one will be too brave, if he is bold by nature and ridden by a keen
beginner, he will with his rider probably come to grief through want of
discrimination. The old hunter will fall short, in the sense of being
too cunning to jump one inch bigger than he need; moreover when he falls
he will not pick himself up as quickly as he might. Therefore if, when
riding him he falls, you do not happen to be "top side" your peril will
be prolonged, though mercifully horses are mostly kind and really try
not to tread on one or hurt one if they can avoid it.
It is more than foolish ever to jump a tired horse, it is unfair, for it
he is fond of hunting, horses mostly are, he will jump as long as he
can, so if, after a long run he refuses a place, _take the hint_ and go
home.
No one knows better than I the lonely feeling of being obliged to pull
up in the middle of a good run because one's horse is beat, "while the
merry chase goes heedless sweeping by." But if you have only one horse
out, it is hopeless to compete with more fashionable souls who are on
their fresh second horses, so it is really wiser to make the best of a
bad job, and though you feel it hard, go home. Your horse will come out
again the oftener, too, and you can enjoy a hunt but little, if you know
you are asking more of your horse than you ought. A tired horse, too,
makes a tired rider, and _that_ makes a sore back, and then--where are
you? Talking of going home and tired horses, reminds me that if you are
at all far from home it is best to put your horse in a public, or some
friendly stable on the way, and give him a drink of gruel, for this will
freshen him up and make your ride home all the pleasanter. Perhaps it
would be as well to mention how the gruel should be made, in case you
should ever have to do it yourself. Thus, place two double-handfulls of
oatmeal in a bucket, pour boiling water over it and stir until it
becomes a thick cream; then pour cold water till cool enough for the
horse to drink, which will be when it is about blood heat. Should your
horse be very done, add a pint of ale or a little gin, to revive him.
The ride home is now shorn of some of its terrors, by the saddles which
let you sit downhill. What a boon these are, for one used to suffer
anguish, jogging for miles on the old-fashioned saddle whose pommels
rose higher than the seat, so that your knee was almost under your chin,
and the consequence was a pain between the shoulder blades, which made
you long for rest. Oh! those long jogs home. Miles and miles at hounds'
pace, on a rough or tired horse. How I used to pull up and walk, and
then gallop to catch up my father, he jogging even on, even on, all the
time. I can hear him now answering my complaints with, "nonsense, child;
it rests one all the way."
[Illustration: _GONE TO GROUND._
(_PORTRAITS OF FOUR B.V.H. PRIZE WINNERS._)
(_From a picture by Basil Nightingale, in the possession of Lady
Theodora Guest._)]
Perhaps I am a Sybarite, but I do like to drive both to and from
hunting, and to have a second horse out completes my joy. An open cart
with a polo pony to drive, is to me better than all the broughams in
Christantee. To drive on in the morning through the soft damp air that
smells like hunting, with hopes running high for the sport to come,
seeing the tiniest second horseman jogging on with the biggest of
horses, everything makes one feel the joy of life. And when the day is
over, to slide off your horse and send him home, and turn in yourself to
a bright fire, and tea and poached eggs, at some little Inn by the way,
is most comforting. Then you wrap yourself up in your fur coat and
woolly gloves, and tuck yourself in to the rugs, and bowl away home in
the twilight, with the stars twinkling above you, and the blackbird
chuckling his good-night, while the pony trots his best in the
anticipation of oats to come. A pleasant sense of healthy tiredness is
upon you, which serves to make you appreciate the comforts of your
drive, as you sit there cosy and warm, dreaming of the happy day that is
done.
R. M. Burn.
[Illustration: _Elliott and Fry. 55, Baker Street._
_LADY GIFFORD AND HER HARRIERS._]
HARE HUNTING.
This sport has a peculiar interest for women inasmuch as they are able
to take a leading part in it. With foxhounds, the duties of the huntsman
are too arduous, even though a woman M.F.H. has not been unknown in the
past. But to the Lady Salisbury of venatic fame who hunted the fox
manfully over Hertfordshire, we may refer as the exception that proves
the rule, for few women would feel they had the physical strength for
the task.
