“the hounds but chop, the game is strong,
that pace of plight cannot be long,
hark! tally-ho’s from yon far height,
and now the whiners wend in sight,
through silver ghyll for skiddaw fell,
they’ll kill him if he goes to h—l!”
no description of fell hunting would be complete without a reference to john peel, the famous cumbrian master and huntsman.
although peel was well known in his own country, his fame did not extend beyond the north, until the old song, “d’ye ken john peel?” became popular. the spirited verses had little vogue until after peel’s death in 1854, when the song suddenly became fashionable. the original song differs in some respects from the modern version, particularly in the first line. “d’ye ken john peel with his coat so gay?” is sung to-day, whereas the original is, “did ye ken john peel wi’ his cwote seay gray?”
peel never wore a scarlet coat, his jacket was made of home-spun cumberland wool, known locally as “hoddengray.”
the late mr. jackson gillbanks, of whitefield, gave a good pen-picture of john peel, and i take the liberty of quoting it here. he said—
“john peel was a good specimen of a plain cumberland yeoman. on less than ￡400 per annum he hunted at his own expense, and unassisted, a pack of foxhounds for half a century. john has in his time drawn every covert in the country, and was well known on the scottish borders. except on great days he followed the old style of hunting,—that is, turning out before daylight, often at five or six o’clock, and hunted his fox by the drag. he was a man of stalwart form, and well built; he generally wore a coat of home-spun cumberland wool—a species called ‘hoddengray.’ john was a very good shot, and used a single-barrel, with flint lock, to the last. though he sometimes indulged too much, he was always up by four or five in the morning, no matter what had taken place the night before; and, perhaps, to this may be attributed his excellent health, as he was never known to have a day’s sickness, until his last and only illness.”
mr. gillbanks was also the author of the[72] following verses, published in the wigton advertiser:—
“the horn of the hunter is silent,
by the banks of the ellen no more
or in denton is heard its wild echo,
clear sounding o’er dark caldew’s roar.
for forty years have we known him—
‘a cumberland yeoman of old’—
but thrice forty years they shall perish
ere the fame of his deeds shall be cold.
no broadcloth or scarlet adorn’d him,
or buckskins that rival the snow,
but of plain ‘skiddaw gray’ was his raiment,
he wore it for work, not for show.
now, when darkness at night draws her mantle,
and cold round the fire bids us steal,
our children will say, ‘father, tell us
some tales about famous john peel!’
then we’ll tell them of ranter and royal,
and briton, and melody, too,
how they rattled their fox around carrock,
and pressed him from chase into view.’
and often from brayton to skiddaw,
through isel, bewaldeth, whitefiel,
we have galloped, like madmen, together,
and followed the horn of john peel.
and tho’ we may hunt with another,
when the hand of old age we way feel,
we’ll mourn for a sportsman and brother,
and remember the days of john peel.”
the late sir wilfrid lawson also gives a good description of peel. he says:
“i have seen john peel in the flesh, and have hunted with him. he was a tall, bony cumbrian,[73] who, when i knew him, used to ride a pony he called ‘dunny,’ from its light colour, and on this animal, from his intimate knowledge of the country, he used to get along the roads, and see a great deal of what his hounds did. peel’s grey coat is no more a myth than himself, for i well remember the long, rough, grey garment, which almost came down to his knees. no doubt drink played a prominent part—if it were not, indeed, the ‘predominant partner’ in these northern hunts. i have heard john peel say, when they had killed a fox: ‘now! this is the first fox we’ve killed this season, and it munna be a dry ’un!’—words of that kind being a prelude to an adjournment to the nearest public-house, where the party would remain for an indefinite time, reaching, i have heard it said, even to two days.”
in the book “sir wilfrid lawson (a memoir),” by the right hon. george w. e. russell, it says:
“the famous john peel, who is ‘kenn’d’ over the english-speaking world, was a master of foxhounds on a very primitive and limited scale, and hunted his own hounds in cumberland for upwards of forty-six years. he died in 1854. by this time wilfrid lawson was twenty-five years old, and desperately fond of hunting. so, on the death of john peel, with whom he had hunted ever since he could sit in a saddle, he bought peel’s hounds, amalgamated them with a small pack which he[74] already possessed, and became master of the cumberland foxhounds.”
the famous song, “john peel,” was written by woodcock graves, an intimate friend of peel. graves emigrated to tasmania in 1833, and spent the last years of his life there, far from the hunting country of his younger days.
