,transcriber ,note ,text emphasis is denoted as ,italics4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,otter ,illustration3 ,otter ,basking in ,shallow ,water4 7,copyright by ,alfred ,taylor1 ,whalley74 ,frontispiece4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,otter ,a ,,manual ,,for ,,sportsmen ,,and ,,naturalists ,,by ,,richard ,,clapham ,,author ,,of ,,fox-,,hunting ,,on ,,the ,,lakeland ,,fells1 ,,rough ,,shooting1 ,,etc4 ,with ,illustrations from ,photographs by the ,author ,f4 ,lees and ,alfred ,taylor ,,and ,,an ,,introduction ,,by ,,william ,,thompson1 ,m4,o4,h4 ,illustration ,,heath ,,cranton1 ,,limited #f ,,fleet ,,lane1 ,,london1 ,e4,c4#d4 ,,preface ,in these days otter-hunting is a popular sport1 and in consequence there are now many more packs of otterhounds than was formerly the case4 ,of all beasts of chase in this country1 the otter is the one about which we know least1 for he is a great wanderer1 a creature of the night1 and therefore difficult to study systematically4 ,of the many people who follow hounds1 comparatively few understand the science of hunting1 or the habits of the creature which forms their quarry4 ,this is probably to some extent due to the fact that there are very few books dealing exclusively with the otter and his hunting4 ,a knowledge of the science of hunting and the habits of the quarry can be picked up by those who have leisure to study the subject afield1 but there are others whose opportunities of doing so are limited4 ,it is1 therefore1 in the hope of interesting and perhaps instructing the latter1 that we have written the following chapters4 ,r4 ,,clapham4 ,troutbeck1 ,windermere4 ,april1 #aibb4 ,,contents ,,chap4 ,,page ,,preface #g ,,introduction #ac ,i4 ,,the ,,natural ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,otter #ba ,,ii4 ,,the ,,otter',s ,,haunts ,,and ,,habits #db ,,iii4 ,,otter-,,hunting1 ,,past ,,and ,,present #gc ,,iv4 ,,hounds ,,and ,,terriers #aab ,v4 ,,reminiscences #acb ,,index #aeg ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,otter ,,basking ,,in ,,shallow ,,water ,frontispiece ,to face page ,,otter ,,tracks ,,leaving ,,water1 ,,walking #dj ,,furrow ,,made ,,by ,,otter ,,in ,,deep ,,snow #dj ,,tunnel ,,made ,,by ,,otter ,,in ,,snow #ec ,,otter ,,tracks ,,in ,,snow1 ,,jumping #ec ,,the ,,huntsman ,,bringing ,,his ,,otter ,,ashore #gi ,k4 ,,and ,d4,o4,h4 ,,returning ,,to ,,the ,,main ,,river #gi ,a ,,kill ,,with ,,the ,k4 ,,and ,d4,o4,h4 #ajb ,,hi1 ,,worry1 ,,worry6 #ajb ,a ,,famous ,,otterhound1 ,,mr ,w4 ,,thompson',s ,,snowdrop #aaf ,,some ,,of ,,mr ,w4 ,,thompson',s ,,rough ,,otterhounds #aaf ,k4 ,,and ,d4,o4,h4 ,,moving ,,off ,,to ,,draw #aci ,,going ,,to ,,the ,,meet ,,by ,,ferry ,,on ,,lake ,,windermere #aci ,,introduction ,beck ,house1 ,giggleswick1 ,feb4 #abth1 #aibb4 ,my ,dear ,clapham1--,i am much flattered at your invitation to write an introduction to your ,book of the ,otter1 and only wish ,i were a good enough hand with the pen to do your most interesting book the justice it deserves4 ,if ,i were asked to find fault with your work ,i should say its only failing was its brevity4 ,and ,i would ask for a few more hunts and to have them rather more elaborated4 ,and if you could not only expound to whips1 either amateur or professional1 how you do your own work as such but make them into whips as good as yourself thereby you would take an enormous amount of worry and responsibility off many a huntsman's shoulders4 ,as you say in your letter to me1 a book on such an interesting subject is sure to create a friendly criticism1 more particularly on such controversial subjects as early meets versus late ones and pure-bred otterhounds versus draft foxhounds4 ,admittedly you and ,i have always taken rather opposite views on these two questions1 so despite the very fair pros and cons you give these respective arguments in your book1 may ,i put in a further argument in each case on behalf of hounds8 ,take early meets with a pack hunting three and four days a week4 ,it is only possible to have early meets in the hottest part of the year--say middle of ,june to end of ,august in our ,north ,country1 and a rather longer period with ,south and ,west ,country packs4 ,say hounds meet at five a4m4 on four days in the week4 ,hounds may have to take anything from one to two hours to get from kennels to the meet4 ,the men are in kennel at least an hour before the hunting pack turns out1 so we know that hounds get no rest after that hour1 which is probably shortly after two a4m4 ,hounds would normally be back in kennel after a day of this sort within an hour or two of midday4 ,for the rest of that day1 apart from the disturbance--to hounds--of ordinary kennel routine1 they are unable to get genuine rest on a hot summer's afternoon4 ,the result is that after a fortnight1 or even a week of such work--and ,i have many instances in my old hunting diaries of both--you get a jaded pack1 a tired staff1 and a weary ,master4 ,and ,i have been unfortunate enough myself to have never seen even a hunt before eight a4m4 ,if anyone will guarantee to put hounds on to the line of a travelling dog otter on a given day ,i would be there with hounds every time4 ,but otherwise1 no thank you4 ,as to otterhounds versus foxhounds1 ,i am convinced that finance1 or rather the lack of it1 is the only reason why draft foxhounds are preferred to otterhounds4 ,otter-hunting is a poor man's sport1 and few people realise what it costs to run a pack and country4 ,if you get a ,master to take a country he has very often spent enough out of his own pocket when he has paid the difference between the subscription list and the hunting expenses4 ,and breeding hounds on a big scale adds enormously to expenses4 ,the result is that in nine cases out of ten the pack is made up of draft dog foxhounds1 and a very few rough-coated otterhounds4 ,an attempt may be made to breed a litter or two a year from the rough otterhound bitches4 ,five or six puppies may be got out to walk1 and three or four left in kennel4 ,as many of these as survive--possibly two and a half or three couple--are brought on the following season1 and unless they are hopeless physical wrecks they are put into the pack to keep up the theory that they are a pack of otterhounds4 ,and good or bad workers they are often kept on for this same purpose only4 ,under these circumstances1 and they are far from uncommon1 no wonder the average member of an otter-hunting field prefers the foxhound4 ,any ,m4,o4,h4 can get draft foxhounds1 and frequently get them as a gift--hounds that have been the best of fox-hunters and fox-catchers1 but have got too slow or for any of a dozen other reasons are unable to run up to the pace of a modern foxhound pack4 ,these draft hounds know all about hunting1 and only want entering to their new quarry to make most excellent otter-hunting hounds at a minimum of expense and trouble4 ,but if an ,m4,o4,h4 breeds otterhounds on the same lines that foxhounds are bred1 breeds by selection1 breeds each year enough puppies to get a big enough young entry the following year--big enough not only to be able to put down immediately any physical crock that may come in1 but big enough to allow for drafting a certain number--during and at the end of their first season you can have1 in my humble opinion1 a pack of pure-bred otterhounds1 not only not inferior to1 but superior to any pack of draft foxhounds4 ,i may appear too enthusiastic on this point--,i am certainly rather disappointed4 ,i bought my first otterhounds in #aijc4 ,i started breeding in #aije4 ,in ,july1 #aiad1 having for two or three years prior to that date put over fifty puppies out to walk each year1 ,i had just over forty couple of pure-breed otterhounds in kennel4 ,and ,i was hoping to prove that before many more years passed my confidence in the otterhound was not misplaced4 ,but in #aiai ,i was reduced to under ten couple1 and circumstances have since prevented me continuing my experiment to anything like the same extent4 ,and ,i must say that ,i have never found the otterhound quarrelsome either in kennel or out4 ,i hope you will forgive my keen advocacy on behalf of the pure-bred otterhound4 ,i am sure we should both dislike to see him entirely eliminated from the hunting-field1 and only to be found as a weird and useless animal on the show bench4 ,may your book have the great success that it deserves4 ,that it will give great pleasure to all who know anything about the otter and the hunting of it1 ,i am sure4 ,that it will be the means of attracting many new converts ,i devoutly hope4 ,and if ,i may add a wish with a yet more personal note1 may ,i meet yourself and all my other good otter-hunting friends at many another good hunt1 whether the meet be late or early1 the hounds otterhounds or foxhounds4 ,yours very sincerely1 ,w4 ,thompson4 ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,natural ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,otter ,the common otter of the ,british ,islands1 known in scientific classification as ,lutra vulgaris1 belongs to the ,mustelid1 or in other words the weasel family4 ,included in the latter are the martens and their allies1 whose chief attributes are activity1 length of body and tail1 shortness of legs1 widely separated toes1 and small claws4 ,the otter is the possessor of similar attributes1 with additional developments to fit it for an aquatic existence4 ,if therefore we describe the otter as an aquatic marten1 living chiefly on a fish diet1 we shall probably not be deviating very far from the truth4 ,swimming is an inherited instinct handed down through the ages1 and though it has been lost by man1 it has been developed and taken advantage of by many creatures1 in order to enable them to lead an aquatic existence4 ,the reason for this intensive development of their swimming powers by certain animals probably lies in the fact that aquatic life opened a wider and safer field for them1 both in the matter of food supplies and protection from their natural enemies4 ,the otter family is widely distributed over the globe1 so before entering upon a detailed description of our ,british otter1 it may be of interest to glance at other species inhabiting foreign countries4 ,the typical otters are marine as well as aquatic in their habits1 many of them visiting the sea1 where they live in the caves and other retreats along the coast4 ,there is one of the family1 however1 i4e41 the sea-otter1 which is entirely marine4 ,the skin of this otter has always been keenly sought for by fur-traders and trappers1 and it is owing to constant harassing by such people that the sea-otter is now all but extinct4 ,this otter differs in many ways from its aquatic relations4 ,it possesses large flipper-like hind feet1 a short tail1 and small1 delicate forefeet4 ,the hind paws alone are used for swimming1 the delicate and sensitive forefeet being employed in locating the otter's food1 consisting of mussels1 crabs1 and other shell-fish1 which it hunts for amongst the rocks at the bottom of the sea4 ,this otter spends its entire existence in salt water1 and has been found as far as twenty miles from land4 ,the female usually has but a single young one1 born1 so it is thought1 on the large beds of seaweed commonly known as kelp4 ,lying on her back in the sea1 the mother sleeps and suckles her baby in that position4 ,in ,africa there is a species known as the spotted-necked otter1 which has shorter ears1 longer toes1 and more hair about its nose than the common otter4 ,africa also produces a large otter which has more or less given up its aquatic habits4 ,the claws on this otter's forepaws have disappeared1 while those on the hind feet have practically done so4 ,in ,india there is a small otter whose claws resemble those of the foregoing1 and in both animals the sense of touch in the forepaws is extremely delicate1 which no doubt enables the creatures to locate certain of their prey by feeling for it4 ,in the large ,african otter the webs between the toes are greatly reduced1 and the facial bristles or whiskers are much softer than those possessed by the common otter4 ,south ,america can boast of a very large otter1 whose tail is wider and more flattened than is the case with the otters above mentioned4 ,it will thus be seen that there are only slight differences between individuals composing the typical otters4 ,illustration3 ,no4 #a4 ,otter's ,rudder4 ,the common ,british otter 7,lutra vulgaris7 is known by a variety of names in this country4 ,the ,welsh call the animal dwrgi1 while in ,cornish it is written durgi4 ,in the ,highlands1 where ,gaelic is spoken1 the name is dbhran4 ,the physical formation of the otter is admirably adapted to fit it for an aquatic existence4 ,in order to offer the least possible resistance to the water when the animal is swimming below the surface1 the otter's head and muzzle are flattened1 and the ears are very small4 ,both ears and nostrils can be closed to exclude the water4 ,the body is long1 low1 and sinuous in movement1 set upon short legs which are loosely articulated4 ,the feet are palmate1 with five toes armed with short1 non-retractile claws1 and perfect interdigital webs4 ,the tail is more than half the length of the head and body1 broad at the base1 and horizontally flattened4 ,beneath the root of the tail will be found a pair of small glands containing a fetid liquid secretion4 ,being an aquatic1 sub-,arctic species1 the otter is furnished with a body covering of two kinds4 ,the thick1 close under-fur1 which attains special luxuriance of growth1 is provided for two purposes1 i4e41 for keeping out the wet when the animal is in the water1 and for preventing loss of heat during cold weather4 ,overlying this under-coat is a covering of longer hairs1 which are stiffer and more shiny1 greyish in colour at the base1 and brown at the tips4 ,this dark colouring shows in most pronounced fashion on the upper portions of the body1 and on the outer surfaces of the legs and shoulders4 ,the inner portions of the legs1 belly1 chest1 throat1 and cheeks are brownish-grey4 ,the throat often shows a good deal of white or greyish-white in irregular patches4 ,this1 however1 varies considerably in individual specimens1 some showing a good deal of it1 others practically none at all4 ,turning again to the head1 we find the eyes small and dark coloured1 while the so-called whiskers are long1 stiff1 and thick at the base4 ,these long1 stiff hairs grow on the upper-lip1 and there is a tuft of them over each eye1 and two tufts--one below the other--on each cheek4 ,in the case of the domestic cat these whiskers are soft1 and possess a very delicate sense of touch1 thus enabling the animal to creep noiselessly through undergrowth in pursuit of prey4 ,should the cat's whiskers touch the grass or other growth on each side1 puss is then instinctively aware that there is not sufficient room for her body to pass1 and that she will therefore make a rustling sound if she persists in her advance1 and so alarm her prey4 ,these soft hairs on the cat's face are quite adequate for her purpose1 because she hunts on land and hates wet4 ,soaked with water the soft hairs would droop and prove useless1 and so it is for this reason that the otter's whiskers have gradually developed until now they are strong and stiff in order to withstand the exigencies of frequent underwater journeys4 ,they are used1 too1 in a rather different way1 for although while on land they may aid the otter to make a quiet approach on prey1 their chief purpose is for locating food--in the shape of frogs1 fish1 etc4--either beneath stones1 or on the bottom of the riverbed4 ,the long hairs on the otter's upper-lip are susceptible of considerable movement1 for their development has been followed by that of the muscles beneath1 which give the puffy appearance to the otter's face4 ,provided with perfect interdigital webs on all four feet1 the otter when swimming slowly1 paddles in exactly the same manner as a dog4 ,when the speed is increased1 however1 the tail is brought into action1 being moved from side to side1 while the body is thrown into sinuous curves4 ,illustration3 ,no4 #b4 ,,otter',s ,,head1 ,,showing ,,white ,,markings ,,about ,,the ,,mouth ,,and ,,throat4 ,the otter1 like the seal1 feeds upon fish1 but whereas the seal swallows its prey whole and entire1 the otter masticates its food4 ,the teeth of the otter are therefore adapted to crushing bones1 which1 if not thoroughly broken up1 would lodge in the animal's throat4 ,the two back teeth in the otter's upper jaw are considerably enlarged1 and are provided with cutting edges and a flat crushing surface4 ,provided with a short and powerful jaw1 armed with a formidable array of teeth1 the otter is capable of inflicting a very nasty bite1 as many a hound and terrier1 as well as otter-hunter1 has had cause to remember4 ,luckily the otter is a clean-feeding animal1 and the after results of a bite are usually not serious4 ,in the matter of size and weight1 otters vary considerably1 those found on or near the sea coast being usually heavier than otters frequenting inland waters4 ,no doubt the quantity and quality of the food supply has a good deal to do with the variation4 ,roughly speaking1 the average weight of a dog otter is from #bj lb4 to #bd lb41 and of a bitch1 #af lb4 to #bj lb4 ,as far as record weights are concerned1 ,daniel mentions an otter taken in the river ,lea in ,october1 #agid1 which scaled upwards of #dj lb4 ,turning to a more reliable source of information1 however1 we find in the ,field of ,july #eth1 #aiai1 a list of the lengths and weights of eleven large otters killed in ,norfolk4 ,i take the liberty of quoting the particulars which are as follows3 ,males1 #dh inches1 #cg lb42 #ec inches1 #cj lb42 #ej inches1 #bh lb42 #ec inches1 #bg lb42 #ej inches1 #bg lb42 #ej inches1 #bc lb42 #dh inches1 #bc lb42 #di inches1 #ah lb4 ,females1 #df inches1 #af lb42 #dc inches1 #af lb42 #dd inches1 #ad lb4 ,it will be seen from the above how extremely weight varies in relation to measurement4 ,bitch otters occasionally weigh far heavier than any of those mentioned in the foregoing list4 ,in the ,field of ,september #bbnd1 #aiag1 an old record is given 7,march1 #ahac7 of a large bitch otter trapped near ,leven's ,hall1 ,westmorland1 measuring #ed inches1 and weighing #bg lb4 ,the record otter killed by hounds1 a dog otter of #cd lb41 was accounted for by the ,essex ,o4,h4 on ,july #ajth1 #aijg1 during ,mr ,rose's mastership of that pack4 ,this otter was found in the sea marshes near ,ipswich4 ,generally speaking1 very few otters of #cj lb4 or over are accounted for by hounds4 ,it appears to be a matter of uncertainty as to how long a bitch otter goes with young4 ,we have heard it said nine weeks1 but have no reliable evidence to go by4 ,as to the number of cubs in a litter1 two appear to be more often laid down than three1 although five have been more than once found in the same couch4 ,roughly speaking1 the average number appears to be from two to three4 ,as to how many years an otter in a wild state will live1 it is practically impossible to say4 ,we have seen otters killed by hounds1 whose general appearance and state of their teeth pointed to the fact that they had arrived at a ripe old age4 ,otter cubs of similar age have been found in every month of the year1 thus exploding the old supposition that otters bred only in spring4 ,young bitch otters appear to pair as soon as they arrive at maturity1 thus cubs are produced as above stated4 ,otters of abnormal colour make their appearance from time to time4 ,in the ,badminnten volume on ,hunting1 there is an account of a cream-coloured otter killed on the ,west ,dart1 while in ,a ,fauna of ,argyll by ,harvie-,brown and ,buckley1 there is mention of a pure white otter which was killed in ,jura4 ,although a clean-feeding animal1 the otter is a creature one hardly associates with human food4 ,for all that the heart and other portions of an otter's anatomy have been served up at table on several occasions ere now1 presumably we suppose for experimental purposes4 ,which reminds us of the yarn concerning the old trapper1 who when asked if he had ever eaten turkey-buzzard1 replied ,yes1 siree1 ,i have eaten turkey-buzzard1 but ,i don't hanker after it4 ,on one occasion we became possessed of a dead otter1 whose carcass1 after skinning1 we presented to two dogs4 ,the latter promptly turned up their noses at it1 whereas several cats to which it was afterwards given set about devouring it quite keenly4 ,in the case of hounds1 unless the carcass of their quarry is still warm and they are excited by the free use of horn and voice1 they will show no great desire to do more than tear the body of an otter4 ,the otter's hide--covering a sinuous body1 with loosely articulated limbs--is tough1 and offers more resistance to hounds' teeth than the skin of a fox1 which soon disintegrates when worried by the pack4 ,as far as hounds are concerned1 the scent of an otter must at times be to them exceedingly strong1 yet to the human nose--even if the latter is held close to the animal's body--there is only a faint and not unpleasant odour1 very different to the rank scent of a fox4 ,as previously mentioned1 there appears to be considerable uncertainty as to how long the bitch otter goes with young4 ,in the ,master of ,game1 the oldest and most important work on the chase in the ,english language1 written between the years #adjf and #adac by ,edward ,,iii4's grandson ,edward1 second ,duke of ,york1 there is a short chapter on ,the ,otter and ,his ,nature1 in which it says that the otter bears her young as long as the ferret does4 ,this chapter is of great interest1 both as regards the knowledge of venery possessed by mediaeval hunters1 and the quaint wording of the letterpress4 ,for this reason we take the liberty of quoting it in full4 ,it says1 ,an otter is a common beast enough and therefore ,i need not tell of his making4 ,she liveth with 7on87 fish and dwelleth by rivers and by ponds and stanks 7pools74 ,and sometimes she feedeth on grass of the meadows and hideth gladly under the roots of trees near the rivers1 and goeth to her feeding as doth other beasts to grass1 but only in the new grass time1 and to fish as ,i have said4 ,they swimmeth in waters and rivers and sometimes diveth under the water when they will1 and therefore no fish can escape them unless it be too great a one4 ,they doth great harm specially in ponds and stanks1 for a couple of otters without more shall well destroy the fish of a great pond or great stank1 and therefore men hunt them4 ,they go in their love at the time that ferrets do1 so they that hold 7keep7 ferrets in their houses may well know the time thereof4 ,they bear their whelps as long as the ferrets and sometimes more and sometimes less4 ,they whelp in holes under the trees near the rivers4 ,men hunt at them with hounds by great mastery1 as ,i say hereafter4#a ,and also men take them at other times in rivers with small cords as men do the fox with nets and with other gins4 ,she hath an evil biting and venomous and with her strength defendeth herself mightily from the hounds4 ,and when she is taken with nets unless men get to her at once she rendeth them with her teeth and delivereth herself out of them4 ,longer will ,i not make mention of her1 nor of her nature1 for the hunting at her is the best that men may see of her1 save only that she has the foot of a goose1 for she hath a little skin from one claw to another1 and she hath no heel save that she hath a little lump under the foot1 and men speak of the steps or the marches of the otter as men speak of the trace of the hart1 and his fumes 7excrements7 tredeles or spraints4 ,the otter dwelleth but little in one place1 for where she goeth the fish be sore afraid4 ,sometimes she will swim upwards and downwards seeking the fish a mile or two unless it be in a stank4 ,footnote #a3 ,the author of ,master of ,game does not say anything more about the otter4 ,of the remnant of his nature ,i refer to ,milbourne#b the king's otter-hunter4 ,footnote #b3 ,the ,milbourne referred to by the ,duke of ,york can scarcely be any other than the ,william ,melbourne we find mentioned in ,henry ,,iv's reign as ,valet of our ,otterhounds 7note in appendix to ,master of ,game74 ,if otters bear their whelps as long as the ferrets1 the period of gestation is six weeks or forty-five days4 ,bitch ferrets come in heat in ,april or ,may1 and unless mated some of them apparently remain more or less in that condition during the summer months4 ,the excrement of the otter1 known in hunting parlance as spraints1 wedging1 or coke1 is usually of a blackish colour1 and contains the bones and scales of fish4 ,sometimes it shows the remains of fur or feather1 which is proof positive that the otter does not live entirely upon a fish diet4 ,where an otter has been feeding on frogs1 the coke is usually a yellowish colour4 ,in sand or soft earth an otter will scrape the latter into a small mound1 like a cat1 and for the same purpose4 ,coke is generally found on stones in midstream1 or at points where the otter enters or leaves the water4 ,a small grassy promontory is a favourite place1 and at such spots the grass often grows particularly green4 ,if the grass is long1 the coke will be found hidden amongst it4 ,it is popularly supposed that the direction in which an otter is travelling--up or down stream--can be verified by the position in which the coke is left on the stones4 ,in our experience there is little reliability about this theory4 ,on a rock in midstream the position of the coke is quite as likely to be in the centre as at the sides1 particularly if there is a tuft of grass or other growth on the stone4 ,an otter is quite likely to turn round1 just as a cat or dog does1 prior to depositing the coke1 therefore the position of the latter can hardly be a reliable guide as to the direction taken by the animal when it eventually moves off4 ,owing to being the possessor of a webbed foot1 with five toes and short claws1 the otter leaves a track--in hunting parlance spur1 seal1 or mark1--entirely different from that of any other animal to be met with in this country4 ,amongst the general literature relating to the otter1 we have found small reference to the animal's footprints1 while in some cases the information on the subject was incorrect4 ,for instance in one article we read1 it states ,no other creature1 saving a cat1 leaves such a print on ,nature's page as does an otter4 ,four round small toes and1 if the soil be favourable1 a plain triangle just behind where the webbing of the foot has rested4 ,illustration3 ,no4 #c4 ,,left ,,forefoot ,,of ,,otter1 ,,open1 ,,showing ,,interdigital ,,webs4 ,illustration3 ,no4 #d4 ,,left ,,forefoot ,,of ,,otter1 ,,closed4 ,now an otter--like the badger1 stoat1 weasel1 and hedgehog--has five toes on each foot1 and the marks of the claws or nails are always visible in the footprints4 ,a cat has four toes1 armed with retractile claws1 the marks of which are not shown on the ground1 except when the animal is about to make a spring4 ,although a cat track may approximate in size to that of an otter cub1 the latter always shows claw-marks1 and partial if not entire imprints of five toes4 ,on hard ground1 claw-marks will show when the impression of the rest of the foot is practically invisible1 so anyone with a knowledge of woodcraft can hardly mistake the track of a cat for that of an otter cub4 ,in the same way with the footprints of hounds1 terriers1 or other dogs1 their tracks all show the imprints of four toes1 plus the marks of the claws4 ,a terrier's track is far more like that of a fox than an otter1 while hounds leave large footprints1 easy to distinguish4 ,illustration3 ,otter ,tracks ,leaving ,water1 ,walking4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,illustration3 ,furrow made by ,otter in ,deep ,snow4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,to face p4 #dj4 ,we have also seen it stated that the track of an otter is recognisable by the mark of its five toes1 and the absence of a heel4 ,under certain conditions this is true enough1 but on favourable ground the mark of the heel is plainly visible4 ,in like manner an impression of the webbing is sometimes left4 ,in snow of fair depth1 the individual tracks of an otter are more or less obliterated by the drag of the animal's body1 which leaves a furrow as if a miniature snow-plough had been at work4 ,also in snow the drag of the otter's tail--in hunting parlance rudder or pole--is generally to be seen4 ,the otter has three gaits3 walking1 jumping1 and galloping4 ,the walk shows a line--usually rather twisting--of footprints one behind the other4 ,when jumping the tracks appear in pairs1 with an interval between each pair4 ,at this gait the imprints of the hind feet cover the tracks made by the forefeet4 ,at the gallop1 which is really jumping at top speed1 the hind feet are thrown ahead of the forefeet4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,otter',s ,,haunts ,,and ,,habits ,as mentioned in the previous chapter1 otter cubs may be born in any month of the year4 ,prior to laying down her young1 the bitch otter selects a couch in the vicinity of good feeding ground4 ,her choice of a retreat will vary with the locality in which she happens to be at the time4 ,in the low country her cubs may be laid down in a dry drain in the meadows1 where frogs are plentiful1 and the ditches contain a supply of eels1 or amongst the brushwood in some large covert1 where the ground is swampy1 and through which one or two small runners meander on their way to join the parent stream4 ,in the north1 where the rivers are swift and rocky1 the cubs may first see the light of day in some cairn or pile of boulders1 situated high up near the source of the stream1 or in some rocky earth adjacent to a mountain tarn4 ,on the grouse moor they may be found in some sod drain or other hiding-place amongst the peat and heather1 near a pool or pools containing fish1 and frequented by wildfowl as well as frogs and such small deer4 ,quite small cubs are often found in holts in the bank of a main river1 but it is pretty safe to say that the majority of bitch otters move up-stream1 either to the head-waters1 or up some side-runner prior to laying down their cubs4 ,the latter have on various occasions been discovered actually beneath1 or in close proximity to human habitations4 ,in the ,field of ,october #bith1 #aiba1 there is an interesting description of such an occurrence1 which we take the liberty of quoting4 ,it says3 ,an odd experience is recorded to have happened in the year #agij to ,mr ,william ,bethel1 the then owner of ,watton1 and a guest4 ,he and a clergyman were sitting quietly at dinner1 when they were surprised by an extraordinary noise beneath the dining-table for which they could not account1 and at length they were so much annoyed by it that they sent for a workman to take up the floor1 when to their great astonishment they found that an otter which had inhabited the moat had established her nest beneath the boards of the floor1 and had there deposited her litter of young ones1 by whose uncouth cries it was that the dinner-party had been disturbed4 ,in ,the ,gamekeeper for ,may1 #aiad1 there is another interesting account of a somewhat similar nature4 ,it says3 ,on ,march #acth last1 ,mr ,colwill1 a tenant on the ,trebartha ,estate1 ,cornwall1 lost a lamb1 and there being a mouth of a large drain in the field1 thought perhaps there might be a chance of the lamb having gone up the drain4 ,getting a long stick he put it up the drain1 and feeling something move he thought it must be the lamb1 but on turning round1 saw the lamb coming up the field towards him4 ,the same evening he put some lambs in the shippen in front of some cows1 putting them on some hay4 ,before going to bed he went to see that the lambs were all right4 ,he was just hanging up his lamp1 when something--he could not see what--rushed out past him4 ,when he went to look at his lamb1 he found a young otter lying with the lamb4 ,the account goes on to say that on the particular night in question1 the local rivers were in flood4 ,the above seems to point to the fact that the bitch otter had been flooded out of the drain1 and had carried her cub to the shelter of the shippen4 ,a photograph of the lamb and the otter cub was reproduced in conjunction with the above letterpress4 ,otter cubs1 like young foxes1 are born blind4 ,fox cubs remain so for a period of about three weeks1 and it is probable that a similar length of time1 or perhaps rather more1 elapses ere young otters can see4 ,in the ,field of ,november #bfth1 #aiba1 there is an account of an otter cub whose mother was inadvertently killed by hounds4 ,this cub was rescued and brought up by hand4 ,when taken from the holt its age was estimated at fourteen days4 ,sixteen days later the cub opened its eyes1 thus a period of thirty days elapsed from the time of its birth until it could see4 ,at the end of the thirty days the cub weighed #ad ounces4 ,it was at first fed on milk and water1 but became very thin on this diet1 so a change was made to ,mellins as mixed for a new-born child4 ,on this the cub thrived1 its weight on ,october #aath being just under #b lb4 ,it was taken from the holt on ,august #bjth4 ,had this cub been fed in the ordinary way by its mother it would possibly have opened its eyes at a rather earlier date1 as it would have escaped the set-back caused by an unsuitable diet4 ,the eyes of the adult otter are very dark coloured1 but those of a cub are at first much lighter1 not unlike the eyes of a young fox cub4 ,when the cubs are able to travel1 the bitch otter leads them down from the head-waters to the larger streams4 ,the cubs remain with their mother for some considerable time1 as witness the constant occurrence of cubs of from #aj lb4 to #ab lb4 being put down in company with the bitch4 ,they consort with their mother until she goes off to rear another family1 when they are then left to fend for themselves4 ,from this it is apparent that the otter has but one litter per year4 ,there is a great deal yet to be learnt about the otter1 for1 being more or less a creature of the night1 and elusive in its movements1 it is extremely difficult to study systematically4 ,otter cubs1 although somewhat delicate1 are not difficult to hand-rear1 and make very interesting and tractable pets4 ,if healthy to start with1 cows' milk diluted with water is at first a satisfactory diet4 ,both cubs and adult otters are of course easy enough to study in captivity1 but like many other creatures confined under similar conditions1 they soon exhibit certain abnormal tastes and habits1 and therefore afford little or no real clue to their behaviour in their natural habitat4 ,at the ,zoological ,gardens in ,london1 the otters will eat almost anything thrown to them by visitors4 ,the bitch otter shows great affection for her young1 and will hang about in their vicinity in the face of hounds or human intruders4 ,if a bitch with cubs is killed1 the cubs1 if well grown1 will search the vicinity for their parent1 the same applying to one of a pair which has been caught in a trap1 its mate remaining near it all night in an attempt to get it away4 ,on these occasions the otters make a considerable noise1 blowing and snorting in their agitation4 ,on one occasion some years ago1 a brother of ours found three small otter cubs on a ,yorkshire beck1 which he eventually captured4 ,the bitch otter remained close at hand1 making a great fuss1 regardless of any possible danger to herself4 ,the cubs were carried home1 a distance of a mile or more1 but were returned within a short time to the pool where they were found4 ,the bitch otter again made her appearance1 and eventually went off with her restored family4 ,otters1 being great nomads1 wander long distances up and down our rivers1 frequently crossing high watersheds1 and travelling far across country4 ,having no fixed abode like the fox1 the otter inhabits temporary retreats or holts during the course of his journeyings4 ,most of these holts have been used by generations of otters1 and many a drain or other shelter long forgotten by the people of the neighbourhood is still regularly inhabited by ,lutra and his kind4 ,a holt may consist of a tree-root on the river-bank1 a dry drain1 or a wet one containing a dry lying place1 a stick-heap near the stream1 or situated in a plantation at some distance from the water4 ,on the rocky rivers of the ,north1 