OTTER-HUNTING. 323 



his taste occasionally. A great advantage is that, when every 

 other kind of chase is closed against you, the otter can be 

 hunted ; and how charming must he the thought to a man, 

 pent for months in some dark, dreary office, of spending the early 

 hours of a hot summer morning in June, July, or August, by 

 the side of the cool stream ! In fact, like stag-hunting, the 

 beautiful scenes, into which the sport is almost sure to lead you, 

 constitute a large portion of its charm. Then the music of the 

 great rough hounds, often re-echoed by rocky glens, comes like 

 the peal of an organ in the ear, and he must be very devoid of 

 all sense of the beautiful who could hear and see unmoved all 

 that takes place during the course of an otter-hunt. Let a 

 man go out ever so determined not to risk injury to his con- 

 stitution by getting wet, I think it is more than even betting 

 that he finds himself taking water as keenly as any one ere a 

 tough old dog-otter is brought to hand. Of course it is hard work, 

 I may say almost laborious, for those who go thoroughly into 

 the thing, but not more so than many other English sports. 



Formerly, it seems that very unfair advantages were taken 

 of the otter, such as confining him with nets to a certain por- 

 tion of the river, and sticking him with spears if the chance 

 occurred ; but I believe these tactics are little resorted to in 

 the present day, unless under peculiar circumstances ; and with 

 the best packs it is usual to hunt him fairly down, and 

 give him a chance to save his life if he can, of which chance he 

 often makes the most, for he is cunning as well as strong ; and 

 it must be remembered that a great part of the chase takes place 

 in an element which is natural to him, but not to the hounds, 

 and this of course gives him material advantages. I am sorry to say 

 that even now this animal is held in very bad repute with river 

 owners and fishermen, on account of the alleged amount of fish 

 he destroys, as they say he has a nasty habit of only biting 

 away a choice piece from the shoulders, and then leaving the 

 rest, going in for another capture. There may be some truth in 

 this, but, on the other hand, I have heard from disinterested 