john peel was born at grayrigg, and in later years lived at, and hunted from, his cottage at ruthwaite.
the hunting man desirous of having a few days’ sport on the fells, can take his choice of five packs, i.e. the ullswater, coniston, blencathra, eskdale and ennerdale, and the mellbrake. the ullswater hounds are kennelled at patterdale; nearest railway stations, penrith and troutbeck (cumberland). mr. w. h. marshall, of patterdale hall, is master, and joe bowman is huntsman. whipper-in, b. wilson.
the coniston are kennelled at green bank, ambleside; nearest station, windermere. mr. bruce logan, of “westbourne,” bowness, is master, and george chapman is huntsman.
the blencathra are kennelled at the riddings, near threlkeld; railway stations, threlkeld and keswick. master, mr. r. j. holdsworth, seat howe, thornthwaite, keswick. deputy master, mr. andrew anderson, lair beck, keswick. secretary, jonathan harryman, howe, portinscale,[75] keswick. huntsman, jim dalton. whipper-in, e. parker.
the right hon. the speaker (mr. j. w. lowther) was master of the blencathra from 1903 to 1919. he resigned the mastership in 1919.
mr. george tickell, of shundraw, keswick, was secretary for fourteen years, and on the death of the late mr. john crozier, who was master from 1839 to 1903, he held the mastership until the appointment of mr. j. w. lowther. he then acted as deputy-master from 1907 to 1919, when he retired.
mr. tickell has hunted regularly since he was a boy at school, thus covering a total of nearly seventy years. he is still (1919) hale and hearty, and regularly attends the meets of the blencathra.
the eskdale and ennerdale are kennelled in eskdale. master, mr. w. c. porter, field head, eskdale, r.s.o. railway station, ravenglass. the late tommy dobson was master of this pack from 1857 to 1910. huntsman, the master.
the mellbrake are kennelled at hope lorton. masters, mr. robinson mitchell, mr. e. a. iredale and mr. d. b. robinson. secretary, mr. r. rawling, lanthwaite green, cockermouth. huntsman, r. head. whipper-in, j. norman. nearest railway station, cockermouth.
the mellbrake and the eskdale and ennerdale are somewhat isolated from the other hunts, but[76] it is often possible to attend meets of the coniston, blencathra and ullswater during the week. once or twice a season the blencathra visit wythburn, at the head of thirlmere lake, where they remain for the inside of a week. if during that week the coniston and ullswater are in their home countries, they can easily be reached from windermere or ambleside, by motor or cycle. if the visitor wishes to put in most of his time with an individual pack, he will find comfortable hotels and inns within easy reach of the kennels. there is, of course, a good deal of luck about hunting anywhere, but particularly so on the fells, where weather conditions are apt to interfere with sport. the fell packs usually account for from fifteen to twenty-five brace of foxes in a season, the number, of course, varying with the character of the seasons. in the 1918-19 season, the ullswater brought to hand close upon thirty-five brace, while the other packs all did remarkably well. considering the roughness of the country, such records are very good indeed.
joe bowman, the veteran huntsman of the ullswater, is a personality in lakeland hunting. he has carried the horn with this pack—with one short interval—since 1879, and is still hale and hearty. his fame as a huntsman reaches far beyond the borders of his own wild country, for he is well known to most keen hunting folk.
except in certain parts of the low country, which are visited once or twice a season, riding to the fell hounds is out of the question. even in the aforementioned districts it is a case of riding to points, and nicking in with hounds when the opportunity presents itself. there are places where, should you be lucky, you may chance to see the best part of a run from a main road below the fell. such a place is the road which circles thirlmere lake, from which i have watched many a good hunt with the blencathra. as a rule, however, it pays best to climb the fell, from which vantage point you are more likely to keep in constant touch with hounds. if you hang about the roads hounds may come back to you, but again they may not, and it requires a good deal of patience and self-control to remain where you are on the off-chance. once on the fell top, it pays to stay there until hounds either drive their fox for the last time into the dale or run him to ground in some rocky “borran” (earth). it is much easier and quicker to walk round the fell tops than descend to the dale and have to climb out again.