With harriers, however, the case is different, for in the first place
the little hounds are very handy, and the hunting of the hare is a sport
which should above all things be conducted quietly. The less holloaing
and noise there is with them the better, for the hounds should be
trusted to work out the puzzles set them by the hare, with as little
interference as possible. Of course hare hunting may be turned into a
poor imitation of fox-hunting, by racing a hare to death with 22-inch
foxhound bitches, but this is not true sport in any sense, for it gives
the quarry little chance of saving its life, and should be
discountenanced by all lovers of the chase. Apropos of this subject,
there was in a certain harrier country a great, flat-sided, long-legged
hound which attracted the notice of a sport-loving stranger, as being
evidently too fast for the pack. In all innocence this visitor remarked
to the Master, "I suppose you will draft that hound?" To his
astonishment the Master, with an expression of horror and indignation,
exclaimed, "Draft him, why he is the best hound I have. He kills more
hares than all the rest put together." The visitor said nothing, but he
knew the kind of sport that lay before him.
To leave the travesty of honest hare hunting, let us turn to the more
pleasing subject of how the chase should be carried on, and here at the
threshold we may pause to recall the names of those women, who of late
years have carried the horn and hunted their own hounds. Mrs. Cheape,
the Squire of Bentley, has shown good sport for many a year, first with
the Wellfield Beagles, and since 1892 with the Bentley Harriers with
which her name is so intimately connected. Mrs. Pryse-Rice became M.H.
only two years later, having started her pack in 1894, and last season a
third name appeared in our hunting lists, when Lady Gifford took the
field and carried the horn with her harriers. Great success has attended
both the kennel and field management of these enterprising sportswomen,
and when we come to consider the history of their efforts, we shall see
that they have proved the fitness of women for the duties in which they
themselves have excelled. Lady Ileene Campbell too, before her marriage,
proved herself fully equal to the hunting of her brother Lord
Huntingdon's celebrated pack in Ireland, the Duchess of Newcastle at the
present time enjoys the pleasure of hunting her little pack in the
neighbourhood of Clumber, while Mrs. Briscoe in Ireland whips in to her
husband's hounds, and Miss Lloyd of Bronwydd does the same to her father
Sir Marteine Lloyd's famous pack of beagles in South Wales.
As we have already said, there should be no fuss and bustle in the field
with harriers. When hunting them you should never interfere with them
unless they are entirely at fault, and then you should have some
definite idea of where the hare is gone, and should know, or think you
know, something the hounds do not. There is no cracking of whips wanted
in this sport. A touch on the horn, or, better still, a low whistle--if
you possess this accomplishment which to many good sportswomen is
denied--should bring your pack round you, and you should then slowly
trot off in the direction in which you think you will pick up the line.
If you view the hare, as you often will, squatted close to your horse's
feet, do your utmost to prevent the hounds getting a view, for it is the
destruction of good sport with harriers for them to view the hare till
within a few moments of the end. The hunting should be done fairly and
honestly, inch by inch, till the quarry has been run down. Any hound,
therefore, that is given to staring about for a view, I would draft, or
make a present of to one of those packs which holloa, mob, and course
hares to death.
[Illustration: _MRS. PRYSE-RICE'S KENNELS._
(_WOODMORTON CHARITY AND WILFUL._)]
Foot people who as a rule come out largely with harriers will of course
holloa, and in some cases when they receive no encouragement to do so,
but their too noisy zeal should be steadily discouraged, and while you
show every willingness to let this part of the field see sport, you
should let it be known that you wish for, and expect silence from them.
