THE -HDrrnNG -uzmss:
HHREHDNTIN6
HnDHflECIERS
Ha-BRYDE
^-vJ.
JOHNA.SEAVERNS
TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
3 9090 014 537 142
Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University
200 Westboro Road
NorthGrafton, MA 01536
T'he Hunting Library
EDITED BY
F. G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S^ F.Z^.
Volume I
HARE-HUNTING AND
HARRIERS
The Hunting Library
Edited by F. G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S.
Profusely illustrated, stnall dewy ^vo,
cloth gilt, -js. dd. net each 7'olume
I
HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
BY
H. A. BRYDEN
Autlior of " Gun and Camera in Southern
Africa," &c.
II
FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES
BY
T. F. DALE, M.A.
Author of " The History of the Belvoir
Hunt," &c.
Ill
THE MASTER OF HOUNDS
C. F. UNDERBILL
Author of " A Century of Fox-Hunting "
With contributions by Lord Ribblesdale,
Lt. -Colonel G. C. Ricardo, Arthur
Heinemann, John Scott, &c.
London : GRANT RICHARDS
48 Leicester Square, W.C.
J'lOiii (in c ngniTini; of the orii;iiiai pnintiui; lunv in tiic .\atn'iuii /oil>,iit (,nlii>y
WILLIAM SOMERVILE
AUTHOR OK "the CHACK"
Platk I
HARE-HUNTING AND
HARRIERS
WITH NOTICES OF BEAGLES
AND BASSET HOUNDS
BY
H. A. BRYDEN
AUTHOR OF
'GUN AND CAMERA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA," "NATURE
AND SPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA,"
ETC. ETC.
ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY
R. B. LODGE AND OTHERS
LONDON
GRANT RICHARDS
48 LEICESTER SQUARE, W.C.
1903
3
1
'\o3
TO
SIR JOHN HEATHCOAT AMORY
OF
KNIGHTSHAYES COURT, TIVERTON, DEVON
BARONET
A VETERAN MASTER OF HARRIERS
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED BY
THE AUTHOR
EDITOR'S PREFACE
In the following pages a keen all-round sportsman
has given what may claim to be in the nature of an
exhaustive account, both practical and historic, of
hare-hunting. While he has not hesitated to draw on
the works of such classic authorities as Somervile,
Beckford and " Stonehenge," it is mainly to his own
personal knowledge of a fine sport, supplemented
where necessary by information generously given by
living authorities, including many Masters of existing
packs of harriers, beagles, or bassets, that his book
owes its extraordinary interest.
What is likely, over and above the great pains which
Mr. Bryden has evidently taken with his record, to
strike the reader is the hopeful tone of his remarks.
He could not, of course, blind himself to the prejudicial
effect of the spread of bricks and mortar, or to certain
conditions of modern agriculture, which tend to limit
the opportunities for hunting hare. Like other wild
animals, the hare has unavoidably retired from the
vili EDITOR'S PREFACE
environs of our growing towns. We no longer expect
to see wild hares at large in the Regent's Park, where
once they were so abundant that the Zoological Society
had to erect a hare-proof fence round its Gardens, to
prevent the park hares breaking through and eating
the flowers. That would have been about the time
when Queen Victoria came to the throne ; and less
than a century earlier snipe were seen in Conduit
Street and wildfowl in Pimlico, while the bark of the
fox sounded on moonlight nights from the fastnesses
of Kensington Gardens. Those times are gone, and
with them the wild creatures have in great measure
passed. Even so, however, Mr. Bryden is hopeful,
and his prophetic eye sees future generations of his
hare-hunting countrymen, after the smoke from our
manufacturing centres has stifled the last British hare,
repairing, with the aid of some as yet undreamt
means of rapid travel, for week-end hunts to Tierra
del Fuego or the Asiatic tundras, in pursuit of merry
hares that continue to flourish in purer air.
The author has certainly made out a good case
for the strong appeal of his favourite sport to keen
sportsmen and sportswomen of all ages, of moderate
means, and of proficiency in the saddle or otherwise.
He has also indicates how considerable tracts of
suitable country in this island are still unexploited by
harriers or other dogs entered to hare. The distribu-
tion of that animal is admittedly irregular, for whereas
EDITOR'S PREFACE ix
it is so plentiful in some parts of the country that
even enthusiastic hare-hunters welcome an occasional
coursing meeting as a check on excessive numbers,
in others, owing chiefly to the operation of the
Ground Game Act, it seems near extinction. Still,
as Mr. Bryden shows, it should be no very difficult
matter to establish hare warrens or turn down hares
and thus restore a good show of game. If the plan of
these volumes admitted of an Author's Preface, I feel
sure that Mr. Bryden would take the opportunity of
tendering his best thanks to the many Masters of
Harriers and others who have so ungrudgingly helped
with their knowledge and with their cameras to make
the book what it is.
F. G. A.
CONTENTS
I. Chiefly Historical
II. Hare-Hunters of the Past
III. The Hare and its Ways
IV. The Old-Time Hare-Hound
V. Modern Harriers .
VI. Modern Hare-Hunting
VII. A Glance AT English Packs — Northumberland
TO Oxfordshire
VIII. A Glance at English Packs {continued) — The
South and West of England
IX. Sport in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland
X. Concerning Kennels
XI. Hound Management
XII. Hunt Servants and their Duties
XIII. Cost and Equipment
XIV. Some Notable Runs and Curious Anecdotes
XV. Hunting with Foot-Harriers
XVI. Some Runs with Foot-Harriers
XVII. Beagles and Beagling ....
XVIII. Sport with Basset Hounds
XIX. The Future of Hare-Hunting .
Appendices
Index
PAGE
I
19
37
60
74
97
117
136
154
174
188
202
2X6
228
249
263
275
290
308
323
357
ILLUSTRATIONS
To face
page
I. William Somervile, author of " The Chace "
Fi-ontispiece
II. Hare-Hunting, 1798 : Unkennelling — Drawing
III. Hare-Hunting, 179S : The Find — The Death .
IV. Old English Harriers : The Haldon
V. Pepper and Scarteen Beagle ....
VI. Watchman and Farmer, Rattler and Rutland .
VII. Aldenham Harriers
VIII. Col. Robertson Aikman's and Holcombe Harriers
IX. Mr. H. Hawkins' Harriers ....
X. Aldenham and Bexhill Harriers
XI. The Bexhill Harriers
XII. The Crickhowell Harriers ....
XIII. Mrs. Pryse-Rice and her Harriers .
XIV. Tara Harriers, 1899
XV. " Sally " and " At the Kennels "
XVI. The Holcombe Harriers
XVII. Going to a Holloa! — A Stern Chase
XVIII. Kennel Huntsman and Whip cycling to the Meet
XIX. The Foxbush Harriers
XX. Hailsham Harriers
XXI. "The Death," " Going Home"
XXII. Bushey Heath Beagles, " Regent," and " Priestess " 282
XXIII. Walhampton Basset Hounds 296
12
24
61
70
82
100
122
132
138
142
154
158
164
180
190
200
208
225
234
254
CHAPTER I
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL
Antiquity of hare-hunting — Roland's horn — James I.'s
harriers — Queen Ehzabeth — Hunting bishops — •
Nicholas Coxe on hare-hunting — Old statutes —
The English squires — Somervile and his hounds —
His huntsman Hoitt — Somervile, the father of
modern sport — His lifelike description of hare-
hunting — Peter Beckford on harriers — Journey of
his pack of beagles — Various schools of hare-
hunters — Paucity of writers on this sport
HARE-hunting can claim a more respectable antiquity
even than the chase of the fox. It may be doubted
whether Tickell, the poet, is correct when he designates
that mighty hunter, Nimrod, a follower of the timid
hare as well as of the noblest of great game, two
thousand years before the Christian era. He says
of that kingly sportsman :
" Bold Nimrod first the Lion's Trophies wore,
The Panther bound, and lanc'd the bristling Boar ;
He taught to turn the Hare, to bay the Deer,
And wheel the Courser in his mid Career."
Whether or not Nimrod occasionally descended to the
pursuit of the hare, it is certain that this form of chase
is a sufficiently ancient one. Xenophon, who flourished
three hundred and fifty years before the birth of Christ,
hunted hare with as much enthusiasm as our English
squires of the eighteenth century, and has left minute
A
2 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
accounts of the sport, describing the hare and her habits,
the early morning trail, the find and the chase. He has
some curious observations upon the hare and her ways.
The scent of young hares, he tells us, is stronger than
that of the full-grown animal, for the reason that the
weakness of their limbs permits the whole body at
times to touch the earth. He has a theory that, as
the hare's tail is of no aid to her in steering, she employs
for this purpose her long ears, laying down the ear upon
that side from which the hound makes his rush at her
and, turning instantly, leaving her pursuers behind.
He has much to say concerning the treatment of hounds,
and he recommends that the young entry should be
permitted to tear their quarry when run into. There
are also directions against straggling, and Xenophon
seems to have had a particular objection to that bane
of all masters, the skirter.
Kings, warriors, and statesmen have, from time
immemorial, been enthusiastically devoted to all forms
of hunting. That they did not despise sport with the
hare is abundantly clear. Nor, considering the extra-
ordinary resourcefulness of this animal, the sport she
provides, the mazes she weaves in her flight, the
extreme interest of the chase which she affords, and
the fine qualities required in hounds which can success-
fully cope with so fleet and cunning a beast of chase,
is this surprising. Edward III., during his campaigns
in France, maintained sixty couples of harriers as well
as the same number of staghounds.
The greatest heroes seem to have found sport with
the hare acceptable to their natures. At the battle of
Roncesvalles, when Charlemagne hears from afar off
the distant blast of Roland's horn, he is eager to march
instantly to his rescue, beheving that the young paladin
must be in sore jeopardy. But the traitor, Gan^lon,
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 3
to whom the Moors owed their victory on that fatal
day, palters with him and puts him off. "For a hare,"
he says, " would Roland sound his horn all day, and
at this moment he is most likely laughing with his
twelve Peers over the fright he has caused us."
James I., although by no means an admirable king,
had, to his credit, a real love of hunting in all its
branches. He certainly kept harriers as well as stag-
hounds, and among the expenses of his establishment
are to be found the following entries :
£ 5. d.
" To Sir Patrick Howme, Master of the Privy
Harriers, for his fee 1 20I. per annum, and for
keeping one footman, four horses, and twenty
Couple of Dogs, 100/. per annum . . . 220 o o
To Richard Gwynne, Groom of the Harriers to
the Prince, 1 3^. per diem, and twenty shilUngs
per annum for his Livery . . . . 20 15 o
To John Waters, Yeoman of the Harriers to the
King, twelve pence per diem . . . 1850
Robert Rayne, Serjeant of the King's Buckhounds,
received ;^5o per annum ; in addition, as one of the
Yeomen of the Privy Harriers, he drew £36 yearly.
Queen Ehzabeth kept " Buck Hounds," " Hart
Hounds," " Hunting Harriers," and " Otter Hounds."
Among her expenses are to be found the following :
Master of the Harriers Fee .....
Yeoman's Fee .......
Officers and others serving under the same
Master, Wages and Allowances .
Total . . 96 7 8
Otter-hounds cost her, apparently, no more than
£13 6s. 8^. per annum for Master's fee ; probably
servants of the other packs were employed with otter
in summer. Buckhounds cost £92 9s. 2d. and Hart
£
s.
d
II
6
0
6
0
0
79
I
8
4 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
hounds £38 IS. 5^., so that it is apparent that Queen
Elizabeth's harriers were reckoned at least as important
as any other part of her hunting establishment. The
hare, however, was always held from very early ages
in a highly honourable estimation as a beast of chase ;
far more so, in fact, than the fox, which, until towards
the end of the seventeenth century, was classed merely
as vermin to be destroyed anyhow and anywhere.
Down to the time of the Reformation, not only the
noblemen and gentry, but churchmen of almost every
degree — save the poorer priests — hunted. Many of
the higher dignitaries maintained great state and
devoted most of their time to field sports. Walter,
Bishop of Rochester, who flourished in the thirteenth
century, and lived to the age of eighty, made hunting
his sole occupation, " to the total neglect of the duties
of his office." Becket, on his embassy to the Court
of France, took with him hounds and hawks, and no
doubt used them freely. The greater dignitaries of
the Church saw to it that they had ample hunting-
grounds. At the date of the Reformation the See of
Norwich possessed no less than thirteen parks, " well
stocked with deer and other animals of the chase."
Even in Charles I.'s time. Bishop Juxon was a keen
follower of the chase ; he maintained a good pack of
hounds, " and had them so well ordered and hunted,"
says Whitlock, " chiefly by his own skill and direction,
that they exceeded all other hounds in England."
Parsons still hunt in England, but it must, one fancies,
be considerably more than a hundred years smce a
Bishop went out with hounds — even with a quiet pack
of harriers !
In the " Gentleman's Recreation," published by
Nicholas Cox in 1677, there is much curious and
odd information on hare-hunting, among other field
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 5
sports, compiled, I believe, chiefly from authors before
his time. Here are samples of the quaint Cox's lore.
" We say the Deer is broke up. The Fox and Hare
is cased." In those days it was the custom to divest
the hare of her skin when killed, and, the gall and
lights being taken away — under the impression that
they made hounds sick — the huntsman, who carried
some bread, cut up into small pieces, dipped these in
the blood and gave them with the entrails to the hounds.
The hare was after this broken up and given among
the pack, and if any young hound was too timid to
come in and take his share, he was presented with the
head. The modern custom of giving hounds the
entrails and handing the hare over to the farmer upon
whose land she was found, is surely a much more seemly
and profitable way of dealing with the dead quarry.
To return to Nicholas Cox. Among " Terms for
the Footing and Treading of all Beasts of Venery and
Chase," he says : " Of a hare, diversely, for when she
is in open field she soreth ; when she winds about to
deceive the Hounds then she doubleth ; when she
beateth on the Hard Highway, and her footing can be
perceived, then she pricketh ; and in the snow it is
called the Trace of the Hare."
Concerning tracking hares in the snow, by the way,
there used to be a special Statute, 14 & 15 Hen.
VIII. cap. 10, which provided as follows : " None
shall trace, destroy or kill any Hare in the Snow, in
pain of 6s. 8^. for every such Offence ; which penalty
assessed in Sessions shall go to the King ; but in a
Leet, to the Lord thereof." Whether this ordinance
has ever been repealed I know not ; probably it has.
An earlier Act of Richard II. 's reign — 13 Rich. II.
cap. 13 — set forth that " No man who hath not lands
of 40s. per annum, nor Clerk who hath not 10/. revenue
6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
per annum shall have or keep any Grey-hound, Hound,
Dog, Ferret, Net or Engine to destroy Deer, Hares,
Coneys, or any other Gentleman's Game, in pain of
one whole year's imprisonment, which Justices of
Peace have power to inflict."
The boar and wolf were in process of time exter-
minated in these islands, and wild deer, except on the
moorlands of the West — Exmoor chiefly — and the
fells of Cumberland and Westmoreland, became more
and more difficult to find. Sportsmen were thus
reduced to hunting the semi-feral deer of their own
parks, a form of sport which, by the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, French writers upon Venery
already referred to with some contempt. With the
decline of deer, it is certain that the chase of the hare
assumed much more importance, and by the seven-
teenth century it is clear that hare-hunting was a sport
held in high favour among English squires. During
this and the eighteenth century it seems to have been
the custom among country gentlemen to keep a mixed
kennel of hounds, with which they pursued hare, otter,
and occasionally fox, as it pleased them. By the early
years of the eighteenth century the fox had emerged
from its once low estimation and was beginning to be
hunted regularly. The foxhound proper had now
been evolved, and from the middle of the eighteenth
century it may be said that fox-hunting increased more
and more in favour until it had quite outstripped in
popularity the chase of the hare.
William Somervile, the author of " The Chace,"
undoubtedly the finest poem on hunting in the English
language, was a typical squire of his time. He flour-
ished between 1677 and 1742, residing, after the age
of twenty-seven, when he resigned his Fellowship at
New CoUege, Oxford, upon his own estate of Edstone,
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 7
in Warwickshire. Edstone, in the parish of Wootton
Wawen, Hes in the very heart of Shakespeare's country,
about seven miles from Stratford-on-Avon, and about
four from Henley-in-Arden. Here Somervile, during
many long and happy years, devoted himself, heart
and soul, to the sport of hunting, rousing in turn hare,
fox, and otter from their various lurking-places.
" The site of his kennel," says a writer in the Sporting
Magazine of February 1832, " was well chosen, on a
little eminence erect, facing the south-east, with a
grove of willow, poplar and elm at the back, to shield
it from the north and west winds. The kennel was
spacious, with a fine brook babbling through. He
kept about twelve couple of beagles, bred chiefly
between the small Cotswold harrier and the Southern
hound ; six couple of foxhounds, rather rough and
wire-haired ; and five couple of otter-hounds, which
in the winter season made an addition to the fox-
hounds." In this passage " beagle " should read
" harrier " and vice versa. The mating of the slow,
ponderous Southern hound with the fleet Cotswold
beagle would produce a first-rate harrier, and that,
undoubtedly, was the strain cultivated by Somervile.
The coupling of Southern hound and harrier would
not produce beagle, but, conversely. Southern hound
and beagle would produce harrier. This strain, by
the way — Southern hound and beagle — is still plainly
apparent, sometimes crossed with a dash of the fox-
hound, in most of the old-fashioned packs of pure
harriers still hunting in the United Kingdom. For
the chase of the hare there is nothing to surpass it.
" The country he hunted," continues the same writer,
" was chiefly woodland, except that where his beagles
were generally thrown off ; and every parish, being
uninclosed, yielded excellent sport. To the feeding of
8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
his hounds, and the management and arrangement
of his kennels, he attended himself. . . . He con-
ducted the chase himself ; leaving a man in the kennel
to prepare the food, who was in the capacity of earth-
stopper. His stud was small, four nags being the
greatest number he ever had in the stable ; employing
his favourite, Old Ball, three times in the week. Old Ball
was a real good English hunter, standing about fifteen
hands high, with black legs, short back, high in the
shoulders, large barrel, thin head, cropped ears, and
a white blaze down the face."
These particulars were communicated to the writer
of the article in question by a Warwickshire man, who
had himself been entered to hunting by Somervile's
old huntsman, John Hoitt, who survived his master
more than half a century and died in 1802. William
Somervile lies, together with two of his huntsmen,
Jacob Boeter and John Hoitt, in Wootton Wawen
churchyard. Until the year 1898 no memorial of
him existed ; but in that year, thanks to the exer-
tions of the Rev. F. T. Bramston, Vicar of Wootton,
a tablet was subscribed for and erected inside the
church. On the tomb of his last huntsman may be
seen the following lines, composed by the Rev. J.
Eaches, a former vicar :
" Here Hoitt, all his sports and labours past,
Joins his loved Master, Somervile, at last ;
Together went they, echoing fields to try,
Together now in silent dust they lie.
Servant and lord, when once we yield our breath.
Huntsman and poet, are alike to Death.
Life's motley drama calls for powers and men
Of different casts, to fill its changeful scene ;
But all the merit that we justly prize,
Not in the past but in the acting lies.
And as the lyre, so may the huntsman's horn
Fame's trumpet rival, and his name adorn."
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 9
The quiet country church of Wootton Wawen, the last
resting-place of one of the keenest and best sportsmen
that ever crossed a horse, sounded a horn, or cheered
his hounds, of the man whose poem, "The Chace,"
will remain a classic so long as the English tongue
endures, is surely worthy of a pilgrimage by any lover
of hunting who happens to be within a score or two of
miles !
Somervile's custom of hunting both hare and fox
during the winter season was commonly followed by
most country gentlemen of the eighteenth century.
Somervile himself kept his hounds apart, and hunted
hare and fox with harriers and foxhounds, reinforcing,
as we have seen, the latter during the proper season
with his otter-hounds, which were then unemployed.
He says in " The Chace " :
" A different hound for ev'ry diff'rent chace
Select with judgment ; nor the tim'rous hare
O'er-matched destroy, but leave that vile offence
To the mean, murd'rous coursing crew, intent
On blood and spoil. O blast their hopes just Heav'n."
The poet seems to have had a peculiar hatred for
coursing, a sentiment which in these days has largely
disappeared, although, for obvious reasons, hare-
hunters are not over-fond of greyhounds and their
masters.
Somervile may truthfully be styled the father of
modern hunting. Before his time writers on sport
employed an archaic and cumbrous style, now obsolete
for centuries, and difficult and fatiguing of comprehen-
sion even by the most devoted student of hunting
literature. Somervile inaugurates a completely new
era. His spirit is largely modern, his style easy, clear
and flowing ; even at the present day it is a real
pleasure to read his graphic descriptions and stirring
lo HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
pictures. To the hare-hunter, especially, his volume
must always be invaluable ; his instructions on kennel
and hound management are sound and practical, and
may be referred to with advantage even by the modern
master or huntsman. We pass with him, as it were,
from the Middle Ages to Modern England in the
palmiest days of sport. It is a supreme test of Somer-
vile's merit that Beckford, himself the greatest classic
on hunting down to the present day, so frequently
refers to " The Chace " and quotes so freely from it.
There can be no doubt whatever that the author of
" The Chace," although he describes with equal
facility, spirit, and truth fox-hunting and the chase
of stag and otter, loved hare-hunting beyond all other
forms of sport. In the second book of his poem are
to be found descriptions of a hare hunt which are
destined, probably, never to be surpassed. I cannot
refrain from quoting a few of his brilliant pictures.
After some opening lines he leads his reader to the
countryside :
" Now golden autumn from her open lap
Her fragrant bounty show'rs ; the fields are shorn ;
Inwardly smiling, the proud farmer views
The rising pyramids that grace his yard,
And counts his large increase ; his barns are stor'd
And groaning staddles bend beneath their load.
All now is free as air, and the gay pack
In the rough, bristly stubbles range unblam'd ;
No widow's tears o'erflow, no secret curse
Swells in the farmer's breast, which his pale lips
Trembling conceal, by his fierce landlord aw'd ;
But courteous now he levels ev'ry fence,
Joins in the common cry, and holloas loud,
Charm'd with the rattling thunder of the field.
Oh bear me, some kind power invisible !
... to those spacious plains, where the strain'd eye
In the wide prospect lost, beholds at last
Sarum's proud spire, that o'er the hill ascends.
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL ii
Andlpierces thro' the clouds. Or to thy downs
Fair^Cotswold, where the well-breath'd beagle climbs,
With matchless speed, thy green aspiring brow,
And leaves the lagging multitude behind."
Somervile, in addition to his Warwickshire property,
had an estate — that of Somervile-Aston — in Gloucester-
shire, and it is certain frequently hunted there. All his
touches are lifelike and most natural, even to the
casual reader of 1903. Hunters saddled up and rode
forth earlier in 1735 — the date of the poem — than they
do at the present day. They loved the long trailing
of the hare to her seat, a part of the chase long since
abandoned. He continues :
" Farewell, Cleora,* here deep sunk in down.
Slumber secure, with happy dreams amus'd.
Till grateful steams shall tempt thee to receive
Thy early meal, or thy officious maids,
The toilet plac'd, shall urge thee to perform
The important work. Me other joys invite.
The horn sonorous calls, the pack awak'd
Their matins chant, nor brook my long delay."
Now comes the meet :
" Delightful scene !
Where all around is gay, men, horses, dogs.
And in each smiling countenance appears
Fresh blooming health and universal joy."
They throw off, and presently hounds find a trail.
The hare is put off gently from her seat :
" Here huntsman bring
(But without hurry) all thy jolly hounds.
And calmly lay them on. How low they stoop.
And seem to plough the ground ; then all at once
With greedy nostrils snuff the fuming steam.
* A fancy name, one may take it, for his wife, a member
of the Bethell family in Yorkshire.
12 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
The welkin rings, men, dogs, hills, rocks, and woods.
In the full concert join ! " . . .
Here follows seme sound advice :
" Huntsman ! her gait observe : if in wide rings
She wheel her mazy way, in the same round
Persisting still, she'll foil the beaten track.
But if she fly, and with the fav'ring wind
Urge her bold course, less intricate thy task :
Push on thy pack."
The chase goes on :
" The puzzling pack unravel, wile by wile.
Maze within maze. The covert's utmost bound
Slyly she skirts ; behind then cautious creeps.
And in that very track, so lately stain'd
By all the steaming crowd, seems to pursue
The foe she flies."
How true a picture is this, and this again :
" But hold — I see her from the covert break ;
Sad on yon little eminence she sits ;
Intent she Ustens, with one ear erect,
Pond'ring and doubtful what new course to take,
And how t' escape the fierce bloodthirsty crew
That still urge on and still in volleys loud
Insult her woes. . . .
. her fears prevail.
And o'er the plain, and o'er the mountain's ridge
Away she flies."
The huntsmen " smoke along the vale," the old
hounds now begin to come to the front, as they will
do when the chase is sinking ; a check ensues, caused
by a flock of sheep, the line is recovered, and away,
after another slight check, they drive.
" Now the poor chace
Begins to flag, to her last shifts reduc'd.
From brake to brake she flies, and visits all
Her haunts."
llAl;j-.-llL'.\ n.\i,, i;y^
UNKENNELLING
HAKE-HUXTixr;, 1793
DRAWING
Plate II
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 13
The end comes, and the kill and obsequies are
described. By Somervile's time, it is clear, the hare
was not " cased," or skinned, broken up and thrown
to the pack, but dealt with according to present methods
• — the hounds being rewarded with the heart and
entrails only.
No prose description of a hare hunt — and the writer
has read many hundreds in his time — can possibly
eclipse Somervile's blank verse. The whole poem
abounds in the most faithful and minute pictures of
hunting, and it ought to be in the hands of every
sportsman, by whom it may still be perused not only
with pleasure but with great profit.
Peter Beckford, whose " Thoughts on Hunting "
are to this hour held in so great estimation by aU con-
cerned with the chase of fox and hare, was born in
1740, and succeeded to a handsome fortune and estate
on the death of his father, Julines Beckford, whose
forbears had gathered wealth in the West Indies,
Beckford, a man of culture and attainments consi-
derably beyond the squires of his day, was Member
for Morpeth in 1768 and had travelled abroad. He
was manifestly a first-rate sportsman, understanding
thoroughly the whole process and economy of hunting,
hounds, and horses. He lived in a fine old Georgian
or Queen Anne Mansion at Steepleton-Iwerne, in
Dorsetshire, and hunted for the most part in Cran-
bourne Chase, of which he was Ranger. The country
in which he hunted is apparently identical with that
now used by the South Dorset foxhounds. Mr. Otho
Paget, in his excellent edition of Beckford, published
in 1899, gives some interesting details concerning this
classic author. He gives also some very interesting
pictures of Steepleton-Iwerne (which is still inhabited
by descendants of Beckford — the Misses Pitt, his great-
14 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
granddaughters) — of Beckford himself, and of his
favourite horses and hounds.
Beckford's great book was pubHshed in 1781. It
was soon recognised as a standard work — one may
say the standard work — on hunting, and has retained
its authority and its popularity down to the present
day. Beckford, like Somervile, had a touch of the
modern spirit, he wrote easily and well, with a vein
of pleasantly caustic humour ; and although it is one
hundred and twenty-five years since his volume first
appeared, he can be read with pleasure by the reader
of the twentieth century, while his facts and inferences
are practically as valuable now as when they were
first perused. Many editions testify to the high esti-
mation in which " Thoughts on Hunting" has always
been held.
Beckford was by choice a foxhunter, and the greater
part of his book is devoted to that branch of the chase.
He had, however, at one time kept harriers, and his
letters on hare-hunting are to the full as pithy and as
informing as the rest of his volume. He devoted three
chapters — or letters — to the sport of hare-hunting, and
his remarks may well be pondered even by the present-
day harrier-man. Beckford bred his harriers between
the large, slow, hunting harrier and the little fox-
beagle ; " the former," he says, " are too dull, too
heavy, and too slow ; the latter too lively, too light,
and too fleet." The fox-beagle, it may be noted, was
for generations employed, before the regular chase of
the fox with foxhounds came into vogue ; reynard
being considered in those days as mere vermin, to be
run to earth and knocked on the head as speedily as
possible.
"The first species," continues Beckford, "it is true,
have excellent noses and, I make no doubt, will kill
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 15
their game, at least if the day be long enough ; but
you know the days are short in winter, and it is bad
hunting in the dark ; the other, on the contrary, fling
and dash and are all alive, but every cold blast affects
them ; and if your country be wet and damp, it is not
impossible that some of them may be drowned. My
hounds were a cross of both these kinds, in which it
was my endeavour to get as much bone and strength
in as small compass as possible. It was a difficult
undertaking. I bred many years, and an infinity of
hounds, before I could get what I wanted ; I at last
had the pleasure to see them very handsome ; small
yet bony ; they ran remarkably well together ; ran
fast enough ; had all the alacrity that you could
desire ; and would hunt the coldest scent. When
they were thus perfect, I did as many others do — I
parted with them."
Beckford is always amusing. Many of his anec-
dotes, with which the book abounds, are first rate.
He describes, comically enough, the procuring of some
beagles — no doubt " the little beagles " already spoken
of — from the North of England.
" Having heard of a small pack of beagles to be
disposed of in Derbyshire," he says, " I sent my
coachman (the person whom I could at that time
best spare to fetch them). It was a long journey,
and not having been used to hounds, he had some
trouble in getting them along ; besides which, as
ill-luck would have it, they had not been out of the
kennel for many weeks before, and were so riotous,
that they ran after every thing they saw ; sheep, cur-
dogs, and birds of all sorts, as well as hares and deer,
I found, had been his amusement all the way along.
However, he lost but one hound, and when I asked
him what he thought of them, he said, ' they could
1 6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
not fail of being good hounds, for they would hunt
anything.' "
In Beckford's time warren hares were often caught
in traps and occasionally turned down before hounds
and greyhounds, much as is a bag-fox with hounds at
the present day. Beckford gives directions in his
twelfth letter concerning the taking of these warren
hares. Trap-hares are, thank Heaven, seldom heard
of nowadays. Beckford himself, although he writes
of the custom of his time, seems to have been averse to
employing them for hunting. He recommended, if
they were to be used, that they should be turned down
wind, and the hounds hunted like a pack of foxhounds.
A trapped hare almost invariably ran straight, made
few or no doubles, and left a strong scent.
It has been said by many enthusiastic fox-hunters
that Beckford took little account of hare-hunting.
This is erroneous. He preferred fox-hunting, but he
distinctly states in this letter (twelve) that he never
meant to depreciate this excellent form of sport. " It
is a good diversion," he says, " in a good country :
you are always certain of sport : and if you really
love to see your hounds hunt, the hare, when pro-
perly hunted, will show you more of it than any other
animal."
Towards the end of the eighteenth century, even in
Beckford's time — he died in 1809 — it was becoming
the fashion to introduce a touch of foxhound blood
into the old harrier strain. In fact the dwarf fox-
hound had certainly made his appearance as a harrier
by the opening years of the nineteenth century.
From that time there have been two schools of harrier-
men in England : those who stick by the old harrier
blood — produced, originally, as Somervile and Beck-
ford produced their packs, by crossing the old Southern
CHIEFLY HISTORICAL 17
iu' hound with the quick and nimble beagle — preferably
^ the North-country beagle — and those who swear by
foxhound blood, and will have it for hare-hunting,
either pure, as in the case of the dwarf foxhound, or
almost pure and but lightly crossed with the original
harrier stock. These two schools of hare-hunters
pursue and continue to pursue their quarry in widely
different ways ; the former content to hunt out,
steadily but surely, the mazes and windings of the
hare's natural flight ; the later pushing their quarry
so hard that she has no leisure and is too hard pressed
to display her usual antics, and is burst up in a third
or half of the time usually occupied by harriers of pure
blood. Each school has its ardent supporters. Per-
sonally, I am one of those who like to see the hare
hunted in the old-fashioned manner ; and without the
least wishing to return to the days of the seventeenth
and early part of the eighteenth century, when followers
of the old lumbering Southern hound spent half a
dozen hours or more in running down their hare, I
prefer a chase of an hour or more, with plenty of hound
music — and your true harrier has a most beautiful and
melodious voice — to a burst of twenty minutes, in which
the quarry is completely overmastered and never has the
faintest chance, which, in my opinion, she should have, of
making her escape. Although man}^ books have been
written on hunting, it is astonishing how little learning
is to be gathered concerning the chase of the hare.
Somervile and Beckford to this hour remain almost
our only masterpieces and authorities on this subject.
" An Essay on Hunting," by a Country Squire, pub-
lished in 1733, contains some useful information ; and
Stonehenge's "British Sports," the Badminton Library
volume on Hunting, and an article in the " Encyclo-
paedia of Sport," also deal shortly with the subject. If
B
1 8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
I include a capital little volume on " Hare Hunting,"
by " Tantara," published in 1893, I have, I think,
exhausted the list of authorities which may be con-
sulted usefully by those desirous of informing them-
selves on the lore and lessons of this most excellent
sport.
CHAPTER II
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST
Mode of hunting of our ancestors — The Southern
hound — Some portraits of old-time sportsmen —
The Hon. William Hastings and his estabhshment —
The great hall — Parlour — Cats — The oyster - table
— The old chapel and its strange uses — One of the
lesser gentry — His timbered mansion — Christmastide
and its pleasures — Sir Roger de Coverley and his
hounds — A hare-hunt with the worthy knight —
His stop-hounds — A curiosity in hunting — An
Essex squire tempus 1800 — A curio among hare-
hunters — Hard drinkers — Somervile's mixture —
Anecdote of a Cheshire squire — Old-time harrier —
Often hunted fox — Sir Watkin Wynn's pack — Tran-
sition from hare-hunting to fox-hunting — Temporary
decline of harriers
Our ancestors, as I have hinted, looked upon the chase
of the hare as an operation to be conducted with what
in these impatient days would be regarded as an uncon-
scionable waste of time. Rising soon after the winter's
dawn, they sallied forth with their big, deep-fiewed,
deep-voiced, long-eared, Southern hounds — standing
some twenty-four or twenty-six inches at the shoulder
— and, finding, after some trouble, traces of the hare in
its overnight's wanderings, tracked it steadily to its
form. They were not allowed to drive it from its seat ;
but the quarry, being at length discovered in its form,
was pushed off and the hounds laid on, unless, as of
20 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
course often happened, the hare had been already
startled by the deep voices of its pursuers, drawing
nearer and nearer, and had already slipped away. The
Southern hound was what hunting-men of this day,
and indeed of the last century, would consider far too
much tied to the scent. Its sense of smell was so keen,
its enjoyment of the scent so overpowering, that,
instead of pushing along, as do the foxhound and
modern harrier, and driving at its game, with the
object of killing within some reasonable period — say
an hour or two — it would actually sit down upon the
line and, lifting up its deep mellow voice, pour forth
its satisfaction and enjoyment upon the wintry air.
It never had much pace, and with such interruptions —
and they were by no means singular — it is not astound-
ing to find that the hunt, under such conditions,
especially if, as sometimes happened, fresh hares were
put up, lasted hour after hour. Three hours in those
days must have been reckoned a quick hare-hunt ;
more often than not the solemn chase went on until
five, six, and occasionally even more had been con-
sumed. After having killed their hare, if they had the
luck to do so, the jolly sportsmen wended their ways
homeward, and wound up the day with a portentous
dinner and a carouse thereafter.
These sport-loving squires, slow though their methods
and tedious their style of hunting, if compared with
the chase of our own time, were, after all, lineal ances-
tors of the present race of fox- and hare-hunters and
country gentlemen. If they had what seem to us
defects from the modern point of view, they had,
nevertheless, a score of excellent qualities. They were
hearty, hospitable, jovial, full of the enjoyment of
life ; they stayed at home upon their acres and spent
their money around them ; they were good landlords,
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 21
good farmers, great judges of stock and agriculture ;
and they had time and leisure to cultivate those
domestic virtues which ensure pleasant homes and
cheerful families. Some of them — by no means all —
drank, it is true, more than was good for them. But,
it is to be remembered, before the great French wars and
the era of port-wine, the country gentleman, and
especially those of the minor sort, drank ale for the
most part, varied by claret and punch, and were not
likely, therefore, to be so afflicted by gout and other
ailments, as the three- or four-bottle men who came
after them and drank the strong wine of Portugal.
It will be, I think, not unprofitable to place before the
reader one or two pictures of the hunting squires of
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Here is one,
taken from the life, by Lord Chancellor Shaftesbury,
in his memoirs of the Honourable William Hastings.
" In the year 1638," says Lord Shaftesbury, " lived
Mr. Hastings at Woodlands, in the County of South-
ampton. By his quality, son, brother, and uncle to
the Earls of Huntingdon.* He was, peradventure,
an original in our age, or rather the copy of our antient
Nobility in hunting, not in warlike times. He was very
low, strong, and active, with reddish flaxen hair. His
clothes, which, when new, were never worth five pounds,
were of Green cloth. His house was perfectly old-
fashioned ; in the midst of a large Park, well stocked
with Deer and Rabbits, many Fish-ponds, a great store
of wood and timber, a Bowling-green in it, long but
narrow, full of high ridges, never having been levelled
since it was ploughed ; round sand Bowls were used, and
it had a Banquetting house like a Stand, built in a tree.
* It is curious to remember how devoted to hunting are
members of the Huntingdon family — the present Earl and
Lady Ileene Hastings to wit — in our own time.
22 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
" Mr. H. kept all manner of Hounds that run Buck,
Fox, Hare, Otter and Badger ; Hawks both long and
short winged. He had all sorts of Nets for Fish. A
walk in the New Forest, and the Manor of Christchurch ;
this last supplied him with Red Deer, Sea and River
Fish ; and, indeed, all his neighbours grounds and
Royalties were free to him, who bestowed all his time
on these Sports." At his mansion were found " beef,
pudding, and small beer, and a House not so neatly
kept as to shame him (the neighbour) or his dirty shoes,
the great Hall strewed with marrow bones, full of
Hawks, Perches, Hounds, Spaniels, and Terriers ;
the upper side of the Hall hung with the Fox skins of
this year and the last year's killing, here and there a
Martin Cat intermixed, and Game-keepers and Hunters
poles in abundance.
" The Parlour was a large room as properly furnished.
On a hearth, paved with brick, lay some Terriers, and
the choicest Hounds and Spaniels. Seldom less than
two of the great chairs had litters of Kittens on them,
which were not to be disturbed, he always having three
or four Cats attending him at dinner ; and to defend
such meat as he had no mind to part with, he kept order
with a short white stick that lay by him. The windows,
which were very large, served for places to lay his
Arrows, Cross-bows, and other such accoutrements.
The corners of the room were full of the best chose
Hunting and Hawking poles. An Oyster table at the
lower end, which was in constant use twice a day, all
the year round, for he never failed to eat Oysters before
Dinner and Supper, through all seasons. In the upper
part of the room were two small tables and a desk ; on
the one side of the desk was a Church Bible, and on the
other the Book of Martyrs. Upon the tables were
Hawks-hoods, Bells, etc., two or three old green Hats,
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 23
with their crowns thrust in, so as to hold ten or a dozen
eggs, which were of a Pheasant-kind of poultry ; these
he took much care of, and fed himself. Tables, Boxes,
Dice, Cards, were not wanting. In the holes of the
desk was store of old used Tobacco pipes.
" On one side of this end of the room was the door of a
Closet, wherein stood the strong Beer and the Wine,
which never came thence but in single glasses, that being
the rule of the house exactly observed ; for he never
exceeded in drinking, nor ever permitted it. On the
other side was the door into an old Chapel, not used for
devotion. The Pulpit, as the safest place, never wanted
a cold Chine of Beef, Venison pasty, Gammon of bacon,
or a great Apple pie, with a thick crust extremely baked.
His table cost him not much, though it was always
well supplied. His Sports furnished all but Beef and
Mutton, except Fridays, when he had the best of salt
as well as other Fish, he could get, and this was the
day on which his neighbours of the first quality visited
him. He never wanted a London pudding, and sung
it in with ' My pert Eyes therein a ! ' He drank a
glass or two at meals, very often syrup of Gilyfiowers
in his Sack, and always a tun glass stood by him,
holding a pint of small beer, which he often stirred
with Rosemary. He was affable but soon angry,
calUng his servants Bastards and Cuckoldy Knaves.
He lived to be an Hundred, never lost his eyesight,
but always wrote and read without spectacles, and
got on Horseback without help. Until past Fourscore
years, he rode up to the death of a Stag, as well as any
man." A portrait of this gentleman, who may be
styled something of an eccentric and a character, even
in his own age, was, and I believe still is, at Wimborne
St. Giles, the seat of the Earl of Shaftesbury.*
* As a pendant to this picture of a sportsman of this period
24 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Here is another portrait, that of one of the lesser
gentry, flourishing in the middle of the eighteenth
century. It is given by Daniel, in his " Rural Sports,"
published in 1801. " It may be excused," saj'^s Mr.
Daniel in his excellent book, "if the digression be
continued for the purpose of sketching a Sportsman
of the last age, as it may shew, that however we may
have excelled in fashionable manners, it has been at
the expense of abolishing a class of Men, who formed
no inconsiderable link of the chain between the Peer
and the Peasant in this Country. This Character,
now worn out and gone, was the independent Gentle-
man, of three or four hundred pounds a-year, who
commonly appeared in his Drab or Plush Coat, with
large silver buttons, and rarely without Boots. His
time was principally spent in Field amusements, and
his travels never exceeded the distance of the County
town, and that only at Assizes and Sessions, or to
attend an Election. A Journey to London was, by one
of these Men, reckoned as great an undertaking, as
is at present a Voyage to the East Indies, and under-
taken with scarce less precaution and preparation. At
Church upon a Sunday he always appeared, never
played at Cards but at Christmas, when he exchanged
his usual beverage of Ale for a Bowl of strong Brandy
Punch, garnished with a toast and Nutmeg.
"The Mansion of one of these 'Squires' was of
plaister, or of red brick, striped with timber, called
Callimancho work, large casemented Bow windows,
a Porch with seats in it, and over it a Study ; the eaves
of the house were well inhabited by Martins, and the
I give, in Appendix A, a curious poem on Hare-hunting,
dated May 1660. It has some quaint poUtical allusions,
but was evidently written by a man who understood the
chase of the hare.
HAKE-HUXTIMJ, 1798
THE FIND
HAKE-HUNTING, I79S
THE DEATH
Plate HI
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 25
Court set round with Holly-hocks and dipt Yews.
The Hall was provided with Flitches of bacon, and
the Mantelpiece with Fowling pieces and Fishing rods
of different dimensions, accompanied by the Broad
Sword, Partisan, and Dagger, borne by his Ancestors
in the Civil Wars ; the vacant spaces were occupied
by Stags' horns. In the window lay Baker's Chronicle,
Fox's Book of Martyrs, Glanvil on Witches, Quin-
cey's Dispensatory, Bracken's Farriery, and the
Gentleman's Recreation. In this room at Christmas,
round a glowing fire, he entertained his Tenants ; here
was told and heard exploits in Hunting, and who had
been the best Sportsman of his time ; and although
the glass was in constant circulation, the traditionary
tales of the village, respecting Ghosts and Witches,
petrified them with fear. The best Parlour, which
was never opened but on some particular occasion,
was furnished with worked chairs and carpet, by some
industrious Female of the Family, and the wainscot
was decorated with portraits of his Ancestors, and
Pictures of running Horses and Hunting pieces.
Among the out-oihces of the house, were a warm stable
for his Horses, and a good Kennel for his Hounds ;
and near the gate was the horse-block, for the con-
veniency of mounting."
This is a pleasing picture of the old-time Squireen or
Yeoman, a class even now not quite extinct. Here and
there, in quieter parts of England and Ireland, one
may yet come across a belated specimen of the little
Squire or wealthier Yeoman, living in some quaint,
old-fashioned house in which his forbears have dwelt
before him for centuries. More probably than not he
is a hare-hunter and takes his pleasure in the field,
following with absorbing interest some old-fashioned
pack of blue-mottled harriers, whose wonderful
26 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
voices plainly denote their Southern hound ancestry.
It is a thousand pities that these men have so nearly
vanished from the countryside. But, as Macaulay
notices, even in Charles II. 's time, the wealthy yeoman,
possessing three or four hundred acres of his own
land, was already vanishing from the soil, and being
absorbed by the great territorial aristocracy.
Between the two characters here sketched — one of
Charles L's, the other of George II. or George III.'s
time — comes the type depicted by Addison with
such loving and such astonishing fidelity in his portrait
of Sir Roger de Coverley. It cannot be doubted
that Sir Roger was drawn from the life, his original
some country gentleman of Queen Anne's reign.
Addison so admirably describes the hare -hunting
of that period that I am tempted to reproduce some
part of his letters on the worthy knight* : " Sir
Roger, being at present too old for Foxhunting, to
keep himself in action has disposed of his Beaglesf
and got a Pack of Stop-Hounds. What these want
in speed, he endeavours to make amends for by the
deepness of their Mouths and the Variety of their
Notes, which are suited in such manner to each other,
that the whole Cry makes up a compleat Consort.
He is so nice in this particular, that a Gentleman
having made him a present of a very fine Hound the
other day, the Knight returned it by the servant with
a great many expressions of civility ; but desired him
to tell his master, that the Dog he had sent was indeed
a most excellent Base, but that at present he only
wanted a Counter Tenor. ... Sir Roger is so keen
* Spectator, No. ii6, July 13, 171 1.
t Here is a reference to fox-beagles, indicating, as I have
said, that these little hounds were then still used for running
foxes to earth, and thereafter killing them as vermin.
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 27
at this Sport that he has been out almost every day
since I came down, and upon the Chaplain's offering
to lend me his easie pad, I was prevail'd on Yesterday
Morning to make one of the Company. I was extremely
pleased, as we rid along, to observe the general Bene-
volence of all the Neighbourhood towards my friend.
The Farmers' sons thought themselves happy if they
could open a gate for the good old Knight as he passed
by ; Which he generally requited with a Nod or a
Smile, and a kind inquiry after their Fathers or Uncles.
" After we had rid about a mile from home, we came
upon a large heath and the sportsmen began to beat.
They had done so for some time, when, as I was at a
little Distance from the rest of the Company, I saw
a Hare pop out from a small Furze-brake, almost under
my Horse's feet. I marked the way she took, which
I endeavoured to make the Company sensible of by
extending my arm ; but to no purpose, till Sir Roger,
who knows that none of my extraordinary motions
are insignificant, rode up to me and asked if Puss was
gone that way ? Upon my answering Yes he imme-
diately called in the Dogs, and put them upon the
scent. As they were going off, I heard one of the
Country Fellows muttering to his Companion, That
Hwas a wonder they had not lost all their Sport, for want
of the silent Gentleman'' s crying STOLE AWAY.
" This, with my Aversion to leaping Hedges, made
me withdraw to a rising ground, from whence I could
have the pleasure of the whole Chase, without the
fatigue of keeping in with the Hounds. The Hare
immediately threw them above a Mile behind her ;
but I was pleased to find that instead of running strait
forward, or in Hunter's language. Flying the Country,
as I was afraid she might have done, she wheel'd about,
and described a sort of Circle round the Hill whereon
2 8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
I had taken my Station, in such manner as gave me
a very distinct View of the Sport. I could see her
first pass by, and the Dogs sometime afterwards un-
ravelhng the whole Track she had made, and following
her through all her Doubles. I was at the same time
delighted in observing that Deference which the rest
of the Pack paid to each particular Hound, according
to the Character he had acquired amongst them : If
they were at a Fault, and an old Hound of good reputa-
tion opened but once, he was immediately followed
by the whole Cry ; while a raw Dog, or one who was
a noted Liar, might have yelped his heart out without
being taken notice of.*
" The Hare now, after having squatted two or three
times, and been put up again as often, came still nearer
to the Place, where she was at first started. The Dogs
pursued her and these were followed by the jolly
Knight, who rode upon a white Gelding, encompassed
by his Tenants and Servants, and chearing his Hounds
with all the Gaiety of Five and Twenty. One of the
Sportsmen rode up and told me that he was sure the
Chace was almost at an end, because the old Dogs,
which had hitherto lain behind, now headed the Pack.
The Fellow was in the right. Our Hare took a large
Field just under us, followed by the full Cry in View.
I must confess the brightness of the weather, the
Chearfulness of everything around me, the Chiding of
the Hounds, which was returned upon us in a double
echo from the neighbouring Hills, with the Hallowing
of the Sportsmen, and the Sounding of the Horn, lifted
my spirits into a most lively Pleasure, which I freely
indulged because I was sure it was innocent. If I was
* This is excellent ! Addison evidently knew much more
about hounds and hunting than he would have his readers
believe.
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 29
under any Concern, it was on the account of the poor
Hare, that was now quite spent and almost within the
Reach of her Enemies ; when the Huntsman, getting
forward, threw down his Pole before the Dogs. They
were now within eight yards of that Game which they
had been pursuing for almost as many Hours ; yet on
the Signal before mentioned they all made a sudden
stand, and tho' they continued opening as much as
before, durst not once attempt to pass beyond the
Pole. At the same Time Sir Roger rode forward, and
alighting took up the Hare in his Arms ; which he soon
after delivered to one of his Servants with an Order,
if she could be kept alive to let her go in his great
Orchard, where, it seems, he had several of these
Prisoners of War, who live together in a very com-
fortable captivity. . . . For my own part," con-
cludes the Spectator, in this admirable account, " I
intend to hunt twice a week during my stay with Sir
Roger ; and shall prescribe the moderate use of this
Exercise to all my Country Friends, as the best
kind of physick for mending a bad Constitution and
preserving a good one."
It is extremely unlikely that many Queen Anne
Squires, save the renowned Sir Roger de Coverley,
preserved their hares at the finish of a long chase in the
manner described by Addison. For years, I am bound
to confess, I took the description of the jolly Knight's
Stop-Hounds as a pleasing fiction, invented for the
amusement of the readers of the Spectator. But re-
search has convinced me long since that Stop-Hounds
were really and truly employed by our ancestors.
"The Southern Hounds," says Daniel, "were recom-
mended for woodland and hilly countries, and used by
those hunters who went on foot and hunted, as it was
termed, under the Pole, by which is meant, that so
30 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
exact was the discipline by which these Hounds were
regulated, that in the hottest scent, if the hunting
Pole were thrown before them, they stopped in an
instant, and followed the Huntsman's heels in full
cry, till he again permitted their going forward ; this
much lengthened the Chase, which sometimes lasted
five or six hours." A strange method, truly !
Having presented portraits of hare - hunters from
the reign of Charles I. to the middle of the eighteenth
century, let me complete my gallery of old-time
sportsmen by depicting an Essex squire named Saich,
who flourished about the year 1800. " He was,"
says a writer in the Sporting Magazine for July 1827,
" an old gentleman residing at Layer, in the country
between Colchester and the Sea, on the Maldon side,
who possessed and cultivated a considerable quantity
of land and was much respected. He kept a pack of
hounds, was a Nimrod by nature, and had a jovial soul,
indulging in the spontaneous impulses of each without
niggardly restraint. It was not the fashion in those
days to organise your establishment in much refine-
ment. . . . My friend's harriers, as they were called,
because they used to hunt the hares, were of a grotesque
character, not definable as a whole by any rules of
Beckford or Somervile. The deep-toned, blue-mottled,
the dwarf foxhound, the true bred harrier, the diminu-
tive beagle, all joined in the cry and helped to supply
the pot. Being somewhat strangers to one another,
discord prevailed — having a butcher for one master,
a baker for another, a farmer for a third,* spreading
pretty well through the village. With such hetero-
geneous qualities, and not in social intercourse, with
an impenetrable country to hunt over, whippers-in were
* Manifestly a trencher-fed pack, then common in rural
England.
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 31
indispensable, of which there was a plentiful supply, per-
sonated, I may say, by all the attendants, with immense
long whips, and deep-sounding lungs not sparingly used.
" The huntsman was the owner, riding an old grizzled
horse, rather lengthy both above and below the saddle,
in a green coat, with flaps covering the boot-tops, and
large yellow buttons, a scarlet waistcoat high in the
throat and long in the waist, with a pair of pockets
deep enough for a large tobacco box, or even for a
leveret in a strait — his breeches ribbed corduroys,
short at the knee, and secured from rubbing over by
a large pair of silver knee-buckles ; boots allied to the
Jack order, with tops somewhat short, and certainly
not white, leaving a respectable space to shew the blue
woollen stocking, and kept just over the calf by a pair
of broad tanned straps across the knee. The spurs
I forget, so they must be left. A bushy black wig,
covered by a low crowned castor, with brims a la
Joli-ffe, serving by their turn-up as gutters for rain,
embraced a face oval and long, rouged in the nasal,
and wide in the mouth, various in colour, having shades
of red, blue and yellow ; hands of Cyclops breed, too
large for any Woodstock manufacturer, and never in
genial warmth from the cuff of the coat ; the whip long
and heavy, always dangling by the side of the leg ready
for action. The finishing embellishment must not be
omitted, though not in place — the whole person being
kept in due order by a belt round the body, rather
protuberant.
" He was a capital sportsman, and could almost hunt
a hare himself ; though old, his quick eye could discern
the sitting victim through ' matted blade ' ; and though
his helpmates were anything but as they should be, yet
who-hoop generally closed the scene. He was early
and late in the field, facing all weathers but frost, and
32 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
with inexhaustible patience kept worrying on till dark.
It was little matter where he left off, for the first sign-
post generally brought him and his friends to a stand,
and the poor hounds, with a boy, got home as they
could. He was always famous for especial care of the
interior, and it was generally so contrived as to have
a good repast prepared, particularly on the Saturday,
the next day not calling for business. ... As he was
late to begin, he was loth to leave off, and but few of
his compeers could either go the pace or stay as long.
The night worn away in smoke, mirth, and punch, he
used to be left asleep, which no one dared disturb. The
morn awoke and so did my friend, but yet no home for
him ; a good breakfast of beef steaks and malt wine
composed any restlessness in his spirits, and kept him
quiet till the dinner time came round. Boiled beef or
roast, it was no matter which, with plum pudding for
either, was too tempting to leave — and aloo sus again !
Then a pipe to digest, and a bottle to wash down,
brought on Hesper once more, and then it was either too
dark, or too wet, or too cold, to move ; so another night
passed, and, strange to relate ! such was the enchanting
spell, that I have known this joyous buck, in his green
costume, and all over mud, repeat this over and over
again till the next hunting morning, the following
Wednesday, with only a mop for the boots and a pump
for the face — not even a pillow for his head. A visit
on the Monday of some of his companions excited fresh
vigour, and gave a helping hand, with, occasionally,
a choice brother spirit, to run the same gauntlet. This
was called a holiday.
" His avocations at home were industrious and
governed by intelligence — he was an excellent farmer
and worked hard, but always bearing in mind pipes,
punch, and jollity for the evening."
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 33
A curious type this, one surely that might well
figure in Mr. Cecil Aldin's gallery of ancient Georgian
sportsmen ! One night this curio and his old servant,
Will, were shot out of a buggy on Tip-tree Heath. It
was after a twelve hours' " dinner visit." So soon as
they had recovered their senses and found no bones
were broken, the old sportsman discovered that he
had lost his wig. " ' Will, where's my wig ? ' 'I
does not know, but I'll see, sir.' Will made many a
cast round the furze and at last struck the scent.
' Tantaro, Master, here it is ! ' ' You lie, you rascal !
it is not mine, by God ! I won't take it : throw it
away.' Will knew well his master's foible — whether
from punch or by nature I cannot say (adds the
narrator) — dead restiveness ; therefore, with wits
sharpened by good cheer, was not at a loss, and re-
plied, ' I knew it, sir — it is not yours ; and it is a d — d
old thing ; but you had better take it, for really, sir,
wigs are very scarce here, and perhaps you mant get a
better,' Temper soothed and head covered, chaise and
daylight landed them safe."
There were certainly curious hunting folk in those
days ; they had wild spirits and could stand libations
and feeding that would speedily destroy the sportsman
of the present day. How they ate, for example ! At a
yeoman's dinner-table in 1825 — it was in Dorsetshire —
there were served the following joints: 52 lb. of beef,
30 lb. of veal, a 27-lb. ham, six large plum puddings,
and other etceteras. Truly a repast for giants !
Free living and too much conviviality told, however,
in the end, even upon these hardened veterans. Somer-
vile himself is a melancholy example in point. During
the latter years of his life he became harassed by
pecuniary troubles, " which in great part," says his
biographer, " resulted from his love of dispensing
c
34 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
hospitality on a scale entirely incommensurate with his
means." Drink eventually got the better of him and
brought him to his end. His favourite tipple was a
kind of punch composed of rum, black currant jelly,
and a little hot water, a mixture " excellent and heal-
ing," says his friend and neighbour, the poet Shenstone,
" after a hard day's exercise, when taken moderately,
but in Somervile's case an insinuating poison."
" Nimrod," in his second tour, tells some amusing
anecdotes of one of these convivial souls of the eighteenth
and early nineteenth centuries, a Cheshire squire,
named Leech. " One of his bottle companions of the
sacerdotal order asked him to go to church and hear
him preach. He afterwards wished to know what he
thought of his sermon. ' Why,' replied Mr. Leech,
' / like you better in bottle than in wood.'' " A smart
repartee, truly !
It is clear that many of these squires of the eighteenth
century drifted almost insensibly from hare-hunting
to the pursuit of the fox. In the seventeenth century,
as I have shown, the hare was regularly hunted with
a pack of hounds, the fox not nearly so often, being
more usually driven to earth by beagles and terriers,
dug out and slain. In time the fox was promoted to
a higher position in the scale of hunting, and the same
hounds often pursued both hare and fox indifferently.
In 1826 it is stated in the Sporting Magazine that Sir
Watkin Wynn's harriers were then more like fox-
hounds, and drew for wild foxes as well as hunted bag-
men. Bagmen, by the way, seem to have been much
more common in those days than they are now. Like
Sir Watkin Wynn's hounds — now and for many years
past one of the most noted packs of foxhounds in the
kingdom — many other harrier packs, owned by hard-
riding squires'^'of the eighteenth century, were the
HARE-HUNTERS OF THE PAST 35
forerunners, and often the nucleus, of the present well-
ordered and well-managed foxhound establishments.
The present Monmouthshire Hounds are a case in
point. Old Squire Lewis, of Llantillo, like many of his
contemporaries, hunted, with the same pack of hounds,
hare, fox, and otter. He did this down to the year
1835, in the country now demarcated as the Monmouth-
shire. In that year he relinquished hunting and pre-
sented his pack to Captain Stretton, who began thence-
forth to hunt fox. Soon after this date the present
Monmouthshire Hunt was formed. This, briefly, is
the history of a great many packs of modern foxhounds,
some of them provincial and comparatively unknown,
some of them great and famous.
Many of the old school, however, held out decidedly
against going after strange quarry, and stuck to the
chase of the hare, which had given them and their
forbears so many and such excellent hunts during
long generations. Among these may be cited the
amusing instance of an old Northumbrian master of
harriers, who believed in hare and hare only, and
loathed the sight of a fox. One day his hounds found
and went away after one of these hated animals. The
old gentleman was nearly frantic, his language most
unparliamentary. " Stop 'em, you born idiot ! " he
yelled out to his whip, so soon as he could recover
sufficient breath. " Stop 'em, you fule creature —
he's no fit to eat, I tell you, stop 'em ! "
From the beginning of the nineteenth century fox-
hunting began decidedly to assert its popularity. It
was faster, it offered fiercer delights, straighter runs,
more excitement. The rising school of fox-hunters,
the men of the Regency, the bloods, the Toms and
Jerries of that day, speedily began to assume an air
of contempt and superiority towards harriers and the
36 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
harrier-man, which for many years was maintained. The
sport which had sufficed their fathers and grandfathers,
and yet remoter ancestors, became unfashionable.
" Currant Jelly " was invented as a term of reproach.
And harriers and hare-hunting may be said to have
remained unfashionable until a dozen or fifteen years
since, when some decline in the extraordinary popu-
larity of fox-hunting, and other causes, of which I shall
speak hereafter, led to that distinct revival of interest
in a somewhat neglected sport, which now shows,
year by year, signs of a vigour and vitality that
would have been thought impossible during the heyday
of fox-hunting fifty or sixty years ago.
CHAPTER III
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS
Two kinds of British hare — Weight of hares —
Hare traits — PecuUarities in colouration — Story
of a white-cheeked hare — Albino and black hares —
Ground Game Act and its effects — Protection needed
— Many foes of hares — Hares as swimmers — Anec-
dotes of Cowper's hares — Other hares in captivity
and their demeanour — Pugnacity — Keen intelligence
— Determination — March hares and their ways —
Curious death of a hare — Food of these animals —
Habits of life — Hares in their forms — Difficult to
find — Manoeuvres when hunted — Pricking hares on
a road — Hares taking to sea — Beckford on the Hare
The common brown English hare {Lepus timidus),
which alone is hunted by harriers in this country, has
a wide distribution, and was always found throughout
the whole of Europe, except Northern Russia, Scan-
dinavia, and Ireland. It was, however, to be met with
in Denmark and East Finland. In Ireland the in-
digenous hare is the blue or mountain hare, sometimes
called the varying hare {Lepus variabilis), similar to
that found in the Highlands of Scotland, in Norway,
Sweden, North Russia, and as far eastward as Japan.
The English hare has, however, been long since in-
troduced into Ireland, and is now common there.
This hare is distinguished from others by its long
ears and hind legs. A good average brown hare will
weigh about 8 lb., but examples are often shot scaling
38 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
considerably more. The heaviest hare of which
the writer has a note weighed 13 lb., and another,
shot on the Longwitten estate, near Morpeth, by
Mr. R. Henderson in 1876, was stated in the Field of
October 28 of that year to have weighed 13I- lb.
The blue or mountain hare is a considerably smaller
animal, and averages about 5^ lb. ; a heavy Scotch
blue hare will, however, scale as much as 8 J lb.,
which weight has been several times recorded.
The outward form and appearance of our common
brown hare are well known, but perhaps all readers
may not be aware that the animal has imperfect collar-
bones, three pairs of premolar teeth in the upper jaw
and two in the lower, five toes to the fore-limbs and
four to the hinder pair. The thickly-brushed, hairy
soles to the feet are well-known characteristics. These
brushes serve two purposes : they protect the foot
in those long chases during which the feet of a dog
or hound are often badly cut and bruised ; and they
are used indefatigably for cleansing purposes. The
hare is a beast scrupulously nice as to its person ;
it has no unpleasant scent ; and it cleans itself with
great perseverance. The hare's foot is not only, with
the scut, a welcome trophy to the merry beagler after
an exceptionally hard run, but has been used for many
centuries by the fair sex, and especially by actresses
and actors, for rouging the face. It is probably not
known to every sportsman that in both hares and
rabbits the insides of the cheeks, as well as the outer
parts, are hairy. There are many instances of varia-
tion in colour in this animal. White examples are
occasionally met with. In 1888 the Earl of Burford
shot at Bestwood Park, Notts, a full-grown white
hare with eyes of a pale blue. At Tillyfour, Aberdeen-
shire, and in the Island of Mull, a large yellow variety,
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 39
with hazel eyes, weighing about 10 lb., has been
observed. A parti-coloured hare, says Mr. Harting,*
was killed near Salisbury. "It was unusually white
all over the face, and its hind-quarters were of a
silvery-grey. Its pale colour could not be attributed
to age, for it was a young animal, weighing about
5^ lbs." Mr. Holland Southerden, lately Master,
and now Deputy Master, of the Hailsham Harriers,
sends me a note of a curiously marked hare which,
for a couple of seasons, was familiar with this pack.
One side of her face was almost white, and she could
be readily distinguished. She was, perhaps, the
most clever, resourceful, and tricky animal ever
hunted by these hounds, on several occasions getting
the better of them in long runs. She usually bested
them at a point where several roads cross, and where
cottages and gardens exist. Her tactics were to
double quietly about this locality, working about
the gardens and roads, and she was repeatedly seen
by the cottagers " creeping about in the cabbages
and broccoli, and jumping about on the pavements,
threading the boundary hedges, and then crossing
over the roads very quickly." Her final exit was
usually made in a certain wood, about a third of a
mile away, abounding in rabbits. This clever hare
came to an untimely end. She was shot by a farmer
who was well acquainted with her history, but,
meeting her with his gun one day, and seeing the
wrong {i.e., the brown) side of her face, he dropped
her dead. On noticing her white cheek, he became
aware of his misfortune — he had on several occasions
assisted in her pursuit with harriers — and reported
the sad occurrence to the master of the pack.
Albino hares are occasionally shot, and, more rarely,
* " The Encyclopedia of Sport."
40 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
black hares have been met with, A black variety
of the common English hare was killed in coursing
at Enville, Lord Stamford's seat, in 1853, and other
specimens have been met with here and there. Hares
vary, of course, a good deal in colour, even in the
same district. Only last winter, 1902-3, in drawing
a small Sussex shaw with a pack of harriers, six hares
were driven out by hounds. Of these three were
peculiarly light-coloured, much more so than the
generality of their kind in this district. These animals
are very fecund, though not so much so as the ex-
tremely fertile rabbit. A male and female put together
for a year, as an experiment, by a former Lord Ribbles-
dale, produced sixty-eight young ones. A pair of
rabbits, enclosed under the same conditions, would
have produced offspring to the number of three hundred.
Still, the fecundity of the hare is so great that, given
a reasonable amount of protection, especially in the
breeding season, we should not have to lament their
decline in so many districts. They couple at the age
of twelve months, and, after a period of thirty days
gestation, the mother produces usually from two
to three, sometimes four, and even five, young
ones. Under ordinary conditions the mother will
produce two or three sets of young in the year — usually
between February and August, harvest time — but
Lord Ribblesdale's experiment indicates that, given
absolute immunity from the many risks and cares of
hare life, they can be much more fertile. The young
are brought forth in the usual " form," or " seat,"
favoured by hares, and, unlike young rabbits, which,
produced in burrows, are born naked and blind,
are from parturition clothed with hair and have the
eyes open. This, manifestly, is a development of
nature suited to their more perilous position, exposed
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 41
as they are to enemies in the open. The mother will
occasionally treat them as a cat deals with her kittens,
carrying them about in her mouth when danger
threatens and she has to search for more secure
quarters. It is usually stated, and with a certain
amount of truth, that the brown hare, reared among
hills and mountains, is stouter and gives better and
longer runs than the lowland-bred hare. This is
not an invariable rule. Hares bred on grass marsh,
well dyked and drained, and not, therefore, too wet,
are often extraordinarily stout. I have hunted for
some seasons with the Hailsham Harriers, a foot pack,
whose best hunting-grounds lie on Pevensey Marshes.
The marsh hares of this district are extraordinarily
stout and give wonderful runs, often exceeding an
hour and not seldom two hours in duration. These
are 19-inch harriers, and by no means to be accounted
a slow pack ; in fact, in addition to rare scenting
powers, they have first-rate pace and fire. We occa-
sionally hunt upland hares on the South Downs,
hard by, with the same pack ; and I am bound to
say that, although they are good hares, we run into
them at least as quickly as we do the hares of the
neighbouring marshes.
The Ground Game Act has wrought in many dis-
tricts infinite havoc among hares, and the stock of
these animals is, as a whole, nothing like what it
was before the introduction of that ill-judged and
mischievous measure. The Hares Preservation Act
of 1892 is, after all, of little protection. It enacts
merely that hares shall not be sold or exposed for
sale during March, April, May, June, and July. That
does not provide against the killing of these unfor-
tunates, and hares and leverets are slain in large
numbers during these months. An Act ought to be
42 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
passed giving absolute protection to hares between
the beginning of February and the end of July, and
it ought to be the business of every follower of hare-
hunting, every courser, and every good sportsman,
to see that such a Bill is without delay brought before
the two Houses and made law. Combination only
can ensure the proper protection of these unfortunate
animals, which in many parts of the country are
becoming almost unknown. I am bound to say
that, in districts where they are decently protected,
there is not the slightest difficulty in maintaining
a good head of hares. In the Pevensey Marsh country,
where farmers enjoy hare-hunting and coursing, we
have too many of these animals, and I have seen no
less than fourteen put up in the course of a single run.
