did not disconcert them, he advanced towards them with a short stick in his
hand. No sooner had they seen him than they rushed at him, so the boy ran
home, though they tried to climb up his body. Later in the evening Mr. Tom
Davies, of Cromcathan, hearing of the episode, went to the field with a stout stick.
Again the Polecats rushed at him. They jumped at his hands and face, and
swarmed round him, trying to climb up his body. The next day they were there
again, and three of them were shot, since when they have not returned. This farm
is close to Sir Marteine Lloyd’s estate in Cardiganshire, and Sir Marteine thinks
that it is very unusual; he has heard of weasels doing the same some years ago.
Polecats are common in Wales. S ir Marteine destroyed thirty-six in one season
in 1886.’
Hunting the Polecat was at one time a favourite pursuit amongst the country
squires of Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, North Wales, and Cheshire, but
it is now practised only to a very limited extent in Cumberland and North Wales.
Writing in the ‘ Field,’ May 5, 1883, Mr. Thomas Farrall thus describes the chase
of the Polecat in Solway, Abbey Holme, and Weddholm Flow districts of
Cumberland:
‘ Hunting the Polecat, or Foumart, has long been a favourite sport on the
lowlands of Cumberland. Mr. Thomas Ruston of Aspatria, an enthusiastic sportsman,
has hunted this animal for nearly fifty years, and within that period packs of
hounds for this particular branch of sport have been stationed at Ellenborough,
Isell, Wigton, and Thurstonfield. The only pack now kept for the purpose is that
owned by Mr. Joseph Langcake, of “ The Outgang,” Aspatria.
‘ Polecats may be hunted either by day or by moonlight, but William Barnes,
who hunts Mr. Langcake’s pack, prefers the latter. The hunting season commences
with February, the chief months being March and April (the breeding season),
and lasts until the meadows are well clothed with grass, and likely to sustain
injury from the trampling of too ardent sportsmen. At this time of the year
male Foumarts have been known to travel many miles in the course of a night,
so that it is far more easy to drop upon one as he takes his “ walks abroad ”
than to surprise him in his lair. On being pursued, he instinctively makes for
his native ground; but if hotly pressed will, if possible, take refuge in any drain
which chances to be in the immediate locality. Once sub terra he is very difficult
to unearth. A little explanation is here needed. It must not be supposed that
the Polecat enters a pipe which is discharging water. The run he takes is what
is known as an old sod or stick drain, put down in the moss in the primitive