Huntsmen, whilst their hounds are drawing, or are at fault, frequently make so much noise themselves, that they can hear nothing else: they should always have an ear to a halloo. I once saw an extraordinary instance of the want of it in my own huntsman, who was making so much noise with his hounds, which were then at fault, that a man hallooed a long while before he heard him; and when he did hear him, so little did he know whence the halloo came, that he rode a couple of miles the wrong way, and lost the fox.
Though a huntsman ought to be as silent as possible at going into a cover, he cannot be too noisy at coming out of it again; and if at any time he should turn back suddenly, let him give as much notice of it as he can to his hounds, or he will leave many of them behind him; and should he turn down the wind, he may see no more of them.
There are times when hounds should be helped, and at all times they must be kept forward: hounds will naturally tire on a cold scent, when stopped by sheep, or other impediments; and when they are no longer able to get forward, will oftentimes hunt the old scent back again, if they find that they can hunt no other. It is the judicious encouraging of hounds to hunt when they cannot run, and the preventing them from losing time by hunting too much when they might run, that distinguishes a good sportsman from a bad one. Hounds that have been well taught will cast forward to a hedge of their own accord: but you may assure yourself this excellence is never acquired by such as are left entirely to themselves.
Though I like to see fox-hounds cast wide and forward, and dislike to see them pick a cold scent through flocks of sheep to no purpose, yet I must beg leave to observe, that I dislike still more to see that unaccountable hurry which huntsmen will sometimes put themselves into the moment their hounds are at fault. Time ought always to be allowed them to make their own cast; and if a huntsman is judicious, he will take that opportunity to consider what part he himself has next to act; but instead of this, I have seen hounds hurried away the very instant they came to a fault, a wide cast made, and the hounds at last brought back again to the very place from whence they were so abruptly taken, and where, if the huntsman had had a minute’s patience, they would have hit off the scent themselves.
When your huntsman makes a cast, I hope he makes it perfect one way before he tries another, as much time is lost by going backwards and forwards. You will see huntsmen, when a forward cast does not succeed, come slowly back again: they should return as fast as they can.
In large covers, if there are many roads, in bad scenting days, when these roads are dry, or after a thaw, when they carry, it is necessary your huntsman should be near to his hounds to help them, and hold them forward. Foxes will run the roads at these times, and hounds cannot always own the scent. When they are at fault on a dry road, let not your huntsman turn back too soon; let him not stop till he can be certain that the fox is not gone on. The hounds should try on both sides the road at once: if he perceives that they try on one side only, on his return let him try the other.
If a fox runs up the wind when first found, and afterwards turns, he seldom, if ever, turns again. This observation may not only be of use to your huntsman in his cast, but may be of use to you, if you should lose the hounds.
When you are pursuing a fox over a country, the scent being bad, and the fox a long way before, without ever having been pressed, if his point should be for strong earths that are open, or for large covers, where game is in plenty, it may be acting wisely to take off the hounds at the first fault they come to; for the fox will go many miles to your one, and probably will run you out of all scent; but if he should not, you will be likely to change at the first cover you come into: when a fox has been hard pressed, it is my opinion, that he never should be given up.
A perfect knowledge of his country certainly is a great help to a huntsman: if yours, as yet, has it not, great allowance ought to be made.
In a country where there are large earths, a fox that knows the country, and tries any of them, seldom fails to try the rest. A huntsman may take advantage of this; they are certain casts, and may help him to get nearer to his fox.