Hares have many foes. In addition to coursers,
hunters, shooting-men, poachers — and all poachers
dearly love a hare — they have to run the gauntlet
of foxes, weasels, and stoats. Weasels and stoats
especially are deadly enemies, and young leverets,
exposed in an open form, once they are discovered —
and these bloodthirsty vermin are extraordinarily
acute in hunting up their hiding-places — fall easy
victims. The hare, however, manifestly from fear
of these murderers, scarcely ever brings forth her
young in a hedgerow, where stoats and weasels are
so fond of hunting. The town poacher and his well-
trained lurcher form an abiding danger to hares in
localities where they are fairly plentiful, and many
a good hare is destroyed by these vagrant and dangerous
allies. Of late a new development in poaching has
sprung up, and I know of an open district, where
hares are plentiful, where poachers get at them in
the following manner : These rascals cycle out with
their dogs at night, make for certain places which
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 43
they know are habitually favoured by hares, and,
putting in their dogs, course and kill them. By this
means they accomplish long distances, and can escape
quickly with their plunder. However, even against
these scoundrels, plans of protection can be devised,
albeit with some trouble and difficulty.
Hares are excellent swimmers, and when pressed
by hounds have no hesitation whatever in taking
to water and crossing broad streams. They will
swim long distances at times, and in the year 1898
an instance was recorded in the Field in which a hare
had swum from the mainland to a small island in the
lake at Waterville, County Kerry. This island is
nearly three-quarters of a mile from shore. Personally,
I am not surprised at this instance. I have watched
hunted hares swimming rivers and streams many a
time, and it is apparent that they progress with ease
and fair rapidity. They are fine dyke jumpers, as
from their conformation might be naturally supposed ;
they will either fly a ditch in their stride, or, if the
banks are sloping, will run down to the margin, and
leap over at a good bound. But they have no fear
of water, and will plunge into a stream if hurried,
or slip into it quietly if less hurried — preferably they
do the latter — and make their way across. Only a
few days before writing this chapter I saw a hare,
hard pressed by the Bexhill Harriers, plunge souse into
a marsh dyke, making as big a splash as a hound,
and sending the water flying in all directions.
Scotch hares — the blue or mountain species — go
to ground very frequently, but the brown hare seldom
indeed resorts to this expedient, even when hunted.
However, in dire straits she will do this, and I have
on more than one occasion seen her hunted to ground
in some earth at the root of an old tree, or other
44 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
suitable place. Old sporting writers termed this
" going to vault," an expression, I fancy, now never
heard.
These animals are occasionally taken when young
and kept in confinement. The three maintained by
the poet Cowper, from about the year 1774, are well-
known instances. " Puss, one of the trio," says
Cowper, " grew presently familiar, would leap into
my lap, raise himself upon his hinder feet, and bite
the hair from my temples. He would suffer me
to take him up and to carry him about in my arms,
and has more than once fallen asleep upon my knee.
He was ill three days, during which time I nursed him,
kept him apart from his fellows (for, like many other
wild animals, they persecute one of their own species
that is sick), and by constant care, and trying him with
a variety of herbs, restored him to perfect health.
No creature could be more grateful than my patient
after his recovery, a sentiment which he most signifi-
cantly expressed by licking my hand, first the back
of it, then the palm, then every finger separately,
then between all the fingers, as if anxious to leave no
part of it unsaluted ; a ceremony which he never
performed but once again on a similar occasion."
By degrees Cowper habituated his pet to its liberty
in the garden. " Puss " soon began to be impatient
for the return of these excursions. " He would invite
me to the garden by drumming upon my knee, and
by a look of such expression as it was not possible to
misinterpret. If this rhetoric did not immediately
succeed, he would take the skirt of my coat between
his teeth and pull it with all his force." This hare
became, in fact, perfectly tamed, and was actually
happier in human society than when shut up with
his natural kinsfolk. " Tiney," another of Cowper's
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 45
three pets, was of a totally different nature, and
although, like his companion, nursed tenderly through
an illness, was never anything but of a surly nature ;
if the poet took the liberty of stroking him, he would
grunt, strike out with his fore feet, spring forward,
and bite. " Bess," the third of this singular trio,
was, says Cowper, " a hare of great humour and
drollery ; he had a courage and confidence that made
him tame from the beginning." The poet always
admitted the three hares into the parlour after supper,
" when, the carpet affording their feet a firm hold,
they would frisk Jand bound and play a thousand
gambols, in which Bess, being remarkably strong
and fearless, was always superior to the rest, and proved
himself the Vestris of the party. One evening the
cat, being in the room, had the hardihood to pat Bess
upon the cheek, an indignity which he resented by
drumming upon her back with such violence, that
the cat was happy to escape from under his paws
and hide herself."
Each of these hares had a distinct character of
its own. " Their countenances," says Cowper, " were
so expressive of that character that, when I looked
only on the face of either, I immediately knew which
it was. It is said that a shepherd, however numerous
his flock, soon becomes so familiar with their features
that he can, by that indication only, distinguish each
from all the rest. ... I doubt not that the same dis-
crimination in the cast of countenances would be
discernible in hares, and am persuaded that, among
a thousand of them, no two could be found exactly
similar." These animals noted instantly the smallest
alteration in their surroundings. " A small hole
being burnt in the carpet, it was mended with a patch,
and that patch in a moment underwent the strictest
46 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
scrutiny." Any one with a knowledge of these animals
is aware that their scenting powers are very highly
developed. " They seem," adds the poet, " to be
very much directed by the smell in the choice of their
favourites ; to some persons, though they saw them
daily, they could never be reconciled, and would even
scream when they attempted to touch them ; but a
miller coming in engaged their affections at once ;
his powdered coat had charms that were irre-
sistible."
Hares, as Cowper intimates, have plenty of courage
of their own. Of that I have no manner of doubt,
although they are accounted by the vast majority
of people among the most timid creatures in the world.
They are also extremely pugnacious. A writer in
the Field of February 8, 1902, signing his letter with
the initials " V. T.," gives some very interesting
details upon this subject :
" In August last a keeper brought me two leverets,
only just able to feed themselves. They had been
captured in a field of long clover, their mother being
with them at the time. I put them into a low, wide
tin bath, wired all round and over the top. They
were at first terrified, and sat huddled together for
the remainder of the day and night, refusing food of
any sort. In the early hours of the morning I suc-
ceeded in feeding them with some warm milk — and
again later — till, by degrees, they began to nibble
clover. I tamed them by slow stages, till they would
eat from my hand and let me nurse them. But as
their fear of me gradually diminished, I was amazed
to find how forcibly and persistently they were pre-
pared to resent interference. They flew at me, bit and
scratched me, making a most peculiar hissing sound,
and so ferocious and hurtful were their attacks that
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 47
I was forced to defend myself with a pair of thick
gloves.
" Then followed a series of boxing matches, the
assaults upon me frequently lasting several minutes,
with periodical rests, when they would retreat to a
corner, regain their wind, and attack me again more
savagely than before. When completely beaten, they
would let me stroke them and lick my hand as usual,
and be friends again.
" One of these hares is now a most engaging animal,
knows me perfectly, and will jump up on to my knee,
climb up and kiss me when told, sit up and beg, jump
through a hoop, and shake hands, always giving the
right paw. It will also seek its food when I hide it,
and does all in its power to show its affection for me.
It lives in the house, is loose all day, and thoroughly
enjoys a good roll on the rug, where it frequently lies
stretched full length before the fire. It also plays
with two retriever dogs, of whom it has no fear what-
ever, and often lies between them while asleep. I
am sorry to say that the gardener let its companion
escape one day during my absence.
" In the early part of last December I received
two full-grown wild hares from Norfolk, and I was
anxious to discover if it was possible to tame and
train them. They sulked for a week, eating little,
but I kept them near me, and by degrees tamed them,
teaching them to feed from my hand, come to me when
called, and sit quietly on my shoulder while I carried
them about.
" Then, as with the others, when all fear of me
had left them, the real trouble commenced ; they
flew at me, biting and scratching, and making that
grunting and 'hissing' sound already! mentioned.
Very slowly, almost despairingly so, we made friends ;
48 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
but, unfortunately, this friendship is not extended
to others, who are treated with scant courtesy if they
interfere with them. They know me very well, and
will sniff my hand or my clothes most noticeably
before allowing themselves to be touched. They
possess keen intelligence and a dogged determination
that I have not seen equalled in any other animal.
They have a peculiar method of indicating irritation
or fear ; unlike rabbits, which stamp their hind feet
in a similar predicament, they make a loud rasping
or grating sound with their teeth, which is instantly
received by the others as a signal of alarm."
As mad as a March hare has long since passed into
a proverb. In reality, hares in March are no more
mad than the rest of the world. They are merely
engaged in a very serious and absorbing occupation,
an occupation which renders them nervous and ex-
citable and pugnacious beyond even their ordinary
habits — to wit, the business of bringing up their
families and defending their abiding-places against
intruders. The courting season, also, naturally renders
these curious animals fidgety, wild, pranksome, and
quarrelsome. Their quarrels, which I have myself
more than once witnessed, are most extraordinary
affairs. Here is a description, given by a writer
in Country Life of April 29, 1902, which affords a
very singular insight into the habits of hares in
springtime :
" From a cursory view of the fields at this season,
one might imagine that hares migrate also, for now
you scarcely see a couple where formerly they were
dotted over the ground like mole-hills. The reason
is, of course, that each pair of hares has withdrawn
to the vicinity of some breeding cover, and the female*
are engaged in family cares. It is in defence of his
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 49
hearth and home that the hare exhibits his most
surprising ebulUtions of ' March madness,' and the
other day I witnessed a performance which would
have brought down the house in a circus. We had
put up one hare in a sloping meadow, and it went
off up-hill like a steam-engine and skirted along the
hedge at the top. Here, however, another hare,
which had not seen us, and had reasons of his own
for objecting to the stranger's presence, dashed out
upon the fugitive and bowled him over. The latter
quickly picked himself up and knocked over his
assailant in turn, and then leisurely continued his
flight. The other hare, however, was furious, and
dashed after him, causing the fugitive to turn and
await the onset.
" Several times they met with a bang, and at last
grappled, each standing bolt upright on his hind toes
and trying to pull the other down. They were so
evenly matched, however, that they slowly revolved
like a pair of old-fashioned waltzers, their long, thin
hind legs giving them the quaintest human aspect.
For fully three minutes they thus danced together
on the green, but I shall never know which was really
the better hare. I was accompanied by two human
boys, who stood it as long as they could, cramming
pocket-handkerchiefs into their mouths and writhing
in agony of suppressed mirth. But the longer the
combat lasted the funnier it seemed to grow, and
at last, with a splurt, the boys broke into roars of
laughter, and the hares bolted in panic and in opposite
directions. It is not often that wild creatures thus
fight in earnest, and when they do it is almost always,
as in this case, under a misapprehension. The object
of the assailant was to drive the intruder back, and
he did not know that this was rendered impossible
D
so HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
by our presence ; so, where one had to go on, and the
other was determined that he should not, a fight was
inevitable."
The eyes of hares are large and prominent, and so
placed that they can see well on either side and even
behind them. When chased, their attentions are
naturally directed chiefly towards their pursuers
clamouring in the rear. A pack of foxhounds were,
many years ago, hunting at Terling, in Essex, and
some hares as well as foxes were disturbed in cover.
Running headlong down one of the rides, a hare met
a terrier which had joined in the pursuit, and was
also going at great speed. The two animals met
in mid career, and the shock was so great that both
lay apparently dead. The dog eventually recovered,
but not so the hare, whose skull was found to be
completely shattered.
Cowper has some very interesting observations on
the food of his tame hares, which seem to be well worth
reproducing. He says :
" I take it to be a general opinion that they graze,
but it is an erroneous one, at least grass is not their
staple ; they seem rather to use it medicinally, soon
quitting it for leaves of almost any kind. Sowthistle,
dandelion, and lettuce are their favourite vegetables,
especially the last. I discovered by accident that
fine white sand is in great estimation with them ; I
suppose as a digestive. It happened that I was
cleaning a bird-cage when the hares were with me ;
I placed a pot filled with such sand upon the floor,
which, being at once directed to by strong instinct, they
devoured voraciously ; since that time I have generally
taken care to see them well supplied with it. They
account green corn a delicacy, both blade and stalk,
but the ear they seldom eat ; straw of any kind,
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 51
especially wheat-straw, is another of their dainties ;
they will feed greedily upon oats, but if furnished
with clean straw never want them ; it serves them
also for a bed, and if shaken up daily will be kept
sweet and dry for a considerable time. They do not,
indeed, require aromatic herbs, but will eat a small
quantity of them with relish, and are particularly
fond of the plant called musk ; they seem to resemble
sheep in this that, if their pasture be too succulent,
they are very subject to the rot ; to prevent which,
I always make bread their principal nourishment,
and, filling a pan with it, cut in small squares, placed
it every evening in their chambers, for they feed only
at evening and in the night ; during the winter, when
vegetables were not to be got, I mingled this mess of
bread with shreds of carrot, adding to it the rind of
apples cut extremely thin ; for, though they are fond
of the paring, the apple itself disgusts them. These,
however, not being a sufficient substitute for the juice
of summer herbs, they must at this time be supplied
with water, but so placed that they cannot overset
it into their beds. I must not omit that occasionally
they are much pleased with twigs of hawthorn, and
of common briar, eating even the very wood when it is
of considerable thickness."
In a state of nature hares are extremely fond, in
addition to some of the foods described by Cowper,
of pinks, parsley, and birch. They have a great
weakness for clover, and will go far to feed upon it ;
they devour the bark and wood of many young trees,
and are, therefore, by no means desirable neighbours
of a rising plantation. They are said, however, to
have an antipathy to alder and lime.
In the daytime hares seldom leave their forms.
Towards evening they begin to move, and at this lime
52 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
often frisk and play about in a most amusing manner.
Evening, in fact, is as much the playtime of the hare
as it is of the cat. They travel about and feed during
night time, and at early morning return to their forms
again. In doing this their instinct prompts them
to take extraordinary precautions, weaving a maze
of tracks, returning upon their foil, and often making
a series of leaps, the final one landing the hare in her
seat. A hare, presumably from fear of discovery,
does not use the same form for long together. In
the autumn these animals are often to be found in
roots, especially turnips, stubble, and long grass,
where they lie extraordinarily close. They wiU sit,
too, in copses, woods, gorse, withy beds, and planta-
tions. In marsh country, especially where the marshes
are, as in the Pevensey district, not too wet, hares will
be found lying out all winter. Towards November
they quit the coverts and are found more frequently
on ploughs and fallows. They are not fond of windy
situations, and are said to be able to foretell changes
of weather and to seat themselves accordingly. The
hare must truly be a hardy beast to lie out as she
does, exposed to the weather, in the depth of winter,
sometimes amid heavy snow.
Hare-finding is an extraordinarily difficult business,
and a man must be lynx-eyed indeed to be able to
note a hare quickly in her form. Some men seem
to possess this faculty by instinct, and are invaluable
when hounds are drawing for their game. As a rule,
there are but two or three men in each Hunt, sometimes
fewer, who have the gift of hare-finding. Constant
practice may help, of course ; but the novice, unless
he is naturally fond of the country and country
pursuits, and has the faculty of observation, wiU
find his education in this respect a difficult one. In
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 53
looking over ploughs, he should walk slowly, keeping
his eye constantly searching the soil, and not trying
to cover too much ground at once. A dozen yards
is quite enough for the eye to range over, and many
a man overlooks and passes a hare lying within a
few feet of him. As a friend once remarked to me,
" walking a hare up is not finding her." The hare
found in her form — and she will usually lie close,
unless she catches the searcher's eye, in which case
she will probably start off — the finder will cry out,
" See ho ! " or, better still, hold up his hat. The
accomplished hare-finder never, if he can possibly
help it, lets his eye meet the hare's. He just
moves on quietly for a few paces, or stands looking
the other way, and by holding up his hat, or by his
voice, lets the huntsman know that he has found.
It has been said that hares seldom live much beyond
seven years. This, I think, is not always the case.
Hares, of course, run many risks, and their lives are
not what insurance companies would call good ones.
But that they are capable, in the ordinary course of
nature, of living to as much as twelve or fourteen
years is certain. Of Cowper's hares, which, although
protected from the assaults of enemies, could hardly
be said to lead natural lives, one died at maturity,
from being placed in a damp box ; another lived to
the age of nine years ; while the third, " Puss," sur-
vived to the respectable antiquity of twelve years all
but one month.
The tricks and devices by which a hare attempts
to throw off her pursuers are infinitely varied, and
add an extraordinary zest and interest to the chase.
In the case of one hare that a sportsman watched,
" as soon as the hounds were heard," says an old
writer, " though at the distance of nearly a mile,
54 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
she rose from her form, swam across a rivulet, then
lay down among the bushes on the other side, and by
this means evaded the scent of the hounds. When
a hare has been chased for a considerable length of
time, she will sometimes push another from its seat
and lie down there herself. When hard pressed,
she will mingle with a flock of sheep, run up an old
wall and conceal herself among the grass on the top
of it, or cross a river several times at small distances."
These are, with the exception of the wall-trick, of
which I have never had ocular demonstration, familiar
expedients in the pursuit of a hare. I believe that
hares do, on occasion, run walls for the purpose of
evading their pursuers ; they will spring on to hedges
and, it is said, even gorse, for the same purpose. In
fact, they are so clever and so resourceful that they will
do almost anything. The mazes they weave in foiling
their own line are perfectly astounding. Jack hares,
travelling after the turn of the year on errands of
love-making, will sometimes give excellent and straight-
away runs. Jacks are said to be stouter and better
stayers than the does, and there is probably truth
in this assertion. An old writer has remarked that
the hare runs against the wind. The truth is that,
unlike the fox, which almost always takes down wind
as soon as he can manage it, the hare will run in any
direction, and takes little or no account of the direction
in which the wind is blowing. Hares nearly always
return to the country in which their form lies, and,
if they escape, may be found seated there the following
day. How often has one seen, after a good hunt,
the hare killed within a field or two, sometimes even
in the very fallow or plough, or grass pasture, from
which she was put up ! The direction in which she
first leans is most usually that which she wiU subse-
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 55
quently follow, and when a check happens the hunts-
man, if he understands his business, will usually cast
that way. The ringing tactics of the hare are, of
course, one chief reason why sport with harriers can
be conveniently enjoyed on foot. A good runner
need never be very far away from hounds, and even
ladies and people of middle age, especially if the chase
is in fairly open country, can see a good deal of the
fun. " After a rainy night in a woody country,"
says Daniel, " neither buck nor doe will keep the
cover, owing to the drops of wet hanging to the spray ;
they therefore run the highways, or stony lanes, for,
as the scent naturally lies strong, they hold the roads
which take the least, not that a hare judges upon what
soil the scent lies weakest ;* it is her ears that chiefly
direct her, for, the hounds being oftener at fault on
the hard paths than the turf, she finds herself not so
closely pressed, and is not so much alarmed with the
continual cry of the dogs at her heels. The louder
the cry the more she is terrified, and flies the swifter,
the certain effect of which is a heart broken sooner,
than with a pack equal in number and goodness, but
who spend their tongues less free." There is much
sense in much of this, especially in the latter remark.
I believe in plenty of hound music with harriers ;
not only are the deep voices of the old-fashioned
harrier blood delightful to hear, but the hare is per-
petually alarmed by them, and a good cry serves
indubitably, as Daniel remarks, towards hastening
that end and object of the chase, towards which
huntsmen and hounds are striving so indefatigably.
* Here I join issue with this writer. I have no doubt what-
ever that the unerring instinct, or reasoning power, of the hare
prompts her to choose cold ploughs and greasy fallows with never-
failing resource, and with the sole object of baffling her foes.
S6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Dry coverts, particularly those frequented by
rabbits, are naturally sought by the hare upon every
possible occasion, especially if she is hard pressed.
Fallen leaves help very considerably to assist her
flight and baffle the noses even of keen-scented hounds.
Hares always run better and show more sport in
open country than in a district much enclosed, where
woods and coverts are abundant. Their rings are
larger and bolder in the former, and hounds can there
get at them more rapidly and push them with greater
certainty. Beckford, who hunted hare before he
kept foxhounds, notices this fact. " In enclosures,"
he says, " and when there is much cover, the circle
is for the most part so small that it is a constant puzzle
to the hounds. They have a Gordian knot in that
case ever to unloose ; and though it may afford matter
of speculation to the philosopher, it is always contrary
to the wishes of the sportsman : such was the country
that I hunted for many years."
When a hare takes to the road, as she often does,
there is no time at which hunting becomes more
difficult. Very few hounds are good road-hunters,
and even in these the trait is seldom developed until
after some two or three seasons of hunting. A good
road-hunter is a perfect treasure, and it is very in-
teresting to note how the rest of the pack fly to the
voice of such a one when he hits off the line. The
best road-hunter I ever remember was " Captain,"
an old hound with a wonderful nose, belonging to
the Hailsham pack. Hares will sometimes run road
for an incredibly long distance, and I well remember
this staunch old fellow leading the pack unerringly
for a full mile or more. On quitting the road a hare
will, as likely as not, make a huge bound, which often
succeeds in putting the hounds at fault. This ought
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 57
always to be remembered by the huntsman. When
scent fails, as it often does upon a road or path which
a hare has traversed, the science of " pricking " comes
in. The men who can prick a hare by its " spoor,"
or footprints, are even greater rarities than good
road-hounds. In Beckford's time this practice seems
to have been regarded with disfavour, and one old-
fashioned sporting author of the eighteenth century
speaks of it with contempt. He calls it " foul sporting,"
and as unfair as " the vile practice of hallooing hounds
off a scent to lay them on after a view.''^ He adds,
" equally unfair and to be condemned is the suffering
the pricks of the hare's footing to be smoothed when
she runs the foil : for altho' it is admitted that by
such pricking and discovering her steps no Hare
can escape, yet it is an unmanly mode of assisting
Hounds, which no Huntsman, who is a Sportsman,
will ever be guilty of himself, or condescend to make
use of when done by others."
This hatred of pricking is quite unintelligible to
the modern hare-hunter, and at the present day the
practice is considered perfectly legitimate. Personally,
I cannot see why it should ever have been thought
otherwise. Many a hare that would otherwise have
escaped the pack has been handled, thanks only to
the skilful pricking of some expert in that nice and
most difficult business. It is an invaluable gift, espe-
cially with foot harriers and beagles, and every hunts-
man and whip — one might almost say every good
hare-hunter — ought to try and cultivate it.
I have said that hares will take readily to fresh
water ; instances where they will swim out to sea
are of much rarer occurrence. In the season of 1900-1,
however, in a run with the Hailsham Harriers,
a foot pack which sees a good deal of its hunting
58 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
in the vicinity of the Enghsh Channel, the hare,
being hard pressed, took to the sea and was killed
actually in salt water. I find such another instance
in Daniel. " In October 1792 a hare, after a chase
of sixteen miles by the Seaford Hounds, took to the
sea near Cuckmere, in Sussex, and swam a quarter
of a mile from shore before she was overtaken." The
Bexhill Harriers have also in recent years killed hares
which had taken to the sea. Mr. P. H. Trew, Master
of this pack, tells me that it has happened several
times since he has had these hounds. On one occasion
they ran a hare into the sea at Galley Hill, near Bexhill,
and a hound named Manager swam out some fifty
or sixty yards and brought her back, laying her at
the feet of the whip, who was the only one up at the
moment. On another occasion a coastguard went
out in his boat and brought the hunted hare in from
the sea. These, and another case mentioned in the
chapter on Basset hounds, are the only instances
of the kind with which I am acquainted, and all,
save one, curiously enough, happened on the coast
of Sussex.
The good brown hare has always had a great
attraction for the Briton, rich or poor, whether he
pursues it with hound or shot-gun, or, if he be a poacher,
with lurcher or the deadly wire. A curious instance
of this attraction happened in one of the battles of
the Peninsular War — Sabugal. A rifleman, named
Flinn, took aim at a Frenchman and was in the very
act of pulling trigger. At that moment a hare sprang
from her form just in front of him. The shot was
too tempting, and Flinn swung his aim from the French
soldier and shot the hare. After the action, one of
his officers reproached him for having thus wasted
his cartridge. " Sure, your Honour," said the ready
THE HARE AND ITS WAYS 59
Irishman, " we can kill a Frenchman anny day, but
it isn't always that I can bag a hare for your supper."
During the Peninsular War Sir Harry Smith and other
officers not only kept greyhounds and coursed hares,
but even managed to get together some harriers, and
hunted them when they had leisure and opportunity.
In concluding this chapter on hares, I do not think
I can do better than quote some words of Beckford's
on the pursuit of this animal — words which I think
ought to be pondered by every harrier-man. " I
hope you will agree with me, that it is a fault in a pack
of harriers to go too fast ; for a hare is a little timorous
animal that we cannot help feeling some compassion
for, at the very time when we are pursuing her de-
struction : we should give scope to all her little tricks,
not kill her foully and over-matched. Instinct in-
structs her to make a good defence when not unfairly
treated ; and I will venture to say that, as far as
her own safety is concerned, she has more cunning
than the fox, and makes many shifts to save her life
far beyond all his artifice."
CHAPTER IV
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND
Evolution of " Pure Harriers " — Old hunting hounds
— Colour of Southern hound and of modern descend-
ants— Qualities of Southern hound — Grand voices —
A sneer at hare-hunting — Northern hound — Sir John
Amory's harriers — An old strain — Opinion of an
eighteenth-century authority on the harrier — Con-
cerning beagles — Some infamously bad ones — A fine
performance — Characteristics of a good hound — All
hounds are blended — Some ancient packs — Trencher-
fed hounds — Old hound names
I HAVE already shown that, in the very early days of
the English Chase, fox-hunting and foxhounds, as
we now recognise them, were unknown. Modern
fox-hunting, in fact, only began to be evolved towards
the middle of the eighteenth century. The harrier
of the eighteenth century, the descendants of which
are now known to us as " Pure Harriers," was in like
manner not evolved much, if at all, before the reign
of George L or George II. Up to the end of the
seventeenth century the hare was hunted by more or
less slow, old-fashioned, deep-voiced hounds — known
as Southern or Northern hounds — or by the Talbot,
which latter, in the opinion of some authorities, was
near akin to the bloodhound of the present day.
The bloodhound is, in fact, the surviving representative
of the massive hunting hounds with which our ancestors
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND 6i
pursued stag and hare. The Talbot, Bloodhound,
and Southern hound were, in point of fact, of much
the same ancestry and possessed of the same charac-
teristics. The Talbot is described by some as a pied
hound, by others as white, while the bloodhound has,
so long, at all events, as it has been known to modern
folk, been invariably black and tan, the tan colouring
being considerably in the ascendant. The colour
of the Southern hound has been much debated, some
asserting that it was originally black and tan, while
others maintain that blue mottle was the true Southern
hound colour. Personally, after a good deal of re-
search, I am inclined to think that the old Southern
hound ran in many colours, black and tan, red, the
varied colouration which we now attribute to fox-
hounds, blue mottle, badger pie, hare pie, pure white,
and even slate colour. In Devon and Sussex, which
seem to have been always strongholds of the Southern
hound blood, blue mottle is still a very noticeable
colour in some of the best of the old harrier stock,
which owe their ancestry largely to the Southern
hound strain. Yet, even in far-away days, the fancies
of different owners led them at times to cling to a
particular colour and a particular strain. Mr. Baron
Webster, Master of the Haldon Harriers, which hunt
between Torquay, Paignton, and Exeter, tells me
that Mr. Webber's harrier pack, the predecessors
of the present Silverton Harriers, which for many
years hunted in this country, consisted entirely of
hounds of a slate-grey colour, or of the exact colour
of a hare. They were a very beautiful pack, level,
and of extremely ancient blood. Mr. Webster himself
has two or three hounds of this breed, which are hare-
pied or slate-grey, and he is endeavouring to re-establish
the ancient strain.
62 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
These hounds, the Southern and the Talbot, whatever
their colour, were big, well-boned hounds, with long
falling ears, drooping eyes, deep, thick, hanging flews
(lips), an absolute dewlap, and a most wonderful voice,
deep, mellow, and, as some writer has said, possessing
" the true cathedral note." They were — the Southern
hound especially — heavy and slow, but with the most
wonderful scenting powers ; the chase they followed
gave them such absolute enjoyment that they would,
as I have already shown, actually stop upon the
trail and, lifting up their big, heavy heads, give
vent to their ecstasy in notes which could be heard
for some miles over the countryside. This type of
hound is almost perfectly illustrated by Shakespeare
in " The Midsummer Night's Dream." He makes
Theseus say :
" My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,
So flu'd, so sanded ; and their Heads are hung
With Ears that sweep away the Morning Dew.
Crook-knee'd and dew-lap'd like Thessalian Bulls ;
Slow in Pursuit, but matched in Mouths like Bells
Each under each ; a Cry more tunable
Was never hallow' d to, nor chear'd with Horn."
The Southern hound stood probably about 26 in.
in height, and it is a fact that, until a hundred and
fifty years ago, or even less, there were still country
squires hunting hare with hounds of this size. These
big, lumbering, low-scented hounds had various
defects, which may still be traced in old-fashioned
harrier-blood, and to which fox-hunters, with some
reason, have always testified strong dislike. They
were throaty, sometimes bowed in the fore-legs,
slack-loined, occasionally splay-footed, and with poor
thighs, lacking in muscle. Against these
their wonderful patience and scenting powers have
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND 63
to be set off, as well as that grand music which still
renders a good pack of Old English Harriers — de-
scendants of the Southern hound — a real delight
to listen to on a winter's day. Nimrod, who was
one of the rapid sportsmen of the first quarter of the
nineteenth century, when everything had to be fast
and " slap-up," led the fashion in that contempt for
hare-hunting which so long flourished among these
gentry. He refers to the " old psalm-singing harrier,"
and manifestly inculcated, whenever and wherever
possible, the doctrine that the modem harrier ought
to be of pure foxhound blood. Even at the present
time the mischief done by Nimrod and men of his
school has not by any means entirely vanished. The
late Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, who speaks up
warmly for the harrier in the Badminton Library
volume on Hunting, tells an amusing story of the
courtly sneer of the late Mr. George Lane Fox, the
famous Master of the Bramham Moor Foxhounds,
when asked his opinion on hare-hunting. The Squire
of Bramham was one of the old school — Nimrod's
school — and his reply was : "I have always under-
stood it to be a most scientific amusement." As
Lord Suffolk well says : " There is many a true word
spoke sarcastic.''''
The Northern hound, whose ancestral headquarters
seem to have been chiefly in that sporting county,
Yorkshire, differed widely from his Southern cousin.
He is described by Markham, who flourished in the
time of Elizabeth and even earlier, as having " a head
more slender, with a longer nose, ears and flews more
shallow, back broad, belly gaunt, joints long, tail
small, and his general form more slender and greyhound
like. But the virtues of these Yorkshire hounds,"
continues Markham, " I can praise no further than
64 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
for scent and swiftness, for with respect to mouth,
they have only a httle shrill sweetness but no depth
of tone or music." It is from the Northern hound,
beyond doubt, I think, that the modern foxhound
has been largely evolved.
Upon this subject of hound voice Sir John Heathcoat
Amory sends me an interesting note. Sir John, in
addition to maintaining a pack of staghounds for hunt-
ing the now superabundant wild red deer of Exmoor,
has had for many years (since 1859) a pack of old
English harriers. These are very light-coloured
hounds, the original stock of which came from a pack
maintained by Mr. Froude, a North Devon hunting
parson, who flourished in the early part of the last
century. " Parson Froude's hounds were bred,"
says Sir John Amory, " from the same Southern
hounds that formerly were used for stag-hunting,
and report says that Froude crossed them with a
celebrated pointer, and in this way reduced their
size. I have always endeavoured," continues Sir
John, " to keep to the original breed, and above all
never to allow foxhound blood to creep in. I find two
faults with foxhounds, when used for hare-hunting ;
one is that they are not sufficiently patient to hunt
a cold scent and puzzle out the foil, and the other
is that the sharp voice of the foxhound does not suit
the soft, mellow tone inherited from the Southern
hound."
The North-country fox-beagle, referred to by Beck-
ford as suitable for crossing with the Southern hound
to produce good harriers, must evidently have been
in existence long before modern harriers were dreamed
of, and when I say modern harriers, I mean the hare-
hounds used by Beckford and the more advanced
squires of the eighteenth century, who preferred a
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND 65
somewhat quicker, livelier hunt to the long, dragging,
six hours' chase of the Southern hound.
Daniel, quoting from an earlier author, mentions
that " the Hounds used for hare-hunting are the
deep-tongued, thick-lipped, broad and long-hung
Southern Hounds. The fleet, sharp nosed Dog, ears
narrow, deep-chested, with thin shoulders, shewing
a quarter cross of the foxhound. The rough, wire-
haired Hound, thick quartered, well hung, and not
too much flesh on his shoulders. The rough and
smooth Beagle. Each of these sorts have their ex-
cellencies, nor can one be with justice commended
as superior to the other : it is according to the varying
inclination of Sportsmen that a preference is to be
established. He that delights in a six hours' chase,
and to be up with the Dogs all the time, should breed
from the Southern Hound first mentioned, or from
that heavy sort which Gentlemen use in the Weald
of Sussex ; their cry is a good and deep base music,
and considering how dirty the country is, the diversion
they afford for those who are on foot for a day together,
renders them in high estimation ; they generally pack
well from their quality of speed, and at the least
Default, every nose is upon the ground in an instant
to recover the scent. In an open country, where
there is good riding, the second sort is to be preferred ;
their tongues are harmonious, and at the same time
they go so fast as to prevent the Hare from playing
many tricks before them ; they seldom allow her time
to loiter and make much work ; she must run and
continue her foiling or change her ground ; if the
latter, she is soon killed, for fresh ground, especially
on Turf, is, in some degree, one continued view. It
is difficult, however, to procure a pack of fast Hounds
that run evenly together ; some are usually found to
E
66 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
tail, and their exertions to keep up to the leading
Hounds make them of little use, farther than enlarging
the cry, unless when the scent is over-ran, then Hounds
thrown out or tailed often come up and hit off the fault.
" It is very common for the fleetest Hound to be the
greatest favourite, but let a Hound be ever so good
in his own nature, his excellence is obscured in that
pack which is too slow for him. At most times there
is work enough for every Hound in the field, and each
ought to bear a part ; but this it is impossible for the
heavy Hounds to do, if run out of wind by the dis-
proportionate speed of a leading Hound ; for it is not
sufficient for Hounds to run up, which a good Hound
will labour hard for, but they should be able to do
so with ease, with retention of breath and spirits,
and with their tongues at command ; it can never
be expected that any scent can be well followed by
Hounds that do not carry a good head. It is too frequent
a practice in numerous kennels to keep some for their
music, others for their Beauty, who at best are silly
and trifling, without nose or sagacity : this is wrong,
for it is a certain maxim that every dog which does no
good, serves only to foil the ground and confound
the scent, by scampering before or interrupting their
betters in the most difficult points. Five couple of
trusty Hounds will do more execution than thirty,
where half of them are eager and head-strong."
These observations seem to me so just, and so much
informed with the modern spirit of hunting, that I have
thought them worth reproducing. Their author is
far less well known than Beckford, who followed him,
but he is, as regards hare-hunting, with which only he
deals, at least as well worth reading.
" The third sort " — (the " rough, wire-haired
Hound ") — he continues, " are scarce, and an entire
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND 67
kennel of them seldom seen ; they are of the Northern
breed, and by many esteemed for the chase of the
Otter and Marten, and in some places are encouraged
for that of the Fox ; but they are bad to breed from,
being subject to produce thick, heavy shouldered
dogs, unfit for the chase.* Beagles, rough or smooth,
have their admirers ; their tongues are musical, and
they go faster than the Southern Hounds, but toil
much. They run so close to the ground, as to enjoy
the scent better than taller dogs, especially when
the atmosphere lies low. In an enclosed country they
do best, as they are good at trailing or default, and
for hedgerows ; but they require a clever Huntsman,
for out of eighty couple in the field during a winter's
Sport the author observed not four couple that could
be depended on.
" Smooth-haired Beagles," he adds, " are commonly
deep hung, thick lipped, with large nostrils, but often
so soft and bad quartered as to be shoulder-shook and
crippled the first season they hunt ; crooked legs,
like the Bath turn-spit, are frequently seen among
them ; after two hours running many of them are
disabled, and the Huntsman may proceed to hunt
the Hare himself, for he will never receive any assist-
ance from the greater part of them, their form and
shape sufficiently denote them not designed for hard
exercise."
This author, who wrote in 1750, must surely have
come across some infamously bad beagles. At the
present day, if he could return to those hunting-grounds
in which he enjoyed his sport, he would find, among
* The otter-hound of the present day is supposed by some
to be the^truest modern representative of the Southern hound.
It is clear that otter-hounds were also bred in the North, and
some of that strain no doubt remains to us.
68 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
the fifty packs of foot-beagles now hunting in the
United Kingdom — chiefly in England — a very different
sort of animal from that which he describes. Much
more attention is, however, now paid to the breeding
and hunting of these little hounds than was the case
a hundred and sixty years ago. And yet even the
eighteenth-century beagle could kill a fox very hand-
somely. In 1822, at the sale of the furniture and
effects of the Earl of Aboyne, at Orton Hall, near
Peterborough, there was to be seen a large painted
board, which had once been decorated with a stuffed
fox's head. On this board was the following quaint
inscription : *' February i6th, 1756. This fox was hunted
by twenty-three couples and a half of beagles, the
highest measured no more than sixteen inches, and,
after a sharp run of three hours and upwards, killed
him. After this chase Mr. John Bevis' horse was obliged
to be blooded in the field, and with much difficulty
supported to Peterboro' by two men.
' Oft have I run before the swiftest hound,
But this small cry gave me the mortal wound.' "
This must have been a gallant little pack of beagles,
truly enough ; even the best of those of the present
day could show no finer a performance.
Notwithstanding the fact that in many parts of
England, at least as late as, probably later than, the
middle of the eighteenth century, country gentlemen
still kept for hare-hunting the old cumbrous Southern
hound — but too often out at elbows, crooked-legged,
slack-loined, badly coupled, and splay-footed, yet
possessing always that wonderful nose of his and that
grand voice — other and more progressive sportsmen
were continually striving for a smarter, quicker, and
more up-to-date hound. Somervile's picture of a good
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND 69
hound is worth recalling. The points are all excellent,
even at the present day :
" See there with count'nance blithe,
And with a courtly grin, the fawning hound
Salutes thee cow'ring, his wide op'ning nose
Upward he curls, and his large sloe-black eyes
Melt in soft blandishments and humble joy ;
His glossy skin, or yellow-pied, or blue.
In lights or shades by Nature's pencil drawn.
Reflects the various tints ; his ears and legs,
Fleckt here and there, in gay enamel'd pride.
Rival the speckled pard ; his rush-grown tail
O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch ;
On shoulders clean, upright and firm he stands ;
His round cat-foot, straight hams, and wide-spread thighs.
And his low-dropping chest, confess his speed.
His strength, his wind, or on the steepy hill,
Or far extended plain ; in ev'ry part
So well proportion'd, that the nicer skill
Of Phidias himself can't blame thy choice."
A beautiful portrait indeed ! The Warwickshire
squire exhorts his reader not to prefer the large hound,
which gets hung up and tugs painfully in every thorny
brake ; nor patronise pigmy hounds which swim in
every furrow and are speedily moiled in the clogging
clay, but to choose hounds of middle size, active and
strong. For otter he preferred the old-fashioned,
deep-voiced, deep-flewed hounds, with pendant ears,
thick, round head, strong, heavy, and slow, but sure.
Of these he seems to have preferred " the bold Talbot
kind, as white as Alpine snows."
The eighteenth-century squires, then, who began
to require a somewhat less tedious chase than that
of the Southern hound, bethought themselves of
crossing this hound with the sharp and active fox-
beagle, and from that blend undoubtedly sprang the
old-fashioned English harrier of the last hundred and
70 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
fifty years, the animal which we now call " pure
harrier." All hounds known in Britain are more
or less blended or manufactured varieties. This
is, of course, perfectly natural, for the reason that
during all ages mankind has been constantly aiming
at altering and improving his stock, whether it be
sheep, cattle, horses, or dogs. Of the races of hound
left to us at the present day, probably the oldest and
least changed is the rough-coated, noble-looking otter-
hound. With this I should place the bloodhound.
Next comes the beagle, which, although altered a good
deal in many packs from the type of three or four
hundred years ago, is nevertheless of very ancient
ancestry. This is especially so in the West of England.
The foxhound and harrier, as we now know them,
are, as I have said, manufactured races ; the foxhound
especially, magnificent animal though it is, being a
most skilful blend of various hunting hounds, selected
with the greatest care during innumerable generations^
and uniting in its frame qualities unsurpassed for the
particular chase in which it is employed.
Some of our existing harrier packs can boast a
more than respectable antiquity. Sir John Heathcoat
Amory's are, as I have said, descended from Parson
Froude's pack, which were hunted by that sporting
divine early in the last century, and were mainly of
Southern hound blood. Sir John Heathcoat Amory's
pack are now all white, or badger-pied, and are de-
scribed by the owner as having no touch of foxhound
blood. The Penistone, a Yorkshire pack, trace their
descent so far back as 1260, when Sir Elias de Midhope
was Master. The Wilsons of Bromhead Hall are
stated to have mastered the pack during the fourteenth,
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Wortleys
of Wortley Hall, the Riches of Bullhouse Hall, and
Photograph by R. B. Lod^e, En/icU
HAILSHAM PACK
PEPPER, A SOUTHERN HARRIER
From a photograph by Captain H. Moore
SCARTEEN BEAGLE, TIPPERARY {See p. 169)
Plate V
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND 71
the Fentons of Underbank Hall seem also to have
been connected with these hounds during far-distant
generations. The last Wortleys who have acted as
Master were the Hon. Charles Stuart Wortley, from
1829 ^^ 1843, and Mr. J. W. Taylor Wortley, from
1875 to 1876. There is a tradition that Robin Hood
and his men hunted with this pack. That may be
reasonably doubted. The bold Robin Hood had,
I imagine, his own methods for killing a deer when
he wanted one. The hounds are of old English breed.
The Brookside were established in the eighteenth
century, and were originally of Southern hound breed.
The Cotley are another eighteenth-century pack, formed
in 1793 by Mr. T. Deane, grandfather of the present
Master. The Craven Harriers, hunting in North-west
Yorkshire, trace their formation far back into the
eighteenth century. The Holcombe, in Lancashire,
are believed to have been kennelled for close on two
hundred years, and the hounds are still described as
" Old English Harriers." The Lyme Harriers, long
maintained by the Legh family at Lyme Park, Cheshire,
were believed to be one of the most ancient packs
in the kingdom. Lord Newton, of Lyme Park, was
the last Master ; but the pack was, unfortunately,
given up a season or two ago. The hounds were " Old
Southern black and tan," twenty-three inches in height.
Mr. Netherton's harriers, hunting near Dartmouth, are
stated to have been established in the fifteenth century
and have always been in the hands of this family.
They are pure harriers of the old-fashioned type,
and said not to have been crossed in any way. The
Pendle Forest, Lancashire, is another old pack, dating
from 1770 or earlier. They are cross-bred with fox-
hounds, but some of the old Lancashire hound blood
is still in evidence. The Ross Harriers (Herefordshire)
72 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
date from 1820, while the Rossendale, another Lanca-
shire pack, boast a much longer pedigree, and have
been in existence some centuries. Until about seventy
years ago they were trencher-fed.
All those accustomed to hunting know what
" trencher-fed " means. But there may be readers
who do not. In the old days all packs of hounds
were not confined in kennels, but were allowed to
roam about the Master's premises, being fed with
broken victuals, or picking up their food irregularly
from trenchers, dishes and so forth. In many instances
a number of people maintained hounds together, each
keeping a hound, and appearing with it or sending
it to the pack on hunting-days. These again were
trencher-fed. Here and there in Ireland trencher-fed
harriers still exist ; these are the so-called " Kerry
beagles," which are kept by village folk and come to
the horn for Sunday hunts. In England, at least
two packs of foxhounds, the Goathland and the
Farndale, hunting in a wild moorland district of the
North Riding of Yorkshire, are trencher-fed. And
in England also the Holmfirth, Henley, and Meltham
Harriers, which have hunted near Huddersfield since
1800, as well as the Glaisdale, another Yorkshire pack,
hunting in the North Riding, are still trencher-fed.
I fancy there are one or two other such packs still in
existence.
Another pack with a long history is the Stannington,
which hunts in Lord FitzWilliam's country, in the
neighbourhood of Sheffield. The Tanat-Side, a Shrop-
shire pack, have a quite respectable antiquity, their
own records going back to 1828, and those of their
predecessors dating beyond 1754.
It may be not inappropriate to wind up this chapter
on harriers of the remote past with some ancient hound-
THE OLD-TIME HAREHOUND
73
names. Here is a short " Catalogue of some general
Names of Hounds and Beagles," dating back to the
reign of Charles H. Some of these names may seem
a little curious at the present time :
Beauty
Jewel
Royal
Blueman
Jocky
Rapper
Bowman
Joler (Jowler)
Russler (Rustler)
Bouncer
J oily boy
Spanker
Captain
Jupiter
Soundwell
Countess
Juno
Stately
Caesar
Keeper
Troler
Dido
Lively
Thunder
Driver
Lady
Thisbe
Drunkard
Lilly
Truman
Drummer
Lillups
Truelove
Damosel
Madam
Tickler
Darling
Merry-boy
Tattler
Duchess
Musick
TuUp
Dancer
Nancy
Venus
Daphne
Plunder
Wanton
Fuddle
Rockwood
Wonder
Gallant
Ringwood
Yonker
Hector
Rover
Juggler
Ranter
For other lists of hound names see also Appendix B.
CHAPTER V
MODERN HARRIERS
Southern hound out of date — Modern harriers —
Mr. Yeatman's record — " Stonehenge " on the harrier
— Devonshire a stronghold of pure harriers — Other
locahties — Revival of interest in pure harriers — Three
schools of harrier-men — Analysis of packs — Blend
of foxhound common — Danger of in-and-in breeding
— Cross-bred harriers — Pure foxhound too fast for the
hare — Height of modern harriers — Colour, shape,
and other qualities — Good looks not always to be
trusted — Points of a hound — Pack must be level —
Stud-book Harriers and Peterborough Hound Show
— Remarks of Colonel Robertson Aikman, Mr. C.
Garnett, and Mr. J. S. Gibbons
The revulsion of feeling against the old Southern
hound and its methods which, as I have shown, had
already taken place by the middle of the eighteenth
century, rapidly gained strength, so much so that by
the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century not
only were a large number of Masters using a strong cross
of foxhound blood, but others were hunting the hare
with pure foxhounds. From the sporting literature of
that time and long after one might have gathered that
there was scarcely any pure harrier blood left hunting
in England at all. If " Nimrod " and his followers could
have had their way, it is certainly pretty evident that
by this time the dwarf foxhound, pure and simple,
MODERN HARRIERS 75
would have composed the harrier packs of England,
to the exclusion of almost every other kind of hound.
The " cathedral note and the table-cloth ear," typical
of the Southern hound, were completely out of date,
or said to be so, and sharp, quick scurries of twenty
minutes and half an hour were being not only recom-
mended but practised. A Sussex pack of that time
killed six hares in a morning, and the huntsman is
described by a rightly indignant onlooker as " trying
to mob his seventh hare ! " Mr. Yeatman, a gentle-
man hunting near Sherborne, was famous in those
days for his harriers, and his pack consisted of eighteen
or twenty couples of about three-parts-bred foxhounds,
averaging nineteen inches. In 1832 these hounds killed
one hundred and nine hares out of one hundred and
sixteen hunted, which is undoubtedly an extraordinary
feat — in fact, much too extraordinary for fair hare-
hunting. In 1826, "Nimrod," in one of his famous tours,
printed in the Sporting Magazine, speaks of Sir William
Wake's harriers, hunting near Northampton. These
he describes as " hare-hunting foxhounds." Sir William
Wake, it may be noted, had then been a Master of
harriers nearly forty years. The foxhound-harrier
evidently maintained its vogue pretty consistently
among the most forward school of harrier-men for
a long period. In 1855 appeared " Stonehenge's "
excellent volume of " British Rural Sports." I quote
what he says concerning the harrier of that time :
" The harrier is now a crossed animal, bred in all sorts
of ways, and varying from twenty-one inches down to
fifteen or sixteen. In looks more like the foxhound
than the beagle, he has some remnants of his old breed
in the longer ears, wider head, and stouter body which
he possesses. He should, however, have a most delicate
nose, even more so than the beagle ; for as his increased
76 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
size carries him faster over the ground, so he is more
likely to overrun the scent and foil it so that he cannot
recover it. Some of these hounds, however, have a
wonderful power of carrying a scent at full speed,
and will race into a hare in such a time as to finish
her up almost as soon as found ; this, however, spoils
sport in great measure, as, by their speed, they pre-
vent all those artifices on the part of the hare which
give zest to this otherwise slow amusement. For this
reason it is that harriers appear to have as good noses
as beagles, though they really have not ; for by depriv-
ing the hare of scope to double back, by pressing so
closely upon her scent, they give themselves so much
less to do and have only to work out a forward scent.
Many huntsmen of harriers now cast forward as if
hunting a fox, and with reason too, for, as the hare
cannot double back, she tries all her wiles in a forward
or side direction — hence the alteration in the principles
called for by the alteration in the speed of hounds.
It is, however," adds " Stonehenge," " in my opinion,
an alteration for the worse."
This description, by one of the foremost writers on
sport of his generation, seems to me to sum up admir-
ably some of the objections to the foxhound-harrier
which were perceived fifty years ago by a fair-minded
and far-seeing sportsman. Beckford, seventy years
before " Stonehenge," thus wrote, had vigorously
expressed his ideas on the same subject. " I have,
he says, " also seen a hare hunted by high-bred fox
hounds : yet I confess to you it gave me not the least
idea of what hare-hunting ought to be."
Happily for hare-hunting, the men who thus set the
fashion at the early part of last century and attempted
to transform a pursuit differing in all its character-
istics essentially from fox-hunting into the vain sem-
MODERN HARRIERS 77
blance of that sport, although they made much noise
in the world, were not so successful in effecting their
purpose as many people seem to have imagined. There
remained in quiet country places, remote from railways,
and therefore little heard of, a large number of sports-
men who preferred to stick to hare-hunting proper,
and were not carried after strange gods. By this I do
not mean to say that they preferred the obsolete
chase of the old Southern hound. That had become
a thing of the past, and the brisker style of hare-
hunting, as advocated by Beckford, was recognised
as the proper way to hunt hare, even by old-fashioned
squires.
Devonshire, especially, remained the stronghold of
good old English harrier blood — the fruit of the
union of Southern hound and beagle, recommended
by Beckford ; and Devonshire is to this day the
country in which, if you want to pick up old-fashioned
harriers, little if at all crossed with the foxhound, you
can still do so. Devonshire, eighty years ago, seems
to have been regarded as rich in hare-hunting, but of
no account for sport with the fox. In 1826 " Nimrod "
says of it, " Devonshire has some things to recom-
mend it — fish and venison for little or nothing, and
leverets tenpence per head."
But, besides Devonshire, other parts of the country
cherished also what may be called pure harrier blood.
In Wales, parts of Yorkshire, Cumberland, Westmore-
land, and Lancashire an old-fashioned breed of hound
was kept on foot for hare-hunting, and to-day, in
various packs in these localities, you may yet see
strong traces of this blood, even now little contami-
nated by the foxhound infusion.
Within the last twenty years, and especially within
the last dozen, there has been a remarkable revival
78 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
of interest in the old harrier blood, and indeed in hare-
hunting generally ; and there is now, I think, little
fear that the old English' harrier, with his wonderful
scenting powers, his grand voice, his natural and
inherited aptitude for hare-hunting, is ever likely to
disappear or be driven out by the foxhound pure and
simple. There are at the present time three schools
of harrier-men in existence :
1. The admirers of the pure harrier, or what may
be called the pure harrier.
2. The Kennel Stud-book harrier-men, by which may
be understood the admirers of a harrier showing strong
foxhound cross.
3. Those who prefer to hunt with the dwarf fox-
hound.
All three schools have, naturally, many things to
urge in favour of their own views of hare-hunting
and harehounds. With these matters I propose to
deal a little later in this chapter. For the purpose
of illustrating as far as possible the relative strength
and numbers of these schools, I have made a rough
summary from the list of packs of English and Welsh
harriers, to be found in " Daily's Hunting Directory."
It runs thus :
Stud-book Harriers 38 Packs.
" Pure " and " Old English " Harriers 35 ,,
Cross-bred Hounds ■ 14 „
Dwarf Foxhounds 10 ,,
Mixed Harriers and Foxhounds 8 ,,
In addition to these I have a note of three packs
which are simply described as "Harriers," and which I
have, therefore, not allocated to any of the above.
From this it will be seen that, although " Stud-book
Harriers " head the list, " Pure " and " Old English "
harriers run them pretty close. Stud-book harriers
MODERN HARRIERS 79
consist, of course, largely of hounds which show strong
traces of the foxhound ; in many instances, in fact,
the average stud-book harrier is almost overpower-
ingly foxhound in type. Still, he is not a pure fox-
hound, and the harrier leaven left within him gives
him a better nose for his work than the foxhound,
and steadies somewhat those instincts for driving and
flashing over the line which characterise the pure
foxhound when hunting hare. Again, stud-book
harriers are not necessarily all of overpowering fox-
hound blood. The fact that Sir John Amory's pack,
which are pure harriers, almost untainted, I believe,
by any admixture of foxhound blood, were admitted
into the Stud-book, is convincing proof that the fox-
hound strain alone is not a qualification for entry.
So much the better for harriers and hare-hunting.
On the other hand, it is not absolutely certain that
packs entered as " Pure Harriers " or " Old English
Harriers " are completely uncontaminated by fox-
hound strain. It is impossible to assert this with
conviction, and the fact that during the progress of
generations different hounds have been introduced for
breeding purposes, even among old-established packs,
renders it possible that a distant strain of the foxhound
may have been unwittingly blended with the old harrier
blood. Here and there, I grant, you may find packs
so carefully guarded that they really do represent
at the present day practically the blend first devised
by our ancestors for providing a good harrier — I mean
the blend of Southern hound and beagle advocated
by Peter Beckford himself. But among a good many
of the " pure harrier " packs there is, I am convinced,
a slight tinge of the foxhound. In such infinitesimal
quantity this is productive of no harm but rather of
good.
8o HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
In some cases I believe that the incessant effort by
admirers of the old stock to perpetuate their favourite
strain must necessarily react with unfortunate results.
In-and-in breeding is always to be discouraged, and
the lack of fresh blood must tell. This, I believe, has
a good deal to do with the bad points so often instanced
as characteristics of old harrier blood — I mean slack
loins, bad feet, poor thighs, and so forth. I am told
that the old Bexhill pack of harriers, maintained by
the Brook family for the best part of a century, had
become practically ruined by in-breeding. They were
largely of Southern hound blood, black and tan, with
a wonderful cry. On the death of Mr. A. J. Brook,
it was apparent that fresh blood was needed, and Lord
De La Warr introduced a bloodhound strain. There
was a good deal of prejudice against this variation,
but, after all, the bloodhound and Southern hound
were much of the same type and ancestry, and some
remedy had to be found. The present hounds are
certainly a really good hare-hunting pack, and pro-
bably kill more hares and more speedily than did their
predecessors.
" Cross-bred Harriers " number fourteen in my list.
Nearly all harriers are now more or less cross-bred,
but these would probably partake much more of the
foxhound than of the old harrier. " Mixed packs,"
numbering eight, indicate, in the majority of cases,
that the Master has been unable to get together the
requisite number of harrier or of dwarf foxhound
couples — whichever sort he has a preference for — and
therefore runs a mixed pack, some harriers, some
foxhounds, until he can suit himself. In starting a
new pack of harriers there is always a good deal of
difficulty in getting together what one wants. Some-
times a pack may be bought outright, in which case
MODERN HARRIERS 8i
a good deal of trouble is saved. On the whole, it is no
bad thing to begin with a scratch pack, got together,
as one can best manage it, by drafts and purchases
from different kennels. It is a good education, and
the Master, who is probably his own huntsman,
begins in time to breed a pack that meets his own
fancy.
I have shown, then, by this list that the foxhound
has by no means yet ousted the pure harrier from
the scene of his triumphs. Nor, now that real harrier
blood is again beginning to be appreciated at some-
thing like its real worth, is this ever likely to be the
case. The fact is, there is in these islands plenty of
room for the supporters of all three modes of hunting —
i.e., with pure harrier, Stud-book harrier, and dwarf
foxhound.
Personally, I do not believe in hunting hare with
foxhound pure and simple, not even if the hound be
reduced in size to twenty or twenty-one inches. The
foxhound is, in my view, too fast for hare-hunting,
and has too much fling and fire and too little patience
for this form of chase. He has, too, been trained for
generations to the pursuit of the fox, and there is a
great deal to be said for long usage and hereditary
instinct in hunting. A hare hunted with foxhounds
has, in my humble opinion, not a fair chance for her
life, as she has when hunted by harriers ; she is over-
matched, driven to trust to speed alone, too often
outpaced altogether, and is run down usually in far
less time than ought to be the case. She has no oppor-
tunity of displaying all those wonderful tricks and
expedients which render a hare-hunt, to the man
who really enjoys this form of sport, so interesting
and delightful a pastime. After all, if a sharp gallop
is the great desideratum sought for, the horseman can
F
82 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
gain his ends in a drag- or a fox-hunt, without wishing
to burst up an unfortunate hare in a scamper of twenty
minutes. Pace, pure and simple, is not the great
desideratum in hare-hunting ; nor do I think, as a
matter of fact, that it is even in fox-hunting. I am
one of those who beHeve that too much has been sacri-
ficed to pace with fox-hunting packs, and that sport
would be better, even with foxhounds, if there were
displayed by its votaries a little less desire for gallop-
ing and a little more interest in the actual science
of hunting the fox.
As between the pure harrier-man and the supporter
of the cross-bred or Stud-book harrier there is no illi-
mitable void of opinion or of practice. The Stud-book
harrier is, of course, a faster animal than the old
English harrier, and kills his hares with less deliberation.
Here and there, no doubt, packs of Stud-book harriers
are to be found which favour the foxhound strain
unduly and are rather too much for their quarry. But
in most packs of what are called harriers there still
remains sufficient of the old Southern hound and
beagle blood — far away though it may be — to ensure
that the hare shall not be done to death without some
reasonable chance for her life. In fact, in what is
called the harrier, even if it be a Stud-book harrier,
showing very strong indications of foxhound blood,
there remains some faint trace of that low-scenting
and deliberation which made the pursuit of the hare
what it ought to be.
As regards pure harriers, or old English harriers, or
what are called Southern harriers, these packs have,
within the last fifty or sixty years, been so much
improved in pace that they are not, after all, so far
behind the Stud-book harrier type as might be sup-
posed. Imperceptibly, no doubt, even among these
J
From a />!wtoi,'rafi/i by R. B. Lodge, Enneld
HAILSHAM HARRIERS
WATCHiMAN AND FARMER
ROCHDALK HARRIERS
RATTLER
1 Ol,. Ki ii;i.Ki,sON AIKMAN ^ HARRIERS
RUTLAND
Winning Stallion Hointd, Pctcrhoro' 1899)
Plate VI
MODERN HARRIERS 83
the foxhound blend has crept in and the pace thereby-
been improved. Runs with such packs are not, there-
fore, anything hke the long and tedious business that
hare-hunting used to be in the days of our great-great-
grandfathers. A pure harrier pack of good stamp may
at the present day be trusted to run into its hare
in from forty minutes to an hour and a half, according
to the stoutness of the hare itself and the state of the
country. Personally, I think a good hare-hunt ought
not to occupy much less than an hour. I have seen
hares killed by a nearly pure-bred pack of nineteen-
inch harriers in five-and-twenty minutes, when
scent has been extraordinarily good and the hare,
perhaps, only an average one ; and I have seen with
the same pack magnificent runs lasting from two to
three hours, in which hunting was most enjoyable
from beginning to end.
The modern harrier, as even the unsophisticated
reader may have already gathered, is an animal, then,
running in various shapes and sizes. He runs also
in a variety of colours. The majority of harrier packs
are hunted on horseback, and average from eighteen
to twenty-one inches. The Pendle Forest, a foxhound
cross, reach as much as twenty-two and a half inches,
while the Scarteen Beagles, a very old-fashioned Irish
pack of black-and-tans (Kerry Beagles), are twenty-
three-inch hounds. Among the harriers of least
stature among English packs are Lady Gifford's,
hunting near Chichester, which average seventeen
inches ; the Glanyrafon, an eighteen-inch Montgomery-
shire pack ; Mr. Lethbridge's Stud-book harriers of
eighteen inches, hunting in Cornwall ; Mr. Lloyd-
Price's, a pure harrier, eighteen-inch pack, hunting
in Carmarthenshire ; Mr. Mill's (Dorsetshire), seven-
teen- to eighteen-inch ; the Mostyn and Talacre, North
84 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Wales, seventeen-and-a-half- to eighteen-inch ; the
Plas Machynlleth, North Wales, a cross-bred eighteen-
inch pack ; Mr. Sperling's, eighteen-inch pure harriers,
South Devon ; the Stockton, seventeen-and-a-half-
inch Stud-book harriers ; the Trethill, seventeen-
inch pure harriers, Cornwall ; and the Winder-
mere, eighteen-inch, described as " harriers." The
smallest harriers of which I can find record are
Mr. Frank Wood's, hunting from Newton-le- Willows,
Lancashire. These are also described as " harriers,"
and their height as no more than sixteen inches, which
is no greater a stature than that of a fair number of
beagles.
To my mind the ideal height for harriers is from
eighteen to nineteen inches. Twenty inches should
be an outside measurement, and the pack will be all
the better for hare-hunting, in my humble opinion, if
the Master from the beginning rigorously makes up
his mind to draft hounds over that standard. Twenty-
one inches is too big for a good harrier ; and for a perfect
pack, which every Master after all tries to attain to,
although few, indeed, have the luck to reach the
summit of their desires, it is desirable rather to have
hounds averaging under twenty inches. For several
seasons I have hunted with a pack of nineteen-inch
harriers of old English blood, much of it Southern
hound. I find these harriers fast enough and clever
enough — their noses are good enough for anything — to
account for their hares in masterly fashion.
Having dealt with the question of height, let us
now, in looking at the modern harrier, consider his
colour, shape, and other qualities. With a view of
assisting the reader in this respect, I have included
among the illustrations reproductions of a number of
hound photographs, which, I believe, as demonstrating
MODERN HARRIERS 85
various types, will be found not uninteresting. A good
hound, it has been said over and over again, can never
be of a bad colour. The majority of packs nowadays
show on the whole much more of what we know as
foxhound colour than any other. But in many packs,
especially in the West and South of England and in
Wales, may be found a good deal of the blue-mottle
or blue-pied colouring, which, in the opinion of many
good judges, present and past, is the true harrier type.
By breeding and careful mating and selection it is
quite possible, within a comparatively brief period,
to re-make, as it were, and re-shape a pack of hounds.
I have watched very closely for some years the im-
provement of a pack of harriers in the South of England.
Originally these were of Southern hound strain, a good
deal crossed with other blood. Seven or eight years
ago three or four good blue-mottle bitches were pro-
cured from Devon and Sussex. They were, obviously,
strongly of Southern hound strain, with long ears,
old-fashioned heads, and grand voices. These were
judiciously mated with some of the best hounds — for
work as well as for looks — in the pack ; and at the
present time these harriers have a very handsome
appearance, a large proportion of them showing
strong traces of the blue-mottle blood. Such a blend,
judiciously strengthened by just a faint foxhound
cross — obtained through harrier blood — for the purpose
of adding speed and correcting faults in shape often
noticeable in pure harrier blood, gives, in my judg-
ment, an almost perfect pack of hounds for hunting
hare. This is what has been arrived at in the pack
I have in my mind, the Hailsham, hunting about
Pevensey Marshes and the surrounding district. They
average nineteen inches, have plenty of pace, and
wonderful noses ; and their grand Southern hound
86 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
voices afford magnificent music over the wide country-
side.
As to other colours, hare-pie, badger-pie, lemon-pie,
and even slate-grey or white may be occasionally
met with, especially in the West of England. Hounds
of these colours are usually of good old stock and are
seldom bad ones. Old English red, as it is called, is
also a famous hound colour in the West, although now
not often met with. The rare black-and-tan is another
good colour, usually associated with deep mellow
voices, antique heads, and great scenting powers.
Hounds of these old-fashioned colours, when they can
be procured, unless drafted for any real fault, are
valuable auxiliaries in the formation of a real harrier
pack.
Having had due regard to height and colour, the
novice, in attempting the building up of a pack, must,
of course, be guided to a considerable extent by certain
hard-and-fast axioms well recognised among hunting-
men. Good looks and true shape are always to be
considered, yet they are not to be placed before every-
thing else. Many a splendid-looking hound is a skirter,
or a babbler, or runs mute, or has a poor constitution,
or some other fault which renders him worthless, an
encumbrance which should be drafted quickly from
the pack, or destroyed altogether. And, on the
contrary, many an odd-looking hound is a first-rate
performer. I remember well an old hound named
Captain in the pack I speak of, the Hailsham. He
was throaty, not well shaped, and had a poor head ;
yet as a worker he was unsurpassed, his nose was
unfailing, and as a road-hunter I never saw his equal.
Mated with the blue-mottle bitches I have spoken
of, his stock have done remarkably well, and are now
a source of strength to the pack. It is not wise, there-
MODERN HARRIERS 87
fore, to pick your hounds by looks alone. Where
you get a good-looking hound, well shaped, and with
good shoulders and feet, and a good performer in the
field to boot, by all means stick to that hound. Straight
shoulders, splay feet, throatiness, weak thighs, and
slack loins are, I know, abominations to hound-men,
and, whenever possible, should be avoided. But,
on the other hand, if you have a right good working
hound with but one of these faults — especially if you
are getting together a pack and have the usual diffi-
culties always present in such a case — don't draft
him in too great a hurry. You may look farther and
find yourself worse served. Always avoid hounds of
weak constitution, and never breed from them. False
hounds, mute hounds, babblers, and skirters should
never be tolerated in a pack ; they contaminate others,
especially young hounds, with their own vices, and,
above all, they should never be bred from.
As regards points, Beckford's description of a
good hound is still worth quoting and remembering.
" There are certain points," he says, " in the shape
of a hound which ought always to be attended to
by a sportsman, for if he be not of a perfect symmetry,
he will neither run fast, nor bear much work ; he
has much to undergo, and should have strength
proportioned to it. Let his legs be as straight as
arrows ; his feet round, and not too large ; his
shoulders back ; his breast rather wide than narrow ;
his chest deep ; his back broad ; his head small ;
his neck thin ; his tail thick and bushy ; if he carry
it well, so much the better. Such hounds as are out
at the elbows, and such as are weak from the knee to
the foot should never be taken into the pack." Beck-
ford qualifies partially what he says on the subject
of a hound's head. " I find," he says, " that I have
88 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
mentioned a small head, as one of the necessary-
requisites of a hound, but you will understand it as
relative to beauty only ; for, as to goodness, I believe
large-headed hounds are in no wise inferior. The
colour I think of little moment ; and am of opinion
with our friend, Foote, respecting his negro friend,
that a good hound, like a good candidate, cannot be
of a bad colour." Beckford's observations on the
points of a hound still leave little to be desired, and
will probably remain a standard authority.
