340 



CHAPTER XLII. 



THE OTTER-HOUND. 



ALL writers on the dog, both ancient and modern, who in any way direct attention to the 

 Otter-hound, are unanimous in fathering him on to the old Southern Hound. For our own 

 part we can find no reasons for disagreeing with the opinions of those who have gone before 

 us, though the difference in appearance between the modern Otter-hound and the ancient 

 Southern Hound is very conspicuous as regards coat and colour. In his marking, all old 

 pictures which we have come across portray the old Southern Hound as a coarse Stag or 

 Fox hound, and certainly his similarity to these breeds is greater than it is to the Otter-hound, 

 though the latter is, we believe, one of his descendants. 



We have it on the authority of Youatt that it was the slowness of the Southern Hound 

 which led to his falling into disrepute amongst huntsmen, who preferred short sharp bursts 

 to a plodding day across country. Devonshire is popularly believed to have the honour 

 of being the last county in England where a pack of these hounds was kept up ; and 

 after its dispersion a number of its members remained for years in the neighbourhood of a 

 village called Aveton Gifford, which is situated in that county. As Devonshire now produces 

 many good specimens of the Otter-hound, this may be regarded as lending additional strength 

 to the theory that the Otter-hound is descended from the former breed. 



The precise date of the introduction of the Southern Hound into this country it is impossible 

 to ascertain, and even an approximate guess will be found a matter of difficulty, as no 

 mention is made of this variety in the earliest references to the dogs of Britain. Shakespeare 

 would appear to be alluding to this breed when he writes : 



" My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind 

 So flowed, so sanded ; and their heads are hung 

 With ears that sweep away the morning dew, 

 Crook-kneed and dew-lapped like Thessalian bulls, 

 Slow in pursuit, but matched in mouth like bells, 

 Each unto each." 



The allusion to the slowness of the hound alluded to by our national poet is to our minds 

 a convincing proof that it was the Southern Hound which he had in view ; and his reference 

 to its Spartan origin would lead one to presume that its importation into this country was 

 in his day an accepted fact. 



Mr. W. Taplin, writing in the "Sportsman's Cabinet," in 1804, has, however, many good 

 words to say for the Southern Hound, and stoutly maintains that although it was less frequently 

 met with in the country than it had been, it was still in existence. To quote his own words, 

 Mr. Taplin remarks 



" These hounds were once universally known and equally common in every part S" 



