Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/410

396 396 HUNTING found at the moment when his presence is particularly desired. CUD Cub hunting carried out on a proper principle is one of hunting, the secrets of a successful season. To the man who cares for hunting, as distinct from riding, September and October are not the least enjoyable months of the whole hunting season. As soon as the young entry have recovered from the operation of &quot;rounding,&quot; arrangements for cub hunting begin. The hounds must have first of all walking, then trotting and fast exercise, so that their feet may be hardened, and all superfluous fat worked off by the last week in August. So far as the hounds are concerned, the object of cub hunting is to teach them their duty; it is a dress rehearsal of the November business. In company with a certain proportion of old hounds, the youngsters learn to stick to the scent of a fox, in spite of the fondness they have acquired for that of a hare, from running about when at walk. When cubbing begins, a start is made at 4 or 5 A.M., and then the system is adopted of tracking the cub by his drag. A certain amount of blood is of course indispensable for hounds, but it should never be forgotten that a fox cub of seven or eight months old, though tolerably cunning, is not so very strong; the huntsman should not therefore be over-eager in bringing to hand every cub he can find. It would be a move in the right direction if noses were not to be counted until the first of November. Hare Hare hunting, which must not be confounded with hunting. COURSING (q.v.), is an excellent school both for men and for horses. It is attended with the advantages of being cheaper than any other kind, and of not needing so large an area of country. Hare hunting requires considerable skill; Beckford even goes so far as to say &quot;There is more of true hunting with harriers than with any other description of hounds In the first place, a hare, when found, generally describes a circle in her course which naturally brings her upon her foil, which is the greatest trial for houncK Secondly, the scent of the hare is weaker than that of any other animal we hunt, and, unlike some, it is always the worse the nearer she is to her end.&quot; Hare hunting is essentially a quiet amusement; no halloo ing at hounds nor whip cracking should be permitted ; nor should the field make any noise when a hare is found, for, being a timid animal, she might be headed into the hounds mouths. Capital exercise and much useful know ledge are to be derived by running with a pack of beagles. There are the same difficulties to be contended with as in hunting with the ordinary harrier, and a very few days running will teach the youthful sportsman that he cannot run at the same pace over sound ground and over a deep ploughed field, up hill and down, or along and across furrows. Otter Otter hunting, which is less practised now than formerly, hunting, begins just as all other hunting is drawing to a close. When the waterside is reached an attempt is made to hit upon the track by which the otter passad to his &quot;couch,&quot; which is generally a hole communicating with the river, into which the otter of ten dives on first hearing the hounds. When the otter &quot;vents&quot; or comes to the surface to breathe, his muzzle only appears above water, and when he is viewed or traced by the mud he stirs up, or by air bubbles, the hounds are laid on. Notwithstanding the strong scent of the otter, he often escapes the hounds, and then a cast has to be made. When he is viewed an attempt is made to spear him by any of the field who may be within distance ; if their spears miss, the owners must wade to recover them. Should the otter be transfixed by a spear, the person who threw it goes into the water and raises the game over his head on the spear s point. If instead of being speared, he is caught by the hounds, he is soon worried to death by them, though frequently not before he has inflicted some severe wounds on one or more of the pack. Quitting the United Kingdom, we find that the elephant, Oth hya3na, hunting leopard, and a small species of panther kin( known as the ounce, are not only objects of chase, but n are themselves trained to assist in the capture of other ani mals. The elephant has been found of great service in lion and tiger hunting, his size affording comparative safety to the hunters seated on his back. The hyaena, which re sembles a dog in many particulars, is said to be as tractable, when properly trained, and to be of much use in the pur suit of game. The hunting leopard or cheetah and the ounce are used in hunting a species of antelope. They have hoods put over their heads, and are taken in a small waggon into the field ; when the deer is seen the hood is taken off and the animal starts in pursuit, followed by the hunter; when the game is secured the hood is again put on. -In India field sports are largely indulged in, owing partly to natural facilities, and partly to the taste for hunting characteristic of the English resident there. Tigers are sometimes caught in traps, and sometimes shot in the jungle from the back of an elephant ; they seek to conceal themselves, and very rarely commence hostilities against mankind, but when severely wounded and brought to bay they fight courageously. Hunting the wild hog, or &quot; pig sticking,&quot; as it is often termed, is a favourite sport in India ; the ground is walked over by beaters, and when a hog is roused the two mounted huntsmen nearest to him start in pursuit, and endeavour to spear him. The riding requires judgment and very good nerves : hollows, ravines, and cracks in the ground caused by the sun are numerous, and, as they are hidden by the tall grass, the horse cannot avoid them ; it is said that no horse can run down a hog in less than a mile, even over the best ground, while over a rough country the distance travelled amounts to three or four. The rider s aim is to blow the hog sufficiently before getting within spearing distance for the charge of an untired hog is a dangerous affair ; but when near a thick cover the sportsman must try to spear him at all hazards, or make up his mind to lose him. The proper management of the spear requires considerable practice. Besides the above mentioned animals, the fox, jackal, wolf, hyaena, buffalo, and four-horned antelope are also objects of the chase. Australia was formerly the scene of a great deal of kan garoo hunting, but that animal is now comparatively scarce. In Africa there is plenty of big-game hunting, the list including the elephant, lion, giraffe, hippopotamus, antelopes of various kinds, leopard, hyama, buffalo, jackal, and ostrich. Of these the larger and more dangerous animals are killed as opportunity offers, but the jackal is hunted by English settlers like a fox. Ostrich hunting is somewhat peculiar ; the bird is pursued by men on horseback, and, though over the ground it is swifter than a horse, it generally runs in a large circle, so that the riders, by describing a smaller circle and relieving one another, are enabled to keep tolerably near to it, and so to ride it down. In North America the bison, an animal sometimes when full grown weighing as much as 142 stone, is pursued by the natives on horseback and then shot. The moose is chased towards a ravine or a snowdrift, and when he begins to flounder in the snow he is shot at by the hunters. The red deer is now hunted with staghounds upon the English prin ciple. South America affords hunting after the puma, tapir, and wild bull, the lasso being the usual means of capture. In Russia, bears, wolves, and wild boars are hunted. Wolves are found in Germany, where they are not only hunted by properly trained wolf-hounds, but are killed by any available means. France offers facilities for hunting the wolf, wild boar,