in addition to the type of hound used, the method of hunting on the fells differs from that in the riding countries. there hounds are thrown into covert, from which in a few minutes they get away almost on top of their fox. while the same[78] thing sometimes happens with the fell hounds, as a rule, their fox is lying in some snug kennel at a height of two thousand feet or more, and before hounds can run him they must find him. to do this they quest for the drag, or in other words, they search for and pick up the line of a fox which during the night has visited the dale, and then before daybreak has returned to his mountain fastness. if the fox has cut his return trip rather fine, and hounds are out early, as they very often are in spring, the drag may prove a warm one. if it is cold and the fox long gone, it may require a lot of working out.
anyhow, the same end is eventually attained, i.e. hounds gradually work up to the spot where their fox is lying. it may be on the ledge of some crag, or amongst the rocks strewn about the fell breast. wherever it is, reynard may wait till hounds are close to him, or he may steal away and, if unseen, gain a long start. as a rule, however, there are a few keen hunters scattered about the fell tops before hounds leave the dale, and the fox is lucky if he can slip away without the sharp eyes of some shepherd spying his movements. a series of shrill view-halloas soon bring hounds to the spot, and the run begins in earnest. although such a halloa saves time when a fox has stolen away, it is a much prettier sight to see hounds find and unkennel their fox in a crag by themselves.[79] it is an exciting moment when reynard springs up from his heather-covered ledge and goes shooting through the dangerous crag-face, en route for the open fell top. hounds may be practically all round him at the time, but he dodges first one way and then another until he is clear, and amongst the rocks and rough débris of the fell-side, he is more than a match for the fastest hound.
if it is a clear day, with not too much wind, you can both see and hear hounds at some distance. if there is a mist, the music is your only guide to the whereabouts of the pack. if scent is at all good, not many minutes will elapse ere hounds have disappeared beyond your ken. you follow on, keeping to the good going on the fell top, and ere long you hear them again in another dale, still running strong. a thorough knowledge of the country and the run of the foxes will enable you to go far and more or less keep in touch, even on a misty day. if you are a stranger, you will be wise to stick to some local hunter, who will pilot you safely, although possibly at a rather faster pace than you deem compatible with such rough going. mist is the fell hunter’s greatest bugbear. it may roll up suddenly and block out your entire view, shrouding you in a damp, grey mantle. then all you can do is to pray for an occasional rift in the vaporous screen which will afford you a glimpse[80] of your whereabouts, and possibly reveal the hounds.
sometimes when the dales are thick with mist the fell tops stand out quite clear, and you look down on to a white sea. next to mist hard weather—especially when there is much ice on the crags—may stop hunting for a time. snow is not so bad, for though it makes hard work of it for followers, hounds can get through it all right, and scent is often good when the white covering is damp.
i must not dwell on the dark days, however, for there are times when weather, scent, and all the rest of it goes right, and a day of this kind is a day to remember. the morning is fine and still, and the atmosphere so clear that every rock and stone stands out distinctly. the distant hills are tinted from indigo to mauve, and you wish you could transfer the glorious panoramic view to canvas. you are out early, having made a slow and easy ascent of the fell, and you sit down where you can command a view of the dale and the rough ground below you. far away in the bottom you espy the huntsman’s scarlet coat, and those little white dots moving here and there are the hounds.
a faint note sounds, and then another, and gradually the music swells and grows louder. hounds have struck a drag, and are making their way towards a frowning crag which juts out from[81] the rough breast beneath you. your companion, a hill-shepherd, moves off a few paces in order to get a better view, then suddenly turns and points with his stick, exclaiming, “sista, yonder he gars!” you look quickly towards the point indicated, and there you see him, a fine fell fox, his brush held stiff and straight behind him, moving along with the smooth gliding action peculiar to his kind. once he halts and looks back, then he resumes his easy pace. your companion runs a few yards down the breast, and you are treated to a sample of a dalesman’s view-halloa. scream after scream rings out, echoing from the crags. the fox, still in view, and unhurried, stops at the sound, glances back, then mends his pace and disappears round the end of a jutting crag. hounds come like mad to the halloa, scrambling up the steep ground at a wonderful pace. the leaders strike the line, and there is a burst of music as the remainder of the pack settle to it, and go racing through the breast. you watch them until hidden by a shoulder of the hill, then scan the fell head anxiously for their reappearance. they are almost out of hearing, but suddenly the cry is carried back to you clear and distinct, and you see them climbing out at the fell head, looking like white ants in the distance. one glimpse you get, and they are gone over the fell top, heading for the rough ground beyond.
