paid
two kennels and runs as "
shown. eachkenneUft
by2ft. 9in.; each run
6ft. by 4ft., £7 10s,

^BWi-RB QF INFJSRIOR IMITATION.

^ nlT/ Composite Kennel.

O A>/ ^^^ CHAIN DISPEN.SED WITH

. ^^/^ Cash prices,

^i^i^ / carriage paid.

^ No. 89. Single

House and Yard

for Terriers, as

shown, 8ft. long,

3ft. 6in. wide, 4ft.

wide. £4 10s. No.

81, Eetriever size,

£6. No. 80. Mastiff

size. Single House and Yard, £7 158. ; Double House

and Yards, €15.

Wrought-Iron
Kennel Railing.

With 5/16-in. steel

vertical bars, spaced

2in. apart, per yard

4ft. high, 4/6; 5ft., 5/-;

6ft., 5/6. With f-in. bars,

spaced 2in. apart, per yard

4ft. high, 5/-; 5ft., 6/6; 6ft.,

7/6. With ^.inch bars, spaced

2|in. apart, per yard 4ft. high,

6'/-; 5ft„ 7/6; 6ft., 9/- Single

Gate, with Padlock, each 18/6,20/6, 22/6. Carnage Paid on all Orden
above 40/- value to the principal Railway Slatimis in England and Wales.
ONLY THE BEST MATERIAL & WORKMANSHIP EMPLOYED.
Send for ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE free on application.

THESB BLOCKS ARE REGISTERED AND COPYRIGHT.

Advertisements.

SCOTT ADIE,

LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S TAILOR,
115 & 115a, regent ST., LONDON, W.

TRAVELLING COATS,
STALKING CAPES,
INVERNESS CAPES,
HIGHLAND JEWELLERY,
HIGHLAND SHOOTING SUITS,
HIGHLAND DRESS SUITS,
TARTAN SILKS AND RIBBONS

RUGS, MAUDS, SHAWLS AND

WRAPS,
The best selection in London.
HARRIS AND SHETLAND

HOMESPUNS,
HAND-KNIT STOCKINGS AND

SOCKS,

REGENT STREET and VIGO STREET, LONDON, W.

Telegrams: "SCOTT ADIE, LONDON."

Advertisements,

CHAMBERLIN & SMITH'S

MEAT BISCUITS

Supplied to the Royal Kennels at Sandringham.

Price 16s. per cwt., hag included.
Sjpecial quotations for 5 cwt. and 1 ton lots.

Carriage paid not less than 2cwt.

EAR-CANKER LOTION for Dogs.

WORM PILLS for Dogs.

ECZEMA PILLS for Dogs.

DISTEMPER PILLS for Dogs.

TONIC PILLS for Dogs.

MANGE OINTMENT for Dogs.

Above preparations Is. per Bottle ; post free Is. 2d.

CHAM BERLIN'S DOG SOAP,

6d. per Tablet.

CHAMBERLIN'S DOG FOOD,

For Puppies, Sick, and Dainty Feeders.

2d. per Packet. Twelve Packets, by Parcels Post free, 3s.

PEEPAKED ONLY BY

CHAMBERLIN & SMITH,

Dog and Pheasant Food Manufacturers,

Advertisements.

WESTLEY RICHARDS'

PERFECT PATENT

Hammerless Ejector Gdns.

OYER 10,000

For fine workmanship,
elegant form, durability,
and Shooting, they cannot
he surpassed. The sim-
plest and most successful
Ejector Gun yet invented.
It has stood the test of
eleven years' experience.
Sixty thousand cartridges
have been fired from one
of these guns without'
failure or impairing the-
mechanism.
A FEW TESTIMONIALS.

{From a large number.)

" The three Hammerless Ejector Guns you made me in 1887 have given
me every satisfaction, and have worked perfectly all the time." — Euston.

" Lord Egmont has pleasure in speaking- highly of the pair of Ejector
Guns supplied him by Messrs. Westley Eichards & Co. They are beautifully
balanced, shoot admirably, and the Ejector works easily and smoothly."

" I have given the gun supplied by you in August last a good trial, and I
can only say it is as perfect as the pair I had from you in August, 1889.
These guns have been in constant use, and the Ejectors work as well to-day
as they did when they left your hands. I have never had the slightest
trouble with the guns in any way. After such a trial as these have had,
and have proved themselves so excellent, I think it only fair to tell you so."
— H. M. Upchek.

Patent Actjustable TRY GDNS and CAREFUL FITTING at our Private Grounds

{Half an hour's journey from New Bond Street).
" From the shooter's point of view the ground is perfection." — Field,

ALL KINDS OF RIFLES, REVOLVERS, &C.

72 page Illustrated Catalogue sent free by jpost on application to —

WESTLEY RICHARDS & Co. Ltd.,

178, New Bond Street, London; or, 12, Corporation Street, Birminghara.

