1884] WILL DALE. 13^ 



Will Dale. 



A name that must always be writ large in Brocklesby 

 history is that of Will Dale, not alone for the exceptional 

 sport that he showed during the twelve years that he was 

 Lord Yarborough's huntsman, but for the very high state 

 of efficiency, both on the flags and in the field, to which 

 he raised the Brocklesby pack. The fact that while Dale 

 carried the Brocklesby horn, hounds were out 1282 times, 

 and 1351 foxes came to hand, shows that he could kill 

 foxes, and a casual glance at his diaries points out how 

 frequently there was a red-letter day, while a careful 

 inspection of times and points sufficiently proves that the 

 day has not l)een coloured without very good reason. 

 Dale was a l)orn huntsman, and he has never done any- 

 thing else but hunt all his life. His early training took 

 place in the woodlands and hills of the Surrey Union 

 country, when Colonel Sumner was Master, and as a boy 

 of ten he whipped-in to his father there. Old John Dale 

 was known far and wide as a fine horseman, having a 

 thorou2;h knowleds^c of huntins; which enabled him to 

 cope with every dodge of the wiliest fox, and he was also 

 a most scientific hound l)reeder and kennel-man as well. 

 With these virtues Ijred in him and instilled into him 

 from his earliest youth, what wonder that Will Dale rose 

 to be the great huntsman that he is. One of the per- 

 formances of these early days, of which he is most proud, 

 is the memorable occasion when, after a wonderful run, 

 he and his brother assisted their father to kill his fox in 

 the vast stronghold known as Prince's Wood, just at night- 

 fall, and every hound was present at the worry. Dale 

 had just entered his teens when he first left home to 

 take service with Mr. Augustus Johnson, who was then 

 hunting a pack of harriers in Lincolnshire ; and though he 

 has gained experience in the fields and kennels of other 

 counties, it is with Lincolnshire that his fame is most 



