HUNTING DIRECTORY 279 



a Wolf Chase. 



At this moment the wolf turned to us, when the ter- 

 rier, having a decided advantage from the thickness of 

 the cover, continued catching at his haunches. I hal- 

 looed, the huntsman blew away, and the game was now 

 at the point of death, surrounded by his enemies. His 

 tongue hung out, and he was evidently wounded in more 

 places than one, as he could scarcely draw his near hind 

 leg after him. After he had been tormented for some 

 time by Vixen, he came to a sort of opening in the ride ; 

 l)ut, in crossing some deep ruts, he fell in, and could not 

 recover himself. The Norman hound and three others 

 rushed in, and threw him on his back. He snatched, 

 but they seized him by the throat and back, whilst Vixen 

 had good hold of his haunch. I thrust the end of my 

 whip in his mouth, and the huntsman coolly tied his nose, 

 and drew his cotiteau de cJiasse, which I told him was 

 unnecessary — the hounds being at him, he must soon 

 expire. 



Having blown our horns, and hallooed till we were 

 almost dead with drought, we tied our horses to some 

 trees, and sat down whilst the wolf was dying. The 

 huntsman said it was a " gros loiip de quartier annee :" 

 and I observed he had a famous set of grinders and good 

 dog teeth. He had received, from the first fire of M. 

 de Beaumont, a small pistol ball through the upper part 

 of his back, and one buck shot had grazed his neck. 

 My balls, being rifled very neatly, were easily known : 

 two of them had entered the fleshy part of the thigh, 

 and a third, which crossed the kidneys, seemed to have 

 given the mortal wound — as without that, the huntsman 

 said, he would have stood much longer. His l)rush had 



