Richard Clapham

“He’s strong and he’s straight, lads, his tongue like a bell,

And the stout heart that’s in him, lads, tongue cannot tell,

For to breast the steep hill-sides, where faint hearts must fail,

And to sweep the wide moors in the teeth of the gale.”

The hunting man from the Shires, on paying his initial visit to one or other of the fell packs, will no doubt be struck by the very different appearance of these hounds from those to which he has been accustomed.

For many years past Masters of hounds have bred for an exclusive type, as represented by the Peterborough standard. Unfortunately there are comparatively few hunting countries to which hounds of this exclusive type are exactly suited, yet, for various reasons, mainly financial, the majority of packs are composed of hounds very close to the standard.

A pack of hounds is got together with the object of showing sport and killing foxes. Throughout Great Britain the character of the individual hunting countries differs considerably. From the Hampshire downs and the vale country of the Shires, we progress northward through varying types of country, until we reach the fells of Cumberland and Westmorland, which comprise some of the wildest and roughest ground in England.

Any one who has had much experience of riding to hounds in different countries knows that the type of horse suited, let us say to Cumberland, would be entirely out of place in Warwickshire, which is fairly representative of a sound grass country. Now a horse ridden by a man who means to see sport and be with hounds must cross the same line of country taken by the latter. If, therefore, to enable him to do this with ease to himself and his rider the horse should be of the correct type, is it not equally necessary, in fact more so, for the hounds to be of a type most suited to the requirements of their particular country?

I think those Masters who set utility in advance of fashion where their hounds are concerned, will agree with me when I express the opinion that a deviation in type from the Peterborough standard, in order to improve the sport-showing qualities of a pack, should enhance rather than militate against their financial value.

Unfortunately, nowadays, the reverse is the case. As an example, I will take a hound from each of three very different countries, i.e. the Warwickshire, the Radnorshire, and the Blencathra.

The Warwickshire hound is of the fashionable type, and we will suppose his show value, in competition on the flags, is 100 points. The Radnorshire hound under the same conditions will be judged at say, 50 points, while the Blencathra hound cannot be allowed more than 25 points.

The financial value of these hounds would show an equally remarkable difference. If we credit the Warwickshire winner as worth 90 guineas, the Radnorshire hound will fetch perhaps 20 guineas, while the Blencathra representative we can set down for a sum of 3 guineas.

Examining their utility value in the same way, the Warwickshire hound may take the field four days a fortnight. He may continue to run up till his fifth or sixth season. The Radnorshire hound can, if required, do his five days a fortnight, and will probably be a runner-up until his seventh season. The Blencathra hound will come out three, if not four, days per week, and he has been known to do even more than this, whilst he will continue to run up till his ninth or tenth season, barring accidents amongst the crags.

The above comparisons tend to show how little real encouragement is held out to a modern Master of hounds to breed for utility and sport instead of exclusive type and consequent financial value.

The hound required to successfully cope with the exigencies of the fell country of Cumberland and Westmorland should conform to the following specification:—

Light in frame, and particularly well let-down and developed in hind quarters. Hare-footed, as opposed to the round cat-foot of the standard type. Good neck, shoulders and loin, long in pastern, and ribs carried well back. A good nose, plenty of tongue, and last, but by no means least, pace.

Owing to financial considerations, the fell packs are small, therefore individual hounds have to take the field much oftener than those composing the fashionable packs. They are kept, too, under less artificial conditions, and in consequence are quite able to run up for many seasons, and are seldom sick or sorry.

Although on the fells there is plenty of ground where hounds can race on a good scenting day, the majority of it consists of steep slopes, rock and loose shale, in addition to huge crags and cliffs. The fences consist of big stone walls.

“CRACKER.” Late of the Coniston pack. A big hound of the fell type.

“MISCHIEF.” Late of the Coniston pack. A bitch of the fell type.

