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FOREST AND STREAM 
Otter Hunting In Great Britain 
By Marshall D. Taylor. 
HE present great war in Europe has 
killed almost every form of sport in 
Great Britain. Hardly any shooting 
has 'been done on the big moors of 
England and Scotland; fox-hunting 
has been abandoned, as both men and 
horses have gone to the front, and nearly all the 
famous packs of otter hounds are eating their 
heads off in kennels, instead of being employed 
to rid the rivers of the most wanton of all fresh 
water poachers. 
More than twenty thousand game-keepers in 
Great Britain have been deprived of their in¬ 
comes, owing to the war. These men had devoted 
months of diligent vigil in the rearing and pro¬ 
tection cf partridges, pheasants and grouse from 
hawks, stoats, foxes and other vermin, in order 
that a plentiful supply of game might be “flushed” 
when the shooting season opened. Most of this 
game will die of exposure during the hard winter 
and the damp cold months 
of early spring. 
The Drag. 
Last month, in company 
with William Scott, hunts¬ 
man for Captain William 
Thompson, I went out with 
this famous Yorkshire pack 
of otter hounds on the 
River Ribble, between 
Settle and Long Preston 
on the Midland railway. 
The pack of thirty couples 
included, in addition to the 
shaggy otter hounds, some 
fox-hounds, bloodhounds 
and wire J haiir terriers. 
Each particular breed of 
dog had its especial place 
and value in that con¬ 
glomerate, though highly 
efficient pack. 
By sounding a certain 
note upon his horn, the 
pack was kept to “heel” by 
the huntsman, when not in 
active pursuit and directed 
'by various blasts, similar 
to the manner in which army buglers sound the 
charge, cease-fire, retreat, or other formations, 
as the occasion demanded. 
Directly the pack reached the river it was 
instantly divided into two attacking forces, 
Which took up positions on either bank. All 
drains, gullies and small streams were explored 
until a “drag” was struck. A “drag” may be 
two days old, or it may be quite fresh. It makes 
little difference to the hounds. Once the scent 
has been found the whole pack begins to “sing,” 
preparatory to tracking the quarry. 
Up streams, through drains and across coun¬ 
try the scent was followed, until the otter, find¬ 
ing it futile to any longer dodge and double on 
its tracks, made for a long deep pool, where the 
final fight for its life was staged. So intense 
was the chase that from the moment the “drag” 
was struck and the scent taken up, the pack cov¬ 
ered a distance of nearly fifteen miles. When 
surrounded, the otter at first tried to avoid be¬ 
ing seen by swimming under water. So great are 
the staying powers of adult otters that when 
hard pressed they can remain below the surface 
for a full five minutes, before coming up for air. 
Directly the quarry showed its nose above water, 
the hounds gave tongue, the tally-ho was sounded 
and the whole pack made a fresh onslaught 
upon the elusive foe. 
Fight to Death. 
This swimming contest, coupled with the art¬ 
ful dodging of the otter, was kept up until the 
poor beast became so out-of-breath that it was 
compelled to come up frequently for air. It was 
then that the dogs redoubled their efforts and 
began to annoy the otter by snapping at its head 
and coaxing it to land, when it could be easily 
dispatched. 
But otters are great fighters and are not so 
After a Hard Day’s Run. 
easily subdued. When cornered, they will feign 
utter exhaustion, turn on their backs as if in a 
death struggle and then clutch the nearest hound 
in a firm embrace and dive with its victim to 
the bottom of the pool. Many a valuable hound 
has been drowned in the zenith of its prowess, 
by a ferocious male, who is an adept at this 
form of under-water wrestling. 
As otter hounds and fox-hounds are not 
strong enough to puncture the tough skin of an 
adult otter with their teeth, the actual killing 
is performed by worrying and a final strangula¬ 
tion. Fox-hounds are not employed in the 
water, but are used solely to track otters on 
land and to administer the coup-de-grace. Be¬ 
ing heavier and bigger in build, they can obtain 
a better purchase on the otter’s throat than the 
other canine members of the pack. 
Dispersing the Otter. 
When the otter became so fatigued with swim¬ 
ming and in beating off the savage attacks of 
the dogs, it was forcibly seized and dragged 
ashore. Like a terrier with a rat, its life was 
quickly shaken out of its body by the powerful 
fox-hounds. The huntsman then skinned it, cut 
off its head, tail and pads, which were mounted 
as trophies. The carcass was then thrown sky- 
high, to be caught by the eager and waiting 
hounds, who quickly dismembered it and de¬ 
voured every morsel. 
Otters, like kangaroos, are great jumpers. 
Hence fox-hounds are indispensable to a good 
pack of otter hounds. The terriers are used for 
exploring covered drains and for flushing secret 
hiding places inaccessible to the larger dogs. Be¬ 
ing fish-eaters, otters exude such a strong odor 
that the hounds can follow the trail, even though 
the otter may be totally invisible and swimming 
under water. 
Otter hunting is similar 
to fox-hunting. In the latter 
form of sport the quarry is 
chased by a pack of hounds, 
followed by mounted hunts¬ 
men. In otter hunting the 
dogs are followed by pedes¬ 
trians. 
William Scott, huntsman 
for Captain William 
Thompson, has been in 
charge of this famous pack 
for the past fourteen years. 
He has trained his charges 
to such a high state of effi¬ 
ciency that he has won not 
only the “Land and Water" 
trophy, but twenty-four 
other prizes for the best ex¬ 
hibits of otter hounds in the 
United Kingdom. 
When out training or 
hunting, the pack is not 
allowed to chase sheep or in 
fact any livestock. The dogs 
must keep to “heel” and 
obey every bugle call the 
moment it is sounded. I 
had evidence of the excellent training qualities 
of Scott, when one of the hounds broke loose 
and chased some sheep. Scott at once sounded 
his horn, but the offender paid no heed to the 
warning notes and kept steadily on. 
When too late and realizing that it had done 
wrong and would be severely punished, the 
culprit, with tail between legs, jumped into the 
river and swam to some nearby shallows in mid¬ 
stream. Scott assembled the pack on the river 
bank, opposite the lonely hound, who sat 
shoulder 'high in the rushing water. After 
sounding a blast on his horn, the huntsman 
ordered the “rioter” ashore for punishment. 
Like a naughty school boy, who has been 
caught stealing apples in a farmer’s orchard, the 
dejected canine sat disgraced before the whole 
pack. Unable to stand such an ordeal, the sheep 
chaser recrossed the river and came up for 
(Continued on page 741.) 
