To Mountain Tarn 



natives regarded him as an eccentric. Now there 

 are two important hunts. With the energy of 

 youth the east of Scotland hunt of which I 

 shall have more to say further on has entered 

 on a somewhat busy life. I hope it may not 

 tire. The old Dumfriesshire hunt still holds the 

 premier place, if only for its unmixed pack of 

 hounds. 



At least, the otter hound as we have it now, 

 resembling the truer breed but with certain 

 points such as the wiry ears marking a later 

 cross. A frequenter of the hunt said to me the 

 other day that he could not make out where 

 the rough coat came from. That seems to be the 

 chief puzzle. The hound element, the slouching 

 gait, and long pendent ears are more easily 

 accounted for. The earlier strain seems to have 

 been from the old English hound. Now there is 

 a little of the look and much of the temper of the 

 bloodhound. Gentle in the kennel, keen and 

 bell-noted on the scent, it is the most delightful 

 of dogs. 



After an interval, when it was in danger of 

 dying out, otter-hunting is passing rapidly into 

 the first rank of sport. It forms a class by itself, 

 with many distinctive features. It is the only 

 Scottish sport under perfectly natural conditions, 

 with nothing unreal. Artificiality is the death of 

 sport. The otter is not shielded like the grouse, 

 nor kept in existence where otherwise it must 



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