Every Man shall take a Fair Wand in his Hand.

 

Chapter 13

Of the Hunter, and how he ought to dress, govern and attend his dogs.

A good Keeper of Hounds should be gracious, courteous and gentle, loving his dogs of a natural disposition. And he ought to be both well-footed and well-winded, as well to fill his horn as his bottle.

The first thing he ought to do when he rises is to go see his hounds, to make their lodging clean, and to dress them as the case shall require. After he has so cleansed them, he ought to take his horn and sound three or four times the call, to the end he may comfort them and call them to him; and when he shall see them all about him, then shall he couple them, and in coupling them he must take good heed that he couple not the dogs together for fear lest they fight one with another. And if there be any young hounds, it shall be good to couple them with the old bitches, to teach them to follow. 

When they are all well coupled, the keeper must fill two great bags or pockets with small bones, and other good morsels as fish or horse feet fried, fat roast meats, and such like; he shall break all into small gobbets into his bags, or hang one bag about his own neck, and give another unto one of his companions. That done, he must take two wisps of clean straw and put them under hiss girdle with a little brush or duster to rub and dust his hounds when they shall come into the field. 

The other huntsmen or varlets which shall be with him ought to do as much. 

Afterwards, every man shall take a fair wand in his hand, and let one go before to call the hounds unto him; another shall come behind which shall jerk them forwards, and if there be two others, they shall go on each side, and so all four together shall go lead the hounds through the green cornfields and through the meadows, as well to feed them as to teach them to know their voice, making them to pass through thr herds of sheep and other such like beasts, to accustom them and to make them to know them. And if there be any dog that is so ill-taight as he would run at a sheep or any such tame beast, you must couple him with a ram or a stout sheep, and with your wand you must all to pay him and beat him a good while crying and threatening to the end that another time he may know the rate of such as use it. 

So must you also use to lead your hounds through the warrens, and if they covet to run after the conies, you must threaten and chastise them, because young hounds do naturally love them. 

When you have thus walked them in the morning, and the Sun begins now to be high, the hunt must go into some fair meadow, and call all his dogs about him; and then must they take their wisps and brushes to brush and dust their hounds as softly as may be. For sometimes the hounds which hunt in the woods and forests do prick themselves, and catch thorns or have scabs or blisters; the keepers of hounds having a heavy hand in rubbing and trimming them might gald off the skin, and rather do hurt than good. 

And furthermore, it were very evil for the hound to lose his hair or his locks, for as much as he is incessantly travelled in woods and forests, the ryndes, the water drops and other coldness doth fall upon him continually, and therefore it may suffice to rub and curry the hound three times in a week, but Greyhounds ought to be rubbed once every day. 

After all these things done, their keepers and huntsmen must teach them to know the halloo as well by the horn as by the mouth, in this wise:

First, one of the hunter men must take one of the budgets full of delicates as before laid, and go a crossbow-shot or further, according as the hounds are young or well-entered. Then, the halloo must be made nearer, and they must not be uncoupled, because the old hounds may lead them to the halloo; but if they have been begun to be entered, then may they go further off and uncouple them. And then, when the hunter shall be two good crossbow-shots from his hounds (the which his companions must in mean while hold together); he shall begin to halloo, and to sound his horn, and he shall otherwhiles cry How, how, how, that's he! how! to a Deer. And How, how, that, that! or There, there! to a Hare, and he shall never cease to cry, to halloo and to blow, until his hounds be come unto him. When his companions shall hear him begin to halloo, they shall uncouple their hounds or cry List halloo! hyke halloo! list, list, list! Then, when they are come to halloo, the hunter must take his bag of victuals, and cast unto them all the delicates, crying and comforting them as the art requires; then, when he shall see they have almost done eating their reward, he shall give sign or token to his companions that they begin to halloo, the which having not stirred from the place where they uncoupled their dogs, and having another budget or pocket full of delicates and dogs' dainties, shall begin to halloo on their side, and to blow their horns to make the dogs come unto them. 

Then, he which made the first halloo shall threaten them, and a little beat them with a wand, crying again, List halloo! hyke halloo! list, list, list! And when the hounds shall be come unto them, they must reward them with their delicates as the other did, and then after let them couple them up again fair and gently; for if one do roughly handle a young hound at the first coupling, he will not easily come again to the coupling another time. 

When they are coupled up again, they must lead them to their kennel and give them meat, leaving always some bread in their baskets, for such as shall be of faint appetite. Their straw must be changed three or four times in a week at the least, and the hunter must wreath wisps upon little sticks, and prick them in the ground to make them piss. It is a thing certain that if you rub over a wisp or such like thing with galbanum, all your hounds will not fail to come and piss against it; and if perchance there be no fountain not brook within the kennel, then must you put their water in troughs of stone or of wood, as I have rehearsed before, the which must be changed and refreshed every day twice. 

Also, in extreme heat, hounds are oftentimes encumbered with lice, fleas, and other vermin and filthy things, and for remedy thereof you must wash them once a week in a bath made with herbs, as follows:

First, you must have a great kettle holding ten great pots or small buckets full of waters. Then, take ten good stalks of a herb called veruyne and wild cress, and as much of the leaves of sorrell, marjoram, sage, rosemary and rue, and let them boil well altogether, casting among them two handfuls of salt. When all is well boiled together, and that the herbs be well consumed therein, you shall take them from the fire, and let them cool until the water be no more than luke warm, and therewith wash and bathe your dogs one after another, rubbing them softly with your wisps.

And all these things are best to be done in great heats, thrice in a week at the least; also, sometimes when whelps are lately brought from their nurses out of the villages. They will dread the waters and dare not adventure to pass though rivers, pools, &c. To help this, the hunter must choose out warm and hot days, in the which about noon he shall couple up all his hounds, and lead them to the side of some river or pool, and put off all his clothes. Then shall he take them one after another, and carry them a good way into the river to learn them to swim and abide the water; when he has done this two or three times, he shall see that his hounds will not fear the water, nor will make any difficulty to pass or swim through the rivers and ponds.

In this manner, good hunters shall use their hounds, for if theyobserve all these things above rehearsed, it is not possible but that their hounds shall be well-entered and ordered. And oftentimes it happens that hounds do hunt and chase in the rain and frost and other grievous weather, or else do enforce themselves to pass and swim through rivers and pools; when they do so, the hunter ought to make them a good fire, and to rub and dry them, and when they be dry, he should frot and rub their bellies to take off the dirt and clay which may hang thereupon. For if they go to kennel wet and moyled in dirt, they should be in danger to marfounder and to become mangy; oftentimes, also in running through the hard champagne or stony ground. They surbate and be-blister their feet, and to help that the hunter must first wash their feet with water and salt, then take the yolks of eggs, and heat them well with vinegar and the juice of a herb growing upon rocks and called mouse-ear; then, take pitch bruised to powder, and mingle it with twice as much soot, and after put your said powder amongst the eggs and juice of herbs aforesaid, making them all hot together and always stirring them, and you must take good heed that you always stirring them. And you must take good heed that you overheat it not, because the moisture might so be consumed, and the substance of the eggs would ware hard, which would mar all; but it shall be sufficient to heat it until it be somewhat more than luke warm, and herewith shall you rub every night the feet and folds between the claws of your hounds with a linen clout.

I will stand no longer upon this point, hoping to speak thereof more amply in the treatise of receipts.