232 The Hunting Field With Horse and Hound 



fore, largely draft foxhounds and a lighter hound known as 

 Welsh hounds, which are not unlike our own so-called Ameri- 

 can hounds. Most packs have several couples of old foxhounds, 

 as it has been proved that while they take to the water, although 

 not as free in giving tongue, they are considered more reliable. 

 Foxhounds take very readily to otter hunting after they have 

 been once well blooded to the game and will seldom leave it 

 for any other trail, even that of the fox. There are in Great 

 Britain some twenty odd packs of hounds devoted especially 

 to otter hunting. The country of an otter hunt extends over 

 considerable territory. The hounds are moved from county 

 to county, spending a few days or a week hunting the neigh- 

 bouring streams. In fact, they are about as shifty as the otter 

 himself. 



Most packs contain from fifteen to twenty-five couples, 

 about half of the number coming out for a day's hunt. 



The otterhound, as bred to perfection in England at the 

 present time, is a bold, resolute and most hardy animal, and 

 while not as active as the English foxhound or harrier, his grit 

 and endurance are wonderful. He must be in icy cold water 

 for hours at a time, at least in the beginning of the season, and 

 when he comes upon his game, it's a life or death grapple with 

 one of the fiercest fighters that is known, for the otter is quick 

 as a fish and his powerful jaws and sharp teeth make his bite 

 something for a hound to remember. 



The otterhound, therefore, needs to be, as he is, one of the 

 most ferocious of dogs. Once he goes into a fight it is to the 

 death — like the otter, he never quits while there is a breath of 

 life in his body. He fights to kill; in this respect he takes 

 second place to none, not even the bulldog. The latter, when 

 once a hold is secured, simply hangs on wherever the hold may 

 be, but an otterhound bites and fights to kill. This ferocious 

 temper, we are told, makes it dangerous to attempt to keep 

 many of them in the same kennel, as they are apt to fight 