many of the holts consist of piled-up boulders on the hill-side1 most of which are at some distance from the nearest beck or tarn4 ,these rock-holts1 many of which lie at a high altitude1 are occupied by otters when crossing from stream to stream over a watershed4 ,in summer1 otters frequently lie rough1 or in other words spend the day above ground4 ,near a lake or tarn an otter will often curl up in the rushes or long grass at the water's edge4 ,if disturbed he will then slide quietly into the pool1 and unless hunted by hounds1 will not show himself again4 ,sometimes he will lie on a bank or in a hedge close to the mouth of a drain1 the latter serving him as a safe retreat when danger threatens4 ,in fact1 during the warm weather1 otters are found lying rough in all sorts of unexpected places1 often to the great surprise of those who fondly imagine that the animals never leave the vicinity of water4 ,certain tree-roots and also rock-holts have their entrances under water4 ,in some of them there cannot be any great amount of ventilation4 ,an otter cannot live without air1 yet presumably it can exist with less than most creatures4 ,otter cubs are sometimes laid down in holts of the above nature1 where there is no ventilation shaft1 and we have heard the theory expressed that under such conditions practically all the fresh air that the cubs get is carried in to them in their mother's coat4 ,in our experience1 however1 even though a holt has an underwater entrance1 there are usually plenty of air passages coming down from above1 at any rate1 sufficient to supply a more than adequate amount of fresh air for breathing purposes4 ,the advantage of an underwater entrance to an otter lies in the fact that he can get in and out without showing himself1 and once inside he may be out of mark1 or in other words1 his scent is not carried to the outer air1 so that if hounds come along they cannot wind him in his retreat4 ,after his night's peregrinations1 an otter will return to his holt1 but prior to settling down in his chosen retreat1 he often visits one or two other tree-roots on the river-bank4 ,hounds sometimes mark at these places1 only to find that their otter has gone on4 ,along the sea coast1 otters inhabit the water-worn caves and other retreats about the cliffs4 ,wherever there is an open boathouse on lake or river1 otters are pretty sure to resort to it4 ,we have examined many such places1 and almost invariably found otter coke lying about on the planking1 and sometimes actually in a boat or boats4 ,in bad weather a boathouse affords a dry lying spot1 and no doubt this is why otters visit it4 ,in order to thoroughly realise the wanderings and often long cross-country journeys undertaken by otters1 one must track them in the snow4 ,on one occasion such a trail led us for a good ten miles overland1 the otter having left a stream1 and made his way uphill via a small runner4 ,the latter petered out in the open ground1 but the trail led on in the direction of a frozen reservoir4 ,round this the otter had gone1 then he followed the stream from the outlet for some distance1 after which he turned straight across country4 ,three or four big stone walls had then intervened1 but the otter--which had probably been over the same route before--made straight to certain smoots1 and passed through with no unnecessary searching for a way out4 ,he then visited a small lake1 also frozen1 and again took to the outlet stream1 down which he went until he arrived at the main river4 ,it must have been a pretty hard trip for so short-legged an animal1 for the otter left a furrow in the snow which was quite deep4 ,from the point where he left the stream where we picked up his tracks1 to the spot where the trail entered the main river in the next dale across the watershed1 the otter had not stopped once1 but had kept toddling on4 ,in the ,lake ,district1 otters regularly travel the passes over the hills1 visiting the mountain tarns1 and going from one dale to another4 ,illustration3 ,tunnel ,made by ,otter in ,snow4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,illustration3 ,otter ,tracks in ,snow1 ,jumping4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,to face p4 #ec4 ,otters are playful beasts1 a favourite game of theirs being sliding4 ,they choose a steep clay bank1 or a smooth snow slope1 and toboggan down it on their stomachs with evident enjoyment4 ,although one seldom sees these slides in this country1 they are very common in ,canada where we have often come across them4 ,during the cold weather of a ,canadian winter1 otters spend a good deal of their time beneath the ice1 being able to breathe at the air-spaces round the shore4 ,these air-spaces are left when the water lowers after the ice is formed4 ,concerning the otter's feeding habits1 there appears to be a good deal of misconception4 ,some people imagine that the otter exists entirely on fish1 and for this reason should be done to death as a river-poacher at every opportunity4 ,we have in the previous chapter compared the teeth of the otter and the seal1 the latter animal swallowing its food whole1 while the former masticates its food4 ,seals live upon fish1 but it must be remembered that the otter belongs to the marten family1 and1 though well adapted to lead an aquatic existence1 it still retains some of the marten's hunting instincts1 and its teeth are suited to seizing and holding both furred and feathered prey4 ,the pine marten1 stoat1 and weasel will all eat trout greedily when they can get it1 so it is only natural that the otter1 their relation1 well equipped for swimming and water work1 should show the same taste4 ,as a matter of fact he does exhibit the same taste as his smaller relatives1 and to a much greater degree1 but he is also glad to vary his diet and add both flesh and fowl to the menu4 ,the uninitiated1 whose knowledge of otters has been gained by visits to the ,zoological ,gardens1 while realising the swimming ability of the animals1 look upon them as clumsy beasts on land1 and ill-adapted to lead an active existence on terra firma4 ,in an article comparing the badger and the otter1 it says1 ,the otter1 on the other hand1 though an expert swimmer1 is on land nearly as clumsy as his cousin the badger4 ,the author of the said article can have done little or no otter-hunting1 for if he had1 he would never have made such a foolish statement4 ,despite his webbed feet1 the otter is built like the weasels1 and exhibits a great deal of their activity and quickness on land4 ,for this reason he is well able to cope with furred and feathered quarry4 ,beginning the otter's menu with fish1 we find he eats salmon1 sea trout1 trout1 and coarse fish4 ,on the west of ,scotland and in the ,hebrides1 otters live a good deal on the coast1 but in the autumn they follow the salmon up the streams4 ,where salmon are plentiful and easily secured1 otters kill a fish1 take it ashore1 and eat a portion of the shoulder only4 ,in the old days in the ,highlands1 when otters were more numerous than they are at present1 the crofters used regularly to visit the otters' landing places1 in order to gather the salmon left there4 ,the marks on such fish were known as the otter's bite4 ,in that delightful book1 ,wild ,sports of the ,highlands by ,charles ,st ,john1 the author refers to the above practice as follows3 ,i was rather amused at an old woman living at ,sluie1 on the ,findhorn1 who1 complaining of the hardness of the present times1 when 'a puir body couldna' get a drop smuggled whisky1 or shot a rae without his lordship's sportsman finding it out1' added to her list of grievances that even the otters were nearly all gone1 'puir beasties4' ',well1 but what good could the otters do you8' ,i asked her4 ',good1 your honour8 ,why scarcely a morn came but they left a bonny grilse on the scarp down yonder1 and the vennison was none the waur of the bit1 the puir beasts eat themselves4' ,the people here call every eatable animal1 fish1 flesh1 or fowl1 venison1 or as they pronounce it 'vennison4' ,for instance they tell you that the snipes are 'good vennison1' or that the trout are not good 'vennison' in the winter4 ,although an otter is a capable swimmer1 he cannot travel half as fast as a salmon under water4 ,in low water a single otter can tire out or corner a salmon in a pool1 but evidence leads us to believe that otters often work together1 one driving the salmon about1 while the other keeps watch on the shallows4 ,on all rivers there are places where fish can be more or less cornered when the water is at normal level1 and of course when it is very low in time of drought1 salmon and other fish are practically pool-bound1 and thus fall victims to otters and other predaceous creatures4 ,it is pretty safe to say that an otter--like a pike1 or a cannibal trout--will go for any fish which appears to be weak or in difficulty4 ,a spinning lure--such as a spoon that wobbles instead of turning truly--is often far more attractive than one that spins like a streak of silver4 ,in the ,field of ,june #eth1 #aibj1 there is an account of an otter attacking a hooked salmon4 ,the writer of the account says1 ,while ,i was playing a salmon on the ,teify on ,friday1 ,may #bast1 an otter made two attempts to get at him1 and very nearly succeeded once4 ,this seems so unusual to me that it would be of great interest if others have had a similar experience4 ,this incident took place about eight in the evening1 and in a pool where there was only an opening of a few feet where one could gaff the fish owing to trees4 ,the trees undoubtedly accounted for the otter failing to see me1 but as soon as he raised his head above water in midstream and saw that there were others as well as himself after that fish he soon cleared off1 and the fish was successfully landed4 ,the wild rushes made by the salmon after the otter's first attempt were extraordinary1 as the fish was about done and fit for gaffing4 ,to me this was a clear proof of the instinctive fear and wonderful vitality in a fish when his natural enemy appeared4 ,other instances of a similar nature have been recorded from time to time1 in some of which the otter has succeeded in taking the hooked fish4 ,there is no doubt that an otter or otters frighten fish1 particularly salmon1 when chasing them about a pool4 ,the instinct of all wild animals is to attack a weakly or wounded creature1 even if belonging to their own kind1 and the otter which goes for a hooked salmon does so because he knows he stands a better chance of catching it than other fish in the same pool which are free and untrammelled4 ,the otter must1 therefore1 do considerable good by ridding the streams of weak and sickly fish4 ,an otter deals with large sea trout as it does with salmon1 but in the case of trout it frequently eats them entire1 leaving nothing to waste4 ,when devouring fish an otter eats like a cat1 with half-closed eyes4 ,in the case of coarse fish1 the otter often discards the head and tail1 and in the same way with an eel1 the head may be left4 ,those who decry the otter as a fish-poacher should remember that the animal does not confine his attentions solely to one pool or to one species of diet during his nightly wanderings4 ,he may fish and otherwise feed up-stream for some miles1 taking a trout here1 an eel there1 and perhaps a young rabbit somewhere else4 ,we have already seen that the otter must do good by killing sickly or wounded salmon1 and in the same way with trout1 he captures many an old cannibal fish which is far better out of the water4 ,these old trout not only prey on their own smaller relations1 but are great devourers of fish spawn1 and the same applies1 only in a much greater degree1 to eels1 which are the worst vermin in or about a river or lake4 ,many coarse fish1 too1 are inimical to spawn and young fry1 therefore the otter does far more good than harm by feeding on them4 ,eels and frogs1 the latter being skinned by an otter1 are the first quarry that the bitch otter teaches her cubs to hunt4 ,these are sought for on land and in the wet ditches and shallow runners4 ,later1 the cubs are initiated in the art of fishing4 ,when first introduced to water1 the cubs show considerable reluctance to swim4 ,this can hardly be because they are unable to do so1 but rather owing to a youthful aversion--as in the case of a puppy--to entering a strange element for the first time4 ,the bitch therefore takes them to a stone in midstream1 and either pushes them in1 or leaves them there until they are at last tempted to enter the water and follow her4 ,on the sea coast otters spend a good deal of time searching for flounders in the shallow pools4 ,they also eat crabs1 lobsters1 sea anemones1 and various crustaceans4 ,otters sometimes visit the lobster fishers' creels1 and there are instances on record of partially grown otters having been found drowned in the creels4 ,on inland lakes and streams otters feed on fresh-water mussels and cray-fish4 ,as previously mentioned1 it is no uncommon thing to find the remains of fur and feather in otter coke4 ,otters capture waterhens and dabchicks1 although we are of the opinion that they prefer other food if they can get it4 ,at any rate we are familiar with a certain reed-fringed pond on the hills1 where a bitch otter and two cubs of about #ab lb4 weight resided for some months4 ,this pond was also occupied by quite a number of waterhens1 yet there were no apparent remains of these birds to be found in the vicinity1 which pointed to the fact that the otters left them pretty much alone4 ,a rather curious thing happened when we visited the pond with hounds4 ,at first the waterhens were much in evidence1 but after hounds had been at work for an hour or two1 we began to find dead waterhens lying about4 ,these were not killed by hounds1 but were drowned1 and had practically--as far as we could see--committed suicide4 ,to escape danger a waterhen will keep diving1 and the birds under discussion had evidently--owing to the continual presence of hounds--done so until they were tired out1 and subsequently perished under water4 ,what made their behaviour stranger still was the fact that there was a small covert adjoining the pond1 in which the birds could have found sanctuary on terra firma until all danger was past4 ,both dabchicks and waterhens devour fish spawn1 so otters do good by thinning out the ranks of these birds4 ,at times otters will take game-birds1 and there are authentic records of grouse1 pheasants1 and duck having been killed by them4 ,one or two instances of this will suffice4 ,in ,the ,natural ,history of ,sport in ,scotland1 by ,tom ,speedy1 the latter says3 ,that he can scent and pounce upon his prey like a fox was demonstrated by following his tracks among snow up ,corrie ,macshee ,burn at ,dalnaspidal4 ,the trail left the water-side and showed where the animal had made a bound and caught a grouse in its roosting-place among the snow4 ,returning to the stream1 he had crossed on to a boulder in the centre of the burn1 where he devoured part of his prey4 ,the same author mentions a case of an otter on the ,biel estate in ,east ,lothian1 which dragged a foster-mother hen out of a coop and partly devoured it1 as well as a number of young pheasants big enough to sit out amongst the grass4 ,traps were set1 baited with the dead bodies of the birds1 and a large otter was secured2 the massacre then ceased4 ,in ,the ,gamekeeper for ,august1 #aiac1 there is a note concerning the deaths of fifteen sitting pheasants in a covert beside a river4 ,each bird had a hole gnawed down through the back1 the carcasses being left lying near the nests1 not an egg having been touched4 ,a duck caught on her nest is treated in the same way by an otter4 ,in ,the ,gamekeeper for ,june1 #aiai1 there is a note concerning an otter which was caught in a tunnel-trap baited with rabbit paunch4 ,the trap was set in the middle of a one hundred acre wood4 ,the otter was a cub1 weighing #i lb4 ,waterhens and dabchicks1 particularly the latter1 when taken by otters1 are pulled under the water1 though they may be captured amongst the reeds and other undergrowth as well4 ,ducklings sometimes fall victims to the otter1 though as a rule big pike do the greatest harm in this direction4 ,pike have been known to take pheasants as well as duck which had fallen into a lake during the course of a shoot4 ,from available evidence1 otters on a stream containing trout and coarse fish seem to prefer the latter4 ,possibly they are easier to capture than trout4 ,on hill-streams1 where the fish are small but very numerous owing to shortage of food1 otters must do a great deal of good by reducing the stock4 ,as far as furred prey is concerned1 otters will kill and eat rats1 water-voles1 and young rabbits4 ,we have on several occasions seen where a small bunny had been caught by an otter4 ,on marshes where duck shooting is carried on1 otters find and feed on wounded duck1 exactly as do foxes4 ,here again they do good by acting as scavengers1 as well as by putting winged birds out of their misery4 ,rabbits appear to be the largest four-footed creatures preyed upon by otters1 but we have heard it suggested by an old ,lakeland dalesman that they will on occasion take lambs4 ,although we bring forward this suggestion with great diffidence1 it is quite possible that there is some truth in it4 ,our informant lived by the shore of a lake in an out-of-the-way part of the country1 where at one time pine-martens were very plentiful4 ,it is a well-known fact that martens will kill lambs1 and an otter1 which is a much more powerful animal1 could easily do the same if so inclined4 ,anyway1 the old dalesman more than once found the carcass of a lamb left close to the edge of the water on the lake shore1 with the tracks of otters round about it4 ,neither a hill-fox nor marten would be likely to drag or carry the carcass to water1 and the whole thing certainly pointed to the work of otters4 ,an otter is a predaceous animal of the weasel family1 strong1 and active in its habits1 and would experience no difficulty in tackling a lamb4 ,it is never safe to be dogmatic in one's statements concerning the habits of wild creatures1 because generally speaking1 the only regular thing about them is their variability4 ,cases have occurred