although you meditate following them, your better judgment prevails, for this dale has not been previously disturbed, and you know that a litter has been bred there. it is more than likely that the fox will return ere long, so you walk a short distance up the narrow trod leading to the tops, and sit down to listen. scattered about the fell slopes are the little herdwick sheep, tiny things in comparison with a southdown, but famed for their quality as mutton. overhead, wheeling in wide spirals, a buzzard is rising to a dizzy height, his shrill “whee-u, whee-u,” sounding clear and distinct. over the fell head you hear the raucous cry of a raven, and catch sight of a black speck floating into the distance. a stoat, not yet in his winter coat of white, darts in and out amongst the rocks below you, and you watch his antics until a distant sound catches your ear. you listen intently, yes, there it is again, surely the cry of a hound, although still a long way off. they must be coming back, for the sounds are nearer now, and louder. you take the glasses from their case, and scan the fell head. yes, there they come, running fast, and their fox cannot be very far in front at that pace. quickly you scan the ground between, and at last you see him coming gamely along, but far from fresh. below you is a well-known earth, which is no doubt his refuge, but to-day there[83] are figures standing about it, so his entrance will be barred.
you lose sight of him, then a view-halloa rings out, and a whip cracks sharply. he has swerved from the figures on the earth and hounds are gaining fast. gradually they edge him lower and lower, until the last rock left behind, he is threading a narrow trod amongst the bracken. it is “all over bar the shouting,” as you dash down the long grass slope, clear the intervening wall, and drop panting into the allotment on the other side. a scramble through a stony beck, ending with a sharp run, brings you in sight of hounds, racing from scent to view. a sharp turn, a gleam of white fangs, and stormer rolls him over, to be buried beneath a living avalanche of white, and black and tan. who-hoop! who-hoop!
such is a day worth living for with a fell pack. a quick find, a fast hunt, a good place to see it from, and a kill in the open; what more could the heart of hunter desire? the man who does much fell hunting will get his share of such days, and when they come they amply repay him for any past disappointments.
the regular followers of the fell packs consist chiefly of shepherds, dalesmen and the like, comparatively few of the local “gentry” being sufficiently keen to take more than a passing interest in the sport. the fine air on the tops, and the[84] strenuous exercise, beat all your doctor’s medicine, but i am afraid in these modern days people believe more in the latter than the former. the working men in the dales are the keenest of hunters. no matter on what task they are engaged, when hounds come near, they down tools and join in the chase. they work hard, too, at unearthing a fox which has got to ground amongst the rocks, where crowbar and hammer are often required to loosen up the huge boulders.
on the fells the huntsman is the only man who wears a scarlet coat, and he is assisted by a whipper-in, who may perhaps wear hunting-cap and dark grey jacket, relieved by a touch of red on the collar and a scarlet waistcoat.
the huntsman is followed by three or four fell terriers in couples, and generally a hound or two as well. these last are usually young hounds, or older members of the pack which he is prepared to let go when occasion warrants. usually the whipper-in will take the highest ground, leaving the huntsman to go below. he often takes more coupled hounds with him to the tops, to “louse” them at some convenient moment. the terriers form a most important item of the hunt. without them it would be impossible to locate and evict a fox after he had got to ground.
most of these terriers are cross-bred, showing more or less bedlington blood, as evinced by the[85] light-coloured, silky hair on their heads. silky body covering is not wanted on a fell terrier, for if the coat is too fine, the dog is unable to withstand wet and cold properly. these terriers vary considerably in size, but a very short-legged dog is handicapped on rough ground or in the snow. a biggish terrier is decidedly useful in places where he can work up to his fox, but in the majority of lakeland borrans or earths, a smaller dog is to be preferred. a fox always takes good care to choose his defensive position underground, and a terrier has to attack him from below, and is thus at a disadvantage. sometimes the positions are reversed, and the fox squeezes himself into a narrow crack, where he is unable to turn, thus exposing himself to a rear attack. as a rule, however, he is “head on” to his canine enemy, and then if he refuses to bolt, a battle royal ensues. a big dog-fox is no mean foe, and the combatants on both sides often get severely mauled. a sure sign that a fox is shifting his quarters underground is when the terriers cease marking, and the hounds begin to rush about the borran. it is surprising how a fox will bolt and escape his foes on such occasions. he creeps quietly to some convenient outlet, pauses an instant, then slips away, often unseen until he has placed some distance between himself and the hounds. even after a mauling he will often beat hounds uphill on rough[86] ground, and end by getting to earth somewhere else.
