Wolf-Hunting in Russia 



excess of the great plain,* extending from the 

 Finnish Gulf to the Black Sea, resolved to 

 establish a counterpoise, and so heaved up the 

 gigantic Caucasus. There too are to be found 

 fine hunting and shooting, which merit de- 

 scription and which offer good sport to moun- 

 tain amateurs. 



The annual hunt in the fall of 1893 in the 

 governments of Tver and Yaroslav, with the 

 Gatchino kennels, will give a good idea of 

 the special sport of which I have spoken. It 

 is imperative that these hounds go to the hunt 

 once a year for about a month, although for 

 the most part without their owner. The mas- 

 ter of the hunt and his assistant, with three or 

 four guests, and oftentimes the proprietors of 

 the lands where the hounds happen to hunt, 

 usually constitute the party. The hunt changes 

 locality nearly every year, but rarely does it go 

 further from home than on this occasion, about 

 450 versts from Gatchino. As a rule it is not 

 difficult to obtain from proprietors permission 

 to hunt upon their estates, and this is some- 

 what surprising to one who has seen the free- 

 dom with which the fences are torn down and 



* The Waldeir hills, extending east and west half-way between St. 

 Petersburg and Moscow, are the only exception. 