It is most desirable to have your pack closely
approximating one another in size, if not always
in colour. Nothing is more unsightly or more un-
suitable than a pack of all sorts of sizes. You want
a pack that will, in truth, pack well together, and not
follow one another in a long unsightly string. For
this reason it is desirable, as far as can be managed
conveniently, to breed or select hounds not only of
a similar size, but approximating pretty closely in
speed. It is fatal to a pack to have one or more
hounds much faster than the rest. It strings out the
rest, and those that cannot go the pace of the leader
become annoyed, breathless, and jealous, and get
their heads up. Quite recently I saw a pack of first-
rate harriers, to which a new hound had been lately
added. This hound was far too fast for the rest,
and as soon as a hare was found, went right away,
leaving behind it the unsightly spectacle of the pack
strung out into an attenuated line. While this and
another hound remained, the hunting of that pack
was almost completely spoilt.
I have shown that practically three types of harrier —
or rather hare-hunting hound — are now to be met
with : the true harrier, the Stud-book harrier, and
the dwarf foxhound, all having their admirers and
MODERN HARRIERS 89
all hunting well in their own fashion. The fashion
of the pure foxhound is, as I have indicated, not that
generally acceptable to the genuine hare-hunter,
and I believe that if all hare-hunting men could be
polled, a considerable majority would be found in
favour of the methods of the true harrier, that is,
the true harrier modernised. No one, of course, could
put up with the tedium of the old Southern hound
style of hunting. It is a real pleasure to find that
there are still so many packs of harriers hunting in
England, which can show so much of the old stamp
of harehound. I believe, in spite of much adverse
opinion, that the admirers of real harriers, as opposed
to foxhound blood, are by no means diminishing,
and I am certain that much more interest is now
taken in this hound than was the case thirty or even
a score of years ago. This being the case, it seems
to me a pity that the foxhound type should still be
permitted to have its way so much at shows of the
present day. It is certain — and I believe even most
Stud-book harrier-men will agree with me — that the
complete elimination of old harrier blood would be a
great disaster for hare-hunting. Yet the methods of
judging at the present day still tend in that direction.
A Master of a fine old-fashioned pack of harriers quite
recently wrote to me as follows : " Only last year,
at a big Show, one of the judges went to my huntsman,
after hounds left the ring, and said he was sorry he
could not give us first prize, as we ought to have it,
and that he wished there were more harriers like ours ;
but he was told to judge on foxhound lines, and so,
of course, had to do so." At Peterborough, the Stud-
book harrier, which is to all intents and purposes
a dwarf foxhound, with a faint tinge of harrier, has
it practically all his own way, and the real harrier,
90 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
still, as I have shown, very largely' represented among
English packs, seldom has a look in. This is, of
course, largely the fault of the various Masters of
this stamp of hound, who will not take the trouble
to send up representatives from their packs. The
question of distance and expense has, doubtless, a
good deal to do with the matter.
There ought to be, in my opinion, a class for the
pure harrier, and I believe that such an innovation
would be in time very largely justified and would
lead to the vast improvement of many old harrier
packs. It cannot in justice be denied that the so-called
" pure " harrier ought to be represented at what
purports to be a harrier show.* These observations
are made without the least reflection on the supporters
of the Stud-book harrier, who have, undoubtedly,
done much to improve the make and shape and style
of a particular stamp of hound. Here let me inter-
pose some remarks of Colonel Robertson Aikman's
from the Stud-book harrier point of view, which, I
think, in fairness should be quoted here. His opinion,
as a well-known Master of harriers, and one of the
most noted hound-breeders in the kingdom, is worth
stating.
" The Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles,"
he writes, " instituted on March 25, 1891, has, without
doubt, done an immensity of good. It has brought
Masters together, and those who have taken advantage
of this have seen other countries, packs, kennels,
servants, and many things which have led to improve-
* Colonel Robertson Aikman reminds me that there were
special classes for the old English harrier, which were only-
discontinued for the reason that the class did not receive
support — only two packs ever showing. The experiment
might surely be tried again in future years.
MODERN HARRIERS 91
ments. It is also the means of settling, when appealed
to, any differences or disputes referred to it. The
Peterborough Show and Stud-book have done in-
calculable good in improving the breed of harrier.
The chief good in a hound show is to be able to see
all the best dog-hounds together. This is a great
advantage to the careful breeder. It has a good
effect in smaller ways, such as the way hounds are
turned out, a good lesson to Hunt servants, and even
to their own personal appearance. I have noticed a
marked change in these respects since the show was
originated.
" I was on the original committee appointed by
the Association in 1891 to investigate and report
as to what a harrier should be. The committee found
there were perhaps twelve or fifteen different kinds of
hounds hunting the hare, more than half the owners
calling their hounds pure harriers,* though quite diverse
in type, such as the Brookside, Sir John Amory's, the
Southern, the blue-mottled Northern, the Welsh,
the Shotesham, the Duke of Hamilton's. If any
one type had been selected there would have been
few to adopt it, so the committee recommended that
all hounds, however bred — foxhound, the many types
of pure harrier, and the many different types of cross-
breeds— should be admitted to the Stud-book, and then
the book be closed, leaving the future to develop a
type. This recommendation was unanimously agreed
to, and the results have proved good, a greater
similarity of type existing now, and the improvement
in make and shape being very marked."
* In a note upon this point Colonel Aikman says : " I
take exception to the division of harriers into ' Stud-book '
and ' Pure Harrier.' Let it be Stud-book and Non-Stud
hook Harrier."
92 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
There are, of course, many things to be urged from
both points of view in the case of the harrier. A
good sportsman, Mr. C. Gamett, secretary of a
well-known pack of harriers — the Holcombe — in
Lancashire, has weU contrasted, in a letter to me,
the merits and demerits of pure and Stud-book
harriers. The old-fashioned harrier, as he points out,
" excels on a bad-scenting day ; he will never go
a yard without scent and is a particularly good road-
hunter. He also has most lovely music, which, in
a hilly country, is very useful. He can go a good
pace, but, as each hound likes to own the scent
himself, they do not pack so nicely when running
hard. Stud-book harriers get away quicker, and are,
I think, easier to turn, and, when scent is good, are
better to ride to, as they push a hare more, and con-
sequently you get straighter runs. To my mind their
great fault is that they have too much drive, and at
a check flash a field or so over the line, whereas, in
nine cases out of ten, the hare has doubled back.
They (Stud-book harriers) are easier to breed with
good legs and feet, and are, I think, much smarter
hounds ; but in a hilly, rough country, I feel sure
you would get far better sport with the old type ;
while in a good country, with large fields, the Stud-book
harrier is to be preferred, as he gets away from the
horsemen and does not dwell so much on the line."
This seems to me an excellent and pithy summing-
up of the two schools of modern English harriers.
Mr. J. S. Gibbons, Master of the Boddington Harriers,
one of the most experienced hare-hunters in the
kingdom, has been good enough to send me his views
on the modern harrier. As one of the founders and
supporters of the Harrier and Beagle Stud-book,
and of the harrier classes at Peterborough Hound
MODERN HARRIERS 93
Show, his views are not only entitled to the greatest
respect, but are certain to be of interest to all harrier-
men, and I have with great pleasure here reproduced
them.
" To write on the various merits of the different
descriptions of hounds used to hunt the hare," says
Mr. Gibbons, "is no very easy task ; for there are
few sporting subjects on which so few men can be
found to agree. It is not very easy to say why this
should be, for Masters of foxhounds have long ago
decided on the type of hound they wish to hunt the
fox with, which is, practically, identically the same
in all hunting countries, with the exception of the
wilder parts of Wales, where a rougher description
of hound is still to some extent used. The rough
Welsh hound, however, makes no headway outside
this particular district, probably because this class
of hound cannot be bred to the levelness of pace
which is necessary to make hounds pack together
when going at top speed ; which quality is a sine
qua non in any country where hounds can be ridden
up to in the modern style. But I am straying from
my subject, that of the different sorts of harriers. I
think that perhaps the main reason of the existence
of the very different types of hounds lies in early
education and custom. The man who was entered
with the light-coloured hounds of the West country,
which have a character all their own, does not forsake
his first love ; the same with the man of Lancashire,
who swears by the large, blue-mottled, deep-toned
hounds used in that country ; while the man who
began his hare-hunting with a pack of small, smart
foxhound bitches will be equally sure that he is right
in his choice. Now, in a country where it is not
possible to ride continuously close to hounds, there
94 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
is no doubt that a great deal of cry is a necessity,
and the fact of hounds being not very level in pace
does not so much matter ; for this reason hounds of
the rougher and more old-fashioned description may
do their work very well, and it may be that they are
really better suited to that sort of country. But
when the work has to be done in a rideable country,
especially over grass which carries a good scent, you
cannot afford to have tailing hounds ; the pace of the
leading hounds must be the pace of all the pack, or
you may have horses and hounds all mixed up together ;
the only way to acquire this levelness of pace is to
breed hounds with as good shoulders, backs and loins,
legs and feet, as you can ; and these qualities, with
the exception, perhaps, of the backs and loins, are
what the old-fashioned harriers were, and are, sadly
deficient in ; but then, their Masters did not want
them to go fast.
" Well, to get these qualities we must go to the
foxhound — for there is nowhere else to get them
from — the modern foxhound being certainly the most
perfectly shaped animal, for combining the use of
nose and legs, in all the canine world, which indeed
is not to be wondered at, considering the accumulated
experience that has produced him. Nor do I think
that by making use of this experience we lose so much
hunting power as some people suppose. The Southern
and other older sorts of harriers appear to puzzle
out a bad scent better, it is true ; but I fancy that
their success is more apparent than real ; they make
more fuss and noise about it, but I have often seen
a foxhound or two working in a pack of regular harriers,
and have generally noticed that the foxhound held
its own well with the rest of them, even on the cold
scent that the others are supposed to be superior in
MODERN HARRIERS 9^
coping with. But while advocating a strong cross
of foxhound blood, I would by no means lose that of
the harrier altogether ; keep it as much as you can ;
the hereditary instinct of hare-hunting must be worth
something. My own ideal pack of harriers, suitable,
be it understood, for a country fit to ride to hounds
in, would be composed of hounds as near twenty inches
as I could get them, as perfectly shaped as possible,
which means as much like a foxhound as can be,
but a little lighter in build, to show their harrier
ancestry. Keeping down the size is the great trouble ;
you are constantly finding your nicest puppies too
big for you, and the temptation to keep them is
great.
" Some people may think that even the size I name
is too large ; but I find that, if you want your hounds
to get away from horses, twenty inches is none too
big, and, at the end of the day, if you have a long
journey home, hounds of that size will come cheerfully
along with their sterns up, at a good pace, when smaller
ones tire and make the miles much longer than they
need be. Personally, I began with eighteen-inch
hounds, which were then my ideal ; now my pack
runs up to twenty-one inches, which suits me well ;
but I should like them better still if they were one
inch smaller. However, I have been twenty years
breeding them to what they are, and if I had twenty
years more they might be no nearer my ideal than
they are now, nay, perhaps further off ; for it is much
harder to keep a pack at a certain pitch than to get
it there. In conclusion, my ideas, I know, will not
be acceptable to all who may read this ; but I will
offer one piece of advice without hesitation, and that
is, to make up your mind as to what type of hound you
want, and go at it as hard as you can. You will not
96 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
find a lifetime too long in which to breed a pack of
hounds exactly to your ideal."
The case for the Stud-book harrier could hardly
be more effectually stated than it is here by Mr. Gibbons.
The conclusion of the whole matter must be that for
different countries different types are required. There
must be " give and take " in these things, and so long
as the old English harrier is not swamped by foxhound
blood, no one — not even the keenest supporter of the
ancient type — can have much reason to complain.
After all, England is wide enough to accommodate
the partisans of every type of hound.
CHAPTER VI
MODERN HARE-HUNTING
Ancient and modern customs — Strength of pack —
Number of hunting-days — The Meet — Hare-finders
— The view — Foot-hunting maxims — The Master
and his responsibihties — Hounds must not be pressed
— The check — Huntsman's duties — Casting hounds
— Woodlands and their troubles — Small coverts —
How a hare foils her line — Sheep — Hares squatting
— Sinking quarry — The death — Lost hares recovered
— Evils of fresh hares and constant changing — Scent
and its mysteries — Diplomacy of hare-hunting
The conduct of a modem hare-hunt differs, as I have
shown, a great deal from the style of our forefathers.
It is brisker, smarter, and less dragging. Instead
of rising in the dark and following up the trail of a
hare which had been afoot during the night, until
she was traced to her form and thence put up, the
hare-hunter at the present day prefers, very wisely,
to reserve his energies for a considerably later hour.
The sportsman of 1780 had but two, or at most three,
posts a week, even if he lived within a hundred miles
of London, and those in remoter districts fared much
worse. None of them had the pleasure of a glance
at a morning paper or the convenience of opening
their letters before starting for the chase. The modem
sportsman gets his breakfast comfortably, has time
for a look at papers and correspondence, is in the
G
98 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
saddle by ten o'clock, or later, and is in good time
for the meet at eleven o'clock.
Having got to the formation of a pack of hounds,
it is desirable, for the benefit of the uninitiated, to
indicate briefly something of the procedure of hounds
in the field. The strength of the pack depends, of
course, on the number of hunting-days. This, again,
somewhat depends upon the depth of the purse of
the owner of the pack or the amount of subscriptions
forthcoming, if it be a subscription pack. A two-day-
a-week pack can, with economy, be comfortably kept
going with from fifteen to eighteen couple of hounds.
Some Masters manage to hunt two days a week with
ten or twelve couples, but this is running the thing
rather fine. However, it is accomplished, and fair
sport provided, to my certain knowledge. For three
days a week, from twenty to twenty-five couples of
hounds are desirable. Some Masters maintain even
more. The Dunston, hunting near Norwich, muster
thirty-two and a half couples ; and Mr. Henry Hawkins'
pack, hunting in Northamptonshire, are of similar
strength ; while Mr. Quare, hunting in Essex, maintained
during the season 1901-2 no less than thirty-five
couples of hounds. But this is doing it en prince,
and as with most harrier packs economy has to be
carefully considered, from twenty to twenty-five
couples of hounds may be considered ample even
for a three-day-a-week country. The Hailsham, a
Sussex pack, which turn out regularly three days a
week, and are real hard workers, and kill usually some
sixty hares in a season, number twenty couples.
These hounds are always in splendid condition, and
can afford to give even an occasional seventh day
in a fortnight. The Biggleswade, Mr. George Races',
put in three days a week with but twelve couples ;
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 99
and the Glanyrafon, a Welsh pack, hunt three days
also with but eleven and a half couples. These are
rare instances, however, and few people would care
to undertake hunting three days a week with less
than eighteen or twenty couples — twenty-two or
twenty-five couples is a more comfortable number.
It should be always borne in mind that bitches are
more likely to get out of order than dogs, and where
the pack contains many bitches, therefore, a larger
number of hounds is required.
Hounds should be at the meet punctual to time.
At the meeting-place some packs are shut up in a
stable, but the majority are kept in the open, as with
foxhounds, until the word is given and a move made.
It happens not seldom that a farmer or shepherd is
well aware of a hare seated, and can take the field
straight to her form. That saves a good deal of
trouble, and the hunt quickly begins. But, more
often, the hare has to be found, and this, in country
where these animals are scarce, is occasionally a very
tedious process. Personally, I have never had the mis-
fortune to hunt in a country where hares were scarce ;
but one can sympathise with those who suffer from
this drawback, and can understand their betaking
themselves to deer, fox, and even baser substitutes —
of which more anon. Where the pack is hunted
on foot, hares are, I think, more easily found than
with a mounted pack.
Good hare-finders are, as I have shown, scarce
commodities, and the pack that owns one among
its followers has a treasure indeed. How many a
rousing hunt do I not owe to a certain hare-finder
of my acquaintance ! How often have I not seen
his square hat go up quietly, and the hare put gently
from her seat, so that she should have a fair start
loo HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
from the on-coming hounds ! Beckford had a pre-
judice against hare-finders which, I confess, I do not
share. He maintained that they made hounds idle
as well as wild. " Mine," he says, " knew the men
as well as I did myself ; could see them almost as
far and would run full cry to meet them." It would,
of course, be unwise to let them get into such a habit
as Beckford indicates ; but in my experience this
is not often likely to happen, and I am bound to say
I have seldom known hounds spoilt in this manner.
In Beckford's time hare-finders seem to have been
weU paid for their pains, and at the present day, where
hares are scarce, it is just and politic to encourage
native talent among shepherds, labourers, and the
like, by rewards now and again.
But hare-finders — even the best of them — are not
always certain of picking up a hare quickly, and in
any case it is right and necessary that hounds should
be taught to scatter well, so soon as the signal is given,
and they are thrown off, and hunt out their quarry
for themselves. Hounds that show keenness in this
respect are most valuable, especially in a country
where hares are scarce. Beckford has well said that
hare-finders are of great use in one respect : they
hinder the hounds from chopping hares, a calamity
so fatal to good sport. Some huntsmen — and some
hounds also — have a knack of chopping hares, and
a very unfortunate knack it is. Usually these are
Hunt servants, who are getting careless and lazy,
or who are too much occupied in running up a big
score of kills. They are by all means to be dis-
couraged.
It has often been debated whether, when a hare
is found, she should be put off her seat quietly, before
hounds can get a view, or whether the finder should
F> oil' a photograph by R. B. Lodge, En^icld
ALDENHAM HARRIKRS
DRAWING THE COMMON
From a photograph hy R. B. Lodge, Enjield
ALDENHAM HARRIERS
AFTER THE KILL
Plate VII
MODERN HARE-HUNTING loi
wait until hounds can see her start from her form.
It is maintained by many that a view makes hounds
wild and gets their heads up. Personally, I see no
harm in the view. It must inevitably happen when
hounds, as they so frequently do, find their own hare.
I believe that it heartens and fires the pack, and is
effectual in giving the hare a sound fright, and so
inducing her to fly from her nearer haunts and give
a real good run. After all, the view, stirring as it is,
is not for long, and hounds are brought to their noses
at the first hedge.
A view Holloa or two, as the hare jumps up and
hounds go off at score, does no great harm. But
it cannot be too much insisted that in hare-hunting
silence is golden. Why is it that every one who sees
a hare, unless, happily, he is an old stager, and under-
stands his business, must instantly start holloaing ?
The Master of a foot-pack with which I am well
acquainted prints always at the head of his post-
cards and lists of meets : " Horsemen are objected
to. Make no gaps, always close and fasten gates
after passing through, and never holloa when the
hounds are running." This last rule is the first axiom
of hare-hunting, yet it is the most frequently broke ri.
How many and many a hare has been lost by this
annoying practice ! Nine times out of ten, especially
in a country where hares are plentiful, the hare seen
by the too excitable onlooker who starts yelling is
not the hunted hare ; and if she is the hunted hare,
hounds are almost surely on her line. A hoUoa is
only justified when the person who has viewed the
hare understands his business, sees that hounds have
checked or lost, and knows that the hunted hare has
passed him. And still better than a hoUoa is the
practice of holding up a hat, or even a handkerchief.
I02 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Holloaing gets hounds' heads up and tends to make
them wild and unsteady, almost more than any other
practice, and it cannot be too severely discountenanced.
Having found their hare, away go the pack in pursuit,
with a grand burst of music. The hare may run,
contrary to the habit of the fox, as likely up wind as
down. She will almost certainly travel in a circle,
more or less wide, according to the way she is pushed,
or her own natural stoutness. A travelling jack hare,
out of his country, may, and very likely will, run
straight ; and in dense fog a hare, jack or doe, will
occasionally lose its bearings and afford a fine tail-
on-end chase. A hare that has been thoroughly
scared, either by a narrow escape from the ravening
pack as they put her up, or from the yells or near
presence of foot people, will in like manner some-
times go straight away and give a rousing good hunt.
The best run I ever saw with harriers happened in
this way. We found a hare near the sea. She ran
through a number of people — it was near a village,
and there were a good many out and much holloa-
ing— and she sustained such a fright that she took
straight away over a splendid line of country and
was killed seven miles away in a direct line, hounds
having traversed not less than fourteen miles of
country.
When scent is first-rate, hounds hunt themselves,
and little assistance is needed ; and it should always
be remembered with harriers, especially with the
tender-nosed, old-fashioned harrier, that hounds un-
derstand much more of the great business of their
lives than does the human hunter, clever though he
may think himself. An old Irish huntsman once
said to a noble lord, who was making various sugges-
tions at a check : " Me Lard, the most ignorant hound
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 103
in the pack knows a great deal more about hunting
than you or me." A very just rebuke.
Most harrier packs are hunted by the Master, and
the Master has, naturally, great responsibilities as
well as great power. Even if he employs a professional
huntsman, every Master of harriers should have a
fair working knowledge of the sport he pursues. It
is humiliating, as well as unbusinesslike, to be entirely
at the mercy of your Hunt servant ; and it is always
far better for the man himself and for the sport of all
that the Master should be conversant with what is
going forward, and be able to give a sound opinion
when required. He is, of course, always anxious
to show sport, but he will, if he understands the science
of hare-hunting rightly, leave as much as possible
to the intelligence of the pack, and will only attempt
to assist them when they are obviously at an impasse.
The Master — qua Master — requires and, it must be
admitted, fairly often possesses many necessary
qualifications. He should, first of all, know his hounds
well, and for this it is evident that, during their long
summer vacation, he must have familiarised them
with his person. He should be firm yet courteous,
remembering always that strong language is in no
wise necessary for the conduct of hunting. Bad
language is always to be deprecated, and its employ-
ment is a fashion in hunting which, in my humble
opinion, needs reform. Much of the strong language
used in the field is entirely unnecessary and un-
warranted. However, in this respect, Masters of
harriers are nothing like such transgressors of good
manners as are their brethren of foxhounds. They
have, it must be admitted, far smaller and less trouble-
some fields to keep in order, and in other ways their
burdens are more easily to be borne. In the chapter
I04 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
on " Hunt Servants," I deal at some length with the
duties of huntsman, but reference must necessarily
be made here and there in this chapter also as to the
methods of handling hounds when running.
So soon as hounds run, it wiU be the duty of the
field — and the Master or huntsman wiU ensure that
this duty is performed — to see to it that the pack
shall have plenty of room to carry on their operations.
Hounds hate being pressed, and harriers, it may be
noted, are more nervous in this respect than are fox-
hounds. They are more timid, and more easily put
out, and, once their heads are up, they are more
difficult to get to their work again. The field should
ride wide of the line, and not directly in the wake
of the hounds, a custom which is by no means too
often observed, even among hunting folk who ought
to be considered experienced. In rough, and especially
in hilly country, hounds, when scent is good, can usually
take care of themselves, but in more level, open country,
especially where some of the field are inclined to ride
hard, it is another matter, and hounds are not always
allowed the law and the space that is necessary to
them.
When a check comes, as is certain to be the case, it
is especially necessary that hounds should have plenty
of room ; and here, again, it is most important that
silence should be observed as much as possible. Loud
talking gets their heads up and disturbs them. A
good pack of harriers will spread out and cast eagerly
for themselves, and they should be allowed plenty
of time in the process. It is always to be remembered
that in hare-hunting there is not the violent necessity
for haste that there is in the pursuit of the fox. The
hare is always above ground, and, sooner or later,
you are bound to come up with her, while your fox
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 105
may be progressing at his best pace, all the time you
are at a check, for some open earth, where he can get
snugly to ground. I have heard of a pack of foot-
harriers, hunted by an old-fashioned huntsman, where
the latter was accustomed to climb on to a gate when
his beauties checked. This is carrying the thing to
extremes, and one by no means advises such delibera-
tion. But give your hounds plenty of time, and don't
be afraid of trusting them. It may happen that,
having tried all round, the hounds may turn back
on the line and appear to be hunting heel. Even in
such a case it is by no means absolutely certain that
they are hunting heel. A hare has so many dodges,
and slips back often so unaccountably, that some
knowing old hound may be in the right. This is
one of those junctures when the judgment of the
huntsman must be relied upon. It is a difficult point,
and the huntsman himself, in such a case, is guided
by various surrounding circumstances. There may,
for instance, be a holloa back, and if the huntsman
is convinced that the holloa is a good one — that is,
one worth listening to — he will let the pack go, though
they may seem to be running heel. Hounds, in fact,
should not be whipped off unless the huntsman is
absolutely certain they are running heel.
But we wiU suppose that hounds have really come
to a fault, have tried in various directions, and cannot
make good the line. The huntsman's turn now comes.
In the earher part of the chase, a hare that is fresh
is more likely to be forward than back. I am aware
that some huntsmen believe in casting back for a
hare ; personally, I do not agree with that theory,
until it is proved that the hare has not gone on. The
huntsman should hold his hounds forward. In Beck-
ford's words, which are applied in this case to a pack
io6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
of harriers : " It is an almost invariable rule in all
hunting to make the head good." The hounds, then,
are encouraged to cast quietly forward in the direction
in which the hare was trending, taking care to get
their heads up as little as possible. If this fails, a
circular cast should be made. This may again fail.
Then there remains the chance that the hare may
have squatted somewhere near at hand, and close
search should be made before giving up and trying
for a fresh hare.
Where a hare has been hard pressed, and hounds
come to a check, the chances are that she is down
somewhere, or that she has doubled back on her old
line ; when hard put to it, she will resort to all sorts
of tricks ; she may even have run a hedge or a wall
for a little way. She has a favourite dodge of leaping
on one side and squatting in a ditch, especially after
having run a road for some little way. The experienced
huntsman has to remember all these and a score of
other possibilities, and use his judgment accordingly.
He can often tell by the demeanour of some knowing
old hound, poking about mysteriously, what is likely
to have been the hare's ruse on this particular occasion.
It ought always to be remembered that, while a fox
will almost invariably cross a road straight away
and make across the next field, a hare will almost
as invariably run the road for some little distance.
Occasionally, as I have mentioned in the chapter on
" The Hare and its Ways," these animals will run
road for an incredible distance. Here comes the
turn of that jewel of the pack, the good road-hunter.
If scent is so poor that even the best road-hunters
can make nothing of it, then the expertness of the
human tracker can be utilised. I have seen a hare
" pricked " for an extraordinary distance along a road,
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 107
the line presently recovered by hounds, and the quarry
handsomely killed, after what would have seemed to
many a hopeless difficulty.
Woodlands, especially big woodlands, are a source
of much trouble to the hare-hunter. A big woodland
is almost certain to hold rabbits, and your hounds,
once involved in its recesses, may run riot for half an
hour or more before you can get them off. Again,
the pack may happen on the line of a fox, and there
is the devil to pay. Many harrier packs hunt their
country by the courtesy of Masters of foxhounds,
and, to put it mildly, the least their Master can do
is to keep them from hunting the quarry that does
not belong to them. The woodland may not have
been shot, and pheasant-preservers are not likely to
be amiably disposed if the pack is disturbing the
coverts in all directions. A large woodland, then,
is for many reasons to be avoided as much as possible,
and hounds extricated from its depths as soon as may
be. I have known harriers on several occasions to
hunt a hare right through a big woodland and kill
her at last ; and I have also known the same pack
hunt a wood, under various distractions, for something
like half an hour, and, by patience and good luck,
succeed in forcing out a dodging hare and killing her
fairly in the open. But, on the other hand, how
many, many times can one not remember the delay
and confusion, riot and disappointment, of the same
woodland ! On the whole, where large coverts are
concerned, I think, with the mercantile man, that it
is better to cut one's loss quickly and get away in
search of a fresh hare.
Small patches of wood, withy beds, of which, by
the way, hares are extremely fond, and odd patches
of covert, are much more readily dealt with. Where
io8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
a hare runs into a covert of this sort, it is by no means
to be taken for granted that the first hare ejected by-
hounds, or even the second or third, is necessarily
the hunted one. The covert ought to be, and usually
is, carefully watched by a whip or some of the field,
who can tell the hunted hare when they see it. Only
a month or so ago I saw harriers run a hare into a
small withy bed, little more than a couple of acres
in extent. The hare slipped round the covert, and
actually entered it, as it were, on the very heels of
the pack, as they were making their circuit. Two
hares were one after the other pushed out, some foot-
people on a hill just above (up which each hare made
its way) meanwhile yelling and holloaing vociferously.
Both these hares were absolutely fresh and unstained.
The pack went out after the second one, and ran her
hard for several minutes. Luckily the Master, who
was also huntsman, and was in covert, was informed
that the hunted hare had not yet been ejected. He
went away quickly after hounds, and with some difficulty
got them off and brought them down again. Again
they plunged into the covert. This time the hunted
hare, which had been very cannily lying close, in
expectation, no doubt, that she would be overlooked,
was driven out and a first-rate run ensued. Hares,
as has already been pointed out, take freely to water,
and where the hare has been well pressed and the
scent leads to the bank of a stream or small river,
the assumption is that she has gone over. Before
crossing, a hare will often carefully foil her line so
as to confuse the puzzle yet more. I have watched
a hare come to the bank of a broad stream, sit up for
a second or two, with one ear cocked, and then, for
a minute or so, busy herself in weaving a perfect
labyrinth of foil, before crossing. She then ran down
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 109
the bank, slipped quietly into the stream, swam across,
and pursued her way. Where the stream runs swiftly,
she may be carried fifty or a hundred yards down,
and this ought to be borne in mind in picking up the
line on the farther bank.
Sheep are among the most fruitful sources of checks
in hare-hunting, as in the pursuit of the fox. After
hounds have made their own cast, and have failed,
and the huntsman has taken them in hand without
success, the neighbouring hedges and other likely
places should be tried. Not impossibly the hare may
have squatted in the middle of the very field in
which the check occurred, confident in the knowledge
which she undoubtedly possesses, that the sheep stain
may finally baffle her pursuers. This field ought,
therefore, to be carefully searched, and if there are
any roots adjacent, these also should be thoroughly
tried. It is astonishing how closely a hare will squat,
especially if she has been hard run. Mr. Southerden,
late Master of the Hailsham Harriers, tells me of a
remarkable incident witnessed by him many years
ago with this Hunt. A hare that had been hard run
for some hours was lost, and, do what they could,
neither hounds. Master, nor field could account for
her. Close to the side of a road was a rough piece
of ploughed land, which was carefully but unsuccess-
fully drawn. Thereupon a short consultation was
held. While this was going on, a farmer suddenly
cried out that one of the hounds had its foot on the
hare. This was literally and actually the case. The
animal, startled by the cry raised, leaped from under
the noses of hounds and men and made off. She
was so tired, however, that she was run into in the
same field. The hound treading upon her was,
cu'-MDUsly enough, at least as frightened as the hare
no HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
herself, and howled and ran off as the hare jumped
up.
The knowledge that a hare is sinking, and will be
soon pulled down, seems intuitive to most seasoned
hounds and not a few experienced sportsmen. Towards
the end of a hard run the huntsman observes that some
of the older hounds, which have hitherto allowed the
younger and more excitable of the pack to make play,
begin to work to the front ; these hounds are aware that
the hare is sinking, and are quietly taking their places
for the final scene. The scent of a tired hare often
begins to fail a good deal towards the last of a run.
I have even heard experts declare that a failing hare
leaves no scent behind her, except that from the very
tips of her feet as they touch the earth. A huntsman
needs to be especially keen and especially careful
towards the end of the chase, when the beaten hare,
finding that she cannot outstrip her pursuers by speed
alone, is twisting, doubling, and playing every con-
ceivable prank and device in her well-stocked repertory,
with the object of throwing off the pursuit. It is
these wonderful devices, this extraordinary fertility of
resource, which, to my mind, add so great an interest
to the chase of this animal.
The death is the least pleasant part of the whole
business. One can see a fox die unmoved. He is
a ruffian and a robber, and he meets the rufifian's
doom boldly and becomingly, turning at the last
moment to confront the leading hounds with bared
teeth, and the grin of death and defiance upon his
face. But with the hare it is widely different. The
run is enthralling enough ; the death one is glad to
get over as speedily as possible. The end is sudden
enough, and the sufferings of the hunted hare last
but a second or two. Occasionally, especially with
MODERN HARE-HUNTING m
foot-packs, it may happen that hounds have run
clean away from their field ; in such a case the hare,
when run into, is speedily devoured, and the huntsman
finds but a rag or two of skin when he reaches the
scene. In the ordinary way, the huntsman, or a
whip, or one of the field will be there, and the dead
hare is rescued from the jaws of the pack. The hunts-
man, after sounding his horn and giving vent to in-
spiring " Who-whoops," heard far over the fields,
now proceeds, either personally or by his deputy, the
whipper-in, to the obsequies. Taking out his knife, he
makes an incision in the hare's stomach, withdraws
the entrails, and gives them to the pack. It is the
custom to encourage young or timid hounds by smear-
ing them with some of the blood. This is calculated
to promote keenness ; it is an ancient form, and there
is certainly no harm in it.
As for the dead hare, if she has been hunted hard
for an hour or two, her corpse is by this time so stiff
that you may hold her out by her hind legs, straight
and rigid, almost, as a piece of board. It is the custom
of hare-hunting, in most countries, and a very excellent
custom too, that the dead hare should be handed
over to the farmer upon whose land she was first found.
Every farmer likes a hare for his dinner, jugged or
roast, and the practice — cementing, as it does, friendli-
ness between the field and the man who is good enough
and keen enough to provide the sport — is always to
be encouraged. Some huntsmen like to take the
ears of the hare to nail up at the kennels as trophies
and evidences of their prowess. The scut is usually re-
quired for some one of the field, especially if a lady or a
school-boy happens to be present. And occasionally,
after an exceptionally good run, a pad is begged for
some budding Nimrod, or even by some veteran, who
112 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
likes to have a memento of a rousing chase. These
are, however, more often the incidents of a run with
foot-harriers or beagles than of a hunt in which the
field is mounted.
After killing a hare it is desirable, if hunting in
enclosed country, to make a move for a fresh hare
at some little distance. There are two good reasons
for this : one, that there is a better chance of a run
in fresh country that has not been much foiled by the
hunted hare and her pursuers ; the other reason is
that an adjournment to another farm lessens the
possibility of riding over the same fences over and
over again. Farmers are wonderfully forbearing and
wonderfully generous, but it is unfair to subject their
fences to the wear and tear of more than one hunt
in the day if it can be avoided. These remarks do
not, of course, apply with the same force to foot-
hunting, in the course of which fences suffer very
httle.
When a hare has been apparently completely lost,
and every possible method of picking her up again
has been tried, there is always one remaining chance,
that she may have slipped back unperceived to the
place from which she was first put up. I saw a good
instance of this with the Hailsham Harriers on the
last day of the season of 1901-2. We had a first-
rate marsh run of an hour and a half, going at a great
pace. Then scent failed somewhat, and the hare
presently slipped us in the middle of the marsh. We
tried all ways without success, and ultimately got
on a fresh hare. The huntsman had an idea that our
hare had made her way back to her old ground, and
we presently whipped off. Again, hounds picked up
a fresh hare, and so hard did they go that it was im-
possible to get them off. We ran over a little eminence
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 113
of the marsh near where we had first found, and
here, by great good luck, we came upon the hare
we had so lately hunted. Getting hounds off the
fresh hare, by a stroke of fortune, they were clapped
on to the right line, and in a few minutes our
original quarry, stiff and leg-weary, was run into and
killed.
Fresh hares are an evil that many countries in
these days would be glad to be blessed with. In the
district in which I see a good deal of hunting, we have
at times rather too much of this plethora, especially
in our marsh country. I have seen in the course of
a single run no fewer than fourteen hares put up. This
sounds like fiction, but it is plain fact. Constant
changing of hares is very trying indeed to the pack ;
and it is occasionally a matter of some difficulty to
get blood, although hounds may be running hard all
day. Still, even this difficulty can be surmounted,
with care, judgment, and a little good fortune, and
although now and again a disappointing day is scored,
these are very few and far between. Where hares
are too thick on the ground, the aid of coursers or
shooting-men may be called in. In moderation,
coursing is no great drawback to hare-hunting. I
have seen the two sports flourish side by side in the
same country, and many people aver that, where
hares are coursed occasionally, they give better runs
than is otherwise the case.
Scent is a subject which has exercised the minds
of hunting-men for untold generations. All writers
upon the chase have devoted more or less time and
trouble to the elucidation of its mysteries ; yet
none have succeeded. Scent still remains, and will
probably always remain, one of the most vexatious
of all problems, a thing baffling, unaccountable,
H
114 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
inscrutable. Countries vary very much, of course,
in their scent-carrying capacity ; the changes of soil
may be noted frequently in the course of a single
run. Temperature has, of course, much to do with
the matter, as has the constitution, and even the sex,
of the animal hunted. For instance, many old hunters
are agreed that a doe, and especially a doe in young,
affords a good deal less scent than a buck hare. Storms
are against good scenting, and a sunshiny, melting
morning, after a night's sharp hoar frost is, perhaps,
the most fatal of all for good hunting. Northerly
or easterly winds used popularly to be supposed to
be extremely bad for scent, and indeed they are so,
perhaps, rather more often than not. Yet, as most
sportsmen know, there are days of easterly and northerly
wind when hounds run like wildfire. Shortly before
Christmas 1902, I hunted on Pevensey Marshes,
which were white with a powdering of snow, in a freez-
ing north-easterly wind. It was one of the bitterest
of hunting days I ever remember in a long experience
of fox- and hare-hunting. Yet on this day we enjoyed
a magnificent run of two hours and ten minutes, with
excellent scenting, and wound up with a kill. I should
mention that we changed twice during the course of
this run. I was out with a foot-pack, and there were
many dykes to get over, and hounds, huntsman, and
some of the field, who had got wet, went home with
a not inconsiderable coating of ice about them. The
southerly wind and cloudy sky, so often sung, are
by no means the unerring heralds of a good scenting
day. In a fine, warm mist, with driving rain, I have
noticed that scent will often lie magnificently ; while,
per contra, in thick, white, still fog I have occasionally
experienced very poor sport. There are a few rare
and wonderful days — those days which Beckford
MODERN HARE-HUNTING 115
rightly calls jours des dames — when every one can
with safety predict scent and a good hunt. But, as
a general rule, it is of little use prophesying on this
subject, for the reason that, over and over again,
the best and wisest of sportsmen find themselves
but false prophets. I am one of tnose who do believe
that when hounds roll much and betray indifference
scent is very rarely good. This I take to be one of the
surest signs that may be relied upon, a sign one hates
to see, hoping against hope that hounds for once may
be mistaken ; yet they seldom are in this particular
demonstration.
In countries where hares are scarce, it may be
necessary to offer rewards to farmers, especially
where holdings are small, for the finding of the game
desired on their land. Bailiffs, shepherds, keepers,
and others who have a voice or control in the main-
tenance of game, are, of course, worth looking after.
Hare-hunting has, in this respect, its amenities, its
duties, and its diplomacy, in like manner with fox-
hunting. Masters of foxhounds, who hunt the same
country, and by whose courtesy hare-hunting often
exists, are always to be thought of. Owners of coverts,
who are often extremely liberal in preserving hares,
deserve, and should receive, due consideration and
thanks. In the case of farmers, more is effected by
diplomacy and civility than in any other way. A
hunt dinner is an excellent institution, and the practice
of puppy walking and an annual prize-day and luncheon
are also found to work very successfully. Puppy
walking is, however, necessarily somewhat less often
practised than in the case of fox-hunting. Without
the farmer, hare-hunting, like fox-hunting, could
not exist for a twelvemonth. It is a real pleasure,
then, to find this good old English sport more popular
ii6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
among farmers than it has been any time this century
past, that is, taking an average of countries throughout
the length and breadth of England. Of the reasons
for this revival of hare-hunting popularity I shall
treat in another chapter.
CHAPTER VII
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS— NORTHUMBERLAND
TO OXFORDSHIRE
Numbers of packs hunting hare in United
Kingdom — Reasons for revived popularity —
Variety of equipment — Summary of packs —
Strength of various countries — Wales — North
of England — Some notable packs — The AspuU
— Holcombe — Rochdale — Vale of Lune — York-
shire packs — Derbyshire — High Peak Harriers^
An old foot-pack — Isle of Man — Notts — Ross
Harriers — Bentley Harriers — Mr. Hawkins' Harriers
— The heart of fox-hunting England — Norfolk, Beds,
and Suffolk packs
There are at the present time hunting hare in different
parts of England and Wales no fewer than one hundred
and fourteen packs of harriers. Beagles and basset
hounds, of which I shall treat in later chapters, number
in the United Kingdom some fifty packs. In Ireland
about thirty-one packs of harriers are maintained.
Scotland is neither a good fox-hunting nor a good hare-
hunting country, and but three packs of harriers are
put into the field by sportsmen north of the Tweed.
These figures, added together, give the formidable total
of one hundred and ninety-eight packs of hounds hunt-
ing hare in Great Britain and Ireland, or, deducting the
trifle of three Scottish packs, one hundred and ninety-
five packs in England, Wales, and Ireland. The Isle
of Man supports a pack of its own, which, however,
ii8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
is, in the usual way, credited to the account of England.
These figures are surprising. When one remembers
how often hare-hunting has been declared to be in its
dotage, and how frequently it has been predicted that
hares would shortly be extinct, one has, obviously,
some matter for reflection. In the year 1879 there
were hunting hare in the United Kingdom no more
than one hundred and sixty packs of harriers and
beagles ; so that, so far from the popularity of hare-
hunting having diminished, it is pretty certain that
in the last four and twenty years the followers of the
timid hare have spread abroad and flourished. There
are at the present moment more packs of hounds
following hare than there ever were before at any time
during the history of the chase in Britain.
There seem to me to be two chief reasons why hare-
hunting has maintained and even augmented its
ancient vogue. The first of these is that it is popular
among the farmers. Many a sport-loving yeoman
and tenant-farmer has been compelled reluctantly
to give up fox-hunting, for the plain reason that he
cannot afford it. Many a man, whose father, in the
good days of agriculture, kept a hunter or two and went
out regularly twice or thrice a week, now watches
foxhounds from afar off ; he gives them the run of
his land and takes down wire fencing ; but for himself
he can afford fox-hunting no longer and, with a sigh,
he leaves the sport to other and richer, but assuredly not
worthier, folk. But with harriers it is different. The
farmer, riding out on his rough nag or pony, which
would be useless for fox-hunting, is enabled by the
very nature of the chase, the ringing tactics of the hare,
to see a good deal of the sport, and he goes home
refreshed and heartened. It costs him nothing, fields
rule small, little damage is done to his fences and
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 119
crops, and more often than not he gets a good hare
for his dinner. As for the beagle packs, they are always
welcome. They are hunted on foot, and, again, no
damage whatever is done to the farmer's property.
Hare-hunting varies considerably in the style and
nature of the sport shown, in the numbers of the
pack and the turn-out of the staff, and in various
other respects, in different localities. In some places
you will find the general equipment and turn-out very
much resembling that of a good pack of foxhounds ;
in another — probably a rough hill country — you may
see, perchance, seven or eight couple of hounds, most
probably of old-fashioned type, taking the field, under
the command of a huntsman — some frosty-faced
veteran — on foot, of course, whose faded green coat
and general rusticity tell of hunt funds none too
plentiful and of methods that were familiar in the
hill country long before even John Peel himself waked
the echoes with his cheery voice.
An analysis which I have made of the various harrier
packs in different parts of England seems to me worth
putting before the reader. Here, briefly, are the results : *
Devonshire is the foremost county in England as
regards the number of packs it puts into the field.
Fourteen packs of harriers are supported by the famous
Western shire. Kent maintains ten packs ; York-
shire ten ; Somerset nine ; Lancashire eight ; Sussex
eight ; Norfolk, Suffolk, Gloucestershire, and Cornwall
three each. Other counties follow in twos and ones.
Wales is, as befits a rough, wild country, strong in
hare-hunting, and puts into the field eleven packs.
* I have to acknowledge my indebtedness in these chapters
to Baily's "Hunting Directory," the i^ze/t^ Hound List, and to
many masters of harriers who have supplied me with informa-
tion.
I20 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
It will, I think, be not uninteresting to pass from
north to south of England, glancing at the various
harrier packs and their countries en route. Let us
begin with Cumberland and Westmoreland, homes
of lakes and mountains, of grand scenery, and of the
sturdy yeomen-farmers of the dales. The Aspatria,
a pack dating from 1870, hunts a country between
Wedholme Flow in the North and Maryport in the
South, and from Binsey Hill on the East to Silloth
on the West. Of this, 70 per cent, is pasture,
the rest plough, woodland, and moor. Eleven couples
of cross-bred harriers are kennelled ; the pack is a
subscription one, and capping is not practised. In
Cumberland also hunt the Brampton Harriers, which
are kennelled near Carlisle, and have a history of
some fifty years. Ten couples of pure harriers form
the pack. The country consists for the most part of
grass and moorland, and the hearty fell farmers are
keen followers of the first-rate sport provided. In
Westmoreland the Windermere pack, owned by Mr.
Bruce Logan, with kennels at Ambleside, hunt
some of the most beautiful country in the kingdom.
It consists chiefly of moorland and lies partly in
Westmoreland, partly in North Lancashire. Hounds
number seventeen couples and hunt three days a week.
In Northumberland we find but one pack existing.
This is Mr. Allgood's, which, maintained at Alnwick,
consists of sixteen couples of eighteen-inch cross-bred
hounds. They hunt a country of grass and moorland,
part of it within the limits of the Tynedale, Percy,
and Border foxhounds. In Durham are to be found
two packs, the Darlington and Mr. Meysey Thompson's.
The Darlington is a subscription foot-pack, consisting
of twelve couples of seventeen-inch harriers, which
are described as " pure." They hunt in South Durham,
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 121
chiefly in plough country, varied as to about a third
of its area by grass. Mr. Meysey Thompson, hunting
from Rokeby, Barnard Castle, kennels eighteen couples
of harriers, which go out two days a week. These
are described as " pure harriers and black and tans,"
which seems to indicate that the pack is one of the
old-fashioned sort.
We now come to Lancashire, the home of a very
old type of English hound, the descendants of which
may here and there be seen among harrier packs. The
Aspull Harriers, maintained by Mr. Carlton Cross,
of Crooke Hall, Chorley, number twenty-five couples.
They are modern Stud-book harriers, of twenty- and
twenty-one-inch standard, and hunt an area of about
seventeen miles by twelve, consisting chiefly of pasture.
A subscription is guaranteed by the Aspull Hunt
Club, and strangers are capped 5s. per diem. The
country is a very nice one to ride, with plenty of
flying fences ; it carries a good scent, and sport is
excellent. There is some wire, but arrangements
are made for taking it down yearly. Wire, by the
way, although always objectionable, is not quite so
great a curse in a harrier country as in a fox-hunting
one. It is always interesting to have a Master's ideas
on his own and other people's hounds. Mr. Cross
tells me that he likes a harrier cross a long way back.
He has a good deal of Belvoir blood in his pack. He
tries to maintain a slight harrier strain, as he thinks
it gives hounds business and perseverance, when a
sinking hare is foiling her ground and dodging. Mr.
Cross, however, holds an opinion, heretical, of course,
to most pure harrier men, that a foxhound has just
as good a nose as a harrier. And as to pace, he asserts
that, for a race, with a hare in view, a harrier goes
quite as fast as, or faster than, a foxhound. I am
122 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
afraid I, for one, scarcely share either of these
two opinions. Mr, Cross tells me that he bought
about ten years ago a bitch which was " about a
quarter either bloodhound, or the old black and tan
Talbot." He bred from her and has the strain now
and finds it very valuable for nose and hunting when
crossed with quick-driving hounds.. It is by experi-
ments such as these, undoubtedly, that packs of hounds
are improved and shaped. The Aspull have been dis-
tinguished at Peterborough Hound Show in recent years.
The Holcombe, which hunt near Bolton, number
twenty couples of twenty-two-inch Old English harriers
(sometimes called the old Lancashire hound), and are
believed to be one of the most ancient packs in the
kingdom. Tradition asserts that James I., after
resting at Houghton Tower, on his way to York,
hunted one day with the Holcombe, and was so pleased
with the sport that he granted to these hounds the
right to hunt three days a year for ever in the township
of Quarlton, which was part of the Royal Manor of
Tottington. The country consists of rough land
bordering the moors, with stone walls, and grazing
land with a small proportion of plough. There are
a fair amount of posts and rails, and the hunt, to keep
down wire, supply rails to the farmers in May, for
mending gaps. There is a good stock of hares, which
is scarcely to be wondered at, when one remembers
that a reward of 5s. for each hare killed is paid to the
farmer on whose land she was first started. This
fine old-fashioned pack has a rather curious custom.
Some of the Northern packs, which hunt a good deal
in hill country, have the kennel huntsman out on
foot as well as a mounted huntsman. The Holcombe
kennel huntsman, as well as a whip, is a pedestrian,
and his attire, when hunting, consists of cord breeches,
COL. ROBERTSON AIRMAN'S HARRIERS, LANARKSHIRE
fK #
HOLCOMBE HARRIERS, LANCASHIRE
ON THE MOORS
Plate VI II
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 123
cord leggings, buttoned down the side, a cut-away
red coat, and a tall hat. He carries a horn, shaped
like a coach horn ; it measures three feet in length,
and has been in the possession of the hunt for two
hundred years. Quaint though the get-up, the results
are very satisfactory. Lancashire moorland hares
are proverbially stout, and the Holcombe show capital
sport. The Kirkham is another Lancashire pack —
twenty-one-inch Stud-book harriers this time — hunting
a country consisting almost entirely of pasture. They
have been established since 1834, ^^^ have long been
mastered by members of the Birley family. The
Pendle Forest I have already said something about.
They are a very old pack, dating from 1770, and con-
sist of twenty couples of twenty-one-inch hounds,
a cross of the foxhound and the old Lancashire hound.
They are admitted to the Harrier Stud-book ; they
hunt from Clitheroe over parts of north-east Lancashire,
and the country known as Craven, in the West
Riding of Yorkshire. No foxhounds hunt this country,
and the Pendle Forest pack hunt deer one day a week
after Christmas.
Other Lancashire packs are the Rochdale, the
Rossendale, both hunting a pasture and moorland
country, Mr. Frank Wood's, hunting from Newton-le-
Willows, and the Vale of Lune. The Rochdale
are a particularly nice pack of hounds, showing a
good deal of the real old-fashioned harrier type ;
they consist of eighteen couples of twenty-one-inch
harriers, hunting three days a week, and kennelled
at Cronkeyshaw, a mile from Rochdale. I am enabled
to give a portrait of one of these hounds, Rattler,
who is as good at work as he is to look at. Captain
C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds is the present Master of
these hounds, the Deputy-master being Mr. J. T.
124 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Pilling. The pack is hunted by the Master, or Deputy-
master. Mr. Pilling has been good enough to send me
some interesting notes upon this pack. He tells me
that the country hunted over is of a rough, hilly
description, the land being chiefly enclosed within
substantial stone walls, which, fortunately for the
hares, are amply provided with what are locally called
" smeuse " holes, which serve the double purpose
of assisting drainage, and are so constructed as to
allow the hare to run through ; and especially at a
find, or when hard pressed, they give the hare an enor-
mous advantage over hounds, the latter being com-
pelled to jump or scramble over.
The hounds were, up to 1879, carefully bred from
the old original strain, great care being taken, when
crossing with neighbouring packs, to keep to the fixed
type. In 1879, however, dumb madness broke out, and
the entire pack had to be destroyed, with the excep-
tion of a few puppies then out at walk. These carried
the old blood on, some of their descendants being in
the kennels at the present time. The best of these are
the stock of Dulcimer, a most indefatigable worker, and
in his day one of the best hounds that ever hunted.
Rattler, whose picture is shown, is a direct de-
scendant of this hound. At the time of their mis-
fortune, the hunt were able to secure a few hounds
of their own blood from neighbouring packs, notably
a hound named Brutus, whose stock has proved
wonderfully good.
Owing to the roughness of the country and the
difficulty of procuring pure harriers suitable for it
(the majority being deficient in the important points
of legs and feet), of late years a foxhound cross has
been resorted to ; fresh blood has been imported
from time to time, Mr. Vaughan Pryse's, Mr. Quare's,
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 125
the Pendle Forest, the Holcombe, and the Aspull
being requisitioned. In 1896-97, when the pack
won the Edgeworth Cup, in keen competition with
neighbouring hunts, these hounds killed no less than
one hundred and thirty-three hares. This is a record
with this pack, which usually kill about a hundred hares
in a season. The Rochdale, like many other Northern
packs, have a very interesting history of their own.
The Rossendale, another pack with a long history
behind them, are kennelled at Newchurch-in-Rossen-
dale, where they have been established these sixty
or seventy years past, and hunt from thence three
days a week. They number eighteen couples of
twenty-one-inch Stud-book harriers, and hunt over
a wide moorland and pasture country, varied by stone
walls. The Vale of Lune, mastered by Colonel W. H.
Foster, M.P., are kennelled at Hornby. They are
a first-rate pack of Stud-book harriers, numbering
twenty couples, and great pains have been taken
in their breeding. In 1899, Rakish, a beautiful hound,
took the Champion Cup at Peterborough for bitches
between sixteen and nineteen inches. The Vale of
Lune lies in some of the most beautiful parts of Lanca-
shire, Westmoreland, and Yorkshire ; but there is
a good deal of wire, the country is cramped, and a
horse is needed that can jump timber, stone walls,
and water,
Yorkshire has, from time immemorial, been famous
as a sporting county, and in Yorkshire, naturally,
one finds harriers well represented. Here are the
Colne Valley, the Craven, Glaisdale, Hallam and
Eccleshall, Holmfirth, Penistone, Rockwood, Sheffield,
Stannington, and Stockton — the last-named a foot-
pack. The Colne Valley — ten couples of pure harriers
— hunt pasture and moorland in about equal parts.
126 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
The Craven, an old pack whose records reach back
far into the eighteenth century, hunt a wide district
in north-west Yorkshire, in a country untouched
by foxhounds. They are twenty-one-inch Stud-book
harriers, chiefly of foxhound blood, number twenty-
seven couples, and hunt three days a week. Mr.
Amcotts Wilson is Master. The Glaisdale, hunting
in the Cleveland country (foxhound), number ten
couples and go out two days a week. They are, as
I have previously stated, a trencher-fed pack, some-
what of a curiosity in these days. The Glaisdale,
by the way, are a harrier and beagle cross, and run
from seventeen to nineteen inches. The Hallam
and Eccleshall are a Sheffield pack. The Holmfirth
are another trencher-fed pack — twelve couples of
pure harriers — established so far back as 1800, hunting
near Huddersfield. The Penistone and their singularly
ancient history I have already touched upon. The
present pack consists of ten couples of pure harriers,
or " Old English hounds," standing from twenty-two
to twenty-four inches. They hunt low-ground, grass
country until December 10, after which they betake
themselves to the grouse moors west of Penistone,
where they enjoy first-rate sport. The Rockwood,
nineteen couples of twenty-one-inch harriers and
foxhounds, find their sport in the West Riding, partly
within the borders of the Badsworth Hunt ; while
two other Sheffield packs — the Sheffield and the
Stannington — are quartered within or near the town
of Cutlery. The Stockton, a foot-pack, numbering
thirteen couples of seventeen and a half-inch Stud-
book harriers, hunt a rough country, parts of it cold
clay, near Stockton-on-Tees. This pack started with
beagles and was transformed into harriers in 1892.
Coming down to Derbyshire, one is somewhat
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 127
surprised to find hare-hunting so Httle pursued in a
country where foxhounds are not too much known,
and where many wild districts might be supposed
to lend themselves to fine sport with harriers or beagles.
I do not find that a single pack of beagles exists in
this beautiful county, while of harriers the High Peak
are the only pack which have their head-quarters in
Derbyshire. The Dove Valley Harriers, it is true,
hunt partly in Derbyshire, but their kennels and
head-quarters are at Mayfield, in Staffordshire.* This
last-named pack numbers twenty couples of twenty-one-
inch foxhounds, and hunts three days a week. Their
country is a very beautiful one, grass for the most part,
with moorland here and there, and plenty of stone walls.
In the High Peak we find one of the best countries
and the most brilliant packs in the kingdom. Hunting
in the fine, upland district round about Bakewell
and Buxton, these harriers have the advantage of
pursuing their hares over old pasture, which affords
excellent scenting. There is practically no wire. This
is a stone-wall country, the walls being built of lime-
stone, loose, wide, and of a fair height. I have had
the pleasure of seeing hare-hunting in the High Peak
country, and I am bound to say the sport shown is
very excellent indeed. A good and clever hunter is
needed, and as enclosures, where they exist, are small,
and walls frequent, the amount of jumping is very
considerable. I have seen more and better fencing
in a hunt with these harriers than in many a good
run with the Pytchley or Grafton hounds. Colonel
Robertson Aikman, who has mastered and hunted
the High Peak Harriers since 1901, has a great reputa-
tion. For many years he hunted hare in Scotland,
* The Foremark Harriers hunted, until recently, partly in
South Derbyshire, but have now been given up.
128 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
and for a season or two performed the difficult feat
of mastering a pack of foxhounds as well as a pack
of harriers. His harriers have been long famous.
He breeds the Stud-book type, showing much fox-
hound blood, and his hounds have invariably been
most successful and most persistent prize-takers at
Peterborough. In 1901, for example, he took no
less than six prizes, including the Champion Cup
for dog-hounds between nineteen and twenty-one
inches. Colonel Aikman's pack consists of twenty-
two and a half couples of twenty to twenty-one-inch
Stud-book harriers, hunting two days a week.
The High Peak harriers have been many years
established — since 1848 — but until 1 901 were practically
dwarf foxhounds. Mr. Nesfield, of Castle HiU, who
mastered these foxhounds from i860 to 1892, and
showed great sport, was agent to the Duke of Rutland,
and was able in consequence to make use of a good
deal of Belvoir blood. In 1901 Colonel Robertson
Aikman brought with him his own pack from Lanark-
shire. I quote a few remarks which Colonel Aikman
has sent me on his new territory. " The High Peak
country is in many respects ideal. It has probably
more sound grass and less wire than any country in
the British Isles. The absence of towns, or even
villages, or much sign of life, makes it a happy hunting-
ground. Its scenting qualities are somewhat mys-
terious. The grand old turf looks like carrying
a scent at all times, but in 1901-1902 it was woefully
disappointing the whole season through.* The follow-
ing season scent was the reverse, with scarcely a very
bad scenting day up till February i. The absorption
* The season of 1 901-1902 was, incontestably, one of the
worst scenting seasons, if not the very worst, during the last
score of years.
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 129
of moisture by the limestone may explain absence
of scent in dry weather. Some of the country is rough,
and to those who hunt to ride it may be monotonous
to jump nothing but stone walls, which are seldom
small, often formidable, and cut a horse badly if he
makes a mistake. On the whole, I doubt it there
are many or any better countries for hare-hunting."
At one time another pack existed in this part of
Derbyshire, known locally as the " Chapel Harriers,"
which were real old-fashioned harriers, trencher-fed,
kept at Chapel-en-le-Frith, Dove Holes, and the
villages round. These hounds are described to me
by an old inhabitant, who remembers them well as
a lad, as of all colours and sizes, blue-pied, brown-pied,
black and tan, yellow, and white. In 1845, or there-
abouts, they were hunted on foot by a working man,
named Green, a strong, wiry fellow, who, in his grey
coat and brass buttons, looked a typical moorland
huntsman. In his absence another working man,
known as " Owd Jim Noble," used to carry the horn.
" Owd Jim " was a most enthusiastic huntsman,
and his holloa was to be heard far away across the
country-side.
The Isle of Man Harriers are a comparatively new
introduction, having been established so recently as
1893 by Mr. Leigh Goldie Taubman, who remained
Master till 1899. They hunt all over the island, going
out twice a week. The pack consists of fourteen
couples of seventeen-inch modern harriers, and is
kennelled at The Nunnery.
Returning to the mainland, and proceeding further
south, we come to Cheshire, where the Wirral, with
kennels at Hooton, are to be found. This pack con-
sists of twenty-nine couples of pure harriers, ranging
from nineteen to twenty inches, entered in the harrier
I
I30 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Stud-book. They hunt the whole of the Wirral penin-
sula lying between the rivers Dee and Mersey and
their estuaries. This is a fine grass tract, with a good
deal of wire in the northern part of the country. These
harriers succeeded Sir Thomas Stanley's foxhounds,
and the country has been hunted by them since 1868.
Between Lancashire and Yorkshire and the south
and west of England, if we except Norfolk, we find
packs of harriers rather few and far between. It is,
by the way, a curious circumstance that no pack of
harriers is to be found hunting in Lincolnshire, if I
except the occasional incursions of the Marquis of
Exeter's pack from Stamford. This is a reproach,
which, in so excellent a sporting country, ought surely
to be removed.
In Nottinghamshire the Clumber, owned by the
Duchess of Newcastle, show good sport, chiefly within
the borders of the country hunted by Lord Galway's
and the Rufford foxhounds. They number eighteen
couples of Stud-book harriers, ranging from nineteen
and a half to twenty and a half inches. The Duchess
of Newcastle, who hunts her own hounds, started
the pack in 1895, recruiting it by drafts from the
Brookside, Aspull, Mr. Greswolde Williams', and the
Eamont kennels. Shropshire is represented by the
Tanatside, a very old established pack, hunting from
Oswestry, partly in their own county, partly in Mont-
gomeryshire. The hounds, under the new Master, Mr.
W. L. Thursby, will consist of some twenty-three couples
of twenty-one-inch cross-bred harriers — the late Fore-
mark pack — and hunt two days a week. Wire is a
trouble in this, as in many other parts, and apparently
is on the increase.
Turning towards the borders of Wales, we find
Herefordshire supporting only one pack of harriers.
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 131
the Ross, whose history dates back at least as far
as 1820. Fifteen couples of twenty-inch mixed
hounds compose the pack, which is kennelled at
Goodrich, near Kerne Bridge, on the Great Western
Railway, Most of the Ross country consists of light
plough.
Worcestershire is well represented by the Bentley
Harriers, owned by Mrs. Cheape — known throughout
the country-side as " The Squire " — of Bentley Manor,
near Redditch. This lady is both Master and hunts-
man of her pack, which is maintained entirely at her
own expense, no subscription being taken or " capping"
practised. The pack, established in 1892, consists of
twenty-two and a half couples of nineteen-inch pure
harriers, which are entered in the Harrier and Beagle
Stud-book ; it hunts five days a fortnight over a wide
country in Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucester-
shire, and, occasionally, in the Old Berkshire country,
by invitation.
Warwickshire, the home of fox-hunting, save for
the incursions of the Bentley pack, is guiltless of hare-
hunting. In Leicestershire was found till this year the
Foremark, with kennels at Foremark Hall. This was
a strong pack, hunting a nice country, part plough,
part pasture, in Leicestershire and Derbyshire. It
ought to be resuscitated.
Northamptonshire, considering that it is so great
a stronghold of fox-hunting, is fairly well represented.
The Marquis of Exeter maintains at Burghley House,
Stamford, a nice pack of nineteen couples of Stud-book
harriers (eighteen- and nineteen-inch), hunting two
days a week in this shire as well as in Rutland, and a
piece of Lincolnshire. In the very heart of the Pytchley
and Grafton countries, famous in the fox-hunting world
for so many generations, we find Mr. Henry Hawkins
132 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
hunting a first-rate pack of harriers from Everdon Hall,
near Daventry. As a youngster I saw a good deal of
fox-hunting in this part of England, but I never, in
those days, heard of a pack of harriers anywhere within
hail. It is a pleasure to find hare-hunting now so firmly
established in this fine country. Mr. Hawkins bought
his pack of harriers from Mr. John Horsey, who had
hunted from Dallington, near Northampton, since 1888.
The hounds, which are Stud-book harriers, are ex-
ceptionally good ones, taking in 1900 three prizes at
Peterborough Show. They consist of thirty-two and
a half couples, the present standard being nineteen
inches. Formerly they were seventeen and a half-
to eighteen-inch harriers, and one is sorry to note the
rise in standard which too often seems inevitable among
breeders of harehounds at the present day. I am
afraid foxhound blood has much to answer for. This
tendency to increase the size of harriers is one which
is growing, and which ought to be repressed. Harriers
as big as foxhounds are an anomaly, and are, into the
bargain, quite unnecessary. Hare-hunters do not
require to course their hares, but to kill them by fair
and downright hunting. However, if Mr. Hawkins
maintains his harriers at nineteen inches he is quite
within reasonable limits, for a mounted pack. Mr.
Hawkins tells me that by the kindness of the land-
owners and farmers he has been enabled to increase
his area of sport very considerably. " Situated in
the heart of one of the most favourite fox-hunting
shires of England, one might, perhaps," he remarks,
" have anticipated some reluctance on the part of the
farmers to welcome an additional pack of hounds on
their land ; and it speaks volumes for the sporting
spirit innate in the Northamptonshire yeoman, when
one is able to announce quite a different sentiment as
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 133
prevailing on all sides." Few harrier packs can claim
to be more fortunate than Mr. Hawkins's. He has a
splendid and diversified country. He uses the hound-
van and railway very frequently, and wherever there
are hares to hunt he is glad to take his pack. The flat
pastures on the Rugby side of the Pytchley country,
the wooded slopes of Cottesbrook, and the wilder
tracts round Northampton, where plough is more
abundant, are often visited. Mr. Hawkins gets some
of his best sport, he tells me, in the fine vale along the
borderland of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire,
through which runs the famous Braunston Brook.
Hereabouts hares are wonderfully stout, surpassing
in strength and endurance their fellows in the other
regions round about. Braunston, Staverton, and
Flecknoe are parishes all well known to fox-hunting
fame, and in these localities it is a pleasure to find
Mr. Hawkins and his harriers obtaining first-rate
sport.
Cambridgeshire supports a pack of harriers — the
" Cambridgeshire " — consisting of twelve couples of
dwarf foxhounds, ranging from nineteen to twenty-one
inches, with head-quarters at Cambridge. Mr. Hugh
Cheape masters and hunts them. Formerly run by
farmers in the vicinity, these harriers are now hunted
by some member of the University. Their country
is chiefly plough, and lies within the limits of the
Cambridgeshire, and Newmarket and Thurlow fox-
hounds. The North Bucks, with kennels at Bletchley,
hunt in Northamptonshire, Bucks and Bedfordshire,
chiefly in the territories of the Whaddon Chase, Grafton,
Oakley, South Oxfordshire, and Hertfordshire Hunts.
The country is mainly grass. The pack consists of
eighteen couples of nineteen-inch harriers, mastered
and hunted by Mr. W. F. Fuller.
134 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Norfolk supports three packs of harriers, of which
the Downham hunt a light plough country in the
neighbourhood of Downham Market. Fifteen couples
of twenty-inch pure harriers, entered in the harrier
Stud-book, compose the pack. They hunt two days
a week. The Dunston, kennelled near Norwich, and
owned and mastered by Mr. Geoffrey Buxton, of
Dunston Hall, hunt over a country, chiefly composed
of plough, in South Norfolk. They are undisturbed
by foxhounds and have very little wire. The pack
consists of twenty-eight couples of nineteen- to twenty-
inch Stud-book harriers. The Melton Constable were
formerly owned by Lord Hastings, who gave them up
a season or two back. They are now mastered by
Mr. H. Gibson, who hunts two days a week from
Melton Constable, in North Norfolk. The pack
consists of twenty couples of twenty-inch Stud-book
harriers.
Suffolk puts into the field three packs, the Hamilton,
the Henham, and the East Suffolk. Of these the
Hamilton, owned for many years by the late Duke of
Hamilton, are now mastered by Mr. Carnaby Forster,
with Mr. Sidney Heywood as Field Master and hunts-
man. They hunt from their old kennels at Easton,
in the eastern part of the county, and number twenty
couples of twenty- to twenty-one-inch pure harriers,
entered in the Stud-book. The Henham, mastered
and hunted since 1888 by the Earl of Stradbroke, hunt
over a wide area in Suffolk and Norfolk, untouched by
foxhounds. This country is chiefly plough, with about
one-fourth pasture. The kennels are at Henham Hall,
near Southwold . The pack number twenty- three couples
of nineteen-inch pure harriers (Stud-book), which hunt
two days a week. The East Suffolk are a new pack,
enrolled this season, with kennels at Melton, near
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 135
Woodbridge, They are mastered by Mr. R. E. Walford
and consist of nineteen-inch hounds.