some of the lakeland borrans are very deep places. it sometimes happens that although the terriers reach and possibly account for the fox, they are unable to return, and it may mean days of strenuous work ere the men can extricate them. at long intervals, more serious events occur, and despite all that can be done by willing hands, a rescue is impossible. certain stone quarries and other places in lakeland hold sinister reputations in this respect.
some of the quarry “rubbish heaps” are composed of “big stuff” in the way of rocks, and are dangerous to open up, as the excavating process causes the upper material to unexpectedly rush in. in addition to shutting off the terriers, such a rush may easily bury or severely injure the men who are at work. i have seen one or two very narrow escapes of this kind, and they are decidedly unpleasant experiences.
it is, of course, usual for a man or two to mount guard at such borrans when hounds are advertised to meet in the neighbourhood, but even the keenest hunter becomes fed-up waiting perhaps for hours on a cold day, with only an occasional and distant sound of hounds to cheer his watch.
some foxes are almost impossible to keep out of such places. despite halloing and whip-cracking[87] they will be in, no matter what you do. others, again, sheer off at the slightest hint, and seek refuge elsewhere. sometimes a fox has to get to ground where he can, and i have seen one get into what on the surface appeared to be quite a simple spot, defy all the best efforts of terriers and men to dislodge him.
as may be imagined, the huntsman to a fell pack must be a hard and tireless walker, for he has many miles of rough ground to cover from the time he leaves kennels in the morning until his return at dusk or later. even he gets tired at times, but if it is humanly possible he will get all his hounds back to kennels before dark, or, at any rate, the same night.
sometimes hounds have to be left out, but by the following day most of them will have found their way home again. on these occasions one or two of them may visit the farms or other places where they spend the summer, if anywhere near them; and after a feed or a sleep, resume their journey.
it is surprising how hungry one gets on the fells. i remember on one occasion following hounds from the scandale valley, near ambleside, over fairfield, across deepdale, and out again to the summit of helvellyn. i was with the huntsman, and both of us had eaten our lunch some hours previously. on the summit of helvellyn is a seat, and round it that afternoon were scattered[88] a lot of banana peelings. we were so hungry that we barely refrained from eating the latter. we have often laughed over it since, and i remember i made up for it with bread and cheese and beer when we got down off the mountain at dusk.
it is always advisable to take sufficient food with you on these occasions, for you are never quite certain when you are going to get the next meal.
although some of the best sport is experienced in the cold weather, i have enjoyed some very good hunts in october, as well as spring. when foxes begin to bother the lambs, hounds are called upon to account for the offenders. it is, of course, necessary to meet very early at this time of year, as the sun soon dispels the dew, and scent is then often conspicuous by its absence. it well repays one for leaving one’s bed at an unearthly hour, however, when hounds do get away with their fox, for the temperature is such that one can sit about the tops in comfort, and thoroughly enjoy both the magnificent views and the sport. many a may fox is rolled over by the fell packs, for the dalesmen’s flocks have to be made safe from any marauding vixen which takes toll of them for her cubs.
harking back for a moment to fell terriers, people’s ideas appear to differ very considerably[89] as regards the make and shape of a dog used solely for sport.
a terrier for work on the fells must be able to squeeze through very narrow places, be active withal, and sufficiently high on the leg to enable him to follow the huntsman through snow or rough ground without tiring. some people imagine that a terrier when creeping through a narrow place works himself along on his chest, and they conclude that a wide-chested, short-legged dog is the best for the purpose. as a matter of fact, the dog lies on his side, and works himself ahead with his legs. for this reason, an apparently big dog, that is, one fairly high on the leg, narrow, but deep through the heart, can get into some remarkably tight places. terriers of the sealyham type, short-legged, and broad-chested, whilst able to work in big badger earths, or wide drains, fail when it comes to negotiating narrow cracks and crevices in the rocks, such as foxes are so fond of taking refuge in, on the fells. it matters not how a terrier is bred, or what sort of a mongrel he is, so long as he is a worker, game and courageous to go up to his fox, bolt him, or make an end of him. “handsome is as handsome does” is the motto on the fells, where nothing but real hard workers are tolerated for a moment.
once a year there are certain shepherds’ meetings held in the lake country, for the exchange[90] of sheep which have strayed. the two best known of these are held at the “traveller’s rest” inn on top of the kirkstone pass, and at the “dun bull” inn in mardale.
