First well-informed gent: “Seen this in the papers about badgers being caught in Essex?”
Second: “No. How interesting!”
First: “Yes. Very curious, isn’t it?”
Second: “By the way, what is a badger like?”
The Cleveland Fox-hounds at Exercise.
From a photograph of Mr. Heywood Hardy’s picture, “A Summer’s Day in Cleveland.”
[Pg 239]
First: “Oh—er—a badger is an animal that lives in the water, something like a seal.”
Second: “No, no! That’s an otter. I know what an otter is. A badger is more like a ferret or weasel.”
First: “Yes, I believe you’re right, but I fancy it’s larger than that.”
Second: “How big would you say?”
First: “Oh, I don’t know exactly, but nearly as big as a hare.”
Second: “Oh, of course! They used to bait badgers with dogs; they must be larger than a ferret.”
And so they went on, much to my amusement; and when they had set up their badger, I rather cruelly knocked it over, and gave them a little elementary education on the badger and his ways. Now, these [Pg 240] two persons had both of them a natural disposition to be interested in badgers, and, astounding18 as is the ignorance of thousands who are fond of animal life, it requires but a very few words to arouse their interest in the rarer species of wild animals that we can still boast of as British.
The fact is, since the cruel and brutalising sport of badger-baiting has been stamped out, the badger has been forgotten except by a few naturalists19, sportsmen, and by the gamekeeper. Being neither furred nor feathered game, the keeper, of course (where his master’s wishes to the contrary are not expressed), treats him as vermin and wages war on all his tribe. With all their good qualities, keepers are too apt [Pg 241] to consider that nothing but game has any right to live in an English covert20.
His ear no music toucheth, save the roosting pheasant’s crow.
Down go the falcons25, the buzzards, the hawks26, the jays, the magpies27, the owls28, the woodpeckers, the kingfishers, and any other bird that “wears a beak too hook’d,” or a dress gaudy29 enough to attract his attention. Badgers and squirrels are put into the same category as polecats, stoats, and weasels, and with almost as little compunction. Yet a badger is practically harmless to game, though I will not [Pg 242] pretend to acquit30 him of the charge of taking a rabbit out of a snare31, or of digging out a nest of young rabbits on occasion. He is, however, death on small vermin and such pests as wasps, though his main food consists of roots, fruits, wild honey, beetles32, and insects. I believe that badgers eat slugs, but I have placed dishes of assorted33 kinds, from big black to small white, before my tame ones, and never could induce them to partake of them.
I see no other method by which the badger’s continued existence can be assured than that of hunting him. Personally, I should be content if I could believe that the desire to keep an English species from extinction would perpetuate34 his existence; but I fear that, like [Pg 243] the red deer, fox, and otter, he will have to make his exit if he be not hunted. Some object to badger-hunting underground because of the punishment often inflicted35 on the terriers, and of the tendency that the sport may degenerate36 into a sort of drawing match. If, however, we are to compare one sport with another, there is nothing in a properly managed badger-digging that can disgust the spectator as he must be disgusted towards the finish of the otter hunt.
One of the most cruel amusements, if we look closely into it, is ferreting rabbits. And yet who will say that ferreting rabbits is anything but a fair and reputable sport? But the man who is constantly rabbiting will announce, with airs of superior humanity, that [Pg 244] digging out a badger is too brutal a sport for him. Why, there is no comparison! In a properly managed badger-digging there is no cruelty whatever. The badger is taken without so much as a scratch, and the terriers consider their pleasure cheaply purchased when they have the misfortune to get a kiss on the face from a badger. No man wishes to have a good terrier mauled, and such men as enjoy taking the badger are always ready to bear their own share of risk of punishment and exertion37 in securing the prize. To dig out a badger in a strong “set,” requires great and continuous exertion, considerable knowledge and skill in the pursuit, and a well-trained and trustworthy team of terriers. The [Pg 245] terriers must, to be successful, combine discretion39 with valour and pertinacity40. A dog that goes to ground, and immediately tries a “set to” with a badger, either gets badly punished or such a frightening that he becomes a funker. All that a good terrier should do, when despatched underground, is to follow the badger, giving tongue till he corners him, and then lie up to him baying, keeping him there through long hours, if necessary, while the digging proceeds; never heeding41 the noise of spade, pick, and shovel42 overhead, and never fighting unless the badger attempts to charge or leave his place. One reliable terrier with a good voice is worth all the worrying, excitable terriers in the countryside. I have seen a dog keep a dozen men digging for hours; and [Pg 246] when at last they got to him, they found he was only barking out of the fulness of his heart, or scratching and chewing roots to get up a rabbit-hole.
The scarcity43 of badgers, and the consequent restriction44 of hunting-grounds, has deprived the terrier in a great degree of his vocation45. As the name terrier implies a dog adapted for “going to earth,” no dog that cannot go to ground is properly a terrier; and no terrier that will not go to ground is worthy38 of his name. It has always seemed to me a reproach to my native county that the beastly little lap-dog called a Yorkshire terrier should be so described, for though no doubt a whole pack of these ridiculous creatures could go [Pg 247] down a rabbit-hole, yet if, by some inconceivable process, they were induced to venture down a badger-earth, they would hardly afford a meal for a brock. For a totally opposite reason another Yorkshire breed is unfitted for the name of terrier—this is the Airedale. He is, as a rule, a game sort of dog, and I have seen one look very much distressed46 when he could only get his head into a large earth. The preposterous47 size of this so-called terrier is such that he cannot go to ground; this is also the case with the general run of Bedlingtons, Dandie Dinmonts, black and tan, and even Irish terriers; though when a Dandy or Irish terrier is small enough, he is excellent, and can claim the [Pg 248] title. The fox-terrier, whether wire-haired or smooth, is often an excellent badger dog. The bull-terrier, as seen in the showyard, is too big, and, when diminutive48, is generally too pugnacious49 for the purpose, and has too much of the obstinate50 and unreasoning ferocity of the bull-dog to make a good badger dog. Yet it is sometimes useful to have a strain of his blood in the fox-terrier, if it can be obtained in such small quantity as neither to destroy the reliability51 and voice, nor the less excitable disposition of the fox-terrier.
