190 SPORT IN NORWAY. 
at pleasure. It would be the best plan, and the 
cheapest, to buy a couple of Norwegian ponies to carry 
the ‘“‘impedimenta,” &c. They can readily be sold 
again, and, perhaps, not at a loss. 
I question much whether there are any Englishmen 
who have ever hunted lynxes in Norway. These 
animals are, however, tolerably abundant, much more so 
than one might suppose from the yearly returns. The 
average number killed annually is about 120. Hede- 
marken, Bratsberg, South and North Bergenhuus Amts 
are the best districts for them. 
The manner of hunting them is as follows :— 
In the early winter, after a light fall of snow, the 
hunter takes with him a couple of hounds, inferior 
specimens of our foxhound breed. Their bodies are 
protected with a coat of mail, or rather leathers, consist- 
ing of bands or straps to protect them from the lynx’s 
terrific claws, without impeding the free action of their 
limbs. It is but seldom that a lynx escapes when once 
his tracks have been discovered. 
I can well imagine it to be an exciting chase. When 
hard pressed the animal turns to bay, and if the dogs 
are experienced ones they take good care to keep at a 
respectful distance till the hunter comes up; but if they 
are young at the work they will often run in to close 
quarters—a piece of audacity, however, seldom tried 
twice, for the powerful claws of the lynx are capable of 