In Bedfordshire are to be found two packs. The
Biggleswade, a small pack of twelve couples of Stud-
book harriers (nineteen to twenty inches), has been
owned and mastered by Mr. George Race, of Road
Farm, Biggleswade, since the year 1840. Mr. Race
must be almost the oldest — I believe he is the oldest —
Master of harriers in the United Kingdom. His father,
Mr. John Race, well known as " Thistle Whipper " of
the old " Sporting Magazine," kept harriers before
him, and the pack was in the family before that gentle-
man's time. These harriers hunt in Hertfordshire
and Cambridgeshire as well as in Bedfordshire ; the
country consists chiefly of plough, but as a set off there
is very little wire. Mr. Carpenter's harriers, kennelled
at Bedford, hunt in that county and in part of Bucks.
Fourteen couples of nineteen-inch Stud-book harriers
compose the pack, which has been in the hands of
the present Master — his own huntsman — since 1884.
Oxfordshire supplied, until the end of last season,
1902-03, a single pack of harriers, that of Mr, Mason,
otherwise known as the Eynsham Hall, kennelled for
many years near Witney. These consisted of twenty-
four couples of seventeen-inch, pure harriers (Stud-
book), hunting for the most part over arable country,
varied by some pasture, in the Heythrop territory.
I believe these hounds are being given up. In the
interests of sport it may be devoutly hoped that the
country will be carried on by a new Master.
CHAPTER VIII
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS (continued)
THE SOUTH AND WEST OF ENGLAND
Gloucestershire — Boddington harriers — A noted pack
■ — The Longford — The Home Counties — Aldenham
harriers — Mr. Quare's — Kent and its ten packs —
Surrey — Sussex — The Bexhill and Hailsham : two
packs of old-fashioned harriers — Brighton and Brook-
side packs — Lady Gififord's harriers — Another lady
huntsman — Hants — The Isle of Wight — Dorset devoid
of harriers — WUts — Somerset packs — The Cotley —
Mr. Eames on " pure harriers " — Devon and its fifteen
packs
Gloucester furnishes one of the best packs in
the kingdom, the Boddington Harriers, maintained
by Mr. J. S. Gibbons at Boddington Manor, near
Cheltenham. Mr. Gibbons has long been a Master
of harriers, having hunted a pack in Worcestershire
before he established the present pack in 1883. No
one has taken more interest in the breeding of harriers
than Mr. Gibbons, and the fact that his hounds have
been prize-takers at Peterborough attests the excellence
of his kennel. He maintains twenty couples of Stud-
book harriers, which now reach twenty inches. The
Boddington is a good country, lying in the Vale of
Severn, partly in Gloucestershire, partly in Worcester-
shire ; it runs from Tewkesbury and Gloucester as
far as the Cotswolds and Brendon Hill. The Vale
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 137
carries mostly pasture, but there is here and there
heavy plough. On the hills, the going consists a good
deal of light plough. The country is well stocked
with hares, and sport is very good. Wire exists, but
is well marked where it has not been taken down. For
nine years Mr. Gibbons hunted thrice a week, but he
has now returned to his earlier practice of two days.
The Longford harriers, established in 1840, hunt a
good grass country in the neighbourhood of Gloucester.
They are a subscription pack, belonging to the farmers
of this district, with kennels at Longford. They
number twenty-three couples of twenty-inch harriers,
mostly entered in the harrier and beagle Stud-book.
Mr. J. G. Blagrave, last season joint Master with the
late Mr. O. E. Part, hunts them. The CHfton foot-
harriers, sixteen couples of sixteen and a half-inch
Stud-book harriers, carry on operations in no less
than four counties, to wit, Gloucester, Somerset,
Wilts, and Monmouth, chiefly in the territories of the
Duke of Beaufort's, Lord Fitzhardinge's, and Mr.
Curre's foxhounds. The kennels are at Yatton,
in Somerset, and the pack hunts two days a week.
We now come to the home counties. Hertfordshire
boasts but a single pack of harriers, the Aldenham,
which, however, is a very good one. Seventeen and
a half couples of twenty and a half-inch Stud-book
harriers, kennelled at Chiswell Green, near St. Albans,
hunt a country chiefly composed of plough. The
late Mr. L. E. Rickards, who mastered this pack from
1885 to 1890, took a very keen interest in the improve-
ment of the modem harrier, and to him in great part
is to be attributed the foundation of the Harrier and
Beagle Stud-book, and the harrier classes at Peter-
borough Hound Show. Mr. H. S. Bailey, the present
Master, who owns the pack, is also his own huntsman.
138 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
The Aldenham have been at different times very
successful at Peterborough. Essex is by no means
strong at the present time in hare-hunting, yet its
sohtary pack, Mr. Quare's, is distinguished as one of
the best and most successful in the country. Hunting
chiefly in the territory of the Essex foxhounds, this
pack is numerically the largest in the kingdom, muster-
ing as many as thirty-five couples of pure harriers,
crossed with foxhound blood. They are duly entered
in the harrier Stud-book. As regards quality, this
is quite one of the first-rate packs, considered from
the point of view of the powers that be, presiding
over the harrier classes at Peterborough Hound Show,
where Mr. Quare's are distinguished and repeated
prize-takers. Erom about 1830 to 1892 the late
Mr. Vigne, a fine sportsman of the old school, was at
the head of this pack, and showed good sport in the
country about Epping Forest, where, by the way,
these hounds have still permission to hunt.*
Kent, with ten packs, is well to the fore, proving
incontestably that hare-hunting can flourish at no
great distance from London. The Ashford Valley,
hunting a good country, twenty miles wide by twelve
miles north and south, muster twenty couples of
twenty-inch hounds — part of them entered in the
Stud-book — consisting of a cross between Southern
hound and dwarf foxhound. Wire, as in many other
countries, is, unfortunately, a growing trouble. The
Blean, nineteen couples of pure harriers, kennelled at
Bleanwood, near Canterbury, hunt a varied country
towards the sea, consisting of grass marshes, ordinary
pasture, plough, hop gardens, and woodland. This
is a comparatively new pack of harriers, which has
* Since these lines were written, I regret to learn that these
harriers have been given up.
From a pliotograph by R. B. Loiii;c, En /It Id
ALIJENHAM HARRIERS
MEET AT NO MAN'S LAND, NEAR ST. ALBANS
MEET OF BEXHILL HARRIERS
Plate X
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 139
developed from beagles, which, in turn, had as
predecessors, from 1853 to 1883, a pack kept by the
neighbouring farmers. The Fordcombe, with kennels
near Tunbridge Wells, are a small pack of nineteen-
inch, pure harriers, numbering ten or eleven couples
and hunting a beautiful and varied country, partly
in Kent, partly in Sussex. The Foxbush, hunting
about Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Hadlow, and Penshurst,
is quite one of the first-rate modern packs, Mr. C.
Middleton Kemp, of Foxbush, near Tonbridge, has
mastered and hunted these hounds since 1883. They
were first started as a foot-pack, and although one or
two privileged mounted folk may occasionally be seen
out, this pack has been hunted on foot down to the
present time. Sixteen couples of eighteen- to nineteen-
inch Stud-book harriers are kennelled at Foxbush.
They are quite a first-rate type of the modern harrier,
have been frequently successful at Peterborough,
and show capital sport. Mr. Kemp, himself the
Editor of the Harrier and Beagle Stud-book, is an
enthusiast in hare-hunting. He, unfortunately, gave
up hounds after the season of 1902-3, and will, needless
to say, be much missed from a country which he has
hunted so successfully during so long a period. The
West Kent, with kennels at St. Mary Cray, muster
fifteen couples of twenty-inch dwarf foxhounds. Their
territory lies within the limits of the West Kent and
Old Surrey foxhounds, where, unfortunately, a good
deal of wire is to be found troubling all classes
of hunting-men. Mr. Mercer's pack, hunting from
Rodmersham, near Sittingbourne, have a nice country
between Faversham and Rainham. They number
twenty couples of twenty-inch Stud-book harriers.
The Romney Marsh, twenty and a half couples of
mixed foxhound and Stud-book harrier bitches, ranging
from twenty to twenty-one inches, have a fine territory
140 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
of their own, consisting chiefly of maritime marsh
pasture. The kennels are at Brookland, and the
late Master, Mr. Thomas Bayden, hunted his own
hounds.* The Thanet and West Street harriers are
two neighbouring packs, also hunting near the sea.
Both, curiously enough, consist of twenty-one-inch
dwarf foxhound bitches. Lord Decies masters and
hunts the Thanet ; while Mr. J. E. Allen is Master,
and Mr. A. Ffrench Blake the huntsman, of the West
Street pack, which until igo2 had been hunted for
some seasons by the Earl of Guilford. Both are
pleasant countries, somewhat troubled, however, by
wire. The Sandhurst is a fine old-fashioned looking
pack of genuine Southern harriers, fifteen couples in
number, and ranging in standard from nineteen to
twenty inches. Hunting the Weald of Kent they
are kennelled at Boxhurst Farm, Sandhurst. Mr.
James Farley, of Forge House, Ticehurst, is Master
and huntsman. The country is a fair one, little
troubled by wire, and comprising pasture, plough,
and woodland in about equal proportions.
Surrey is by no means strong in harriers, the only
pack hunting in that goodly county being the Ripley
and Knaphill, with kennels at Worplesdon, near
Guildford. Mr. Echlin, the Master, hunts his own
hounds, and is assisted by his wife, who whips to him,
with the aid of a kennel huntsman. The pack consists
of seventeen couples of twenty-one-inch dwarf fox-
hounds, which hunt a country consisting in great
part of rough, heathy common-land. The Ripley and
Knaphill are a pack with a history, having been first
established so far back as the end of the eighteenth
century by the Rev. Onslow, in whose family they
were maintained till about thirty years ago.
* Mr. Bayden, to the deep regret of many friends, died
suddenly this year (1903).
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 141
Sussex, with eight packs, has fully its fair share of
hare-hunting ; still, in this wide county, there is
plenty of room for at least another half-dozen packs.
In the most easterly part of the county a foot-pack,
the Guestling foot-harriers, are to be found hunting.
They show, I believe, very good sport. The Bexhill
I have already said something about. Hunting a
most pleasant country, partly the good grass marshes
of Pevensey Level, partly undulating land, consisting
of grass, plough, and woodland, they are well stocked
with hares and show excellent sport. The pack,
consisting of seventeen and a half couples of twenty-
one-inch black and tan hounds, is a blend of the old
Southern harrier with a strain of bloodhound and
perhaps the least trace of foxhound, They have a
very fine deep cry, first-rate noses — as, indeed, they
ought to have — and plenty of pace. These qualities
ensure that they shall be successful harriers ; they
are well handled, and kill a large number of hares
each season. Mr. P. H. Trew, the present Master,
tells me that in the late Mr. Brook's time, when the
pack were all Southern harriers, these hounds hunted
very well so long as they were left alone. If, however,
a whip was cracked, they would sneak away and were
of little or no use for an hour or two. Former writers
speak of the timidity of the old-fashioned harrier,
and, where the ancient blood remains pure, it is, I
think, incontestable that harriers can stand much
less whip than foxhounds. This is a point worth
remembering by budding Masters of harrier packs.
Adjacent neighbours of the Bexhill are the Hailsham
foot-harriers, which hunt the western half of Pevensey
Marshes and a large area of country round Hailsham,
including the South Downs above Eastbourne. These
hounds, numbering twenty couples of nineteen-inch
harriers, are bred largely from Southern hound blood,
142 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
with some faint trace of the modern harrier cross.
They are a typical, old-fashioned, English harrier pack,
having a grand cry, first-rate noses, and plenty of
pace. Kennelled at Hailsham, they are the property
of Mr. Holland Southerden, who was for some years
Master of the pack, and at present lends his aid as
Deputy-master. Mr. Alexander Campbell, the present
Master, hunts them himself, assisted by a kennel-
huntsman and whip. The pack dates back to 1823,
when Mr. R. King-Sampson, of Hailsham, first hunted
both hare and fox. Mr. Algernon Pitcher afterwards
had them, and hunted hare only. To him succeeded
the late Mr. Robert Overy, a yeoman-farmer of Hail-
sham, who hunted them many years. In Mr. Overy's
time the pack consisted chiefly of large Southern
harriers, standing as much as twenty-two to twenty-
four inches in height. Mr. Overy relinquished hunting
some ten years ago, when Mr. Southerden assumed
the Mastership, built new kennels, and with much
care and judgment re-modelled the pack upon its
present lines. Some of the best sport in Sussex is
provided by these hounds, which hunt three days a
week. It is a real pleasure to hunt in this Hailsham
country, which is full of hares, and where never a
hunting-day passes without good sport. The Brighton
harriers have been an institution for some generations.
At present they are mastered by Major H. V. Welch,
who is his own huntsman. These hounds consist
of twenty couples of twenty-inch Stud-book harriers.
They are fast, show good sport, and upon the open
Downs account for a large number of hares. Brighton
and its neighbourhood also supports a pack of foot-
harriers, the Sussex County, which hunt two days a
week. The Brookside, next-door neighbours to the
Brighton harriers, hunted an area of about ten square
. A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 143
miles of country in the vicinity of Rottingdean, where
they were kennelled. This country is partly down,
partly arable land, and is unvexed by wire. For
many years this excellent pack had been in the possession
of the Beard family, the last Master, Mr. Steyning
Beard, having controlled them since 1870. Resigning
at the end of 1901-2, Mr. Beard was succeeded by
Mr. E. Helme, who hunted the pack himself.* These
hounds consisted of twenty-five couples of twenty-one-
inch cross-bred harriers (entered in the harrier Stud-
book), which showed capital sport. The Iping harriers,
hunting a beautiful country about Midhurst, formerly
hunted over by the defunct Goodwood foxhounds, con-
sist of eighteen and a half couples of twenty-one-inch
pure foxhounds. They were established in 1893, and
are owned by Sir Edward Hamilton, of Iping House,
whose son, Mr. E. A. W. Hamilton, acts as Master.
Proceeding along the South Coast we come, just
before the Hampshire border, to Lady Gifford's harriers,
which hunt from Old Park, Chichester. Lady Gifford
is one of the few ladies who hunt as well as master
their own hounds. First getting together a pack of
harriers in Northumberland in 1894, she migrated
South in 1897, and took up her present quarters. Her
pack consists of twenty-three and a half couples of
seventeen-inch harriers, which, in the varied country
about Chichester, afford excellent sport. Hunting is a
tradition in the Gifford family. An old Lord Gifford
is said to have been the original of Lord Scamperdale
in " Sponge's Sporting Tour." A brother of the
* The Brookside Harriers have been recently given up. The
country is now to be amalgamated with that of the Brighton
Harriers, and for the future Major Welch, Master of that pack,
will hunt the whole. The style of his hounds will^ henceforth,
be "The Brighton and Brookside Harriers."
144 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
present Lord Gifford hunted the Berkeley hounds
a few years since ; and the Hon, Maurice Gifford,
despite the loss of an arm in the Matabele war, is
a devoted foxhunter.
Crossing into Hampshire, we reach the country of the
Chilworth and Stoneham harriers, with kennels at
Chilworth, near Romsey. These hounds muster twenty-
five couples of twenty-one- to twenty-two-inch dwarf
foxhounds. They hunt a good country within the
borders of the Hursley, Hambledon, and H.H.
foxhounds. Master Bob Podmore has for the last
two seasons (1901-3) been the nominal head of a
pack of harriers in the Vine country, of which his
father, Mr, E. B, Podmore, was Master, Mr, Podmore
himself hunted both packs of hounds. Master Podmore
is, I suppose, the only school-boy in England filling
the high office of Master of Harriers, His pack numbers
twelve couples of twenty-and-a-half-inch hounds. The
kennels were at Overton, near Basingstoke. As Mr, E,
B. Podmore has migrated from the Vine to the Cotswold,
it is to be supposed that his son's harriers will no longer
hunt in Hampshire, The Isle of Wight shows one
harrier establishment — " The Isle of Wight," a private
pack, maintained at his own expense by Mr, F. T, Mew,
of Newport, with kennels at Whitewaits Wootton
Common, The pack consists of fifteen couples of
harriers, bred mainly from the Taunton Vale, Sea-
vington, and Mr, Chorley's strains. They hunt two
days a week over a varied country, consisting of plough,
grass, moor, and downland. It is not very unusual
for a hare to run the seashore.
Dorsetshire has, apparently, no single pack of
harriers of its own, surely a strange phenomenon !
Here, in a sporting country, with plenty of rough,
wild land in places, one would have thought a pack
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 145
or two of harehounds would have been an absolute
necessity of existence !
Berkshire is another county in the South of Eng-
land which is, though it assuredly ought not to be,
innocent of the merry harrier. This used not to
be a reproach to Berkshire, and one hopes that hare-
hunting may, ere long, reappear in the royal county.
Passing to Wiltshire, one finds only one pack of
harriers hunting in this large county. This is the
Netheravon, consisting of twelve couples of eighteen-
inch pure harriers — entered in the Stud-book — kennelled
at Netheravon, near Salisbury. This is a private pack,
owned and hunted by Mr. A. E. Hussey, who established
it in 1899. The Netheravon hunt over the country
of the Tedworth foxhounds, consisting of about half
pasture, the remainder plough, with a very small
percentage of woodland. It is a pleasing fact to
record that there is no wire in this excellent territory.
We now come to the two great Western counties ;
I mean Somerset and Devon, which may be looked
upon, with Kent and Sussex, as the chief strongholds
of harriers and hare-hunting south of the Trent.
Somerset, with nine packs, does very well, though the
old English harrier is not so much in evidence there
as it used to be. The Bath and County pack, with
kennels at Claverton, muster twenty-one couples of
Stud-book harriers (twenty-inch), hunting two days
a week. They hunt a very nice country, two-thirds
of it grass, the remainder plough, in a district lying
east of Bath, in Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, and
Wiltshire, most of it within the limits of the Duke of
Beaufort's territory. The Cotley is a fine, old-fashioned
pack of pure English harriers, which have been in the
families of Deane and Eames for more than a hundred
years. Mr. Edward Eames, of Broad Oak, near Chard,
K
146 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
is the present Master and huntsman. His pack numbers
seventeen and a half couples of twenty-one-inch hounds,
which hunt two days a week. Their territory lies in
Somerset, Devon, and Dorsetshire ; it consists of rough,
strongly-banked, hilly country, with a good deal of
downland. Wire is increasing. No foxhounds own
this country, and the Cotley hunt both hare and fox.
Hares, one is sorry to find, are decreasing, while foxes
are on the increase. Upon the oft-debated point
whether it is a good or a bad thing for harriers to hunt
fox occasionally I shall touch in the chapter on " Hound
Management." Mr. Eames tells me his is a fair scenting
country. Among other notes of interest, to which I
shall refer in later chapters, he says: " For hunting a
hare there is nothing like a pure harrier ; where you
hunt both hare and fox, an occasional dash of foxhound
blood is desirable, to give the pack stamina. My lot
are the old English harrier ; they are hard to beat for
nose, and they can go a good pace. I have a very
slight strain of foxhound in some of them now, as we
find foxes getting more plentiful and hares decreasing ;
our hill foxes take a lot of killing, and you must have
strong hounds to do it." It would be a pity — so it
seems to a harrier-man — if this good, old hare-hunting
pack, with its record of well over a century, should be
gradually transformed into a foxhound establishment.
I am a keen admirer of fox-hunting, and enjoy the
sport as much as any man ; but with one hundred and
sixty-six packs, we are surely well enough stocked
with foxhounds in England at the present day.
The Minehead, a West Somerset pack, with kennels
at Minehead, consists of fifteen couples of twenty-inch
cross-bred harriers, and takes the field two days a week
under the mastership of Mr. L. E. Bligh, who carries
the horn. They hunt over a mixed country, chiefly
in the territories of the Devon and Somerset staghounds
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 147
and the West Somerset and Exmoor foxhounds,
Mr. Holt Needham's, with kennels at Galhampton,
near Bath, number twenty-two couples of eighteen
and a half-inch harriers, mostly pure-bred. They
hunt a country of about fourteen square miles in East
Somerset, almost entirely consisting of pasture, with
but 5 per cent, plough. The Quarme hunt over a
large area in Somerset and North Devon, in a fine
wild district, consisting mainly of pasture and moor-
land, uncontaminated by wire. This country lies
within the borders of the Devon and Somerset stag-
hounds and the West Somerset, Exmoor, and Dulverton
foxhounds. The kennels are at Exford, the nearest
station being Dulverton, twelve miles distant. Few
pack of hounds are more remote from a station than
this, at all events in England. The pack consists of
sixteen couples of eighteen and a half-inch pure harriers,
which are entered in the harrier and beagle Stud-book.
Mr. Morland Greig, the present Master, himself carries
the horn, and has done since 1900, in which year the
hounds were presented to him by the late Mr. W. L.
Chorley, who had maintained them at Quarme for forty
years. Mr. Chorley himself bought the hounds at the
sale of the effects of the late Captain Evered, of Stone
Lodge, Exton, Somerset. The Seavington has a large
area of country in Somerset and Dorset, over which
it hunts two days a week. The pack consists of four-
teen and a half couples of twenty-inch pure harriers
and cross-bred hounds, and is kennelled at Seavington,
near Ilminster. The country is an excellent one,
chiefly in the Blackmore Vale, Cattistock, and Taunton
Vale foxhound region, with flying fences and wide
ditches. The Stainton Drew, a pasture country in
North Somerset, with some moorland on the Mendips,
is hunted two days a week by a mixed pack of twenty-
one and a half-inch foxhounds and harriers, seventeen
148 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
couples strong. The Taunton Vale have a nice country
of^mixed pasture and plough, which they hunt two
days a week. Eighteen couples of twenty-inch harriers
compose the pack. The Weston harriers hunt a big
country to themselves, untouched by foxhounds and
scarcely vexed even by wire. The pack consists of
twenty couples of twenty-inch pure harriers, kennelled
at Springfield, Worle. The Wells Subscription
harriers complete the list of Somersetshire packs.
These harriers consist of eighteen couples of twenty-
to twenty-one inch pure harriers and foxhounds,
kennelled at Coxley, near Wells. They hunt, two days
a week, a mixed country, over an area of ten miles
round the ancient town of Wells, the greater part of
it pasture land, half of it on the Mendips, where stone
walls are plentiful. Like the Cotley, these harriers
hunt fox as well as hare. The pack is mastered by
Mr. L. B. Beauchamp, who hunts them himself and
receives a subscription.
Wherever you turn in beautiful Devon, with its
fourteen packs of harriers, its ancient traditions of hare-
hunting, and its kennels of pure English harehounds,
showing, so many of them, strong traces of the old
Southern hound blood, you are almost certain to find
excellent sport. I am not able to devote a fourth
part of the space I should like to Devon and its harriers,
but a brief summary may give the reader some idea
of the wealth of this county in old English harriers and
first-rate hare-hunting. I have already mentioned
Sir John Heathcoat Amory's pack in North Devon.
These, which undoubtedly show some of the purest
blood in England, consist of seventeen and a half
couples of twenty and a half-inch pure harriers — all
white or badger-pied — with kennels at CoUipriest,
Tiverton, and hunt a big country, 50 per cent, pasture,
35 per cent, plough, and 15 per cent, moorland.
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 149
Mr. Carew hunts the pack two days a week, and
Mr. Ludovic Heathcoat Amory whips to him. The
farmers are very fond of hunting and preserve plenty
of hares, which are very stout and afford first-rate
sport. The Ashburton, fifteen couples of nineteen
and a half-inch pure harriers, possess a sporting
country in South Devon, the bulk of it moorland,
with big stone walls and banks, the remainder pasture,
plough, and woodland, Mr. Wilson Ranson, the
Master, hunts the pack, which is kennelled at Rew,
near Ashburton, and goes out twice a week. The
Axe Vale country lies in East Devon, and extends
just over the edge of Dorset. The pack consists of
thirteen couples of harriers (twenty-one-inch), which,
mastered by Mr. J. L Scarbrough, are hunted two
days a week. These harriers now hunt fox as well
as hare, and, during the season 1902-3, had killed,
down to the end of February, seven brace of the
former quarry. The Barnstaple and North Devon,
mastered and hunted by Captain Paterson, assisted
by Mr. Clarke, show good sport twice a week over a
wild, rough country, much of it moorland, with a good
deal of pasture. Hares are stout and plentiful, and
an occasional wild red deer, which has wandered from
Exmoor, affords at times a right good hunt. The pack
consists of twelve couples of cross-bred hounds (twenty-
one-inch), kennelled at Sowden, near Barnstaple.
The Culm Vale are a pack of foot-harriers, kennelled
at Craddock, CuUompton, North-east Devon. They
number fourteen couples of seventeen-inch pure
harriers (entered in the harrier Stud-book), and take
the field under the Master, Mr. C. Chester-Master,
who hunts them himself, on Wednesdays, with an
occasional by-day. Their country lies partly in
Devon, partly in Somerset, in territory for the most
part hunted by the Tiverton and East Devon foxhounds.
ISO HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
The pack was established so recently as 1900. The
Dart Vale comprise twenty couples of twenty-one-inch
pure harriers, mastered by Mr. Leigh Densham, who
hunts the pack himself. The kennels are at Staverton,
four miles from Totnes. The Dart Vale country lies
chiefly within the territories of the Dartmoor and
Mid Devon foxhounds, in which, happily for all parties,
wire is non-existent. The Furlong harriers have a
big country, twelve miles wide by twenty miles north
and south. Half of this is moorland, the remainder
grass and plough. The pack consists of ten couples
of nineteen-inch pure harriers, kennelled at Furlong,
near Chagford. These harriers have a long history,
having been maintained by the Bragg family, which
till lately owned them, for many generations. In 1878
Mr. G. A. Bragg, of Forder, Moreton Hampstead,
had the misfortune to lose his pack by dumb madness,
after which he got together a pack of foxhounds which
he hunted for ten or eleven seasons. In 1892 his
nephew, Mr. William Bragg, returned from India,
settled at Furlong, where the family have been
established three hundred years, and started a fresh
pack of harriers, naming it after the family place.*
The Haldon comprises a large and a good country in
South Devon, measuring about twenty miles by ten,
which runs from the coast between Torquay and
Paignton to the River Kenn and ranges up to within
three and a half miles of Exeter. Teignmouth, Dawlish,
Bovey, Chudleigh, and Newton are within this area,
which is hunted over by the South Devon and Mid
Devon packs of foxhounds. Formerly known as the
Chudleigh, the pack was moved to Kingsteignton and
called the Haldon. In 1897 Mr. Baron D. Webster,
the present Master, bought the pack and now hunts
* Mr. Bragg has recently had to retire on account of ill-
health, and Mr. L. T. S. Newberry is now Master of this pack.
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 151
from kennels at Oakford Lawn, Kingsteignton, Newton
Abbot. The hounds consist of fifteen couples of
twenty-one-inch pure harriers, mostly old English
red or hare-pied, of which I have already made some
mention. Few packs are believed to be more free
from foxhound strain, or from any appearance of it.
Mr. Webster hunts two days a week ; his country
consists of pasture and plough in equal proportions,
with stretches of moorland (" The Haldons "), now
somewhat invaded by barbed wire, and some heavy
woodland at Ugbrook, Milber, Luscombe, and elsewhere.
The Modbury, consisting of eighteen couples of
twenty-inch pure harriers, with kennels at Modbury,
Ivybridge, hunt a big country, twenty miles square
in the territory of the Dartmoor foxhounds. They
have been established some fifty years, the present
Master, Mr. W. Gage-Hodge, hunting the pack two
days a week, with an occasional bye-day. Pasture,
plough, and moorland are all found within the limits
of the Hunt, and little wire exists. Mr. Netherton's
is yet another South Devon pack, hunting a country
about twelve miles square, between the Dart and Avon,
south of Totnes. One-third of the area lies on Dart-
moor, elsewhere there is a good deal of plough, with
a small proportion of grass, and a fair amount of wood-
land. These hounds, which consist of fourteen couples
of pure harriers (twenty-one-inch), have a very ancient
history, having been in the hands of the Netherton
family, it is said, since the fifteenth century. Mr. L. R.
Netherton, of Bowden House, Stoke Fleming, Dart-
mouth, has mastered the pack since 1868 and acts as
his own huntsman. It is a pleasure to record that there
is no wire in the Netherton country.
The Silverton harriers are another old-fashioned
Devonshire pack, which were established as far back
as the end of the eighteenth century. Mr. T. Webber
152 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
had them for many years — 1863-1895 — and in his time
they were of that slate-grey and hare colouring, which
I have already mentioned elsewhere. The pack now
consists of sixteen and a half couples of twenty-inch
pure harriers, which hunt two days a week over a fine
grass country round Bradninch, where the kennels
are situate. The East Devon foxhounds hunt over
the portion of the county lying east of the river Culme.
Mr. John Rowell, of Bradninch, is Master and huntsman.
The South Molton — twelve couples of nineteen-inch
pure harriers, kennelled at South Molton — hunt over
a wild moorland country in North Devon and Somerset,
lying within the limits of the Exmoor and West Somer-
set foxhounds. The South Pool harriers (Mr. H, F.
Brunskill's) number twenty-four couples of nineteen-
inch harriers, which, with kennels at Buckland-Tout-
Saints, hunt three days a week a broken and varied
country within a radius of ten or twelve miles from
Kingsbridge. This country consists of mingled grass
and plough with some woodland. It is hilly, with
small enclosures, and is happily untroubled by wire.
No foxhounds hunt over the South Pool territory.
Mr. Sperling's, otherwise known as the Lamerton,
(eighteen couples of eighteen-inch pure harriers,)
kennelled at Lamerton, near Tavistock, hunt two days
a week over a wide and strong country, fortified by
big banks and walls, lying in West Devon and Corn-
wall, in the territory hunted over by the Lamerton
foxhounds. This country is mainly pasture and moor-
land, and wire is not obtrusive.
In Cornwall, to complete the tour of England proper,
are to be found three packs of harriers, hunting over
much of the wild, solitary moorland country of that
remote and beautiful extremity of this island. The
Fowey, with kennels at Par Moor, possess a very
A GLANCE AT ENGLISH PACKS 153
wide territory along the northern coast line of the
county, thirty miles long by seven wide. This com-
prises pasture, plough, and some moorland. The
Four Burrow foxhounds hunt over a portion of this
country, which has little, if any, wire. The pack com-
prises thirteen couples of twenty-one-inch pure harriers,
which hunt two days a week. Mr. J. de C. Treffry,
the Master, is his own huntsman. Mr. Baron Leth-
bridge's harriers, a private pack, established by the
Master in 1888, carry on their operations in a fine
wild country, also in North Cornwall, comprising
much of the Bodmin and West Moors. Wire is said
to be, unfortunately, on the increase. The pack,
kennelled at Tregeare, Egloskerry, where the Master
resides, consists of eighteen couples of eighteen-inch
pure harriers, entered in the Stud-book. They hunt
two days a week, Mr. Lethbridge carrying the horn.
The Trethill is another Cornish pack, hunting in the
south-east of the county, between Rame Head and
St. German's, with kennels at Trethill, near St. German's.
Fifteen couples of seventeen-inch pure harriers com-
pose the pack, which hunt on Wednesdays and Satur-
days under the mastership of Major J. D. A. Roberts,
who owns the hounds and is his own huntsman. This
may be styled a foot-pack, and mounted followers
are not encouraged. The country comprises mostly
plough and pasture, with a portion of the fine Liskeard
moors and some big woods. It is hilly and enclosed
with high banks, and, unfortunately, a good deal of
barbed wire is to be found in places. Hares are plenti-
ful, especially near the large woodlands.
Here concludes my survey of English packs. I now
pass on to Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.
CHAPTER IX
SPORT IN WALES, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND
Wales as a hunting country — Anglesey — The Crick-
howell — The Mostyn and Talacre, a new pack — The
Plas Machynlleth, Lord Henry Vane Tempest's twin
pack — Mrs, Pryse-Rice, a lady huntsman — Irish
packs and their management — An ex-Master's varied
experiences — How to provide a gallop — Meath — The
Tara harriers — Mr. Dove on Irish hares — Various
packs — Sport in Clare — The Scarteen Beagles — A
black and tan pack — Curious history — The Kerry
beagle — Sunday hunts — Scottish packs
WALES
Wales, as I have said, has always been a good hare-
hunting, as it is a good otter-hunting, country ; and it
is a pleasure to find these two sports, as well as fox-
hunting, still flourishing there. Wire is, however,
a constant and an increasing trouble in many parts
of the Principality, and it will be probably found, in
the long run, that the small occupiers of Wales will
be more difficult to deal with in this respect than the
farmers and graziers of England, with their larger
holdings and wider views. Whatever the future
may have for mounted packs in Wales, foot-harriers
and beagles will, it is certain, find hunting-ground
there for many generations yet to come.
First in order among the Welsh harrier packs now
in existence, I take the Anglesey, which have a history
'i .
SPORT IN WALES 155
dating from about the year 1856, when the late Major
Hampton Lewis hunted part of the country. Since
1871 the pack has been a subscription one, hunting
nearly the whole of Anglesey. The country consists
of about two-thirds pasture and one-third plough.
Wire is somewhat of a difficulty. The pack, kennelled
at Tyndonan, Llangefni, consists of twenty couples
of cross-bred hounds (twenty-one-inch), some of
them entered in the harrier Stud-book. They
hunt two days a week, with an occasional by-day
after Christmas. Once a week a deer is hunted.
Mr. J. Rice, the present Master, has held office since
1891. The Brecon harriers have been in existence
some thirty-two years. They hunt both hare and
fox, taking the field twice a week. The pack, with
kennels at Brecon, consists of sixteen and a half couples
of cross-bred Stud-book harriers (nineteen and a half
to twenty and a half inch). These hounds hunt a
rough wild country, half moorland, the rest pasture
and plough. It is not considered a good scenting
country, and hares and foxes are alike stout, the foxes
notably so, holing in rocky fastnesses, which render
them hard to bring to hand. The pack is a subscription
one, and the subscriptions reach about £150 per annum.
The Crickhowell country consists of an area of about
eight square miles in the south of Brecknockshire.
Most of this is wild sheep-walk, with a small proportion
of grass and plough. There is not much wire. The
pack, a subscription one, comprises sixteen couples of
seventeen to eighteen-incli Stud-book harriers, which
are kennelled at Crickhowell, seven miles from Aber-
gavenny. Mr. J. A. Doyle has mastered the hounds
since 1889, having acted as joint Master from 1887 to
that year. This pack is hunted on foot. The Glany-
rafon are a private pack, established in 1863, and owned
156 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
and mastered by Mr. Edward Bennett, of Glany-
rafon, Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire. They number
eleven and a half couples of eighteen-inch pure harriers,
which hunt three days a week. The country consists
of " bleak hills, intersected by cultivated valleys."
Wire exists, but it is well marked. The country is
innocent of foxhounds. Mr. Lloyd Price's hounds,
which hunt in mid and northern Carmarthenshire,
have been in existence since 1853, when they were
established by the late Colonel Jones, of Velindre,
who hunted them for thirty-seven years. Upon the
death of Colonel Jones, in 1890, Mr. Lloyd Price bought
the hounds and has mastered and hunted them ever
since. The pack consists of seventeen couples of
eighteen-inch pure harriers, which are kennelled at
Bryn Cothi, Nantgaredig, South Wales, the residence
of the Master. They hunt two days a week. The
country comprises pasture, much moorland, a little
plough, and a considerable area of woodland. Hares,
which are very stout, are short in number, and wire
is unpleasantly abundant. Mr. Lloyd Price has
instituted a number of wickets, however, which allow
passage through the hateful obstacle.
The Merthyr Old Court is a small private pack of
Welsh harriers, seven couples in number, which hunt
twice a week from the Chase, Merthyr Tydvil, where
the Master, Major L. P. Jones, resides. The Mostyn
and Talacre is, I believe, a new pack, established at
the beginning of the season, 1902-3. Certainly it has
never before appeared in any harrier list. Lord
Mostyn and Sir Piers Mostyn are joint Masters, Lord
Mostyn carrying the horn. Thirteen and a half couples
of seventeen and a half to eighteen-inch harriers com-
pose the pack, which is kennelled at Mostyn Hall,
Mostyn, North Wales. The Mostyns have always
SPORT IN WALES 157
been a great hunting family. Sir Thomas Mostyn,
who hunted the Bicester and Warden Hill foxhounds
from 1800 to 1831, is still remembered in Warwick-
shire, Northants, and Oxfordshire, and the Masters
of this new Flintshire pack are pretty certain to provide
good sport in the country round Mostyn Hall. The
Plas Machynlleth is yet another private pack, hunting
in North Wales, and owned by Lord Henry Vane
Tempest. The hounds, numbering ten couples of
eighteen-inch pure-bred harriers, take the field twice
a week, with David Hughes as huntsman. The Plas
Machynlleth is chiefly a mountain country, with a
good deal of wall and fence to negotiate. It lies in
Montgomeryshire and Cardiganshire, and has an area
of some ten miles by five. A cob is described as the
best nag for the district, but the foot-hunter can usually
see almost as much of the sport as the mounted man.
Lord Henry Vane Tempest may be said to do his
duty manfully in the way of providing sport for his
neighbours. In addition to hunting hare on Tuesdays
and Fridays with this pack, he maintains a small pack
of ten couples of hounds which pursue the fox on
Mondays and Thursdays, the same huntsman officiating
with both packs.
Mr. Vaughan Pryse, of Bwlchbychan, Llanybyther,
South Wales, is one of the oldest supporters of harriers,
I suppose, in the Principality. Now in his eighty-third
year, he not only masters a pack of harriers, which he
established so far back as 1858, but hunts them himself,
and has done so for forty-three seasons. This is
something like enthusiasm for the noble science !
Mr. Vaughan Pryse's country, which lies in the shires
of Cardigan and Carmarthen, consists of pasture, plough,
and moorland. It has, unhappily, been of late years
sadly spoiled by wire and wire netting, which latter
158 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
is run along the tops of the banks. The pack consists
of twenty-three couples of eighteen and a half-inch
Stud-book harriers, which show only a remote cross
of the foxhound.
Mrs. Pryse-Rice, of Llwyn-y-brain, Llandovery,
who owns a pack of harriers in South Wales, is another
among the very few ladies in the kingdom, who not
only master but hunt their own hounds. Her country
lies in Carmarthenshire and Brecknockshire, and
consists of moor, pasture, and woodland, with a little
arable land. On the hills a good deal of wire is to be
found, but not much of it is barbed. Mrs. Pryse-Rice's
pack was established in 1894, when her husband gave
up fox-hunting. It consists of twenty couples of
twenty-inch Stud-book harriers, which hunt hare and
fox twice a week. This is a very smart pack, and
Mrs. Pryse-Rice has been frequently successful with
her hounds at Peterborough. Sport is good, the pack
is everywhere welcome, and although wire exists the
farmers will usually take it down when asked to do so.
Wales is a country of private packs, and the Roath
Court is yet another of those owned and maintained
entirely by the Master. These hounds hunt in
Glamorganshire, within the country hunted by Lord
Tredegar's and the Glamorgan foxhounds. Mr.
Charles Williams, of Roath Court, Cardiff, the Master,
established the pack as far back as 1862, and has
maintained them ever since. His hounds number
eighteen couples of twenty-inch cross-bred harriers,
which take the field two days a week.
IRELAND
In the Sister Island sport of every kind is pursued
even more enthusiastically than in this country, and
r \
i .A'
%
•2 Q
^ <
-> a,
SPORT IN IRELAND 159
from thirty to thirty-one packs of harriers are usually
in existence. Many of these packs are as smart and
as workmanlike as the best of those on the eastern
side of St. George's Channel, but here and there, in
remote parts, you may still chance to light upon queer,
go-as-you-please establishments, which remind one
that the ways and customs so humorously described
by Charles Lever and Miss Edgeworth are not quite
extinct. Reduced gentlemen and squireens, whose
packs are not recorded in Baily's or the " Field " Hound
List, still keep a few couples of hounds, and entertain
their guests with impromptu hunts, very much after
the fashion of Sir Harry Scattercash, in " Sponge's
Sporting Tour," in pursuit of fox, hare, or any other
kind of quarry that may be found available.
I was talking with a friend, no great while since, on
the subject of kennel and hound management among
harrier packs in Ireland. " Don't pry too closely
into these things," he replied ; " I have known packs
of harriers which thought themselves well housed in
a ruined stable, and where the hounds scavenged for
their food just wherever they could pick it up."
That is, of course, a libel upon most of the Irish packs
of harriers, but still it is undoubted that, whether in
fox-hunting or in the chase of the hare, things are not
always conducted in quite so orthodox a fashion as
we are accustomed to over here. For one thing it is
the custom of the country, and for another money is
not so plentiful. Even in England and Wales, some
of the smaller packs of harriers, and foxhounds, too,
are not always managed on the grand scale. It is
impossible that they should be.
I have, among the correspondence I have acquired
during the preparation of this volume, some notes by
a gentleman — one of the best all-round sportsmen
i6o HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
I have ever met — who has in his time tested every
phase of sport in Ireland, and an extract may, perhaps,
give some idea of the more unorthodox methods I have
hinted at. " I have forgotten," he says, " the year
I took over the harriers, but it must have been
about 1873 or 1874. I absolutely knew nothing about
hounds at the time, but I was talked into it by men
who didn't care a rap what sort of master they had,
so long as they got some one to keep the thing going
for the £100 a year which was promised. The first
pack I got together were composed principally of an
extremely nondescript lot I bought from a man at
Longford who shall be nameless. They had evidently
been used to run drag, and were a wild, quarrelsome
lot of brutes. Added to these, drafts from two or
three kennels made up a pack which only an igno-
ramus like myself would have fed for two days. How
I got through that season I don't know, but I hope
my subscribers liked it ! Next season I made a
somewhat better effort and bought a pack from a
Mr. Blennerhassett, from somewhere in Kerry. There
were really some very nice hounds in this lot, more
than a half being a sort of badger-pied, evidently a
cross with the Kerry beagle ; but they were really
good hunters, and I managed to account for a good
many hares with them before parting with the hounds
three years later. After an interval of two seasons
I again took the hounds, but as the late master had
not kept them up in any sort of way I shot most of
them and started afresh. This time I went in for
small foxhounds, getting them chiefly from the Duke
of Buccleugh's pack and the Fife, then in the hands of
Capt. Anstruther Thomson.
" For some seasons I got some very handsome
under-sized hounds from the latter and had with them
SPORT IN IRELAND i6i
really very fair sport ; and as we were always pre-
pared, as some sporting correspondent says, to hunt
anything, from an elephant to a flea, we had some
rather curious experiences. One of the most amusing
hunts we had was after a greyhound, on whose line I
clapped the pack ; the dog made a point for home
and saved his scut by getting to ground in his master's
cabin. I don't know if I am wise in telling you how
I arranged some very good sport with dogs ? When
I wanted a good gallop, which was not very seldom,
I either got a dog hired, or sometimes, when the owner
was obdurate, borrowed one from some four or five
miles away from where we wanted a hunt. The dog
was taken across country to the meet, put into a sack
in which ferrets had been lying for a week or so.
He was kept thus for, say, half an hour, pretty well
frightened, then turned out at the appointed time in
some wood close by, and after letting him get a fair
start, I used to draw the wood for a fox. It was quite
wonderful how and with what speed the dog used to
make his way home ; he seemed to avoid human
beings, and it was difficult for any one not in the know
to believe they were not hunting a fox. I used to
teU the field we were sure to find in that particular
wood, and my prophecy on these occasions always
came off triumphantly."
I do not publish these " Experiences of an Irish
M.H." by any means as holding them up for imita-
tion by embryo masters of hounds, but as a picture
of what still goes on in the Sister Isle, and perhaps
even elsewhere nearer home occasionally. These
were, after all, the ebullitions of high spirits and hot
youth, and my correspondent would himself be now
the first to repudiate their encouragement. But,
after all, " bagged dog " is little worse than " bagged
1 62 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
fox," which is, to this hour, by no means an unknown
quantity, even among solemn and reputable English
packs.
Turning to more serious hunting matters, we find
County Meath, the home of the finest fox-hunting in
Ireland — some say in the world — supporting also
three packs of harriers. Of these the Ballymacad
hunt from kennels at Crossdrum, Old Castle, the resi-
dence of the Master and huntsman, Mr. E. Rotheram.
Twenty-two couples of twenty-two-inch fox-hounds
form the strength of this subscription pack, which
hunts two days a week over a wall and ditch country
situate in Meath, West Meath, and Cavan. Although
classed as a harrier pack, I understand that the Bally-
macad have obtained leave from the Meath Hunt
to draw certain of their coverts, and now hunt chiefly
fox. The Drewstown, kennelled at Drewstown, Kells,
is another Meath pack, owned by Mr. G. B. McVeagh,
who himself hunts them two days a week. The
hounds consist of fourteen and a half couples of pure,
old-fashioned, eighteen-inch harriers. They are, I
am informed, an extremely nice lot of hounds, light
and very fast. The country is a very good one, con-
sisting almost entirely of grass, and extending west-
ward beyond Meath into West Meath, and ranging in
Meath itself from Kells close up to Navan. The Tara
is the third pack of harriers in Meath. These hunt
a fine grass country for about ten miles round about
Tara, Dunsany and Navan. The kennels are at
Dunsany Castle, the residence of the present Master,
Lord Dunsany, who took over the hounds from Mr.
W. Hope Johnstone last season. The pack consists
of fifteen couples of nineteen-inch pure harriers, the
majority of which are entered in the Harrier and Beagle
Stud-book. This is a subscription pack, hunting two
SPORT IN IRELAND 163
days a week. Lord Dunsany hunts his own hounds.
Mr. William Dove, a first-rate, all-round sportsman,
with whom I hunted big game in South Africa some
years ago, was Master of the Tara harriers from 1898
to 1900, having some years before that mastered the
South Mayo harriers. In both cases he hunted his
own hounds. He has sent me some notes on hare-
hunting in Meath, which I think worth printing, as
throwing a good deal of light on the character of the
Irish hare. Meath, apparently, is nothing like so good
a harrier as it is a fox-hunting country. Before his
time the pack was mastered by Mr. G. V. Briscoe, of
Bellinter, and was known as the Bellinter. Mr.
Briscoe himself was a first-rate man with harriers,
and could kiU a hare as handsomely as any huntsman.
When Mr. Dove took over the hounds, he formed a
new pack, which was called the Tara. " I bought,"
he says, " some Stud-book harriers from Mr. Doyne
of Wells, in Wexford, whose hounds have been in his
family for many years and have been bred from packs
such as Lord Hopetoun's, the Anglesey, etc. . . .
I also bought drafts from the Aspull and Boddington
packs, and altogether got together a very fine-looking
lot. Mr. Henry Thomson, of Newry, kindly lent me
his pack, so that I was really too fuU of hounds. We
had very good sport, though I did not kill many hares,
but that does not appear to be uncommon in Meath.
As far as my recollection serves me — (this note was
written from abroad) — fourteen brace of hares was
about the best season I have known with the Tara
harriers. Why this should be I don't know, but hares
are, as a rule, bad, and dodge in and out of the big
fences. A good hare was generally killed. There is
a curious difference between a hare that has been
hunted in Meath and one in the more open country
164 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
in the west ; the latter gets away smartly and keeps
going, but the Meath hare runs to the first fence,
dodges in and out, and seldom goes two fields away.
Though we stuck as much as possible to the legitimate
game, yet we came across a number of outlying foxes
and had some fair runs ; but as, of course, the country
was not stopped they generally went soon to ground."
An outlying deer was also occasionally hunted by these
harriers.
County Dublin supports two packs, Mr. Brooke's
and the Fingal. Mr. G. F. Brooke's pack, kennelled
at Summerton, Castlenock, the residence of the Master,
muster sixteen couples of twenty-and-a-half-inch Stud-
book harriers, which hunt two days a week. The
country, which lies in the Meath and Kildare Hunt
territories, is a big one, extending from the Dublin
Hills to Dunboyne, and from Dublin to Kilcock.
Pasture and plough occupy three-fourths of the
country, the rest being moorland. The Fingal, with
kennels at Whitestown, Balbriggan, number sixteen
couples of twenty-inch cross-bred hounds, hunting
two days a week. Mr. R. T. Woods has been Master
since 1881, with a subscription. The country, con-
sisting mainly of pasture, lies in the north of County
Dublin and the southern part of Meath. The Louth
foxhounds hunt over this region.
Clare is another Irish county which boasts two
packs of harriers. The Clare hounds, mastered by
Mrs. Stacpoole, of Eden Vale, Ennis, have been more
or less connected with this family since 1867, when the
late Mr. Richard Stacpoole started them. He hunted
these harriers until 1879-80, when the Land League
stopped hunting over a great part of Ireland. The pack,
consisting of eighteen couples of twenty-inch cross-
bred harriers, is now hunted by Mr. R. J. Stacpoole,
SPORT IN IRELAND 165
son of the late Mr. R. Stacpoole. The country, Mr.
Stacpoole tells me, is " very varied, comprising very
rough crag-land, hilly country, low-lying corcass land,
in which the jumping is all wide trenches, and good
pasture land. The best of the country hunted over
lies near the village of Six Mile Bridge." The hares
in this country, although smaller than the average,
are very hardy and stand up for a long time before
hounds. The supply of them is fairly good, in some
places too good. One of Mr. Stacpoole's best runs in
recent years happened in the season of 1901-02, when,
from a meet near Ennis, a hare was found which gave
the pack a grand hunt, which, measured on the map,
is over seven miles and three-quarters. As the country
was very hilly, the distance covered could not have
been less than nine miles. It is always interesting
to have the opinion of Masters in varying districts,
and especially Masters who hunt hounds themselves,
on the subject of hound blood. Here is a note by
Mr. R. J. Stacpoole, who has at different times hunted
the Clare harriers for a good many seasons. " I
prefer," he says, " a cross-breed between harrier and
foxhound, as I think they are more hardy and do
better over the rough country we have in parts of
Clare. I think the pure harrier cannot stand the wear-
and-tear work that the cross-bred can, and the latter
seems to me to have more dash than the former. I
am very fond of the black-and-tan Kerry beagle ;
it is a beautiful hunting hound, particularly on a poor
scent, and gives splendid tongue ; but it has the fault
of want of dash, and it is a delicate hound generally.
I have often had two or three of these hounds in my
pack, and always found that they could lead the cross-
breds on a poor scent, but with a good scent they
required the latter to make them go the pace." The
1 66 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Clare harriers, which are a subscription pack, hunt
practically the whole of Clare, which is untouched
by foxhounds. No wire exists in the country.
^ The Derry Castle harriers have also their head-
quarters in Clare, at the residence — Derry Castle,
Killaloe — of the Master, Captain C. W. Gartside
Spaight. This pack numbers fifteen couples of twenty-
inch cross-bred hounds, which hunt two days a week.
Their country lies in Tipperary and part of Clare,
being divided by the Shannon. It consists of a strip
nineteen miles long by about five miles wide, nearly
all of it pasture.
County Cork maintains three packs of harriers. Of
these the Funcheon Vale, mastered and hunted by
Mr. R. Grove Annesley, consists of twenty couples
of twenty-inch harriers, hunting two days a week
from kennels at Annesgrove, Castletownroche. The
Glanmire, fourteen and a half couples of twenty-one-
inch pure harriers, are kennelled at Glenmervyn,
Glanmire, and are hunted by Mr. R. Hall, the Master,
twice a week. The third Cork pack is the Dromana,
with kennels at Laurentinny, Clashmore, Youghall,
mastered and hunted by Mr. G. Denneley, Junr.
The two packs of County Roscommon are the
Rockingham and the Roscommon. Of these, the
former, kennelled at Knockadoo, Boyle, which con-
sist of eighteen couples of twenty-one-inch dwarf
foxhound bitches, are hunted two days a week by
Mr. E. S. Robinson, joint Master with Mr. A. B.
Walker. The Rockingham succeeded to the Plains
of Boyle harriers in 1895. They are now a subscrip-
tion pack. The country is a good one, nearly all pas-
ture, untouched by foxhounds, and having no wire.
The Roscommon hunt a big pasture country, thirty-
three miles by twenty, in Roscommon and Galway.
SPORT IN IRELAND 167
About a fifth consists of moorland, while a tenth is
occupied by plough and woodland. Like the Rocking-
ham they are unvexed by wire or foxhounds. The
hounds, twenty couples in strength, are kennelled
at Rookwood, Athleague, and hunt two days a week.
In Down four packs are to be found, the East Down,
the Newry, the Iveagh, and the North Down harriers.
Of these, the East Down hunt mostly over a plough
and bank country, varied by a small proportion of
pasture. The kennels are at Downpatrick, and the
hounds, twenty couples of nearly pure-bred nineteen-
inch harriers, which find entry in the Stud-book, are
hunted two days a week by Captain R. Ker, the
Master. The Newry, twenty couples of twenty-two-
inch cross-bred hounds, hunt two days a week in Down
and Armagh. The Iveagh, kennelled at Gilford, put into
the field twenty couples of eighteen-inch to nineteen-
inch harriers. The North Down harriers, kennelled
at Ballynickle, near Comber, consist of fifteen and
a half couples of twenty-inch dwarf foxhounds, which
take the field two days a week. Mr. J. B. Houston,
M.P., has been Master since 1881, and the pack is
hunted by Alfred Rees, a professional huntsman.
The pack, which succeeded the Dufferin harriers,
which had previously hunted the country for nearly
twenty years, is very popular, and shows excellent
sport. Mr. J. G. Allen is deputy Master.
In Louth are found the Dundalk and Littlegrange
packs, each hunting two days a week. The Dundalk
consist of twenty-one-inch foxhounds (twenty couples),
while the Littlegrange, kennelled near Drogheda,
show eleven couples of eighteen to twenty-inch pure
harriers. The Dundalk hunt in Louth only ; the
Littlegrange in Louth and Meath.
Sligo, with the Sligo County and Mr. O'Hara's,
1 68 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
is another two-pack county. The SHgo, seventeen
and a half couples of twenty-two-inch foxhounds,
hunt two days a week from Oakfield, near Sligo, under
the Mastership of Lieut. -Colonel Campbell. Mr.
O'Hara's, with eighteen couples of twenty-two-inch
cross-bred harriers, is a private pack, hunting from
Annaghmore, CoUooney, where the O'Hara family
have maintained hounds for generations. Both
packs hunt over a good grass country and are little
interfered with by wire.
Antrim is the last in my list of Irish counties main-
taining two harrier packs. The Killultagh, Old Rock,
and Chichester, with kennels at Crumlin, consist of
twelve couples of twenty-one-inch harriers and fox-
hounds. They hunt over a good country, largely of
old pasture, with about 25 per cent, plough. Of late
years wire and a growing scarcity of hares have tended
somewhat to the depreciation of sport. The Route
harriers' country lies partly in Antrim, partly in
Londonderry. The kennels are situate at Ballyma-
garry, near Portrush, where are maintained twenty-
four couples of twenty-two-and-a-half-inch cross-bred
hounds. Hunting is carried on two days a week.
Major J. A. Montgomery acting as Master, with
Captain F. J. Montgomery to carry the horn.
I now turn to a number of counties in which only
one pack of harriers is to be found. In Armagh, the
Tynan and Armagh take the iield under the Mastership
of yet another lady Master, Miss Isa McClintock, who
employs a professional huntsman. These hounds,
now kept by subscription, were maintained for many
years as a private pack by the late Sir James Strange,
Bart. The kennels at Fellows Hall, Tynan, the
residence of the Master, contain fifteen and a half
couples of twenty-one-inch cross-bred hounds, which
SPORT IN IRELAND 169
hunt two days a week. Captain Brisco's harriers
hunt three days a week from Clogrenane, Carlow —
where they are kennelled — in Carlow, Kildare, Queen's
County, and Kilkenny. The pack consists of fifteen
couples of twenty-two-inch foxhounds, hunted by
Captain Brisco, to whom Mrs. Brisco and the kennel
huntsman act as whippers-in. In Cork the Knock-
macool carry on operations from the place of that name
under the Mastership of Mr. Richard Beamish, who
hunts them. Fermanagh, with harriers of the same
name, Kildare with Colonel Crichton's, Londonderry
with the Derry, Queen's County with Mr. Moore's,
Wicklow with the Shelton Abbey, Tyrone with the
Seskinore, and Wexford with Mr. Doyne's, are all
one-pack counties.
In Tipperary are to be found the Scarteen Beagles,
a famous pack of black-and-tan hounds, which have a
very ancient and most interesting history of their own.
Mr. Clement Ryan, the present Master, tells me that
the ancestors of the Scarteen Beagles came originally
from the South of France, and were first owned by Mr.
John Ryan, of Bally vistin, who hunted them from
1735 to 1789. His son, Thaddeus Richard, succeeded
him, and hunted them until his death in 1823.
During his time the family moved from Ballyvistin
to Scarteen, the present family seat. John and
Thaddeus Ryan never kennelled the hounds, although
the latter certainly kept over twenty couples. Since
1823 the pack has always been kennelled. Upon the
death of Mr. Thaddeus Ryan, his son John succeeded
him, and by him the pack was hunted until the year of
his death, 1863, since which time his son, the present
Master, Mr. Clement Ryan, has hunted them. The
pack were maintained at Scarteen until 1890, but are now
kennelled at Emly House, the residence of the Master.
170 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
The country was well stocked with hares until the year
of the great " Foot and Mouth " epidemic, about 1873,
when hares were all but exterminated. Since then
Mr. Ryan has turned out several lots of hares, and there
is now a fair supply. Hares in the Scarteen country
seem always to have been small and hardy, and
possessed of great running powers. Mr. Ryan first
enlarged deer in 1884 ; since that time he hunts hares
up to November and deer for the rest of the season.
" I prefer," says Mr. Ryan, " the beagles to any
other blood, on account of their keen scent and wonder-
ful tongue ; the music of the black-and-tan pack is
superior to anything you will hear elsewhere. My
hounds are pure beagles, and have neither harrier
nor foxhound blood, nor is there the slightest blood-
hound cross in them. Their long ears, heavy jowls,
and deep tongue lead people to suppose that there
is a bloodhound strain ; but this, emphatically, is
not the case. They are identical with the Kerry beagle,
whose origin is also French ; and when I require a cross
I always get it from Kerry.
" In 1870 I got four and a half couples from Sir
Maurice O'Connell, of Lake View, Kerry, when he
was dispersing the pack which had been for generations
in the O'Connell family. In 1881 I got three couples
from Chute, of Chute HaU, Kerry, who was then
giving up his old family pack. The Scarteen hounds
are, and always have been, black-and-tan. They are
twenty-three inches high ; the kennel consists of
eighteen couples, and I usually hunt fifteen couples."
It is, I think, an almost unique record that, since
1735, this pack should have been hunted by four
Masters only, viz., the present owner, and his father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather. This gives an
average of forty-two years to each Mastership. The
Scarteen country is a very big one, consisting of endless
SPORT IN IRELAND 171
grass pastures, with big banks, strengthened with
stone, so wide upon the top that, as a friend remarked
to me, you can almost drive a coach-and-four along.
At all events, they are wide enough to afford well-used
foot-paths to the country people.
As regards the Kerry beagle, my friend, Mr. W.
Dove, sends me some interesting notes. He has seen
them chiefly at Waterville, County Kerry. He describes
them as " a big hound of about twenty-one or twenty-
two inches, rather long-eared, and heavy-headed,
showing a good deal of the badger-pie and black-
and-tan. They seem to pick up a living anyhow,
and although those I saw were supposed to belong to
people living up in the mountains, yet they always
seem to turn up in Waterville at some hour of the day
to scavenge for a living. I am told that they are
got together to hunt on Sundays. Another Sunday
pack is to be found, or was a few years ago, in Ennis,
County Clare ; those I saw were as pretty little eighteen-
inch hounds as one could wish to see. I am told that
ten to fifteen couples could be got together on Sunday,
and were collected by the huntsman for the day sound-
ing his horn through the town. If the pack were all
like the few couples I saw running about, they were
bound to show sport."
This is a very curious and interesting phase of wild
Irish sport, which, it seems to me, is worthy of mention
in a book on hare-hunting. The Kerry beagle has,
I am afraid, a much poorer time of it after his hunting
than his well-fed brethren of England. Instead of
going into a comfortable kennel to find an excellent
supper, clean straw, and other luxuries ready for him,
he is dismissed by the huntsman, on returning to his
village, with a " Go home, ye divils ! " or some such
rough farewell, and slinks away, poor brute, to pick
up a scratch meal as only an Irish dog knows how.
172 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Yet the good hound, with the pluck and energy of his
race — for he is a good-bred one — hies to the summons
of the horn on the next hunting-day, as eager and as
keen as ever.
SCOTLAND
In Scotland, for some reason or other, hare-hunting
has never obtained much foothold. At the present
time no more than three packs of harriers are in
existence north of the Tweed. Of these, the Aberdeen-
shire, mastered by Mr. G. Pirie, are kennelled at
Stoneywood House, Bucksburn. Eighteen couples
of twenty-inch Stud-book harriers compose the pack,
which hunts two days a week over a nice country,
consisting chiefly of pasture with some moorland and
plough. The Cambo harriers, owned and mastered
by Sir T. Erskine, of Cambo, Kingsbarn, Fife, and
hunted by Mr. T. H. Erskine, number twenty couples
of nineteen-inch Stud-book harriers, and hunt over
arable country in the eastern portion of Fife. Wire
is far too prevalent in all this locality. The Marquis
of Linlithgow (until lately known as the Earl of Hope-
toun) has maintained a pack of harriers in Linlithgow-
shire for seventeen years. Lord Linlithgow is an
enthusiast in hound breeding, and, in addition to a
good pack of harriers, supports a kennel of bloodhounds,
and a little pack of ten-inch pocket-beagles, which
hunt rabbit. The harriers, kennelled at Hopetoun
House, consist of twenty-live couples of twenty-one-
inch Stud-book harriers, which hunt three days a
week. They are practically dwarf foxhounds, showing
Belvoir colouring, and are very handsome. Their
country consists of mingled pasture, plough, and wood-
land, a good deal of it, except upon Lord Linlithgow's
own property, being troubled by wire, which is by no
means well marked. Mr. Adam Cross hunts the pack.
SPORT IN SCOTLAND 173
The Lanarkshire, mastered and hunted by Captain
W. B. Rankin, had, till a year or so back, kennels at
Haughhead, near Hamilton, whence they hunted
two days a week. They have now been given up,
and a pack of beagles hunts in their stead. This
country had long been hunted by harriers. Lord
Hamilton of Dalzell and others having maintained
hounds there. Colonel Robertson Aikman hunted
the country very successfully from 1888 to 1901,
sometimes alone, sometimes with a joint Master.
The territory, which lies in Lanarkshire and Dum-
bartonshire, consists of a fair extent of pasture, with
a third plough, and some moor and woodland. A
good deal of wire exists, and this, no doubt, has led
to the final extinction of harriers in this region, and
the substitution of foot-beagles. Concerning Scottish
hare-hunting Colonel Robertson Aikman sends me
the following note, in answer to an inquiry of mine :
" Hare-hunting in Scotland differs little from that
in England. My own experience was very good sport
and good scent in Lanarkshire, which is a first-rate
natural hunting country (in the northern half of the
county), but is spoilt by the opening up of the mineral
field. Wire fencing and railways innumerable were
the consequence, and fox-hunting became impossible
some twenty years ago, and now riding to any hounds
is practically impossible.
" The reason there is little hare-hunting in Scotland
is partly due to the fact that Scotsmen who are fond
of hunting, and in a position to do so, go south for
their sport, it being more plentiful there and more
easily obtained. It is also partly owing to so much
of Scotland being naturally unsuitable for hunting,
as well as to the prevalence of wire and the importance
attached to shooting."
CHAPTER X
CONCERNING KENNELS
Kennels and their economy — Somervile's ideas —
Soil — Hailsham kennels — Mr. Southerden's notes —
Benches — Grass yard — Boiling house — Kennels for
larger establishments — Plan — Beckford's hayrick —
Diet — Time of feeding — Various authorities on feeding
— Raw flesh regime — Beckford's notes — Marquis of
Cleveland and his care for hounds
Kennels, their situation, building, and management,
are matters of the very highest importance in the
economy of a pack of harriers. Active as hounds are in
the field, and long as are their hours abroad on hunting
days, they spend, after all, a very large proportion of
their time in kennel, and it is, therefore, a supreme
necessity that they shall be well and comfortably
housed. Somervile recognised this fact, of course,
and in his poem are to be found interesting passages
on kennel and hound management. As to the situa-
tion, his direction can scarcely be bettered. Let it
be, he says,
" Upon some little eminence erect,
And fronting to the ruddy dawn ; its courts
On either hand wide opening to receive
The sun's all-cheering beams, when mild he shines.
And gilds the mountain tops."
Instead of fronting east, however, it is still better that
kennels shall face south or south-east. Somervile
CONCERNING KENNELS 175
also makes a point of shade and a stream of running
water. Beckford, who devotes an excellent chapter
to the subject of kennels, speaks of a little brook run-
ning through the middle of his grass court. A running
stream naturally indicates damp, and a majority of
modern masters of hounds would, I am convinced, be
against the practice of including a running brook as
part of the kennel equipment. A well and pump, or,
better still, a water-pipe system and taps, if water-
works are adjacent, are far better.
Soil is a very serious consideration. Nothing is
more troublesome or more difficult to eradicate than
hound lameness, which, after all, is only another name
for rheumatism. Hound lameness depends in very
many instances, though perhaps not in all, upon the
nature of the soil upon which kennels are fixed. This
should not be porous ; gravel and sand are above all
things to be avoided. Clay is far preferable to either,
and marl or chalk are, perhaps, the best of all. Mr.
Otho Paget, whose beagles are well known, in an in-
teresting note to the edition of Beckford which he edited,
says : " Kennels should never be built on gravel.
Clay certainly holds moisture, but at the same time
it prevents any moisture rising from below. There
is always water beneath gravel, and the heat of the
hounds' bodies will draw it up from any depth. . . .
If kennels are already built on gravel, the floor should
be taken up, the ground excavated and three feet of
clay puddled in. Of course spouting should be attended
to, and if there is any high ground above the kennel
floor, drains should be made to carry off surface water."
In place of puddling in clay, as thus suggested, I think
a good foundation of concrete would be even better.
Above this, again, would be a cement or asphalt floor-
ing. As to the buildings, brick or timber are prefer-
176 HARE-HUNTiNG AND HARRIERS
able to stone, which is apt to absorb moisture and is,
for modest harrier kennels, an expensive luxury. Mr.
Southerden, of the Hailsham Harriers, who has built
his own kennels, which, having been familiar with
for some years, I can pronounce entirely successful,
sends me the following note : "I am greatly in favour
of wooden buildings, with thatched roofs ; they are
drier and warmer in the winter than any other mate-
rials, whUe in the summer they are cooler. Outside,
a coat of tar preserves the wood. My idea for size
of a kennel for twenty hounds is a modern building of
about fifteen feet by eight feet (Mr. Southerden has
two of these kennels, one for his dog hounds the other
for the bitches), with a movable bench, two feet nine
inches wide, on each side, which leaves a passage of
about two feet six inches, which is wide enough to
enable hounds to get on and off the bench. Use only
one bench at a time, so as to enable the kennel man
to always have one clean, lime- washed, and sweet.
The bed should be composed of fresh deal shavings,
if they can be procured, as they are better and more
economical than wheat straw.* Attached there should
be an enclosed run, the width of the building, and about
fifteen feet in length ; the whole of this space should be
floored with Portland cement.
