CHAPTER III 



OTTER-HUNTING, PAST AND PRESENT 



It was not until a comparatively recent date, that 

 the otter became an accredited beast of chase. He 

 was hunted, after a fashion, from the very earliest 

 times, but the value of his skin — like that of the 

 fox — had more to do with his capture than the sport 

 he afforded. 



King John of England appears to be the first 

 Master of Otterhounds of whom there is any 

 record, and Twici seems to have been the first 

 huntsman. In " The Master of Game," written 

 between the years 1406 and 141 3, there is a 

 chapter on " The Otter and his Nature," illustrated 

 by a reproduction of an old illumination entitled 



" Otter Hunting." This picture represents a 



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