402 DEER-HOUNDS 



Stag which I shot in the Rhidoroch forest, in Septem- 

 ber, 1879, and which was galloping away from me at 

 200 yards range. The bullet broke his hind-leg just 

 under the haunch, and a desperate fight occurred 

 between the stag and the keeper. I have mentioned 

 this occurrence in a former page. Stags, when 

 wounded, especially if old and cunning, will, if their 

 legs are not broken, make the most desperate rushes 

 at a man. The wounds inflicted by their horns are 

 apt to be very serious, as the latter are, to a certain 

 extent, poisonous. 



Nowadays, the use of deer-hounds is being 

 abandoned, for they are apt to disturb a forest too 

 much if a stag is slightly wounded. A good deer- 

 hound will, however, soon bring a stag to bay, and 

 never mistake the wounded animal. It is a grand 

 sight to see a couple of deer-hounds pull a stag down, 

 and a most dangerous performance for a young and 

 untried hound. Many a fine young dog has never 

 gone out a second time. Hind-coursing with two 

 such dogs as Oscar and Ocean, which dogs were 

 painted by Sir E. Landseer, is a very fine sight. The 

 history of these deer-hounds is so well known, that I will 

 not enlarge further regarding a sport which has gone 

 out of fashion, chiefly because lairds are too anxious to 

 over-stock their forests. These two hounds, Oscar 

 and Ocean, sold at Tattersall's for nearly ^100 apiece 

 several years ago. The best deer-hounds I ever 

 heard of were trained by the late Rev. Father Coll, at 

 one time so well known to all our leading sports- 

 men. The dogs which were turned out by him but 

 rarely made a mistake, although a great friend of 

 his. Major C. Welman, told me that he has known 