on these occasions the foxhounds grace the meetings with their presence. the coniston foxhounds, and the windermere harriers attend the kirkstone gathering, while the ullswater provide sport at mardale. this year (1919) the “victory meet” of the shepherds took place in mardale on november 22nd. this gathering is one of the oldest of its kind in the country, and has been kept going for generations. how regular has been the attendance of some of the old-time dalesmen and shepherds may be gathered from the fact that a few years ago, one thomas fishwick put in his sixty-sixth annual appearance, and there are many others who have attended this meet for a score of years or more.
special interest was attached to the “victory meet” in mardale, as it was rumoured that it might be the last, owing to the acquisition of haweswater by the manchester corporation. when the proposed scheme is completed, the famous “dun bull” and mardale church will be inundated.
“pincher” and “myrtle.” two coniston hunt terriers.
“jummy.” a terrier which did much good work for the coniston hunt.
in addition to a hunt, a hound-trail is held at mardale. some of the upholders of the fashionable hounds in the shires, who believe that this[91] type is second to none for pace, would, i think, be inclined to change their opinion, if they timed one of these trails. the hounds entered are nothing more than fell foxhounds. sometimes one of a litter bred at the kennels goes as a trail hound, and vice versa. yet, with all their pace, these hounds can hunt a cold line with the best, and will let you know all about it whilst they are doing it.
i have already mentioned the fact that the fell hounds pick up the drag of their fox, and work this out until they reach his hiding-place and unkennel him.
sometimes the drag covers a long distance. when the rev. e. m. reynolds was master of the coniston hounds, the latter picked up a drag near rydal park, carried it over high pike up to hart crag, and down the ridge into hartsop, where they unkennelled their fox in low wood overlooking brothers’ water. on another occasion the same pack struck a drag in skelghyll wood, near windermere lake, carried it forward the entire length of the troutbeck valley, and out at threshwaite mouth at the fell head, unkennelling their fox about a mile beyond the last-mentioned point. as a rule, it is pretty safe to say that a drag which leads towards the high ground, is right, though on occasion such a line may prove to be heel-way. even old and experienced hounds are not[92] infallible when it comes to differentiating between the right way and heel, despite the fact that one meets people who swear their hounds won’t run heel. after covering a lot of rough ground on the drag, and having at last unkennelled your fox, the real business of the day has only just begun. before night, if you are in pursuit of an old stager, you may find yourself many miles from home, with darkness coming on, and a rough track to follow.
one of the longest, if not the longest, hunt i ever took part in occurred on january 15th, 1914. the coniston hounds met that day at strawberry bank, in the winster valley. they found their fox at 10 o’clock, and the last followers of the field which started out in the morning, acknowledged themselves beaten at 5 p.m. hounds ran for several hours longer, until darkness enabled the fox to finally shake off his pursuers. from the time hounds unkennelled their fox, until they were run out of scent, was 9? hours, sufficient, i think, to constitute a record.
such a day is one to be set down in red ink in the hunting diary.
taking it all through, the fell country carries a good scent, except in early autumn and spring, when the sun exerts considerable power, and the bracken and dead leaves get very dry. there is little limestone in the district, but now and then[93] hounds run a fox to such places as whitbarrow, where, unless the atmosphere is very damp, they often experience considerable difficulty in sticking to the line. “there’s nowt sae queer as scent,” and though we sometimes think we know a good deal about it, there generally comes a time when all our prophecies prove wrong. now and then in the fell country there comes a day when the atmosphere is very clear, and there is an absence of wind. overhead the clouds look heavy, and the day may be described as “dark.” the colour of the distant hills tones off from indigo to mauve; but for all the general effect of darkness, every stone and crag shows up distinctly. on such a day i have often known a screaming scent, while hounds could be both easily seen and heard.
jorrocks, wise old bird, said, “take not out your ’ounds upon a werry windy day,” and his advice is good, but for all that i have seen hounds run like mad in a gale, screaming along yards wide of the line, the scent drifting with the wind.
there are, of course, several factors that have an influence on scent. there is the fox himself, the nature of the soil (clay, gravel, etc.), the condition of the surface, such as grass, plough, moorland or woodland; the temporary state of the surface, wet, dry, dusty, etc.; and the state of the weather.