where otters were responsible for killing ducks1 grouse1 pheasants1 and rabbits1 and though such behaviour is only occasional on the part of the average otter1 it shows what he will do when so inclined4 ,in winter otters are sometimes hard put to it to find food1 and they have been known to take poultry at such times4 ,in the same way regarding the dalesman's statement about lambs1 an otter may occasionally kill one1 although most people would laugh at such an idea4 ,we know that hill-foxes take lambs1 having scores of times found carcasses in and about the earths1 yet one meets hunting people who resolutely refuse to believe that ,reynard ever falls so far from grace as to feed on lamb4 ,a fox will eat trout when he can get it1 and so will many dogs4 ,we have one now which eats small trout as greedily as a cat1 and no doubt foxes secure many fish when the hill-streams are dead low in summer4 ,it is no more strange for a fox or a dog to eat fish than for an otter to take an occasional lamb4 ,all three are carnivorous--the otter being least so--and when all is said and done1 wild animals show very unusual traits at times4 ,summing up the otter's feeding habits1 we find he kills fish1 and in the case of salmon he is certainly wasteful4 ,to set against this he takes many a sickly fish1 as well as cannibal trout1 all of which are better out of the way4 ,he kills waterhens and dabchicks1 both devourers of fish spawn1 and he slays quantities of eels1 which are the worst vermin to be found in lake or stream4 ,game is only an occasional item on his menu1 and nobody grudges him a few young rabbits4 ,otters1 therefore1 if kept within reasonable limits1 do their share of good1 and1 like the fox1 provide the very best of sport when hunted4 ,when ,reynard is rolled over by hounds it is the debt he pays for the privileged existence of himself and his kind1 and the same thing applies to the otter4 ,given a good pack of hounds1 hunting their district properly1 otters will be kept sufficiently in check1 and good sport will be enjoyed by riparian owners and others4 ,the only occasion on which an otter can do really extensive damage is when he gets access to a trout hatchery4 ,once he finds his way to the breeding ponds he will kill fish right and left4 ,if1 however1 such places are properly fenced off--as they should be--they will never suffer from the attentions of otters4 ,swans and other wildfowl1 herons1 dabchicks1 waterhens1 kingfishers1 frogs1 cannibal trout1 and eels do far more damage to fish and fish spawn than otters1 and with the exception of certain wildfowl1 provide no sport in return4 ,the otter1 like the fly-fisherman1 is a sportsman1 and for this reason the one should deal leniently with the other4 ,otters do most of their feeding and travelling at night1 but it is not an uncommon occurrence to find them abroad in daytime4 ,in ,canada we have on several occasions seen them on the ice during the day1 and once while watching a deer runway near a river1 a big otter floated downstream within twenty yards of us4 ,having fed up-stream during the night1 an otter may take to some holt at the end of his journey1 or he may float down with the current--if the water is fairly deep--and return to the holt from which he started4 ,although an otter can make wonderful headway against a strong current1 he generally avoids rapids and rough water when travelling up-stream4 ,on coming to such a place he lands1 makes a detour1 and enters the water again higher up4 ,his feeding expeditions are not necessarily restricted to the main river1 for he often explores side-streams1 ditches1 and other places1 which lie at a considerable distance from deep water4 ,he usually leaves his holt--or couch if he is lying rough--about dusk1 and returns to it before daybreak4 ,for the most part otters are silent creatures1 but they whistle when calling to each other1 and will snort and blow when playing together4 ,in ,canada their playgrounds are the slides1 and there two otters will gambol like puppies between the intervals of tobogganing down the bank4 ,although an otter does not dig to any extent1 he will1 as already mentioned1 scratch up sand or soft earth for a certain purpose1 and his feet and claws aid him in securing crustaceans and other food4 ,although the otter is unable to climb like the marten1 he can on occasion jump and scramble over high places in a wonderful manner4 ,in the ,north1 otters regularly travel deep ghylls and watercourses where they are obliged to climb to some extent1 and when hard pressed by hounds it takes a very rough place indeed to stop an otter4 ,in big coverts an otter will stand up before hounds like a fox1 and will travel at a surprising pace4 ,on rough1 rocky rivers1 an otter's claws1 particularly those on the hind feet1 are often very much worn down4 ,this may be accounted for by the state of the going4 ,a mounted specimen now in our possession has the claws of the hind feet practically worn off1 whereas the nails on the forefeet are nearly perfect4 ,there are probably few waters in ,great ,britain which are not at some time or other haunted by otters4 ,even in the vicinity of towns the marks of otters may be found beside canals and streams1 the surroundings of which would appear to be anything but attractive to ,lutra4 ,being chiefly a creature of the night1 nomadic and elusive in its habits1 the otter often spends a peaceful existence in the vicinity of human habitations1 the occupants of which never dream that the sly1 goose-footed prowler is a frequent visitor to their water4 ,the majority of people have never seen an otter1 except under a glass case in some museum1 or within the confines of the ,zoological ,gardens4 ,the angler1 fishing at dusk1 may sometimes be favoured by a glimpse of an otter1 bent on the same errand as himself1 but as a rule few otters are seen except when put down by hounds4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,otter-,,hunting1 ,,past ,,and ,,present ,it was not until a comparatively recent date1 that the otter became an accredited beast of chase4 ,he was hunted1 after a fashion1 from the very earliest times1 but the value of his skin--like that of the fox--had more to do with his capture than the sport he afforded4 ,king ,john of ,england appears to be the first ,master of ,otterhounds of whom there is any record1 and ,twici seems to have been the first huntsman4 ,in ,the ,master of ,game1 written between the years #adjf and #adac1 there is a chapter on ,the ,otter and his ,nature1 illustrated by a reproduction of an old illumination entitled ,otter ,hunting4 ,this picture represents a hound--apparently smooth-coated--swimming an otter in a river4 ,on the farther bank are two hounds1 and two men4 ,one of the latter is transfixing the otter as it swims with a long-handled1 three-pronged spear4 ,the other man is apparently about to throw a similar kind of spear at the otter1 while holding in his left hand a second spear with the ordinary type of single-bladed head4 ,on the near bank are two more men1 and two hounds4 ,one of the latter appears to be rough-coated1 or at any rate broken-haired1 the other being a large1 white1 smooth-coated animal4 ,this hound is evidently a limer1 as it is held in leash by one of the men4 ,the other man1 armed with a single-bladed spear1 is stabbing the otter in the hindquarters4 ,it is apparent that in those early days the chief use of the hounds was in finding the otter1 and once the latter was put down1 the spears were brought into play4 ,in the chapter on the otter1 it says3 ,men hunt at them with hounds by great mastery1 and men take them at other times in rivers with small cords as men do the fox with nets and with other gins4 ,thus we see plainly that the otter was little thought of in those days1 except for the value afforded by his skin4 ,in early times a lime-hound1 i4e41 a hound held in leash1 was used for harbouring deer and other game4 ,such a hound was keen and staunch1 not too fast1 and was taught to run mute1 in order not to disturb the game whose exact whereabouts his master wished to discover4 ,the rope by which the hound was led was known as a liam1 being made of leather or silk4 ,both collar and lead were often gaily coloured1 and adorned with silver4 ,the method of conducting the chase when hunting at an otter with hounds by great mastery was no doubt similar in some respects to that practised at present4 ,instead1 however1 of hunting the drag with the pack1 lime-hounds were used to locate the quarry1 the latter being then bolted by terriers4 ,in the prologue to ,the ,master of ,game1 it says with regard to dogs3 ,and first ,i will begin with raches 7running hounds7 and their nature1 and then greyhounds and their nature1 and then alaunts and their nature1 and then spaniels and their nature1 and then mastiffs that men call curs and their nature1 and then of small curs that come to be terriers and their nature4 ,what these terriers were like compared to the present-day breeds1 it is difficult to say1 but no doubt they were hard-bitten animals1 well able to bolt otters or foxes4 ,having bolted the otter1 probably several hounds were then uncoupled1 which kept the quarry on the move1 so that the men got plenty of chances to use their spears4 ,the otter was allowed no law as is now the custom1 but was transfixed at the first opportunity4 ,the spears were evidently thrown at the otter1 as well as used to transfix him on the shallows4 ,at a later date1 in ,somervile's days 7#agce7 the spear was in general use1 and it is mentioned as late as #ahgh in the ,manual of ,british ,rural ,sports by ,stonehenge4 ,turning to the ,otter ,hunting ,diary of the late ,mr ,james ,lomax1 of ,clayton ,hall1 which dates from #ahbi to #ahga1 we find no mention of the spear4 ,in ,field and ,fern 7,south71 by ,h4 ,h4 ,dixon1 published in #ahfe1 there is an account of ,dr ,grant1 of ,hawick1 and his otterhounds1 without1 however1 any reference to spears4 ,although the employment of the spear1 or otter-grains as it was sometimes called1 was no doubt almost universally discontinued fairly early in the last century1 it was probably used till a later date by individuals who kept a hound or two1 and pursued otter1 fox1 and foumart after the manner of the ,scotch tod-hunter with his scratch pack4 ,nets were sometimes used in conjunction with spears to keep an otter from reaching tidal waters4 ,to-day1 however1 all such abominations have been done away with1 and now it is left for hounds to hunt and kill their otter1 if they can1 unaided4 ,until a few years ago1 it was customary to meet quite early in the morning1 often soon after daybreak4 ,nowadays1 however1 people are less energetic1 and it is nothing unusual to read of fixtures as late as ten a4m4 ,although from a social or love and lunch point of view1 late meets are no doubt convenient1 the same can hardly be said as regards hunting4 ,some ,masters of ,otterhounds are averse to early meets because they say that the drag is then often so strong that hounds are very apt to pass over their otter4 ,by getting to the water later the drag has lost some of its strength1 and hounds are then brought to their noses1 and travel slower1 thus being less inclined to pass their otter in its holt4 ,really the time of meeting should depend upon the character of the water you intend to hunt4 ,on a river flowing through marsh or water meadows1 where the long grass and rushes are always more or less damp and the ground beneath them shaded from the sun1 scent will lie for hours1 and there is no necessity to make a very early start4 ,in the ,north1 however1 where the streams are swift and rocky1 and have their sources far up the hill-sides1 there is often little shade1 except beside some covert1 or in some ghyll or ravine to which the sun's rays seldom penetrate4 ,meeting at ten o'clock on such water1 there is little chance of a good drag1 and it may mean hard work for both men and hounds before they find1 and eventually put their otter down4 ,illustration3 ,the ,huntsman ,bringing his ,otter ,ashore4 7,photo by ,n4 ,clapham74 ,illustration3 ,k4 ,d4,o4,h4 ,returning to the ,main ,river4 7,copyright by ,r4 ,f4 ,lees1 ,blackpool74 ,to face p4 #gi4 ,many an instance comes to mind1 when if hounds had been put to water three or four hours earlier1 they would have had a hot cross-country drag1 and probably a fine swimming hunt at the end of it4 ,we have known hounds meet at nine o'clock at the foot of a ,lakeland beck1 and travel several miles up-stream without a whimper4 ,on nearing the source1 they spoke to a drag in the depths of a shady ghyll1 and carried it at a fast pace out on to the open fell4 ,there the sun was beating down with tremendous power1 and under its influence the drag died out4 ,hounds were on the line of a travelling otter1 and had they hit off the drag in the ghyll at five or six o'clock instead of nine1 they could easily have carried it over the watershed1 and down a runner which enters a tarn in the next valley4 ,a good hunt was thus spoilt1 simply because of a late start4 ,an advantage of meeting early lies in the fact that you perhaps find and kill your otter before the real heat of the day begins1 thus making things easier for both hounds and field4 ,it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule as regards the time of meeting1 for as already mentioned1 this will be influenced by the character of the water you are going to hunt1 and1 if you are dependent on subscriptions1 the keenness or otherwise of your subscribers4 ,in the case of making a start with a newly organised pack1 containing a good proportion of unentered hounds1 it is advisable to get out early in the morning until such time as your hounds begin to understand their job and take an interest in the business4 ,scent lies stronger both on land and water during the early hours1 and if your few entered hounds find and mark their otter1 the unentered ones have a better chance when their quarry is eventually put down4 ,to a lover of hound work1 the drag left by an otter during his nightly wanderings1 provides as much of interest when hounds can own it1 as the actual hunting after the otter is afloat4 ,with entered hounds which try the banks carefully it is possible to find an otter without touching a drag at all4 ,this frequently happens after a late meet1 when the huntsman is a real trier1 and can depend on his hounds4 ,still1 we imagine that the majority of keen otter-hunters enjoy watching the pack at work on a drag1 and the music seems a fitting prelude to the chorus that arises when finally hounds mark and acknowledge in no uncertain tones that their quarry is at home4 ,under favourable conditions the scent of an otter will lie for a very long time4 ,in the shade1 amidst tall herbage1 or among the water lilies1 hounds can speak to it hours after their otter has gone1 and it is sometimes difficult to know whether they are the right way or running heel4 ,then is the time to look for the seal of your otter in the sand1 mud1 or other soft places1 and note whether the footprints point up-stream or down4 ,half the pleasure of otter-hunting is to see hounds draw1 that is if they draw well1 trying every root as they go1 or swimming out to some stone in midstream on which perhaps there is a piece of wedging4 ,here a hound will try a patch of water lilies1 there another will investigate a stick-heap1 until at last there is a welcome note from ,thunder1 ,sailor1 or some other member of the pack1 which denotes that a drag has at last been found4 ,gradually they work it out1 fast or slow according to its strength1 until at last they mark at a tree-root on the bank4 ,if you know your hounds you can tell pretty well whether your otter is there1 or has merely run through the place and gone on4 ,one or two of your most trusted favourites perhaps show an inclination to push forward up-stream1 so you go ahead1 taking plenty of time at all the likely holts4 ,suddenly old ,warrior's head goes up1 he winds the air for a second or two1 then goes straight across the river1 and his well-known voice rings out as he proclaims that his otter is this time in the holt in front of him4 ,the others surge over1 splashing the water as they go1 and a wild chorus awakens the echoes as hounds mark solidly1 some of them tearing at the bank in their eagerness to have their quarry out of that4 ,there is no doubt he is at home1 but if there was1 you need only watch old ,boatman swimming round and round beneath the holt in an endeavour to take the scent or wash1 to convince you that hounds are right4 ,the great advantage of meeting early lies in the fact that if there is an otter or otters working the water that you propose to hunt1 you are practically sure of finding a drag1 which at that time of day will lie strongly4 ,as already mentioned1 otters lie rough1 as well as in holts1 and may be found almost anywhere1 often far from the main river4 ,here is where you benefit by a warm trail1 for there will be no doubt as to the point at which your quarry left the main river1 and took to a side-runner1 or out across country to some pond or other favourite feeding ground4 ,supposing1 however1 that your otter has left a drag on the banks of the main river1 which leads hounds steadily up-stream4 ,if the drag is hot1 the pack will run it at speed1 until they finally mark their otter in his holt1 or the trail suddenly comes to an end1 and hounds are at a loss4 ,in this case your otter may have gone on some distance in the water1 the latter having carried all scent away1 and then landed at some holt farther up4 ,he may1 too1 have crossed the stream--perhaps in deep water--and retired to a holt on the opposite bank4 ,again1 he may have dropped down with the current to his original starting point1 leaving no trace behind him4 ,if the river is narrow1 he may1 of course1 have crossed and re-crossed it in his journey up-stream1 the same applying in a lesser degree1 to a wide river4 ,if possible1 it is wise therefore to have a number of hounds on each bank1 instead of1 as some huntsmen do1 crossing with the pack at shallows or other spots where the stream can be forded4 ,by keeping hounds on the one bank and crossing here and there1 much water and many a likely holt is passed over4 ,harking back1 however1 to where hounds