The morning call., 1893-01-09
OTTER HUNTING.
A Sport in Which the Game Hides in
Underground Wateriloles.
English illustrated Magazine.

English Illustrated Magazine.
Foxes and hares make their dwellings in
fields and in woods and covers which are
private property and into which the casual
owner Of dog may not wander without
rskng the pains and penalties of the law;
but there is no more favorite country walk
than along the river or brook side. People
of all classes take their dogs Tor a walk, and
these dogs will chvy hares and rabbits.
water rats ana most other things, but the
scent Of an otter has no more attraction for
them than has the pungent Odor of the
onion for gourmet We're not this the
case the otter might soon become extinct.
If every dog would stOop to his scent and if
he could be marked he would in many cases
speedily be dug out, unless be CHANGED to
slip away in time by his subaque0us front
door; and even that might be barred if the
dogs owners had an inkllng that an otter
was hidden in the roots OF the tree against
which they Toll while smoking their pipes.
The trail having been struck the otter
will in due time be marked, that is, hunted
up TO the hole in which he has ensconced
himself. The terriers will be. called into
requisition to effect a disiodgement, and if
their efforts be attained with success the
beginner will see the graceful movements
of his first otter. AT this stage The stranger
to otter-buntiug will see new phase of the
chase. When with fox or stag hounds or
barriers the huntsman occasionally has
nothing TO DO but sit down and ride, the
scent does the rest; or, when he has TO
come TO tine assistance IF the pack. he casts
as experience may suggest. or in the direc
ton of a friendly hallOa or an upllfted hat.
In the majority Of rivers, however, it is
more than doubtful whether hounds would
kill one single otter during the whole of
the season were they Dot aided by the mas
ter huntsman and few trustworthy
helps. On being ouSted from his re-
treat the otter is sure to try to reach
some other haven he knows OF; and so, by
constantly hunting the same district, the
huntsman in time becomes acquainted with
pretty we'll all the places in which an otter
can ind sanctuary; and these places, il
must be remembered, can not be seen like
a rabbit hole or culyert under road. be-
cause the entrance to them is perhaps eigh-
teen inches or two feet under water: con-
sequently, to an even greater extent than
in other kinds of hunting, local knowledge
is necessary before good sport can reasona-
bly, be hoped for, as the huntsman, on get
ting to fresh trail, or owing to the otter
having eluded the vigilance Of the field. will
approximately know where to expect an
other mark. Ii huntsman does not know
where these underwater holes are he cannot
possibly ascertain their existence, and so
any mum Der Of offers may escape with their
lives
When, however, the hounds are first laid
even the most letharg;c. In go the hounds
into tie water, the chorus swells, and the
beauties of nature are forgotten in the eX-
element of the moment. The water carries
a scent, but it shifts even more rapidly than
it would in wind on land. Away 90 the
hounds with 1t, and of they are foxhouuds
it would be like trying to stem the torrent to
stop them With whip or rate; they must have
their fun out, and then they will return TO
the huntsman, who, during the burst, has
allowed his head TO save his heels by stand
ing still. Ii there be deep water at hand
the otter win almost certainly decline to go
away, and will keep making short journeys
from one hole to another. There will then
be so much scent about that the hounds
can not discriminate between the earlier
and the later lines. Sometimes il
happens that the otter, after hav-
ing been sharply hustled for awhile.
will leave the river. and make his way over
land to his next point, and so there is need
for tie sharpest of eyes. So also is there
when Look out below" is the warning cry
of the master, on there being reason 10 ex-
pect that the otter has headed down stream.
To look out for an otter passing over a shall
tow is not by any means such an easy thing
rs watching at the corner OF covert for the
departure of a fox. II the watcher sit on a
gate and smoke his pipe while Gischarging
the highly important duty of looking out
below. he might as we'll be watching
through q field-glass from the top OF some
neighboriDg church tower. tie must bundle
into the water if necessary, and II generally
is, and must never take his eyes off the
sickle he is set TO watch. This is one of
the responsible posts of Otter-hunting, and
must not be filled in perfunctory manner.
AS matter Of fact. il never is. because the
''look-out-below" man is always some one
who can be trusted.