Page:The Hare.djvu/88

66 and duly consigned to the pocket of the itinerant poacher.

About the time that Toodle Doodle perambulated the neighbourhood of Perth in quest of hares, there dwelt in Strageath two ploughmen, who killed a great many hares in a similar way. Their weapon was likewise the throw-stick; but they used it rather differently from Toodle Doodle. They trained the farmyard collie to drive hares. Their mode of proceeding was to wait inside the gate of a field—one standing on each side of the posts—and send the dog round the field to hunt for hares. If he found one he was sure to drive it up to the gate, where the poachers were waiting for their quarry, armed with their short sticks. They threw their sticks in turn at the forelegs of the hare; if one of them missed her, his mate was tolerably sure to succeed in bringing her down. The distance which they preferred to throw measured about thirty yards. The more expert of these two blackguards was carry-handed, i.e. left-handed. The dexterity which he displayed would have done credit to an Australian black. But, of course, his skill would have been of comparatively small service, had he not enlisted the intelligence of the dog in his illicit pursuit.

Apropos of dogs, Mr. L'Aigle Cole lays it down emphatically that 'a foremost necessity for poaching'