" Cleanliness is of the utmost importance, and
kennels should be swept out with an abundance of water
at least once a day, and occasionally a little disinfec-
tant should be used. Always keep the floor of the
kennel and the run well above the ground level, and
the building should be so placed that the door should
face as near south as possible, and arranged so that
half, or rather more, of the upper part can be closed
in bad or cold weather, leaving the bottom part open
♦ Straw is commonly used ; but it should be kept dry.
CONCERNING KENNELS 177
to the yard. Air must be given according to the
season of year and the state of the temperature, and
it is necessary to plan the building accordingly ; but
draught on the benches must be avoided. For fenc-
ing in a good space (the grass yard), where hounds can
be let out for exercise every day while the kennel is being
cleaned, I prefer stout wire netting, six feet high, to
any other, as it does not obstruct the air or light."
To these remarks I should add that the lower part
of the Hailsham kennel-yard fencing is protected by
corrugated iron, which prevents gnawing, and is useful
as affording more privacy to hounds and sheltering
them from wet and wind. I append a plan of these
kennels, which I may say are in every way suitable
for a pack of twenty couples of harriers, managed in
the modest and inexpensive, but perfectly effective,
manner required for foot-hunting.
It is a good thing to have a spare kennel, into which
hounds can be turned while the other kennels are being
cleaned. The benches should, of course, be open —
i.e., made of spars — for greater cleanliness, and it is
recommended, and I think rightly, that they should
be sparred down to the ground, so that hounds, and
especially nervous hounds, shall not be able to creep
under the beds of their fellows. The benches should
be raised twenty or twenty-four inches from the floor.
When the washing of the kennel is performed, it is
advisable, after sluicing and brushing, to use a mop,
so as to leave as little damp behind as possible.
The grass yard is a great feature of the kennel
system. In this hounds take air and exercise when
they are not out for road work, and it is, therefore,
highly desirable that it should be as large as possible.
It should be protected by six-feet railings, prefer-
ably open, or, as Mr. Southerden suggests, by strong
M
178 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
PLAN
_Or INCXPET-N/IVE: happier KCNNEl-f
TIMBEIR (5^y~TPAW-T}-iATCh-E:D.
To /^ccCnmodate 20 Caup/ey,
Total. CofT £ 70 ro £t5
(fncludin^ iVellJ
CRAST
VARO
-<►•- 7--» •
YAPD
"O
U
z
Z
kJ
Note . T^e Crorr yards <"9 onc/of-ed
Ly lYood Uprights So IV/re
CONCERNING KENNELS 179
wire-netting, well railed up. In order to guard against
accidents, it is necessary that the kennel doors should
be carefully closed, and bolts, which a servant must
stop to fasten, are recommended in place of ordinary
latches. A good sized feeding-house is preferable
to feeding hounds outside the kennels. Here are
placed the troughs, which in some establishments are
made with perforated covers, which, when let down,
afford a seat for the men. The boiling-house should
be placed at one end of the building or even a little
apart, with a yard of its own, if expense and conveni-
ence will allow it. This building should be especially
well ventUated, so as to allow of the escape of steam.
In it are placed two large boilers, preferably of cast-
iron, set in brickwork. One of these serves for meat,
the other for meal. The size depends, of course,
much upon the strength of your pack. A boUer of
fifty or sixty gallons suffices for a fair sized pack of
foxhounds (forty couples). Coolers, six or eight feet
in length, by four or five feet wide and one foot in
depth, stand in the boiling-house. This part of the
building will, of course, be floored with brick, or,
preferably, asphalt or cement, and a drain inserted
for the passage of blood, water, &c. In some kennels
it is so arranged that, as the hounds come in from
hunting, they pass to the feeding-room through a
shallow foot-bath filled with warm broth, the effect
of this bath being that they spend some time there-
after in licking their feet, and so healing their wounds
and cleansing themselves at the same time. A
bucket of hot broth to the same quantity of cold
water is about the usual proportion of the bath mix-
ture. With some of the larger and more imposing
packs of harriers, it may be thought necessary to
follow the foxhound plan and have a spare hunting
i8o HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
kennel, into which the hounds, intended to hunt
the next day, are drafted. An apartment to be used
as an infirmary, and another in which to place such
bitches as may require temporary seclusion, are also
necessary. The meal should be kept in the driest
place possible ; a small coal-shed should not be for-
gotten, as well as space for straw. An open shed
for hanging flesh, standing somewhere away by itself,
and well fenced in, is required.
If larger and more complete kennels are thought
necessary, and expense is not so much a consideration,
the following accommodation may be provided :
1. Young hounds' lodging-room and court.
2. Hunting pack lodging-room and court.
3. Two principal lodging-rooms and courts.
4. Covered court before feeding.
5. Feeding-room.
6. Straw court after feeding.
7. Infirmary for sick hounds.
8. Bitch house «
9. Boiling-house.
10. Cooler-house. ^ .
*tf
11. Coal-house.
12. Store-room for meal.
13. Straw house.
I give here a plan of harrier kennels, suitable lor
twenty-five couples of hounds.
It should be seen, of course, that the boiling-house
be kept scrupulously clean, as, indeed, should every
part of the kennels, and that the feeding-troughs be
well scoured, and put away in their proper places
when used. The feeder, who frequently, in small
harrier establishments, also combines the offices of
kennel huntsman and whip, should be kept carefully
up to the mark in these respects, as upon him depends
»1|^'"^M
:Si^
«' ' 'v-. -■
Photograph by R. B. Lodi^c, Eiifield
SALLY
A MOTHER OF HARRIERS
Photogra/- J^e, Enfield
AT THE KENNELS
Plate XV
CONCERNING KENNELS
l8l
so much the health and well-being of the hounds. In
the airing yards, it is to be remembered, should stand
O
Gravcl
Yard
PA5-5Ace
0 0 0
CRASS
Al RING
YARP
CfiTRANCe
A
stone, slate, or iron drinking-vessels, in which fresh
water is always to be found.
Beckford used to have a small hayrick standing
1 82 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
in his grass yard. This he thought of use to keep
hounds clean and improve their coats. " You will
find them," he says, " frequently rubbing themselves
against it ; the shade of it is always useful to them
in summer." A hayrick, however, is not an appur-
tenance that can be managed in the grass yard of
every kennel. Hound gloves, which are commonly
in use among huntsmen, are good substitutes for Mr.
Beckford's hayrick. The grass yard itself should
be looked after closely. The grass should be attended
to and encouraged, for, after all, grass is one of the
best, as it is the most natural, of medicines for every
hound. The yard is to be kept clean and tidy, and,
to ensure this the kennel huntsman, or feeder, should
go over it at least once daily with his broom in his
hand. Every hole worked by a hound should be
filled up, and no bones or other refuse should be
suffered to lie about.
In some kennels, where hounds are fed almost entirely
on raw flesh, and there is little cooking to be done, the
duties of a feeder are very considerably lightened ;
but in the great majority of establishments hounds
are fed upon cooked flesh and meal, with the occa-
sional addition of vegetables.* Horseflesh is the
usual food of hounds, and part of the kennel hunts-
man's or feeder's duty will be in seeing that such flesh
is duly forthcoming. The Master, himself, especially
if he happens to move about the country, can often
hear of the necessary food-supplies, or is able to make
some permanent arrangement with a horse-knacker.
The flesh should be boiled for hours until it parts
readily from the bone. Digesters are recommended
for this process, and although they add to the prelimi-
* Various kinds of vegetable are used : cabbage, greens,
turnips, parsnips, beet, &c. All of them arc good, in season.
CONCERNING KENNELS 183
nary cost of kennels, they undoubtedly pay their way.
The scent from the digester, which is not a pleasant
one, can be carried off by a pipe so contrived as to
lead into an adjacent drain. The flesh, when boiled,
is taken out and set to cool ; the broth is then divided
between the boilers, which are filled up with water
till nearly half full. Into this is poured the meal,
which may be oatmeal, or Indian meal, or a mixture.
Old, weU-matured oatmeal is undoubtedly the best
and most strengthening food ; it is also the dearest.
With the oatmeal may be mingled a small quantity
of wheat flour. As to the period of boiling, Indian
meal takes much the longest and requires two hours ;
oatmeal an hour ; wheaten flour, if it is used, about
half an hour. So soon as the stirabout is cooked
it should be ladled out into the coolers. After a little
cooling it is stiff enough to cut with a spade. For
the invalids, or light feeders, it may be suitably
reduced with broth ; but for strong hounds in hard
condition it can be eaten of a pretty solid consistency.
Before the feeding-hour the meat is cut up small,
and with the stirabout placed in the feeding-troughs,
well mingled together. It is the huntsman's duty,
if there is a professional huntsman attached to the
pack, to superintend the feeding operations. His
hounds will be in such good order that, when he throws
open the door of their kennel court, they pause until
the names of those first wanted are called for. As
many hounds as can comfortably feed at a trough are
thus drawn. To any one not accustomed to the
wonderful discipline of a well-managed pack of hounds,
it is extremely interesting to note with what order
and decorum these big and ofttimes fierce creatures
await the summons to their meals. The more delicate
feeders are attended to first, or fed apart, perhaps,
1 84 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
and it is one of the peculiar duties of a good huntsman
to see that each hound gets a fair and square meal.
About a pound of the stirabout and from a quarter
to half a pound of flesh are recommended as being
a fair day's allowance for a single foxhound during
the hunting season. A harrier can do with a trifle,
but not much, less. Once a week it is advisable to
boil with the soup some kind of vegetable, greens,
turnips, &c., as before mentioned. In summer the
feeding is, of course, lighter ; little flesh is given, and
more Indian meal, which is cheaper than old Scotch
oatmeal, may be provided. The paunch of a cow,
containing grass half digested, is recommended by
Stonehenge as a good and cooling food. On inter-
mediate days thin porridge, instead of the stiff stir-
about, may form the dietary. Plenty of vegetables may
at this time be used, boiled in the broth, and given
towards evening, in addition to the morning meal.
The time of feeding varies a good deal. Some packs
feed as early as seven or eight o'clock in the morning.
Eleven o'clock is a favourite time. I know one or
two packs which make their meal at two. With
harriers, where the establishment is usually on a
modest scale, the time of feeding must depend a little
more than is the case with a pack of foxhounds on the
convenience of the kennel huntsman. On the day
of hunting, hounds are, of course, not fed until they
come in from their work. Some Masters prefer that
they should then wait an hour before being fed. In
the meantime they may be sluiced with warm water
and sprinkled with broth, the latter practice inducing
them to lick one another clean. In cold weather,
however, too much washing is not good for hounds.
The late Earl of Suffolk, who kept harriers for some
years, preferred, in summer, that his hounds should
CONCERNING KENNELS 185
not be fed till they came in from their evening exercise,
maintaining that they slept better after a late meal.
Some Masters, on the day before hunting, so arrange
that the hounds that are to go out next day feed
later, say at four o'clock. This I think a sensible
practice. It is a long fast, otherwise, especially for
the more delicate hounds, and there are always some
of these in every pack. It is, however, often main-
tained that hounds require twenty-four hours to
empty themselves before hunting, so as to be fit and
keen ; with the majority of packs they are fed at the
usual time in the morning.
As regards food and feeding, the opinions of Masters
vary a good deal. Mr. Eames, of the Cotley Harriers,
sends me the following interesting note : "I can
never understand how they kept condition right in
the old trencher-fed packs. My grandfather, I have
heard, always fed on flesh and barley-meal, and he
used to get some wonderful sport. I always feed on
best Government old ship-biscuits the two days before
hunting ; with flesh or boiled vegetables, &c., on the
other days. I found my hounds stand the work on
this food better than on any other I have tried." An
ex-Master of much experience writes to me : "I fed
my hounds on Indian meal stirabout, with plenty
of strong soup and vegetables in summer ; when I
had plenty of skim-milk from the dairy the hounds
got that, and seemed to do very well on it. When
they were getting into work I changed to half oatmeal
and half Indian meal, with plenty of strong soup,
and vegetables when I had them."
Some few packs feed entirely on raw flesh, and,
when they are accustomed to it, do very well. I know
one pack, the Hailsham, which are maintained on
this diet, intimately well. Certainly no hounds can
1 86 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
be healthier or in better condition. They hunt three
days a week, and are seldom sick or sorry. Mr.
Southerden, who owns these hounds, says : "I feed
almost exclusively on raw flesh, which is thrown
down to the hounds on the grass in great joints, so
that they can tear the flesh from the bones. It does
not do to throw down small pieces of meat, or
hounds will swallow it without masticating. Of
course, when fed on flesh hounds require much more
exercise than when fed on meal, and it is absolutely
necessary to give them plenty of fresh water to drink,
and to sprinkle a good dusting of flowers of sulphur
in the water which they lap up. Some people use
stone brimstone, but my experience is that the flowers
are by far the best for the purpose. The water should
be emptied out every morning and a fresh supply
given. Hounds should be fed only once a day on
flesh, after they have had their walk ; when wanted
for work next day, it is well to feed about two or three
o'clock in the afternoon, when they require nothing
more before the next night, after returning from
hunting."
No one who keeps hounds, whether they be harriers or
foxhounds, can afford to be without a copy of Beckford's
classic on hunting. Even at this distance of time it is
an invaluable book. I annex a few passages on feeding :
" My hounds are generally fed about eleven o'clock ;
and if I am present myself I take the same opportunity
to make my draft for the next day's hunting."
" Hounds that are tender feeders cannot be fed too
late, or with meat too good."
" Hounds, I think, should be sharp-set before hunt-
ing ; they run the better for it."
"If hounds are shut up as soon as they come in
from hunting they will not readily leave the benches
CONCERNING KENNELS 187
afterwards, for if they be much fatigued they will
prefer rest to food."
Hounds, as Beckford advises, should be fed imme-
diately they come in from hunting. His hounds
were usually fed twice on the days they hunted.
"Some," he says, "will feed better the second time
than the first ; besides, the turning them out of the
lodging-house refreshes them ; they stretch their
limbs, empty their bodies ; and, as during this time
their kennel is cleaned out, and litter shaken up, they
settle themselves better on the benches afterwards."
Many packs of harriers are, however, only fed once
in the day, even after hunting, and manage to do very
well upon it. Hound feeding is a most important
function and requires great attention and judgment.
The Marquis of Cleveland, who flourished some seventy
or eighty years ago, and hunted foxhounds for fifty
years, never sat down to his own dinner till he had
given his hounds theirs. This great fox-hunter, also,
invariably noted down the events of each day before
retiring for the night, and published them at the end
of the year for the benefit of his friends. There is
no doubt, I think, that the publication of a carefully
kept hunting diary is an education in itself, and is
often of the greatest assistance to others. I have
been lately reading a book, entitled " A third of a
Century with the High Peak Harriers."* This is the
diary of Mr. Nesfield, for thirty-three seasons Master
of that pack. It is an admirable little volume, well
worthy to be read by all admirers of hare-hunting.
* Buxton. C. F. Wardley. " High Peak News " Offices.
1892. Price IDS. 6d.
CHAPTER XI
HOUND MANAGEMENT
Management of pack — The kennel huntsman — Hound-
breeding — Mother and whelps — "Walking puppies —
Riot — Sheep killers — Quarrelsome hounds — Rounding
ears — Exercise — The practice of hunting fox — Pros
and cons — Running deer — Blood necessary with hare
— Ailments and medicine — Distemper — Mange —
Hound lameness — Book of the pack — Hound names
Having dealt with the housing and feeding of hounds,
it is now necessary to inquire further into the conduct
and management of the pack. The breeding of
hounds is a matter demanding infinite care, nicety, and
judgment ; a good kennel huntsman, who understands
his business, and uses his brains, and has, into the
bargain, a bent for hound management, is a rare
treasure, not by any means easy of discovery. There
are, however, such men, and, when found, their
services are to the Master of harriers, always anxious
to improve his hounds or to keep a good pack up to
the mark, of the greatest value and assistance. Harrier-
breeding has been described as one of the most perplex-
ing of all sciences, and, especially in the case of the
Old English harrier, the results of mating a good dog
hound and a good bitch are not by any means so
certain to produce the desired puppy of perfection
as might be supposed. Even when breeding from
the foxhound strain, the results are often vexing
HOUND MANAGEMENT 189
enough. A well-known master of harriers, mating a
twenty-one-inch pure-bred Belvoir dog hound with
a bitch of similar breed, under twenty inches, has had
a litter comprising some hounds which reached, at
maturity, twenty-four inches, while others stood no
more than sixteen inches. That master's standard
was twenty inches, so that, for the purposes of his
pack, one of the most symmetrical in the kingdom,
such a litter would be useless. Pure harriers will
sometimes throw back in extraordinary fashion, their
puppies exhibiting rough coats, smooth coats, slack
loins, bad feet, and elbows out ; with these ma\' be
found mingled perfect puppies of the right old-fashioned
sort so much desired in certain kennels.
But, after all, the great thing in breeding is to mate
from good workers, well-nosed, low-scenting hounds,
stout and of good constitutions, and, if possible, good
road-hunters. Looks in the sire and mother must
count for a good deal, but looks alone, without the
right hunting qualifications, are not supremely desir-
able. Certain strains always seem to produce valuable
hounds. These strains are treasured, and rightly so,
in every kennel. In a small pack of harriers or beagles,
especially where a good deal of work has to be got
through with comparatively few couples of hounds,
the master and kennel huntsman will mate their
hounds from the well-nosed and hardy ones rather
than from the smarter looking ones. In mating, the
breeder will, of course, always attempt to correct
faults or weak points in either of his hounds. Care-
ful selection in these matters counts for a good deal.
Mate for size, avoid much in-breeding, and strive
for good crosses ; here are three cardinal maxims.
It is not desirable to breed from a bitch much after
six or seven years. Her best time is then past.
190 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
The mother with whelps should be kept as quiet
as possible, in some secluded corner of the kennels or,
if there is no such convenient place, in some comfort-
able outhouse or loose box. The kennel huntsman,
or feeder, or whoever attends her at this time, should
be well known to her. The mother should not be
permitted to bring up more than four or five of her
litter, even if she is a good milker. If the litter is a
large one, and it is desired to save another whelp or
two, a foster-mother must be procured. This is often
a matter of some difficulty. Spaniels and sheep dogs
have been recommended as good wet nurses in such
emergencies.
The whelps are usually weaned after six or seven
weeks, if the mother has been able to support them so
long. Their food at first should consist of a mess of
milk, oatmeal, and good dog biscuits, mixed with a
little warm broth. Some kennel huntsmen give, in
addition, a little minced meat, lightly boiled. Others
add raw flesh, minced. If bom in February or early
March — February used to be considered the best
month by hound-breeders — the puppies will be ready
to be sent out to walk by mid- June.
A puppy begins to be fit to learn something of the
business of his life by the time he is eighteen months
old. Before that period he will either have passed
his babyhood at the kennels, or have been put out at
walk at the house of some resident, usually a farmer,
or innkeeper, or other occupier, in the district. Harrier
packs are not, however, so fortunate in this respect
as are most of the foxhound establishments. The
practice of walking puppies can be encouraged in
various ways, and especially by the institution of
prizes for the best puppy walked, together with a show
and luncheon, when the prizes are distributed. During
HOUND MANAGEMENT 191
its youth the young hound will, after returning to
kennel from the walk — usually at the end of the hunt-
ing season which follows its birth — begin its education.
It will probably require medicine on its return to
kennel ; the change of habits and curtailment of
freedom making a good deal of difference for some
few weeks. It takes time, too, for the young hound
to accustom itself to its new home and its change of
master.
The huntsman will, in these early days, accustom
the puppy to the use of its name, and regular exercise,
and will break it gradually from riot — that is, from
running after sheep, deer, rabbits, and other quad-
rupeds. Riot is a terrible nuisance in a pack, and ought
to be sternly repressed. Yet, even in first-rate packs
of hounds, accidents will happen, especially in the
early days of hunting. Here are a couple of entries
from Mr. Nesfield's diary, which tell their own tale:
" 6th November (i860) ' Trueman ' and ' Ringwood '
accused of sheep killing ! Hang them / " " Satur-
day loth October {1877) Under Nelson's rocks. A
gale of wind. Hounds wild. Sheep all over. Killed
two lambs and went home in a rage. ' Champion '
the worst." " Saturday, 20th October. Sparklow.
First regular day. Had one very good run, but thrown
out by railway, and no kiU. Foggy. ' Champion '
again killed a sheep. He must be hung ! " These
harriers (the High Peak) were, however, at this time,
dwarf foxhounds. Harriers proper are not so fierce,
or so difficult to break from riot, as are hounds of pure
foxhound blood. Sheep riot is especially dangerous,
for, once a hound has tasted blood and the delights
of this kind of sport, it is a matter of extreme difficulty
to break him of the habit. Some authorities recom-
mend as a cure, other than the rope, the coupling of
192 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
the offending hound with a tough old ram, who will
knock him about well and put the fear of sheep into
him. I have read, however, of this remedy even
proving unavailing. A proud Master who had recom-
mended the cure to a friend took the latter to the
ram's shed to exhibit the triumphant result. Upon
opening the door they discovered the hound surely
enough, but the ram had practically disappeared,
his fellow prisoner having slain and devoured him !
For an old hound killing sheep, there is, as Beckford
says, but one remedy, " The halter^ Another cure
suggested for young hounds running sheep is to tie
up the offender securely by his feet, place him in a
lane or gateway, and drive a flock of sheep right over
him.
It is better at first to keep the young hounds in a
separate kennel if it can be managed. When taken
out to exercise, a young hound should be coupled
with an old steady hound, and, preferably, dogs with
bitches. Harriers in kennel are, at least as quarrel-
some as foxhounds, and need looking after in this
respect. I have known a harrier in the kennels of a
Sussex pack torn to pieces by his fellows ; and a draft
hound from the same kennel, sent to another pack,
was slaughtered by her new messmates. It some-
times happens that the whole pack, or nearly all of
them, take a dislike to a particular hound. If this
is the case that hound had better be drafted, or his
end may be a bloody one. Young hounds need feed-
ing twice a day. The ceremony of rounding ears,
if it is followed, should take place before the weather
is hot. Six months is a proper age at which rounding
may be performed. This may be done with scissors,
or with a special instrument (shaped like a crescent),
and a block and mallet. Among many, probably
HOUND MANAGEMENT 193
the large majority of, harrier packs this custom is,
however, not followed, and hounds run with their
ears as nature made them. Personally, I think a
hound, especially a harrier, looks much handsomer
with his ears unrounded. In some harrier countries,
however, where coverts are abundant and thorns
and gorse troublesome, rounding may be thought
necessary. But even among certain foxhound packs
of the present day, the hounds' ears are not rounded.
The hours of exercise of a pack in summer are, of
course, considerably longer than in winter, when they
are hard at work. At this season they are more
usually walked. Two hours in the early morning
and the same in the evening are desirable. For get-
ting hounds into condition towards the hunting season,
and for the exercise of the hunting season itself, there
is nothing like road work, which hardens the feet and
renders the hound so much the more capable of resist-
ing the wear and tear of a long day of hunting over
all sorts of country. Bicycles are excellent things
to exercise hounds with ; the pace is more easily
regulated than with a horse, and the hounds encounter
less dust as they follow the huntsman or whip. Cycles
are also very valuable auxiliaries in the case of packs
of foot-harriers or beagles. The Hunt servants get
comfortably to the meet, and the hounds can be taken
along at a steady pace without pushing them too fast.
For the purpose of getting hounds into shape, and
accustoming the young entry to the ways of hunting,
a few by-days will probably be taken in September.
By this process the pack will be a little more ship-
shape, and less inclined to riot and wildness, when it
makes its bow to the public at the first advertised
meet of the season, which usually takes place towards
the second or third week in October. At first 3^oung
194 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
hounds will straggle in the field, and a good deal of
patience wiU be required. The whip should not be
too often used. Much punishment at this stage
frightens and discourages the young entry. The
huntsman must, and usually does, possess his soul in
patience, and the juveniles begin pretty soon to under-
stand something of the great game in which they are
destined to take a part. It is interesting, indeed,
to note their growing keenness, and how almost imper-
ceptibly they begin to fall into the ways of the old
hands. Instinct, breeding, and usage finally accom-
plish their work, and the young hound is now an
integral part of the pack, beginning to take his place.
It is an oft-debated point, and I suppose always
will be to the end of hunting time, whether or no
harriers should be kept to hares alone, or should be
allowed, as they often are, especially in countries
where hares are scarce, to hunt fox and deer. Beckford
himself, a very high authority, is clear upon the
question. He says, " Harriers, to be good, like all
other hounds, must be kept to their own game : if
you run fox with them you spoil them. Hounds
cannot be perfect, unless used to one scent and one
style of hunting. Harriers run fox in so different a
style from hare, that it is of great disservice to them
when they return to hare again : it makes them wild
and teaches them to skirt. The high scent which a
fox leaves, the straightness of his running, the eagerness
of the pursuit, and the noise that generally accom-
panies it, all contribute to spoil a harrier." I am
bound to say that I am old-fashioned enough to agree
entirely with Beckford's reasoning. I have watched
harriers run both fox and deer, and, in my opinion,
their real qualities and capacity for hunting their
proper quarry, the hare, were thereby materially
HOUND MANAGEMENT 195
detracted from. It is, I believe, undoubted that
scarcity of hares has something to do with the practice
of some masters in hunting fox when they come across
them, and of others — and this is a fairly common
practice — in hunting deer occasionally after Christmas.
Upon a question so much debated, it seems to me
only fair to give the opinions of one or two other
authorities. I believe the perusal of their experiences
may be found of value to all those interested in harriers,
beagles, and hare-hunting. Mr. J. A. Doyle, Master of
the Crickhowell Harriers, Brecknockshire, writes me as
follows : " My experience is that good harriers will hunt
a fox as keenly as any foxhounds. It is a real treat
to them to get a scent on which they can confidently
drive forward. But for the next few days on a hare
they wiU be flashy, and over-run the line, forgetting
that they must be always in readiness for their hare
turning." "Tantara" (a Master of Harriers), whose
excellent little book on hare-hunting I have before
referred to — its contents are so good that it is a pity
it is not three or four times as long again — makes the
following observations : "A pack of harriers, when
properly managed, does immense good to foxhounds
by driving outlying foxes from the hedgerows and
out-lying spinnies into those coverts that are usually
drawn by foxhounds.
" It has been often said that running a fox with
harriers upsets them. It may be the case when con-
stantly practised, but it certainly is not so if it happens
only a few times in the season. I have run a fox in
the morning with a pack of harriers, and hunted hare
in the afternoon, and I certainly saw no difference in
their manner of hunting on the day in question.
" It can easily be seen by the hounds themselves
when they are on the line of a fox by the extra drive,
196 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
by the partial absence of music, and by the way they
raise their hackles,* but there is one thing harriers
will not do, and that is break up a fox, though I have
seen them tear one badly. . . . Hunting a deer,
however, has a bad effect on harriers, as it makes them
wild, inclined to flash, and sometimes it inclines them
to be unsteady at sheep."
Upon the whole, I am firmly of opinion that, if all
masters and huntsmen of harriers were polled, their
consensus would be that runnmg fox or deer is by no
means a good thing for a pack of harriers. Harriers,
if they are good ones, by the way, wiU run down and
kill a deer easily enough. On October 9, 1875, the
High Peak harriers hunted an outlying buck from
Mr. F. Potter's, through the Harthill Woods, then
past Beech Plantations, over Gratton Ponds and
Smerrill Grange, and pulled him down in the road
in an hour and forty minutes, after a magnificent run.
Mr. Nesfield, the Master of that period, when speaking of
this run, used to mention, as a curious fact, that harriers,
only entered to hare, and in full work, should have hunted
and stuck to a deer through woods abounding in hares.
Harriers, although they run the hare fiercely enough,
are not all of them, by any means, keen in the breaking
of it up. It has been noticed, times out of mind, by
all harrier men, that not infrequently the best hounds
are quite indifferent about the worry. On the other
hand, it would be futile even for a slack huntsman to
trust to hounds not breaking up and devouring their
hare. If they are alone they will do it. In hunting
with foot-harriers, when hounds have got away and
kiUed by themselves, I have a good many times arrived
on the scene to find but a patch or two of fur and
the skull remaining. Collectively, hounds must have
* This is one of the infalhble signs.
HOUND MANAGEMENT 197
blood, or they may lose some of their zest and keen-
ness. For this reason if a huntsman, as will some-
times happen now and again in a poor hare country,
has a run of bad luck, even a chop — usually counted
a disaster — is better than no hare at all.
Hound ailments must, necessarily, be a source of
constant anxiety and constant watchfulness in all
kennels. Exercise is, of course, as with human beings,
one of the first preventives against many complaints.
The summer work I have already touched upon. In
winter, when hounds are in full work, they should
never have less than an hour and a half of steady
exercise, preferably on the road, on the days when
they are not hunting. Distemper remains to this hour
the disease most dreaded and most dangerous to young
hounds. All sorts of prophylactics and patent cures
have been proclaimed, from time immemorial, yet up
to the present day this ailment remains unconquered.
In some seasons it is far worse than in others. During
the spring and summer of 1902 the ravages of distemper
were more fatal than they have been for a generation
past. Some packs lost practically the whole of their
young hounds, and many others, throughout the
length and breadth of the country, suffered very
severely. The ailment was complicated by much
influenza and, under the influence of the two, the
young entry were swept off like flies. Paralysis in
these cases frequently set in, and nothing could save
the unfortunate patient. Distemper is also frequently
complicated by jaundice, or " yellows," as kennel
huntsmen prefer to call it. Jaundice, it is to be
remembered, is not seldom induced by over-feeding
and lack of exercise. Young hounds, by the way,
when at kennel, should have the run of the grass yard
the whole day, in addition to their ordinary exercise.
198 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
For influenza, calomel is still one of the soundest
of all remedies, if exhibited in the early stage of the
illness and provided the hound is in good condition.
Beckford mentions with favour a remedy said to
have been of great service in his time, viz., an ounce
of Peruvian bark in a glass of port wine, taken twice
a day. He mentions also, in his humorous way, the
case of a stag-hound, which, treated in this manner,
drank three bottles of port in five days ! " You may
think, perhaps," he adds, with a twinkle, " that the
feeder drank his share, and, probably, he might, had
it not been sent ready mixed up in the bark." At
all events, the hound recovered. Beckford's chapters
on disease and distemper are even now well worth
reading. But, indeed, what part of his book is not ?
I believe that port wine and quinine are likely to do
as much good in distemper as any other remedy of
the present day.
" Stonehenge's " remedy is as follows : " Compound
tincture of bark, three ounces ; decoction of yellow
bark, fourteen ounces ; to be given twice or thrice
daily, in doses of three table-spoons. A table-spoon
of castor oil and syrup of buckthorn is often advo-
cated in the early stages." Warmth, dry quarters,
port wine, and essence of beef are valuable aids, which
must never be neglected ; but, as a rule, nature takes
her own course, and is not to be denied. For this and
other diseases help may be obtained by recourse to
some good modern book on the dog ; but the safest
and most effectual precaution is to call in at once the
services of a good veterinary surgeon. Many of them
nowadays are specialists in dog diseases. Most
kennel huntsmen have their own patent nostrum for
distemper, and in a mild season these may apparently
succeed ; but when the disease is reaUy, as in 1902,
HOUND MANAGEMENT 199
at its worst, no known remedy seems to be of much
avail.
For mange, a fruitful source of trouble in kennels,
there is no better remedy than a mixture of lard and
black brimstone. Kennel lameness I have already
referred to. This is one of the most troublesome of
all hound complaints. In a large number of cases it
proceeds from damp or exposure and is nothing else
than rheumatism. But there are instances of kennel
lameness which, it seems, nothing can account for.
The kennels may be improved, the site changed, and
yet the disease will appear. Mr. J. S. Gibbons sends
me the following note on this often mysterious disease:
" I think I have had as much, or more, experience
of it than any one in England ; I am glad to say I
have completely got rid of it now, but the result of
my several years experience of it and trying every
sort of remedy and experiment is that I don't think
that either I or any one else knows anything really
about it at all."
Boiled herrings daily for a fortnight, a couple to
each hound, are said to be an excellent remedy.
Spirits of nitre or salicylate of soda are often advo-
cated. A dry kennel with a false floor, allowing free
current of air, is probably the soundest of all allevia-
tives for this disease.
It is the custom with the Masters of some of our
best harrier packs of the present day to print each
season a little book, setting forth the particulars of
the pack and a list of the hounds. This is a com-
mendable plan, which serves in after years as a
very useful record, in case, as often happens, some
reference back is needed. The first page will be
as follows — I append an example from the Aspull
Harriers' lists :
200 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
13th Season.
A LIST OF THE ASPULL HARRIERS.
1902-3.
MR. CARLTON CROSS'S.
Frank Billen, K.H ist Whipper-in.
Tom Goddard 2nd ,,
Kennels . . Martin House, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley,
Lancashire.
Telegrams : — " Whittle-le-Woods," | mile
Station — Chorlev, 3J miles.
The second page may contain a note of advice from
the Master to his subscribers and others as to their
conduct in the field, the avoidance of damage, and
so forth. On the remaining pages will follow the com-
plete list of hounds comprising the pack. Thus :
Age.
Name. Sire.
Dam.
Major Wickham's
His
7 years old .
. Dissolute Dealer
ist Peterboro', '96, Unentered couples
Cup „ '97, Best three couples
Eamont
Diligent
Their
7
. Treachery Sovereign
Termagant
Holm Hill
7
. Gunner Guardian
Eamont
Lunacy
7
. Concord Rodney Costly
Eamont Major Wickham's
7
. Watchman Roderick
Woful
The list will begin with the oldest hounds and pro-
ceed by degrees to the youngest. An analysis of the
whole pack on the last page will fitly conclude the
little volume. The expense of printing a few copies of
/■;,v/.' ,/ /',■,'/.■-.■.(/•/; by K. B. Lodfi-, En/icl<i
GOIXG TO A HOLLOA
fesmlih
From a /•■':.-!.-^r,i/- I :■} K. /■'. i-.uige, Enfield
A STERN CHASE
Plate XVH
HOUND MANAGEMENT 201
such a booklet is trifling. Some Masters print on the
left-hand page, which is left blank, a record of prizes
gained by the hounds named on the right-hand page.
The naming of hounds is a serious business, which
ought to be undertaken with care and thought. Some
packs are named without any regard to the fitness of
things. Hound nomenclature should be sonorous, and
to my mind the old-fashioned names are far prefer-
able to some of the modem intrusions. How infinitely
to be preferred, for example, are such names as Bravery,
Champion, Stormer, and Statesman, to Squeaker,
Sally, Thwacker, and Gaslight, all of which I have
encountered. I have known a cricket enthusiast
name three hounds out of one litter, Grace, Abel, and
Ranji. Grace and even Abel one could pass well
enough, but Ranji always jarred upon me as a hound
name. I confess to a great weakness for old-fashioned
hound names. I always remember, as a youngster,
a Pytchley puppy named Pantler, one of the most
engaging yet mischievous rascals that ever went out to
walk. His name has stuck in my memory ever since. It
is a very ancient, probably now an almost extinct one.
The whelps should be named from the initials of
either sire or dam, and it should be the care of the
person selecting them to see to it that the names in
one litter are not too much alike, so that each puppy
shall easily recognise his own name when called. In
the Appendix " B " I have given some lists of hound
names, which may be found useful by those in search
of a fair vocabulary of nomenclature. These com-
prise hound names from " Thoughts on Hunting "
(1780), and from the Duke of Beaufort's, the Duke of
Rutland's, Mr. Musters' (the Pytchley), and Mr.
Osbaldeston's (the Quorn) packs in 1826.
CHAPTER XII
HUNT SERVANTS AND THEIR DUTIES
Qualities of a good huntsman — A hard life — But
many compensations — Conduct in the field — Drawing
— Use of the horn — Punctuality — Chopping hares —
An evil practice — Comparison of kills — Difficulties of
the huntsman — The whipper-in — The feeder — Hunt
servants an excellent class — " Stonehenge's " opinion
— Drawing hounds for hunting — Huntsman's distrac-
tions— His patience
It has been well said that it is as difficult to find a
perfect huntsman as a good Prime Minister. The
huntsman of a pack of harriers needs certain quali-
fications which are not necessary and, indeed, would
be undesirable, in one who pursues the fox. His sport
is a more leisurely one, and there is not the same need
in it of youth, and fire, and occasionally, even, of im-
petuosity. Beckford counsels a huntsman d'un certain
age for harriers, and assigns to him, very properly, the
qualifications of quiet and perseverance. He adds :
" I know no family that would furnish a better cross
than that of the silent gentleman, mentioned by the
Spectator ; a female of his line, crossed with a knowing
huntsman, would probably produce a perfect hare-
hunter."
Yet in many respects the huntsman, whether he
pursues hare or fox, ought to be possessed of similar
attributes. These are strength, activity, courage,
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 203
enterprise, good spirits, perseverance, firmness, and
decision. The man who cannot make up his mind,
but listens to the suggestions that are poured in upon
upon him at every check, will never make a good
huntsman. He needs also a keen eye, a quick ear,
and a good voice. He should be even-tempered, not
readily cast down by disappointments, or too easily
elevated by success, and he should be smart and clean
in his person and civil in his address. The qualities
of intelligence and good memory are also extremely
desirable in that rare union of perfection, a good
harrier huntsman. He nmst of necessity be a capable
horseman.
No man, whether he be amateur or professional,
can hope to succeed in this most difficult of all occupa-
tions unless he has his heart and soul in the business,
and is prepared for much hard work and long hours
in the field. If, as is often the case with harriers, he
combines the offices of huntsman, kennel huntsman,
and feeder — with the assistance, probably, of a lad
as whipper-in and helper — it must be admitted that his
life is one of a good deal of labour and of much care.
Still, he has compensations. In many ways the exist-
ence of a huntsman is a very enviable one. He lives
a healthy, open-air life ; he loves (or he ought to love)
his work; and very frequently he enjoys pleasures
so keen and so thrilling that there are few joys in life,
indeed, to be compared with them. If he has had a
good day, and killed a brace of hares after a first-rate
display of hunting, he jogs homeward suffused with a
glow of satisfaction such as falls to few human beings
in this vale of care. The huntsman, too, has a posi-
tion in the world, and is an object of consideration
and interest, usually of admiration, upon his country-
side. Even the care of hounds, though it may involve
204 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
a good deal of work and anxiety, is an extremely
interesting one. In fact, if a man is fond of his
business, as he ought to be, and usually is, the
pleasure of hunting a pack of hounds, whether they
be harriers or foxhounds, far outweighs the pains
and difficulties, though the latter, too, must sometimes
occur.
A quiet huntsman is a necessity with harriers.
There is no great hurry, the hare is always above
ground, and it is essential that hounds shall be dis-
turbed as little as possible in their work. Too often a
noisy huntsman, or a shouting whip, gets hounds' heads
up, and sport is thereby spoiled. I like to hear a harrier
huntsman with a good and cheerful voice. Yet he
should be chary of using it ; now and again, when
hounds need encouragement, a few words are useful ;
and it is essential that hounds should understand and
obey notes of command and reproval when they are
scattered, or running riot or heel. A good ear in a
harrier huntsman is a most excellent thing. He should
be able to distinguish the note of every hound, and he
can then tell in a moment, as he hears a whimper or
a challenge, whether the line is right or not. If scent
is good — and whether it is or not is very quickly ap-
parent— hounds will hunt themselves, and require no
aid from the huntsman until a check happens. Even
then the huntsman will allow them plenty of time
to make their own casts and hit off the line for
themselves. In drawing he will take care that
hounds do not stick too closely to his heels, but
spread out to their work, not leaving the finding
of the hare to some more painstaking or more
sagacious human being. Some cheery words of
encouragement, when drawing, are by no means out
of place.
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 205
The use of the horn is, in hare-hunting, by no means
so frequent or so necessary as in fox-hunting.* A good
huntsman will take care not to sound it unduly, as
some men do, apparently for the mere purpose of
making cheerful sounds. I love the sound of a horn
as much as any man ; there is to me something inex-
pressibly inspiring in it, as there is in hound music.
But in hare-hunting you can easily have too much of it.
Some few Masters, especially with foot packs, hold
that the horn is unnecessary and only distracts hounds.
I confess I do not share that opinion. I believe that
at times, even with harriers and beagles, the horn is
very useful, especially in getting hounds out of wood-
lands and in cases of riot, or when hounds are running
heel or have split and are following two hares. And
where the pack is entirely at fault, and the huntsman
has made up his mind to go to a holloa which he knows
to be a reliable one, a few blasts from his horn are
useful in getting hounds to him and hurrying them
on at best speed to the point from whence the holloa
proceeds. For these and other reasons, I believe in
accustoming harriers and beagles to the sound of the
horn, and in the huntsman seeing that, with the assist-
ance of the whip, they come quickly to him when he
uses it. In the matter of lifting hounds, the huntsman
will, of course, not fail to remember that golden rule,
* Occasionally even a fox-hunting huntsman has been
known to ride without a horn. " Nimrod," in his Yorkshire
Tour, of 1827, mentions " Old Carter," huntsman to Sir
Tatton Sykes. " I was much pleased," he says, " with his
venerable appearance, his grey locks denoting many years
experience in his profession. ... he was not without his
peculiarities and prejudices — one of which was that he never
carried a hunting-horn." I have myself known a harrier
Master who had a strong objection to the horn ; and, for a
season or two, his huntsman never carried one.
2o6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
never to lift hounds when running. There are often
temptations to cut off corners, and to close up more
speedily on a sinking hare, but it is the safest and,
indeed, the only sportsmanlike policy to let hounds
hunt it out themselves.
Punctuality is the soul of hunting, as it is of most
other important affairs of life. The huntsman, there-
fore, whether he be professional or amateur, will see
to it that his hounds arrive at their meeting-place in
good time, yet are not over hurried. To most meets
harriers are enabled to go on foot. If they are driven
to very distant meets, a long van, open or covered,
such as is used by a tradesman for the purpose of his
business, makes a very good vehicle. The hounds are
best kept in by an arrangement of strong wire netting,
or even of calf net, which prevents them from jumping
out. Such a van may sometimes be hired for the few
occasions when hounds have to be conveyed to the
meet. A small pack of harriers is not often possessed
of a van of its own.
It is absolutely necessary that a huntsman shall be
of sober habits. He is usually a popular character,
and has temptations in the way of drinking, and it is
essential that he should have the strength to resist
them. And his Master will see to it that his Hunt
servants take hounds to the meet and get them to
kennels in good time, without loitering.
Some huntsmen are consumed with the ambition
to make a big score of kills during the season. Up to
a certain point, keenness for blood is a good thing.
In some places that I know of hares are so numerous
that it is necessary to keep them down, always, of
course, by fair hunting. But excessive keenness to
make a record tally of kills is undesirable and ought
to be checked. I have known a huntsman so eager
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 207
in this respect that he fell into the unfortunate habit
of butchering, rather than of hunting down fairly, many
of his hares. He had a very keen eye for a hare in
her form and a very acute knowledge of likely resting-
places. By this means he was enabled, while appa-
rently drawing innocently enough, to chop many a
hare that might otherwise have given a real good run.
It is a miserable practice and ought to be put down,
either by the Master, or by the representations of sub-
scribers to the Hunt, with a firm hand. Discrimina-
tion must, of course, be exercised in such cases. A
hint that too many hares are chopped may have the
desired effect.
As to the number of hares killed in a season, this
must depend greatly upon the nature of the country
as weU as upon the qualities of huntsman and pack.
The Rochdale harriers, as I have said, kill about
a hundred hares in a season. That is a big total.
During a period of thirty-two seasons — from i860 to
1892 — the High Peak harriers, under Mr. Nesfield's
mastership, hunting two days a week, killed exactly
a thousand hares in one thousand two hundred and
thirty-five days. This give them an average of a
trifle over thirty-one hares per season. In their best
season they killed fifty-seven hares ; in their two
worst eight and eleven respectively. Of course frost
and hard winters have to be reckoned for in such
estimates. In fair, average winters these hounds
killed from thirty-five to fifty hares in a season. Con-
sidering that the pack was composed practically of
dwarf foxhounds, very fast and very good hunters,
the number of hares killed seems small. On the other
hand, it is to be remembered that in north Derbyshire
there are more interruptions from hard weather than
in southern counties. The foot-pack with which I see
2o8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
a good deal of my sport (the Hailsham), kills usually
from fifty to sixty-five hares in a fair season. Big
scores are not always to be taken as proof of the finest
hunting. After all, a rattling good hunt, with a hare
pulled down at the end of it, is far better than a mudd-
ling day with two or three hares chopped, or killed
in short feeble chases.
A good harrier huntsman is not to be picked up
readily. His education must, necessarily, be a slow
and a gradual one. Only years of constant practice
in the field, united with an acute mind, keen facul-
ties, and a strong frame, can equip a man properly for
such a post. An old gentleman, seventy years of age,
who had hunted with all sorts of hounds, was once con-
gratulated upon his perfect science in the art of hunting
hare. He protested vigorously that the life of man
was too short to allow of any one attaining perfection
in this difficult art. It is certain that a man may
hunt hounds for thirty or forty years of his life, and
yet in his next essay learn some new wrinkle in his
art. There are innumerable things which may arise
during the progress of a day's hunting to alter the chase
and spoil a successful run, A huntsman must have
his wits constantly on the alert. Even if his pack be
a good one, it is by no means odds on his handling
the hare in front of him. Rather are the odds usually
the other way. Every hare has its particular idiosyn-
crasies and tricks. The change of atmosphere, or of
soil, or of wind, a burst of sunshine, the coming up of
a storm, the vanishing of frost, the crossing of a stream,
all these and fifty other causes, which may operate
against success, have to be carefully noted, and their
effects guarded against. The taint of sheep, curs
which may course the hare, fresh hares springing up,
foot people heading the quarry, are always fruitful
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 209
sources of trouble to the huntsman. On a good scent-
ing day things go merrily enough, as a rule. It is on
a bad scent that the huntsman has to prove his mettle
and, by his skill, his resource, his observation, and his
knowledge of hunting, prove that he is capable of assist-
ing his pack amid difficulties, and extricating them
from what may look like an impasse. As a general
rule, it is better that the huntsman, especially if he
is not a veteran at the game, should prefer to trust
to the noses and instincts of his hounds rather than
to his own knowledge.
The huntsman, whether professional or amateur,
will need a whipper-in to aid him in getting hounds
to the meet and taking them home again. With only
one servant with them, hounds straggle or may run
riot. In the field, the whipper-in is by no means so
important a personage with a pack of harriers as with
foxhounds. Usually a steady sharp lad, who wiU
obey orders and use his head, is sufficient for the post.
He will be needed to keep up stragglers, to whip off
when required, to prevent hounds running heel, or
tying on the scent, as old-fashioned harriers sometimes
will do, as weU as for opening gates, turning hounds
to the huntsman, and so forth. It is most important
that the whipper-in shall understand clearly that
neither his whip nor his voice are to be used too freely.
I have often noticed a harrier whip bellowing out at
a straggling hound or a skirter, and so getting up the
heads and distracting the attention of the rest of the
pack, when, by the exercise of a little activity, he might
have got round to the recalcitrant and, by the mere
threat of his whip and a single word, have sent him to
join his fellows. Quietness in the whip is even more
essential than in the huntsman. Beckford goes so
far as to say that he should not dare even to stop a
o
2IO HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
hound or smack a whip without the huntsman's order.
The modem master or huntsman would scarcely agree
with this dictum. The whip, in hare-hunting, ought
to be even more self-effacing than his brother of the
foxhounds. Like the huntsman, he needs a sharp
eye and a good ear, and especially the gift of obser-
vation. Often the hare claps back, having run the
foil, and the whip, whose place is in the rear, if he
is keen and observant, will note her sneaking home
to her old quarters. When hounds and huntsman
come up again, or if the hounds have come to a
fault, the whip will then be able to inform the
huntsman that his quarry has returned upon her old
line.
Both huntsman and whip will be in the habit of
counting their hounds ; and, especially, when emerging
from a covert, it will be the whip's duty to bring along
stragglers and recover lost hounds. It may some-
times happen that, where the Master hunts the pack
himself, he may depute his whip and a groom to get
hounds to the meet and take them home after hunting.
In such a case, especially on the homeward way, when
it is essential that hounds shall be got to their kennels
and supper as soon as possible, the whip, having often
assisted to correct riot in his hounds, will, young though
his age may be, remember to check any tendency to
riot in himself and his assistant. He will perform his
duties in a conscientious manner, and not be tempted
to linger at inns on the way. Not for him on these
occasions are the snug temptations of the alehouse,
the fascinations of red-cheeked damsels ; he must get
his hounds to kennel and forswear all other distrac-
tions. There is nothing worse for hounds, after a hard
day's work, than for the Hunt servants to get into the
habit of calling at inns on the way home. While they
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 211
are inside drinking, the hounds, already weary and
exhausted, are becoming chilled.
Like the huntsman, the whip will cultivate civility,
which costs nothing and tends greatly to the popu-
larity of a pack of hounds. Smart, pleasant, well-
spoken Hunt servants, who know their duties and their
places, and are popular in the district in which they
hunt, add not a little to the prospects of goodwill
from farmers and labourers and the chances of finding
a hare. Many a shepherd, who knows the seats and
runs of hares usually better than any man on the land,
is to be conciliated by a pleasant word from the Hunt
servants, a piece of silver occasionally from the Master,
or a pint of ale from a supporter of the Hunt.
The feeder, who, with many harrier packs, usually
doubles the part of kennel huntsman, is, of course,
an important personage in the hunting establishment.
Upon him depends practically the welfare of the pack,
and thereby the prospect of sport. A good feeder,
who knows his business and has the wit to consider
the idiosyncrasies and weaknesses of his charges, to
note their constitutions, and look after their appetites,
is a treasure indeed. Many a delicate hound or poor
eater is kept fit for work and has its constitution gradu-
ally built up by a careful and painstaking feeder. A
careless man lets his hounds rip ; the stronger hounds
get more than their share, and the weak and delicate
hounds suffer. There is much even in the very cooking
of the hound food.
The loss of a good and successful feeder is often a
serious inconvenience to a pack of hounds, which will
lose condition and run down astonishingly in the hands
of a successor who is careless or does not understand
his business.
In the_case of small harrier packs, therefore, which
2 12 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
are run on modest lines, it is essential that the hunts-
man, who practically has, with the help of a lad as
whip and understrapper, to manage the business of
the whole pack, including hunting, feeding, and all
other kennel management, shall be not only efficient
in the field but a careful kennel man and a competent
and observant feeder. Such a Hunt servant has much
upon his hands — far more than many people can pos-
sibly imagine — and he needs not only fair wages but
due consideration from his master and the subscribers.
In most cases where the same man carries on these offices
— I have known even a youth double and treble these
difficult posts and perform them all more than reason-
ably well — he is a real enthusiast who loves nothing in
this world so well as his hounds and hunting. But for
this love of sport, wild life, and the open air, it would
be difficult to find a man willing to devote such long
and laborious days, especially if he be with a foot
pack, to the business of hunting. For my part, I
have a great admiration for Hunt servants. They are,
as a rule, an estimable class, hard-working, civil, keen,
and hardy, a credit to the Anglo-Saxon race. If we
bred thousands like them, and taught them to shoot,
what magnificent mounted infantry they would make.
Hunt servants are relics of the good old days, when
men lived much more in the open air ; when England
had still leisure to be merry ; when the pestilent custom
of crowding into towns and deserting the country was
not ; when motor-cars and other abominations were
undreamed of ; when country gentlemen were content
to live quietly upon their own acres, and the farmer
was not pursued by carking care, as he is now, but
could make a livelihood comfortably out of his hold-
ing. Few men go through more exposure, or live
harder lives with less complaint. How many of us,
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 213
I wonder, realise what it means to hunt a pack of
hounds, even harriers, thrice a week ; the dark morn-
ings of work, the labour in the field, the late
evenings on tired horses or afoot, the care and anxiety
for their hounds, the drenching days, the frosts, snows,
and storms that these men endure, and endure cheer-
fully.
" Stonehenge " has some excellent and pithy things
to say on the subject of Hunt servants and harriers.
Concerning the huntsman he says : "As with the
poet so with the huntsman, nascitur non fit. He
should be a very different person from the huntsman
of a pack of foxhounds. Sometimes a young man
succeeds in this task, but more frequently he fails from
want of temper and patience ; and the age which is
best suited for the sport is that at which man usually
has arrived at some degree of control over his natural
impulses. Still, there are some exceptions to this rule,
and I have seen harriers exceedingly well hunted by
very young men.* But whatever the age of the hunts-
man, he should be quiet, persevering, cautious, and
free from meddling, and should trust to the noses of
hounds in preference to his own head. . . . few are
so framed as to fit them for the management of harriers
until they have sown a crop of wild oats in other and
more exciting amusements. The chief art of the
huntsman here (in hare-hunting) is in breeding his
hounds and in drafting them so that they shall be
' suity ' and pack well ; for when once they are in the
field, little or no interference is necessary. They
should be as handy as kittens, and should scarcely
require a whipper-in, and indeed some of the best
packs I have ever seen have been without that appen-
dage. By constantly taking out hounds in summer,
* I can testify to the same prodigy, but it is rare indeed.
214 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
and breaking them from riot, and by feeding them
after drawing each by name, and otherwise getting
control over hounds in the summer season, it is seldom
that any occasion occurs for the office of the whip.*
" If the huntsman rides well to them, he is always
near enough to them to interfere when this is wanted ;
and the hounds are not cowed by the needless display
of power, which, if placed in the hands of a whip, is
sure to be exercised.
" But the critical eye of the Master is always em-
ployed, though he may otherwise be idle, in watching
the actions of each hound, and noting his hunting and
his pace, also in detecting skirting and babbling, and
in deciding all the various qualities which will lead
him to draft certain hounds or to breed from
others. This is interest sufficient for any man ; and
to a real lover of hunting it is a most delightful amuse-
ment. . . . Harriers or beagles may easily be handled
when well matched; but it is in the matching that the
huntsman's power is shown. He therefore requires
a great knowledge of individual character in the
hounds, so as to select those only which exhibit what
he wants in great perfection to breed from, and to
cross with those which will develop still further
those good qualities or suppress the bad ones." " The
whipper-in (adds ' Stonehenge ') should be a mere
groom, solely intended as a second pair of hands to
those of the Master ; and he should never be allowed
to use them without orders." This is somewhat too
sweeping. I would prefer to assume that, at the
beginning of the season, the whip is well drilled by
his Master or huntsman into the nature of his duties,
which are simple enough. If the Master had to shout
* With this I do not agree. A whip is necessary, if he be
only one of the field who understands the duties.
HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 215
to him every time he might use his whip or turn a
hound it would be unendurable for both parties.
In drawing hounds for the next day's hunting, the
huntsman will see to it that no sick, sorry, or lame
ones, or bitches out of order, are included. From
twelve to fifteen couples make a fair hunting number,
but where the pack is small, ten or eleven couples will
suffice. A hound that is badly lamed or injured
during hunting can usually be got to kennels in some
passing trap, or it may be even left behind in a stable,
comfortably provided for, till next day. Many hunts-
men run through their pack the same night, to look
them over for cuts, thorns, and other slight injuries.
Cases of lameness will, of course, have been noted during
the day. It is, however, sometimes too dark in kennels
to see properly to extricate thorns and dress cuts, and the
huntsman may attend to these matters in the morning.
In the field the huntsman is perpetually plagued
by busybodies, excitable sportsmen, and meddlers,
with suggestions as to going to holloas, casting this
way or that, and a score of other details, which he, of
course, understands far better than any person out.
All these things are very distracting and at times very
annoying. The level-headed huntsman, however,
wiU, for the sake of peace and in the interests of hunt-
ing, usually offer a civil reply to such suggestions.
He will, at the same time, pay little or no heed to them,
but pursue his own plan of hunting in his own way.
Occasionally it may happen that a huntsman has been
left in covert, or may have had a fall, or been thrown
out, and may require information. He will, m such
an event, know exactly how and from whom to get
the news he requires. Spectators ought always to
remember that the more the huntsman is left alone
the better will be their sport.
CHAPTER XIII
COST AND EQUIPMENT
Expenses of harriers — Cost of different packs — Of
foot-packs — Lord Suffolk's experience — Various
estimates — Cost of a fashionable pack — Average with
moderate expenditure — Items on starting a pack —
Horses — Dress of Hunt servants — " Merry Beagler's "
costume, sixty to seventy years ago — Present costume
— Expenses of pedestrians — Subscriptions
The expense of maintaining a pack of harriers must,
of necessity, be a matter of great elasticity, varying
in accordance with the ideas of the Master, the length
of his purse, and the general turn-out of the establish-
ment. Some few packs of harriers, which perhaps
are rather extravagantly managed, and maintain a
larger number of hounds than are necessary for hare-
hunting, may cost as much as ;^700 per annum, or even
a trifle more. If you wish to turn out your men in
a style rivalling that of a good pack of foxhounds, as
I have seen more than one Master do, you may, and
probably will, make a big hole in a thousand pounds.
But this is quite unnecessary. With harriers you can
see just as much sport with a pack that costs not more
than £250 a year, or even less, as with a pack of very
high-bred dwarf foxhounds, the Master and two men
mounted on expensive horses, unnecessarily good for
their work. At the far end of the scale of cost, you
may place some of the humbler foot-packs, which can
COST AND EQUIPMENT 217
be run upon extremely inexpensive lines. I am ac-
quainted with a pack of nineteen or twenty couples
of foot-harriers, for example, which cost to the sub-
scribers a year or so back no more than £120 per
annum. In this case, however, the kennels, which
belong to the Master, are occupied rent free ; the
kennel huntsman is employed about the same gentle-
man's garden, and gets part of his wages in that way ;
and, the pack being fed almost entirely on horse-flesh,
there is no big bill for meal. At the same time, this
pack is thoroughly well done ; the kennel huntsman
and whip are neatly turned out in proper costume,
with caps, green coats, breeches, gaiters, and so forth ;
and there is even a small surplus available towards
prizes at a local Root Show. This convinces one that
packs of harriers can be, and often are, hunted at
astonishingly low cost, compared with the enormous
figures to which the maintenance of foxhounds now
runs. On the following page are the accounts of a pack
of ten couples of foot-harriers in the north of England,
which show how very cheaply sport can be obtained
in a wild district where hares are plentiful and there
are many good friends to hunting.
This account is for the season ending May 1901.
It will be observed that there is a balance in hand of
£28, which, deducted from the figures at foot, £149 los.,
leaves £121 los. as the cost of maintenance of this
particular pack. Still lower in the scale of expendi-
ture is the cost of a small pack of beagles, say ten or
twelve couples, which can be kept going, allowing for
wages of a sharp lad, who will act as kennel huntsman
and whip, at £70 per annum, or less.
Even in the case of a pack of mounted harriers, the
expenditure is often surprisingly little. The late Earl
of Suffolk and Berkshire, who thoroughly understood
21 8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
HARRIERS.
BALANCE SHEET.
Receipts.
Subscriptions,
as per List of
Subscribing
Members
Balance from
last year, less
accounts un-
paid . ,
L s. d.
147 7 o
Expenditure.
By Licences for
hounds * . .6
„ Huntsman's wages 32
Keep of hounds .
Rent of kennels .
Repairs at kennels
Rent of land
Railway fares and
expenses for
huntsman and
hounds, when
15
12
o o
10 o
o o
from kennels
12
S
6
& Co.'s ac-
count .
6
0
0
Postages for bal-
ance sheets, &c.,
and wires .
2
17
II
Coal account
(165. 6i. and
17s. 6i.)
I
14
0
Entries into Har-
rier and Beagle
Stud-book .
I
II
0
Entries for Show .
I
4
0
pV»pTni'=i'f'^
account
0
16
4
Advertisements .
0
15
0
&Co.'saccount
0
8
0
Mr. account .
0
6
8
Straw account
0
16
II
Cheque forms
0
I
8
Balance
28
0
0
;fi49 10 c ;^I49 10 o
* i.e., for nine couples of working hounds.
COST AND EQUIPMENT 219
the science of hare-hunting and kept harriers him-
self for years, has borne testimony, in the " En-
cyclopaedia of Sport," to the economy with which
a mounted pack can be managed. " For most
of the many years," he says, " during which I
kept harriers, their food cost me about a penny
a day per hound, but their solitary attendant
was a curious old-fashioned retainer with unusual
notions of thrift. A second horseman whipped
in, and a horse had to be reserved for this express
purpose." Lord Suffolk's pack of fifteen and a half
couples cost him for maintenance no more than
£114 los. per annum. This sum was made up as
follows :
" Keep of hounds, kennel-man's wages, medicine,
and other incidental expenses, £8^. The keep of
horse for twenty-one weeks (he was only debited to
the pack during the hunting season) at £1 is. per
week, £22 IS. The allocated portion of groom's
wages for same time, at 9s. per week, £9 9s. This
was the lad who whipped in." " Things were roughly,
perhaps very roughly, done, but we had capital fun
for all that," is Lord Suffolk's concluding remark
on the maintenance of this extremely inexpensive
pack.
These examples will suffice to show that harriers
can, under certain conditions, be managed at sur-
prisingly low cost. Where, however, things are done
on the grander scale and with less regard for the policy
of cutting matters fine, the cost of harrier-keeping
mounts to considerably higher figures. Some thirty
years ago an authority upon hunting put the expense
of an average pack of harriers — twenty-four couples —
thus :
220 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
£ s. d. i s. d.
Twenty-four couples of hounds
at
IS. 6d. per week per head .
187
4
0
Tax on ditto ....
28
16
0
Medicines, &c.
4
0
0
Three horses for seven months,
at
15s. per week
63
0
0
Ditto ditto for five months, at "js.
per
week .....
21
0
0
Tax on ditto ....
3
0
0
Veterinary surgeon . .
3
0
0
Shoeing .....
7
10
0
Saddlery .....
12
0
0
329
TO 0
IVJ \J
Helper and whip, at 12s. per week
62
0
0
Tax on ditto ....
2
0
0
64
0 0
Total cost
;^393
10 0
" By great economy," it is added, " and the dis-
pensing with the whip, and using one horse only, with
twenty couples of hounds, only about half this sum
will suffice, especially with beagles."
There are various criticisms to be suggested at
the present time on such a statement of accounts.
In the first place is. 6^. per hound per week would
be considered an excessive sum for the feeding of a
pack of harriers. A recent authority has reckoned
the outside cost of oatmeal for hounds at 11^. per head
per week ; if mixed with Indian meal it would come
out at no more than 8^. or 9^. per head per week.
The cost of horseflesh may be put at id. per head per
week, on the assumption that each horse costs a
sovereign. Thus the cost per hound per week for
oatmeal and flesh would amount to is. \ci. per head ;
while, if Indian meal were mixed with the oatmeal,
the cost would be reduced to 10^. per hound per week.
Taxes (male-servants), 15s. per man, have to be reckoned
COST AND EQUIPMENT
221
for, and hound licences at ys. 6d. per hound. The
wages of helper and whip in the foregoing account are
put at far too low a figure for the present day. In
providing for a combined kennel huntsman and whip
at least £i per week would now have to be allocated.
For a pack of fifteen couples of harriers, hunted by
the Master, with the assistance of a kennel huntsman,
the cost of hunting two days a week on a quite modest
scale might be put pretty much as follows :
Maintenance of fifteen couples of hounds, at is
per head per week .....
Hounds' bedding, implements, repairs, &c.
Taxes and licences — hounds and one servant
Medicines, &c.
Maintenance of whip's horse, seven months at £i
per week (say £10), five months at los. per week
(say;^ii)
Master's horse, seven months at £1 per week
Veterinary surgeon .....
Shoeing .......
Saddlery and repairs .....
Wages of kennel huntsman at ;^i per week
His outfit .......
Incidental expenses .....
Total
• 78
0
0
• 15
0
0
. 12
0
0
■ 3
0
0
• 41
0
0
. 28
0
0
2
0
0
• 3
0
0
. 7
0
0
• 52
0
0
• 15
0
0
. 14
0
0
1^70
0
0
This is cutting the thing rather fine ; yet I believe
that, with great care and economy, a pack of harriers,
run with a single Hunt servant (mounted), could be
maintained for this figure — £170.
In these two last estimates no allowances have been
made for rent of kennels or maintenance of puppies.
I am assuming that the master, as is very often the
case, provides his own kennels. But, on the other hand,
I give no credit for certain small incomings, such as
sale of hides and sale of draft hounds. These accounts
300
0
0
I40
0
0
35
0
0
i6o
0
0
50
0
0
20
0
0
25
0
0
60
0
0
222 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
are merely given as indicating the main expenses of a
very modest hare-hunting establishment.
A fashionable pack of harriers, run on very liberal
lines and turned out — huntsman, whip, and all — very
much after the style of a foxhound pack, may be
expected to reach something like the following figures :
I 5. d.
Huntsman's book (including wages of himself,
whip, and feeder, and cost of flesh)
Meal and biscuit bill .....
Rent of kennels and premises (to include all Hunt
servants) ......
Maintenance of three horses
Liveries, saddlery, &c. ....
Dinner to farmers and others, who walk puppies
Expense of young hounds
Various incidental expenses — straw, rail, travelling,
shoeing, taxes, &c. ....
Total ;£790 o o
This would be running a large pack, say twenty-five
couples, on extremely liberal, not to say extravagant,
lines, and comparatively few Masters of harriers would
be tempted to remain long at the head of hounds if
their hare-hunting cost them anything like such a
sum. It will be noted also that allowance has been
made for a huntsman, his wages and horse, which are
items much more often than not saved by the Master
hunting his own hounds. Some few packs may, and
no doubt do, actually cost their owners and subscribers
as much as £700 or £800 a year. But these are in a
very small minority indeed ; if it were otherwise, hare-
hunting, which is a cheap sport, could not possibly
flourish as it does in these islands.
It may be taken, I think, as a reasonable estimate,
that a pack of harriers, hunted on horseback, can be
maintained in modest, but perfectly presentable,
COST AND EQUIPMENT 223
fashion for £250 per annum. For ;£300 per annum
the thing can be done yet more comfortably. A foot-
pack, as I have shown, can be run well on £125 per
annum. In the case of the more reasonable estimates
I have given, rent of kennels is sometimes included,
in others it is absent. There is very frequently some
kind friend to the Hunt, a Master or ex-Master, who
has, at one time or another, built or adapted kennels,
which he either lends to the Hunt or lets at a very low
figure. In the same way the pack of hounds is often
lent, practically for an indeterminate period.
It is, of course, always to be remembered that, to
a man starting a pack of harriers where none have
previously existed, there must be a good many heavy
expenses to begin with. The pack has to be got
together, and even a scratch pack of twelve or fifteen
couples of draft hounds will average probably from
£l ids. to £2 per hound. Kennels may have to be
erected, or adapted from outhouses or old farm build-
ings. This may run into all sorts of figures. He is
a lucky man who can obtain practically new kennels
for less than from £100 to £150.
Horses need not be anything like so extravagant
an item for hare-hunting as for the chase of the fox.
The class of hunter needed with harriers is a handy,
confidential mount, which can jump well and cleanly
and has a good mouth. There is so much turning
with a horse, that your hard-mouthed, free-going,
impetuous animal is useless. Even in fox-hunting,
it is a sine qua non that huntsmen and whips shall
have handy mounts, though they should be at the
same time good gallopers and bold, clean fencers.
With harriers, pace is not so much an essential. Now
and again, it is true, hounds wiU run like wildfire, with
a straight-necked hare, and even a first-rate hunter
224 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
can scarcely live with them. But for average hare-
hunting, a sound, handy, easy-mouthed horse, a good
and temperate fencer, and a fair galloper is all that is
needed. Still, it must be remembered that if the
Master, who acts as huntsman, means to follow his
hounds, he must have a horse that can jump ; and in
the course of his career he may have to face some very
queer and awkward places indeed.
At the same time, it is to be said that some packs of
harriers are hunted, and hunted respectably, by Masters
getting well on in years, who perform but little fencing,
and yet, by their knowledge of the country and of the
hare's habits, and by the use of gates, are usually there,
or thereabouts, when the kill happens. As for the whip,
he may be adequately but not expensively mounted.
