FELL HUNTING 



to make history in the Ullswater country. In 

 1879 Joe Bowman became huntsman of that 

 well-known fell-pack, and he has carried the horn 

 with one short interval until the present. Like 

 Peel he is the subject of a song, " Joe Bowman," 

 while he is well-known to a large number of 

 hunting people far beyond the confines of his 

 own country. It is not given to every huntsman 

 to be as good in the kennel as he is in the field, 

 but we can safely say without being accused of 

 undue flattery, that Joe's knowledge of kennel 

 lore is quite equal to his ability when he is carry- 

 ing the horn. No man without keenness and a 

 real love of hounds and hunting is going to last 

 long as a huntsman on the fells, so that it is easy 

 to see that Bowman has been the right man in the 

 right place, otherwise he would not have stuck it 

 for over forty years. 



A fell huntsman's life is no bed of roses, for he 

 has to face long days in all weathers, and when 

 the members of his field are perhaps safely at 

 home, having got there by car or cycle, he has to 

 trudge back to kennels on foot, and his hounds 

 have to be fed before he himself can sit down to a 

 well-earned meal. His emolument is not al- 

 together in proportion to the amount of work he 

 has to do, but his own keenness and love of hunt- 

 ing make up to him for that. In summer the 

 huntsman often turns his hand to shepherding 

 and thus keeps himself " fit " for another season. 

 As hunting lasts from October to the middle of 

 May there is only a brief interval of four months 

 and a half. In August there is the annual Hound 

 Show which brings together a representative 

 gathering of hunting folk, so that the time soon 

 slips by, and before you know where you are horn 

 and hounds are again awakening the echoes on 

 the fells. 



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