166 HUNTING DIRECTORY. 



Of obstinate Hounds and obstinate Huntsmen. 



were wrong, and of course, could make their own cast 

 with greater confidence. The advantage, next to that 

 of knowing where the fox is gone, is that of knowing, 

 with certainty, where he is not. 



" Most huntsmen hke to have all their hounds turned 

 after them, when they make a cast : I wonder not at 

 them for it, but I am always sorry when I see it done ; 

 for, till I find a huntsman that is infallible, I shall con- 

 tinue to think, the more my hounds spread, the better : 

 as long as they are within sight or hearing, it is sufficient. 

 Many a time have I seen an obstinate hound hit off" the 

 scent, when an obstinate huntsman, by casting the wrong- 

 way, has done all in his power to prevent it.* Two 

 foxes I remember to have seen killed in one day, by 

 skirting hounds, whilst the huntsman was making his 

 cast the contrary way. 



* It is recorded, that, "in drawing a strong cover, a young bitch gave 

 tongue very freely, while none of the other hounds challenged: the whipper- 

 in rated to no purpose ; the huntsman insisted she was wrong, and the 

 whip was applied with great severity — in doing this, the lash accidentally 

 struck one of her eyes out of the socket. Notwithstanding this painful 

 situation, the bitch again took the scent, and proved herself right, for a fox 

 had stole away, and she broke cover after him unheeded and alone. How- 

 ever, after much delay and cold hunting, the pack did hit off the chase : 

 at some distance a farmer informed the sportsmen that they were far behind 

 their fox ; for that a single hound, very bloody about the head, had passed 

 a field off from him, and was running breast high, and that there was little 

 chance of their getting up to him. The pack, from her coming to a check, 

 did at length get up ; and after some cold hunting, the bitch again hit off 

 the scent : the fox was killed, after a long and severe run, and the eye of 

 the bitch, which had hung pendant during the chase, was taken off by a 

 pair of scissors after the fox was dead !" 