In Hunts where economy is the vogue, a lad, mounted
on a useful cob that can gaUop and jump, is often
found performing the duties of his ofhce quite reason-
ably well. Some Masters provide themselves and their
whip with second horses, but this is a distinctly
uncommon practice in hare-hunting.
In the case of the more affluent of harrier packs, the
men are turned out, save that the colour of their coats
is green instead of scarlet, in almost exactly the same
style as are their brethren with foxhounds. In quieter
establishments, the rules of costume are not adhered
to with quite such nicety. But with the majority of
packs the kit and turn-out are usually smart and
workmanlike. Britons, wherever their sport is con-
cerned, love to have things done decently and in order ;
and, even in the case of establishments where one
knows that the Hunt is run on economical lines, it is
often noticeable how smartly, yet neatly, the whole
thing — men, pack, and horses — is turned out.
With foot-harrier packs, and, very often, even in
COST AND EQUIPMENT 225
the case of beagles and bassets, huntsman and whip,
if the thing is done respectably, are usually attired in
velvet hunting-caps, short green coats, breeches,
gaiters, and lace-up boots. White breeches look very
smart at the outset, but they soon become soiled,
and whipcord, or the thinnest velvet cord procurable,
is preferable. For running on foot, of course, the
clothing must, all round, be much lighter and thinner
than that worn on horseback. Strong green serge
is a very good material for jackets, and is much more
porous than Melton or other smooth cloths. White
breeches of jean or some thin cotton material are,
as I say, smart looking, but when, as often happens,
the huntsman or whip jumps into a dyke or has
to cross a stream, and they get wet, they are
certainly chilling garments afterwards. Even khaki is
preferable.
Not long since I came across a large coloured print,
entitled " The Merry Beaglers," in which a pack of
beagles of about the period of the early forties, or
perhaps a little earlier, was portrayed. The original
painting must have been by no means a bad one. The
beagles are of a good stamp and look smart, keen, and
up to their work. But it was the costume of the three
gentlemen — evidentl}'- huntsman and whips — depicted
with them that most attracted my attention. They
were attired in tall hats, such as our ancestors played
cricket in in those days — indeed, our ancestors seem
to have done everything in tall hats at that time ; they
even rowed at Henley in them ! In addition to the
tall hats, big collars, and ample neck-bands, they
wore short green jackets and apparently cord trousers,
the latter, if my memory serves me, strapped under
the boots. Although a fearful and wonderful costume
for running down hares in, yet these were no doubt
p
226 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
good sportsmen in their day, and saw and enjoyed
many a cheery hare hunt. This old print must, I
think, be a rare one. I have only once come across
it. Certainly we men of the twentieth century are
far more sensible in our sporting dress than were our
forefathers of the late Georgian and early Victorian
period.
With harriers, the costume of the field is very much
of the " go as you please " order. The tall hat — that
fetish to which fox-hunting men still bow the knee —
is seldom exhibited, and tweeds are much more fre-
quently seen than anything else. For running on foot,
tweeds, knickerbockers, and stockings, or knicker-
bocker-breeches and gaiters, a flannel shirt, and a
cloth cap are by far the most useful outfit. Ladies —
who enjoy sport with foot-harriers, beagles, or bassets
as much as any man — are now more suitably equipped
than they used to be. In a wet country, where dykes
were frequent, I have noticed that a girl, the best lady-
runner I ever saw out with a foot-pack, had adopted
putties, which seemed a sensible precaution. It is
astonishing how ladies in these days will brave weather,
mud, hills, ploughing, and other obstacles in their
determination to see sport. It is by no means an
uncommon thing now to see a lady in at the death of
a hare, which has been fairly run down by foot-harriers
or beagles.
For the pedestrian, the cost of hunting with a pack
of foot-harriers is, beyond a trifling subscription — say
£i IS., which ought in fairness to be paid, if the sports-
man goes out often — practically nil. A packet of
sandwiches suffices for lunch, and a drink on the way
home is the only occasion for which the hand need go
to the pocket. Occasionally, with foot-packs, a cap
mEy be taken for the. huntsman and whip ; on such
COST AND EQUIPMENT 227
an occasion a shilling will not be grudged by any fair-
minded sportsman.
Subscriptions to mounted packs vary a good deal.
In some few instances the full membership of the Hunt
— which is limited — may be as much as £20 to £25 ;
but, as a rule, from £3 3s. to £5 5s. may be taken to be
a fair subscription for a man hunting once or twice a
week.
CHAPTER XIV
SOME NOTABLE RUNS AND CURIOUS ANECDOTES
Memories of famous runs — Squire Frith, of Bank Hall
— A Derbyshire celebrity — His harriers — Great run
with a fox — Parson Fronde's famous run with a red
deer — Other runs with deer — Tara harriers — Great
Cotley run with a hare — Hailsham run of November
1900 — Colonel Robertson Aikman's notes — High
Peak runs — A month of starvation — Runs with Mr.
Hawkins's and Boddington packs — The Aspull —
How a hare was lost — Dart Vale and other runs —
A fox-hunt with the Crickhowell — Welsh hounds —
Anecdotes of hares — Some old runs with the Black-
moor Vale harriers
In the case of every pack of harriers, aye, and of
beagles, too, in almost every country, you will find, if
you begin to inquire with particularity, the memories
of some great and astounding run, which has remained
always keenly treasured by the sportsmen of the dis-
trict. If the accounts of these runs could be carefully
collected and printed they would form, I am convinced,
a very excellent volume. Some few of the great runs
of the past have, happily, been preserved from utter
oblivion by being printed in some old sporting maga-
zine or in the local paper of the period. Before passing
to some among the more remarkable runs of the
present day, I think it may interest my hare-hunting
readers if I recall one or two famous chases of the past.
While making inquiries for the purpose of this^book
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 229
concerning the origin of hare-hunting in the Peak
district of Derbyshire, I came, on several occasions,
across various references to a certain renowned Squire
Frith, who hunted a pack of fine, old-fashioned
harriers many years ago in that wild and picturesque
district. And, in particular, I found repeated allu-
sions to a most memorable hunt which the Squire
and his good hounds accomplished. Oral tradition is
useful, but it is not always very reliable or very par-
ticular in its details. After a good deal of inquiry, I
have managed to unearth the details of this great run,
partly from the Sporting Magazine of 1826, partly from
the accounts procured for me, from oral tradition, by
a brother * living in Derbyshire. Squire Frith, of Bank
Hall, near Chapel-en-le-Frith, kept harriers for many
years in the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth
century. He was a very famous old sportsman, who,
after fifty years of the chase, was, in the year 1826,
still to be seen mounted on a square-built cob, ambling
over the fine turf of his native hills with the Buxton
harriers, which he gave up in that year. Many a
good run had the old gentleman seen with his staunch
hounds ; but the finest of all was his great chase of
close on forty miles from near Chapel-en-le-Frith to
the neighbourhood of Congleton in Cheshire. Squire
Frith seems always to have stuck to harriers, but, like
many other sportsmen of his time, he hunted an occa-
sional fox as well as hare. In December, somewhere
about the year 1786, word came to the Squire that a
fox had been marked to earth and " made in," as they
call it up north, near a cottage called Hole House,
by Castle Naze Rocks, not far from Chapel-en-le-
Frith. Next morning, December 8, when the Squire
turned out with his hounds and field, the frost had
* Mr. W. R. Bryden, of Buxton.
230 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
rendered the ground much fitter for foot-work than
for hunting a fox over the rugged and steep moorlands
and through the rocky dales of North Derbyshire.
All the earths round had been stopped, and the fox
was duly unkennelled and the pack laid on. As
sometimes happens in frost there was a ravishing scent,
and a marvellous chase ensued. The fox took them
by Taxal, near Whaley Bridge, over the Duke of
Devonshire's moors, skirting Axe Edge, the highest
range in the county, on to Macclesfield Forest ; thence
by Tagsneys, Crookward, and Langly and Gracely
Woods, to Swithingly, where they sustained a short
check. Hitting off the line again they followed him
to Horsly and Gawsworth, and finally ran into and
killed this wonderfully stout fox at Clouds Hill, near
Congleton. The fox had stood up before his pur-
suers for just under forty miles. The horses got their
riders back as far as the " Cat and Fiddle " Inn, on
Axe Edge, the highest inn in England, but were
so beaten that they had to be left there for the night.
This is by far the finest and longest run with a pack
of harriers that I ever heard of. Few, if any, packs
of foxhounds have ever beaten it. It made so deep
an impression on the country-side at the time that
some rustic bard composed a song, commemorating
this great hunt, which song was sung at all popular
gatherings in the Peak district for more than fifty
years after. There is still an old man living in this
district who used, as a boy with a fine voice, to go all
round the country to sing it at various assemblies.*
* I have printed this song in Appendix C, not for its metre,
which is very halting at times, but as a curiosity in harrier
annals. As a contemporaneous document, it is striking
evidence of Squire Frith's famous run. One version of the
song, gathered from oral tradition, says the fox was run to
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 231
During this run Squire Frith rode his well-known
horse, Black Jack, a very notable fencer in that country
of stone walls, and always well up with hounds.
I have made some reference to " Parson " Fronde's
pack of old English harriers, from which is descended
in great part the present pack of Sir John Heathcoat
Amory. In the year 1825 Mr. Froude and his pack
while trailing for a hare, came on a wild red deer, a
hind which had wandered from Exmoor Forest. With
this hind the pack had an extraordinary run of four
hours ; with the exception of a check of five minutes
hounds were pushing their quarry hard the whole
time. They ran through ten parishes, and although
the deer sought to baffle them by taking soil on two
occasions, they pressed her from scent to view, and
finally killed her near Tiverton. It was recorded at
the time that although these harriers had to undergo
a desperately severe chase over a strong country
every hound was up at the death, and all returned to
kennel without being overdone. This must evidently
have been a real good pack of hounds. They are
stated to have been chiefly bred from their own kennel
for a score of years previously, were grey and white in
colour, twenty-one inches in height, possessing plenty
of bone, and standing on a good deal of ground. In
the same year (1825) the Dorset Vale harriers killed
two foxes in one day after runs of an hour and forty-
five minutes and an hour and thirty-three minutes
respectively. These harriers apparently hunted hare
and fox indiscriminately and were as good upon one
as the other.
In the winter of 1820 a stag was turned out at
ground. In the version I give, printed in the Sporting
Magazine so far back as 1826, it states distinctly that the
quarry was killed. Possibly he was dug out and killed.
232 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Silverly, near Newmarket, before Mr. Bryant's harriers.
The pack that day consisting of six couples only. There
was a big field out. With this stag these harriers ran
over a stiff country for a distance reckoned at twenty
miles and, pulling him down, killed him. The pace
must have been more than good, for of the horses
following two were kiUed outright, while others were
not expected to recover. Somehow or other in those
days hunting-men killed their horses far more fre-
quently than is the case at present. Whether they
rode them unfit, or whether, as I am inclined to think,
they pushed them more recklessly and more unmer-
cifully than they do now, it is certain that a large
number of horses died in the hunting-field each winter.
Such a thing is comparatively rare nowadays. For
one thing, I believe riders are more humane, and a
beaten horse is not ridden and spurred to his last gasp
as used to be the case.
Before I quit the subject of harriers and deer, I
will mention a good run with a Ward Union deer, in
which my friend, Mr. W. Dove, and his pack, the Tara
Harriers, took a leading part. This was in the season
of 1898-99. " An occasional outlying deer was,"
writes Mr. Dove, " left out on our side of the country,
and, being rather too far for the Wards to come for
it, the Master used to give me leave to hunt them. This
we did with much success, having one really great run
in my first season, from Corbalton Hall vid Sclater's
Gorse, Kilmoor, and Newton Sticks, to beyond Ash-
bourne, when she jumped up from a ditch. From there
she ran in view through the village of Ashbourne ; on
then past the Ward kennels, where she evidently tried
to get into the paddock, over the Sutherland farm, as
if for Lagore, vid Creakenstown. Here a hare got up
in front of hounds and, getting through wire, we could
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 233
not stop them for some time. Having succeeded and
got them on the road for home, they again hit off the
hne of the deer and ran nearly back to Corbalton.
Here we saw her in front of hounds dead beat. She
got into a ditch in the next field and died while being
taken out by two men, whether from the effects of
the run or from striking some wire with which she
had come in contact I don't know. She was a cele-
brated deer, Drogheda Lass, and had given the Wards
many fine hunts. We found that, though the best
point was only nine miles, we had covered between
twenty-two and twenty-three miles of the finest
country in Meath." These instances serve to show
that, when hunting deer, harriers are fully as capable
as foxhounds of showing magnificent sport. From my
own point of view, although I should much have liked
to have seen Parson Froude's harriers pull down a
wild Exmoor red deer after a run of four hours I
prefer to see harriers hunt hare, which is to my mind
their true and natural vocation. Mr. Dove tells me that
in one of his harriers' runs after outlying deer their
hind swam two miles down the centre of the Boyne
river, a curious performance. This was a very cunning
deer, which used constantly to take to the river.
Coming to the real thing, one of the finest hare hunts
of which I have record, is that of a great run with the
Cotley harriers during the time of the grandfather of
the present Master, Mr. Fames. " They found,"
writes Mr. Fames, " a hare on Cotley Farm and killed
her at Wellington Monument, which is over twelve
miles as the crow flies." Mr. Fames suggests that
this is a record run with a hare. I, for one, am not
disinclined to agree with him. More than twelve
miles as the crow flies is, in truth, an extraordinary
run with a hare. A glance at a map of Somerset-
234 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
shire will show that hare, hounds, and huntsman must
have passed through a large number of parishes
during the course of this wonderful run.
The best run I have ever myself seen with a hare,
whether hunting on horseback or on foot, happened
with the Hailsham harriers on November 24, 1900.
We met at Pevensey, the day being dull but fine, with
a mild, light breeze from the south-east. Quickly
finding a hare, hounds pushed her out on to the marshes
parallel with the sea. After running up wind for three-
quarters of a mile or so, the hare turned short back,
and, running right through a number of spectators,
amid much noise, holloaing and hubbub, sustained,
I suppose, such a fright that she set her face straight
for the inland country, and neither turned nor dallied
for another yard. Heading northward, straight across
the wide marshes, she quitted her own country and,
crossing Manxey Level, passed Horse-Eye, and swam
the Hurst Haven, a broadish stream which runs into
the sea on this part of the Sussex coast. Now leaning
a little towards Hailsham she presently changed her
mind, bore right-handed and sped on for New Bridge
and Herstmonceux. Coming round the castle she
was disturbed by some villagers and ran on to Wart-
ling Hill, where, on some ploughing just below the
church, a check occurred. Scent, from the very
beginning of the hunt, had been a burning one, and
hounds ran with a beautiful cry and with the greatest
fire and resolution. The field had, from the severity
of the pace and the straightness of the run, been left
far behind, some stopped by lack of wind, others
by the broad and deep dykes scattered over the
marsh ; and at Wartling Hill, as we trotted up
towards the hounds, only five or six were left
to fight it out. Among these were Mr. Rupert
HI o
i_) in
1-1 °5
< S
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 235
Williams, the then joint-Master and huntsman, James
Holmwood, the kennel huntsman, the writer, and
two or three others.
As we got within hail, the hounds, which had for
some time been busily casting about for themselves,
put up the hare, which had here squatted on the plough,
and, with a wonderful burst of music from their deep
voices, raced away in pursuit. The pace was now again
so great that we were left quickly in the rear. The
hare now took us through Wartling Wood, thence
left-handed over Mr. Curteis's park at Windmill Hill,
then crossing the road between Herstmonceux village
and Boreham Street, she sank the beautiful valley
towards Bodle Street and reached Cowden Wood.
The pack was pressing her with such vigour that
she had little inclination or time to linger. She now
pushed on to Causeway, thence to Fareham Bridge,
Proffits Wood and Cattell's Wood. From Cattell's
Wood, with the ravening pack closing up and now
near at hand, she pressed up hill towards Cowbeech
Mill. Hounds were now close at her scut and she was
tiring fast. She got as far as Foul Mile, some little
way beyond Cowbeech, and was there run into and
killed. Two labourers, who happened to be close at
hand, saved the hare from the pack and handed her
to two gentlemen who had joined in the hunt near
Windmill Hill. The five survivors of the beginning
of this great run, toiling on foot far in the rear of the
hounds, and occasionally guided by their voices, were
a mile or so behind when the end came. We pre-
sently picked up the hounds as they returned to Herst-
monceux. This was a quite extraordinary run, last-
ing two hours and three quarters. From point to point
this stout hare took the pack seven miles ; as hounds
ran the distance measured thirteen or fourteen. In this
1^6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
instance the pack hunted and killed their game entirely
unassisted. At times, especially as they raced across
Windmill Hill Park, they were running mute, a some-
what remarkable thing in a pack largely of Southern
Hound blood and renowned for its music. The hare
had traversed no less than seven parishes ; and we were
so far from our head-quarters and so leg weary that
we chartered a trap and drove back the six miles from
Herstmonceux village to Pevensey. It is very seldom,
indeed, that, even with a pack hunted on foot, I have
seen hounds get so completely away from their field
as upon this occasion.
Colonel Robertson Aikman tells me that the best
run he had in Lanarkshire, where he hunted hare many
seasons, was on January 26, 1891. They ran from
Cleddans Gate to the moor beyond Cumbernauld and
killed in forty-five minutes ; as hounds ran the dis-
tance was eight miles, while from point to point it
measures six miles. In Derbyshire, with the High
Peak harriers, his present pack. Colonel Robertson
Aikman's best day happened on January 10, 1903.
As hounds ran the distance traversed was nine miles,
the cream of it a six-mile point from below Parsley
Hay, Monyash Side, to Middleton Hall, accomplished
in thirty-five minutes. The whole run occupied one
hour. This has always been an excellent part of the
High Peak country for runs, and the hares all over
this district are wonderfully tough and hardy — some
of the very stoutest in England, in fact. Here is an
entry from the diary of Mr. Nesfield, so long Master of
the pack, in 1865 : " Tuesday, 19th December, Mony-
ash. Found near Mellands^ ; ran brilliantly to Abbot's
Gorse, down the road to Hurdlow Wood and Wharf,
over the heather hills to the left, thence leaving Cronk-
stone Grange on the left over the hill, back to the
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 237
heath. Here the two foxhound bitches ' Ruby ' and
' Fairmaid ' distmguished themselves ; they took up
the scent and killed in Cronkstone Wood ; two hours,
twenty-eight minutes." " How many foxes," adds
his commentator, " could stand before Bel voir bitches
like this ! " Two days after this great run, the High
Peak, meeting at Gotham Gate, found near Cliff House
and had a wonderful run of an hour and ten minutes.
At the end the hare fell dead, one hundred yards in
front of the pack. Instances of hares falling dead
before hounds in this way, after a very severe hunt,
are not common, still, they do occur. Colonel Aikman
tells me of a similar incident which happened in a run
in Lanarkshire on October 31, 1898. The hare
dropped dead two fields in front of hounds after a
long hunt. These cases happen, I fancy, more often
where hares are hunted with dwarf foxhounds, or
with harriers containing a good deal of foxhound
blood, than with ordinary harriers. I imagine that
the severity of the pace is greater and the hare is much
more pressed throughout.
Before I quit Derbyshire hare-hunting I will make
mention of an extraordinary instance of endurance
in a hound. Towards the end of the season of 1892,
while hunting to the south of Newhaven, one of the
High Peak bitches, " Dauntless," was lost. Fair-
clough, the huntsman, feared she had fallen down
one of the several disused lead-mines, and tried every
one he could find. He obtained no response, however,
and reluctantly gave up the search as hopeless. A
month and a day later a farmer, having lost a lamb
in this part of the country, also examined the same
mines and presently heard a faint whine. No ladder
could be obtained of sufficient length and a miner
went down the shaft on a rope. He found the hound
238 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
just alive, but unable to stand or see. In spite of this
extraordinary period of starvation and exposure the
bitch recovered both her health and good looks.*
As illustrating the extraordinary lack of scent in a
squatting hare, I make one more quotation from Mr.
Nesfield's diary. " Thursday, 23rd October (1873).
Elton ; had a capital run and kUl ; one hour thirty-
five minutes. It was a soaking rain. . . . She clapped
(squatted), and I watched no less than four or five
hounds actually tread on her without finding her out.
Not a particle of scent till in motion."
Mr. Hawkins, whose harriers I have already men-
tioned, sends me a brief note of a very fine run with
his pack in Northamptonshire in 1902. This took
place in the territory of the Grafton and Pytchley
Hunts, some of the very finest fox-hunting country
in Britain. After killing a brace of hares in the neigh-
bourhood of Stowe Nine Churches, where they met,
his harriers put up a stout jack hare in Heyford parish.
Him they hunted at a fast pace by the village of Stowe,
thence along the northern side of Stowe Wood. Breast-
ing the hill above Weedon hounds left that place on
their right and, racing down the hill over Everdon
Vale, puUed down their hare a mUe short of Badby
Wood. " The distance as the crow flies was seven
miles, and the pace was good throughout." I know
this country well, and the Grafton followers would
esteem themselves lucky if they had chased and killed
a fox over such a line.
In Gloucestershire, Mr. J. S. Gibbons's harriers, the
" Boddington," show excellent sport. Many good
runs with points of five miles or so, writes Mr. Gibbons,
have been enjoyed during his mastership of the coun-
* This case is authenticated in " A Third of a Century
with the High Peak Harriers," p, 40.
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 239
try. Here a are few of them. " Found at Swindon,
ran well across the Vale, straight up the hill, and killed
on the top of Cleeve Hill. Twice in one season a hare
ran from Boddington to Wallsworth Hall, a point of
nearly five miles, losing, through changing hares, at
the finish ; probably the same hare gave both these
runs, as the line was precisely the same. In 1901
two long runs occurred in one day, one hare being
found at Haydon and the other at Boddington, and
both being curiously lost at Tredington village,
after a four and five mile point in each instance.
Perhaps the best run over the Vale we ever had was
last season, when a hare from the Leigh was killed
close to Cheltenham, after 45 minutes fast run over
some of the best of the Vale country."
" The longest run I have had," says Mr. Carlton
Cross, Master since 1890 of the AspuU harriers, Lanca-
shire, " was a 6 mile point, but it was not as fast as
one in the season of 1900-1901, when we ran 6^ miles
in a horse-shoe in thirty minutes, over a grass country ;
in both cases we never changed. As to the distance
a hare can run, I have known them go three times
round our point-to-point racecourse, which is three
miles round." A nine mile hare-hunt is no bad thing,
and Lancashire hares are evidently good enough for
any harriers ; for the Aspull is a very smart and well
bred pack of modem harriers, with a good deal of
foxhound blood about them. Mr. Cross, among other
interesting notes with which he has been good enough
to favour me, tells me that he is one of those who
hold with giving plenty of hares to hounds. He does
it and believes in it. I think the majority of hare-
hunters, who give their killed hares to neighbouring
farmers, are satisfied with the keenness of the pack
without more blood than is afforded by the entrails.
240 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
&c. I have for years watched the demeanour of
hounds at the death, and whether they run into and
kill and devour the hare themselves, as sometimes
happens, or whether the hare is taken from them and
saved, I have never been able to discover that their
keenness thereafter was greater one way than the
other. Still, Mr. Carlton Cross holds the contrary
opinion, and thinks that it is " most necessary " that
harriers should have plenty of hares.
Mr. Cross sends me a very amusing instance of the
mysterious disappearance of a hare at the end of a
run. All hare-hunters, I am afraid, can bear testi-
mony to being robbed of the fruits of a hard run in
some such manner ; but the experience of the Master
of the Aspull harriers is almost unique. He had run
a hare and lost her. Riding up to an old woman who
was passing by, he asked her if she had seen anything
of the quarry. She answered that she had not, and
went on her way. Mr. Cross never noticed her
umbrella, but the old dame had actually picked up
the hare, deposited it in her umbrella, and got clear
away with it ! Well, to an old and poor woman one
would not grudge a spent hare now and again, but
it is rather maddening, as one discovers afterwards,
when some poaching lout with a dog picks up the
hunted hare at the end of a hard run and makes
off with it, thus robbing the pack of its well-earned
blood and some honest farmer of a capital dinner.
This incident with the Aspull harriers is, however,
not quite unprecedented. More than a hundred years
ago a country woman, passing down a lane, came face
to face with a hare hotly pursued by a pack of harriers.
The hare was so intent on the clamour of her followers
that she never observed the woman, who, " with great
presence of mind," as the chronicler puts it, stooped
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 241
and held out her apron, into which the hare straight-
way ran and was captured.*
Fox-hunters of the present day constantly complain,
and with great show of reason, of short running foxes,
and the poor hunts but too often obtained. It is
certainly quite the exception in these later years to
experience a really great run with a pack of foxhounds,
even in the best of our hunting countries. Various
causes are assigned for this state of things. Some
allege that cubs are too much left alone ; others, that
the young foxes are slain in the cubbing season in too
great numbers ; while others, again, hold that we
breed our hounds too much for speed and pay too
little attention to the quality of our foxes. Others,
again, assert, and I think with a good deal of reason,
that in many countries there are far too many foxes,
and that constant changing robs the pack of many
a good run which might otherwise have been obtained.
Again, the enormous fields, of both horse and foot
people, have undoubtedly a very deterrent effect on
the quality of sport shown. At meets in fashionable
countries foxes have but too often small chance of
getting away with a fair start, and are so headed and
mobbed that they can yield no sport and die an un-
worthy death. Happily, one does not find the same
state of things obtaining with harrier packs. The
sport, conducted usually in a quiet and enjoyable
manner, with small fields and comparatively few foot
people, escapes, thank heaven, the unhappy popu-
larity of fox-hunting, and flourishes as successfully
as it did two hundred years ago, when Sir Roger de
Coverley and his fellow squires rode out with their
Southern hounds.
To me it seems — and I have followed very closely
* "Annals of Sporting," 1823. Vol. iv. p. 233.
Q
242 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
the history and the records of hare-hunting — that
sport with harriers at the present day yields as good
runs as ever it did. Hare-hunts are not so frequently
published in the Field as are runs with foxhounds.
Yet, as I write this chapter, I take from the current
number of that excellent publication, details of a
first-rate run with a pack of harriers, the Dart Vale,
mastered and hunted by Mr. Leigh Densham. On
February 9, 1903, these hounds found a hare near
Afton Tor, and ran her by way of Loventor and Waye
Barton back to Afton, where they changed in some
big woodland. Hounds were now taken away and
at Weekabaro Cross roads got on to the line of a
travelling hare, which gave them a magnificent run
of an hour and ten minutes, when hounds ran into
her at Barton Pines. In this run, which occurred
without a check, a six-mile point was made, and the
pace was so good that at one time the pack were nearly
a mile ahead of the rapidly tiring field, most of whom,
however, by judicious riding managed to get on terms
again. A run like this is surely good enough even
for fox-hunters.
In the same number of the Field I read an account
of two runs in one day with the Downham harriers ;
the first, thirty-five minutes and a kill with a real
straight-necked hare ; the second, a very fine forty-
five minutes and a kill in the Fens. Yet again, in
the same paper, is an account of a great run with the
Culm Vale Foot-Harriers, an hour and forty-five minutes
and a kill, and another run of an hour and thirty-five
minutes. These instances, taken from but three
accounts of sport with harriers in the same week,
prove, surely enough, if proof were needed, that hare-
hunting in these early years of the twentieth century
flourishes exceedingly. I have seen a great deal of
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 243
sport with foxhounds, and I admire that sport as
much as any man, but I honestly beheve that at the
present time and in the present state of fox-hunting,
the harrier man gets more sport and better value for
his time and money than does the fox-hunter. I
don't say this for a moment with the view of making
hare-hunting more popular. Heaven forbid ! I, and
all other hare-hunters must, I am convinced, pray that
the sport may go on and prosper under its present
quiet and placid conditions. If it becomes popular,
as has fox-hunting, it will be ruined. Its very strength
and its very pleasures lie in the fact that it is pursued
chiefly upon quiet country sides, in the old-fashioned
manner, and with small fields.
Some harriers are, individually, extremely keen on
foxes if they come across them, and as a rule most
packs, collectively, will, once they get on the line of
that animal, hunt him with great fire and vigour.
Some hounds will, on the contrary, never look at the
drag of a fox, and seem to dislike it instinctively.
Some, again, will hunt readily either hare or fox. Mr.
Doyle, of the Crickhowell Harriers, sends me a curious
incident in connection with his pack. They were
hunting (on foot), by arrangement, in Monmouthshire,
just after frost, and were sent to draw a certain fox-
covert which the Monmouthshire Hunt had never
drawn that season. " As might have been expected,"
he continues, " we found a fox there. They drove
him straight for about six miles, then swung round to
the right for about two more, and then ran into him,
no one up. I only learnt long after how it ended from
a casual passer-by, who saw the kill from his gig. We
utterly failed to find the hounds, and went home with
a few which had been tailed off and straggled back.
Next day my whip found the hounds at a homestead.
244 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
where a benevolent farmer had housed them for the
night. On their return journey they found and killed
a hare. Two were missing, Landsman and Wanderer.
We found Landsman about a month afterwards at
the Ross kennels. Wanderer, I hope, returned to his
original home." Landsman, it is to be noted, was
very keen on a fox, and if by accident they got on to
one, it was no easy matter to whip him off. In this
case it seems probable that the extreme keenness of
one harrier for fox led the whole pack into a grand
hunt, in which, however, they slipped their field and
had the fun entirely to themselves. Another harrier,
on the contrary, says Mr. Doyle, " would not go ten
yards on a fox. One such hound in a pack is a treasure
in a country like ours, saving one from all doubt."
Of one of his harriers (the above-mentioned Wan-
derer) Mr. Doyle writes : " One of the best hounds
I ever had was a rough Welsh hound. He suddenly
turned up we knew not from where. He had rather
humpy shoulders, but was otherwise very well made,
with better legs and feet than the generality of his
breed. He had a rare nose and a lovely voice, and
hunted hare or fox with perfect impartiality. He
had, too, a mysterious knack of anticipating — almost
always correctly — a hare's doubles, and, when he got
older, and somewhat slow, cutting off corners." One
wonders if this good Welsh hound ever found his way
to his own kennels after the memorable fox-hunt above
referred to. Perhaps he thought he had then done
enough for the Crickhowell, and did, in fact, betake
himself to his old quarters.
I confess to a partiality for Welsh hounds. They
are seldom bad ones. Some years ago the Pytchley
Hunt had curiously enough, a couple of these rough
hounds running with the pack. They were wonderful
SOME NOTABLE RUNS 245
workers, and held their own gallantly with one of the
best packs in the country. " Brooksby " several
times made mention of them in his hunting notes of
that period. It was a singular experiment, but it
proved, at any rate, that the Welsh hound, with his
rough coat and not always perfect shape — according
to modern ideas — is good enough to hold his own in
the best of company.
I have already mentioned the fact that hares will
occasionally go to ground when hard pressed, just as
they will betake themselves to that unfamiliar element,
the sea. The Crickhowell last season ran a hare to
ground in a cleft amid some rocks. A terrier was
put in and killed her, and the hare was later on got
out with some difficulty. Some weeks afterwards,
another hare went to earth in the same place ; after
much digging and shifting of boulders, this one was
found fast jammed between two rocks at least six feet
below the surface.
Among the most fruitful sources of danger to harriers
and foxhounds alike are railway lines and sea cliffs.
Many a good hound has, unhappily, fallen a victim
to one or the other. Colonel Robertson Aikman's
harriers, in March 1889, had one of the most extra-
ordinary escapes on record. Three or four couples of
them were not only on the line as a train came by,
but actually went under the whole length of the train
in motion and escaped unhurt. This was a rather
wonderful day with these hounds as, in addition to
the train episode, they ran a hare into the river Clyde
and killed her there.
Every one familiar with harriers has seen a hare
run through the jaws of a pack, as it were, and escape
with her life. Colonel Aikman tells me of a remark-
able instance of this with his pack in Derbyshire last
246 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
year. When on the moorland at Sparklow he saw
two hares sitting. They got up and hounds were
running them in view through a narrow way, with a
tvall on either side. A third hare jumped up, as hounds
went over her, and ran right through the middle of
the pack for thirty or forty yards, passing each hound
before he saw her.
I once witnessed a very curious incident while out
with the Foxbush Harriers. It was a good many years
ago, when Mr. Kemp himself always hunted them on
foot. We found a hare, and had a capital run with
her and lost. Almost immediately we got on to a
fresh hare and enjoyed a real good run with her also.
Presently she began to tire, and hounds closed up
rapidly and were running hard for blood. We had
by this time returned to the place where we first found
her. Just at this moment some of the hounds picked
up the first hare, which was by this time so stiff that
she was scarcely able to move. We had at this mo-
ment then the strange gratification of running into
both our hunted hares simultaneously. They were
actually killed within a few yards of one another.
I have already made some mention of the frequency
with which hares when hunted take to rivers and
streams. I came recently on some old accounts of
sport with the Blackmoor Vale Harriers (Dorset) in
the year 1832, in which some extraordinary feats of
swimming are recorded. On February 24 these harriers
met on Lydlinch Common, and, finding a jack hare
near Bagbere, had a great run with him. He swam
the river L3^ddon four times, and finding the pack still
pressing him unpleasantly crossed yet a fifth time.
Thence he ran to Stourton Caundle, where he swam
the Caundle stream, and yet once more crossing the
river was killed on the border of Lydlinch Common,
SOME NOTABLE RUNS
247
after a magnificent run of an hour and thirty minutes.
During this run twelve miles of country were covered,
seven of them nearly straight. A second find this
day furnished a run of one hour thirty-five minutes,
with a kill at the finish, this hare having swum the
Stour. On March i with the same pack their hare
swam the river five times and was killed after a chase
of an hour and twenty minutes. Another hare on
the same day was killed after thirty-five minutes' hard
gallop, while yet another yielded a run of more than
two hours.
The Blackmoor Vale Harriers seem to have shown
quite extraordinary sport in those days. I find accounts
of the following runs between January 24 and March
I, 1832.
January 24
I
hour
45 min.
Kill.
24
I
)>
3
)>
Kill.
27
50
>>
Kill.
27
45
}>
Kill.
27
I
,,
25
>>
Kill.
31
50
>)
Kill. (Every horse left be-
hind " out of sight and
hearing.")
"ebruary 3
I
)>
ID
,,
Hare picked up.
3
55
,,
Kill.
3
I
>y
45
,,
Whipped off.
7
I
>y
15
>)
Kill.
7
I
)>
5
>)
Kill.
10
I
y>
30
>>
Kill.
ID
I
JJ
40
)}
Lost.
14
I
jj
Kill.
14
2
}>
30
>)
Kill. (Over thirteen miles
of country.)
17
I
>>
30
))
Kill.
17
2
)>
20
>)
Whipped off at a fox covert.
,, 21
45
>}
Kill.
,, 21
45
y>
Kill.
24
I
>>
30
>)
Kill.
24
I
)>
35
)}
Kill.
248 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
February 28 30 min.
Lost.
March i 35 ,,
Kill.
„ I I hour 20 „
Kill.
I 2 „
Whipped off.
These seem to me to be extraordinarily good records,
scarcely to be excelled by any pack at any period.
CHAPTER XV
HUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS
A typical English sport — Brampton Harriers — John
Peel's country — Dyke jumping — An athletic pastime
— Good foot-jumpers a match for horses, over water —
Some long jumps — -Advice to runners — Pleasures and
advantages of foot-hunting — Nature notes — Strange
visitants — Beauties of the woods — A startled hare —
How a camera was saved — The Sussex " bat " —
Smugglers — Rules of Holcombe Harriers, 1773 — A
quaint document — Foot-hunting a fine training
Hunting with foot-harriers is a pecuharly Enghsh
sport, which must have flourished in quiet country-
places for untold generations. It is typically English,
as it seems to me, for the reason that it appeals
to those athletic and outdoor instincts in which all
Englishmen, and indeed all Britons, have been remark-
able from the earliest times. And especially in the
wilder and remoter parts of the kingdom, in localities
unsuited for pursuit on horseback, is the foot-hunter
to be found flourishing at the present day, just as he
has flourished for hundreds of years past. The Fells
of Cumberland and Westmoreland, the moors of Lan-
cashire, the hflls of Wales and the marshes and downs
of Sussex still afford magnificent sport to foot-hunters,
and throughout the winter attract small but enthu-
siastic fields, who follow each feature of the chase and
watch the staunch harriers at their work with a keen-
250 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
ness and enjoyment not to be excelled in any branch
of British rural sport. As for beagle packs, to which
I shall come in another chapter, they are nowadays
very plentiful, and in almost all parts of England
afford excellent hunting. Even in Ireland, that coun-
try of horses and horsemen, as I have shown, the hare
is occasionally hunted with harriers on foot ; and the
peasants and small farmers of Kerry and Clare gather
their trencher-fed hounds on Sunday mornings and
range the mountains in pursuit of a pastime which
affords them endless pleasure and excitement. In
Cumberland and the lake country, the fox as well as
the hare is hunted on foot, and among the rugged
fells great sport is shown with either quarry. Whether
John Peel hunted hare as well as fox, I know not ;
possibly he did. But at the present day the Bramp-
ton Harriers, hunting from near Carlisle, show first-rate
sport with hare in Peel's old country. These hounds
are now hunted on horseback as well as on foot ; but
when engaged in some of their fell country, they can
be hunted and followed on foot only. Occasionally
after a good day the field rest and refresh themselves
at Caldbeck Inn, and, with the cheery fell-side farmers,
wake the echoes of the very room where, years ago,
the famous old hunting-song was composed. John
Peel himself, it will be remembered, lived at Trout-
beck " once on a day," but the veteran in his grey
coat hunted his hounds many a time and oft above
Caldbeck village.
Hunting on foot is a thoroughly democratic sport,
which can be enjoyed by the country lad or girl, the
farmer's son, the village postman, nay, the village
cobbler, if he choose to put aside his last, just as heartily
as by the squire himself, or any of their betters. The
good farmer himself welcomes the hounds. Even if,
HUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 251
in these bad times, he is not quite so keen on fox-
hunting as he or his forbears used to be, he can join
heart and soul in the sport of the foot-hunter ; and if
he is too well up in years to follow the chase himself,
can usually nick in here and there, or from some chosen
eminence view the hounds pushing their hare with
merry cry over the more open country. Foot-hunting
is a form of sport I think much more adapted for
hills, downland, or open marshes than in strongly
enclosed country, where the view is hindered by big
timbered hedge-rows. Perhaps the finest country of
all, from a spectacular as well as a sporting point of
view, lies in the wide, well-drained marshes of the coast
line of East Sussex, where, from the low hills surround-
ing the great grass " levels," magnificent views of the
whole panorama of the chase are frequently to be
obtained, even if the spectator is not inclined to do
much running.
Dyke- jumping is a particular feature of hare-hunt-
ing in this locality, and the man who can long- jump
fairly well, has a sound wind, and is keen on the sport,
can have some of the best hare-hunting in England.
An athletic training stands one in excellent stead for
this phase of the sport. Some of the dykes are so
wide that a man must be able to clear fourteen or
even fifteen feet to get over. To an athlete in light
running costume and spiked shoes that distance, of
course, sounds very little. But put the same man
into winter clothing, tweeds, knickerbockers, and
boots, and offer him a poorish take-off on heavy, and
perhaps, greasy ground, and a leap of fourteen feet
means a good deal. The man who can get over a
Sussex dyke containing say twelve feet of water,
would, in athlete's costume, on a fine day and from
a good take-off, readily clear eighteen or nineteen
252 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
feet. It is a real pleasure — I speak as an old athlete
— to see a man going well over such a country, with
a good pack of foot-harriers. This form of running
is a considerably more severe trial than a jog trot
with a paper chase ; I have tested every possible
style of running, and I speak from experience. I like
to see a man run steadily after the clamorous pack,
keeping well within himself, taking each broad dyke
as it comes, and clearing it with a fine effort, and
keeping the while an eye on the line of the hare. When
hounds are really running hard on a good scenting
day — I speak of eighteen- or nineteen-inch harriers —
it is of course impossible for the finest long-distance
runner in England to keep within hail. The judi-
cious sportsman must, if he means to see the end,
cut off a corner now and again and swing across the
centre of the ring which the hare is almost inevitably
making.
In such a country the man on foot is more than a
match for a good horse. These deep dykes are too
trappy to be ridden over, and the marshes of which
I write are practically never attempted by fox-hunters.
But even in more practicable country the good water-
jumper on foot is, at a wide brook, more than a match
usually for the average mounted man or woman.
Few horses are really fond of water, and steeple-
chasers, like Chandler (whose mythical thirty-nine
feet at Warwick by the way has never yet been satis-
factorily proved), are few and far between. Jack
Mytton and one or two others are said to have cleared
nine yards of water on exceptionally fine hunters.
I think such a feat is, for a real good horse — say, one
in ten thousand — and a very bold rider, quite possible,
but few mounted hunters indeed would make much
of a show against a good Sussex dyke-jumper who is
HUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 253
really " for it " and means going. I have known
enthusiasts during some particularly exciting moment
of a hare-hunt, when hounds are racing for blood and
the end is surely coming, who will jump at anything.
Nay, I have in mind a Master of foot-harriers, a fine
long-jumper, who, sooner than not be with his hounds,
will spring full-tilt into a river and get across somehow,
if it is too broad to compass at a leap. Still, it is not
all, even among the enthusiasts, who will proceed to
such extremities. After all there are such things as
chills, and one cannot take liberties with one's con-
stitution perpetually.
As a maturer foot-hunter who, thanks to an athletic
youth, can still stay comfortably at a steady pace over
such a country, and still jump a Sussex marsh dyke
with most of the youngsters, I advise the foot-hunter,
unless he be a first-rate athlete in fine running trim,
always to bear in mind some lines of Somervile.
They contain most excellent advice, written of hounds,
yet singularly applicable to the human hunter, who
may be desirous to see the end of a really good run
in which he is taking part : —
" Happy the man who with unrival'd speed
Can pass his fellows, and with pleasure view
The struggling pack ; how in the rapid course
Alternate they preside, and, jostling, push
To guide the dubious scent : how giddy youth,
Oft babbling, errs, by wiser age reprov'd ;
How, niggard of his strength, the wise old hound
Hangs in the rear, till some important point
Rouse all his diligence, or till the Chace
Sinking he finds ; then to the head he springs,
With thirst of glory fir'd, and wins the prize."
Even to the best runner in the world these lines may
be useful. To the moderate performer and the veteran
254 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
they contain advice on hare-hunting which it is
impossible to better.
But hare-hunting on foot is not alone for the athlete
and for youth. Many a man of middle-age, many a
grey-haired farmer, many a lady, can watch the chase
in all its diverse wanderings and enjoy a long day's
sport without running a hundred yards. Thanks to
that instinct which seems, in nine cases out of ten,
to compel the hare to return to the neighbourhood of
the very place where she was first put up, the spec-
tators, especially in fairly open country or from a hill-
side, can often see as much of the hunt as the runners
striding along with infinite labour and endurance in
the wake of the hounds. Nay, it is not by any means
an unusual thing to see those who have been merely
watching and not following, nick in just as they see
hounds running into their game, and actually be up
at the death before the three or four stout runners
and jumpers who have been steadily sticking to the
line for an hour or more, Mr. Otho Paget, an enthu-
siastic hare-hunter, has said that hunting on foot is
the only sportsmanlike way of pursuing this animal.
I do not go so far with him as that, but I do agree that
hare-hunting on foot, if a man is fit enough and ath-
letic enough to run with hounds, is one of the very
finest pastimes in the world. Personally, after having
tested almost every kind of sport, mounted and on
foot, I know few pleasures to equal it. On foot a
man can, to my mind, see even more of the actual
science of hare-hunting, one of the most beautiful
and interesting chases in the world, than on horse-
back. A man on foot can go anywhere. He can
penetrate woodlands and copses where a horse cannot
follow. He can cross a big stream, either by leaping
or wading, or a combination of both, where a horse
From a photograph by Mr. J. Coster
HAILSHAM HARRIERS
THE DEATH
Frotn a photograph by I\Ir. J. Coster
HAILSHAM HARRIERS
GOING HOME
Plate XXI
HUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 255
is pounded ; and he can penetrate into aU sorts of
odd corners and perplexing places where his mounted
fellow cannot possibly make his way. In fact, much
more frequently than not he can be almost always with
hounds, watching each phase of the hare's flight and of
the marvellous patience, instinct, perseverance, scenting,
and stoutness with which the good harrier unravels
yard by yard, mile by mile, that cunning puzzle
which the little brown beast ahead has set before the
pack.
During the chase of a hare over wild moorland
country or broad unfrequented marshes, or through
big woodlands, you may often come suddenly upon
some interesting feature in natural history. While
hare-hunting in Sussex I have seen peregrine falcons
and hen-harriers pursuing their predatory career while
one was actually hunting ; hoodie crows, with their
quaint and rather murderous ways, are constant
winter residents upon our marshes ; they come to
us punctually in October and depart at the beginning
of spring, just as we are abandoning hare-hunting for
the season. Mallards, wigeon, teal, and, in hard
weather, wild geese and other rarer wild fowl are
visitors to our marshes. The stately heron is always
in evidence. Snipe constantly spring up before one
as the chase sweeps on. The wide coast marshes have
in truth at times many rare and singular visitants.
I have seen occasionally, disturbed by the chase, red-
shanks, greenshanks, dunlin, whimbrel, and other
wading birds. This very winter we had on Pevensey
marshes a small flight or two of Glossy Ibises, strangely
infrequent wanderers from the rivers and lagoons of
far-off Africa. They had lit there, no doubt, on their
way south, and, as usually happens, some of their
numbers fell victims to the gunner and the collector.
256 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
While penetrating the woodlands, whither the hare
had carried us, I have more than once flushed a wood-
cock Irom his snug resting-place under a bush or a
tree of wild holly, not far from the soft-banked, trick-
ling streamlet, whence he has been extracting dainties
overnight. To any one fond of wild life and of nature,
there is a wonderful pleasure in such little discoveries
as these. Most sportsmen have, I fancy, a natural
eye for the wild beauties of the country-side, even in
winter. In traversing a woodland through which
a hare has run, while its depths are resounding to the
cheerful and inspiring notes of the deep-voiced hounds,
how infinitely beautiful are many of its features ! The
exquisite carpeting of russet-brown leaves, here and
there, where some great beech has shed its garment,
reddened by the deeper hue of that wonderfully
coloured leafage ; the delicate winter tracery of the
birch trees, their silvery boles, the majestic contours
of the oak, the dark pine standing solitary in her
pride ; the beautiful colouring of jay or woodpecker
as, disturbed by the unwonted turmoil, they betake
themselves to other retreats ; all these objects, espe-
cially if a tender gleam of winter sun shines upon
them and brings out their beauties, add zest and
interest to the already abounding pleasures of the
foot-hunter. There is not, I think, a more beautiful
woodland picture in winter than a tree of wild holly,
with its berries of vivid scarlet and its gleaming dark-
green leaves, burnished by nature to an almost mirror-
like smoothness. I know of such a tree in the woods
adjoining Herstmonceux, which, lit up by sunshine, is
a marvel of winter beauty. Not one of your thick,
massive holly trees, solid old gentlemen of some cen-
turies, but a slim, tallish, elegant creature, decked in
harrier green and hunting scarlet, a typical lady of
HUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 257
the woods. She will always remain, just as remains
so many a good hunting-run, a living picture in the
memory.
Strange and amusing incidents happen sometimes
to the foot-hunter as he follows hounds. Only a few
days since, with the Hailsham Harriers, a man jumping
a broad dyke saw that he was alighting directly on
top of a hare — not the hunted one — which happened
to be lying on the bank. He managed to avoid her
as he touched the ground, and the hare was so startled
and so terrified that she plumped straightway into
the dyke and, floundering across in the most ludicrous
fashion, emerged like a drowned rat on the other side,
and raced away in a very panic of fright. The scene
was a most ludicrous one. It is a real pleasure to
jump a good dyke, but these obstacles to the hare-
hunter afford infinite grief sometimes. I saw this
winter an enthusiastic photographer, rushing to take
a snap-shot of hounds and hunters as they passed by,
make a stride for a plank which bridged the dyke.
He omitted to remember that there had been a
sharp white frost during the night and that the plank
was doubly treacherous. His foot slipped and he
plunged bodily into the dyke. Happily, he was an
enthusiast in his work and, holding his camera above
his head, he managed to preserve his precious cargo
of plates. If it had been otherwise, this volume might
have been shorn of some of its illustrations. The
enthusiast stuck to his work pluckily for the rest of
the day, in spite of the fact that he was practically
wet through.
Shepherds on the Sussex marshes get from one part
of the broad pastures to the other by means of
occasional planks, usually very narrow and slippery,
which span the wide and muddy " diks," as they are
R
258 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
called locally, that drain the levels. These slender
bridges are godsends to ladies and to the non-jumping
division who, with the aid of a " bat " — a long staff
affected by most marsh-traversers in this part of
Sussex — are enabled to cross readily enough. The
" bat " is quite a local institution among Sussex foot-
hunters. A staff, usually of hazel, wild cherry, or ash,
cut from some local woodland, it serves for various
purposes. It is an excellent aid in crossing these marsh
planks and beating coverts, and with a hat ele-
vated upon its apex serves, in place of the noisy and
disturbing view holloa, to call attention to the line
of the hare. If you are not among the hurrying divi-
sion, you may, leaning upon this excellent staff, gaze
restfuUy and contemplatively from some convenient
hill-side at all the features of the chase, stretching out
below you. I confess to a weakness for the rustic
staff of Sussex, although I belong, naturally, to the
more active division of foot-hunters. The Sussex
" bat " seems to be a very ancient aid to hare-hunting
in these parts. I find reference to it in old accounts
of the chase of the hare in the Weald of Sussex in the
days when Southern hounds were used. In this part
of the county, and elsewhere, especially about Hors-
ham, much of the hunting seems to have been done
on foot. Certainly at the pace the old Southern
hound went, and with his absurd deliberation, the
man on foot could have had no great difhculty in
keeping up during the long five and six hour chases
in which our ancestors seem to have delighted. " Bats"
were, however, occasionally used for other purposes.
In one of the last encounters between smugglers and
preventive officers on the coast of East Sussex, a cargo
was about to be run and the officers had assembled
to prevent it. A number of smugglers and their
HUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 259
local adherents, however, fell upon the officers with
bats and so mishandled them that they drove them
off, left one of their number for dead, and success-
fully ran their contraband. This happened no more
than about eighty years ago, at Little Common, on
the edge of the marshes, between Bexhill and Pevensey.
The beginnings of some of the old-fashioned foot-
hunting packs of harriers, in the days when hounds
were trencher-fed, must have been often singular
enough. Mr. C. Garnett, of the Holcombe Harriers,
has unearthed a document, dating from the year 1773,
which gives a curious picture of the internal economy
of such a pack. The document from which my ex-
tracts are given embodies the rules of the Hunt for
that season. The extracts run as follows :
Holcombe. Nov. 25, 1773.
1st. Mr. Holt Brown to be the conductor of the Dogs for
this season. No person in the society to call for the hounds
to hunt in any particular Place, or at any Time without giving
notice to the Dog-Lad in writing and his consent. Too (sic)
days in a week till Old Candlemas to be hunting-days, the
weather allowing it.
2nd. John Kay to be huntsman ; to have wastecoat,
Breeches, Stockings, and a pair of Shoos gratis ; to have a
Cap lent this season ; to have is 6d per day of hunting ;
to have is extraordinary, for every Hair (sic) he shall kill ;
and to call the Dogs off the Chace at the request of the Dog-
Lad or any other subscriber if he can, or else forfeit that
day's Wages.
3rd. Every person who shall keep a Dog to enter it as one
of the Pack (living in the Manor) and not to be at liberty to
withdraw or dispose of it to any other Person wile the Society
continue to hunt togr. and to have each an Hare if requested
and possible to be got.
4th. Every Person who shall keep a Dog, etc. and attempt
to destroy Hares etc. exclusive of and in opposition to the
Society, in this Manor to be prosecuted according to the law,
and the Huntsman or any other Person who can and shall
convict them thereof to have 5s over and above the allowance
26o HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
of the Law from this Society towards their expenses and
trouble in going to a Magistrate.
5th. If at the end of this season any money shall remain
in the hands of the Dog-Lad, it shall be paid and delivered
to his successor in office who shall be chosen by a majority
of the subscribers ; and if the sum subscribed shall happen
to be deficient such Deficiency to be made up by the sub-
scribers, in proportion to the sums they shall at first have
subscribed towards the Hunt.
Witness our Hands John Smith
Sam. Brandwood
John Rogstron
RoBT. Holt Brown
Benj. Buckley
John Booth
J AS. Howarth.
This quaint document — a thoroughly Enghsh pro-
duction, grave, sohd, and law-abiding — proves amply
that even the supporters of trencher-fed packs took
their sport quite as seriously as their modern suc-
cessors, and allied themselves frequently by hard and
fast rules, which regulated the conduct of their hunt-
ing even to minute particulars.
In hunting foot-harriers, it is better to keep the
pack as near as possible to a standard of eighteen or
nineteen inches. Eighteen inches is, to my mind, the
ideal height for foot-harriers. It is, however, a diffi-
cult matter to keep down the standard to that desi-
deratum ; harriers, whether bred from foxhound or
Southern hound blood, are inclined to produce hounds
just a little bigger than is often wished for. The
pack with which I hunt are nineteen-inch harriers,
which, for foot-hunting, is the maximum that ought to
be permitted. In fact, even for hunting hare on
horseback, I would sooner hunt with nineteen-inch
harriers than those of any other standard.
Hunting on foot is not only a most wholesome, but
liUNTING WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 261
a most cheery, winter sport. The farmers and land-
owners are almost invariably staunch friends and
supporters of a sport which affords a great deal of
amusement and does them no harm. No one's
fences are injured, the fields are small, and the pastime
can be enjoyed by young and old, rich and poor, alike.
The intrusion of the mere vulgar ostentation of wealth,
too often seen nowadays, even in the hunting-field,
is conspicuous by its absence. In fact, the vulgar
nouveau riche, who is usually a self-indulgent sort of
person, much more devoted to motor cars than to any
other form of out-door exercise, can have little part
or lot in a hare-hunt on foot, where activity, good
wind, firm muscles, and clean living are essentials to
success if a man really means to follow hounds. Here,
in truth, the farmer's son is likely to be a better man
than the youth nurtured on money-bags.
Besides being a most fascinating form of sport,
hare-hunting on foot is a first-rate training for British
youth. It makes them fond of the country, and renders
them hardy, healthy, and vigorous. Every school-boy
likes it, and it is a real pleasure to see in holiday time
the youngster out for the day with beagles or foot-
harriers. Besides drawing youth out of the towns, it
teaches them to use their eyes and to train their minds
to observation. To understand the run of a hare,
even more than that of a fox, a man must use his
wits, and the careless, the unobservant, and the fool
can never hope to become either a good harrier-man
or a sound fox-hunter. It is one of the misfortunes
of latter-day sport that, in fashionable countries, the
lad who goes out fox-hunting sees very little indeed
of the real science of the chase, and can learn little
of the working of hounds or the run of a fox. He
learns, it is true, to gallop and to jump, but in ninety
262 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
cases out of a hundred, what with the hurry and
scurry of three or four hundred excited horsemen and
the precautions of the Master, who has to manage
and dispose his field before drawing a covert, some-
what Hke a regiment of cavalry, it is impossible for
the budding sportsman to see much of the real and
true inwardness of the sport in which he is supposed
to be taking a part. If a man wants his son to learn
something of the art of hunting hounds, he cannot do
better than enter him, as a youngster, with a pack of
beagles or foot-harriers, where he may glean the whole
of the process of the chase from find to finish. Many
a keen fox-hunter, who has ably hunted his own hounds,
has picked up the rudiments of his art in this way, and
has passed from beagles to harriers and from harriers
to foxhounds.
In hunting harriers on foot, the same number of
hounds are taken out, and the process of hunting is
identically the same as when the hunter is mounted.
In some ways, I am inclined to think better sport is
often enjoyed on foot than on horseback. Hounds
are necessarily often left more to their own devices ;
they get away from their field and have more oppor-
tunity to follow their own instincts, which are, usually,
even more valuable to them than the huntsman's
judgment. It is an old, and a perfectly true maxim
with harriers, that the more they are left alone the
better the sport is. It follows that, with foot-packs,
the interference being less frequent, the sport shown
is usually of very high quality, of its kind and in its
own way not to be surpassed by any other open-air
pursuit. There seems to me to be a great and growing
appreciation of this form of hunting.
CHAPTER XVI
SOME RUNS WITH FOOT-HARRIERS
A hunting morning — A South Down manor-house —
The Hunt breakfast — A hare found — A hot chase —
Hard chmbing — BirUng Gap and the sea — Scent
fails — A check — Captain, a friend at need — A cast
forward — A holloa on — Beaten hare — The death
— A marsh meet — The hare-finder — Away over the
dykes — A long marsh-run — Towards Hooe and
Little Common — We check — Over the Haven — Near
the Sluice — Road-hunting — Wild fowl at sea — The
grass again — The " Crumbles " — A waste of shingle
—The kill
It may, I think, be not uninteresting if I attempt to
depict one or two runs with foot-harriers. It is a
duU, misty, November morning. Our meet to-day lies
at a quiet old manor-house, lying in the very heart
of the South Downs, and, as flints are plentiful and
cycling among these hiUs is not of much assistance,
we start fairly early and walk the four and a half
miles to the try sting-place. Arrived there, we find
the hounds already shut up in a stable and the score
or so of hunters assembled inside the old house. We
enter the ancient hall, a fine old lofty chamber, tim-
bered with dark oak, and dating back from the later
days of Henry VIII.'s reign. This is the oldest part
of the mansion, the south front dating from about
1630. But it is aU delightfully ancient, a fine, solid,
well-built, ancient manor-house, in which generation
264 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
after generation of sturdy squires and yeomen
have been reared. Its present owner has done much
towards the restoration of the old place, and it is now
in good condition, fit for sheltering folk for a hundred
or two of years more. The old Tudor hall is now used
as a billiard-room, and the table is spread with all
manner of good things, beef, ham, sandwiches, pies,
and every kind of drink, from whiskey and soda to
old ale and cherry brandy. Upon the snow-white
table-cloth great dishes of ruddy-golden apples make
a fine display ; they are so typically English, and they
contrast so pleasantly with the rich, dark panelling of
the great chamber. In the wide open grate bums
a roaring wood fire, a notable and most comfortable
addition to a typical picture of the country-side as
one likes to see it. Refreshment over, hounds are
unkennelled from their stable, and we proceed to
draw up a long, open valley between two high folds
in t]ie down. Half a mile from the house, suddenly
from among a thick crop of roots, a hare jumps up
right in the middle of hounds. There is the usual
scuffle observed on such occasions. The hare makes
her escape from the open jaws of twelve couples of
her foes as if by a miracle, and, setting her face for the
down-side, away she tears, one ear down the other
half cocked, as if to catch every tone of that terrible
chorus behind her. With a grand burst of melody,
hounds pack together and race off in pursuit. For
a few hundred yards it is a mere confused scurry,
hounds running in view, aU clamorous to get at that
little brown form fleeting away at such a pace in front
of them. In this open down country this is a thing
that cannot be avoided, and for that reason I, for one,
prefer hunting in the marshes, and upon more enclosed
land, to hare-hunting on the downs. However, the
RUNS WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 265
hare presently slips out of sight, hounds are brought
to their noses, and we make the best of our way after
them.
For two miles this stout hare keeps her face pointed
straight for the south-east and the sea. We climb the
down, trot some way along the top, sink another deep
valley, and then the hare turns right-handed. Scent
is, up to this point, first-rate, and hounds carry a
marvellously good head, but there are indications that
this excellent state of affairs may not continue. The
mist is clearing, and there are gleams of sunshine.
Belle Toute lighthouse shows at length, clear and spot-
less white against the green turf of the cliff edge.
And, looking away down Birling Gap yonder, a coast-
ing barque, with all plain sail set for the faint breeze,
creeps out of the sea mist. Another lift of the white
veil, and a tramp steamer ploughs clumsily eastward
through the grey-green sea. But after an instant's
check at the sharp angle of the hare's sudden turn
hounds race away again. It is clear from their direc-
tion that the hare is ringing back to her head-quarters.
A judicious line across the centre of the circle, which
our quarry appears to be bent on making, enables us
toiling footmen — those of us who are really running,
no joke with harriers on these open downs — to nick
in again close to the tail of the pack. Away we go
again full cry through the valley from which the hare
got up ; away over down and into valley as before.
But now the change of temperature has wrought its
inevitable result, and scent begins to fail consider-
ably. Slow hunting is to be the fashion, and the
hare gains some temporary respite. She needs it,
surely, by now ; for fifty minutes and more she has been
rattled over the hills in a way that few of her kind —
even the stoutest down hare ever bred — can stand
266 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
for long together. Hitherto Stormer, a wonderful
young hound, and some of the speedier of the pack
have been doing most of the leading work. We come
to a check on a wide piece of ploughing. Watch now
as they cast themselves, spreading fan-like over the
red earth, and, with noses close to the ground, search-
ing staunchly for the slightest taint of the animal in
front of them. See the pale old hound out yonder ;
how busy he is ! That is old Captain, the best-nosed
hound in the pack, a veteran of seven seasons, who,
in such emergencies as this, is the most trusted ally
alike of huntsman and of his fellow hounds. No harrier
in Sussex is better on a road, or a dry plough, than he.
Not a hound in England is more reliable or more
truthful. Captain has it ! His head goes up, he
flings forth a deep note or two, and to him fly Sally
and Pepper, two famous blue-mottled bitches of the
right Southern hound lineage. " It is right ! " they
cry, with still deeper and more melodious voices than
that of Captain himself. The rest of the pack fling
to them, and slowly, with encouraging music, they
puzzle out the line of the hare. They clear the plough
and sweep more briskly over some down grass again ;
and then, upon some more plough thickly sown with
flints, scent seems to fail them altogether. The sun
has done its work, and the hare has for the moment
the best of it.
Here comes the huntsman's opportunity. He
makes a circling cast forward. Hounds just touch
the line, but lose it again. Now comes a holloa from
the Master, who, with quick eyes, has, as usual, noted
the hunted hare creeping round once more towards
her old haunts. That holloa, and the wave of the
Master's hat, is, in such an emergency, when we look
like being run out of scent altogether, good enough,
RUNS WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 267
and, with a touch of the horn, away we go at best pace.
If you do go to a holloa at all, don't dally, but take
your hounds as fast as you like. A foot-huntsman,
after all, can never blow his hounds on such an occa-
sion. We pick up the line again, and, passing the
Master, are cheered with the tidings that the hare is
tiring fast. So, indeed, are some of us bipeds ; but
we push on, hope as usual springing eternal in the
hunting breast. Hounds now carry the line slowly
to a little shaw towards East Dean. The hare has
certainly gone through, but beyond scent fails again
lamentably ; it looks almost as if we were going to
be beaten after all. A longish cast round, and we
suddenly come upon the hunted animal, which has
squatted and now springs away just in front of hounds.
From a rather ominous quiet, we suddenly emerge
once more into the joyous clamour of hound voices, all
mad with the idea of running into their prey. It is
very plain, indeed, that the hare is beaten. Her rest
has but served to accentuate her stiffness, and her
gait now is far different from that wondrous display
of speed with which she sailed away from us during
the first hour of the hunt. The pack gains on her
rapidly. Stormer leads the van ; Champion, Daunt-
less, and Abel push him hard. Old Captain, knowing
well that the end is near, is straining every nerve and
is well up with the leaders. They close up rapidly.
In three minutes it is all over. They are close upon
her ; she jinks feebly once or twice, and now, upon the
smooth down turf, the leaders have pulled her down,
and the whole pack are ravening at her. We are
quickly up, the huntsman rescues the dead hare from
the jaws of the hounds, and then with a blast or two
of the horn and piercing who-whoops we proceed to
celebrate the obsequies. An hour and forty minutes
268 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
since we found ; a capital run, the first hour of it very-
fast, the last forty minutes slow hunting, but none the
less extremely interesting, and to the two or three
youngsters who have watched it extremely instruc-
tive. And so, while the scattered little field collects
again, we take a welcome rest of ten minutes in the
good down air before drawing further.
Here is a phase of sport with foot-harriers in another
part of East Sussex. The meet is at an old-fashioned
inn, close to the walls of Pevensey Castle. At 11-15
A.M. we make a move for the broad marshes just out-
side the village, and, as usual in this locality, have not
long to wait for a hare. Spreading out in line, we
draw a marsh pasture or two. Suddenly there is a
holloa behind. As so often happens amid the thick
grass of this kind of pasturage, chequered here and
there with tussocks and occasional patches of rush,
just the kind of lying for a hare, hounds and field have
passed over the very animal of which we are in search.
The holloa is from a noted finder of hares, who, hang-
ing behind as is his wont, has spied the hare snug in
her form. His hat is up ; we know that that signal
is unfailing, and, with one cheery blast from the horn,
hounds are collected and taken quietly back. When
the pack is within sixty yards of him the finder turns
back a pace or two, touches the still squatting hare
with his long staff, and away she flies for dear life, as
fast as those strong hind legs of hers can propel her.
With their usual rousing chorus on these occasions,
the hounds, mad with excitement, race after her. The
hare flies a dyke, skims along the bank, slips under a
gateway, and, descending the steep bank of another
dyke, is presently out of view. Hounds are now
brought to their noses, which is by far the best thing
for them. It is at once apparent that scent is first-
RUNS WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 269
rate. The day is clear and bright, with but Httle
wind ; just the fresh touch of a gentle south-easterl}'-
breeze moves over the wide levels. Quickly picking
up the line, hounds, running with immense dash and
fire and with a grand and most tuneful cry, scour
after the hare, which has set her face for the gentle
slopes of Wartling Hill and takes over a succession of
broad dykes that need a good deal of jumping. A
cart or two, laden with enthusiastic farmers and their
daughters, spin along the road on the left. Two others,
whose drivers have formed a different opinion of the
hare's line, turn right-handed and bear across the
marsh towards Sewers Bridge and Ninfield ; these
last are, as it turns out, in the right.
After running a long mile or more towards Wartling,
the hare, headed unconsciously by a shepherd, suddenly
swings right-handed, and now hastens over that vast
sea of marsh pastures, which extend to Hooe and
Little Common. Those on foot, who do not care for
the labours and delights of running and jumping, now
betake themselves to the middle road — that towards
Ninfield — where they can see the chase for miles round
over the broad levels, here guiltless of tree, or hedge,
or any thing that may impede the vision. A little
band of ten or a dozen ardent pedestrians follow the
clamouring pack, and prepare for a long run and an
infinity of leaping. For half an hour or so it is a stern
and a hard chase, and the runners have much ado to
keep at all within hail of the pack. But relief comes
at length. Hounds check on the high bank of a small
marsh river — the Haven — where, before crossing, it
is clear that the hare has spent a minute or two in
running a puzzling foil, which, for a brief period, at all
events, shall perplex her pursuers and give her breathing
space and rather more law. Clever creature that she
270 HA.RE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
is, she has judged correctly. Hounds check here for
close on five minutes, by which time the Master is up,
and, it being evident that the hare must have gone
over, the pack is holloaed and encouraged across.
A welcome bridge, a little to the left, gives access to
the runners, and the chase is hotly resumed. Over
the road presently swings the pack, still bearing a
little right-handed. More running, more jumping ;
these dykes seem interminable. The limits of the
marsh are reached, and it looks as if the hare were
going to climb the little hill towards Hooe. But no !
her bent is still for the marsh. On, on over the never
ending pastures, till we are close upon the Sluice,
where the marsh river finds access to the sea, and
a little old-fashioned inn, notable in the old days as a
favourite haunt of smugglers, nestles amid a few
trees, solitary upon the levels. Still going right-
handed, we come to a loose gravelly road and check
once more.
