The Otter Hound. \6\ 



a water rat, a moor hen, or a rabbit, they would 

 have struck the scent of an otter before very long — 

 i.e., If such game were plentiful In the district. 



My early experience of otter hunting was much 

 sooner consummated than that of the Devonshire 

 sportsman. We had an otter hound puppy, quite 

 unentered, an old bitch, dam to the puppy, and a few 

 terriers. The second time out we struck a strong 

 scent by the edge of a lovely stream in our north 

 country. Old Rally, who, later on, very often failed 

 to speak, even on a strong scent, now gave tongue 

 freely ; her young son put his nose to the ground, 

 threw up his head, and yelled every now and then, 

 and quite as often fell head over heels into the 

 water ; the terriers yelped and barked, and evidently 

 thought they were in for a big rat battue. 



The young hound settled dow^n and swam across 

 the pool. Higher, Rally marked under a tree root. 

 An angler hard by prodded his landing-net handle 

 down into the ground ; all of us jumped upon the 

 surface, and quietly there dived out a huge otter ! 

 And he made his way down stream. Then we had 

 him in a long pool, about twenty yards wide, nowhere 

 more than five feet deep, no strong hovers on either 

 side the bank ; but below us was dangerous ground. 

 So a shallow was guarded by two of us, with our 

 breeches rolled up and long sticks in our hands. 



M 