If your wishes are not respected, I should then advise you either to
take hounds home, or trot right away for two or three miles before you
look for another hare. No woman should attempt to hunt hounds who has
not the resolution to keep her field--both mounted and unmounted--in
proper order. You may indeed--for it is very hard for some men to
believe that a woman can understand hound-work--be troubled by
suggestions from your field, which they would never dream of offering if
a man were carrying the horn, but most women will know how to meet such
cases with the courteous indifference which will protect them from
further interference. An instance of this has lately come to my
knowledge. A lady M.H.'s pack was drawing for a hare on some moorland,
and it was evident to her that hounds were on a very stale line, but
were slowly working it out foot by foot. This was not very amusing to
her field, and at last the farmer who owned the land went up to her and
said that hares never worked the way hounds were going, and asked if
she would not cast them up the moor. The M.H., however, answered quietly
that while she felt sure the farmer knew the run of his hares, she
thought the hounds were close on their's, and that in another moment or
two it would get up in front of them. The words were scarcely spoken
when up got the hare, and the worthy mentor had to sit down and ride for
all he was worth, for she ran as only a moorland hare can, and hounds
had a fast forty-five minutes before they ran into her in the open.
Quietness and trust in her hounds are the two qualities without which no
woman can hunt a pack successfully. This brings me to the subject of the
hounds themselves, and though it may seem rather like putting the cart
before the horse, to speak of hunting them first, yet it is certain that
no one will find the hounds of much use until she knows how to handle
them. The first point of course to decide is the kind of hounds you mean
to have, whether dwarf foxhounds, stud-book harriers, or the old pure
harrier.
[Illustration: _H. E. Coles. Redditch._
_BUXOM, BENTLEY HARRIER._
(_Winner of Champion Cup, Peterborough. 1897._)]
The pure harrier has undoubtedly the advantage in tongue, but though
good music is a charm it is not so necessary with harriers as with
foxhounds, as the former are generally in sight. As against this they
have, unless very carefully bred, a lightness of bone and a tendency to
splay feet and flat sides. Here again, however, we shall see presently
what the experience of those who have taken the matter in hand has been.
Dwarf foxhounds are only to be recommended in countries where hares are
bold and strong and go away like foxes, for most countries they have too
much drive, and will be continually flashing over the line, and if you
compare the hunting of one of these packs in an ordinary country with
that of good stud-book harriers, the balance of sport in the long run is
sure to be with the latter. What the foxhounds gain in speed they lose
in the tendency to over-run the line. And now we must face the question
of what a stud-book harrier is. A pure harrier, with an infusion of
foxhound blood some generations back, so that now the hare-hunting
instinct of the former, and the good feet and shoulders of the latter
are combined in the shapely, compact, little harrier to be seen taking
the prizes at Peterborough, is, I suppose, about as good a description
as we can have. The nose and the patience characteristic of the good
old-fashioned hare hunting hound are necessary to good sport, and that
power of hunting a cold scent down a road, which they transmit to their
descendants, is a most useful one. But the make and shape which will
enable them to stay through a long day's hunting, and a certain amount
of drive which adds greatly to the sport, come from an infusion of
foxhound blood. Then, after at least three generations devoted
exclusively to the chase of the hare, we may hope to get the happy mean
between the drive forward on the one hand, and the pottering and towling
on the other, in which lies the pleasure and success of hare-hunting.
When you have got over the preliminary difficulties of starting a pack
you should draft down your hounds till you have as level a lot as
possible, 18-19 inches being about the general standard. Larger hounds
than these will smother the hare, and smaller ones cannot get over the
fences of any ordinary country. The ultimate aim of everyone is, of
course, to have a level pack, as otherwise, no matter how good the
hounds may be, they can never have the smart appearance in the field so
dear to the sportswoman's heart. I would always prefer to have even two
or three couples short, than to spoil the look of the pack by having out
hounds either too large or too small. It is not in any case desirable
to have out a large pack to kill hares, from eight to fourteen couple
being quite enough for any country. Some twenty couple of good stud-book
harriers then in kennel, will be enough for you to have a smart
workmanlike lot of the requisite number in the field, two days a week.
There are no hounds so full of faults, both of make and disposition, as
harriers, and it is never an easy matter to buy a pack ready made. The
best way, therefore, to begin is with unentered drafts from known
kennels, such as the Boddington, the Aldenham, and the Bath and County,
and then to breed and buy as opportunity offers.