checked4 ,the otter may still be in front1 therefore it pays to make good the water for some little distance up-stream4 ,if1 within a reasonable distance1 hounds hit off his landing place and mark him at a holt1 well and good1 but if there is only a touch here and there on which hounds feather1 denoting a stale line perhaps a day or two old1 it is then advisable to try back4 ,if hounds have carried the drag at speed1 they may1 in their eagerness1 have overrun their otter1 and left him not so very far behind4 ,when casting back therefore1 go slowly1 and keep some hounds if possible on both banks4 ,sooner or later1 with anything like luck1 hounds should locate their otter on one bank or the other4 ,just as an early start affords a hot drag1 so does it help hounds to more easily wind their otter in his holt1 should he have crossed and left no trace behind him in the stream4 ,some hounds exhibit great aptitude for winding an otter in this manner1 therefore when you see a member of the pack throw up his head and begin testing the air1 you can be fairly sure that your otter is not far off4 ,if1 instead of meeting early you had arrived at the water late1 on the foregoing occasion1 you would probably have hit off a weak or catchy drag1 and have had to go slow1 trying both banks carefully en route4 ,if this happens on a stream which the ,master knows well1 and has often hunted before1 he may simply cross and re-cross the water to the various holts from which he has put down otters on previous occasions4 ,should hounds refuse to mark at any of these holts1 and the limit of the day's draw is reached1 the result is a blank4 ,the same thing may happen on a river which has not been hunted for a long time4 ,the meet is late1 hounds are left to pick up a drag if they can1 the field following at their leisure1 and once more it is a case of nothing doing at the conclusion of the draw4 ,it is when an otter has left the main river via a side-stream1 or travelled a long way overland to some pond1 or other retreat1 that the advantage of meeting early is so conspicuous4 ,late in the day the drag is very weak and catchy in the open1 where the sun has dried up all moisture1 and even if hounds do show an inclination to turn up a runner or deviate at some point1 they may not be able to carry the line far1 even if encouraged to do so4 ,if an early start is made1 however1 the drag is warm1 and hounds can hit off the place with certainty where their otter has left the river1 and what is more1 they can run the line at speed1 thus drawing up to their quarry's holt1 or the spot where he is lying rough1 without loss of time4 ,the chief object of keeping a pack of otterhounds is to find1 hunt1 and if possible kill your otter in a sportsmanlike manner4 ,before you can hunt him you must find him1 and on nine days out of ten1 this is the hardest part of the business4 ,an otter may be anywhere1 and of course it may so happen that the water within your day's draw is not being worked by otters4 ,in this case you cannot find what is not there4 ,a blank day then is not only excusable1 but inevitable4 ,on the other hand1 if your pack is made up of entered hounds1 and you know their individual idiosyncrasies1 and have in addition a fair knowledge of the habits of your quarry1 there should be little excuse for a blank day1 provided you start early enough in the morning to afford your hounds the chance of picking up and sticking to a decent drag4 ,the surest way of finding an otter is to drag up to him1 any other method1 at any rate on rivers1 holds an enormous element of chance4 ,on a lake or a tarn1 which you yourself know is inhabited by otters1 it is a different matter1 for you can then throw off in the reed-beds or other undergrowth bordering the water1 with a good hope of putting your otter down before hounds have been long at work4 ,no fixed rules are applicable to otter-hunting1 or any other kind of hunting for that matter1 but it is safe to say that the ,master who is a trier1 and keeps on trying1 will be the one to bring to hand most otters4 ,being himself of the never say die order1 he will inculcate the same spirit in his hounds1 for a slack huntsman makes a slack pack1 and vice versa4 ,the late ,rev4 ,jack ,russell1 of ,devonshire fame1 walked some hundreds of miles before he found his first otter4 ,this was owing to the fact that his hounds at the beginning were unentered to otter4 ,when he finally got hold of an entered hound1 matters took a different turn1 and he showed capital sport1 but his ill-success at first was certainly not for want of trying4 ,when hunting a river1 particularly in a hilly district1 a sudden flood may put a stop to sport4 ,when the weather is unsettled it is wise1 therefore1 to allow for such a contingency1 and be prepared to arrange matters so that a smaller stream or lake can be substituted4 ,a frequent reason for blank days lies in having too wide a district to hunt4 ,this means that certain streams are visited but once a season1 and a single day on each is not sufficient to insure sport4 ,a certain river is perhaps visited to-day1 and hounds hit off a drag and carry it up-stream a long way1 until the hour is late1 and their otter still unfound4 ,the next fixture is probably in another county1 whereas if hounds were put to water on the following morning at the place where they left off1 a hunt would be practically a certainty4 ,again1 if a brace of otters are put down1 and one of them is hunted and eventually killed1 a visit to the same water on the following day would result in the survivor providing some pretty work for hounds4 ,there is hardly an ,otter ,hunt in the kingdom but what attempts to cover more water in a season than it can properly manage4 ,the chances of continuous good sport are on this account exceedingly doubtful1 for unless rivers are frequently visited1 and a fair percentage of otters are killed1 riparian owners1 keepers1 and others will refuse to protect otters1 and instead1 go in for the killing business themselves4 ,hunting is in this country dependent upon the goodwill of landowners and tenants1 who are as a rule only too pleased to welcome hounds4 ,if1 however1 the ,hunt does not properly reduce the stock of foxes or otters1 other methods are then resorted to4 ,the more otters or foxes you kill in your district1 the more you will have1 for directly people realise that you and your hounds mean business and are out for blood1 they will leave it to you to do the killing1 and confine their attentions to preserving your quarry4 ,a small district1 regularly hunted1 will provide much better sport than a large one casually attended to4 ,the fixture card of the average ,otter ,hunt should show ,where leave off much oftener than it does at present4 ,in a small district a ,hunt is much less dependent on trains for moving hounds from place to place1 and there is far more opportunity to lie out overnight at some farm or other homestead1 and thus continue hunting at the same place on the following day4 ,harking back to the river1 a great many people imagine that when hounds hit off a line away from the water1 and go full cry through a wood1 across open country1 or up some tiny streamlet1 that they are running riot4 ,that hounds occasionally run riot1 more especially the young entry1 we do not for a moment deny1 but when a pack of entered hounds performs in the above manner1 they are not rioting1 but running the line of a travelling otter4 ,the huntsman then1 instead of blowing his horn while the whippers-in rate and attempt to stop hounds1 should put his best leg foremost and try to keep in touch1 so that if hounds check1 after covering perhaps a mile or two1 he will be there or thereabouts and have a good idea what to do4 ,we have vivid recollections of a day on which hounds hit off the line of an otter that had stolen away from a rock-holt without being seen or tallied4 ,she1 for it was a young bitch otter1 left the main stream with a good start1 and turned up a runner which lay in a deep1 narrow valley4 ,at the head of this valley the otter turned left-handed and crossed over more than a mile of open country comprising the watershed4 ,descending the other side1 she entered a stream via a hanging covert on the near bank4 ,when hounds hit off her line1 they raced up the valley with evidently a screaming scent4 ,at the top they hovered for an instant1 then swept on left-handed over the hill4 ,the huntsman1 who was convinced that they were running riot1 attempted to stop them1 and succeeded in getting hold of some of them1 but the others went on1 and we could hear them speaking merrily in the direction of the stream in the valley below4 ,we passed the huntsman1 blowing his horn1 with a couple or two of hounds round him1 and on asking him what was the matter1 he said hounds were rioting4 ,seeing we did not believe him1 he reluctantly followed on1 and to cut a long story short1 hounds eventually killed their otter handsomely1 after dusting her up and down the stream for some three-quarters of an hour4 ,we can see the expression on that huntsman's face yet1 when hounds collared their otter1 and he was obliged to acknowledge he had been in the wrong1 while his hounds had been right4 ,now the first lesson a huntsman1 professional or amateur1 has to learn is to trust his hounds4 ,if he can't do this1 he had better leave hunting alone1 and look for another job4 ,once your hounds are properly entered1 and you know their individual traits and idiosyncrasies1 always trust to what they say about it1 and pay no attention to the utterances of a sceptical field1 many of whom know little or nothing about the science of hunting4 ,the line hounds are running may perhaps seem a very unusual one1 even to you1 but if ,rouser1 ,thunder1 ,marksman1 and a few more of your trusted favourites are voicing the fact that an otter is in front of them1 then you can bet your life it is so1 and your job is to keep in touch with them if possible4 ,always remember that an otter may be found anywhere1 and may do anything once he is afoot or afloat4 ,the only certain thing about him is his variability4 ,you will learn something new about him every day you go out with hounds1 and if you store up the information thus obtained1 it will come in mighty useful on many a future occasion4 ,the ,master who hunts his own hounds should study the habits of otters in winter as well as in summer4 ,after a prolonged snow-fall a visit to one or other of his rivers1 lakes1 etc41 will afford a variety of useful information regarding the whereabouts and the doings of otters4 ,their tracks will be plain enough in the snow1 and by following these footprints a knowledge of the various routes traversed by otters will be gained1 and many a long forgotten drain or other hiding-place discovered4 ,the lessons thus learnt will come in mighty useful when the hunting season again begins4 ,when thus scouting his country1 he should not forget to drop in at the mill1 or the various farmsteads near the river4 ,the miller can be a good friend1 or1 if he likes1 a bad enemy1 and the same applies to farm-hands1 and other people who work on the land4 ,a chat with the farmer and his wife goes a long way towards smoothing the ground for hunting1 and a friendly word and a pipe of baccy with the river-watchers and labourers ensures amicable relations1 and paves the way towards encouraging an interest in hounds and hunting4 ,it is the ,master who is thus on the job in winter as well as summer who gets plenty of good walks for his puppies1 and is free to hunt when and where he likes during the season4 ,on his journeys he will hear much about otters and their doings1 a great deal of which information1 however1 he will take with the proverbial pinch of salt4 ,half the people you meet1 even those who live near rivers1 have never seen an otter1 although there are1 of course1 certain individuals whose information is to be depended on4 ,these are few and far between1 however1 and the wise ,master will trust to his own powers of observation1 rather than to reports of hypothetical otters1 which in the end turn out to have been black cats1 or some other animals seen near the water at dusk4 ,harking back to our hunting1 however1 hounds have marked their otter in his holt in a root or some other retreat1 and the next job is to evict him4 ,hounds are called off and taken back out of sight in a nearby field1 and the terriers come on the scene4 ,vic or ,vengeance is sent in1 and very soon there are sounds underground betokening something doing4 ,the barking ceases for a moment1 and then a dark brown object glides out through the tangled roots1 there is a slight splash1 and a long chain of bubbles as the otter takes to the river4 ,a shrill tally-ho6 brings hounds pell-mell to the scene of action1 and the hunt is on4 ,it all sounds very easy1 and sometimes is so1 but on other occasions the otter refuses to bolt1 or the terriers cannot bring sufficient pressure to bear1 so there is nothing for it but send to the nearest farmhouse for tools4 ,spades1 pick1 and crowbar are soon on the spot1 and there may then ensue some strenuous digging1 before the terriers are located1 and finally the otter4 ,occasionally1 when the terriers are sent in1 a rabbit or rabbits may bolt1 or even as has happened before now1 a fox4 ,then is the time you are likely to hear subdued remarks from sceptical members of your field4 ,take no notice of that4 ,your hounds say their otter is there1 believe them1 no matter how many rabbits appear4 ,otters lie very close at times1 often till you dig right up to them1 and on such an occasion you will have the laugh on the doubting ,thomases1 when you pull little terrier ,vengeance out by the stern1 and your otter takes to the river4 ,if a terrier can get behind his otter1 he will generally persuade the quarry to bolt1 but if the otter backs up into a cul-de-sac1 the dog is obliged to face him in front1 and if the terrier is a real sticker he will hold his otter there until the diggers work down to the spot4 ,otters will lie up in rabbit burrows1 drains1 tree-roots1 and sometimes in fox or badger earths4 ,rock-holts are also favourite places on the north country rivers4 ,where there are several side-drains branching off a main drain1 it is often difficult for the terriers to locate their otter4 ,some rock-holts1 too1 are practically impregnable1 and the same applies to many a big head of earths in covert4 ,occasionally an otter may be persuaded to bolt when other means have failed1 by getting a number of people to jump on top of the holt1 the party doing so in unison4 ,when digging or terrier operations are going on1 someone should be stationed where they can keep watch for the otter bolting4 ,if the quarry can slip out under water1 he may get away undetected1 unless a bright look out is kept4 ,during the time that digging is going on1 the field should be made to stand well back from the scene of operations4 ,when they crowd round the place1 as the average field so often does1 they are a nuisance to the diggers1 and talk so much that it is often impossible to hear the terriers underground4 ,again1 should an otter bolt from a drain1 and have some distance to go before reaching the water1 the field are nearly sure to start halloing1 with the result that hounds break away and arrive on the scene ere the otter has had fair law4 ,once the otter is afloat1 the next thing is to keep him going until hounds tire him out1 and at last gain their reward4 ,the field should now spread out at intervals1 along the bank1 and stand still4 ,by doing so each individual can watch the water in front of him1 and tally when he is certain he sees the otter4 ,when the field persists in rushing up and down the banks they are a nuisance to both hounds and huntsman4 ,standing still1 and keeping a bright look out1 they can be of the greatest service1 and at the same time they see more sport than when constantly shifting their positions4 ,after he has been hunted for some time1 the otter will begin to show himself1 and it is then perfectly legitimate for the watcher to tally-ho if he sees the otter4 ,unless1 however1 he is sure that it is the otter1 he had best keep silent4 ,a salmon in rapid water1 or a moorhen crossing a pool1 has often deceived a watcher on the bank1 therefore make sure before tallying4 ,also1 never tally because someone else says he has seen the otter1 see it yourself first4 ,it may be necessary to send some of the field to form a stickle across the shallows1 above or below the scene of action4 ,these people must keep a sharp look out1 watching the water carefully4 ,if they do their work properly1 the otter should not get past them without being seen4 ,if the hunt gradually works up-stream1 the people on the lower stickle should not be forgotten4 ,some signal1 say a few notes on the whistle1 should be given in order to let them know that they are at liberty to leave their posts4 ,illustration3 ,no4 #e4 ,,tally-,,ho6 ,in rapid1 or deep water1 an otter will often pass an experienced hunter without being tallied1 particularly if it is moving close to the farther bank4 ,the angle at which the light falls on the water often makes it extremely difficult to detect an otter as it passes4 ,after being hunted for some length of time1 the otter shows himself more and more frequently4 ,he may vary the water work by making an excursion overland1 or running the length of a nearby wood4 ,perhaps he takes refuge in a holt1 and is then bolted by the terriers4 ,anyway1 if things go right1 the time comes when he can do no more1 and he dies fighting on the shallows1 leaving his mark on nearly every hound4 ,the huntsman at last gets the pack to leave him1 not using a whip1 but pushing hounds off with knees1 hands1 and pole1 after which he slips the carcass under water for a minute or two until he recovers his wind1 and then carries it ashore4 ,there it is weighed1 mask1 pole1 and pads are severed1 the carcass is slit up1 and tossed to the eagerly expectant pack4 ,hi1 worry1 worry1 worry1 ,who-whoop6 tear him and eat him4 ,after blowing the rattle1 and cheering hounds to keep up the excitement1 the various trophies are distributed1 and one's thoughts then turn in the direction of certain bottles which are snugly reposing in a friend's car on the nearest