Wolf-Hunting in Russia 



The following morning marked the begin- 

 ning of our hunting. About lo o'clock all was 

 in readiness. Every hunter* had been pro- 

 vided with a leash, a knife and a whip ; and, 

 naturally, every huntsman with the two latter. 

 In order to increase the number of posts, 

 some of the huntsmen were also charged with 

 leashes of greyhounds. I shall in the future 

 use the word greyhound to describe all the 

 sight hounds, in contradistinction to fox- 

 hound ; it includes barzois (Russian grey- 

 hounds), greyhounds (English) and crosses 

 between the two. The barzois numbered 

 about 75 per cent, of all the greyhounds, and 

 were for the most part somewhat less speedy 

 than the real greyhounds, but better adapted 

 for wolf- hunting. They also have greater 

 skill in taking hold, and this, even in hare 

 coursing, sometimes gives them advantage 

 over faster dogs. One of the most interesting 

 features of the coursing was the matching of 

 Russian and English greyhounds. The leash 

 system used in the field offers practically the 

 same fairness as is shown by dogs at regular 

 coursing matches. The leash is a black nar- 



* Hunter-gentleman, huntsman, man of the hunt — conventional 

 terms. 



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