90 



without the need of much assistance, but the foxhound 

 hkes to get on, and the swing may be a httle bit wider 

 than the man hunting wants. The whip should never 

 attempt to break the curve, but should make it bend 

 — not with any w^hip cracking, only riding round the 

 outside of the curve. This is the moment when the 

 w^hip should perform his duties in complete silence and 

 it is by his actions at this period that his capabilities 

 can be judged. 



When the huntsman goes to a holloa, the whip should 

 be careful to guard the side from which the fox has 

 come, as hounds are quite likely to hit the heel-way, 

 when much valuable time will be lost. Hounds out of 

 blood seem to prefer hunting heel- way, but wdth a bad 

 scent any pack may do it. A discordant note on the 

 horn will stop them some times, but the whip should 

 never leave it to chance. Probably everyone has seen 

 occasions when the huntsman has seized what seemed 

 a golden opportunity of getting close to his fox, only to 

 have it neutraUzed by the pack hitting the scent heel- 

 way. A whip who knows his business will be in position 

 to prevent this happening without any warning from 

 the huntsman, but should the pack hit heel- way he 

 ought not to rate them as if they had committed a 

 crime, a crack of the whip and a walking " ware-heel " 

 is usually sufficient to emphasize the error. 



One warning I omitted when a fox is holloaed away, 

 and that is, should a couple or two couple get away before 

 the body of the pack they should be held up until 

 the others reach them or at least until the huntsman 

 arrives on the scene. Five couple may be allowed to 

 go and if they have plenty of tongue, the rest will soon 

 join them. One hound getting away by itself has 

 ruined many a promising hunt. Every huntsman has 



