282 The Hunting Field With Horse and Hound 



several of liis hunters, as well as the huntsmen and indomitable 

 Baron himself, carry scars and cuts from the tusks of boars 

 with which they have come in contact. 



Baron de Dorlodot's commodious hunting lodge is occu- 

 pied by himself and his family, from November to April. It 

 is partially new and partially the restored hunting castle of 

 King Louis XIV, who formerly came there to hunt the wild 

 stag. It is beautifully located and well adapted to the wants 

 of the present owner and his broad hospitality. There are many 

 boxes for hunters, buildings for carriages and automobiles, be- 

 sides the ver}^ elaborate kennels, cooking rooms, and hospital 

 for sick and injured hounds, breeding kennels, etc. 



The granite posts of the entrance gate to the grounds are 

 surmounted by wild boars' heads in bronze, while the interior 

 walls are decorated with trophies of the chase by the hundred. 

 No less than thirty or more mounted wild boars' heads orna- 

 ment the walls, and clusters of antlers decorate the ceilings of 

 the hall and the spacious dining room. 



There are forty to fifty couples of working hounds at the 

 kennels ; some are pure French bred hounds, some are half-bred, 

 the rest English foxhounds. The latter are well adapted to wild 

 boar hunting; having speed, endurance and courage. The 

 French hound and half-bred, or French-English cross-bred 

 hounds, have better noses and are decidedly better in giving 

 tongue, which in these great forests should be as far reaching 

 and as clamorous as possible. The hounds are marked with a 

 number on the left and the initial "D" on their right side. 

 These numbers and letters are made by clipping away the hair 

 instead of branding, and are about four inches high. 



The Baron de Dorlodot's huntsman, Antoine, is the most 

 noted huntsman in all France. He has grown old and grey 

 in following the chase of the wild boar and has been for twenty- 

 two years the premier piqueur to Baron de Dorlodot. His 

 natural instinct serves him well and makes liim past master in 



