Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-11-24
Nli5trllanrou5 Rratling.
AN OTTER HUNT.
British Sport of a Kind We Do Not
Know.
AN OTTER HUNT.

Know.
bright, sunny morning, and
meet of otter hounds. What a crOwt
it is. Young men, old men, womer
daintily dressed, short-skirted maid
ems, and the members Of the hunt In
neat blue serge. smart vests and
bright colored caps. Every one
carries a stout pole, some six feet long
with inches cut upon it indicating
kills" and all wear a silver-mounted
otter pad as badge.
There are the shaggy-coated hounds
rolling in the meadow grass, the
huntsman in their midst, and the
whips a little distance off, flicking
lightly at any that wander too fal
away. See, now, the master ap-
proaches and hounds are about to be
laid on.
Away runs the huntsman. toward
| the river, blowing his horn as he goes
and the whole pack scamper after
him. Half of the hounds are whip
ped in and, swimming the stream, take
up the further bank; half remain on
the near side, and then all are nosine
it diligently as we proceed up stream
| Bouncing Girl is very keen. She leaps
over the little bushes, pokes into ev-
cry Granny, snuff1es at the willow
trees, and every now and then takes
the water Listen, hounds are voic-
ing from the the other bank! The
hound that has spoken is old Booser
the surest dog hound in all the pack
White, shaggy, and so stiff that he
can make no pace, he has yet a nose
which never deceives him.
Get to him." cries the huntsman,
and, plunging and leaping, hounds
crowd round with muzzles down and
waving sterns. They take up stream
again at a great pace, for drag
once established must be hotly pur-
sued, since scent may cool with the
advance of day. We come to more
shallow water and banks bOrdered
with reeds Hounds check, they have
put down" their otter. Here, or
hereabouts, Lutra is hiding. Old Boos-
er has marked a hollow tree. TRY in
| there: try in there" cries the hunts
man.
| They have marked holt; they will
not leave the spot. Poles are used to
tap the withered trunk, but Lutra is
not there. He must be below, in some
hollow in the trees roots, approached
only by diving beneath the waters
surface We can trace his stamp In
the mud. The master collects a doz-
en- men who jump simultaneously on
the bank, and presently the otter Is
bolted from below. A cry of Tally
ho!" comes from thirty yards up
stream. A little whiskered black head
has popped into view and instantly
disappeared again. Hounds romp to
the spot, and old Booser, plunging in,
shows us one of the most interesting
sights in otter hunting, for he swims
along, nosing his quarry through the
water. Once more there is view,
and then for several minutes we do
not see him. If he comes up it Is be-
hind some tiny covert which screens
him. We do, however. see his chain,
little double row Of bubbles, rising
at regular intervals. He is making
for deep water ahead and if he reach
es it he will escape us.
The master takes number of VOL
unteers up stream. They all go into
the river, stretch from bank to bank,
and line their poles along wedged by
soon for, like a flash, black object,
darting beneath the surface, thuds
against the barrier and is driven back.
Down the stream we hear man cry
"Tally-ho!' and then we see him
jump frantically into the reeds. He
has attempted to tail the otter. We
are secretly glad Of his misfortune,
for failing is not a very sportsman
| like practice, and is absolutely forbid
den by many masters 1t is the bus
| mess of hounds to kill their otter, and
the less they are interfered with the
| better. Sometimes a tailed otter will
get a rich revenge, for unless he is
grasped by the rudder close to the
body he can twist up and bite his op-
ponent. His rudder, too, is very Slip
perry. and this adds to the danger.
AS our too ardent sportsman strug-
giles to the bank and stands pressing
the water from his clothes he ex-
plains that he had seen the otter draw
| itself silently into the reeds and lie
with its head just out of the water.
| Always a most intelligent animal, the
otter will positively think when in ex-
| tremes. Note how he remembers. He
does not seek again the holt from
which he has been bolted; the recol-
lection of the thud overhead, caused
by the jumping, has led him to doubt
the security of his ceiling. Next he
tries down stream. In this direction
would probably be safety did he only
continue far enough, but, being a bit
done. he must come up for breath,
and. rising he winds the hounds so
plainly that he turns back.
Now he will essay q desperate part.
tributary stream lies half across
tiny wooded space. 1t is only few
yards. or he would never venture.
With great courage he climbs out,
hobbies across, and plunges in on the
other side. Fatal error! He had been
seen. as is in now much more confined
space. Master and huntsman know
the end is near and hounds flying to
the horn plunge into the stream voic-
ing vigorously as they own to the drag
and feel their quarry is at hand.
But master and huntsman have
reckoned without their host They
realize very shortly than an otter does
not leave a broad for narrow stream
for nothing. His sagacity is far too
great for that, and there is reason
for this manOeuvre.
Hounds, scramblng out of the riV-
er. follow their huntsman. and sever
al pick up the line the otter has just