highway4 ,illustration3 ,a ,kill with the ,k4 ,d4,o4,h4 7,copyright by ,mrs4 ,r4 ,f4 ,lees1 ,blackpool74 ,illustration3 ,hi1 ,worry1 ,worry6 7,copyright by ,r4 ,f4 ,lees1 ,blackpool74 ,to face p4 #ajb4 ,early1 or late in the season1 when the weather is boisterous and the water cold1 it pays to hold up a few couples of hounds1 reserving them until the working pack has had about enough of it4 ,then at the right moment1 throw in your reserves and make a quick finish4 ,this plan is especially applicable to lake hunting1 when hounds are continually swimming in deep water4 ,when hounds are on a drag1 or have put down their otter1 the huntsman should encourage them1 cheering them on to any particular hound which has made a hit1 and the same when they mark solidly at a root4 ,there is no need to be noisy1 but hounds work all the better for encouragement1 and a bit of excitement at a holt teaches young hounds to mark their otter4 ,to make a success of otter-hunting1 or any other kind of hunting for that matter1 a man must use his brains1 and to some extent call on his powers of imagination4 ,a chapter on hunting is hardly complete without some mention of that elusive mystery called scent1 so a few words will be devoted to it here4 ,you get good and bad scenting days in otter-hunting just as you do when hunting fox or hare1 but the chase of the otter has the advantage of being conducted both on land and water1 and if scent is bad on the latter1 it may be quite the reverse if your otter takes to terra firma4 ,sometimes it is good on both1 though it may happen that an otter which has been hustled about the woods or across country apparently gives off little scent when he returns to the water4 ,a bitch otter in cub1 or one with a young family1 appears to often give off little or no scent1 and where hunting takes place on a river polluted by oil1 or other foreign matter1 scent is generally conspicuous by its absence4 ,scent varies too at different times of day4 ,in the early morning1 before the sun has dispelled the dew1 it is generally good1 but dies away as the atmosphere becomes warmer4 ,when the sun begins to sink and the air becomes damp again1 scent is likely to freshen2 while a shower of rain may affect it in the same way4 ,the vagaries of scent are impossible to foretell with anything like certainty1 and perhaps it is as well so1 otherwise sport would become too cut and dried1 and would lose much of its interest on that account4 ,occasionally an otter takes refuge behind weiring or in some other retreat1 that necessitates pulling down a certain amount of the obstruction before he can be evicted4 ,in this case1 permission from the owner or tenant of the place should be obtained before beginning operations4 ,in the same way1 should the owner or tenant object to the presence of hounds on his land1 always be civil1 no matter what he says1 and take hounds away without any argument4 ,the life of the sport depends upon the existence of amicable relations between the ,hunt and the owners of the land which they cross4 ,although terriers can as a rule bolt an otter if they can get to him1 ferrets have been used for the same purpose before to-day4 ,both otters and foxes have on occasion been bolted from rabbit burrows during ferreting operations4 ,in some countries artificial drains or holts have been constructed for the use of otters1 but there is usually a good deal of uncertainty as to whether the otters will take to such abodes4 ,where old drains run a long way into the land1 with possibly a number of branch drains1 it is often wise to place iron gratings at some distance from the mouth1 in order to facilitate matters when it comes to bolting an otter4 ,as the great charm about otter-hunting is its freedom from artificiality1 made holts or drains need hardly be encouraged1 except perhaps in extreme cases where there is no suitable lying-up place for otters over a long stretch of water4 ,when hunting hounds1 the ,master will be assisted in the field by two whippers-in1 which may consist of the paid kennelman1 and an amateur4 ,their job is to keep hounds in check when necessary1 prevent rioting1 if any1 and keep in touch with the pack should hounds go off across country with a screaming scent4 ,taking it for granted that the paid hand knows his job1 the amateur should be equally proficient4 ,he must keep a keen look out as he goes for signs of otters1 as well as hidden drains1 etc41 and he must know the names of all the hounds and their individual idiosyncrasies1 so as to tell instantly if they are inclined to riot1 or they show an inclination to mark at roots1 or take a line away from the river4 ,speaking broadly1 the whippers-in prevent hounds going too fast and outpacing the ,master and the field1 but it should be remembered that hounds can be kept too much in check1 and by so doing they are balked in their desire to hunt1 as well as drive on when scenting conditions are good4 ,in fox or hare hunting1 the huntsman's place is with his hounds1 whether they are drawing or running1 and there appears to be no good reason why an otter-huntsman should not get a move on when his hounds push ahead on a hot drag1 or drive along across country4 ,it is quite as necessary to run1 and often run hard1 with otterhounds1 as to ride hard with foxhounds1 and the huntsman who takes his own time whilst his whipper-in is bursting himself across country is surely lacking in keenness4 ,although otter-hunting does not call for as much quickness on the part of the huntsman as fox-hunting1 we still must confess we like to see a huntsman of otterhounds show some agility when his hounds run fast4 ,this particularly applies to hunting in the north1 where otters so often cross steep watersheds4 ,a great deal of valuable time is frequently lost1 simply because the huntsman prefers to take his own time1 instead of attempting to keep in close touch with hounds1 and thus be on the spot should they momentarily require his assistance4 ,as far as the field are concerned1 it is their own fault if they are left behind when hounds run4 ,when travelling with hounds on the highway1 however1 the huntsman and whippers-in should go at a reasonable pace1 so as to give the field a chance--particularly the ladies--to be there when hounds are put to water4 ,racing ahead with hounds on the roads gets the pack into the habit of pushing on when there is really no need for it1 so a reasonable walking pace should be aimed at4 ,when hounds have put their otter down1 or hit him abroad1 to use an old expression1 and are swimming him1 the huntsman should keep on the shallow side of the river1 more particularly if the farther bank is thickly overgrown with willows or other cover4 ,from the shallow side he has a clear view of what his hounds are doing1 and if it is necessary to pole the farther bank if an otter persists in hanging there1 he should ask one of his whippers-in1 or some experienced member of the field to do it for him4 ,with regard to clothing and etceteras for otter-hunting1 little need be said here4 ,hunt uniforms are usually made of woollen serge material1 which dries quickly1 and withstands a lot of rough usage4 ,shorts are sometimes worn1 but in our experience loose knickerbockers are much preferable1 particularly for hunt officials who may have to force their way through briers or other undergrowth in the execution of their duty4 ,bare knees and thorns do not associate well together1 while breeches of the semi-riding type are too tight-fitting1 and retain water4 ,boots or shoes should be well nailed to prevent slipping1 preferably with soft1 wrought-iron hobs1 which get a better grip on rocks than steel nails4 ,an iron-shod pole of ash or hazel--the latter is light yet strong--is necessary for crossing deep or swift water1 and in some districts as an aid to jumping wide ditches and open drains4 ,a pole shod with a double-pronged spike is less liable to slip than one armed with a single spike4 ,likewise a pole cut from the growing tree or sapling looks more workmanlike than a made one1 ornamented with a fancy metal head or other embellishment4 ,with regard to the whip1 for use by ,hunt officials1 one with a short lash is to be preferred1 for it can be far more easily cracked when the user is standing in water than a long-lashed affair4 ,the huntsman who cannot blow an ordinary horn without unnecessary discords will be well advised to secure a reed-horn4 ,every call can be sounded on this1 with the exception of that to call hounds away1 and for this quite a good substitute can be blown4 ,when using the horn1 he should employ distinct calls1 then both hounds and field know what he means4 ,some huntsmen blow the same note all day long1 and hounds take no heed of it1 while the monotonous sound gets on the nerves of the field4 ,nowadays the otter-hunting season extends from ,april to ,september1 but in the fourteenth century it lasted from ,february to ,june4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,hounds ,,and ,,terriers ,the average otterhound pack to-day is usually composed of foxhounds1 cross-bred hounds1 and a few couples of pure1 rough-coated otterhounds4 ,in the old days the latter predominated in most packs1 and it is only of late years that the foxhound has come to the fore in the pursuit of ,lutra4 ,the origin of the rough-coated hound is more or less shrouded in mystery1 but it is pretty safe to say that he is closely related to the bloodhound4 ,if true to type he possesses many of the bloodhound's characteristics1 including the long pendulous ears1 the deep-set eye showing the haw1 and the black and tan colour which so often predominates4 ,the rough coat was gained by a cross of some sort1 but it is impossible to say with certainty what this cross was4 ,the wire-haired ,welsh harrier may have had something to do with it1 and again it is quite likely that the old hard-coated ,lancashire harrier may have been used for the same purpose4 ,it is possible1 too1 that the old southern hound was crossed with the bloodhound1 while there are those who believe that the ,french griffon had a share in the business4 ,thus we see that the rough outer coat may have come from a variety of sources1 but the thick1 woolly under-coat is no doubt a provision of nature to protect the hound from the effects of frequent and long-continued immersion in the water4 ,this under coat is worn by the ,chesapeake ,bay dog1 a breed of retriever much used by wildfowl shooters in ,america4 ,in the fourteenth century raches or running hounds--known later simply as hounds--were of various kinds4 ,in the ,master of ,game it says3 ,there be also many kinds of running hounds1 some small and some big1 and the small be called kenets1 and these hounds run well to all manner of game1 and they 7that7 serve for all game men call them harriers4 ,and every hound that hath that courage will come to be a harrier by nature with little making4 ,harrier was in those days spelt heyrer1 and it was not until after the sixteenth century that the modern spelling came into vogue4 ,it was probably derived from the ,anglo-,saxon herian1 to harry or disturb4 ,in the ,boke of ,st ,albans it says that the hart1 the buck1 and the boar should be started by a limer1 and that all other bestes that huntyd shall be sought for and found by ,ratches so free4 ,thus it appears that all beasts that were enchased were moved by a lime-hound1 while those that were hunted up were found by raches4 ,the otter-hunting illustration in the ,master of ,game shows five hounds1 one of which is on leash1 and appears to be a limer4 ,the otter was certainly not enchased in those days1 being looked upon as vermin1 yet as the picture shows a limer at work1 it is possible that lime-hounds were sometimes used for other game than the recognised beasts of chase4 ,the hound shown swimming the otter is bloodhound-like1 while two smaller hounds appear to have broken coats4 ,in the fourteenth century the otter and various other creatures1 such as the rabbit1 fox1 wild cat1 etc41 were hunted by biss hunters 7fur hunters7 for their skins1 and no doubt the smaller breed of hounds then known as heyrers were employed in their capture4 ,coming down to modern times1 there are1 as far as we are aware1 but two existing otterhound packs entirely composed of pure1 rough-coated otterhounds4 ,all other establishments employ mixed packs4 ,cross-bred hounds are usually the result of a union between a pure otterhound bitch and a foxhound4 ,the majority of foxhounds which find their way to the otterhound kennels have been drafted for over-height1 age1 or faults4 ,they are often presented to the ,m4,o4,h41 or he buys them at a low figure4 ,having purchased or otherwise got together sufficient hounds to make a start1 you can gradually weed them out1 retaining the best workers for future breeding operations4 ,it is perhaps unnecessary to state that you must have a couple or two of entered hounds to begin with1 otherwise you are likely to walk as far as the ,rev4 ,jack ,russell did before you find an otter4 ,as regards cross-bred hounds1 the first cross may be capital workers1 but it is doubtful if much good comes from breeding from them4 ,one sees all shapes1 makes1 and sizes of rough hounds in the various packs1 but the best bred ones are big1 upstanding animals1 from twenty-two to twenty-four or more inches in height4 ,speaking from our own experience1 we have found the majority of rough hounds to be much more clumsy and less active than foxhounds4 ,their feet1 too1 are often inclined to be open and flat1 and they lack the heart and stamina of the foxhound4 ,there are1 of course1 exceptions1 and we have come across rough hounds that were capital workers1 but take them all round they are too big and clumsy1 at any rate for work on rough1 rocky streams4 ,despite their rough jackets1 they suffer from the effects of long immersion in water far more than the foxhound1 whose short1 smooth coat is dry after a shake or two4 ,in addition they are not such good doers as the foxhound1 and require more attention after hunting4 ,they are also apt to be quarrelsome in kennel4 ,many of them possess extremely fine noses1 and can speak to a line a day or two old1 but this is of no practical help in hunting1 because it is impossible to drag up to an otter that has been so long gone4 ,they swim well1 and often draw well when swimming1 but the foxhound is quite their equal in this respect4 ,in our experience the hound that can wind his otter across the stream and go straight to him is more often a foxhound than a rough hound4 ,illustration3 ,a ,famous ,otterhound1 ,mr ,w4 ,thompson's ,snowdrop4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,illustration3 ,some of ,mr ,w4 ,thompson's ,rough ,otterhounds4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,to face p4 #aaf4 ,the foxhound1 too1 is usually a better marker once he has entered properly1 and when it comes to holding and killing an otter1 the rough hound cannot compare with him4 ,across country1 too1 and when an otter runs through covert1 the foxhound's dash and drive at once put him in the lead4 ,the rough hound has a resonant1 musical voice1 and a picturesque appearance1 but taking him all round1 from a solely working point of view1 he is1 in our humble opinion1 inferior to the foxhound1 particularly on rough1 rocky rivers1 where a light-built1 active type of hound shows to advantage4 ,custom ordains that hounds for otter-hunting should be rough jacketed1 and by employing cross-bred or rough ,welsh foxhounds you get the rough coat1 without the undesirable qualities found in the pure otterhounds4 ,the latter show to the best advantage in low-lying country1 where the rivers are slow running1 and the going easy4 ,in these days1 when meets are late and time is valuable1 pure otterhounds with their tender noses dwell and revel on the drag instead of pushing forward4 ,the foxhound1 on the other hand1 may feather on a stale line1 but he will not as a rule open unless the drag is fairly fresh4 ,when he does throw his tongue1 you can confidently cheer the others to him1 knowing that your otter is not so very far in front4 ,although we cannot deny that the deep1 resonant music of a pack of pure otterhounds is delightful to listen to1 something more than the band is required to kill an otter4 ,foxhounds1 cross-breds1 and ,welsh hounds throw their tongues well enough1 and in addition they possess dash and drive1 with little or no inclination to dwell4 ,foxhounds1 before they have entered properly1 draw wide and will not always stick to the river1 but if they have done a few season's stag-hunting--thus being used to water work--they generally enter well to otter and draw closely enough4 ,a hound may not take any interest in the sport during his first season1 but the following season he may prove to be one of the best4 ,unfortunately the majority of draft foxhounds are aged before they find their way to the otterhound kennels1 therefore any lengthy delay in entering to their new quarry shortens the period of their usefulness1 that at the best cannot be very long4 ,aged foxhounds after a time show an inclination to dwell and revel in the scent1 and when this happens it is a sign that their utility is coming to an end4 ,if possible always get hold of foxhounds which throw their tongues freely1 and have nothing whatever to do with a mute hound4 ,however closely you keep an eye on the latter1 he will sooner or later get away on his own1 and be the means of spoiling more than one good hunt4 ,no matter how good a mute hound is in his work1 get rid of him1 for unless he lets you know what he is doing he is useless to you4 ,likewise1 never on any consideration be tempted to breed from a mute hound4 ,rough otterhounds cannot stand punishment like the foxhound1 and will howl and kick up a dreadful racket if hurt1 or hit with the whip for some fault4 ,it is during the course of a long hunt in heavy or chilly water that the average rough otterhound will pull out and sit shivering on the bank1 while the foxhounds are keeping their otter on the move4 ,in our experience1 the foxhound is a much better fresh-finder than the pure otterhound1 and it is the hounds good at fresh-finding and keeping their otter going that do most towards bringing the quarry to hand4 ,at the end of a long day1 