A hound of the exclusive type is absolutely unsuited to such a country, for the following reasons: His weight is against him, as well as his short, straight pasterns, and round cat-feet. Jumping from a height, or running downhill on rough ground, his pasterns, owing to lack of spring, fail to minimise jar and concussion; no matter how good his shoulders may be. His round, over-developed, and practically malformed feet, are of little help to him either for crossing rough ground, or for gripping the latter when climbing crags and steep slopes. He is usually, too, lacking in tongue, and is not fond of working out a cold drag.

In addition, his height is against him when it comes to quick turning and running on steep ground.

A fell hound should stand under, rather than over, 22½ inches.

I know many people consider a big hound more suited to jumping high stone walls than a little one, but in practice it has been proved that the small hound crosses them with greater ease. To jump properly a hound should be short-coupled, compact in build, and have his ribs carried well back. You find this to more perfection in a small hound than a big one. The short-coupled hound can get his hind legs much further under his body, and, in consequence, clears an obstacle with far less strain. Jumping off a wall, too, the light-built hound experiences less jar on landing. At the end of a long day, the light-built hounds of a pack will show less signs of fatigue than those of greater weight, and will return to kennels with their sterns gaily carried. Weight increases leg weariness, and shortens the length of a hound’s utility in the field. Until the craze for show competition has run its course, both hounds and gun-dogs will suffer from it. Working ability should be the main object of the man who breeds for sport, and if he crosses workers with workers, Nature will see to it that beauty and good looks suited to the particular type will eventually accompany that ability. It is much better to do this than allow the beauty standard, or perhaps I had better say the humanly-conceived type of beauty, to take preference of working capabilities.

One of the most important points about a hound is his feet. Without sound feet he is severely handicapped from the very beginning. Many hounds of the exclusive type are so handicapped, their feet being nothing less than malformed. Owing to the shortening and cramping up of the feet, and the knuckling over at the knee, a hound of this type is useless for work in rough country.

On the fells, where hounds are bred for work and not for show, the natural or hare-foot is universal. Possessed of a lengthy surface, weight is evenly distributed along the latter, while wear and tear on the foot is properly taken up. Such a foot gets a firm grip on rocks, and offers a smooth surface to the ground on steep descents. If to such a foot we add a long, sloping pastern, jar and concussion will be brought to a minimum, particularly if the shoulders are also good. Concussion acts through the nervous system on the brain, and, therefore, the working life of a hound is quickly shortened, should he be improperly constructed as regards his feet. In most kennels, the dew-claws are removed from the puppies when the latter are quite young. The fell hounds, however, retain this claw, and it is properly developed. Far from being a useless appendage, as many people imagine, the dew-claw is of assistance to a hound in surmounting slippery rocks, where he has to pull himself up. It also acts as a preventative to slipping on the ledges of the crags. Was there no use for this claw it would not develop as it does on a fell hound, and on examination it will be found to be worn on the underside of the nail, proof positive that it does its share of work.

I have already mentioned the fact that there are portions of the fell country where hounds can get up a tremendous pace, and so severely press their fox at some period of a run. If the forearm of a hound is properly put together, not only will the several parts help to minimise jar and concussion, but they will give the hound an increased capacity for speed. If the humerus or bone of the upper arm is nearly in a straight line with the ulna and radius, the pace of the hound will be much greater than if the humerus inclines at a sharper angle.

What is commonly known as a “loaded shoulder” is the result of the humerus inclining to a nearly horizontal position, forming an obtuse angle between itself and the scapula or shoulder blade.

The angles formed by the scapula, humerus, and radius are filled with muscle and tissue, which act detrimentally to the forward movement of the leg, the result of which means loss of pace.

In the same way with regard to the hind leg, the longer the femur the lower the hock, and the greater the speed. The more obtuse the angle between the femur and tibia, the more power is there to bring the hind legs well under the body, as well as to throw them back.

CONISTON FOXHOUNDS: THE PACK.

CONISTON FOXHOUNDS: THE PACK IN KENNELS AT GREENBANK, AMBLESIDE.