Advertisements.

BARNARDS LIMITED,

LONDON & NORWICH.

EVERY REaUISITE FOR DOOS, POULTRY, PIGEONS,
RABBITS, &c, ON APPROVED PRINCIPLES.

New Double Kennels, No. 342, very suitable for breeding purposes.
Each kennel 3ft. 6in. square, bit. high, to eaves, runs eft. 6in. long,
finished in the best style, £11 10s. Carriage Paid. Corrugated iron at
sides, lOs.extra.

s»o^w=s 23, PRINCES ST., CAVENDISH SQ., W.

Manufactory: NORWICH.

DOGS-RACKHAM'S DISTEMPER BALLS. The only cure known. Used
m all the Principal Kennels. Price Is., 2s. 6d., 5s., 10s., and 20s.; free 2d. extra.

DOGS-RACKHAM'S JAPANESE WORM BALLS, also POWDERS.
dose sufQcient; no other medicine necessary. Price Is., 2s. 6d., 5s., 10s., ai

One

and 20s,
free 2d. extra.

S-RACKHAM'S TONIC CONDITION BALLS are invaluable for
reyhounds and Whippets in Training, Stud Dogs, &c. Price Is., 2s. 6d.,6s., 10s.,
and 20s. ; free 2d. extra.

ar
noes— RACKHAjyi'S KATALEPRA. Cures Red Mange, Eczema, and all

Skin Diseases. Price Is., 2s. 6d., 5s., 10s., and 20s. ; free 2d. extra.

DOCS— RACKHAM'S JAPAN SOAP for Washing Dogs. Prevents Skin
Diseases ; kills all vermin. Tablets 6d. and Is. ; post free 2d. extra.

DOCS-RACKHAM'S NORFOLK HOUND MEAL is the Best Food for all
Dogs. Supplied in small or large grades. Price 16s. per cwt.

DOCS-RACKHAM'S ANTI-DISTEMPER SPECIFIC. For the Prevention
and Cure of distemper. With young puppies its effects are marvellous. This
remedy prevents contagion at Shows. Price 2s. 6d., 5s., 10s., and 20s. per box; post
free 2d. extra.

HORSES-RACKHAM'S CONDITION BALLS, also POWDERS. Produce
Condition, Glossy Coat, &c. Price 2s. 6d. and 5s. per box; free 2d. extra.

ADVICE GRATIS IN ALL DISEASES OF DOGS.

RACKHAM & CO., ST. PETER'S, NORWICH.

Advertisements,

THOMAS & SONS'

PATENT.
SKELETON CONTINUATIONS TO BREECHES.

(No. 23,870.)

Gentlemen having large calves
and small knee bones find it dnfficult
to get Breeches to fit them nicely
without the aid of Continuations,
and as these help to fill up the boots
and to make the leg look clumsier
still, this improvement has suggested
itself to Messrs. THOMAS & SONS,
who are always to the fore with
improvements of practical utility to
the Sportsman.

HUNTING and SPORTING CLOTHES of
EVERY DESCRIPTION,

OF SUPERIOR CUT AND FINISH,

Including several Patented
Improvements of their own un-
obtainable elsewhere.

THOMAS & SONS,

Sporting Tailors and Breeches Makers,

as.

(Corner of South Molton Street.)

Telegrams : " Sportinglyf^' London,

Advertisements.

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

THE NON=SPORTINQ Division of Modern

Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland. 376 Pages and
twenty-two full-page Illustrations. Price los. 6d.

The Times says: "A treatise which will, no doubt, carry high authority amongst
dog fanciers."

THE TERRIERS Division of Modern Dogs

of Great Britain and Ireland. 458 Pages and eighteen
full-page Illustrations. Price los. 6d.

The Daily Chronicle says : *' Compiled with so much knowledge, so much care."

THE COLLIE OR SHEEP DOG: Its history

and description in its British Varieties, with full-page wood
engravings and exquisite tail pieces by Arthur Wardle.
Price 3s. 6d. ; a few copies on large paper, price los. 6d.

The Saturday Review says : " Filled with accurate information as to the various
strains, and valuable suggestions as to their rearing and management."

THE FOX TERRIER: Its history and descrip-

tion, with reminiscences. Illustrated by wood engravings and
many typical tail pieces by Arthur Wardle. Third Edition,
price 5s.

The Westminster Gazette says : "Apart from its great value as a record of all that is
worth knowing about Fox Terriers, its present cheap and elegant form is a delightful,
historical, typographical, and artistic addition to the literature of dogology."

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX,

WINDSOE HOUSE, BEEAM'S BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.G.

Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine
Cummings School of Veterinary iVIeclicine at
Tufts University

OAA \ r. f,^n-'rWrwr\ Do'jH

Iv'i^v

^^k

'K^m

V.^ J rli

■'T^^iy

.^^¥i