The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-01-10

Russian Imperial Hunt, 1
knew that l had an interesting time
before me. Leaving the Warsaw sta
ton in st. Petersburg, a ~three-quarters
of an hours run sufficed to cover the
distance to CATCHING, some thirty ODD
miles, where are situated the imperial
kennels. Gatchtna, 1t may be men
toned, is a garrison town, adjoining
which is the magnificent park In
which are situated the princes hunt
ing box, the kennels and a fine set
of buildings housing the hunt stan
Without doubt the most interesting
feature of the kennels is the magnln-
cent pack Of wolfhounds, more COM
monty known in England as Borzois
writes a correspondent OF Country
Life. 1t is doubtful if anywhere In the
world so large and fine a collection
exists, there being all told some sixty
couple; in addition also are twenty
couple of English f%oxhounds, not USED
in their normal capacity, but in con-
nection with the hunting of the wolf.
Besides these are to be found eight
couple Of very handsome bearhounds'
massive animals of a breed which ID
rapidly becoming extinct. Within a
few hundred yards of the kenDels are
to be found the stables, in which are
kept about one hundred horses used
both for riding purposes and for the
troika-
Big Bison Preserves.
One of the most interesting and
UNIQUE features, however, IL connec-
ton with the hunt is the bison pre-
serves, one of the very few in exist
ence and probably the finest, since me
animals thrive SO much in their nat
ural surroundings that they breed
freely, and thus maintain their mum
beers and high standard. The preserve
contains over a hundred of these mt
animals.
What strikes the visitor to Russia
in the hugeness of everything. The
statues, the streets and the spaces al
are vast. Then most other undertake
ings are carried out in a big way, anc
a pheasant shoot is no exception tc
this. 1t is nothing out Of the ordinary
for forty to fifty sleighs to be in com
mission to convey guns and heaters
from point to point. 1t should be men
toned that the distances from one
beat to another on the royal preserves
are often very great. The average
bag on a royal shoot may number any
where between fifteen hundred ant
two thousand cocks, the hens are
never shot. The imperial pheasan'
shoot is most picturesque, the cos
tunes and cries of the heaters max
ing 1t particularly unique.
The Wolf Hunt.
The royal estate is we'll stocked
with hares, mostly imported from Ire
land. At the same time, they ASSUME
a white coat in the winter, as do theii
native brethren. Both foxes and lyn'
are to be occasionally found in thes'
parts, and are much priced whe
bagged, but they are gradually becom
ing scarcer, and to hunt them wit
any certainty of sport means travel
Ing into wilder and more rugged poi
lions of the country. The same ais
NAV be said of the wolf, and to hun
I him now means a considerable Journe,
from the kennels. Some years agI
these hunts were carried out on
magnificent scale, special trains beinI
: chartered for the convenience OF tn
; huge army OF guests, heaters and keeI
ers. Most Of these big trips AVE
however, been dropped since the revc
luton in 1905. The method adopte
to hunt the wolf is interesting. Tn
t hunt takes place only In the white
months. After the place where tn
animal is lying up has been locate
by his tracks that part of the fores
is "ringed" of and preparations made
The field remain mounted in the viciI