To sum up the desired qualities in a fell hound, we have light frame, light bone, good neck and shoulders (these can’t be too good), good ribs, loins and thighs, and last, but not least, sound feet of the hare type. Given a good nose and a capacity for throwing his tongue, such a hound will work out a cold drag, and then, after unkennelling his fox, will drive ahead at a tremendous pace. I have often heard it stated that pace is not compatible with nose, but I think any one who has had a season or two with one of the fell packs will be in a position to easily refute such statements. Hardly a season passes without some individual hound of one or other of the fell packs finding, hunting, and killing a fox “on his own.” No single hound could do that in a country like the fells unless he possessed nose, pace, drive and courage in a marked degree.

The majority of the fell hounds are light-coloured; some of them practically white. This is a decided advantage on the hills, where it is impossible to keep in close touch with them. A light-coloured hound can be seen at a great distance against a background of heather or dark rock. Next to nose, however, music is most important. Even if you cannot see hounds, yet can hear them plainly, you know what to do, and which direction to take.

Hunting on the fells necessitates practising the “let ’em alone principle,” for throughout the majority of runs hounds do all their own work unaided by their huntsman. Thus they learn perseverance, which enables them to carry on when scenting conditions are not of the best.

Harking back for a moment to the subject of hound conformation, I have always been surprised that judges at the shows appear to set little or no store by the shape of a hound’s hind feet. Even with the ultra-fashionable type the hind feet are more or less as Nature formed them, and they stand wear and tear without showing signs of breaking up.

Now, this is a perfect refutation of the idea that the over-developed round cat-foot is the best and most desirable. Surely when a hound standing on four feet turns the front ones in, and knuckles over at the knee, at the same time showing general inability in those feet to withstand hard wear, yet suffers from no ill effects in the hind feet, one would imagine that a judge with a modicum of common sense would see the futility in continuing to breed hounds with fore feet of the fashionable type. No, fashion prescribes such feet, and though when you wish to sell them fashionable hounds fetch big prices, their upkeep as a pack costs you ten times the amount that it would for a pack possessing sound natural feet of the hare or semi-hare type.

Whilst there are one or two countries where the cat-footed hound can travel with comparative comfort to himself, there are many more where he very soon becomes lame, and ceases to be a really useful member of the pack.

The Master who is really fond of hound work, and wishes to show sport, naturally breeds hounds suited to his particular country; that is, if his financial resources are equal to the strain. Should he by ill luck experience severe losses in his kennel, he will find great difficulty in procuring fresh hounds suited to his needs, for probably all the hounds available are of Peterborough type.

Again, should he wish to sell his pack, despite the fact that the hounds are perfect in their work, they will fetch comparatively little, as they are not up to the fashionable standard in looks.

All this could be avoided if the show standard was considered from the point of view of the suitability of the hound to its particular country. Masters could then afford to breed hounds with this object, knowing that when they wished to get rid of them they would fetch a sum commensurate with their working ability.

It has often been stated that hounds require blood to keep them keen and up to the mark. Now, I think there are few hounds keener than those which hunt the fells, yet they seldom, if ever, break up their foxes in the accepted sense of the word. Now and then I have seen hounds break up and eat the greater portion of their fox, but, as a rule, they are content to kill it and leave it at that. American-bred hounds never get blood, yet they hunt season after season as keenly as English hounds which are “blooded up to the eyes.” During a long sojourn in Canada, I met and corresponded with a good many keen hunting men, quite a few of whom had imported English hounds to that country and the States. Much of the hunting country out there is very rough, and hounds are hunted on foot, or ridden to by nicking in and making for likely points. All the American foxhunters I got in touch with were emphatic in their denunciation of the Peterborough type of hound, yet they had imported fell hounds, which exactly suited their requirements, and crossed well with the native-bred hounds.

It is curious, but, nevertheless true, that in England when a low-country pack run their fox to the hills they often lose him, but let the fell hounds force their fox off the fells down to the low ground and they generally kill him. The fell hounds, accustomed to do most of their work on more or less precipitous ground, no doubt feel as if they were having a day off, as it were, when they descend to the level of the dales, whereas it is the other way round with the hounds of the lowland packs. In summer the fell hounds go out to walk at the farmhouses and other places in the dales, and are brought back to kennels in the hunting season. Although a pack of fell hounds can hunt and kill a fox in any description of country, which is more than can be said for the fashionable sort, “hounds for countries” should be the breeders’ motto. Hounds could be quite as easily judged on this principle at the shows as they are now, by always keeping in mind the ideal of working conformation.

