THE OTTERHOUND 87 



with the now recognised Otterhound as an offshoot of the 

 Southern Hound ; but be that as it may, there has been a 

 special breed of Otterhound for the last eighty years, very 

 carefully bred and gradually much improved in point of appear- 

 ance. They are beautiful hounds to-day, with heads as 

 typical as those of Bloodhounds, legs and feet that would 

 do for Foxhounds, a unique coat of their own, and they 

 are exactly suitable for hunting the otter, as everyone knows 

 who has had the enjoyment of a day's sport on river or 

 brook. 



The greatest otter hunter of the last century may have been 

 the Hon. Geoffrey Hill, a younger brother of the late Lord 

 Hill. A powerful athlete of over six feet, Major Hill was an 

 ideal sportsman in appearance, and he was noted for the long 

 distances he would travel on foot with his hounds. They 

 were mostly of the pure rough sort, not very big ; the dogs he 

 reckoned at about 23^ inches, bitches 22 : beautiful Blood- 

 hound type of heads, coats of thick, hard hair, big in ribs and 

 bones, and good legs and feet. 



Major Hill seldom exhibited his hounds. They were seen 

 now and then at Birmingham ; but, hunting as hard as they 

 did through Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and into 

 Wales, where they got their best water, there was not much 

 time for showing. Their famous Master has been dead now 

 many years, but his pack is still going, and shows great sport 

 as the Hawkstone under the Mastership of Mr. H. P. Wardell, 

 the kennels being at Ludlow race-course, Bromfield. 



The leading pack in the Kingdom for the last sixty years, at 

 any rate, has been the Carlisle when in the hands of Mr. J. C. 

 Carrick, who was famous both for the sport he showed and 

 for his breed of Otterhound, so well represented at all the 

 important shows. Such hounds as Lottery and Lucifer were 

 very typical specimens ; but of late years the entries of 

 Otterhounds have not been very numerous at the great exhi- 

 bitions, and this can well be explained by the fact that they 

 are wanted in greater numbers for active service, there being 



