One hundred and fifty years ago, Mr. James Crane of Southover House near Bere Regis, Dorchester, Dorset kept a famed pack of small beagles. He probably kept beagles at first as rabbits were becoming an annoyance on a wild tract of furze and moorland starting about a mile from his house. Ferreting was difficult as the earth’s were very extensive.
As the pack developed, Mr. Crane sought to reduce the height. ‘Giant’ who was thought to be the best of the pack, was a black, white and tanned hound, always at work and never wrong with a capital tongue. Even so, he was drafted for being too big and the pack was eventually maintained at 9 inches but not without difficulties.
Mr. Crane had reduced the breed to a minimum, he was not able to rear more
than one or two from each litter, whelps died, others taken with
distemper. Occasionally one was excessively dwarfed and proportionately
deformed. Other difficulties included barren bitches and bitches who died
whilst whelping. The young ones, though hardy when mature, were delicate
in their youth.
These small hounds performed as a regular pack, setting off from their
kennels with its miniature troughs and beds with all the importance of a
pack of staghounds. Many people enjoyed hunting with them and they could
account for a rabbit every 5 or 7 minutes. Although the nature of the
country meant the pack often had to run in indian file. A gun was not
used. Mr. Crane rode to his hounds on a little black hunter which picked
it’s way carefully through the furze clumps or waited patiently as the
pack brushed between it’s legs.
The variety of colour added to their beauty. Yellow and hair-pied were
encouraged and much fancied by Mr. Crane. One mottle was described as ‘a
blue mottle, quite free from all black patches, with a hound tan head’.
This particular hound was also said to be of ‘genuine harrier
appearance’. However in his quest to reduce the size of the pack, Mr. Crane was compelled to look at qualities other than colour. His chief
points were size, symmetry, straight limbs, length of ear, voice, nose,
sagacity, substance and muscular quarters. With shoulders and feet he had
little trouble. He did not round ears as was the practice then.
John
H
Walsh (Stonehenge) described them as all models of symmetry and power and
as accomplished and steady as Lord Portsmouth’s hounds.
Rev Thomas Pearce (Idstone) described the pack as having wonderful hindquarters and general frame and development. He requested Mr. Crane should exhibit them at one or two shows and was quite successful especially at the Islington Dairy Farm shows in 1867,68 and 69.
I
have found other descriptions of some of Mr. Crane’s hounds;
Damper,
his measurements were height 9” round the chest 16” across the ears
12” extreme length 28” eye to nose 2 1/8
Lily,
nearly all white with the most beautiful points.
Differing
from his companions, a little black-tanned one. On the flags he should
have been drafted but when he was seen working, he was quite forgiven for
being a conspicuous colour.
Mr.
Crane passed away in 1894, having kept a few of his favorites with him. 2
years earlier his carefully bred hounds were decimated by distemper. We
cannot imagine how he must have felt, losing a lifetimes work. Pocket
beagles generally became very scarce and the wonders of the small working
pack not seen again.
At least 3 of Mr. Crane's hounds were exported to America. It is through
one of these, Bannerman, that I have at this time found the only pedigree connection
(possibly due to the distemper of 1892) between Mr. Crane’s hounds and most if not all American Beagles born
today and through American imports to this country, every Beagle here.
What would Mr. Crane have thought of this?
Bannerman, AKC No. 4689 was born in November 1882, white and lemon by
Champion Marchboy out of Dewdrop. 11 ¾ inches in height. Exported to
America in 1884 by Dr LH Twadell of Philadelphia for Mr. Lewis Sloan of
Philadelphia. He became an American Show Bench Champion and in 1886 was
owned by Mr. AC Krueger of Wrightsville, Pennsylvania and offered at stud
for $10.
