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VVHen a huntesman woulde hunte the Wolfe, he muste trayne them by these meanes. Firste lette him looke out some fayre place a myle or more from the greate woodes where there be some close stāding to place a brace of good Greyhounds in, if neede be, the whiche shoulde be close enuironed, and some ponde or water by it: there shall he kill a horse or some other great beast, and take the foure legges thereof and carie them
into the woods and Forests adioyning. Then let foure goodfel∣lowes take euery man a legge of the beast, and drawe it at his horse tayle all alongst the pathes and wayes in the woodes vntill they come backe agayne vnto the place where the dead beast li∣eth: there lette them lay downe their traynes. And when the Wolues go out in the night to pray and to feede, they wil crosse vpon the trayne and follow it, vntill they come at the dead ca∣rion: there they will feede theyr fill. And then let the huntesman aboute the breake of day go thether, and leaue his horse a good way of vnderneath the winde, and come fayre and softely to the place to espie if there be any Wolues feedyng. If there be, he may retire & styrre them not, and neuer looke how much or how little they haue fedde: for it is sufficient if the hūtesman see them, since they are so craftie & subtile as I haue beforesayd. Then let him clime into some tree there by, & looke which way the Wolfe goeth, and where it is likely that he will lie. For as I haue sayd, they will not lightly farie whereas they feede, but rather will be gone very earely in the grey mornyng: for whether they came late or earely, or whether they would lie in the Sunne rather thā in the couert, or that they would voyde and emptie their bellies, or whether it be so that they haue bene lately styrred and hun∣ted, I councell the huntesman to be gone betymes, and so shall he be sure to see certainely: and if he cannot see them, then lette him looke vpon the carion whether they haue bene at it or not: and how many he gesseth haue bene at it, accordyng to the pla∣ces that he shall see gnawen or fedde vpon: and then lette him returne to his Lorde or Master, and make reporte accordingly. And let him marke and looke in the wayes which are about the nexte couert or the couert whiche they are gone into, whether they be there entred or paste on furder. And if his hounde will sticke willingly vpon the tracke of a Wolfe, and will challenge it, then he may caste aboute the couert and come not within a∣ny parte thereof, and so shall he be best assured whether they be there stayed or not: for his hounde will vent it out styll as he goeth. And therewithall let him marke and iudge whether they do all keepe companie still togither or not, for many times some
one will be gone, and all the rest will abide, or els some one wil abide, and all the rest will be gone: but those whiche be full, do most willingly tarie alwayes: and when they fedde not theyr fill the day before, then they tarie longer than suche as fedde their fill ouer night, or yong Wolues, or suche other: for an olde Wolfe is so doubtfull and so full of mistrust, that he will sel∣doine abide w•…•…re he feedeth. And therefore it were no badde pollicie, to leaue but little meate at the place wherevnto you trāyne, and to leaue harde by the place, some weake beast tyed, so that it can neyther stray away nor make defence. And when the Wolues come and finde but little carion at the place, then to satis•…•…e their hunger, they will fall vppon that beaste and de∣uoure it: Whiche if they do not the firste night, they will sure∣ly do it the nexte night if you obserue that order: and by that meanes they will feede theyr fill, and the rather abyde and tarie by it or neare vnto it: for they are gluttons, and desirous to keepe the tenmant of their praye, when they haue killed a beast and leaue any of it. And when the Hun•…•…an shall by these meanes haue bene assured of theyr feedyng twoo nightes togi∣ther, then may he make preparacion to hunte them on the thirde day: or if they fayle to come vnto the trayne the firste or se∣conde daye, then lette him sende out Uarlettes to trayne from aboute all the couerts adioyning vnto the same place: and so doyng, he cannot misse but drawe Wolues thither once within twoo or three nightes, vnlesse it be in Februarie. In that mo∣neth they make small accoumpt of any trayne, by reason of their heate in followyng the Saulte bitches. And sometimes also a Wolfe will followe the trayne euen vntill they come at the ca∣rion, and yet when they come there will go their wayes and not feede vppon it. In suche a case the Huntesman shall change his trayne and carion, as if it were of Horse•…•…eshe, or beefe, lette him make it of Sheepes or Goates fleshe, or the fleshe of an Asse (whiche Wolues do loue exceedingly,) or of Hogges flesh: for otherwyse he shoulde not be able to knowe whether there be any Wolues neare vnto the place where he trayned or not:
and if he doubte thereof, then shall he fayne a voyce, and call or barke, and howle lyke a Wolfe: and if there be any Wolues in the whole couert within the hearyng they will answere him. Agayne, if they come to the carion, and feede not in two or three nightes one after another, or that they feede and go their wayes and tarie not in any couert neare adioyning, then lette him o∣uernight hang vp the carion in some trees, so highe that they cannot come by it: and yet leaue some bones vpon the ground, to the ende they may gnawe vpon them. And lette him tarie in the woode vntill it be as it were an houre before day: and lette him leaue by the caryon the garments of some Shepherde or Heardesman, that the Wolues may haue no mistrust of hym where he standeth: then when it is not passyng halfe an houre or little more before daye, lette hym put downe the caryon and go his wayes, and then the Wolues commyng too it, and ha∣uing not fedde all the night before, will feede hungerly, and through