In every country there are men able to judge a collection of hounds from the view-point of real utility in that country, and as there are many countries in which the same type, or practically the same type, is suitable, there should be no difficulty in securing proper awards.

Fell hounds are, owing to the roughness of their country, far more liable to accidents than hounds which hunt the low ground. Considering the dangerous nature of their work, it is really surprising how comparatively few serious accidents occur. A severe loss through distemper or other causes is more to be feared, as it takes time and patience to fill the gaps thus made in the pack. All the fell packs are small, and seldom, if ever, have hounds to spare, and few outside packs possess hounds of a type in the least suited to the country; so the fell-country Master has to rely on hounds of his own breeding. There is one temptation to which fell hounds are more liable to fall than low-country hounds, i.e. sheep worrying. It may be a wild, windy day, and hounds are on a catchy scent, and eager to be pushing on. No one is near them, and perhaps a young hound happens to view a solitary Herdwick sheep scurrying off. He gives chase, pulls down the sheep, and his example may be followed by several others. When this happens the huntsman is reluctantly forced to put down the culprits, no matter how short of hounds he may be at the time.

Although, luckily, such a contretemps as the above seldom happens, it is always liable to happen with certain young hounds. Death is the only cure for a hound which takes a liking to mutton on the hoof, for he can never be thoroughly trusted afterwards.

In judging the appearance of a hound from a utility view-point, many people are apt to pay much more attention to the fore limbs than the hind. This is a great mistake, for pace, freedom of action, and power to overcome obstacles, such as high stone walls, are much more dependent on the hind limbs than the fore. The power which enables a hound to spring up a high bank, or heave himself on to the top of a wall, is entirely developed from the hind quarters, and, as I have already mentioned, the small, compact hound that can get his hocks well under him is much better fitted for jumping than the big hound. In judging the hind quarters, particular attention should be given to the muscular development of the second thigh as well as to the same development of the inside of the leg. A tendency towards “cow hocks,” i.e. a deviation from the straight line between the hock and ground, should be condemned. A “cow-hocked” hound lifts his hind quarters higher than he should at each stride when travelling fast, the reason being a want of flexion due to shortened tendons inside. In other words, the more acute the angle between the foot and the stifle joint the shorter are the tendons that work the feet. This means reduced spring in the latter, and a consequent loss of propulsive power.

To return for a moment to the fore limbs. I have said that if the humerus or bone of the upper arm is nearly in a straight line with the ulna and radius, the pace of the hound will be much greater than if the humerus inclines at a sharper angle, or, in other words, lies in a more horizontal position. Whilst this formation ensures a lengthier stride, and consequent increase in pace, it also tends to increase shock, or jar and concussion. This jar is communicated to the hound’s head through the top of the scapula or shoulder blade. In order to reduce this jar to a minimum the scapula should lie well back, in an oblique position. The scapula or shoulder blade connects with the dorsal vertebrÆ, or bones of the back, and it can be easily understood that the further from the head this point of connection is the less jar will be communicated to the hound’s brain.

Having mentioned some of the more important parts of a fell hound’s anatomy, we may turn to his nose, or scenting power. The latter is the most important quality in a fell hound, for no matter how well-built he is, without nose his utility is nil. I have heard it said by people who should have known better, that pace and nose are incompatible. A very short experience of sport with the fell packs will enable any one to refute such a foolish statement. To press a fox in the rough fell country hounds must have pace, drive, and courage to an unusual degree. The records of foxes killed in any one season will testify to their qualities in the above respect, while their powers of owning a stale drag leave no doubt concerning their noses. The reason why the fell hounds possess great scenting power is because of the way they are bred, and also owing to the fact that they do practically all their work unaided, and thus become persevering and absolutely self-reliant. This leads to a high development, through constant use, of the powers with which they are naturally endowed.