Here hounds are at fault for a minute or two, until
old Captain, our famous road-hound, proclaims the
fact that the hare has betaken herself to the roadway.
Slowly we pick it out up a little eminence, whence the
sea, quite near at hand upon our left, gleams a clear
steel-blue. Its surface, scarce broken by a ripple, is
dotted with brown-sailed fishing smacks, which push
with difficulty out into the Channel, so little does the
faint breeze assist them. Two hundred yards from
the flat shore line floats, on the calm water, a long
string of scoters, the " black duck " of sea-fowlers.
They are worthless for powder and shot, and hence,
probably, their immunity ; so fishy is their flesh
that, in Catholic countries, they may be eaten during
Lent or on fast days, a poor tribute, indeed, to their
value as table-birds.
RUNS WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 271
But there is little time just now to think of wild-
fowling. A glance or two at the pleasant sea-scape,
with Beachy Head jutting boldly in front of us, and
our eyes and ears are once more riveted on hounds
and the line of chase. Captain and the leaders of the
pack check for a moment at a gate, and then, plunging
into the grass pasture again, tell us with a grand chorus
of glad voices that the line is right and that scent is
good again. At the same instant a far away holloa
or two in front tell that the hare is running straight
for Wall's End, the little sea-shore off-shoot of Pevensey
village.
Scent is burning again, and, refreshed and heartened,
the pack, now gathered well together, are running at
a great pace, and with a grand cry. It is inspiring,
indeed. Surely we are going to kill this stout hare,
which has now been running before us for full three
quarters of an hour ! We toil on and are nearing
Wall's End, when, suddenly, the line of the hare
breaks off to the right. It looks as if she meant going
back for the very field from which we first put her
up ; but no ! for some reason, either because she was
headed, or because she merely wished to baulk her
pursuers, she has evidently doubled. It is a tick-
lish moment ; but hounds, left judiciously to them-
selves, hit off the line. They are not running heel as
some supposed. The hare has turned short back,
run a foil close upon her old line, and, as hounds tell
us by their patient and more careful work, has evi-
dently dodged about here considerably before going
away again. It looks like a tiring hare, and our
spirits rise proportionately. They puzzle it out round
two or three pastures, along dyke sides, close to the
water, in and out, up and down, this way and that,
untU at length aU is clear, and the pack is away again.
272 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
We point now for the rich pastures between Pevensey
and the sea, leaving Wall's End on the left, and then
comes a distant holloa. It is from the very edge of the
" Crumbles," a vast expanse of flat shingle, from
which the sea has, centuries ago, receded. The holloa
is from a coastguard ; it tells us the plain tale that
our hare is indeed hard put to it, or she would scarcely
have resorted to that last shift of the unhappy chase,
a run over this strange, trackless, and usually scentless
stretch of shore line. The coastguard has seen her,
truly enough, and tells us she is very beat and going
slowly. Excellent news, indeed ! The question is
whether the " Crumbles " will to-day give us any
scent at aU.
That issue is soon clear enough. There is some
scent, for a wonder ; and, albeit at a much slower
pace, hounds continue to hold the line. We struggle
through the waste of pebbles, as best we can, for half
a mile, and then, suddenly, the leading hounds, topping
a ridge of shingle towards the sea, rush on with renewed
energy and a wondrous clamour. They have a view,
undoubtedly. We scale the little ascent and there,
one hundred and fifty yards away, witness the last
shift of the failing hare. Hounds are now close at
her scut. She turns, twists, and dodges, with a courage
and a perseverance surely deserving of a kindlier fate,
and then all is over. She dies ! she dies ! as Somer-
vile would have had it, in his blank verse ; and, dis-
appearing amid the final worry of the pack, we see the
little brown form no more. Tired limbs are forgotten.
With one impulse we rush up to the scene, as fast as
legs can carry us, just in time to rescue the stif^ and
somewhat battered quarry from the jaws of her
pursuers. She is, of course, quite dead. The usual
triumphant cries are raised ; the huntsman sounds
RUNS WITH FOOT-HARRIERS 273
cheery blasts upon his horn. In the far distance we
already discern, coming to us as best they can across
the marshes, such followers of the Hunt as are any-
where within sight or sound. A glorious run, quite
in the old-fashioned manner, and worth, surely, a
week of a man's — a town-dwelling man's — life ! One
hour and twenty-five minutes is the time, and hounds
have killed their game practically unaided. We carry
back the dead hare to the marsh, and, in presence of the
rest of the spectators, complete the final rites.
In few runs, indeed, is the huntsman's assistance
less often tendered. A too eager man might, and
probably would, have spoilt all by interfering
with the pack just at those two or three critical
moments when the hare's clever and devious tactics
had caused a check. And here let me offer just one
word of advice to quite young huntsmen, especially
with a foot-pack. Don't be afraid to trust your
hounds. After all, they must know far more about
this business of hunting than you or any other biped,
even the oldest and most rus^ member of the field.
Do remember that they and their ancestors have, from
almost immemorial time, been engaged in no other
business in the world than the hunting of hare in this
manner. Through a thousand generations have their
progenitors been bred and selected and crossed, and
counter-crossed, with no other object than to give
them good noses, and stout limbs, and school them for
the chase and for nothing else. Their instincts, their
training, their selection fit them, far more than any
other creature, certainly far more than the cleverest
human hunter that ever raised a hoUoa or blew a horn,
to pursue successfully the wonderful problem laid
out upon the surface of the earth by probably the most
resourceful beast of chase in the world. Do, then,
s
274 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
give credit to your hounds ! Give them time, give
them room. Don't be afraid of the comment of the
field, most of whom know very httle about the sport
of which they are spectators ; but trust to your
hounds, have infinite patience, and in ninety-nine
times out of a hundred they will pull through.
CHAPTER XVII
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING
What is a beagle ? — Old writers on these hounds —
" A diminutive and lavish kind " — Colonel Hardy's
pocket beagles — " Stonehenge " on the beagle —
Throaty hounds and good noses — Beagle colours —
Size — Revival of interest in beagling — Number of
packs in England, Wales, and Ireland — Welsh
beagles — Notes on various packs — Some good runs
— Beagle management — Objections to mounted men
— Attitude of Masters towards fox-hunting — Coursing
and hare-hunting
What is a beagle ? "A small hound, with which
hares are hunted," is the definition of an old-time
writer on the chase. That is a fair description, but
it does not carry one very far. The very name
" beagle " is one which has puzzled all sorts of learned
people, so much so that some of the dictionaries tell
you that the origin of the word is unknown. The
term seems to have been little in vogue before the
time of Henry VII. ; yet it is certain that these small
and lively hounds were known, probably by some
other designation, to our ancestors long before that
time.
The revival of the beagle for hunting purposes within
the last twenty years is of the happiest augury. It
seemed, seventy or eighty year ago, as if these little
hounds, although still used for shooting purposes, were
276 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
in some danger of being lost to us. Here is what a
sporting authority of that period says concerning them.
" Much emulation prevailed in former times among
sportsmen in the breeding of beagles, and it was then
the greatest merit to rear dogs of the smallest growth.
Amongst amateurs of hunting, beagles were so care-
fully selected in point of size that they seldom ex-
ceeded ten or eleven inches in height ; and they were
so well matched with respect to speed, that during
the chase a good pack might be covered with a sheet.
This is with all hounds a sure mark of excellence.
" Although beagles are slow in speed they are
uncommonly eager ; for, if the scent lies well, a hare
has little chance of escape from them. Their slowness,
however, is the principal reason of their being almost
totally discontinued in packs ; and that they are now
seldom to be met with beyond a few couples, used in
some of the southern counties of England to ensure
finding more certainly in greyhound coursing."
This is an extraordinary statement, and although
hunting with beagles had, in the early part of the last
century, certainly gone out of fashion, they were never
totally abandoned for hunting, or anything like it. Here
and there, in quiet places, a few packs were still main-
tained and the blood kept up. And for shooting, espe-
cially in Sussex, beagles were always in favour.
" Hunting with the beagle," adds the same author,
Mr. Brown, " was admirably adapted for ladies and
gentlemen up in years ; and, besides, afforded much
amusement to rustics and other pedestrian hunters ;
for there were few male persons of any activity who
could not keep up with them."
The latter part of this statement I take leave
to doubt. When beagles really run, nowadays, it
requires a pretty good man to keep up with them.
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 277
Possibly the author had only seen hunting with ten
or eleven-inch beagles, whose pace would not, of course,
be very great over a rough country. But that beagles
had been bigger and fleeter than these pigmies may
be easily ascertained by reference to Beckford and
other older authorities. From these we know that,
before the advent of the foxhound, beagles were used
a great deal for hunting foxes to earth, whence reynard
was dug out and knocked on the head. That these
small hounds, especially the north-country beagle,
were fleet and lively is proved by the testimony of
this writer, who advises the mating of them with the
slow Southern hound, for the purpose of producing
a good harrier. He, as I have shown, bred his pack of
harriers in this way, and succeeded, after some years,
in the difficult task of pleasing even himself.
An older writer than Beckford, quoted by Daniel,
says : " The North-Country beagle is nimble and
vigorous, he pursues the Hare with impetuosity,
gives her no time to double, and if the Scent is high
will easily run down two brace before dinner." "But,"
he adds, " itis only on a good scenting day these speedy
hounds show themselves, for without the constant
discipline of the whip, and perpetually hunting them
down, it is impossible to make a good pack of them.*
There is another sort preferred from their tenderness
of Nose, and because they eat little, but without great
care they are apt to chatter without any occasion."
Concerning this small race, Daniel gives a curious
anecdote. " Of this diminutive and lavish kind,"
he says, " the late Colonel Hardy had once a Cry, con-
sisting of ten or eleven couple, which were always
carried to and from the field in a large pair of Panniers,
* Beagles seem to have been much more unruly in the
old days than they are at the present time.
278 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
slung across a horse ; small as they were, they would
keep a Hare at all her shifts to escape them, and often
worry her to death ; but it was similar to that species
of hunting where a Fox was hunted in Devonshire
House Gardens, it might be endured as a novelty,
but no one would ever wish to behold it a second
time. The Catastrophe attending this Pack of Hounds
is laughable, and perhaps a Larceny unique in its
attempt. A small bam was their allotted Kennel,
the door of which was one night broke open and every
hound, with the Panniers, stolen, nor could the most
diligent search discover the least trace of the Robbers
or their Booty."
" Stonehenge," in the second edition of his volume
on " The Dog," dated 1872, makes the rather astonish-
ing statement that the true beagle was almost entirely
displaced by dwarf specimens of the foxhound, or by
crosses with it in varying proportions. That statement
seems to me far too sweeping. I grant that dwarf
foxhound blood has strongly invaded the constitution
of the modern beagle, but, here and there, you may
still find many a good beagle of the right old-fashioned
stamp, probably blue-mottle in colour, or with strong
traces of blue-mottle, and showing by its long ears,
the contour of its head, its fine voice, and perhaps a
certain throatiness, its descent from the Southern
hound or some equally ancient type. As to throati-
ness, which is usually reckoned by modern judges so
terrible an offence, I advise the novice who is getting
together a cry of beagles — or harriers either — not to
be too much frightened by the appearance of this
fault. It may be taken as a sound axiom that a throaty
hound is always blessed with a good nose. Tom
Smith, the famous Master of Foxhounds, author of
" The Life of a Fox," and " The Diary of a Hunts-
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 279
man," makes some extremely sensible remarks on this
matter of nose and throat. " This rage for pace and
shape," he says, " in some measure accounts for the
great deficiency of nose, in comparison with what
it was formerly. It is true that hounds may be, and
are, nearer perfection in point of beauty. A throaty
hound, for instance, is rarely seen in a pack, although
very common some years back, when men thought
more of hunting than of riding ; but by getting rid
of the throat the nose had gone with it, for a throaty
hound has invariably a good nose ; and that all
hounds were so until the end of the last (eighteenth)
century, nearly all sporting pictures of hounds will
prove." In the case of beagles, therefore, and even
of harriers, a master should pause before he proceeds
to draft a hound because it is cursed (or blessed) with
throatiness.
Beagles of the present day vary a great deal. We
have what is practically a dwarf foxhound, with short
legs, the rough-coated Welsh beagle, an excellent type,
the old-fashioned beagle, which is a miniature and
improved version of the Southern hound, the mixed
beagle, constituting a variety of blends of foxhound,
harrier, and the original breed, and the little sharp
rabbit beagle, used for hunting rabbits and not for
shooting purposes. This latter is the pocket beagle,
standing no more than ten inches at the shoulder.
The Marquis of Linlithgow has a kennel of these little
creatures, which display extraordinary fire, spirit,
and dash, and hunt rabbits in most amusing fashion.
As to colour, the beagle, like other hounds, runs in
almost all hues, foxhound colour, blue-mottle, lemon
and white, hare-pie, badger-pie, black-and-tan, and
red. If I had the choosing or breeding of a pack, I
should prefer beagles of hound colour with a strong
28o HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
admixture of blue-mottle. The blue-mottle colour
always indicates an ancient strain, and where you get
that colour you have also good nose and cry, two highly
important accessories in hare-hunting. Black-and-
tan is a colour that, latterly, has been coming into
vogue somewhat, where beagles are concerned, and
judges at shows seem to favour it. It is not, however,
in my humble opinion, so true or so characteristic a
beagle colour as blue-mottle, or hound colour, or a
mixture of the two.
As regards size, the tendency of the last score of
years has been, I am afraid, to increase the standard.
Some beagle packs now hunting, are distinctly too
big and approach more nearly the size of harriers than
that of beagles. A good pack of beagles, that is a pack
of beagles which are not only well-looking, but can
properly account for their hares, after a more or less
prolonged hunt, ought not to be less than thirteen
and a half inches or more than fifteen and a half inches.
Some packs run to sixteen inches, but I believe that
a fifteen and a half-inch beagle will be found, in nearly
every kind of country, good enough to kill hares in
sterling fashion. Personally, I incline to hunting
with fourteen and a half or fifteen-inch beagles, which
go quite fast enough to keep out of the way of the foot
runners, and bring their hares to hand very satis-
factorily.
Seventy or eighty years ago, as I have shown, it
seemed almost as if hare-hunting with beagles was
likely soon to become a thing of the past. Twenty
or twenty-five years ago there began to be distinct
symptoms of a revival of interest in this most excel-
lent sport. But even then you might have counted
the packs hunting in England on the fingers of your
two hands. Then the interest began to spread, and
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 281
to spread rapidly. By the year 1886-87 there were
some eighteen packs estabhshed, and by 1895 there
were no less than forty-four packs of beagles hunting
in the United Kingdom. During this last season
there have been somewhere about fifty packs, a goodly
muster, indeed.*
I have said that hunting with foot-harriers is one
of the finest of English winter sports. Beagling
follows very closely upon its heels. In some ways,
possibly, it is even preferable, because, with foot-
harriers, a man must be an exceedingly good pedes-
trian and in the very best of trim to keep within hail
of a pack of hounds standing eighteen or nineteen
inches in height and blessed with plenty of pace as
well as wonderful noses. For this reason, probably,
it is that packs of foot-beagles so largely outnumber
packs of foot-harriers, which last do not, I think,
throughout the United Kingdom, number more than
about a dozen, all told. Fourteen- or fifteen-inch
beagles go quite fast enough for most people ; they
show first-rate sport ; and they cost less to maintain
than harriers.
England supports by far the great majority of beagle-
packs now in existence. Out of forty-nine or fifty
that took the field in the United Kingdom during this
last winter, Ireland is to be credited with seven, Wales
with three, Scotland with but one. The rest are all
hunted in England proper. While speaking of Wales,
it is contended by some authorities that the rough-
haired Welsh beagle obtains his thick wiry coat from
an admixture of rough-coated terrier blood. That
seems rather a strong assumption, yet many good
judges, including the late Mr. J. H. Walsh (" Stone-
* In Appendix " D " will be found a list of beagle packs
for 1902-03.
282 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
henge "), believed in it. " One reason," says " Stone-
henge," " why I have supposed him (the Welsh beagle)
to arise from the above cross (between the medium-
sized beagle and the rough terrier) is, that he has lost
in great measure the beagle tongue, and squeaks like
a terrier, though not quite so much as that dog."
Whether " Stonehenge " came across some special
breed of this kind, I know not ; but I am bound to
say that not all rough-coated Welsh beagles are pos-
sessed of the squeaky terrier voice above referred to.
The origin of this hound is, truly, lost in obscurity,
but I, for one, am inclined to think that in most Welsh
beagles of the rough-coated kind there can be very
little indeed of terrier blood. The question of the
ancestry of all our hounds is, however, a most difficult
one, and no living person can pretend to say, with
confidence, how exactly the different points and
qualities of our various modern hounds were produced.
The blending has been the gradual process of centuries.
" Stonehenge " himself maintained that the deerhound,
from which the Welsh harrier and beagle and the
otter-hound were supposed by some to obtain their
rough coats, was in itself the remote ancestor of the
wire-haired terrier. But discussion on this subject,
which, after all, must be almost purely hypothetical,
would be endless.
The number of a pack of beagles is usually con-
siderably less than with harriers. Most establishments
range from ten to sixteen couples. Here and there
a few packs are to be found in stronger numbers, but
they are not many. The Hulton, which hunt near
Bolton, in Lancashire, muster seventeen and a half
couples ; Captain Croft's, hunting near Ware, consist
of eighteen couples ; the Seskinawaddy, a County
Tyrone pack, number twenty couples ; while the Innis
Photograph by R. B. Ledge, En/ield
BUSHEY HEATH BEAGLES
MEET AT ALDENHAM ABBEY
Photograph by K. B. Lodge, Enfield
BUSHEY HEATH BEAGLES
REGENT
PhoiOi;rapii t y K. B. Lodge, En field
BUSHEY HEATH BEAGLES
PRIESTESS
Plate XXII
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 283
Beg, hunting from Creagh, County Cork, hold the
record (twenty-three couples) in point of numbers.
A pack of twelve or fourteen couples will show plenty
of sport, and very pretty hunting indeed is often to
be had with a cry of beagles which numbers in kennel
no more than ten couples, all told. With these small
packs, of course, two days a week or three days a
fortnight is the utmost that can be expected if hounds
are to turn out for their work fresh and fit. At the
Universities, packs of beagles have been maintained
for years by some few Colleges. The Christ Church,
Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge, beagles are
well known. New and Magdalen Colleges, Oxford,
have this last season — 1902-03 — combined to put
into the field for the first time a beagle pack, which
numbers twelve couples and hunts from Tilbury, near
Oxford. Eton College has had its beagles for years,
and it is to be hoped may continue to do so, in spite of
the absurd outcry raised recently by certain members
of the Humanitarian League. Clayesmore School,
Pangbourne, has also started a pack, which consists
of eleven and a half couples, and hunts the beautiful
Berkshire country in the neighbourhood of the Thames.
The Britannia Cadets have long possessed their pack
of beagles and shown very good sport in Devon, in the
Dartmouth district. Among soldiers, Aldershot
Camp produces a pack of sixteen-inch beagle-harriers,
which hunt the Aldershot district two days a week.
Colchester Garrison has its pack ; while, from New-
castle, yet another pack, the 5th and 68th R.D., has
for some years been hunted.
I have sometimes heard it said that it is of little
use going out with a pack of beagles, because they
are too slow to get up to and run into their hares.
That is an absurd mis-statement, which a little
284 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
experience in the field would quickly falsify. I have had
a good deal of sport with beagles at different times,
and I have always seen a fair number of hares killed.
Indeed, given a country where hares are reasonably
abundant, the number of blank days with a beagle-
pack will be found to be surprisingly few. If you
hunt with beagles less than twelve or thirteen inches
in height, you must, of course, be prepared to find
your sport slower and your hares consequently more
difficult to bring to hand. But with fourteen-inch
beagles, of the right sort, and well handled, almost
as much sport is obtained as with a pack of harriers.
The Chawston beagles, for example, hunting from
Colesden Grange, St. Neots, had killed up to
February 13, in this last season of 1902-03, no fewer
than forty-nine hares, a capital record. As a sample
of the kind of sport to be got with a good pack, I may
state that, during the week this number was achieved,
the following sport was obtained. On February 6,
meeting at Colesden Grange, two hares were killed,
after good runs, while a third made a three mile point
and saved her scut. On the 9th, meeting at Long
Stow, near Kimbolton, some extraordinarily good
sport was shown. The first hare found afforded a
very fast run of an hour and five minutes, without a
check. The second hare gave a run almost as fault-
less, also without a check. In both instances hounds
ran into and killed their game in the open, after travers-
ing a splendid grass country. A third run took place
over plough, without blood, On the nth, the same
pack had a good run of two hours, chiefly over plough,
killing their hare between Wyboston and Eaton. The
Chawston are fifteen-inch beagles and maintain a
high level of sport. These are but samples of the kind
of thing to be seen daily with beagles in all parts of
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 285
the country. As a rule, hares naturally take longer
to bring to hand than with harriers, and runs of two
hours and upwards may be pretty often expected.
The management of beagles is, on a smaller scale,
identically the same as that of harriers. The kennels
are usually on a very simple scale, and, more often
than not, contrived from some disused stable or out-
building. The same precautions against damp and
kennel lameness must, of course, be taken as in the
case of bigger and more important packs. Some
packs are hunted without any pretence to regular
costume ; but even with a " cry " of little beagles it
is more seemly that the Master and whip should
appear in short green coats and velvet caps. It is
very frequently the case that not only the huntsman,
who is in nearly all cases the Master, | but also the
whip or whips, are amateurs, which, of course, tends
considerably to the saving of expense. A steady lad
as kennel huntsman and feeder, is, in such cases, the
only paid servant needed ; his wages should not
amount to a very heavy item. With great economy
a pack of ten or twelve couples can be maintained for
as little as £70 a year, possibly a trifle less. In the
field eight couples are sufficient, though a couple or
two more are seen where packs are strong in number.
As few as six couples even are occasionally employed,
but with less than this number real hare-hunting is
a matter of some difficulty.
The science and practice of hunting hare with
beagles are, of course, practically the same as with
harriers. The pace is, naturally, slower. Beagles,
with their fine noses and low scenting propensities,
are inclined to dally or " tie " on the scent, as it is
called. For this reason, without unduly rushing
them, it should be seen that stragglers and loiterers
286 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
are kept up to the main body of the pack. With
harriers, hfting hounds to the holloa is always to be
discouraged ; but with beagles a little licence may
be allowed in this respect, unless, of course, they are
running the line hard. And especially in long, slow,
dragging runs, where scent is poor, and there is a
chance of the pack being run out of it altogether,
beagles may be now and again lifted to a holloa, if it
is known to be a sure and a good one. When lifted
they should be trotted briskly forward, and no time
should be lost.
Some people have advocated the practice of having
a mounted man with a pack of beagles, not to hunt
them, but to hang about on the outskirts of the chase,
watch the line of the hare, and head her away from
any coverts or forbidden preserves, to which she may
be making. Personally, I do not hold with such
a practice. I believe it tends, more usually than
not, to the mounted man getting with the hounds
and — unconsciously, if you like — trying to manage
them himself. Mounted people with foot-packs
almost always upset harriers or beagles, and should
be severely discouraged. Of course, a friendly farmer,
riding over his own fields to show the huntsman a
hare, is on a different footing. He is the last person
to spoil sport ; he understands the rules of the game ;
and without him hunting could not exist. But in my
experience of beagles a mounted man is quite un-
neccessary, and, in fact, undesirable. It is possible
that in the case of sixteen-inch beagles, which are
practically almost as big as harriers, instances may
now and again occur in which the pack gets clean away
from its field and runs into a woodland, where pheas-
ants are preserved, or into a fox-covert, which ought
not to be disturbed. In such a case, a mounted man
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 287
might have prevented mischief. There are, as a
matter of fact, however, very few occasions, indeed,
where the followers of beagles cannot keep their pack
in hand. Where it is especially necessary that a
woodland shall not be disturbed — just before a big
shoot, for instance — a Master of beagles can usually
so arrange his meets as to keep well away from the
spot ; or, if he meets in the neighbourhood, he can
draw in the opposite direction and station some one
near the covert to turn the hare, if it be possible, or
whip off hounds.
In the case of both harriers and beagles, it is not
not only desirable but necessary that Masters of fox-
hound packs in the district over which it is proposed
to hunt shall be duly consulted before any arrange-
ments are made for bringing hare-hounds into the
field. Foxhounds are to be conceded the right of
priority ; theirs is the more important branch of the
sport ; and they usually have vested interests, as it
were, which are not lightly to be set aside. In the
case of harriers, these are often as long established
as are foxhounds — in some cases considerably longer
— and the arrangements as to the hunting of the country
have, therefore, been long since settled. But where
a new pack of harriers or beagles is sought to be estab-
lished, it ought always to be borne in mind that, in
addition to securing the support and consent of the
farmers and land-owners of the country over which
it is proposed to hunt, an arrangement should be made
with the Master of foxhounds hunting the district. It
may not be — nay, it is not — absolutely the right of
the Master of foxhounds to insist on this; in fact,
with the consent of the tenant and owners, the Master
of beagles and harriers can hunt where he pleases.
But it is an unwritten law, and as a matter of courtesy,
288 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
of policy, and of honour, the Master of beagles will
interview the Master of foxhounds and come to an
amicable understanding with him as to hunting hare.
Some Masters of foxhounds are extremely tolerant
in this matter ; they believe in the principle of live
and let live, and will even declare that harriers and
beagles do good to fox-hunting by driving outlying
foxes into the coverts where they are most readily
found. A few fox-hunters, it must be admitted, are
very difficult to deal with. With such, perhaps, the
suaviter in modo treatment having failed, the remon-
strances of a farmer or two, who have the right of refusal
to all hounds, and who favour hare, may prove availing.
It is most desirable for both parties that an under-
standing shall be come to. And the foxhound Master,
on his part, will be well advised to make honourable
terms with the foot-beagler, who, after all, can do
him little, or no, harm. As a matter of fact, the
average fox-hunter who is, in the very nature of things,
a good sportsman at heart, finds little objection to
a quiet pack of beagles, properly conducted, the
management of which will, of course, make their
arrangements to hunt on the days when foxhounds
are not in the same neighbourhood. Courtesy and
good feeling between all parties, which are always
desirable, are, one is glad to say, the almost invariable
rule in these matters.
As regards greyhounds and coursing versus beagles,
there is, naturally, some little friction at times between
the two exponents. Harrier- or beagle-men, who have
long hunted a particular country, can scarcely be
expected to regard with equanimity the invasion of
coursers and greyhounds. And, vice versa, old cours-
ing men — and it is to be remembered that coursing
is a very ancient pastime — cannot see without jealousy
BEAGLES AND BEAGLING 289
the incursion of harriers or beagles into fields which
hitherto they had been taught to regard as peculiarly
their own. Where hares are scarce, and the district
is used both by coursing-men and hare-hunters, there
must, necessarily, be friction. However, both factions
are sportsmen, and some modus vivendi has to be
found. I am inclined to think that, where hares are
inordinately plentiful, as they are in some districts
that I know of, harrier- and beagle-men are sometimes
unnecessarily jealous of coursers. In such a district
I am convinced that coursing does a great deal of
good. It tends to the keeping down of hares, which
are often a perfect nuisance to hounds and hunting,
by the frequent changing they necessitate and the
consequent exhaustion and dispiritment of the pack.
And it tends also to move and disperse hares, to give
them exercise, and make them yield better runs before
harriers. This is certainly the result of pretty close
observation of my own in certain parts of Sussex,
where hares are strongly preserved and over abundant.
There must, of course, be an understanding with
farmers and coursers that greyhounds, which are
more deadly in their pursuit than harriers or beagles,
shall not be too often out, so as not to diminish
seriously the stock of hares. AIL these are matters
of arrangement. Sportsmen, whatever their favourite
pursuit may be, are — if we except certain types of
pheasant-preservers — usually reasonable enough, and
hare-hunting and coursing can often go very well hand
in hand. For instance, I have hunted regularly these
last two seasons over a Sussex marsh, where, during
each week, harriers and greyhounds — of course, on
different days — enjoy magnificent sport.
CHAPTER XVIII
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS
i. - Hunting with bassets a new feature — Bassets unknown
in England before 1875 — A very old Continental
breed — Sir Everett Millais and the Earl of Onslow
sponsors in this country — Rise of the basset —
Different varieties — Colours — How used on the Con-
tinent— Hare-hunting bassets — Different packs —
, The Walhampton — Messrs, Heseltine — Their success
with these hounds — Captain Heseltine's account
of basset hounds and hunting — Statistics — Some
fine runs — Patience required for this pursuit — Points
of the basset
Hunting with basset hounds is a comparatively new
feature in British field sports. It dates back little
farther than fourteen or fifteen years, and, in fact,
may be said not to have been really established on
a businesslike footing until the Messrs. Heseltine
began to hunt regularly in the year 1891. It is not
a sport which, for various reasons, is ever likely to
oust beagles or harriers from their ancient popularity.
In the first place, bassets are much more difficult to
get hold of and more expensive to buy. In the second
place, although they have wonderful noses and are
most determined workers, they are, from their very
conformation, exceedingly slow, and take several
hours, usually from two to three, sometimes even
more, to wear down their quarry. This style of
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 291
hunting, although to the chosen few who love hound
work before anything else most interesting to watch,
is, to the average modem sportsman, inclined to be
tedious, and most men would, therefore, prefer to
take their pleasure with a faster type of hound. Still,
bassets have come to stay ; they are now growing
far more numerous than they were a dozen years
ago ; many fanciers have become greatly attached
to them ; there are a Basset Club and a Stud Book,
and each season, among the list of packs of hounds
hunting in these islands, there are to be found two or
three packs of these bizarre-looking, but wonderfully
handsome, hounds.
Before the year 1875, the basset hound was practi-
cally unknown in England. He had flourished for
ages upon the Continent, chiefly in France and Belgium,
as well as, to a lesser extent, in Austria and Germany,
where he had been employed for various purposes
connected with sport. But in England, prior to that
year, the Earl of Onslow was, I believe, the only person
who had ever kept bassets in this country. Lord
Onslow had, in fact, a kennel of these hounds before
the late Sir Everett Millais, who was, next to him,
the earliest introducer of them, appeared on the scene.
These had been presented to Lord Onslow by the
Comte Tournon de Montmelas. In 1875 Sir Everett
(then Mr.) Millais first exhibited one of these hounds,
the celebrated " Model," which is still often referred
to as a typical hound of this curious breed. The
basset became quickly a fashion. Sir Everett Millais
did much to encourage fanciers, and even wrote a
monograph on the new importation,* and before very
long — by the year 1883 — this hound had acquired so
much of fame and repute as to demand a Club of its
* " Bassets, their Use and Breeding."
292 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
own, as well as a place in the Kennel Club Stud Book.
Since that time, the march of the basset has, among
connoisseurs who can afford the luxury of a new and
somewhat expensive fashion, been a triumphant one.
In 1883 there were but ten entries of these hounds in
the Kennel Club Stud Book, In 1896 there were no less
than ninety bassets entered at the Kennel Club Show.
Yet, although the basset has thus achieved a
not inconsiderable triumph in a comparatively short
period, he is still a somewhat scarce commodity, caviare
to the general public. A certain number have seen
him on the show benches, or walking abroad with his
master ; few have watched him at work in the hunting-
field. In appearance, the basset hound looks somewhat
like a handsome foxhound — with long ears, deepish
flews, and a somewhat old-fashioned type of head — set
on extremely squat legs, the fore-legs, especially, being
much bent inwards. As to the conformation of the legs,
they give, at first, the impression of this hound having
some kinship with dachshunds and the old English
turnspit. But, as a matter of fact, they are totally
distinct. The dachshund is a terrier, while the basset
is a pure hound of very ancient descent.
How long he has been bred in his present state it
is impossible to say with anything like precision.
By some authorities the basset, as found in France
and Belgium, is placed in three classes :
1. Bassets a jamhes droites (or straight-legged bassets).
2. Bassets a jamhes demi-torses (with fore-legs half
crooked).
3. Bassets d jamhes torses (with fore-legs wholly
crooked).
To these, again, three variations of coat are assigned,
smooth, rough, and half-rough. The rough-coated
variety is, by the way, known as the Griffon-basset.
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 293
The crooked-legged bassets are in most favour, and
are regarded as the best representatives of their race.
They show a finer type of hound head, with the long
pendulous ears, and other points laid down as desirable
in this kind of hound. Bassets run in all colours,
foxhound colour, blue-mottle, lemon-and-white, hare-
pie, black-and-tan, and whole red. Sir Everett Millais,
who studied the type most closely, favoured the tri-
coloured variety, that is, a hound with a tan head
and a black-and-white body. This type is still much
fancied. His well known hound, " Model," weighed
forty-six pounds, and had the following measurements.
Shoulder height, twelve inches ; length, from tip of
nose to setting on of tail, thirty-two inches ; height
from ground, between fore-feet, two and three-quarter
inches. The texture of the coat is described as that
of a hound, by which one understands the modern
English foxhound.*
In La Vendee, Luxembourg, Alsace-Lorraine, and
other parts, where coverts are extensive, the rough-
coated basset seems to be most in favour, but this variety
is, as a rule, much scarcer than the smooth-coated
hound. The basset is an independent, determined
kind of hound. He prefers to take nothing on trust,
but, instead of giving tongue and joining in the cry
of the other hounds, which have already owned the
scent, likes to work out the line for himself and then
raise his voice. He has an extraordinarily delicate
sense of scent. On the Continent this race was,
apparently, used very largely for shooting purposes,
hunting the country for different kinds of game, and
* For further information on the basset, the reader may-
be referred to the works of Mr. Hugh Dalziel and Mr. Rawdon
Lee on British dogs, and to Sir Everett Millais' book on this
hound.
294 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
driving it to the guns posted in various positions.
In the Ardennes, a bigger breed seems to have been
used for driving wolves, boar, and roe ; this is the
rough-coated kind, previously referred to. But in
various districts this useful hound was, and is, em-
ployed for aU kinds of sport, including badger, vermin,
and even truffles. A good truffle-hound is, of course,
a real treasure. The basset is a most courageous
beast and takes readily to the chase of wolf, which
ordinary hounds are said to be not very keen about.
It is even stated that a well-bred basset will hunt a
wolf single-handed, which, considering his inferior size,
must be taken as evidence of very high mettle.
When these hounds were first used for hunting
hare in this country, it was quickly discovered that,
although they had wonderful noses and were infinitely
persevering, they had certain drawbacks which re-
quired correction. They are inclined, as I have
shown, to dweU too much on the line, and are some-
what too independent, and they are rather easily
frightened by the whip. Still, within the last ten
years they have shown excellent sport. I find, from
my " Field " lists of hounds, that in 1895-96 three
packs of bassets were hunting, viz., the Walhampton,
the Wintershill, and the Wolvercote. In the next
season there were four, viz.. The Walhampton, the
Wintershill, the Delapre, and Mr. Moss's. In 1897-98
the Wintershill dropped out, and the Highworth
were added to the other packs. In 1898-99 three
packs remained hunting — the Walhampton, the Delapre,
and the Highworth. In 1899-1900 the Walhampton
apparently held the field alone, to be joined in 1900-01
by the Stoodleigh and the Knowlton. 1901-02
saw two packs again hunting — the ever-faithful
Walhampton and Mr. E. H. M. Denny's, the latter
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 295
hunting from Chiddingstone Castle, Kent — the Knowl-
ton and the Stoodleigh having retired. The Knowlton,
it is to be noted, were mastered and hunted by Miss
Gladys Peto, to whom two sisters and a brother acted
as whippers-in. During the season, 1902-03, the
Walhampton and Mr. Denny's were joined by a new
pack, the Reepham, hunting near Lincoln.
From these particulars it would seem that many
people have tried hare-hunting with bassets for a short
time, usually a season or two, and have then abandoned
it. Whether they found that the sport was somewhat
slow, or that these dwarf hounds required more time
and patience in their education than they could afford
to give them, it is beyond me to say. Probably
both reasons led to their abandonment, after a brief
trial. In some few instances, no doubt, the pack was
started as a mere passing fad or fashion, the owner
having acquired a few couples of these hounds and
wishing to see how they would behave themselves in
the field.
The Walhampton pack, as will be seen, have alone
remained constant, season after season, to the sport
which they inaugurated in 1891. They have been
invariably mastered and hunted by the Messrs. Hesel-
tine, Mr. Christopher Heseltine acting as Master, and
Captain Godfrey Heseltine having usually carried the
horn, except during his absence on service in South
Africa.
Captain Heseltine has been good enough to send
me particulars of the pack and accounts of some of
their best runs ; and the narrative seems to me so
instructive, not only in reference to sport with bassets,
but as regards hare-hunting generally, that I have
thought well to print it, in its entirety. It will be
noticed with what patience and care this pack has
296 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
been trained and matured to a successful issue, and
how disappointing, comparatively, were the first
essays in hare-hunting during the season of 1890-91,
when the hounds never killed a hare. It will be
noticed, too, how much more readily even bassets
can kill hares early in the season, i.e., in September,
October, and the early part of November, than later
on when hares are so much stronger. This is a point
that is often forgotten by young Masters of harriers
and beagles.
Here, then, follows Captain Heseltine's account of
the Walhampton Basset Hounds :
" (i) The first couple of basset hounds we ever
possessed were given to us by Captain Peacock (late
M.F.H. Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, etc.), in 1890,
and with four or five couples we used to chivey
about, but in April 1891, we purchased 9|- couples
from Mr. T. Cannon, Junr., of Danebury, and com-
menced hunting regularly in the season, 189 1-2, and
I have a record of every day's sport from then till
now. We commenced hunting badger in the New
Forest in July 1891, and had several good hunts,
both by moonlight and in the early morning, but gave
it up for hare-hunting in September, and have never
hunted anything but hare since. In the seasons 1891-2,
1892-3, the hounds hunted during term time at Cam-
bridge, having their kennels at Chesterton ; the re-
mainder of the season they hunted in the New
Forest, and around Lymington. Since 1892-3, with
the exception of the season, 1900-1, they have been
regularly hunted by the writer in the New Forest
and the neighbourhood of Lymington. The hounds
are the joint property of my brother and myself.
My brother is the Master of the pack, and I have
always hunted them, with the exception of Nov. 1894,
f^:
^'^-%.fiA>^
/.^i
.u
4
WALIIAMPTON liASSEF HOUNDS
m^.t it'^^'!i^r.^^
WAI.HAMPTOX HASvl-.T HOUNMS
THE KILL
Plate XXHI
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 297
when my brother hunted them. At the present
moment (December 1903) kennels are being erected
at Canterbury, where I hope to hunt them till the end
of the season.
" We have had as many as fourteen couples of
puppies at walk, but the last two seasons we have been
particularly unfortunate in not being able to breed
half that number, I do not think I got more than
four couples of whelps. In March 1896, we purchased
the whole of the late Major V. Ferguson's pack of
basset hounds (15 couples), from which we made a
good selection ; and in August 1896, Prince Henry
of Pless presented us with the whole of his pack from
Germany, consisting of about 10 couples. And at
various times since then we have purchased small
packs, with a view to selecting some 2 or 3 hounds
to add to our pack.
" Here is a short summary of our hunting seasons,
with the number of hounds in kennel at commencement
of the season :
Season 1 890-1 No record kept; hunted with 5 couples of
hounds, but never caught a hare.
Season 189 1-2
1892-3
1893-4
1894-5
No. of Hunt-
ing days.
47
54
42
43
No. of Couples
No. of No. of Hares of hounds in
Blank brought to kennel at corn-
days.
2
4
3
I
hand.
9
17
II
14
mencement of
season.
10
12
14
. I^i
6^ brace of hares were killed this season in
27 hunting days. On fifteen days on which
the hounds were taken out, they could do
nothing at all owing to the frost-bound
state of the ground ; thus there were only
27 days in the whole season on which it
was fit to hunt.
298 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Season 1895-6
1896-7
„ 1897-8
1898-9
„ 1899-00
No. of Hunt-
ing days.
38
41
34
32
No. of Couples
No. of No. of Hares of hounds in
Blank brought to kennel at corn-
days.
(8 by-
days)
hand.
19
17
12
16
20
mencenient of
season.
• I4i
. I7i
• 17
• I7i
• 13
1901-2
Hunting very irregularly ; I was hunting the
dog pack of the New Forest Foxhounds as
well until Jan. 1900, when we both went to
the war.
. . 24 ... 2 ... 8 ... 19^
In 1 900- 1 these hounds did not hunt, owing
to the South African War.
" S. Walker has been the kennel huntsman and
whipper-in since i8gi. The following is a summary
of hounds for this season :
WALHAMPTON BASSET HOUNDS.
Season 1902-03
Eight years old
Five years old
Four years old
Three years old
Two years old
One year old .
Eight years old
Six years old
Five years old
Four years old
Three years old
Two years old
One year old
DOGS.
4 — 12 dogs.
Total
24 bitches.
36 hounds.
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 299
" (2) The country in the New Forest is admirably
suited to basset hounds, being moorland or large open
woodland.
" The heather on the moor is not sufficiently high
to stop these little hounds and invariably carries good
scent. The country round Lymington is chiefly plough
and banks. The country around Cambridge was
chiefly plough, and fen-land, which latter suited the
hounds very well, if it had not been for the dykes.
Deep ditches or stone walls are a terrible hindrance
to basset hounds.
" (3) In the New Forest, during the months of
September, October, and early part of November,
given a scent, the hounds can bring a hare to hand
in 50 minutes to i hour 20 minutes. After the
middle of November till the end of the season, I have
scarcely ever hunted a hare to death in less than 2
hours and it has much more often been 3 or 4 hours ;
it is very seldom that these hounds manage to kill a
hare before she is so beat that you can pick her up
yourself.
" They are very slow to take any advantage ; some-
times they would rather throw their tongues than
bite ; in many cases beagles or even terriers would
have killed a hare which has absolutely escaped from
the jaws of the pack, because they are so slow to grasp
the situation, or, more to the point, the hare.
" (4) I do not think that our kennel management
differs in any degree from that of a pack of foxhounds,
except that our hounds have biscuit with their meal
during the hunting season, and that I only give
them the soup from the horse-flesh and none of the
meat ; otherwise, the kennel management is the same.
The floors of the lodging-houses are boarded with
battens, 4 inches from the cement flooring, so that no
300 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
hound can lie on the cement when shut in the lodging-
house.
" (5) I beheve Major Croker and Mr. Miles B.
Kennedy were two of the first ever to attempt hunting
a hare with basset hounds, about 1886. There were
no basset hounds in England prior to 1872, and
Lord Onslow, the late Sir Everett Millais, and Mr.
Krehl were three of their first admirers."
Six good days with the Walhampton Basset Hounds.
(From Capt. Heseltine's Diary.)
" On Saturday Sep. 24, 1892 (io| couples), met,
11-30, Hill Top Gate, Beaulieu. Found immediately
a three-part grown leveret ; raced her for 25 mins.,
without a check, and killed her at Harley Pitts. Found
No. 2 Harley Pitts, hounds ran away from us ; they
ran straight to the Nodes, which they skirted, sinking
the valley thro' King's Hat Enclosure, crossed the
high road ; she jumped up close to Ipley River, and they
ran a circle by King's Hat Enclosure. She squatted
off a track and we had a long check.
" We had been running i hr. 10 mins. and the point
was nearly four miles ; a forest keeper poked her out,
and 9 mins. later Radical rolled her over in the open
in Dibden Bottom, running game to the very end.
Who- Whoop !
" On Wedy. March 8, 1892, a blazing hot summer
day, met for a by-day, 1-30 p.m. at the Kennels, Ches-
terton, Cambridge. The ploughs raised a dust cloud,
as hounds ran over them ; we found a hare at Chester-
ton at 2-30 P.M. and hunted her to death at 5-25 p.m.
A small jack hare.
" On Monday Sep. 17, 1894 (io| couples), met at
Walhampton. Found on Warborne and ran her to
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 301
ground ; had her out and turned her down in the
forest ; she ran back to Warborne, and, after hunting
her for 53 minutes, killed her.
" Found No. 2 on Warborne, and had 47 mins.
without a check and killed her. Hounds rather tired,
so sent Sam home for 2 couples left in kennel. Found
No. 3 close to Bull Hill, ran her by Pilley Green, over
Ditton Farm, and thro' Sheffield Copse to the forest,
where Sam joined us with two couples of fresh hounds,
and we had an excellent hunt and killed our hare in
the middle of Beaulieu Heath. Time i hour, 3 mins.
" On Friday, Nov. i, 1895, met, 10 o'clock, Hill
Top Gate (13 couples). Found at 11-15 close to
Harley Pitts ; they ran over the burnt ground and
on to the cultivated land at Hythe Cross Roads down
to Butts Ashe ; hounds were running hard and they
packed like a flock of pigeons ; they never left her in
covert and hunted her back to Hythe Cross Roads.
Christopher viewed her away, leaving the Nodes on
their left ; they sank the valley, but on rising the oppo-
site hill, hounds were at fault on heather, burnt
ground, but we viewed her making for Ipley.
" I lifted them and they hunted beautifully past
King's Hat Enclosure, which they left on their left,
up the high road, and across Ipley Farm, running
parallel to Ipley River ; we reached the Decoy Farm,
and viewed her ' tit-titupping ' on to the forest moor
again ; she made a sharp double, and hounds were
at fault, but I fresh found her on the river bank, where
it runs below the L. & S.W.Ry. at the head of Mattey
bog, and hounds being on excellent terms with her,
hunted her to death, close to Deerleap Enclosure, at
2-20 P.M., nearly five miles as the crow flies, from
Butts Ashe, after a slow but good hunting run of 3 hrs.
5 mins.
302 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
" On Jan. 31 (Friday), 1896, met at Shirley Holmes
Station, 11 o'clock, a by-day. A cold, cloudy day,
wind N.W. very slight. Immediately we began draw-
ing just above Shirley Holmes, hounds began to puzzle
out a line, but we never got on terms with our hare,
and a road beat us. Time i hr. Found No. 2 at Marl-
pit Oak and had 30 mins. very fast by Set Thorns,
Hincheslea, to Sway, where I think a man with a long
dog accounted for our hare.
" The hunt of the day was yet to come ; we found
a hare at 3-30 p.m. at Boldre Grange, in a fallow field ;
they ran fast to Batramsley Cross Roads, bearing
left-handed through Mead End and Rope Hill, and
back to St. Austins to Boldre Grange, thro' the wood,
and drove her out the bottom end of the covert. They
swam the Lymington River below Heywood Mill,
and scuttled best pace by Boldre Church ; I held
them forward with a long cast up the road, until they
hit it off at a gateway, and had to run but slowly
over sheep-stained ground. In Sheffield Copse we
fresh found her, and on the Forest scent began to
improve ; bearing left-handed they hunted beauti-
fully by Greenmore, and so to Stockley Cottage ;
our hare had now run the road (Beaulieu and Brocken-
hurst), but Resolute, Stella, Minstrel, Dauntless and
Coquette revelled in the enjoyment of an undeniable
scent, as they hunted it down the road for over a mile.
When nearly opposite the head of Hatchet Pond,
Gaston's reassuring chime led us over the moor once
more ; it was now almost dark, and by the time we
were running round the head of Hatchet Pond it was
dark ; but they were not to be denied ; they ran with
increasing music, or was it the stillness of the evening
which made the cry so sweet. They ran yet faster as
they neared Blackwater bog ; I thought I saw her
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 303
just in front of them, but it was so dark I could not
be certain ; the pace meanwhile improved. From
Hatchet I had run my very best and had only just
succeeded in living with them ; no one was with me
except a young farmer, who joined me at Sheffield
Copse. Close to Pilley Green, I saw without a doubt
a hump-backed spectre against the brighter light
caused by the reflection of a pond in the heather ;
so did Raglan and Gaston, and with a fresh chorus
and crash of music six couples were straining for
her blood, and pulled her down in the middle of the
pond at 5-45 P.M. The best hare-hunt I have ever
seen in my life ; 2 hrs. 15 mins. and a big point.
" On Monday, Jan. 10, 1898, met, 11 o'clock, at
Efford, Lymington, and found a hare close to Vidle
Van Farm ; bearing right-handed, they crossed the
Milford Road just below Keyhaven, and hunted
slowly over 2 rivers, by the golf-links, and down to
the sea, left-handed down the Stour beach, nearly
to Hurst Castle, when up she jumped and immediately
took to the sea. She swam nearly 500 yards before
she turned back against the current and landed on
the beach again, where hounds killed her. Time,
something over an hour.
" All these days, which I have taken out of my hunt-
ing diary, have ended successfully with blood ; and
there are many more, which I have enjoyed equally
well, that have not, but I have not the time to write,
nor you the patience to read more.
" The day — Jan. 31, 1896 — is the best thing of its
sort I have ever seen."
These most interesting notes prove very conclusively
that hare-hunting with bassets can, if properly managed,
yield very fine sport. The Walhampton Master is
fortunate in being able to get puppies walked in his
304 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
surrounding country. A puppy show is annually held,
and, in addition to other prizes, since 1897 a Record
Reign Challenge Cup, to be won twice before becoming
the absolute property of any walker, has been estab-
lished for the benefit of those undertaking the tem-
porary care of young hounds. It remains to be said
that the Walhampton bassets have been as successful
on the show benches as they have in the field.
Several of the present pack have been distinguished
at the Kennel Club Show, Crystal Palace.
In addition to the packs I have before referred
to, I believe that, here and there, a little hunting is
attempted with a few couples of bassets ; these are
probably not thought worth while including in the
annual lists of hounds. That for the first season or
two not much sport may be expected with a new
pack has been demonstrated by Captain Heseltine's
experiences. But with any new pack of hounds,
whether in pursuit of fox, hare, or otter, the same
difficulty must be experienced until the huntsman
has learnt his craft. The late Rev. John Russell,
the famous hunting parson of North Devon, has left
on record the ill success of his first season or two with
otter hounds. He got together a pack, but could do
nothing with them. " I walked," he says, " three
thousand miles without finding an otter ; and although
I must have passed over scores, I might as well have
searched for a moose deer." However, he presently
got hold of a hound that understood the business,
and by its means educated his scratch pack to proper
hunting-pitch. In his next two seasons he tells us,
he scored " five-and-thirty otters right off the reel."
Now, this is the experience of a man who had been
entered to hunting from his earliest boyhood, and not
of a raw hand, who had never seen hounds handled
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 305
before. It is not surprising, bearing this precedent
in mind, that Masters of basset hounds or beagles,
who have hitherto had small experience of hunting
hare, or of the management of hounds, should find
themselves unable to show sport or obtain blood as
often as they could wish. There is no royal road to
hunting ; a man can only learn the business by long
and sometimes rather painful experience, and by
constant application and a steady determination to
master the mysteries of a most difficult yet absorbing
form of sport, at any cost of time and trouble. Just
before I wrote this chapter, a gentleman sent to
the Field the following letter, which, it seems to
me, illustrates very well the points I have been
discussing :
" Sir, — I have this season been hunting a small
pack of basset hounds, and although we have had
some excellent runs, and the hounds when on a good
scent are absolutely impossible to stay with, our
number of kills has been very small. I do not know
much about beagles, but have one-and-a-half couple,
which I hunt with the basset hounds, and they (the
beagles) are not any faster than the bassets, and
certainly do not stay as well. I see, however, every
week in the papers accounts of kills by beagles in
England, and I cannot understand why they should
get into their hare so much oftener than we do. Is
there very much difference in the English and Irish
hares, for, if so, perhaps this would account for it ?
Perhaps some of your readers, who are interested in
foot-hunting, would be good enough to throw some
light on the subject. I may add that the country I
hunt in is mostly pasture, with very large fields and
fences."*
* The Field, Feb. 14, 1903, p, 234,
u
3o6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
It is, I think, almost certain, that this gentleman
owed his lack of that crowning triumph and supreme
test of a run — the kill — to the great and sufficient
reason that he and his pack were probably not well
practised in hare-hunting. If the same pack were
hunted next season, it is almost certain that, after the
experience they had thus painfully acquired, they
would begin to kill hares. Even the Messrs. Heseltine
did nothing in their first essays ; yet in the following
season they began to get blood and so moved forward
by degrees from success to success. Bassets are pro-
verbially poor catchers of a hare at the end of a run,
and it is in the last phases of the chase, just when she
is getting most beaten, that the hare practises all
those wonderful tricks and stratagems which are
found so puzzling even by practised huntsmen. As
to Irish and English hares, it may be stated with con-
fidence that English hares are at least as stout as those
of the Sister Island. Most men who have hunted with
both would be inclined to yield the English hare the
superiority in this respect.
It is difficult to understand the writer's assertion
that his beagles are no faster than bassets. Unless
the beagles are very small indeed, it is, I think, the
experience of most sportsmen who have tested the
question that the average beagle is considerably
faster than the short-legged, long, and heavy-bodied
basset.
Before concluding this chapter, it may be not out
of place to mention the value of the points of a basset
hound, as now recognised for judging :
Points
Head, skull, eyes, muzzle, and flews . . • iS
Ears IS
Neck, dewlap, chest, and shoulders . . .10
SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 307
Points.
Fore-legs and feet 15
Stern ......... lO
Back 10
Colour and markings . . . . . • 15
Coat and skin .10
Basset character and symmetry .... 5
CHAPTER XIX
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING
Assured future of hare-hunting — Comparison with
fox-hunting — Troubles of fox-hunters — QuaUfications
of a successful Master — Somervile on good manners
— How to increase the stock of hares — Beckford on
warrens — The menace of over-population — Growth
and evils of manufacturing towns — Probable
duration of hare-hunting — Past days in Warwick-
shire— Necessity of field sports — Future hunting
grounds — Hare-hunting in South Africa — Other
fields — Good days yet for English sport — Virgil's
exhortation on hunting
The future of hare-hunting, a sport which, eighty
years ago and less, when fox-hunting was rising to
its zenith, was being laughed out of fashion, is now
safe enough. There have been pauses in the quiet
tide of popularity, which, during the last score of
years, has been running steadily in favour of this
ancient and most interesting sport. The Ground
Game Act seemed for a time likely to threaten disaster
to hare-hunting, but, happily, the dangers of that
dubious piece of legislation have been and are being
surmounted ; and, with the exception of certain
districts, usually where small holdings prevail. Sir
William Harcourt's Act has no longer quite the terrors
it used to possess. After all, the preservation of hares
rests mainly with the farmers, and farmers are more
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 309
often than not, where they are properly approached,
excellent friends to hare-hunting. It is certain that
many of them, thanks to the causes to which I have
referred heretofore, are, nowadays, even more in-
clined to be friendly to harrier-men than they are to
fox-hunters.
The too great popularity of fox-hunting seems, at
the present time, in what are known as the fashionable
countries, to threaten the very existence of that sport.
Too many people now wish to hunt, and it is impossible
to accommodate them all. With every desire to be
friendly to the sport which they and their forefathers
have supported for generations, the tenantry of this
country cannot, in these hard times, be expected to
extend the same hospitality as of yore to hundreds
of strangers, the greater part of whom they scarcely
know by sight, and who care no more for the man,
over whose land they ride, than they do for his bullocks.
The thing is reaching an impossible development,
which, as all sensible men are aware, can end only in
one way. The tenant farmer will welcome fields of
a reasonable number, but he will not for long continue
to put up with the disorderly and often unmannerly
crowds that now ride in hundreds over his land, with-
out giving him so much as a thank-you, or a "by your
leave." The following letter, which appeared in the
Field, of February 21, 1903, very well illustrates the
scenes of disorder and lack of all hunting decorum
which now too often occur with foxhounds in favourite
hunting countries :
" Sir, — The over-riding of hounds referred to by
your correspondent of the Warwickshire Hunt in the
issue of the 7th inst.is one which has, with some packs,
grown to such an extent as to render the hunting-field
almost a pandemonium.
3IO HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
" With one fashionable Hunt, where the fields range,
on an average, from 200 to 300, the position of affairs
is this : The holloaing of a fox away, instead of being,
as it should be, merely a signal for hounds to come out
of covert, is, of course, as has always been the case,
taken as one for the field to break away, with the
result that in almost all cases, particularly where the
covert is thick and big, about four couples of hounds
get away ; then come the foremost brigade, then a few
more hounds, then another strong body of the field,
with the remainder of the pack picking their way
through a mob of galloping horses. The result is that
the Master is hoarse with shouting, and the leading
hounds are so pressed that, if it be at all a bad scenting
day, up go their heads, and the field is then found in
the position of a half-moon, the two horns being in
advance of the leading hounds, while the rest of the
pack are scattered all abroad. It is impossible for
the Master to be here, there, and everywhere at once ;
and it would be in the interests of every one if a rule
were enforced that for the future the holloaing of a
fox away is to be treated as a call to the hounds only,
and that none of the field are to move until the Master's
or whipper-in's whistle goes, which, in the majority
of cases, would not be until the last hound was out of
covert. If the present state of affairs with some Hunts
goes on much longer, we may probably see from some
determined Master a repetition of the action of the
Master of the Quorn some few years ago, when he took
hounds home in consequence of the over-riding that
went on in defiance of his authority. It is invidious
to make distinctions, but I am sorry to say that the
chief offenders are often men who, from their position
in the Hunt, ought to set a better example.
" W. B."
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 311
When this sort of conduct is a matter of common
practice, it cannot be denied that fox-hunting must
be in a bad way indeed. That gross over-crowding
and unmannerly conduct have reached a cUmax is
made clear by the new regulations of the Pytchley,
Warwickshire, and North Warwickshire Hunts, under
which all people hunting with those packs, other than
owners or tenants of land and subscribers, are now to
be capped £2 per head per diem when they appear.
Whether even this remedy will suffice to purge the
evil may well be doubted ; it is to be feared that even
more drastic measures may have to be enforced.
With harriers no such scenes or such remedies are
at present dreamed of. The sport, having quietly
regained its former favour, goes peacefully on its way,
undisturbed by the din, the turmoils, and the anxieties
of modern fox-hunting. Long may it so continue !
This book has not been written with any view of
enhancing the popularity or increasing the fields of
present packs of harriers. The writer is the last person
in the world to wish to see this sport visited by the
misfortunes of fashionable fox-hunting. But it may
be pointed out that large districts in England, Wales,
and Ireland are to be found, where at present harriers
or beagles are unknown, and where, given the right
conditions and the right men, hare-hunting in a
modest way might give pleasure to many a country-
side.* Where farmers cannot see their way to accom-
modating a pack of mounted harriers, they would, I
am convinced, often be glad to see foot-harriers or
beagles over their land. That this is the case has
* A reference to the chapters on the various packs of
England, Wales, and Ireland, together with the list of
beagles in Appendix D, will, with a simultaneous perusal
of a map of Great Britain, convince the reader of this fact.
312 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
been made abundantly clear in the last twenty years
by the great increase in the number of beagle packs
now hunting. It is in this direction, especially, that
I anticipate a considerable change for the better in
many parts of the country, which are yet unblessed
by the cheery note of the hare-huntsman's horn and
the beautiful cry, so welcome in a winter landscape,
of his harriers or beagles.
In opening up negotiations with landowners, farmers,
and Masters of neighbouring packs of foxhounds,
there are, of course, a good many initial difficulties to
be overcome. It is necessary that the embryo Master
and huntsman — as huntsman he probably will be —
should have a fair knowledge of the sport he intends
to pursue, a good address, and stability. Pleasant
manners go very far indeed, especially among farmers
and their women folk at the present day, as indeed they
always have done and always will do. The days are
gone by when some well-descended lout, or Tony
Lumpkin, could hope to establish himself at the head
of a pack of hounds. Even Somervile, as far back
as 1735, well recognised the profit of a good address.
Here are his words on this very subject :
"Well-bred, polite,
Credit thy calling. See ! how mean, how low,
The bookless saunt'ring youth, proud of the skut
That dignifies his cap, his flourish'd belt,
And rusty couples jingling by his side.
Be thou of other mould ; and know that such
Transporting pleasures were by Heav'n ordained
Wisdom's relief and Virtue's great reward."
These last two lines are, perhaps, a trifle high-flown
— the poet's licence must always be allowed for — but
Somervile's admonition is a perfectly true one, well
to be remembered by all sportsmen.
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 313
But, perhaps, some of my readers may say : " We
have no hares left in our country and it is impossible
to get them up again." I doubt the impossibility of
raising a fair stock of hares in almost any country,
given the goodwill of some few of the farmers, a thing
surely not incredibly difficult of achievement. I have
shown in earlier chapters how prolific hares are and
how rapidly they increase. Even in districts practi-
cally depleted of these animals, a fair head could be
raised, in the course of a season or two, by turning
down a few couples. With even a moderate amount
of preservation, it is astonishing how almost inordi-
nately plentiful they will speedily become. It is
rather curious that at the present day hare-warrens
are so neglected. In Beckford's time they were
evidently common, and many squires trapped hares
and made use of them for turning down, or for sport,
as required. One would not, of course, advocate
hunting or coursing trapped hares, but warrens might
well be utilised for the purpose of increasing the stock
in other places. The warren was paled in. It usually
consisted of a wood of twenty or thirty acres, cut in
places into various walks. Traps were constantly
set for stoats, weasels, and pole-cats, and no dog was
ever allowed within the enclosure. Parsley was
recommended to be planted, as giving hares strength
and keeping them at home. It is certain that they
are very fond of this vegetable.
When hares were required they were duly trapped,
the traps being placed at the meuses, but only set
when hares were wanted. By this means the animals
became accustomed to them and were readily taken
when required. It was recommended that the traps
should be made of old wood, and even then it took
time before the hares became accustomed to them.
314 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Other meuses were directed to be left open, lest hares
should become alarmed, or disgusted, and so forsake
the place. Where traps were set, the meuses were
of brick. When hares became very shy of the traps
and could not be readily caught, it was sometimes
found necessary to drive them in from the outside — '
where they were often thickly congregated — with
spaniels. This was, of course, a method seldom
resorted to.
" The number of hares that a warren will supply,"
says Beckford, " is hardly to be conceived. I seldom
turned out less, in one year, than thirty brace of trap-
hares, besides many others killed in the environs,
of which no account was taken." He adds an amusing
anecdote. " I had once some conversation with a
gentleman about the running of my trap-hares, who
said he had been told that catching a hare, and
tying a piece of ribbon to her ear, was a sure way to make
her run straight. I make no doubt of it," he adds,
" and so would a canister tied to her tail.^^ Hare-
warrens, then, where hares are scarce, might surely,
be cultivated at the present time, as they were by
country gentlemen in those fine old hunting days of
the Georgian period. For turning down, they would
be of invaluable assistance.
But of the future of hares in this country, or of the
right sort of hounds to hunt them, I, for one, have no
fear. One's only dread is, that at the present rate of
increase in population, and of the growth of towns
and cities, large portions of England will be, within
the next two hundred years, rendered impossible for
hunting. Already infinite mischief is done by the
enormous manufacturing towns in various parts of
the kingdom. Go to Yorkshire, and walk through the
country within seven miles of Leeds, Sheffield, and
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 315
other great centres of industry, and note the ravages
of smoke and soot upon the vegetation, and the filth
that is deposited everywhere. It makes one despair
sometimes for that rural England of which we have
for ages boasted and still continue to boast. The
very gunners, shooting within hail of these great
cities of toil, find the moors even black with soot.
What is to be the end of it all ? Is this country to
be gradually destroyed, and the state of man in this
island reduced to the condition of a mill-horse or
a mine pony, toiling, poor creature, endlessly, hope-
lessly, amid the most dismal of all conceivable surround-
ings ? Is the life of man to be sunk to such depths
of despair and blackness ? If so, perish our so-called
civilisation ! A return to the wild, natural freedom
of the pure savage would be infinitely preferable.
England is rich, the envy of the world ; but surely
her richness and her prosperity will have been dearly
purchased, if her smiling fields are all to be reduced
in turn, mile by mile, acre by acre, to the level of the
deserts of the Black Country, the hideous brick wastes
of the East-End of London, or the hopeless, squalid,
endless rows of streets upon the outskirts of some of
our great manufacturing towns ! These things will
not come in our time ; but the day, apparently, is
approaching when great parts of England will, to the
lover of nature, the man of the open air, be impossible
places to live in.
Still, thanks to the fact that the east, the west, the
south, and some other portions of this country, have
not been invaded by the blight of manufactures and
minerals, there remain, probably for another hundred
or two of years, large areas where nature will still
show her face in its fresh and natural beauty, where
the wild flowers can awaken each spring, the woods
3i6 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
deck themselves in verdure uncontaminated, and the
wild creatures find their resting-places. Here the
hare-hunter will, let us hope, for generations yet to
come, pursue his quiet sport, taking his hounds into
the field with each succeeding October, and for five
months of the year awaking the echoes of hill and
moor and valley with the thrilling note of his horn
and the inspiring cry of his hounds.
Fox-hunting as it is now pursued in many localities,
has apparently to endure a crisis. There are many
signs that this crisis is not long to be delayed. As
an admirer of fox-hunting, I can but be concerned
with the changes for the worse that have in too many
places overtaken this fine sport. In the year 1893
there died in Warwickshire an old relative of my own,
at the great age of ninety years. She had been bred
up all her life among fox-hunters, and was old enough
to remember the time when Squire Corbet hunted the
whole of the Warwickshire country, north and south.
Squire Corbet reigned from 1791 to 1811, one of the
most glorious periods of hunting in that shire. I
remember well the old print of Mr. Corbet, on his
white horse, cheering his hounds out of covert, which
used to hang in my aunt's dining-room.
This old lady lived to see the days of over-crowded
fields, of barbed wire, of the decline of the farming
interest ; yet the memories of Squire Corbet and his
hounds remained fresh in her mind to the end of her
life. She was born in 1803, her mind was, to the
last, unimpaired ; she remembered well the bitter
winter of 1812 and Napoleon's terrible Russian cam-
paign ; and from her I drew, from the days of my
youth, many a picture of old English country life.
Even in my own time, I have seen many changes for
the worse in fox-hunting. I can well remember, as
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 317
a lad, the Warwickshire, Bicester, Pytchley, and
Grafton countries, when not a yard of wire existed
throughout the length and breadth of those splendid
fields and pastures. Fox-hunting, I am afraid, has to
undergo a purge ; how it will emerge from the ordeal
remains to be seen. At present, it seems that, in the
best and most popular countries, only the man of the
longest purse can survive, a consummation not, perhaps,
the most desirable in the world. As for the man of
small means, who loves fox-hunting, he must either
betake himself to the unfashionable countries — where,
after all, some of the best sport is nowadays often
to be found — or condescend to harriers.
For harriers I see no such symptoms of crisis.
Rather, as I have said, I believe, in its quiet way, the
sport is destined to go on and prosper, so long as
portions of England remain sufficiently rural. That
it may continue to do so must be the wish of every
true lover of sport and of wild life. It will be a bad
day for Britain, indeed, when her field sports are
brought to an end. In these days, when our country
is the object of envy, hatred, and malice to more than
one Continental power ; when her wealth and her
success attract the fiercest scrutiny and the most
savage desire ; it is in the last degree necessary that
her manhood should, by every means in their power,
prepare themselves steadily and pertinaciously for
that great combat which, sooner or later, must be our
destiny. The man who keeps himself fit, and active,
and hardy, whose eye is clear, whose muscles are
toughened, whose courage is high, and whose nerve
is steady ; who can ride, run, shoot, swim, march
long distances, and knows something of the country
and the life of the open air, must always be, inevit-
ably, far more valuable to his country than the man
31 8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
soddened by town-life, enervated, soft, purblind, and
emasculate. Any out-door sport or pastime, be it
hunting, athletics, football, cricket, or any other form
of exercise and training, must of necessity be invaluable
to such a civilisation as ours ; and these recreations
will, I am convinced, be, in the long run, the saving
of our manhood and of our country. Hunting, then,
in any form, whether it be fox-hunting for the rich
man, or hare-hunting with harriers or beagles for the
man of moderate means, is surely to be encouraged
by all means, by those who wish well to their country.