I would remorselessly draft hounds that do not throw their tongues, and
this in spite of the fact that mute hounds are often good in other ways,
and the rest of the pack will fly to a trustworthy one directly it
begins to feather on the line. This recalls the amusing hypothesis
recently made by a brilliant writer on sport, that hounds have a system
of signalling with their sterns, analogous to the "flag wagging" of our
army. Did the original idea of signalling, this writer asks, come to
some gallant officer while he was watching hounds feather on a scent? If
not, many will agree that the system _might_ have originated in this
way.
But to return. Worse hound faults, even than muteness, are jealousy,
skirting and babbling, any one of which should be at once met by
drafting. The last--babbling--is incurable, but the other failings often
appear in good hounds after they have lost their pace. As these habits
are very catching, the only remedy is to draft the hounds directly they
show symptoms of them, and you will find that you need to be constantly
drafting from the head and tail of your pack, and you will be wise to
keep few hounds over four seasons.
The first thing in the training of hounds is to get them perfectly handy
and under control, and to do this will mean time and trouble. You must
win their affection, and consequently must spend much time with them,
both in the kennel and on the road. In this way you will soon get to
know the character of each hound, and you will take out the docile ones
first in couples, and then when you can trust these, the wilder and more
headstrong hounds. You should take notice of the hounds continually on
the road, speaking to them of course by name, and your whipper-in
should be ready with his thong whenever it is wanted. Not that the whip
should be much used, this will not be necessary if you study your
hounds' dispositions, and treat each one according to the peculiarities
you have noted. But all the same, chastisement should be prompt for any
attempt at rebellion after due warning given, and then you must harden
your heart to the piteous cries that will follow. Always keep a watchful
eye on the hounds when you have them out, and never let them break away
if you can possibly help it. If, however, such a thing does happen, it
will add greatly to your comfort it the ringleaders be transferred at
once to another kennel. At the same time when on the road, or out for
exercise, you should give hounds plenty of room, for it is bad for them
and certainly does not look well, to have them packed close round your
horse's heels.
Never under any circumstances take a pack into the field before you are
sure that their discipline is perfect. Till the hounds know you
thoroughly you should drill them whenever you go into the kennel. Let
them greet you while you make much of them, for it is thus that you will
win their hearts, but, this over, it is a good thing to make them "lie
up," and not to let them venture to leave the bench till they are called
by name. Then you will call first one and then the other, making much of
the obedience and readiness shown, and rewarding the hounds with
biscuit. If you mean to hunt the hounds yourself, you must go to the
kennels daily, and in any case it is always well to see that the
servants are sufficiently careful in preserving perfect cleanliness and
sweetness, both with the hounds themselves and in the kennels. It cannot
be too much insisted on that cleanliness rigorous, absolute and
complete, must always prevail. This is quite practicable, and no excuse
should be accepted as to its failure in any one particular. A good
disinfectant such as Jeyes' Fluid, and constant vigilance on the part of
the kennel-man, are all that are required.
[Illustration: _WOODBINE, WELLFIELD, BUXOM,
BENTLEY HARRIERS._
(_W. West_, K.H., _with Three Champion Winners_.)]
If you have a good kennel-man, it is not necessary for you to feed
hounds yourself, but you should frequently inspect the food, as even the
best servants are apt to be careless in this matter. If, however, you
study economy and only have a lad in the kennels, then you or some
member of your family should always see to the feeding of the hounds.
The food may consist of horseflesh and old oatmeal, with a few biscuits
and some bone-dust, and this diet I should say would be found the best
and cheapest in the end. This, however, is a matter in which each hound
owner will use her own judgment. There are of course various ways of
cheapening the diet, but I cannot honestly recommend any of them. On the
care in the kennel depends the sport in the field, and without health
and condition in the hounds you can hope for no good days. Far better to
have a less well-bred pack, or an inferior country, than hounds which
are out of sorts and condition. This reminds me that whenever you go
into the kennel you should have a watchful eye for the slightest
symptoms of a dull or heavy look in any hound, and order such to be
separated at once. A healthy hound should be clear of eye and bright of
coat, as well as bright and cheery in manner. If you are in doubt about
the health of one of your pack, remember that the pink of the mouth is a
great sign of health, while paleness and yellowness about the gums is
the reverse.