too1 the cross-breds and foxhounds will return to kennels with their sterns up1 while many of the rough sort exhibit a very depressed appearance4 ,they never seem to pick their feet up like a foxhound1 but shuffle about in an ungainly fashion4 ,when it comes to killing an otter1 the foxhound has it all his own way4 ,time and again we have seen him seize and hold a big otter1 often shaking his quarry like a fox4 ,the rough hound often fails in this respect1 for he has not the courage to make him a good seizer and killer4 ,a foxhound which comes to the otterhound kennels with the reputation of being a good marker nearly always keeps up his fame in the same way when entered to otter4 ,good marking hounds are the mainstay of any pack4 ,as far as brains are concerned1 the foxhound appears to make more use of his grey matter than the rough hound1 and shows more initiative and individuality4 ,his pace and activity1 too1 are beyond question1 both of which qualities are of the greatest assistance when swimming an otter1 and more particularly when hunting one across country or through extensive coverts4 ,it is the active hounds which score so often on rough and rocky rivers1 for drive and pace are an occasion quite as necessary in otter-hunting as fox-hunting4 ,the cross between foxhound and rough otterhound possesses many of the attributes of the former1 including a rough jacket1 and thus is admirably fitted for the pursuit of ,lutra4 ,turning to ,welsh hounds1 some of which have rough1 and others smooth coats1 we find a breed admirably suited to both fox and otter-hunting4 ,many ,welsh hounds are white or nearly so1 while others are the old black-and-tan colour4 ,the ,english foxhound of standard type is bigger and has more substance than the ,welsh hound1 but the latter excels in nose and tongue1 and can stand any amount of hard work in rough country4 ,in our experience1 too1 ,welsh hounds--particularly those of the smaller type--are very active1 and have plenty of drive1 while they are often capital markers1 and can hold and kill an otter quite as quickly as any ,english foxhound4 ,another type of hound admirably suited to otter-hunting is the fell-foxhound of ,cumberland and ,westmorland4 ,he is for the most part a light-built1 active sort1 with a capital nose1 and any amount of tongue4 ,in the ,lakes and certain districts adjoining1 fell-hounds often hunt fox in winter and otter in summer4 ,the fell-hounds are kennelled in the fox-hunting season1 but go out to walk in summer1 and generally a few couples are lent to the local otterhounds for the chase of ,lutra4 ,in our experience fell-hounds enter quickly to otter1 and on our rough and rocky northern rivers they are very hard to beat as all round performers4 ,many of them are capital markers1 and they will hunt a drag1 and kill an otter with the best4 ,turning to the ,otter-hunting ,diary of the late ,mr ,james ,lomax1 of ,clayton ,hall1 who kept a pack from #ahbi to #ahga1 we find an illustration of the old ,lancashire harrier or foumart-hound4 ,the picture shows a couple of rough-haired hounds in full cry1 which appear a medium-sized1 light-built1 active type2 more suggestive of the rough ,welsh foxhound than the modern otterhound4 ,mr ,lomax used these foumart-hounds in crossing with his otterhounds4 ,in another illustration1 showing some of the pack in #ahce1 the type of hound appears to be lighter-built and more active-looking than the big1 present-day rough otterhound4 ,the tendency with ,english foxhounds has been to breed them much bigger than was the case in former years1 and the same apparently applies to the rough otterhound4 ,certainly a tall hound can wade where a smaller hound is obliged to swim1 but a medium-sized1 active type is less clumsy1 and more fitted for work on rocky streams than the heavy hounds now seen in most packs4 ,from a purely working point of view1 a pack composed of ,english1 ,welsh1 and fell-foxhounds would be very hard to beat4 ,by judicious crossing1 an ideal pack could be bred1 retaining to a great extent the rough coat of the ,welsh hound1 if that was thought indispensable to the appearance of the pack4 ,although draft foxhounds are generally used for otter-hunting1 it pays to get hold of a bitch or two and breed from them4 ,by so doing you can gradually get together a pack composed of hounds of the desired sort1 and if you are lucky you may be able to hunt fox with them in the winter1 and thus keep hounds in condition for their summer work4 ,hounds1 like human beings1 get very fed-up with continual road exercise1 therefore a bit of winter hunting appeals to them far more than the dull routine of exercise walks4 ,next in importance to the hounds are the terriers1 for without their help it would be impossible to eject an otter from his holt4 ,the most important quality in a terrier is gameness1 for no matter how well built he is1 if he has not the courage to go below ground and stay with his otter until the latter bolts1 or the diggers unearth him1 he is not worth his keep4 ,provided he is thoroughly game1 and not too big1 it matters not how a terrier is bred4 ,he is there to work1 and not to be looked at4 ,roughly speaking1 a terrier of about #ad lb4 weight will be suited to otter-hunting4 ,as1 apart from bolting otters1 he will not be called upon to do any great amount of travelling over rough country1 short legs are no great drawback to him4 ,for all that1 however1 we like to see a terrier with a fair length of leg1 for there are certain holts1 particularly amongst rocks1 where an otter can command the upper position1 and a short-legged terrier is much handicapped when trying to get at him4 ,a terrier should have a fair head and jaw1 and he should be as narrow in front as is compatible with adequate heart and lung room4 ,a narrow-fronted dog can always get into a smaller place than a broad-chested one1 even if he is longer on the leg4 ,a terrier that will lie up close to an otter and move him with his tongue is preferable to one that goes straight in to the attack4 ,his barking eventually gets on the otter's nerves and causes him to get out of that1 while should the otter refuse to bolt1 the terrier's voice is a guide as to where to dig4 ,a terrier soon learns his job1 and after getting mauled a time or two by otters1 he will make more use of his tongue than his teeth4 ,when entering a puppy for the first time1 choose an easy place1 so that the youngster has a fair chance to get in touch with his otter4 ,as to the colour of a terrier1 good ones--like horses--come in all colours4 ,white is perhaps preferable1 as a white terrier is less likely to be mistaken for the otter by hounds at a kill4 ,certainly white terriers appear to suffer fewer casualties in this respect than coloured ones4 ,as to whether terriers should run loose with hounds is a question the ,master must settle for himself4 ,when terriers are loose1 there is always the chance that cubs may be chopped by them1 though to set against such a contretemps1 many an otter is found and put down by the terriers4 ,again1 coloured terriers running loose may be killed or badly mauled by hounds1 when the latter are hard at their otter4 ,during the season of #aiba1 with the ,k4 and ,d4,o4,h41 we had two coloured terriers worried by hounds1 one of which recovered but the other died the same night4 ,the otter1 which was getting beat1 took to land1 and hounds collared him as he left the water1 the terriers being seized by some of the pack in mistake for their quarry4 ,had those terriers been in the couples at the time1 they would have been saved4 ,it is really safest to lead the terriers until they are wanted1 and after bolting their otter they should be got hold of again as soon as possible4 ,the same when hounds are worrying their otter1 always pick up the terriers if any of them are loose4 ,in order that hounds shall keep fit and well1 they must receive proper attention in the kennel4 ,less flesh is needed for feeding otterhounds than foxhounds1 because they do their work in summer1 and both the season of the year and the work itself do not make so great a call on their powers as does the chase of the fox in winter4 ,during the off season1 otterhounds should be exercised for two or three hours daily1 and as the hunting season approaches the exercise can be gradually lengthened4 ,with a pack of cross-bred1 ,welsh1 or ,english foxhounds1 it is possible to hunt otters in summer and fox in winter1 and where this can be done1 hounds will1 of course1 keep perfectly fit4 ,in the case of the fell-foxhounds1 those hunting otter in summer return to their own kennels for the winter fox-catching4 ,as far as food is concerned1 this should always be given thick1 rather than soft and sloppy4 ,hounds splash slop into their eyes1 and get particles of it up their nostrils1 to the detriment of both sight and olfactory powers4 ,on the return from hunting1 cuts and bruises should be attended to1 and thorns1 etc41 extracted4 ,hounds' coats should also be brushed1 and burrs1 etc41 removed4 ,rough hounds require more looking after in this respect than smooth-coated ones4 ,the huntsman should see that his hounds are fed and properly bedded down before he attends to his own wants4 ,if hounds look well and hunt well1 you can rest assured that your huntsman or feeder is paying proper attention to the pack in kennel4 ,as regards kennels1 these need not be of an expensive nature1 but the drainage and general sanitation must be adequate if hounds are to keep fit4 ,wherever waste matter is present1 either in the boiling house1 feeding place1 or yards1 there will disease germs gather1 and complaints amongst hounds will be for ever breaking out4 ,the old adage ,cleanliness is next to godliness applies as much to hounds and their kennels as it does to human beings and their houses4 ,some huntsmen are apt to let hounds get very much out of condition during the winter months1 instead of exercising regularly1 which means that on the approach of the hunting season all sorts of physic is used in an attempt to get them fit again4 ,it is quite safe to say that the less medicine you employ about the kennels the better1 and there will be little or no need for it if hounds are rationally fed and exercised in the winter4 ,,chapter ,v ,,reminiscences ,there are very few ,masters in the country who hunt fox in winter and otter in summer with the same hounds1 and fewer still we imagine who have killed an otter and a fox on the same day4 ,the latter feat was performed by the ,master of the ,south ,tetcott1 whose hounds found and killed an otter on the ,river ,othery1 after which they unkennelled a fox cub1 and after rattling him about a bit1 eventually brought him to hand4 ,one of the few packs hunting both fox and otter is the ,ynsfor1 a private pack owned by ,major ,evan ,jones4 ,his country lies in ,carnarvon and ,merioneth1 ,snowdon and the adjoining mountains lying within its borders4 ,the ,master is his own huntsman1 and hounds are followed on foot1 owing to the precipitous nature of the country4 ,the pack is composed of the old ,welsh breed1 some rough and some smooth1 with many of the old black-and-tan colour amongst them4 ,these hounds have been in ,major ,jones's family since #agfe4 ,probably few people have been out with both foxhounds and otterhounds on the same day1 but we can plead guilty to having accomplished this feat4 ,before the ,l4,d4,o4,h4 were disbanded1 hounds met very early one morning1 but failed to get an otter afloat1 and when they returned to kennels we went off and joined the ,coniston ,foxhounds1 and eventually saw ,reynard accounted for4 ,a great many people appear to have a rooted idea that an otter is a slow-moving1 clumsy creature1 which never leaves the vicinity of water4 ,such an assumption is1 to say the least of it1 inaccurate1 as anyone can easily testify1 particularly those who have done much otter-hunting on the rocky rivers of the north4 ,in a previous chapter we have mentioned a hunt during which the otter crossed a watershed1 and this brings to mind a seven and a half hours' hunt by the ,k4 and ,d4,o4,h4 on the ,river ,lune in the season of #aiba4 ,the otter was lying rough in a hanging wood overlooking the river1 and was found by a little fell-foxhound named ,cragsman1 belonging to the ,ullswater pack4 ,after some up and down work on the river1 our otter stole away on land1 and crossed some fields to a small stream which runs between steep banks4 ,there was a screaming scent1 and hounds fairly flew in pursuit4 ,the otter ran the small stream nearly to the top of the ghyll1 then turned and came back4 ,in a rock-bound pool he lay low1 but hounds were soon at him again4 ,the pool lay between smooth and slippery walls of rock1 and at first the otter barely showed his nose4 ,suddenly1 however1 he made a terrific spring--his hind legs no doubt getting purchase on a ledge below the surface of the water--and all but got clear of the pool4 ,he hung for a brief instant on the rock wall1 making the picture of a lifetime for anyone lucky enough to have been there with a camera1 then he turned and fell with a splash into the pool4 ,it was a miracle how he got clear1 but get away he did to run the fields again1 and take refuge in a rabbit burrow on the bank of the main river4 ,hounds were taken away1 and after a bit of work the terriers bolted him4 ,he took down stream1 and after the pack was laid on1 a couple of hounds collared him on the shallows4 ,he appeared to fling these hounds off as if they were straws1 then he shot into a pool1 raising a splash and a wake like a hydroplane as he crossed it4 ,reaching the farther bank1 he at once took to the hanging wood1 and went straight up it4 ,he gained a short start by this manoeuvre1 then the pack was roaring in his wake4 ,running the wood like a fox1 it looked at first as if he was going right out at the top1 but he turned and came down again1 crossed the river and took refuge in a strong root holt4 ,some time was spent digging before he could be ejected1 and when he was at last obliged to bolt1 he again went straight across the river and took to the wood4 ,hounds drove him round it1 and he once more took the water4 ,here he entered a long but not very deep pool1 and hounds swam him down it1 then he turned and hounds checked4 ,there was little or no cover on the banks1 but he got out without being seen1 the first warning we had of his departure being given by a young1 rough hound which hit off his line in the wood4 ,this time he ran straight out to the top of the covert1 turned left-handed and crossed the open fields for more than a mile1 just beating hounds to a drain1 the grating of which had been moved1 where he got in and was eventually left4 ,we viewed this otter several times at close quarters1 and estimated his weight at nearer #cj lb4 than #be lb4 ,he showed extraordinary running powers and activity for so large an otter1 and it was hard luck on hounds that he beat them4 ,there was a screaming scent on land1 but when he took the water for the last time1 hounds had some difficulty in owning the wash4 ,that otter would most certainly have convinced anyone who was sceptical of ,lutra's activity and running powers4 ,we have already mentioned the fondness that otters have--particularly in ,canada--for sliding4 ,when engaged in this amusement1 they tuck their forelegs in1 and toboggan down the bank on their stomachs4 ,this season 7#aiba71 whilst the ,coniston ,foxhounds were hunting on the fells1 a couple and a half of hounds ran a fox in the direction of an earth on which some of the field were standing4 ,about the same time1 an otter suddenly ran out from some rocks near the main earth1 and after going some distance1 tucked in its head and forelegs1 and actually rolled some yards downhill4 ,we were on the opposite side of the valley at the time1 but a very keen and experienced fox and otter hunter who was there1 and witnessed the incident1 said that he had never seen anything like it before in his life4 ,a name to conjure with in the annals of ,lakeland otter-hunting is that of the late ,bobby ,troughton4 ,he was born on ,fellside1 ,kendal1 in #ahcf4 ,in the early eighties he purchased three hounds1 ,raleigh1 ,ragman1 and ,londesborough1 and with these three hounds and a couple of terriers he began to hunt the local rivers4 ,having thus formed the nucleus of a pack1 he gradually added to it and improved it1 until the late ,mr ,courtenay ,tracy1 ,m4,o4,h41 said there was not another pack like it in ,england4 ,bobby's heaviest otter was a big dog weighing #cb lb41 and was killed in ,rydal ,lake4 ,one of his most famous hunts took place in ,lever's ,water on the ,coniston fells4 ,hounds met at #e a4m4 at the foot of ,yewdale ,beck1 and striking a hot drag at once1 went out towards the hills4 ,near the edge of the tarn they put their otter down1 and he at once took to the water4 ,for nine hours he kept hounds going1 and it was not until some of the field volunteered to go to ,coniston for a boat--no small undertaking--that ,bobby was able to get afloat himself1 and give his hounds a helping hand4 ,at long last the otter attempted to land1 and hounds collared him1 thus earning their reward4 ,illustration3 ,k4 ,d4,o4,h4 ,moving ,off to ,draw4 7,copyright by ,r4 ,f4 ,lees1 ,blackpool74 ,illustration3 ,going to the ,meet by ,ferry on ,lake ,windermere4 7,photo by ,r4 ,clapham74 ,to face p4 #aci4 ,at one time in the north1 packs of rough hounds were kept for hunting otter1 marten1 and foumart4 ,one of the last of these packs to hunt in the ,lake ,district belonged to the late ,mr ,fleming ,green1 of ,grasmere4 ,anthony ,chapman1 who was his huntsman1 and later hunted the ,windermere ,harriers for many seasons1 is still hale and hearty1 and delights in a crack about old times4 ,another well-known ,master in the north was the late ,mr ,james ,lomax1 of ,clayton ,hall1 ,great ,harwood1 ,lancashire4 ,his ,otter-hunting ,diary contains an account of the sport he enjoyed from #ahbi to #ahga1 and is most interesting reading4 ,like ,bobby ,troughton in later years1 he bred a very perfect pack of hounds of the rough-coated type4 ,in #ahga rabies unfortunately broke out in his kennels1 necessitating the destruction of all but three of the hounds4 ,being himself advanced in years1 he made no attempt