It is commonly understood that the fashionable hounds in the Shires are second to none for pace. Whilst they may be fast, I doubt very much if they can equal, let alone surpass, the fell hounds for speed. The moorland hounds in Yorkshire are of the same type as our fell hounds, and sportsmen in the “county of broad acres” are quite as keen on hound trails as are the men of the Lake country.

A little story from Yorkshire, concerning the speed of hounds, may, therefore, be worth repeating.

On one occasion, Bobbie Dawson, huntsman to the Billsdale, went to a fixture of the Sinnington pack, taking with him one of his own hill hounds, by name, “Minister.” After trying for some time, hounds failed to find a fox, so Bobbie took “Minister” to a little covert, where the hound found a fox, coursed it and killed it in the open. Jack Parker, the Sinnington huntsman, was rather annoyed at this, and when Bobbie Dawson said, “Mun we kill another?” he replied, “Aye, if you can?”

Bobbie, therefore, made off to another covert, where “Minister” again found a fox, and ran him well ahead of the Sinnington hounds, finally rolling him over like his predecessor. The Sinnington broke him up, as “Minister,” being a hill hound, would not touch him after he was dead.

This took place in the low country, and shows what a hill hound can do when he finds himself on more or less level “going.”

I have heard it said that the fell hounds would be beaten by hounds from the Shires in an enclosed country, but I should feel pretty safe with my money on a fell pack, if ever such a trial took place.

In order to get the best out of hounds, their feeding and conditioning should receive very special attention. It is the superior condition of the hounds that enables them to press their fox at some period of a run, and by doing so, eventually bring him to hand. Both scenting power and eyesight may be damaged in a hound solely through injudicious feeding. A great deal too much “slop” is fed to hounds in some kennels, the result being that hounds in their eagerness to feed, shove their muzzles well into the liquid, and not only get irritating matter up their nostrils, but splash their eyes into the bargain. The nostrils are extremely tender, and anything lodging in them tends to set up irritation and inflammation, with the result that the animal cannot use its nose to the best advantage in the field. In the same way, particles of irritating matter reach the eyes, the latter, as in humans, being most susceptible to anything of such a nature. Fed with solid food early the day before hunting, hounds should be fit to run their best on arrival at the meet. Hounds well fed with good stiff food will work better, and keep in better condition, than those which are blown out with sloppy feed. Due attention should, of course, be paid to the gross feeders and those with more dainty appetites, but the chief thing to remember is the stiff food.

On the return from hunting it is, I think, bad policy to allow hounds to absolutely gorge themselves, just a nice feed being much better, and less liable to cause internal disorders such as indigestion. Old hounds which, owing to their experience, are so valuable in a fell pack, should, with advancing years, be fed lighter than was the case in their younger days. An old hound is like a human being, apt to put on fat internally with age, and though he may not show it markedly in his outward appearance, such fat has a deleterious effect on his wind. Over-feeding only increases this fat, and though the hound may be able to stay almost as well as ever, a fast burst over a country finds him tailing behind his fellows. Quality of food, and thickness—in fact, the thicker the better—has everything to do with hounds keeping their condition. It should never be forgotten that the superior condition of the hounds over that of the fox, is the chief factor in enabling them to bring their quarry to hand.

The fell hound, like his relations in the Shires, is sent out to walk as a puppy. A great deal depends upon his treatment during this period of his existence. The majority of fell hounds are walked at farmhouses, where they are assured of sufficient liberty, and become accustomed to knocking about amongst sheep, thus quickly learning that mutton on the hoof is strictly taboo to a hound.

When out on the fell with the shepherds, the puppy soon learns to chase hares, which teach him to get his nose down and hunt. He may also get to know the scent of a fox long before he becomes a working member of the pack. The shepherds’ cur dogs often unkennel foxes on the fells, and occasionally roll them over.

A sharp cur dog is much handier and quicker than the fastest hound in rough ground, and generally possesses an excellent nose; therefore, if Reynard gets up close in front of such an one, it means a close shave if nothing worse.

