158 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



hunts to their rivers. Now the whole 

 country is taken up, and that also which 

 was formerly hunted by the famous Kendal 

 Otterhounds. The pack at present com- 

 prises twenty couples. Mr. W. Thompson 

 is the Master, and they hunt three days a 

 week. 



The two packs that appear to be most 

 staunchly attached to the pure Otterhound 

 are the Dumfriesshire and the East of 

 Scotland. The former of these admits 

 of nothing but sixteen couples of pure- 

 bred Otterhounds. The hunt was estab- 

 lished in 1889, but not with such hounds 

 as are kennelled now by J. B. Bell Irvine, 

 Esq., of Bankside, Lockerbie. They hunt 

 all the rivers in the South of Scotland as 

 far as those of Ayrshire, and by all accounts 

 show excellent sport. It is evident that 

 the Dumfriesshire, as hunted now by the 

 very well-known sportsman, Mr. Wilson 

 Davidson, are the typical Otterhounds 

 shown between 1870 and 1880, by Mr. 

 J. C. Carrick, the Hon. Geoffrey Hill, Mr. 

 W. Tattersall, Mr. C. S. Coulson, and Mr. 

 Forster. Mr. J. C. Carrick had three very 

 good hounds in the 'seventies, called 

 Booser, Stanley, and the bitch Charmer. 

 The two last were immensely admired when 

 they took first prizes in their respective 

 classes at Birmingham in 1876. In the 

 following year there were good classes at 

 the Alexandra Palace, when one of Mr. 

 Carrick's called Royal won. The mantle 

 of Mr. J. C. Carrick has probably fallen on 

 the Dumfriesshire, as in October, 1906, at 

 the Crystal Palace show, the entries were 

 confined to the kennel in question with one 

 exception — Mr. J. H. Stocker's Dauntless 

 Lady. The Dumfriesshire had two couples 

 entered in the dog class — namely, Thun- 

 derer, Stormer, Bruiser, and Bachelor, all 

 home-bred examples, and likewise the two 

 bitches Thrifty and Darling, the first by 

 Stanley out of Truthful, the other by the 

 same sire out of Doubtful. The portrait 

 on p. 154 is that of Swimmer, shown some 

 years back by Mr. J. C. Carrick at Birming- 

 ham : the exact type of what the true- 

 bred Otterhound should be. It is from an 

 oil painting by George Earl. 



The East of Scotland is a pack boasting 

 of eleven couples of rough Otterhounds 

 which was established in 1904. They hunt 

 some of the rivers formerly belonging to 

 the Dumfriesshire, or at least they were 

 invited by the East Lothian Otter Hunt 

 Club, which, with the half of the Berwick- 

 shire, started the East of Scotland pack. 

 They hunt on no fixed days. The Master 

 is W. M. Saunderson, Esq., of Crammond 

 Bridge, Midlothian. 



Enough has been said to show that the 

 sport of otter-hunting is decidedly increas- 

 ing, as there have been several hunts started 

 within the last four years. There can well 

 be many more, as, according to the opinion 

 already quoted of that excellent authority, 

 the late Rev. " Otter " Davies, as he was 

 always called, there are otters on every 

 river ; but, owing to the nocturnal and 

 mysterious habits of the animals, their 

 whereabouts or existence is seldom known, 

 or even suspected. Hunting them is a very 

 beautiful sport, and the question arises 

 as to whether the pure Otterhounds should 

 not be more generally used than they are 

 at present. It is often asserted that their 

 continued exposure to water has caused a 

 good deal of rheumatism in the breed, 

 that they show age sooner than others, 

 and that the puppies are difficult to rear. 

 There are, however, many advantages in 

 having a pure breed, and there is much to 

 say for the perfect work of the Otterhound 

 The scent of the otter is possibly the sweet- 

 est of all trails left by animals. One can- 

 not understand how it is that an animal 

 swimming two or three feet from the bottom 

 of a river bed and the same from the sur- 

 face should leave a clean line of burning 

 scent that may remain for twelve or eighteen 

 hours. The supposition must be that the 

 scent from the animal at first descends and 

 is then always rising. At any rate, the 

 oldest Foxhound or Harrier that has never 

 touched otter is at once in ravishing excite- 

 ment on it, and all dogs will hunt it. The 

 terrier is never keener than when he hits 

 on such a line. 



The Foxhound, so wonderful in his for- 

 ward dash, may have too much of it for 



