THE IRISH TERRIER. 



53 



otter out of any se^\ er. no matter how long or how wet. He, poor fellow, 

 was poisoned by accident. This dog ran with Mr. Johnson's hounds, 

 which were sold some years since. My present terrier ' Jessie,' a pure 

 Irish bred one, of a light yellow color, was given to me by a poor coun- 

 tryman, and her equal I never saw anywhere. She has bolted otters 

 innumerable, and has always shown extraordinary gameness. I may 

 mention, as a proof of her pluck, that during a capital hunt with Lord 

 i)andon's hounds, some weeks since, while the otter was being pressed 

 from place to place by the hounds, ' Jessie,' winding him under a bush, 

 dived under water and laid hold of him ; after a severe struggle, she 

 came to the surface, half drowned, being badly bitten across the loins. 

 The otter, when killed, weighed twenty pounds. 



"WATER. — I had ' Sporter ' and ' Moya Doolan ' hunting the 

 creeks in the marshland in Essex for water rats ; and it was a pretty 

 sight to see them, one on each side, working the banks, uttering no 

 sound, only showing their excitement by their agitated sterns. As the 

 rats dropped into the water, the dogs dived in after them. The Irish 

 terrier is as fond of the water, and takes to it as readily, as a Newfound" 

 land, and one enthusiastic owner claims a forty-five minutes' swim for a 

 dog of this breed belonging to him. 



" RATS. — Irish terriers deserve no praise for their ratting qualities. 

 It is pure instinct with them ; they cannot help it; they rat as naturally 

 as a bird flies. My ' Banshee II.' killed her first rat with her milk teeth 

 when she was only twelve weeks old.. The following extract of a letter 

 from Mr. Ridgway speaks for their ratting capabilities and intelligence : 

 ' An incident, which I think speaks volumes for the sagacity and wisdom 

 of the old Irish terrier breed, was written to me lately by a gentleman 

 residing in the County Antrim (north of Ireland, where, I may add, I 

 believe some very fine specimens exist, from all I hear), and it \\ as regard- 

 ing the performance of a bitch of this breed, named ' Jess,' in his pos- 

 session. On one occasion we were boring a bank for the purpose of 

 bolting rats, and at one place a rat bolted. ' Jess,' as usual, had him 

 almost before he cleared his hole. Then came another and another, so 

 fast that the work was getting too hot for ' Jess,' when a happy thought 

 seemed to strike her ; and, while in the act of killing a very big one, she 