When pursuing a badger underground, the dog that does the most satisfactory work is hard, strong, short-legged, sharp-tongued, and discreet52; one that is a sure marker, that will not go if there is nothing to go for, that will not quit the pursuit as long as there is [Pg 249] game ahead—who, regardless of noise above and the onslaught of the enemy underground, in spite of twisting passages and the interposition of barricades53, continues the attack, and never ceases from giving tongue when in proximity54 to the foe. Such a terrier should not close unless he is charged, and he must not be of so excitable a temperament55 that he will bay an imaginary foe, or attack another dog despatched underground to his relief. I am not sure whether a good Dachshund (Dachs—German for badger) is not as useful as any other. The properly trained sort is only “made in Germany,” and on the Continent he is most intelligent and companionable, enormously strong, very pertinacious56, has a splendid voice, and beautiful teeth.
[Pg 250]
In our own island, the Scotch57 terrier is hard to beat. The right breed are wonders of pluck, endurance, perseverance58, and intelligence; their voices are sharp and penetrating59, and their long, lithe60 bodies are carried on short, active legs; they are, moreover, charming companions, and fasten on to their owner’s affections as firmly as to a badger’s neck. The Irish terrier, when small enough, is a good one, and so is the rarer old-fashioned English broken-haired black and tan.
Digging the badger is, perhaps, the most entertaining manner of taking him. It is pleasant on a summer’s morning to start after daybreak with an eager team of terriers, and all the appliances for laying siege [Pg 251] to the badger’s stronghold, in the hope that, after the sorties and assaults of the day, you may return with something worth looking at in the sacks. And there are many worse ways of spending a holiday than in watching your terriers at their lawful61 and natural avocation62, and handling pick, spade, and shovel yourself. Some, however, shrink from the labour and sweat of the digging, and prefer hunting the badger at night above ground. For this sport any bobbery pack will do if the members of it are a sporting lot, are fond of a scent63, and can make a good tow-row. Many sorts and conditions of dogs will do for the hunt on a moonlight night, but the best run and the best music will be with harriers.
A game fox-hound, a bob-tailed sheep-dog, or a retriever will come [Pg 252] in useful. The course of procedure is simple. About 10 p.m. the badger-earths in the neighbourhood are stopped, with the exception of two or three well-used entrances. In these are placed sacks with a running cord through the neck of the bag, the ends of which are firmly pegged64 and secured, so that when in his flight he charges into his earth, he fastens himself neatly65 into the sack. A man should be posted near (taking the wind into account) to make all quite safe—if the badger falls into the trap laid for him. The pack is then taken out, and coverts66 and hedgerows drawn67, and when the scent is struck, a run of a few miles may, at least, be hoped for. This kind of hunting yields its full crop of disappointments.
[Pg 253]
I knew of one undergraduate at Oxford68, whose sporting establishment consisted of a tame badger, a beagle, and a bull-terrier. Whenever he required a little exercise and a hunting-run, the badger was turned out, the beagle laid on after a certain amount of law, and the bull-terrier kept in reserve to recover the badger, should he go to ground. This sporting quartette thoroughly69 understood each other, and, as a rule, each kept to his own special department. The badger was expected, at least, to give a two or three miles’ run over a country, the beagle to speak to him all the way, and to account for him, the man to keep the beagle in view, and the terrier to facilitate the operation of bagging the badger at the finish. Thus all four obtained in an original manner exercise and diversion. This form of amusement, [Pg 254] however, does not appear to reach a much higher level than hunting carted deer.
In conclusion, I would appeal to all lovers of nature, among the best of whom are numbered the true sportsmen, to use their influence in securing a reasonable protection for the badger. And if they will take the trouble of observing his habits and mode of life, I can predict with confidence they will come to the same conclusion as the writer, that he is an animal well worth preserving from extinction, both as a beast of chase and on account of his many interesting and useful qualities.
The End
The End
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1
badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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badgers
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| n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊 | |
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naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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wasps
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| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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14
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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19
naturalists
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| n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者 | |
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20
covert
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| adj.隐藏的；暗地里的 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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falcons
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| n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 ) | |
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hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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magpies
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| 喜鹊（magpie的复数形式） | |
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owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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acquit
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| vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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31
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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32
beetles
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| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
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assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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38
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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40
pertinacity
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| n.执拗，顽固 | |
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41
heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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42
shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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43
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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restriction
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| n.限制，约束 | |
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45
vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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46
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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47
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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48
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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49
pugnacious
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| adj.好斗的 | |
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50
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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51
reliability
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| n.可靠性，确实性 | |
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52
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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53
barricades
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| 路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 ) | |
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54
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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55
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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56
pertinacious
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| adj.顽固的 | |
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57
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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58
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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59
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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60
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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61
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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avocation
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| n.副业，业余爱好 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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64
pegged
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| v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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66
coverts
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| n.隐蔽的，不公开的，秘密的( covert的名词复数 )；复羽 | |
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67
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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