Indeed, it may be hoped and believed that hunting
never will die out of these islands so long as England
possesses pure air, open country, stout hares, and wild
foxes. I believe that if mounted men were ever
driven from the field by barbed wire, or other atro-
cities, some kind of hunting, whether with fox or hare,
would still be pursued on foot, so irrepressible and
inborn is the natural instinct of the chase in most men
of British blood. And if one might hazard a prophecy
— far distant may be the day of its fulfilment ! — it
is this, that when the last fox has been extirpated
from wild Britain, when the last mounted hunter
has leaped his final fence, or fallen a victim to barbed
wire, some faithful remnant of our descendants may
yet be found following the hare on foot, hunting her
down in the ancient manner of their forefathers with
beagle or harrier.
If there should, unhappily, come a time when
hunting of any kind is brought to an end within our
borders, I am by no means certain that many of our
descendants may not be found settled in other and
wilder countries, or passing to and fro by some rapid
means of communication at present unknown to us,
still pursuing those field sports in which their hardy
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 319
ancestors so much delighted. Various parts of remote
Europe, or of yet remoter Asia, Africa, or America,
may, in centuries to come, still continue to be used
as hunting-grounds, when much of western Europe
is overlaid with bricks and mortar, and overhung with
its hideous canopy of smoke. It is by no means a
wild stretch of fancy to imagine that such may be
the case. Thousands of our countrymen already
go abroad for their sport ; and, as England becomes
more overcrowded and communication more rapid,
tens of thousands will betake themselves to yet remoter
fields. I do not say that in all these countries good
hare-hunting or good fox-hunting will be obtained
off-hand. In South Africa, for instance, where im-
mense wastes of veldt will afford playgrounds and
sporting-fields for centuries to come, the indigenous
hare of the country is not a good one for hunting, as
we understand hunting at home. He has a nasty
habit of going to ground, and, although I have followed
English foxhounds on horseback, in rousing chases
after the jackal and small antelopes of Bechuana-
land, I should be sorry to have to hunt any of the
various species of South African hare with a pack of
harriers or beagles.
Many a laughable course have I viewed across the
veldt from the back of my pony or the fore-kist of
my waggon, as our mongrel pack of waggon dogs
raved frantically after some errant hare ; but I doubt
very much whether much fun would be obtained in
any other way. The beast would most surely go to
earth in half a mile or a mile, and a fresh find would
have constantly to be undertaken. Hares, however,
are easily acclimatised, and our English species already
flourishes in New Zealand and elsewhere. When the
merry British hare-hunter has been driven from his
320 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
own island, he can surely betake himself to fresh
woods and pastures new, and pursue his beloved
sport on some Asiatic Steppe, or Tundra, or over the
wild Karroos and rolling uplands of South Africa, or
amid the green pastures of New Zealand or the plains
of Australia. I, for one, will never believe that the
British hunter, whether he favours fox, hare, or stag,
will relinquish his sport, because, forsooth, his island
has grown too overcrowded for him. Rather do I
believe that if the last remaining portion of the globe
open to him for hunting consisted of the wet wastes
of the Falkland Islands, or the dreary desolation of
Tierra del Fuego, he would still repair thither and try
his luck.
However, although some of these expectations and
possibilities may actually lie within the bosom of the
future, at present there is no instant necessity for the
average man of British blood to be looking quite so
far afield. I hold with confidence that, in our time
and for a good many generations thereafter, he will
be able to pursue his favourite method of hunting in
much the old way. And especially do I anticipate
that the hare-hunter is destined, for may a long year
yet, to meet, as he and his forefathers have met for
centuries, on some quiet village green, or by the time-
worn walls of some ancient manor-house, to greet his
friends just in the hearty old way, to listen with en-
raptured ears to the sound of the deep-tongued harrier,
to view the hare speeding from her form, to hear, as
the pack first opens upon the line, that burst of hound
melody which never yet failed to stir the heart of
youth or age, of man or woman, and to watch with
never failing ecstacy the passage and the working of
the hounds, as they puzzle out the infinite mazes woven
by one^of the cleverest and most resourceful creatures
THE FUTURE OF HARE-HUNTING 321
ever known to the lover of the chase. These sights
and sounds, these exercises, so dear to the follower
of hare-hunting, are destined, I fully believe, to endure
in British fields for many and many a winter day yet
to come, and to cheer the heart, clear the brain, and
toughen the fibres of many a sportsman of the right
British blood.
Bearing these things in mind, I do not think that
I can close this volume more fittingly than with a
motto taken from an old translation from the third
Georgic of Virgil :
" Hark away,
Cast far behind the ling'ring cares of life.
Cithaeron calls aloud, and in full cry
Thy hounds, Taygetus. Epidaurus trains
For us the generous steed ; the hunter's shouts,
And cheering cries, assenting woods return."
APPENDIX A
THE HUNTING OF THE HARE
With her last Will and Testament. As 'twas per-
formed on Bamstead downs By Cony-catchers and
their hounds. To a pleasant new Tune : " Of all the
Sports the World doth Yield."
Of all delights that Earth doth yield,
Give mee a pack of hounds in field ;
Whose echo shall throughout the sky
Make Jove admire our harmony
and wish that he a mortal were
to view the pastime we have here.
I will tell you of a rare scent.
Where many a gallant horse was spent
On Bamstead-Downs a Hare we found
Which led us all a smoaking round ;
o're hedge and ditch away she goes,
admiring her approaching foes.
But when she found her strength to wast
She parleyed with the hounds at last :
Kind hounds, quoth she, forbear to kill
A harmless Hare that neer thought ill,
and if your Master sport do crave
I'll lead a scent as he would have.
Huntsman
Away, away, thou art alone,
Make haste, I say, and get thee gone,
324 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Wee'l give thee law for half a mile
To see if thou canst us beguile,
but then expect a thund'ring cry,
made by us and our harmony.
Hare
Now since you set my life so sleight,
I'l make black sloven turn to white :
And Yorkshire Gray that runs at all
I'le make him wish he were in stall,
or Sorrel he that seems to flye,
I'le make him supple e're he dye.
Let Barnards Bay do what he can.
Or Barrens Bay that now and than
Did interrupt mee on my way,
I'le make him neither jet nor play,
or constant Robin though he lye,
at his advantage, what care I.
Will Hatton he hath done mee wrong.
He struck mee as I run along.
And with one pat made mee so sore,
That I ran reeling to and fro ;
but if I dye his Master tell,
that fool shall ring my passing bell.
Huntsman
Alas poor Hare it is our nature,
To kill thee, and no other creature,
For our Master wants a bit.
And thou wilt well become the spit,
he'l eat thy flesh, we'l pick thy bone,
this is thy doom, so get thee gone.
Hare
Your Master may have better chear,
For I am dry, and butter is dear.
But, if he please to make a friend.
He'd better give a puddings end,
for I being kill'd the sport he'l lack,
and I must hang on the Huntsman's back.
APPENDIX A 325
Huntsman
Alas poor Hare we pity thee,
If with our nature 'twould agree,
But all thy doubling shifts I fear.
Will not prevail, thy death's so near
then make thy Will, it may be that,
may save thee, or I know not what.
(The Hare makes her Will)
Then I bequethe my body free,
Unto your Masters courtesie :
And if he please my hfe to grant.
He be his game when sport is scant :
but if I dye each greedy Hound,
divides my entrals on the ground.
■ • • H • • •
Item, I do give and bequeathe,
To men in debt (after my death
My subtle scent, that so they may,
Beware of such as would betray,
them to a miserable fate
by blood-hounds from the Compter-gate,
Item, I do a turn-coat give
(That he may more obscurely live)
My swift and sudden doublings which.
Will make politick and rich,
though at the last with many wounds
I wish him kill'd by his own hounds.
Item, I give into their hands.
That purchase Dean and Chapter lands,
My wretched jealousies and fears,
Mixt with salt of Orphans' tears,
that long vexations may persever,
to plague them and their heirs for ever.
Before I dye (for breath is scant)
I would supply mens proper want,
And therefore I bequeath(e) unto,
The Scrivener (give the Devil his due)
that Forgeth, Swears, and then forswears
(to save his credit) both my Ears.
326 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
I give to some Sequestred man,
My skin to make a jacket on :
And I bequethe my feet to they,
That shortly mean to run away,
When truth is Speaker, False-hood's dumb,
Foxes must flye when Lions come.
To Fiddlers (for all Trades must live)
To serve for strings, my guts I give :
For Gamesters that do play at rut.
And love the sport, I give my skut :
but (last of all in this sad dump)
To Tower-Hill I bequeathe my Rump.
Huntsman
Was ever Hounds so basely crost,
Our Masters call us off so fast.
That we the scent have almost lost.
And they themselves must rule the rost,
therefore kind Hare wee'l pardon you,
Thanks gentle Hounds, and so adue.
Hare
And since your Master hath pardon'd me
I'le lead you all to Banbury ,
Whereas John Turner hath a Room
To entertain all Guests that come
to laugh and quaff in Wine and Beer
a full carouse to your Careere.
May, 1660.
Roxburghe Ballads.
APPENDIX B
LISTS OF HOUND NAMES
I. From Beckford's " Thoughts on Hunting," 1780
Dogs
Actress
Brazen
Able
Affable
BriUiant
Actor
Agile
Brusher
Adamant
Airy
Brutal
Adjutant
Amity
Burster
Agent
Angry
Bustler
Aider
Aimwell
Animate
Artifice
Bitches
Amorous
Audible
Baneful
Antic
Anxious
Dogs
Bashful
Bauble
Arbiter
Bachelor
Beauteous
Archer
Baffler
Beauty
Ardent
Banger
Beldam
Ardor
Barbarous
Bellmaid
Arrogant
Arsenic
Bellman
Bender
Blameless
Blithsome
Artful
Blaster
Blowzy
Artist
Bluecap
Bluebell
Atlas
Blueman
Bluemaid
Atom
Bluster
Bonny
Auditor
Boaster
Bonnybell
Augur
Awful
Boisterous
Bonnylass
Bonnyface
Boundless
Bouncer
Bravery
Bitches
Bowler
Bragger
Brevity
Brimstone
Accurate
Bravo
Busy
Active
Brawler
Buxom
32 8 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Dogs
Countryman
Courteous
Dogs
Caitiff
Coxcomb
Damper
Caliban
Craftsman
Danger
Capital
Crasher
Dangerous
Captain
Critic
Dapper
Captor
Critical
Dapster
Carol
Crowner
Darter
Carver
Cruiser
Dasher
Caster
Crusty
Cryer
Curfew
Dashwood
Castwell
Daunter
Catcher
Dexterous
Catchpole
Currier
Disputant
Caviller
Downright
Cerberous
Dragon
Challenger
Bitches
Dreadnought
Champion
Capable
Driver
Charon
Captious
Duster
Chaser
Careless
Chaunter
Careful
Bitches
Chieftain
Carnage
Dainty
Chimer
Caution
Daphne
Chirper
Cautious
Darling
Choleric
Charmer
Dashaway
Claimant
Chauntress
Dauntless
Clamorous
Cheerful
Delicate
Clangour
Cherripur
Desperate
Clasher
Chorus
Destiny
CUmbank
Circe
Dian
Clinker
Clarinet
Diligent
Combat
Clio
Docile
Combatant
Comely
Document
Comforter
Comfort
Doubtful
Comrade
Comical
Doubtless
Comus
Concord
Dreadful
Conflict
Courtesy
Dreadless
Conqueror
Crafty
Dulcet
Conquest
Crazy
Constant
Credible
Dogs
Contest
Credulous
Eager
Earnest
Coroner
Croney
Cottager
Cruel
Effort
Counsellor
Curious
Elegant
APPENDIX B
329
Eminent
Bitches
Glider
Envious
Fairmaid
Glorious
Envoy
Fairplay
Goblin
Errant
Faithful
Governor
Excellent
Famous
Grapler
Fanciful
Grasper
Bitches
Fashion
Griper
Favourite
Growler
Easy
Fearless
Grumbler
Echo
Festive
Guardian
Ecstacy
Fickle
Guider
Endless
Fidget
Guiler
Energy
T^ -J
Fiery
Bitches
Enmity
Fireaway
Essay
Firetail
Gaiety
Dogs
Flighty
Flourish
GaUy
Gainful
Factious
Flurry
Forcible
Galley
Gambol
Factor
Fretful
Gamesome
Fatal
Fearnought
Friendly
Frisky
Frolic
Gamestress
Gaylass
Ferryman
Ghastly
Fervent
Frolicsome
Giddy
Finder
Firebrand
Funnylass
Fiirinns
Gladness
Gladsome
Flagrant
Fury
Governess
Flasher
Graceful
Fleece'm
Graceless
Fleecer
Dogs
Gracious
FUnger
Gainer
Grateful
Flippant
Gallant
Gravity
Flourisher
Galliard
Guilesome
Flyer
Galloper
Guiltless
Foamer
Gamboy
GuUty
Foiler
Gamester
Foreman
Garrulous
Dogs
Foremost
Gazer
Hannibal
Foresight
General
Harbinger
Forester
Genius
Hardiman
Forward
Gimcrack
Hardy
Fulminant
Giant
Harlequin
Furrier
Glancer
Harasser
330
I HARE-HUNTING AND
HARRIERS
Havoc
Industry
Lovely
Hazard
Jollity
Lucky lass
Headstrong
Joyful
Lunacy
Hearty
Joyous
Hector
Dogs
Heedful
Dogs
Hercules
Hero
Highflyer
Hopeful
Hotspur
Labourer
Larum
Lasher
Laster
Launcher
Manager
Manful
Marschal
Markman
Marplot
Martial
Marvellous
Matchem
Humbler
Hurtful
Leader
Leveller
Bitches
Liberal
Libertine
Maxim
Maximus
Handsome
Lictor
Meanwell
Harlot
Lifter
Medler
Harmony
Lightfoot
Menacer
Hasty
Linguist
Mendall
Hazardous
Listener
Mender
Heedless
Lounger
Mentor
Hellen
Heroine
Lucifer
Lunatic
Mercury
Merlin
Hideous
Lunger
Merry boy
Honesty
Lurky
Merryman
Hostile
Lusty
Messmate
Methodist
Dogs
Bitches
Mighty
Jerker
Lacerate
Militant
Jingler
Laudable
Minikin
Impetus
Lavish
Miscreant
Jockey
Lawless
Mittimus
Jolly
Lenity
Monarch
J oily boy
Levity
Monitor
J ostler
Liberty
Motley
Jovial
Lightning
Mounter
Jubal
Lightsome
Mover
Judgment
Likely
Mungo
Jumper
Lissome
Musical
Litigate
Mutinous
Bitches
Lively
Mutterer
Jealousy
Lofty
Myrmidoo
APPENDIX B
331
Bitches
Dogs
Pastime
Madcap
Paean
Patience
Madrigal
Pageant
Phoenix
Magic
Paragon
Phrenetic
Maggoty
Paramount
Phrensy
Matchless
Partner
Placid
Melody
Partyman
Playful
Merryglass
Pealer
Playsome
Merriment
Penetrant
Pleasant
Mindful
Perfect
Phant
Minion
Perilous
Positive
Miriam
Pertinent
Precious
Mischief
Petulant
Prettylass
Modish
Phoebus
Previous
Monody
Piercer
Priestess
Music
Pilgrim
Probity
Pillager
Prudence
Dogs
Pilot
Pincher
Dogs
Nervous
Piper
Racer
Nestor
Playful
Rager
Nettler
Plodder
Rallywood
Newsman
Plunder
Rambler
Nimrod
Politic
Ramper
Noble
Potent
Rampant
Nonsuch
Prater
Rancour
Novel
Prattler
Random
Noxious
Premier
Ranger
President
Ransack
Presto
Rantaway
Bitches
Prevalent
Ranter
Narrative
Primate
Rapper
Neatness
Principle
Rattler
Needful
Prodigal
Ravager
Negative
Prompter
Ravenous
Nicety
Prophet
Ravisher
Nimble
Prosper
Reacher
Noisy
Prosperous
Reasoner
Notable
Prowler
Rector
Notice
Pryer
Regent
Notion
J
Render
Novelty
Bitches
Resonant
Novice
Passion
Restive
332
HARE-HUNTING AND
HARRIERS
Reveller
Roguish
Spoiler
Rifler
Ruin
Spokesman
Rider
Rummage
Sportsman
Rigid
Ruthless
Squabbler
Rigour
Dogs
Squeaker
Ringwood
Statesman
Rioter
Salient
Steady
Risker
Sampler
Stickler
Rockwood
Sampson
Stinger
Romper
Sanction
Stormer
Rouser
Sapient
Stranger
Router
Saucebox
Stripling
Rover
Saunter
Striver
Rudesby
Scalper
Strivewell
Ruf&an
Scamper
Stroker
Ruffler
Schemer
Stroller
Rumbler
Scourer
Struggler
Rummager
Scrambler
Sturdy
Rumour
Screamer
Subtle
Runner
Screecher
Succour
Rural
Scuffler
Suppler
Rusher
Searcher
Surly
Rustic
Settler
Swaggerer
Sharper
Sylvan
Bitches
Shifter
Racket
Signal
Bitches
Rally
Singer
Sanguine
Rampish
Singwell
Sappho
Rantipole
Skirmish
Science
Rapid
Smoker
Scrupulous
Rapine
Social
Shrewdness
Rapture
Solomon
Skilful
Rarity
Solon
Songstress
Rashness
Songster
Specious
Rattle
Sonorous
Speedy
Ravish
Soundwell
Spiteful
Reptile
Spanker
Spitfire
Resolute
Special
Sportful
Restless
Specimen
Sportive
Rhapsody
Speedwell
Sportly
Riddance
Spinner
Sprightly
Riot
Splendour
Stately
Rival
Splenetic
Stoutness
APPENDIX B
333
strenuous
Trouncer
Valorous
Strumpet
Truant
Valour
Surety
Trueboy
Vaulter
Sybil
Trueman
Vaunter
Symphony
Trudger
Venture
Dogs
Trusty
Trywell
Venturer
Venturous
Tackier
Tuner
Vermin
Talisman
Turbulent
Vexer
Tamer
Twanger
Victor
Tangent
Twig'em
Vigilant
Tartar
Tyrant
Vigorous
Tattler
Vigour
Taunter
Bitches
Villager
Teaser
Tattle
Viper
Terror
Telltale
Volant
Thrasher
Tempest
Voucher
Threatner
Tentative
Thumper
Termagant
Thunderer
Terminate
Bitches
Thwacker
Terrible
Vanquish
Thwarter
Testy
Vehemence
lickler
Thankful
Vehement
Tomboy
Thoughtful
Vengeance
Topmost
Tidings
Vengeful
Topper
Toilsome
Venomous
Torment
Tractable
Venturesome
Torrent
Tragedy
Venus
Torturer
Trespass
Verify
Tosser
Trifle
Verity
Touchstone
Trivial
Vicious
Tracer
Trollop
Victory
Tragic
Troublesome
Victrix
Trampler
Truelass
Vigilance
Transit
Truemaid
Violent
Transport
Tunable
Viperous
Traveller
Tuneful
Virulent
Trial
Vitiate
Trier
Dogs
Vivid
Trimbush
Vagabond
Vixen
Trimmer
Vagrant
Vocal
Triumph
Valiant
Volatile
Trojein
VaUd
Voluble
334
HARE-HUNTING AND
HARRIERS
T^Cif^^
Woodman
Waspish
a^kjkjj
Worker
Wasteful
Wanderer
Workman
Watchful
Warbler
Worthy
Welcome
Warning
Wrangler
Welldone
Warrior
Wrestler
Whimsey
Warhoop
WhirUgig
Wayward
Wellbred
Bitches
Wildfire
Willing
Whipster
Waggery
Wishful
Whynot
Waggish
Wonderful
Wildair
Wagtail
Worry
Wildman
Wanton
Wrathful
Wilful
Warfare
Wreakful
Wisdom
Warlike
2. From the Duke of Rutland's Hounds, 1826.
Ajax
Gipsy
Merrical
Abigail
Gamble
Nabob
Artful
Gratitude
Niobe
Bender
Hoyden
Nectar
Bloomer
Hernia
Nelly
Courtly
Hostess
Nimble
Carnage
Harlot
Nancy
Careful
Joker
Paragon
Corsican
Jargon
Pliant
Contest
Jewel
Proctor
Chaunter
Jailer
Primrose
Chorister
Juhet
Rhapsody
Clencher
Jessamy
Ruby
Columbine
Joyous
Ragland
Caroline
Jealousy
Ranter
Cardinal
Joyful
Rebel
Cruel
Luther
Redrose
Constant
Limner
Rocket
Crimson
Lavender
Rosalind
Danger
Legacy
Rally
Damsel
Ladyblush
Ravager
Daphne
Lady
Remus
Gadabout
Mindful
Rosebud
APPENDIX B
335
Rummager
Remnant
Vulcan
Racket
Shifter
Vestal
Roundly
Sally
Vaulter
Ruin
Syren
VaUant
Rachel
Sparker
Vixen
Rambler
Splendour
Virgin
Ringwood
Stormer
Vengeance
Regale
Statesman
Violet
ReUsh
Sultan
Warble
Rapid
Symmetry
Watchful
Ruler
Stranger
Waspish
Rasselas
Songstress
3. From the Duke of BeauforVs Hounds, 1826.
Affable
Dorcas
Gladsome
Aimwell
Denmark
Graceful
Archer
Dexter
Gaiety
Amorous
Dalliance
Gertrude
Absolute
Daphne
Grecian
Bluster
Dashaway
Gossip
Brusher
Driver
Garland
Boxer
Dainty
Gaudy
Barrister
Duncan
Honesty
BluebeU
Dragon
Harbinger
Bravery
Doxy
Jasper
Brilliant
Duster
Jessamine
Benedict
Destiny
Jason
Baronet
DeUcate
Jesse
Commodore
Dimity
Libertine
Costly
Daffodil
Lovely
Columbine
Damsel
Laundress
Charmer
Emily
Lancaster
Dorimant
Elegant
Lively
Dreadnought
Edgar
Latimer
Dandy
Empress
Lightfoot
Diomede
Edwin
Nectar
Darter
Gaylass
Niobe
Dashwood
Governess
Nimrod
DiUgent
Gainer
Plundet
Dauntless
Guzman
Playful
33^
HARE-HUNTING AND
HARRIERS
Paragon
Rubens
Vanity
Prophetess
Rustic
Valiant
Platoff
Ransom
Vanguard
Pontiff
Rampish
Victor
Princess
Rarity
Vulcan
Purity
Ruin
Vanquisher
Pastime
Ragland
Waterloo
Partner
Rallywood
Wellington
Pilgrim
Rutland
Whimsey
Pugilist
Rafter
Wary
Pillager
Restless
Wildair
Pasquin
Rapture
Wonder
Parasol
Rachel
Workman
Policy-
Reveller
Wilful
Proctor
Rhapsody
Waverly
Pelican
Rosamund
Wrangler
Piper
Ravager
Wanton
Rival
ReUsh
Woodbine
Regent
Sprightly
Whirlwind
Rifleman
Tandem
Whisker
Ranter
Toilet
Willing
Ruby
Tuneful
Winifred
Raffle
Vaulter
Warrior
Racket
4. From Mr. Osbaldesione^s Hounds {The Quorn), 1826.
Active
Blameless
Charon
Artful
Barbary
Cypher
Abelard
Brusher
Charmer
Auditor
Benedict
Cobweb
Actress
Bloomer
Concord
Abigail
Crafty
Comedy
Archer
Chorister
Careful
Amulet
Clencher
Curricle
Aimwell
Caliban
Castor
Beatrix
Caroline
Damsel
Brevity
Comely
Drugger
Bachelor
Champion
Dromo
Baroness
Cruizer
Dexter
Boozer
Chaunter
Dalliance
APPENDIX B
337
Diomed
Lightning
Rhapsody
Dandy-
Lady
Racer
Decent
Lightfoot
Royster
Dairymaid
Milliner
Ransom
Emerald
Mortimer
Rachael
Emperor
Margaret
Rosemary
Farrier
Musical
Singwell
Fallacy
Marmion
Singer
Felony
Nimble
Sailor
Gossamer
Nancy
Syntax
Gratitude
Orpheus
Sampson
Granby
Ottoman
Senator
Gaylass
Oddity
Telltale
Golding
Ornament
Trywell
Gilder
Piper
Truelove
Gertrude
Prattle
Tarquin
Hernia
Palestine
Vaulter
Hermit
Pilot
Volatile
Hostess
Proctor
Violet
Harlot
Promise
Valentine
Harper
Pastime
Vigilant
Horsa
Purity
Vanquisher
Handmaid
Palafox
Venus
Harpy
Prodigal
Vengeance
Harmony
Pilgrim
Vanity
Hardwick
Primrose
Victory
Hasty
Pontiff
Vocal
Heroine
Placeman
Vicious
Joyful
Prizer
Varnish
Jasper
Phoebe
Vagrant
Jewess
Prompter
"Wilderness
Jubilee
Pangloss
Wonder
Jessamy
Patience
Welcome
Junket
Rocket
Wanton
Jezebel
Rasselas
Witchcraft
Jealousy
Roundelay
Woodman
Justice
Rosy
Whiterose
Joyous
Rattler
Woodbine
Lunatic
Lively
Ruin
Rallywood
Woful
338 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
5. From Mr. Musters' Hounds {The Pytchley), 1826
Ambrose
Chanticleer
Jessamine
Actress
Chirper
Jessica
Artful
Careful
JuUet
Abelard
Comedy
Judy
Archer
Conrad
Lasher
Active
Comely
Laughable
Abigail
Cottager
Monitor
Amazon
Carver
Monarch
Arthur
Doubtful
Matchless
Adeline
Dreadnought
Modish
Amulet
Dairymaid
Madrigal
Airy
Dashaway
Ottoman
Boundless
Duster
Orpheus
Bouncer
Diligent
Pilot
Benedict
Dexter
Porcupine
Bacchanal
Dashwood
Prettylass
Byblow
Driver
Purity
Brilliant
Desperate
Playful
Bauble
DaUiance
Pleasant
Bravery
Daphne
Pastime
Bonnybell
Forrester
Proctor
Bachelor
Fortune
Painter
Buxom
Fairy
Rachel
Collier
Gulliver
Roman
Champion
Gaudy
Royster
Careless
Glory
Rival
Columbine
Gaiety
Ruin
Crier
Gaylass
Riot
Charity
Governor
Racket
Castor
Governess
Ransom
Cipher
Gamboy
Singwell
Chancellor
Harlequin
Speedwell
Charmer
Hermit
Sultan
Celia
Harlot
Scornful
Cheerly
Harmony
Stormer
Caroline
Hector
Saladin
Charming
Hotspur
Stately
Cardinal
Harriet
Symphony
Chantress
Joyful
Susan
Crafty
Justice
Syren
APPENDIX B
339
Sailor
Vaulter
Wildboy
Songstress
Vanquisher
Watchful
Safety
Vanguard
Woodbine
Sportsman
Woodman
Welcome
Sanguine
WiUing
Wonder
Topper
Wonderful
Walter
Thetis
APPENDIX C
OLD DERBYSHIRE POEM ON THE GREAT RUN
WITH SQUIRE FRITH'S HARRIERS*
(From " The Sporting Magazine," 1826)
Hark ! Hark ! brother Sportsman, what musical sounds
Through the valley do ring from the merry-mouth' d hounds !
No one in this land with Squire Frith can compare,
For chasing bold Reynard or hunting the hare.
When Phoebus peeped over yon high eastern hills.
And darted his rays o'er the lawns and the fields.
One eighth of December — a mem'rable morn,
We chased bold Reynard with hounds and with horn.
With a staunch and fleet pack, most sagacious and true,
What a musical chorus when Reynard's in view !
No pleasure like hunting we mortals can know ;
Then follow ! hark forward, boys ! yoicks ! Tally-ho !
First for the Combs rocks swift as lightning he flew ;
Tally-ho ! was the word, we've bold Reynard in view !
The hills and the valleys re-echo all round
With the shout of the huntsman and the cry of the hound.
The cunning old trotter no covert can find ;
Our staunch dogs pursue him as fleet as the wind :
For all the strong holds we had stopped up secure,
And crafty old Reynard the chase must endure.
* There appear to be two versions of this poem : the other,
taken from The Reliquary, vol. i., 1 860-1, p. 243, having
been kindly forwarded to me from Derbyshire. There are
some few differences, but, on the whole, the versions are much
the same. I have printed the older rendering.
APPENDIX C 341
There's Pedlar and Ploughboy, two dogs of great fame.
And Primrose and Connylass, and Conqueror by name,
Old Bellman and Bowman, Ringwood, Rally-ho,
With Lily and Lady, and little Dido.
Squire Frith is well mounted upon a swift steed.
Black Jack ! there are few that can match him for speed ;
The Squire and his huntsman no horse-flesh will spare,
When chasing bold Reynard, or hunting the hare.
For Macclesfield Forest the felon did fly,
Through Tagsneys and Crookyard and unto Langly,
Through Chalvecross, Gracely Woods, and Swithingly,
At his brush close did follow the hounds in full cry.
Near to Gawsworth and Horsley he came back again,
'Twas speed that prolong'd his life, it was plain ;
Near forty long miles the old trotter did run,
And we kill'd him at Cloud's Hill, near to Congleton.
Here's a health to all hunters of every degree,
All jolly good sportsmen wherever they be I
In a full flowing bowl, we will drink a health all.
To that great and true sportsman. Squire Frith, of Bank Hall.
APPENDIX D
LIST OF BEAGLE PACKS, 1902-03*
Name of Hunt.
Height and Breed
of Hounds
Couples
of
Hounds.
Hunting
Days.
Master.
Airedale
I sin. — Beagles
12
Tues. Sat.
Mr. Dawson Jow-
ett
Aldershot Dis-
i6in.— Beagle
IS
Alt. Tu. &
Lieut. -Col, Hon,
trict
harriers
W. ; S.
J. E. Lindley
Ballymartle
1 4in. — Pure-bred
beagles
15
Twice a
week
Mr. R. J. Meade
Bellmount
i2in. — Beagles
10
Various
Capt. J, E, H,
Herrick
Berkhamsted
1 3iin. — Stud-book
beagles
12
Wed. Sat.
Mr. W. J. Pickin
Brighton
I Si^in. — Beagle
harriers
12
Tues. Sat.
A Committee
Britannia
i6iin. — Beagle and
harrier cross
16
Wed. Sat.
Lieut. L. C. S
WooUcombe
Bushey Heath
i4in. — Pure
beagles
IS
Sat, alt.
Wed.
Mr. R. Mavor
Charnwood
1 3iin. — Beagles
10
2 days a
week
Mr. W. E, Paget
Chawston
i5in. — Beagles
12
Tues. Fri.
Mr. W. Luke
Addington
• From The Field Hound List, with additions.
APPENDIX D
LIST
OF BEAGLE PACKS, 1902-03 *
Huntsman.
Whips.
Kennels.
John Jackson
Messrs. Stansfield and
Greenhill Grange, Bingley,
Cookerton
Yorks
E. Cranston
Capts. Beales, Gillespie,
and Constable ; Messrs.
Scarlett, Skipwith,
Oliver, and Pickard
Ivily Farm, Cove, Aldershot
The Master
Mr. W. Bleazby ; D.
Ballymartle, Ballinhassig,
Donovan, k.h.
CO. Cork
The Master
John Carroll
Bellmount, Cookstown, co.
Cork
The Master
Messrs. R. W. Sedgwick,
A. Butcher. C. M.
Strouts, and Harold
Sedgwick
Berkhamsted.
Major W.G. Morrall
Messrs. D. Roffey, B. S,
Hichens, B. G. Davie,
and H. Wroughton
Goldsmid Road, Brighton
The Master
Cadets F, Prideaux
Breeve and the Hon.
G. Fraser
Dartmouth
The Master
Messrs. W. Dagnall and
Hilfield Park, Bushey Heath,
G. Linhampton ; W.
Herts
EUwood, k.h.
The Master
T. Phipps, k.h.
Smithfield, Loughboro'
The Master
Mr, J. A. Whitchurch
Colesden Grange, St. Neots
» From The Field Hound List, with additions.
344
HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Name of Hunt.
Height and Breed
of Hounds.
Couples
of
Hounds.
Hunting
Days.
Master.
Chelmsford
I5in. — Beagle
harriers
loi
Tues. Sat.
Major H. N. 1
Crozier ■
Cheshirk
i5|in. — Pure
beagles
17
Tues.Thurs.
Sat»
Mr. Percy Roberts
Christ Church,
i6in. — Stud-book
IS
Tues. Fri.
Viscount Lew-
Oxford
beagles
isham
Clayesmore
Hi
Irregular
Mr. J. A. B. Trench
School
GOCKERMOUTH
i6in. — Beagles
9
Twice a
week
Mr. HenryPeacock
i
Colchester Gar-
i5in.— Beagles
12
Tues. Fri.
1
Capt. A. L. Bel-
rison
lamy
Coldham
i4in. — Beagles
10
Thurs. occ.
by-day
Col. Trafford-Raw-
son
Constable's, Mr.
1 3iin. — Stud-book
beagles
II
Mr. L. L. Con-
stable
Croft's, Capt.
i6in. — Beagles
18
Various
Capt. R. P. Croft
R.P.
CuRSis Stream
1 5^-in. — Stud-book
beagles
Hi
Mon. Wed.
Sat.
Mr. John Godley
Denny's, Mr.
Basset hounds
14
Mon. Thurs.
Mr. E. H. M.
Denny
Dol Wilym
1 5-J^in. — Beagles
12
Wed. Sat.
Mr. J. B. Protheroe
DOWNTON
II
Thurs. Sat.
Mr. H. E. Fitz-
Herbert
Durham
i6^in. — Beagles
12
Wed. Sat.
Mr. G. C. Roberts
Edinburgh
I5|in. to i6in. —
14
3 days a
Mr. G. Cunning-
Beagles
fort.
ham
Furness and Dis-
i5in.— Beagles
14
Tues. Fri.
Mr. Victor Caven-
trict
dish
GospoRT and
I4^in. — Beagles
IS
Tues. Fri.
Mr. F. Blake
Fareham
Herefordshire
i6in. — Stud-book
beagles
14
Mon. Thurs.
Hon. R. C. Deve-
reux
APPENDIX D
345
Huntsman.
Whips.
Kennels.
The Master
M. Jaggs ; B. Brazier
New Street, Chelmsford
J no. Bishop
Lache Lane, near Chester
The Master ; A.
Mr. P. Godsal
Garsington, Wheatley, Oxon
Clinkard, k.h.
The Master
Messrs. Lewis, Cox, and
Clayesmore School, Pang-
Ambert
bourne
Mr. Robert Telford
Messrs. D. Kerr, H. Pea-
cock, jun., and R.
Mitchell
Waste Lane, Cockermouth
Mr. Robert Parsons
Capt. Lees ; Messrs.
North and Margetts
Middlewick, Colchester
Capt. R. P. Welstead
B. Horsford, k.h.
Coldham Hall, Bury St.
Edmunds
The Master
Mr. B. J. Constable; Miss
O. Constable
Ifold, Billinghurst, Sussex
H. Barham, k.h>
W. Shepheard ; L. Force
Fanhams Hall. Ware
The Master
T. Smythe, k.h. ; G.
Fonthill Park, Chapelizod,
Smith ; T. Smith
CO. Dublin
The Master and Mr.
Frederick Theobald, k.h.
Chiddingstone Castle, Kent
T. Duke
The Master
Jonah Davis, k.h. ; David
D61 Wilym, Hebron, R.S.O.,
Williams
Carmarthenshire
The Master
Messrs. J. C. Scott and
The Kennel, Downton, near
D. G. Garnett
Salisbury
The Master
Messrs. E. J. Pearce,
A. L. S, Greenwell,
F. Bell, and Body-
Shincliffe, co. Durham
Mr. D. E. C. Pottinger
Messrs. R. Fothergill and
A. C. T. Woodward
Corstorphine, N.B.
John Braithwaite
Mr. J. H. Park
Rath Vale, Ulverston, Lan-
cashire
The Master
Messrs. F. Gillson, H.
Blake, and W. Meade
Peel Common, Fareham
Will Holmes
Messrs. M. T. Mousley,
198, Ledbury Road, Tupsly,
J. H. Hoyland, and
Hereford
C. Brown
346
HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Name of Hunt.
HORSELL
HULTON
Huntingdon
Innis Beg
Johnson's, Mr. T.
Lanarkshire
Linton
Llysnewydd
New College &
Magdalen
(Oxford)
Pant-y-Cendy
Pen-y-Ghent
Peover
Pettings
Reepham
Richmond
Royal Rock
Sesskinawaddy
Height and Breed
of Hounds.
U X
i6in. — Beagles
1 4|in. — Stud-book
beagles
i6in. — Beagles
1 5in. — Stud-book
beagles
I4in. — Stud-book
beagles
i6^in. — Cross har-
rier and beagle
iS|in. — Beagle
harriers
1 5 in. — Beagles
1 5in. — Stud-book
beagles
1 5in. — Stud-book
beagles
I S^in. — Stud-book
beagles
Basset hounds
Average i6in. —
Beagles
iS|in. — Beagles
i6in. — Pure
beagles
I7i
IS
23
10
16
13
12
10
16
14
Hunting
Days.
Wed. Sat.
3 days a
fort.
Irregular
Various
Various
Various
3 days a
fort.
Mon. Fri.
Mon. Thurs.
2 days a
week
2 days a
week
Mon. Fri.
occ. Wed
2 days a
week
Irregular
Wed. Sat.
Uncertain
Master.
Hon. M. Erskine
Mr. L. L. Armitage
Earl of Hunting-
don
Mr. MacCarthy
Morrogh
Mr. T. Johnson
Mr. F. S. W. Corn-
waUis
Col. Lewes
Mr. E. M. Scott
Mackirdy
Mr. L. A. L. Evans
Mr. John Foster
Mr. R. L. Crank-
shaw
Mr. C. J. G. Hulkes
Messrs. N. C. and
H. C. Swan
Mr. C. L. Butcher
Mr. C. F. Hutton
Lt.-Col. the Hon.
C. Alexander
APPENDIX D
347
HuDtsman.
Whips.
Kennels.
The Master
The Master
The Master
J. Holohan, k.h.
The Master
The Master
Mr. W. Lewes
The Master
David Jones
The Master
P. Jackson
The Master
Mr. N. C. Swan
The Master
Gilbert W. Morgan
The Master
Messrs. G. J. Bruzaud,
C. Francis, R. W. Bill,
and R. F. Ruthven-
Smith
Messrs. T, C. Armitage
and W. H. Ramsden
O. Fenton
Con. Mahoney
T. Peach, k.h. ; J. Fryer
Hugh Davies
Messrs. R. Peel, M. T.
Cely Trevilian, G. T.
Hutchinson, and the
Hon. A. E. Napier
G. C. Margett, k.h. ; F.
Heath
Rev. W. GresweU and Mr.
W. Robinson
Harry Jeal
Messrs. H. C. Swan, W.
G. Percival, and
W. Elvidge ; Chas.
Freeman, k.h.
W. Horrox ; J. T. Green,
k.h.
Mr. Conn. Alexander
Cheapside, Horsell, near
Woking
Peel Hall, Little Hulton,
near Bolton
Rathmore, Sharavogue, S.O.
King's Co.
Innis Beg, Creagh, R.S.O.,
CO. Cork
Ash, Whitchurch, Salop
Linton Park, Maidstone
Llysnewydd, Llandyssil,
South Wales
Tilbury, Oxford
Pant-y-Cendy, near Car-
marthen
Horton-in-Ribblesdale,
Settle
Over Peover, Cheshire
Pettings House, Ash, near
Sevenoaks
Reepham, near Lincoln
Richmond, Handsworth,
near Sheffield
Bebington, Birkenhead,
Cheshire
Sesskinawaddy, Castlederg,
CO. Tyrone
348
HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS
Name of Hunt.
PI eight and Breed
of Hounds.
Couples
of
Hounds.
Hunting
Days.
Master.
Shardeloes
I2i
Mr. E. S. S. Drake
Stoke Place
I4in. — Stud-book
beagles
14
Wed. Sat.
Mr. H. H. Howard
Vyse
SURBITON
1 6in. — Stud-book
beagles
12
Wed. Sat.
Mr. A. G. Allen
Turner J
Trinity (Cambs.)
1 5 in. — Beagle
harriers
I4i
Mon. Wed.
Fri.
Mr. D. G. Hoare
Thorpe Satch-
i2^in. — Beagles
15
Tues. and
Mr. J. Otho Paget
VILLE
Thurs.
Walhampton
About I3in. — Pure
basset hounds
i6
Uncertain
Mr. Christopher
Heseltine
WOODDALE
I4in. — Stud-book
Hi
Twice a
Mr. Ewen C. R.
beagles
week
Goff
Worcester Park
1 5in. — Stud-book
beagles
I2i
Wed. Sat.
Mr. John Simpson
STH AND 68th R.D.
i4^in. — Beagles
IS
Wed. Sat.
Col. A. L. Wood-
land, C.B.
APPENDIX D
349
Huntsman.
Whips.
Kennels.
Mr. H. W. T. Drake
Mr. E. T. Drake; F.
Shardeloes, Amersham,
Weller, k.h.
Bucks
The Master
H. Watson, k.h.
Stoke Place, near Slough
The Master
Messrs. R. Large, E.
Acre Hill, Chessington,
Hicks-Beach ; Mr. H.
Surrey
Arnold
The Master
Messrs. A. Buxton, C.
Campbell, E. H. Back-
house, H. J. Barday,
and H. Fordham
Histon Road, Cambridge
The Master
Thorpe Satchville, Melton
Mowbray
Capt. Godfrey Hesel-
S. Walker, k.h.
Walhampton, Lymington,
tine
Hants
The Master
Messrs. R. S. Constable,
Wooddale, Billinghurst,
T. C. Pepper, J. F.
Sussex
Godman, and G. H.
Johnstone
The Master
Messrs. R. H. Buxton and
T. P. Hilder
Worcester Park, Surrey
Mr. J. E. V. Isaac
Mr. K. J. W. Leather
The Barracks, Newcastle-on-
Tyne
INDEX
Aberdeenshire harriers, 172
Addison, 26
Aldenham harriers, 137
Aldershot beagles, 283
AUgood's, Mr., harriers, 120
Amory, Sir John Heathcoat,
and his harriers, 64, 70, 148 ;
and Harrier Stud-book, 79 ;
his country, 148
Anglesey harriers, 154
Ashburton harriers, 149
Ashford Valley harriers, 138
Aspatria harriers, 120
AspuU harriers, 121, 239
Axe Vale harriers, 149 ; number
of foxes killed by, 149
Baily's Hunting Directory, 119
Ballymacad harriers, 162
Barnstaple and North Devon
harriers, 149 ; hunt wild red
deer occasionally, 149
Basset-hounds, hunting with,
290-291 ; first appearance
of in England, 291 ; an
ancient breed, 291 ; appear-
ance of and points, 292-293 ;
how used on Continent, 293-
294 ; courage of, 294 ; vari-
ous packs of, 294-295 ; and
badger-hunting, 296 ; dura-
tion of runs with, 299 ; kennel
management of, 299-300 ;
runs with, 300-303 ; diffi-
culties with, 305 ; value of
points in judging, 306-307
" Bat," Sussex, 258
Bath and County harriers, 145
Bayden, the late Mr. T., and
Romney Marsh harriers, 140
Beachy Head, 271
Beagles, Somervile's, 7 ; fox-,
14, 26, 64 ; Beckford and his,
15 ; Daniel on, 67 ; some
infamously bad, 67 ; fox
killed by, 68 ; Kerry, 165,
171 ; Scar teen, 169-171 ;
Marquis of Linlithgow's, 172 ;
hunting with, 275-289 ; North-
Country, 277 ; dwarf, 277 ;
" Stonehenge " on, 278 ;
various kinds of, 279 ; colours
of, 279-280 ; size of, 280 ;
revival of, 280-281 ; number
of packs of, 281 ; strength of
packs of, 282-283 ; good
sport with, 284 ; management
of, 285 ; mounted man with,
286 ; Master of, and fox-
hunting, 287-288 ; list of
packs, 342-349
Bechuanaland, hunting in, 319
Becket and hunting, 4
Beckford, Peter, career of, 13 ;
his book, 14 ; his harriers,
14 ; and warren-hares, 14 ;
3S2
INDEX
advice to hare-hunters, 59 ;
on hare-hunting with fox-
hounds, 76 ; on points of a
hound, 87 ; on hare-finding,
100 ; on kennels, 176 ; on care
of hounds, 182, 186 ; on har-
riers, 194 ; on distemper, 198 ;
on hare-warrens, 313-314 ;
names of hounds of, 327-339
Bedfordshire, harriers in, 135
Belle Toute lighthouse, 265
Bentley harriers, 131
Beswicke-Royds, Capt. C. R. N.,
125
Bexhill harriers, 58, 80, 141
Biggleswade harriers, 98, 135
Birling Gap, 265
Bishop Juxon and hunting, 4
Bishop of Rochester and hunt-
ing. 4
Blackmoor Vale harriers, extra-
ordinary sport with, 247-248
Blean harriers, 138
Bloodhound, 60 ; and Bexhill
harriers, 80
Boddington harriers, 136-137 ;
238-239
Boeter Jacob, 8
Book of pack, 199-200
Bragg family and Furlong har-
riers, 1 50
Brampton harriers, 120
Bramston, Rev. F. T., 8
Brecon harriers, 155; hunt fox
as well as hare, 155
Brighton harriers, 142 ; take
over Brookside country, 143
Brisco's, Capt., harriers, 169
Britannia beagles, 283
Brooke's, Mr, C. F., harriers,
164
Brookside harriers, 70, 142-143
Buck's, North, harriers, 133
Cambo harriers, 172
Cambridgeshire harriers, 133
Campbell, Mr. A., and Hailsham
harriers, 141
Campbell, Lady Ileene, 21
Captain, a good road-hound,
86, 266-267, 270
Carpenter's, Mr., harriers, 135
" Chace, The," 9-13
Channel, hunting near the, 265,
270
Chapel-en-le-Frith harriers, 129
Chawston beagles, good runs
with, 284
Cheape, Mrs., and her harriers,
131
Chilworth and Stoneham har-
riers, 144
Christ Church beagles, 283
Clare harriers, 164-165
Clayesmore School beagles, 283
Cleveland, Marquis of, 187
Clifton foot-harriers, 137
Clumber harriers, 130
Colchester Garrison beagles, 283
Colne Valley harriers, 125
Corbet, " Squire," and Warwick-
shire hounds, 316
Cornwall, harriers in, 119, 152
Cost and equipment, 215-227
Cotley harriers, 145, 146, 185,233
Coursing, and harriers, 113
Somervile and, 9 ; versus
hare-hunting, 288-289 ;
in South Africa, 319
Cowper, the poet, and hares, 44-
48, 50-51
Cox, Nicholas, 4
Craven harriers, 71, 126
Crichton's, Col., harriers, 169
Crickhowell harriers, 155, 243-
245
Croft's, Capt., beagles, 282
INDEX
353
Cross, Mr. Carlton, on harriers
and hound-breeding, 1 21-122 ;
on great runs, 239 ; on giving
hares to hounds, 239-240 ;
curious anecdote by, 240
Daniel, author of " Rural
Sports," 24, 65
Darlington foot-harriers, 120
Dart Vale harriers, 150; runs
with, 242
Death, the, iio-iii, 196, 272
De Coverley, Sir Roger, 26-
29
Deer, harriers hunting, 196, 231,
232-233
Denny's, Mr., basset-hounds,
29s
Derry Castle harriers, 166
Derry harriers, 169
Devonshire, harriers in, -jy, 119,
148 ; " Nimrod " on, "jj
Distemper, 197-198
Dog, harriers hunting a bagged,
161
Dove, Mr. W., and the Tara
harriers, 163 ; on Irish hares,
163-164 ; on great run with
a deer, 232-233
Dove Valley harriers, 127
Down, East, harriers, 167
Down, North, harriers, 167
Downham harriers, 1 34 ; good
runs with, 242
Doyle, Mr. J. A., 155 ; on
harriers hunting fox, 195,
243-244
Doyne's, Mr., harriers, 169
Drewstown harriers, 162
Dromana harriers, 166
Dundalk harriers, 167
Dunston harriers, 98, 134
Dykes, jumping, 251-252, 257
Eames, Mr. G., and hare-hunting
145 ; on hound breeding, 146 ;
on feeding, 185 ; on great run
with Cotley harriers, 233
Edward III. and hare-hunt-
ing, 2
England, rural, spoliation of,
3 14-3 1 5
Epping Forest and hare-hunting,
138
Equipment, 224-226 ; with
beagles, 285
Eton College beagles, 283
Exercising hounds, 193
Exeter's, Marquis of, harriers,
131
Eynsham Hall harriers, 135
Farmers and hare-hunting, 112,
115, 118
Feeder, hound, 211
Fermanagh harriers, 169
Field, the, hound-list, 119, 342
Fingal harriers, 164
Foot-harriers, hunting with,
249-262 ; Mr. Otho Paget
on, 254 ; glimpses of nature
with, 255-256 ; laughable in-
cidents with, 257 ; standard
of hounds with, 260 ; runs
with, 263-274
Foot-hunters, advice to, 253,
273 ; advantages of, 254-255,
261
Fordcombe harriers, 139
Foremark harriers, 127, 131
Foster, Col., W. H., M.P., 125
Fowey harriers, 152
Foxbush harriers, 139 ; curious
incident with, 246
Fox, harriers hunting, 194, 195,
229-230, 231, 243-244
Foxhounds, dwarf, 16 ; a
Z
354
INDEX
blended race, 70 ; Masters
of, and hare-hunting packs,
287-288
Fox-hunting, difficulties of, 241
Somervile and, 9 ; rise of,
35 ; position of, 309; over-
riding hounds, 309-310;
capping, 311 ; changes in,
316
Frith, Squire, and his harriers,
229 ; his famous run, 229-230;
song concerning, 340-341
Froude, " Parson," and his
harriers, 64, 70 ; great run
with wild red deer, 231
Funcheon Vale harriers, 166
Furlong harriers, 150
Garnett, Mr. C, on harriers,
92, 259
" Gentleman's Recreation," 4
Gibbons, Mr. J. S., on different
types of harriers, 92-96 ; and
; his harriers, 136-137 ; on
kennel lameness, 199 ; on
good runs, 238, 239
Gifford family and hunting, 143
Gifford's, Lady, harriers, 83, 143
Glaisdale harriers, 126
Glanmire harriers, 166
Glanyrafon harriers, 83, 99, 155
Gloucestershire, harriers in, 119,
136-137
Guestling foot-harriers, 141
Hailsham harriers, 41, 57, 85,
98, 141-142 ; number of hares
killed by, 208 ; great run
with, 234-235 ; other runs
with, 263-274
Haldon harriers, 61, 1 50-1 51
Hallam and Eccleshall harriers,
126
Hamilton harriers, 134
Hardy, Col., dwarf beagles of,
277-278
Hare, tracking, in snow,
5 ; statutes concerning, 5 ;
warrens, 16, 313-314; Sir
Roger de Coverley and, 29 ;
common brown or English,
37 ; blue or varying, 37 ;
weight of, 37-38 ; charac-
teristics of, 38 ; variation
in colour of, 38, 39, 40 ;
anecdote of white-cheeked,
39 ; Lord Ribblesdale's ex-
periment with, 40 ; fecundity
of, 40 ; marsh and down, 41 ;
Ground Game Act and, 41 ;
Preservation Act, 1892, 41 ;
protection of, 41-42 ; foes
of, 42 ; excellent swimmer,
43 ; going to ground, 43-44 ;
habits of, in captivity, 44-48 ;
affection of, for miller, 46 ;
courage and pugnacity of,
46-48 ; March hares, 48-49 ;
food of, 50-51 ; accident
to a, 50 ; sight of, 50 ; and
its form, 51-52 ; finding,
52-53 ; age of, 53 ; tricks
and devices of, 53-54; and
roads, 55-57 ; and cry of
hounds, 55 ; runs better in
open country, 56 ; taking
to the sea, 57, 58 ; and
soldier. Peninsula War, 58-
59 ; and foxhounds, 81 ;
tactics of startled, 102 ; at
a check, 106 ; in woodlands,
107-108 ; crossing a stream,
108 ; foiling her line, 108 ;
squatting, 109, 112; stiffness
of, when hunted, 111-112
in County Meath, 163-164
INDEX
355
chopping, 207 ; falling dead
before hounds, 237 ; lack
of scent when squatting, 238 ;
going to ground, 245 ; two
hares killed in one hunt, 246 ;
curious incident with, 257 ;
in South Africa, 319
Hare-finding, difficulties of, 53,
99-101
Hare-hunter, an old-time, 21-23 ;
of eighteenth century, 24-25 ;
an Essex, 30-33 ; three
schools of, 78 ; Somervile
on the, 312
Hare-hunting, antiquity of, 1 ;
establishment of James I.,
3 ; of Queen Elizabeth, 3 ;
clergy and, 4 ; old customs
in, 5 ; ancient terms used
in, 5 ; tracking hares in
snow, 5 ; rise of, 6 ; Somer-
vile and, 6-13 ; coursing and,
9 ; Beckford and, 14-16,
59 ; different methods of,
16-17 ; literature of, 17-18 ;
our ancestors and, 19-21 ;
Sir Roger de Coverley and,
26-29 ; Essex, circa 1 800,
30-33 ; and pursuit of fox,
34 ; and Monmouthshire
foxhounds, 35 ; temporary
decline of, 36 ; during Penin-
sula War, 59 ; old style of
hounds for, 65-67 ; three
schools of, 78 ; different kinds
of hound for, 78 ; with
foxhounds, reasons against,
81 ; pace in, 82 ; different
styles of, 83 ; modern, 97-
116; the meet, 99; the
view, loi ; the death, i lo-i 1 1 ;
evils of fresh hares, 113 ;
rewards to farmers, &c.,
115; different styles of,
119; in Ireland, 159; diffi-
culties of, 208 ; cost and
equipment, 215-227 ; notable
runs and curious anec-
dotes, 228-248 ; Masters of
fox-hounds and, 287-288 ;
coursing and, 288-289 ;
with basset-hounds, 294-307 ;
future of, 308-321 ; advan-
tages of, 317-318 ; old poems
on, 323-326, 340-341
Harriers, Somervile and, 7 ;
true, 17 ; " pure," 60, 70,
79 ; evolution of, 61 ; old
English, 61 ; Mr. Webber's,
and the Silverton, 61 ; Haldon
61 ; Sir John Heathcoat
Amory's, 64, 70 ; various
kinds of, in former days,
65-67 ; product of cross with
fox-beagle, 69 ; a blended race,
70 ; some ancient packs,
70-72 ; change in style of,
74-75 ; " hare-hunting fox-
hounds," 75 ; " Stonehenge "
on, 75-76 ; in Devon, Wales,
and the North, jj ; revival
of interest in old-fashioned,
78 ; various kinds of, 78,
79 ; Bexhill and their history,
80 ; starting a pack of, 80-81 ;
pure not yet ousted, 81
stud-book and old English,
82-83 ; different styles of,
83 ; height of, in various
packs, 83 ; ideal height of,
84 ; blue-mottle type, 85 ;
a good blend in, 85 ; colours
of, 86 ; notes on breeding of,
86-87 ; Beckford's points,
87 ; should " pack " well,
88 ; at hound shows, 89 ■
3S^
INDEX
class for pure harriers needed,
90; Col. Robertson Aikman on,
90-91 ; merits and demerits
of old-fashioned and modern,
92 ; Mr. J. S. Gibbons on
92-96 ; nervous, 104 ; rolling
a sign of poor scent, 115 ;
walking puppies, 115; number
of packs, 117-118; English
packs of, 117-153; hunting
hare and fox, 146, 148, 149,
15s; in Wales, 154-158;
in Ireland, 158-172 ; in
Scotland, 172-174 ; breeding
and management of, 188-201 ;
and deer, 196, 231, 232,
233 ; Beckford on, 194 ; at
the kill, 196 ; cost and
equipment of, 215-227 ; no-
table runs with, 228-248 ;
hunting fox, 243-244 ; extra-
ordinary escape of, 245 ;
hunting with, on foot, 249-
262; openings for, 311
Harrier breeding, 85, 86, 87, 88
Hastings, Hon. Wm., 21-23 ;
188-190
Hawkins', Mr. H., harriers, 98,
131-133, 238
Henham harriers, 134
Heseltine, Messrs., 290, 295,
306 ; Captain, account of,
origin of, and sport with
Walhampton Basset-hounds,
294-303
High Peak harriers, 127-129 ;
number of hares killed by,
207 ; great runs with, 236-
237
Hoitt, John, 8
Holcombe harriers, 122 ; curious
custom of, 122-123 ; oltl
rules of, 259-260
Holmfirth, Henley, and Meltham
harriers, 72, 126
Horn, use of, 205
Horses, for hare-hunting, 223-
224
Hound, ailments, 197-199 ;
breeding, 188-190 ; feeding,
179-187 ; management, 188-
201, 215 ; names, old list
of, 73, further lists of (Ap-
pendix B), 327-339, ex-
amples of, 201 ; shows, judg-
ing at, 89 ; extraordinary
endurance of a, 237
Howme, Sir Patrick, 3
Hulton beagles, 282
Hunters, appetites of, 33
Hunting in Bechuanaland, 319 ;
in other lands, 319-320
Huntingdon, Earl of, 21
Hunt servants, 201-215
Huntsman, duties of, 105 ; at
a check, 105-106 ; qualifica-
tions of, 202-209 ; pleasures
of, 203 ; and sobriety, 206 ;
advice to, with foot-harriers,
273
Innis Beg beagles, 282-283
Iping harriers, 143
Ireland, hare-hunting in, 158-
172 ; some curious experi-
ences in, 160-161
Irish huntsman, remark of, 102
Isle of Man harriers, 117, 129
Isle of Wight harriers, 144
Iveagh harriers, 167
James I. and his harriers, 23
Jumping, long, 251-252
Kemp, Mr. C. Middleton, and
harriers, 1 39
INDEX
357
Kennel lameness, 199
Kennels, Somervile's, 7, 174 ;
management of, 175-187 ;
Mr. Otho Paget on, 175 ;
plan of, 178, 181
Kent, harriers in, 119, 138
Kerry beagle, 165 ; Mr. W.
Dove on the, 171 ; in County
Clare, 171
Kills with harriers, 206-207
Killultagh, Old Rock, and Chi-
chester harriers, 168
Kirkham harriers, 123
Knockmacool harriers, 169
Lady huntsmen, 131, 143, 158
Lady Masters, 131, 143, 158,
168
Lameness, kennel, 199
Lamerton harriers, vide Mr.
Sperling's
Lanarkshire harriers, 173
Lancashire, harriers in, 119,
121-125
Lane Fox, Mr. George, and
hare-hunting, 63
Lee, Mr. Rawdon, 293
Lethbridge's, Mr. Baron, har-
riers, 83, 153
Linlithgow's, Marquis of, har-
riers, 172 ; his bloodhounds
and beagles, 172
Littlegrange harriers, 167
Lloyd Price's, Mr., harriers, 83
Longford harriers, 137
Lune, Vale of, harriers, 125
Lyme harriers, 71
Mange, 199
Manor-house, a Sussex, 263-264
March hares, habits of, 48-49
Marshes, Sussex, hunting in, 251-
253. 255, 257
Master, of Privy harriers, 3 ;
of harriers, anecdote of, 35 ;
duties and powers of, 103 ;
curious experiences of a,
1 60-16 1 ; qualifications of
312
McChntock, Miss Isa, 168
Melton Constable harriers, 134
Mercer's, Mr., harriers, 139
Merthyr Old Court harriers, 156
Meysey Thompson's, Mr., har-
riers, 120
Millais, Sir Everett, 291, 293
Mill's, Mr., harriers, 83
Minehead harriers, 146
Modbury harriers, 151
" Model," a famous basset, 291-
293
Monmouthshire foxhounds, ori-
gin of, 35
Moore's, Mr., harriers, 169
Mostyn and Talacre harriers
83, 156
Mostyn family and hunting,
156, 157
Mytton, Jack, famous jump of,
252
Names, hound, lists of, 73,
327-339 ; examples of, 201
Naming hounds, 201
Natural history, notes on, 255-
256
Needham's, Mr. Holt, harriers
141
Nesfield, Mr., and High Peak
harriers, 128 ; diary of, 187
on sheep killing, 191 ; on
hunting deer, 196 ; on great
runs, 236
Netheravon harriers, 145
Netherton's, Mr., harriers, 7 ;
151
'3S^
INDEX
Newcastle, Duchess of, and her
: harriers, 1 30
Newcastle Garrison, beagles of,
283
Newry harriers, 167
New and Magdalen beagles, 283
" Nimrod " and hare-hunting,
I, 63 ; anecdote of, 34 ; and
harriers, 75
Norfolk, harriers in, 119, 134
Northamptonshire, hare-hunting
in, 133, 238
Northern hound, 60 ; descrip-
tion of, 63 ; and modern
foxhound, 64
Northumberland, harriers in,
120
O'Hara's, Mr., harriers, 167-168
Old woman, hare picked up by,
240
Onslow, Earl of, and basset-
hounds, 191
Otter-hunting, Somervile and,
7. 9
Paget, Mr. Otho, on kennels,
17S ; on foot-hunting, 254
Parson, hunting, anecdote of,
34
Peel, John, 250
Pendle Forest harriers, 71, 83,
123
Peninsula War, anecdote of
hare during, 59 ; and harriers,
59
Penistone harriers, 70, 126
Pevensey Castle, 268
Pilling, Mr. J. T., and Rochdale
harriers, 123-124
Plas Machynlleth harriers, 84,
157
Poachers, and hares, 42-43
Podmore's, Master, harriers, 144
Poem, old, on hare-hunting,
323-326 ; on great run with
Squire Frith's harriers, 340-
341
Price's, Mr. Lloyd, harriers, 156
" Pricking " hares, 57
Pryse-Rice, Mrs., and her
harriers, 158
Pryse's, Mr. Vaughan, harriers,
157
Puppies, walking, 115 ; manage
ment of, 190-194
Quake's, Mr., harriers, 98, 138
Quarme harriers, 146
Quarrels among hounds, 192
Queen Elizabeth and harriers, 3
Race, Mr. George, 98, 135
Rattler, a good type of harrier,
123-124
Reepham basset-hounds, 295
Ribblesdale, Lord, experiment
with hares, 40
Rickards, the late Mr. L. E.,
and harriers, 137
Riot, hound, 191 ; cure for,
192
Ripley and Knaphill harriers,
140
Road hunting, 56, 57, 106
Roath Court harriers, 158
Robertson Aikman, Colonel, on
harriers, 90-92 ; and his
hounds, 127-128 ; on the
High Peak country, 128 ;
and Lanarkshire harriers, 173;
on hare-hunting in Scotland,
173-174 ; on great runs,
236-237 ; anecdotes of hare-
hunting by, 245-246
Rochdale harriers, 123-125 •
INDEX
359
number of hares killed by,
I2S
Rockingham harriers, i66
Rockwood harriers, 126
Roland, and hare-hunting, 2-3
Romney Marsh harriers, 139
Roscommon harriers, 166-167
Rossendale harriers, 72, 123
Ross harriers, 71, 130
Rounding ears, 192-193
Route harriers, 168
Runs, great, with harriers, 165,
228-248
Russell, Rev, John, and otter-
hunting, 304
Ryan, Mr. Clement, 169-17 1
Sandhurst harriers, 140
Scar teen beagles, height of, 83 ;
origin of, 169 ; Masters of,
169 ; Mr. Clement Ryan and,
169-17 1 ; description of, 170
Scent, observations on, no,
113-115 ; in frost, 114; lack
of, in squatting hare, 238
Scut, the, 1 1 1
Seavington harriers, 147
Seskinawaddy beagles, 282
Seskinore harriers, 169
Shakespeare, description of
hound by, 62
Sheep, and hare-hunting, 109
Sheffield harriers, 126
Shelton Abbey harriers, 169
Silverton harriers, 151
Sligo County harriers, 167-168
Smugglers, encounter with,
258-259
Soil for kennels, 175
Somerset, harriers in, 119, 145
Somervile-Aston, 1 1
Somervile, William, and hunting
6-13 ; his stud, 8 ; favourite
tipple of, 34; picture of a good
hound, by, 69 ; on otter-
hounds, 69
South Downs, a meet in the,
263-264
Southerden, Mr. Holland, 39,
109, 142 ; on kennels, 176 ;
on feeding hounds, 186
Southern hound, 7, 17, 19, 20,
29, 60, 61, 62, 63 ; height and
characteristics of, 62-63 ;
hunting with, 65 ; blend
with fox-beagle, 69, 75, 80 ;
Mr. J. S. Gibbons on, 94 ;
and Bexhill harriers, 141
South Molton harriers, 152
South Pool harriers, 152
Sperling's, Mr., harriers, 84,
152
Sports, open-air, necessity and
advantages of, 317-318
Stacpoole, Mr. R. J., and hare
hunting in County Clare, 165 ;
on hounds and hound work,
165 ; on the Kerry beagle, 165
Stainton Drew harriers, 147
Stannington harriers, 72, 126
Stockton harriers, 84, 126
" Stonehenge " on distemper,
198 ; on hunt servants,
213-214; on the beagle, 278;
on Welsh beagle, 281-282
Stop-hounds, 26, 29-30
Strength of packs, 98
Stud-book harrier, and pure
harrier, 83, 88, 89
Stud-book, the harrier and
beagle, 79 ; Sir John Amory's
harriers and, 79 ; inception
of, 90-91 ; hounds admitted
to, 91 ; Mr. Rickards and,
137 ; Mr. Middleton Kemp
and, 139
36o
INDEX
Subscriptions, 227
Suffolk and Berkshire, Earl of,
63
Suffolk, East, harriers, 134
Suffolk, harriers in, 119, 134
Sussex County harriers, 142
Sussex, harriers in, 119, 140
Talbot, the, 60, 61, 62
Tanat-side harriers, 72, 130
" Tantara " on hare-hunting,
18 ; on hunting fox and deer,
195-196
Tara harriers, 162-164, 232-233
Taunton Vale harriers, 147
Thanet harriers, 140
"Thoughts on Hunting," 13
Throaty hounds, good qualities
of, 278-279
Tickell, and hare-hunting, i
Tipperary, hare-hunting in,
169-171
Trencher-fed hounds, 30, 72, 126
Trethill harriers, 84, 153
Trew, Mr. P. H., and Bexhill
harriers, 58, 141
Tynan and Armagh harriers,
168
Van, hound, 206
Vane Tempest, Lord Henry, and
his hounds, 157
Vigne, Mr., a hare-hunter of the
old school, 138
Virgil, Georgics of, quotation
\. from, 321
Wake's, Sir William, harriers, 75
Wales, harriers in, 119, 154-158
Walhampton basset - hounds,
294-295 ; sport with, 296-
300 ; list of, 298 ; runs with
300-303 ; puppy show of, 304
Warrens, hare-, formation and
care of, 313-314
Warren-hares, 16
Webber's, Mr., harriers, 61, 151
Webster, Mr. Baron, 61, 150-
151
Wells Subscription harriers, 148
Welsh beagle, 281-282
Welsh hounds, 244-245
West Kent harriers, 139
West Street harriers, 140
Westmoreland, harriers in, 120
Weston harriers, 147
Whipper-in, 209-211
Windermere harriers, 84, 120
Wire and fox-hunting, 317
Wirral harriers, 129
Woodlands, troubles of, 107-108;
beauties of the, 256
Wood's, Mr. Frank, harriers, 84,
123
Wootton Wawen, 8, 9
Wynn, Sir Watkin, and his
harriers, 34
Xenophon, on hare-hunting, i
Yeatman's, Mr,, harriers, 75
Yeomen, 25, 26
Yorkshire, harriers in, 119, 125
Printed by Uallantvne, HanSON 6^ Co,
London &' Edinburgh
bster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine
jmmings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton. MA 01536
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11