MODERN HARE-HUNTING 105 



may be progressing at his best pace, all the time you 

 are at a check, for some open earth, where he can get 

 snugly to ground. I have heard of a pack of foot- 

 harriers, hunted by an old-fashioned huntsman, where 

 the latter was accustomed to climb on to a gate when 

 his beauties checked. This is carrying the thing to 

 extremes, and one by no means advises such delibera- 

 tion. But give your hounds plenty of time, and don't 

 be afraid of trusting them. It may happen that, 

 having tried all round, the hounds may turn back 

 on the line and appear to be hunting heel. Even in 

 such a case it is by no means absolutely certain that 

 they are hunting heel. A hare has so many dodges, 

 and slips back often so unaccountably, that some 

 knowing old hound may be in the right. This is 

 one of those junctures when the judgment of the 

 huntsman must be relied upon. It is a difficult point, 

 and the huntsman himself, in such a case, is guided 

 by various surrounding circumstances. There may, 

 for instance, be a holloa back, and if the huntsman 

 is convinced that the holloa is a good one — that is, 

 one worth listening to — he will let the pack go, though 

 they may seem to be running heel. Hounds, in fact, 

 should not be whipped off unless the huntsman is 

 absolutely certain they are running heel. 



But we wiU suppose that hounds have really come 

 to a fault, have tried in various directions, and cannot 

 make good the line. The huntsman's turn now comes. 

 In the earher part of the chase, a hare that is fresh 

 is more likely to be forward than back. I am aware 

 that some huntsmen believe in casting back for a 

 hare ; personally, I do not agree with that theory, 

 until it is proved that the hare has not gone on. The 

 huntsman should hold his hounds forward. In Beck- 

 ford's words, which are applied in this case to a pack 



