2 2 The Sedgefield Country 



difficulty was brought about in a somewhat singular and 

 drastic manner. An attack of that terrible scourge, dumb- 

 madness, seized upon the pack, and the whole of the hounds, 

 with the exception of a few couples (including " Bachelor," 

 depicted in Mr. Harvey's presentation picture), which were, 

 as puppies, out at walk at the time, had perforce to be de- 

 stroyed ; thus a new pack, or packs of hounds, having to be 

 collected, the opportunity for a division of the country was 

 taken, and Mr. John Harvey, in spite of already advancing 

 years, set about himself, with the energy of a young man, to 

 repair the breach. It might be of interest to give a short 

 history of the case, which is taken from the letter of one 

 most competent to judge. The pack of forty-one couples 

 commenced the season of 1871 under the most promising 

 auspices, with a country splendidly stocked with foxes, and 

 every prospect of success ; but, alas ! for human calculations, 

 a check came, and every hope, apparently so well founded, 

 was destroyed by a visitation as sudden as it was unex- 

 pected. In the latter part of October, 1871, after a very 

 good and severe run, Dowdeswell observed a fine young 

 hound, called " Carver," by Lord Macclesfield's " Foiler," 

 going from hound to hound in a very unusual manner. 

 Taking alarm he had the hound led home, and, by direction, 

 kept confined in a place by himself in order to prove the 

 nature of the disease, which increased in intensity ; and on 

 the third day the dog was perfectly mad, snapping at and 

 biting everything he could reach. Four hounds, which he 

 had previously bitten, were at once put down. On a post 

 mortem examination, the stomach was found in an extreme 

 state of irritation and full of extraneous matter, such as 

 straw, chips of wood, etc. This was of course sufficiently 

 alarming, and those in charge of the pack watched anxiously 