as far as the fox is concerned, there is little doubt that he and his relations vary considerably in the amount of scent they give off. much depends too, upon the behaviour of a fox, as to whether hounds can make the best use of his line. a straight-running fox is easier to hunt than a twisting one, while the body-scent—i.e. scent retained by the atmosphere—allows hounds to run with their heads up, the scent being “breast high.” that scent is often far too high i have proved over and over again. many a time i have been walking to a meet, and at some favourite crossing place for foxes on a road, or elsewhere, i have caught the scent of a fox quite strongly. whenever scent has thus been retained high in the atmosphere, i have never seen hounds able to run fast, for it is over their heads, and they cannot reach it. in the case of foot-scent, such as is left on a cold drag, hounds have to get their noses right down to it, and work it out patiently. foot-scent will lead hounds to the exact spot where a fox jumps a wall, or creeps through a hedge, whereas with body-scent they may run fast, but quite wide of the exact line of their fox, the distance varying with the amount of wind. on a real good scenting day the scent appears to remain “breast high,” whereas on a bad scenting day, it disappears quickly, or rises too high for hounds.
whenever a hunted fox is coursed by a shepherd’s dog, hounds invariably have great difficulty in owning the line afterwards. it seems as if the sudden fright contracts the glands, or whatever it is that permits scent to exude from the fox, and the scent never again appears to regain its original strength.
water often saves a hunted fox, for i have known many a one practically beaten, be completely lost after it had entered a stream. as the fox’s strength fails, scent becomes weaker to some extent, and it only needs a sudden fright, like the appearance of a cur dog, or an unexpected halloa, to cause it to fade altogether. for this reason one cannot keep too quiet when hounds are running almost in view of their beaten fox. an injudicious halloa at such a time gets their heads up, and it is ten to one that the fox makes good his escape. hounds know very well when they are closing up to their fox, and they require no outside assistance to expedite matters.
if hounds get away on top of their fox on a good scenting day, his doom is very likely to be sealed, no matter how fast he runs. if, however, he kept up the same pace for the same length of time on a moderate or bad scenting day, he would outrun them, especially if he put in a few sharpish turns.
luckily for hounds, a fox never goes far at[96] his best pace unless hard pressed, instead he places a convenient distance between himself and the pack, and accommodates his pace to theirs. if he ran his hardest on a bad scenting day he would be liable to run into other dangers ahead, for, for all he knows, there may be other hounds in front of him, so he travels as slowly as he dare, while keeping a good look out.
very high wind is not, as a rule, conducive to scent, but i have seen hounds run fast in such wind, which, in addition to being strong, was exceedingly cold. in december of this year (1919) one of the fell packs ran a fox up-wind against an icy gale on the tops, when the wind was so strong that we who were following them had more than once to lie down or be blown over the edge of the fell.
rain, wind, and sun are responsible for the state of the ground, and exert their influence on scent. too much rain is bad for scent, as the land gets waterlogged. roughly speaking, scent appears to lie best when the ground is in good riding condition. wind and sun dry out the ground and harden it, and frost does likewise. hounds will always run better when it is hard with drought or frost than when it is very wet and holding. grass generally carries a better scent than plough, though the latter in some districts appears very favourable to it.
the nature of the soil, being permanent, has much to do with scent. i am inclined to think that poor land carries a better scent than good land, while heather and moorland are more conducive to it than cold grass fields.
i know a district, all grass and moorland, in a limestone country, where scent lies very well indeed, except actually on the bare limestone. on the extensive outcrops of this kind of stone hounds are generally brought to their noses, unless the limestone is damp with rain.
a white frost is often bad for scent, and almost always so if the sun gets out at all warm. in the afternoon, should the ground harden again, hounds may be able to run quite well. i have noticed that towards evening, under varied conditions of weather, scent is often better than earlier in the day. snow, if damp, and not too deep, often carries a good scent. in deep, soft snow, hounds can soon account for their fox if they get away close to him, as their greater length of leg gives them the advantage in such “going.”
when all is said and done, there appears to be no absolute rule to go by regarding scent. the “dark” day previously mentioned comes pretty near to it, however, and i always expect good scenting conditions on such a day.
seeing that the true charm of all field sport is its “glorious uncertainty,” it is perhaps just as[98] well that we cannot pick and choose our hunting days, but must take the good with the bad, and be thankful for them.
“so i wish you good speed, a good line, and a lead,
with the luck of each fence where it’s low,
not the last of the troop, may you hear the who—whoop,
well pleased as you heard tally-ho!”