their gluttonie will forgette themselues and abyde vn∣till it be farre foorth dayes, and so go to kennell in the couerts adioyning: for they will be so hungry to feede, and they shall haue so small tyme to satisfie their hunger, that they will be con∣strayned to abyde. But bicause commonly Lordes and No∣blemen do not ryse so earely as to see these pastymes and polli∣cies, therefore I thinke meete that when he hath beaten downe the fleshe as beforesayde, he cause some good fellowes to go and to make fires betweene them and the laste couerts that the Wolues fledde vnto: and lette the fires be not passyng a bow∣shotte or not so much one from another: and at euery fire lette some one or two of the cōpany stand talking and laughing one with another: when the Wolues shall heare that, they shall be constreyned (by reason that the day light is now come vpon thē) to abyde there in the couert harde by the carion. In meane whyle, the Lord or Gentleman shall be come and may hunte them at hys pleasure: and that shall he order thus. Firste lette him regard which way wil be the fayrest course for Greyhoūds, and place them accordingly: and as neare as he can lette him forestail with his Greyhoundes the same way yt the Wolues did
flie the nightes before, if the grounde serue to course in, vnlesse the winde be contrarie, for then it were but follie to set them that waye: otherwayes the Wolfe will rather come that way than any other way. If the winde serue not that waye, then lette him set his Greyhoundes in the fayrest place to course in vppon a good wynde: and lette hym set his Greyhoundes in rankes as neare one to another as the number of his Greyhoundes will permitte: alwayes regardyng the wynde, and causing them whiche holde the Greyhoundes to stande close. That be∣yng so appoynted, lette him set hewers all rounde aboute the Couert where the Wolues doo lye, to hewe and make noyse on euery side but onely that where the Greyhoundes doo stande. If his owne seruauntes and companie be not sufficient, he may do well to assemble the neighbours whiche dwell neare by: who will be gladde to helpe hym bycause the Wolues doo them suche greate harmes and domages. And lette all those people stande as thicke as they can all aboute the couert, but onely on that side where the Greyhoundes are set, talkyng and walkyng one to another, and makyng all the noyse that they can deuise to force them vnto the Greyhoundes. Then lette the Huntes∣man go with his Lyamehounde and drawe from the carion vnto the thickes sides where the Wolues haue gone in: and there the Huntes shall caste off the thyrde parte of their beste houndes, for a Wolfe will sometimes holde a couert long tyme before he come out. The Huntesmen muste holde neare in to theyr houndes, blowyng harde and encouragyng them with the voyce: for many houndes will streyne curtesie at this chace, although they bee lustie and arrant at all other chaces. When the Wolfe commeth to the Greyhoundes, they whiche holde them shall do well to suffer the Wolfe to passe by the first ranke, vntill he be come vnto the seconde ranke or furder: and let the last ranke let slippe their Greyhoundes full in the face of the Wolfe: & at the same instant let al the other rankes let slippe also. So that the firste ranke staying him neuer so little, he may be assayled on all sides at once: and by that meanes they shall the more easily take hym. It is beste entryng of Houndes
at yong Wolues whiche are not yet passyng halfe a yeare or a yeare olde: for a hounde will hunte suche more willingly and with lesse dread than they will hunte an olde Wolfe. And likewise the yong Wolues can neyther make so good defence, nor yet vse suche policies and subtilties as the olde Wolfe will. Or it shall be good to take Wolues alyue in engines, and then breake theyr teeth and enter your houndes at them. When the Wolfe is deade, you shall make the rewarde thus. Firste lette the houndes and Greyhoundes, but especially the houndes runne in and all to byte and musle the dead Wolfe: then let the hunte open his belly all alongst and take out all his bowels: then lette him take a Sheepe or a Porkine and kill it, and strype of the skinne quickly and cut it all to gobbets, putting it into the bo∣dye of the Wolfe, and there lette the houndes and Greyhoundes •…•…ate it out. For defaulte of a sheepe or suche hote meate, let him take breade cheese and suche lyke scrappes and broken morselles and put them into the Wolfe for the houndes rewarde as before sayde. Note that bothe houndes and Greyhoundes will re∣quyre greater fleshyng and encouragement to a Wolfe than to any other chace, and therefore all the cheare that you can vse vnto them, will be little enough: And if a Wolfe chaunce to breake vppon the hewers, and so escape the course, yet bee not thereat discouraged, but beate the same couert on the next day. For a Wolfe hath this propertie, that when he hath once so esca∣ped, he bethinketh him thereof, & returneth thither on the next day to see what ye matter was which styrred him so, or to see what is become of his companions if he had any, or to see if there be any carrion. And agayne he is so craftie, that he thinketh surely men will not hunte in the sayde place agayne so quickely: but if he finde faulte and perceyue that any of his companions be killed, then will he be gone from thence the nexte night, and come no∣more there of a greate whyle: yea though you trayne him he may chaunce to come vnto the trayne, but surely he will not ta∣rie in any couert neare vnto that place. A man may knowe a doggewolfe from a bitche by the trackes of theyr feete: for the
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dogge hath a greater heele, a greater toe, greater nayles, and a rounder foote: and the Bitche casteth hyr fiants commonly in the middest of an high way, whereas the dogge casteth them on the one or other side of the pathe. And now let these fewe things suffise for the hunting of the Wolfe.