8o Otters and Otter-Hunting. 



as, if he is civil and obliging, fond of hounds, and 

 anxious to learn and to perform his duties well, 

 advancing manhood will enable him to do. 



The kennelman to Otter-hounds rejoices in 

 various official names. With some packs he is 

 called ''huntsman," with others "kennel-hunts- 

 man," with yet others "kennelman and whipper- 

 in," or some combination of these. As most 

 Masters of Otter-hounds also carry the horn — and, 

 indeed, it is a little difficult to see why they are 

 Masters unless they do so — and most packs are 

 whipped-in by amateurs, perhaps the most descrip- 

 tive, if not the briefest, title for the paid hand is 

 that of " kennelman and whipper-in." 



Of his duties in the hunting-field I have written 

 something in the chapter on " The Whippers-in." 

 Where there are no amateur whippers-in, or but one 

 (who is behind the Master and huntsman), all that 

 has been written about the forward whip will apply 

 to him during a hunt. In any case, he will be 

 ahead of the Master, and his principal business 

 will be to keep hounds back and regulate their pro- 

 gress to that of the Master. If he is accustomed 

 to hunt hounds himself in the Master's absence, this 

 will be no easy task, as they will be continually 

 trying to go on ahead of him, confused by the 

 sudden change in his office. It is a bad plan to 

 allow the "kennelman and whipper-in" to hunt 