After the dispersal of the Sedbergh Foxhounds, a party of farmers were gathering sheep in the vicinity of Cautley Crag, when one of their dogs unkennelled a fox. Four other curs joined in the chase, and after a sharp spin, the fox was rolled over. On proceeding further up the fell, still another fox was disturbed, and the same quintet of dogs repeated the performance, killing their fox after a sharp scurry. I have seen a cur dog lead hounds in a fast hunt, and be in at the finish when the fox met its death in the open. A cur dog can twist and turn at a wonderful pace amongst the rocks, and can climb at a surprising rate.

To return for a moment to the subject of hound food. Hard feed not only ensures condition, but is a safeguard against eczema. Sloppy food induces the latter, and without a doubt aggravates mange. Hard food is better for the teeth, and by causing a flow of saliva, as hounds have to chew it to some extent, it digests better.

Hounds from both the fells and the Shires have from time to time been purchased and imported by Americans. Except in the East of America, the Peterborough type of hound has found little favour. On the contrary, the fell hounds have been well received, and cross nicely with the native-bred hounds.

The country, and the method of hunting in many of the American states, is on similar lines to that on the fells, so the imported hounds find themselves more or less “at home.” Col. Roger D. Williams, M.F.H. (Iroquois Hunt Club, Kentucky), in his book “Horse and Hound,” has this to say, when comparing sport in England and the States:

“The problem that confronts the American hound is an altogether different proposition. Our coverts and forests are extremely large, the foxes remaining wild and timid, and seldom pass twenty-four hours without a run of from four to eight hours, the hounds frequently running them by themselves without hunters (unless the packs are large they are not kennelled and generally run at large).

“One or two ambitious hounds will alone get up a fox at dusk, and as they circle through the neighbourhood all the hounds in hearing ‘hark’ to them until ten or a dozen couples are hustling him in full cry. Does the fox go to earth? Not he, earth stoppers are unnecessary; he will lead them a merry chase as long as he can drag one foot behind the other, or until daylight warns him he had better ‘seek the seclusion that his burrow grants.’ I have, upon more than one occasion in the ‘Blue Grass Country,’ heard two and three different packs in the middle of the night, each one after a different fox, making music that would cause the blood to go galloping through one’s veins like a racehorse.

“Thus at any time his ‘foxship’ is trained to the minute.

“The character of the country hunted over is frequently dry and rocky, many large ploughed and cultivated fields, with woodlands strewn with dry, parched leaves. It is not uncommon for hounds to hunt half a day before a trail is struck; it may then be an old, overnight trail that will require hours of persevering work before the fox is afoot.

“I am prepared to state that a hound that would be considered a wonder in the grass countries of England, if cast with a pack in America in our Southern States, where he would be expected to take a trail many hours old, in a dry, barren, country, puzzle it out for several hours, make a jump (unkennel), and then run it from ten to twenty hours—a feat I have seen performed scores of times by American hounds—would find himself hopelessly out of a job.”

That the imported fell hounds have found favour in America is corroborated by two “At stud” advertisements in a copy of the Red Ranger—an American publication devoted solely to foxhunting—which I have before me as I write.

The date is February, 1913, and the “ads.” are as follows:—

“At stud. ‘Ringwood,’ a full-blooded Eskdale foxhound, bred by William Porter. A wide and rapid hunter, an excellent trailer, fast and dead game. Ship bitches to Woodland, Ga. All communications to A. G. Gordon, Junr., Talbotton, Ga. Stud fee, $35. Cash.”

The other advertisement reads as follows:—

“At stud. ‘Streamer,’ the imported Eskdale dog. Fee, $25. The one source of new blood for all American strains of hounds that you know is right. Write for description, etc., to Thomas Hackley, Stanford, Kentucky, R.F.D. 1.”

Except, as I have previously stated, in the East, American foxhunting conforms to sport on the fells and the moorlands in England. Hounds do their work quite unassisted, and so become persevering and independent.

Whilst financial considerations necessitate small packs in the fell country, lack of numbers is made up for by the ability of hounds to come out three or even four days per week. Hounds are not kept under artificial conditions, and so grow hard and healthy, seldom suffering from any sort of complaint.