A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



struggling would suggest the idea of a lot 

 of dogs gone furiously mad, and when let 

 slip such was the eagerness to get away that 

 not one gave mouth. There was usually a 

 prize for the first mile, and it was in this 

 short run that dogs like Alpin's ' Tuner ' 

 one of the fastest distinguished themselves. 

 The course 10 to 12 miles was usually 

 run in from twenty-six to thirty minutes, a 

 pace that no horse trained hunter or racer 

 over similar ground could have main- 

 tained, and nearly double the speed of a 

 good pedestrian on level turf. It was in 

 running up to the winning post, facing the 

 crowd and noise without slackening, that 

 dogs as eager and well trained as Devon- 

 shire Square ' Tovvler ' and Alick Wallace's 

 ' Tipler,' sire and son, snatched victory from 

 more forward animals and got placed first by 

 the judges. 



Yorkshire dogs were for several years at 

 the Flan keen and frequently successful com- 

 petitors against the northern hounds. Some- 

 times they defeated the whole lot. On one 

 occasion a bitch from Saddleworth named 

 ' Bounty,' to the complete dismay and dis- 

 comfiture of both Cumbrians and Westmor- 

 landers, won on both days, carrying off not 

 only the head prize but a round sum in bets. 

 ' Finder,' another Yorkshire dog, at that time 

 from the neighbourhood of Oldham, won two 

 days together at Cartmel, 6 miles from the 

 Flan, beating some of the best dogs going. 

 ' Swinger ' from Sheffield was a first rate dog, 

 and frequently distinguished himself both in 

 the north and in the 10, 12 and 14 mile 

 matches on the Yorkshire moors. The York- 

 shire trails were mostly straight on end, and 

 the dogs not slipped till the trailer had been 

 gone an hour and in some cases much more. 



The longest trail we have any knowledge 

 of was run a few years before the ' Flan ' 

 meetings were given up. The length of 

 the chase was at least 25 miles, all over 

 enclosed ground with scores of stiff fences. 

 The start took place from Swathmoor near 

 Ulverston ; thence all down the east coast to 

 Roose, a village close by the sea ; and then 

 past the rising town of Barrow. Thence 

 to the west side of Furness the trail was con- 

 tinued in a somewhat circuitous direction to 

 Kirkby Ireleth and thence to the starting 

 place. A noble looking dog called ' Ring- 

 wood,' bred by the late Henry Rauthmell, 

 Hutton Bridge End near Kendal, had the 

 credit of pulling off the chief prize. He 

 was from a good stock the Devonshire 

 Square 'Towler' and cut out the work 

 for the whole of this unexampled trail by 

 keeping a lead the whole distance from 30 



to 100 yards. This picking up the scent 

 and keeping a lead hunters know is hard 

 work. The same dog a fortnight after ran 

 a match for ^20 against a Whitehaven dog 

 named 'Nudger.' The chase was from Ulpha 

 to Bootle, places fully 10 miles asunder, and 

 over a rough mountainous track the whole 

 distance. ' Ringwood ' won all the way easily. 

 Unfortunately this fine foxhound took to 

 worrying sheep and had to be destroyed. Of 

 his breeder, the late Mr. Rauthmell, it may be 

 said that no better sportsman has lived in 

 Cumberland. 



At Mardale, at the head of Hawes Water, 

 one of the wildest, most solitary and secluded 

 dales or districts in the whole of the moun- 

 tainous region of the north, Mr. Rauthmell 

 with his usual train of followers on one occasion 

 stopped for a whole week. In that time nine 

 foxes were killed. But the excellent sport 

 on that occasion was marred by an unhappy 

 incident. On the drag of a fox with a burn- 

 ing scent through some precipitous screes 

 between High Street and Mardale, when in 

 momentary expectation of Reynard bolting, 

 up jumped a sheep. The pack under a 

 sudden excitement broke out and worried to 

 a serious amount. It must be borne in mind 

 as part excuse that they were at the moment 

 in a fever of expectation and were becoming 

 impatient. They had then been bred 

 principally by crossing with Devonshire Square 

 ' Towler ' to such a pitch of high courage 

 as to render them dangerous in such a crisis 

 as unfortunately occurred. Mr. Rauthmell, 

 with the promptitude and decision that dis- 

 tinguished him, had the offenders shot in 

 order to prevent further destruction, for he 

 well knew a hound once guilty is likely to 

 continue in the same fault, and that there is 

 no safe remedy but death. 



When Mr. Rauthmell gave up keeping the 

 hounds they were taken in a covered convey- 

 ance to York. One named ' Ruler ' found 

 its way back to Hutton, a distance of 115 

 miles, through a perfectly strange country. 

 The dog was sent away a second time and 

 again returned home. ' Ruler ' was allowed 

 for the rest of his life to remain at Hutton, 

 and from frequently going out with Mr. 

 Rauthmell when he was shooting he became 

 nearly as good as a pointer as he had 

 previously been in the chase, and would 

 retrieve either game or rabbits. 



The same breed of dogs can be trained to 

 run with fire and resolution an inanimate 

 trail. No wonder therefore that the Duke 

 of Beaufort, when he made the great match 

 for one thousand guineas to run ten dogs 

 4 miles over the Beacon course at New- 



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