to start a new pack1 despite the many offers of hounds he received1 and one cannot blame him4 ,by the time he had got together another pack as good as the one he had lost1 he would as he said himself have been too old to follow and enjoy the sport4 ,mr ,lomax always met very early in the morning1 often as soon as #c a4m4 ,he showed wonderful sport on ,ribble1 ,lune1 and many other rivers1 and old men who can remember hunting with him1 speak in glowing terms of the great hunts they enjoyed with his pack4 ,in one respect ,mr ,lomax differed from present-day ,masters1 i4e41 in the practice of sacking otters and removing them to more huntable waters4 ,there are in the diary1 several instances recorded of such otters having died1 so that the practice was not a profitable one4 ,the most famous otter-hunter ,scotland has ever seen was the late ,mr ,waldron ,hill1 of ,murrayfield ,house1 near ,edinburgh4 ,when quite a young man he contracted consumption1 and was told by his doctors that he had not long to live4 ,nothing daunted1 however1 ,mr ,hill took to otter-hunting1 and the sport agreed with him so well1 that he hunted practically every river in ,scotland1 and lived to be far advanced in years4 ,when the ,west ,lothian ,foxhounds were in existence1 ,mr ,hill used to run with them1 and saw as much sport as most of the mounted brigade4 ,in ,field and ,fern1 ,the ,druid wrote regarding ,mr ,hill3 ,some years ago he had a pack of otterhounds in ,monmouthshire1 of the ,welsh breed1 smooth and white with yellow ears2 for the last five years he has had black and tans1 a cross between the bloodhound and rough ,lancashire hound1 which is used in that country for otter and foumart4 ,their nose is nearly equal to the ,lancashire hound1 who are unrivalled in this respect and never disposed to be tonguey4 ,the bloodhound cross also makes them more savage in their worry1 but they are often very unpleasant to manage in kennel4 ,mr ,hill has found the foxhound fail in working up to his otter in a cold drag1 but excellent on the line when the game is fairly started4 ,with him the southern hound has only failed from lack of constitution1 which is injured by too much swimming4 ,mr ,hill used terriers of ,welsh breed1 which he got from the kennels of ,mr ,ramsay ,williams1 after the latter's death4 ,these terriers weighed about #ae lb41 and were bred as flat-sided as possible to enable them to squeeze into narrow places4 ,they were fairly long on the leg1 and were used for bolting fox1 otter1 marten1 and foumart4 ,mr ,hill's principal river was the ,tyne1 flowing through ,haddingtonshire4 ,speaking of the ,south ,esk1 ,the ,druid says3 ,last ,august it was the scene of a very remarkable run1 as the otter only touched the water twice for a few minutes throughout a run of eight or nine miles1 and was eventually pulled down in the heart of one of the ,east ,lothian fox-whins4 ,regarding a long drag with ,mr ,hill's hounds1 ,the ,druid says3 ,in '#fb the hounds hit upon one at the ,clutby ,dam reservoir on the north side of the ,pentlands1 and hunted him through the sheep-drains right over the ,pentlands1 down to the reservoir at ,st ,catherine's4 ,he had gone through it on the north side1 and from there down the ,glencorn burn1 nearly to the ,north ,esk4 ,leaving this for another burn across the country1 he headed back to the reservoir at ,st ,catherine's1 where1 on account of the water being too high1 he could not be moved4 ,this otter must have travelled nearly twenty miles during the night1 and it was well for ,mr ,hill that his terriers were long-legged2 and that he himself is always in condition summer or winter1 or he would have seen nothing of the fun on that hot and very wet ,september morning4 ,we wonder how far the members of a modern otter-hunting field would get1 if asked to follow hounds on a hot drag for twenty miles8 ,not far we'll warrant1 for most of them would swear that hounds were on a fox4 ,people who incautiously tail an otter are very apt to get bitten1 and regarding this ,the ,druid says3 ,in all these forays ,mr ,hill has never got heavily bitten himself2 but many years ago1 when he was hunting on the ,kenvy near ,abergavenny1 the otter came out of the water just before it was killed1 made straight at the whip1 who was a few yards off his master1 shook him savagely by the trousers1 and then passed on4 ,we have heard people say that an otter makes no splash when diving or otherwise entering the water4 ,certainly at times he does not make much of a disturbance1 for his sinuous body is built for swimming1 but when playing in the water1 or when hunted1 he splashes quite a lot4 ,we were on one occasion watching the mouth of a drain on the river ,lune1 in which the terriers were baiting an otter4 ,in front of this drain was a row of willow trees4 ,standing quietly a yard or so to one side of the drain entrance we at last saw the otter show himself4 ,he stood at the drain mouth sniffing the air1 the muscles working his thick whiskers1 giving his face a very puffed out appearance4 ,hearing or seeing some of the field on the opposite bank of the river he turned round and went back up the drain4 ,a fairly long interval elapsed1 and we were just bending down to listen at the drain mouth1 when1 without the slightest warning the otter shot out1 and leapt straight through the willow tree1 to land in the water with a splash like a sack of oats4 ,from where he took off1 to the point where he hit the river1 constituted a remarkable jump1 and he must have been coming pretty fast when he shot out of the drain4 ,on another occasion at the same drain1 which is a favourite resort of otters1 the terriers were at work1 and an opening had been made into the drain at some distance from the river4 ,we were watching the drain mouth1 and after a bit the otter showed himself1 but went back4 ,the bank where we stood was high1 and there was a certain amount of rubbish in the way of dead branches1 etc41 partially covering the drain mouth4 ,being below the bank we could not see what was happening in the field1 and we were greatly astonished when a big otter suddenly rushed over the edge of the bank1 nearly on top of us1 scrambled through the branches1 and disappeared up the drain4 ,the terriers had bolted him in the field1 and we1 of course1 were unaware of what was happening4 ,this otter finally emerged at the drain mouth1 but unlike his predecessor1 took the water quietly below the willow trees4 ,in ,walton's description of a morning's sport with ,mr ,sadler's ,otter-dogs1 ,sweetlips--one of the hounds--brings the carcass of the otter to ,venator4 ,we have on several occasions seen a hound seize and carry a dead-beat otter ashore4 ,this is easily done in the case of a #ab lb4 or #ad lb4 otter1 but it is a different matter for a hound to handle a big1 fighting dog otter4 ,when a hunted otter is floating on top of the water1 he often makes a considerable splash if he dives in a hurry4 ,although perhaps not so good a climber as some other members of the weasel family1 the otter is no slouch at negotiating steep1 rocky ghylls1 and can scramble about in a wonderful manner4 ,it seems rather hard to account for the fact that in some seasons hounds kill a majority of dog otters1 while in other seasons the total is chiefly made up of bitches4 ,where you find a bitch otter1 there is often a dog within a mile or so1 either up or down stream2 and no doubt the two of them keep that particular stretch of water free from other lutrine intruders4 ,scent and its vagaries will no doubt always be a mysterious problem4 ,how often have we seen hounds able to hunt quite well amongst the undergrowth1 yet when they reached an open expanse of sand where the seal of an otter was plainly visible1 they have crossed it without a single hound speaking4 ,an instance of this comes to mind during the season of #aiba1 when hounds ran well across country1 whereas on a sand-bank1 literally padded flat with otter tracks1 never a hound opened4 ,although hounds may sometimes travel a long way up-stream without touching a drag1 that does not always signify that you will not find4 ,an instance of this comes to mind when we were hunting a small hill-stream4 ,hounds had covered some miles of water without a sign of a drag1 and the field was becoming rather discouraged1 when suddenly the pack opened in no uncertain manner1 and began tearing at a holt on the bank4 ,while hounds were thus occupied1 the otter bolted and went downstream1 and after a short hunt was accounted for4 ,until reaching the spot where hounds marked1 there was little or no lying ground1 and seeing that there was also no up-stream drag it pointed to the fact that our otter had travelled over a neighbouring watershed1 and had entered the holt on his journey downstream4 ,it is always well to remember that an otter may be found anywhere1 and because there happens to be no drag up-stream that does not mean to say that you may not find when you reach the head waters4 ,regarding the agility and jumping powers of otters we remember hounds finding an otter lying rough1 which1 after a certain amount of dusting up and down stream1 jumped a wall into a road1 passed under a motor car standing there1 and went over another wall into the field beyond4 ,leaving the field it scaled a third wall before returning to the water4 ,eventually it took to some extensive coverts1 and after running a ring through them1 it was bowled over by hounds in the open as it was making its way back to the river4 ,that an otter knows every inch of ground over which he has once travelled is made quite apparent to those who do much otter-hunting4 ,we have1 in a previous chapter1 told of an otter which travelled ten miles overland from one stream to another1 going straight to the various smoots through the walls which barred its passage4 ,in an emergency1 too1 an otter makes up his mind pretty quickly4 ,on one occasion the terriers got to their otter in a drain1 and after opening the latter1 the otter backed out4 ,the drain lay parallel to a hedge1 and like a flash the otter darted through this1 ran down behind it1 and was into another underground retreat before anyone had time to realise his game4 ,as a rule1 if two otters are put down together1 the one which is not being hunted will promptly make itself scarce4 ,we remember on one occasion1 however1 when hounds were hunting a bitch otter1 the dog hung about in plain sight under a bridge1 and remained there until the bitch was accounted for1 after which he himself suffered the same fate4 ,otter-hunting is the least artificial of our ,british field sports4 ,the otter is a wild animal1 living the same free life that he has done for generations1 and we have yet to learn a good deal concerning him4 ,being a great wanderer1 he is here to-day and gone to-morrow1 and his hunting provides more glorious uncertainty than the chase of any other beast4 ,before you can hunt him you must find him1 but whereas with deer1 fox1 and hare1 the finding is often the easiest part of the business1 in the case of the otter it is the most difficult4 ,in a previous chapter we have made brief mention of otter-hunting dress4 ,in these days blue is the popular colour for ,hunt livery1 the material most favoured being woollen serge4 ,we wonder how modern otter-hunters would like to wear the dress mentioned by ,blaine1 i4e41 a green dress turned up with red1 fur cap with gold band1 and waterproof hip-boots decorated with red or gold tassels4 ,it was ,somervile in ,the ,chase who coined the phrase sly goose-footed prowler1 and gave to the world one of the best accounts of an otter-hunt ever penned4 ,otter-hunting seems to have been little catered for in the matter of songs pertaining to the sport4 ,no doubt there are many purely local ditties concerning the doings of various packs1 but few songs of real worth have made their appearance4 ,in ,the ,poetry of ,sport by ,hedley ,peek1 we find one or two1 and in the ,otter-hunting ,diary of ,mr ,james ,lomax there are a couple of ,lancashire otter-hunting songs4 ,one of these songs is in dialect1 and we take the liberty of quoting a verse or two for to anyone who understands broad ,lancashire they convey a lively description of the sport4 ,the song is entitled ,the ,hunt in the ,hodder4 ,in the first verse the narrator goes to the meet3 ,old ,squire ,lomax's dags ,i'd oft heerd um tell1 ,i bethought me one morning ,i'd see um mysell1 ,so ,i donn'd me1 and reet off for ,mytton dud trig1 ,un ,i landed me just as they loosed under th' ,brig4 ,chorus ,cobbler wur theer1 ,carver wur theer1 ,random and ,rover1 oud ,pilot and aw4 ,after a good drag1 hounds mark their otter in his holt1 and ,crab the terrier is sent in4 ,hark6 ,crab's agate feighting him1 hard as he con1 ,be sharp un seize howd of a dog1 every mon4 ,we had nobbut just cleeked um1 un roven um back1 ,when th' grey-headed maister croap eawt in a crack4 ,chorus ,hounds swim their otter for some time until at last he takes refuge in a holt4 ,we swum him to ,winckley1 un theer he dud hoyle1 ,but a pick un a spade soon his harbour dud spoil2 ,then he fought into ,ribble1 ay1 reet thro' the pack1 ,thro' foar on um once had him dean of his back4 ,chorus ,hounds eventually account for their otter1 and the song finishes with3 ,this otter whoas weight wor just twenty-four peands1 ,two hears1 forty minits1 wor hunted by th' heands2 ,heer's luck to all th' pack1 when they meeten next year1 ,may th' ,captain1 un me1 un aw us be theer4 ,chorus ,a rather amusing incident occurred some years ago when we were whipping-in to the now disbanded ,lake ,district ,otterhounds4 ,whilst waiting at ,lakeside for the boat that runs up ,lake ,windermere1 a char-a-banc load of trippers arrived1 to whom the sight of a pack of otterhounds was evidently a novelty4 ,before we knew what was happening1 the crowd of sightseers had formed a ring round hounds1 each member of the party producing a song book4 ,there then rose on the air the well-known refrain ,john ,peel4 ,the old huntsman listened whilst they sang the first verse1 then suddenly exclaimed ,give it more weft6 give it more weft6 ,isaac evidently thought that their efforts compared badly with the way in which the old song is sung by fox-hunters in ,cumberland or ,westmorland4 ,in addition to being the least artificial of our ,british field sports1 otter-hunting affords unrivalled opportunities for those who love to watch the work of hounds4 ,it is more popular now than it ever was1 yet there is still ample room for many more packs before our rivers and lakes are thoroughly hunted as they should be4 ,the more otters you kill the more you will have1 for riparian owners and tenants are for the most part quite willing to afford protection to ,lutra1 when they know that a keen huntsman and a killing pack of hounds are hunting their waters regularly throughout the season4 ,in conclusion we will finish with the old south-country toast ,death to dog otters6 ,long life to the little bitches6 ,illustration ,,finis ,,index ,abnormal colour1 #cb ,activity of otter1 #ee1 #acg ,adult otter1 eyes of1 #df ,african otter1 #bc ,age of otters1 #cb ,air1 in holts1 #ej ,argyll1 a ,fauna of1 #cb ,back teeth of otter1 #bb ,bethel1 ,william1 #dc ,bitch otter1 breeding of1 #ca ,biss hunters1 #aae ,black-and-tan ,welsh hounds1 #abb ,bloodhound1 #aab ,blaine1 #aej ,bobby ,troughton1 #ach ,british otter1 #bb ,british ,rural ,sports1 ,manual of1 #gf ,coke1 #cg1 #ch ,colour of otter1 #bf ,charles ,st ,john1 #ef ,claw-marks of otter1 #dj ,clothing for otter-hunting1 #aji ,claws1 otter1 #ga ,chase1 ,the1 #aea ,colour of terriers1 #abg ,chesapeake ,bay dog1 #aac ,cross-bred hounds1 #aae ,cubs1 #ca1 #cb1 #db1 #dc1 #de1 #df1 #dg1 #dh1 #fj ,dabchicks1 #fb ,dalnaspidal1 #fc ,digging by otter1 #gj ,dixon1 ,h4 ,h41 #gg ,digging1 #ih ,drains1 #ajf1 #ajg ,druid1 ,the1 #ada1 #adb1 #adc ,dress1 otter-hunting1 #aej ,drag1 #gh1 #gi1 #hj ,ducklings1 #fd ,eels1 #fj ,early meets1 #gg-hj ,essex ,o4,h41 #ca ,equipment1 otter-hunting1 #aaj ,evicting otter1 #if ,exercising hounds1 #abi ,excrement1 #cg ,feet1 otter's1 #be ,field and ,fern1 #gg ,finding otters1 #hg1 #hh ,food for hounds1 #abi ,footprints1 #ch-dj ,fur1 otter's1 #be1 #bf ,gaits of otter1 #da ,harrier1 ,lancashire1 #aac ,hazel pole1 #aaj ,head1 otter's1 #bd1 #bf ,hebrides1 otters in1 #ee ,hide1 otter's1 #cc ,highlands1 otters in1 #ee ,highway1 hounds on1 #ajh ,hill1 ,mr ,waldron1 #adj ,holts1 #di1 #ej ,hound1 lime1 #ge ,horn1 #aaj ,indian otter1 #bc ,interdigital webs1 #bh ,james ,lomax1 #gg1 #abc ,john1 ,king1 #gc ,jones1 ,major ,evan1 #acb1 #acc ,john1 ,charles ,st1 #ef ,jura1 #cb ,king ,john1 #gc ,kenets1 #aac ,kennels1 #acj ,lash1 whip1 #aaj ,liam1 #ge ,lime hound1 #ge ,lomax1 ,james1 #gg1 #abc ,master of ,game1 #gc1 #ge1 #aac1 #aad ,marten1 #fe1 #ff ,meeting early1 #gg-hj ,milbourne1 #cf ,notes on the horn1 #aaa ,otter1 natural history of1 #ba-da ----1 head of1 #bd1 #bf ----1 hide of1 #cc ----1 ,indian1 #bc ----1 digging1 #gj ----1 excrement of1 #cg ----1 feet of1 #be ----1 fur of1 #be1 #bf ----1 footprints of1 #ch-dj ----1 ,african1 #bc ----1 age of1 #cb ----1 activity of1 #ee1 #acg ----1 ,british1 #bb ----1 back teeth of1 #bi ----1 colour of1 #bf ----1 cubs1 #ca1 #cb1 #db1 #dc1 #de1 #df1 #dg1 #dh1 #fj ----1 coke1 #cg1 #ch ----1 claw-marks of1 #dj ----1 claws1 #ga ----1 holts1 #di1 #ej ----1 abnormal colour of1 #cb ----1 weights and measurements of1 #cj1 #ca ,peek1 ,hedley1 #aea ,pine-marten1 #fe1 #ff ,poetry of ,sport1 #aea ,record weights1 #cj ,rose1 ,mr1 #ca ,salmon and otter1 #eg1 #eh ,seal1 #ch ,scent1 #ajd1 #aje ,signal1 on whistle1 #ajj ,size of otters1 #cj1 #ca ,songs1 otter-hunting1 #aea ,spears1 otter1 #gd ,spraints1 #cg ,spur1 #ch ,tail1 otter's1 #be ,tame cubs1 #dg ,tallying1 #ii1 #ajj ,teeth1 otter's1 #bi ,track1 otter's1 #ch ,troughton1 ,bobby1 #ach ,terriers1 #abe-abh ,uniforms1 hunt1 #aji ,weights of otters1 #cj1 #ca ,welsh hounds1 #abb ,ynsfor ,o4,h41 #acb ,zoological ,gardens1 #dg1 #ed1 #gb ,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,at ,,the ,,northumberland ,,press ,,limited1 ,,newcastle-,,upon-,,tyne 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber ,note ,illustrations moved so as to not split paragraphs4 ,on page #aad1 braches was changed to raches4 ,hyphenation and ,mr usage were standardized4