Quite the worst part about keeping harriers, in my opinion, is the
constant drafting of the hounds. Perhaps in the case of some old
favourite which you know has taken to skirting and hanging on the line,
you overlook the faults and refuse to part with him. But what is the
result? You find the younger hounds are becoming demoralised, and
reluctantly are forced to recognise the truth of the verdict, that
harriers should be drafted in their fifth season. It is only the few of
exceptional constitution and strength to whom this does not apply, and
so you have constantly to be hardening your heart to send some old
favourite away.
There are only two points on which I need touch further, and these are
your assistants in the field, and the treatment of the quarry. For the
first you should have two whippers-in, one an amateur and one a
professional, and though as long as things go right they will not be
needed, they should always be ready in case of riot, or when hounds are
nearing forbidden territory. For though harriers will do no harm in a
country if they are properly managed, it is well to remember that
M.F.H.'s are tenacious, and covert owners are ready to take alarm.
A question that has to be faced is, what to do with the hare when your
little hounds have caught her, and my advice is to let hounds break her
up themselves without any fuss, as the Badminton hounds do their foxes.
And now to turn to the interesting topic of the experience in kennel and
field of our present lady M.H.'s, and all will doubtless like to know
something of the methods in which each of these pioneer sportswomen has
built up her pack.
In South Wales, where Mrs. Pryse-Rice has her kennels, the conditions of
sport are very different to what they are in the southern counties of
England. In the first place, the spare little black-backed mountain
hares of Wales, have a turn of speed beyond the powers of their better
fed English fellows, and are very hard to kill. Instead, too, of
circling round and round when before hounds, they will generally go
straight away and will often give a five mile point as bravely as any
fox. The reason of this fitness is to be found in the fact that they are
constantly being coursed by the farmers' cross-bred greyhounds and
collie dogs, which are often scantily fed and badly in want of a dinner,
and they have far to go themselves for food, as they have no nice fields
of roots at hand like the more luxurious lowland hares.
It is evident then that the hounds to follow these speedy little hares
must be quick in getting away and have plenty of drive, and I cannot do
better than quote Mrs. Pryse-Rice's own words on the subject, as to how
she has succeeded in building up such a pack.
"I started my harriers in 1894, being much helped in the first instance
by gifts of hounds from my father-in-law, Mr. Vaughan Pryse, who hunted
his harriers for forty seasons, and is one of the oldest Masters in the
kingdom. To these I added a few couple of the Woodnorton pack when it
was given up by the Comtesse de Paris, and some small foxhounds chosen
from my husband's pack, which he had given up the season before.[2] The
first year I ran a small pack of twelve couple, and though the hounds
were perhaps not a very level lot, they gave us a very good season's
sport. Now after four years of breeding, buying and drafting, they run
up well together, and are a Stud-book pack of twenty couple of 19-20
inch hounds.
[Footnote 2: Mr. Pryse-Rice was Master of the Tivyside
Foxhounds.--Editor.]
[Illustration: _Elliott and Fry. 55, Baker Street._
_MRS. PRYSE-RICE AND HER HARRIERS._
(_MR. PRYSE-RICE AND A. MANDEVILLE_, K.H.)]
"Although I am of course keen to breed a Peterborough winner, still my
great ambition is to own a pack that will hunt and drive. I am not in
favour of the slow, sure and persevering type of hound, for though these
may hunt and constantly kill their hare, they will by giving her time,
allow her to run round and round in the country she knows, instead of
_driving_ her out of her beaten track. I like hounds to get away on the
back of their quarry and if they drive her into a strange country she
will be almost certain to go straight. If hounds do this and possess
plenty of drive without flashiness, they will often _make_ a good scent,
when otherwise they would find an indifferent one."