Staghunting With

CO N T E N TS .

H P C A TER 1.

— - T h i a ears to - da A l n Int roducto ry . h e C ase as t pp y G al opi g — Came ra H ow th e Tyro get s e nte red to th e Spo rt — 7 Wh ere the Tripod Fail s The Lo neline ss of E xmoo r

Askin th e Wa g y .

HAP T 11 C ER .

Th e O pe ning M eet at Clo ut sh am Th e Concou rse o n

Clout sh am Ball—Th e Parade inth e Field—N otable — — Figu res The M as te r and H i s Staff Ke nne lling at — ' — Clout s h am Farm Th e D ay s P rocee dings Th e Taki ng

of th e St ag .

HAP TER 111 C . — — The D ulve rtonSide o f the Count ry Winsfo rd Tufting in — — — th e E xe V alley Th e Big R ive rs H addo nHill Th e ' — — Harbo u re r s Cottage Hart fo rd M ill Bittescombe — — — Chips tabl e M olland M oo r Bu ry V illage A Pool in

th e H add eo .

HA P T C ER I V. — — — D u nke ry H o w the M oor R id es The G raveyard Fog — — F ro s t and Sno w The M oo rland Stre am s Th e H o m e r — — Woods inWinte r Luccombe All e rs Th e Cutco mbe — Co ve rt s Sweete ry and Bagley . STAG H U N T I NF WITH TH E

APT CH E R V.

’ ’ s and l ne l H rn s G reat R u ns—A M em o rable M r. Basset Co o o by — - n W E li z a By day o nthe F o rest From H addo to heal .

HAF T VI C ER . — Th e Black Stag of Badgw o rthy F ro m Black Pitt s to Bratton — — Co urt The G reat Quantock Stag Th e O ldest Stag on — — nd ’ R eco rd F ro m Care to Bratto nFleming M r. Sa e rs — — Fi rst Big Stag Th e O pening D ay of 189 5 From — Po pham Wood to Badgworthy E igh tee nM iles onthe — — So uth Fo rest Th e G reat N o tt Stag A R unfrom

H awkco mbe H ead .

CH APTE R VI I . — The R unof H alf a Ce nt ury F rom Hawkridge to Gl en — ’ — tho rne A Sta s So lil oq uy Th e O penin D ay of — g g xgoo BrendonH ill and E l wo rthy .

CH APTE R VII ]. — Th e Bo ldness o f E xmoo r D eer The i r N oi seless T read — — — Th e Tutting Po ny D ust The M adding Crowd Th e

' unt sb r liﬂs—Su ne n S Co i u y C s t o th e ea.

H APTE R X C 1 . — — D unste r H u nting i nH ot Weather A D ream of the Past — — V i e w H o lloas Anoth e r G raveyard AnE xt rao rdinary — — — Tro phy Po rl ock We i r The Boat Sh eepkilling — k D ro wning at Sea Th e Seni o r Pac . D E V O N AN D SO M E R SE T .

HAP TER X C . — — R e m arkabl e H ead s Th e R eco rd Weight Souve ni rs of — — — th e Chase Taking a Stag The Seve rnSea Beacon — — — Fi res H o m er M ill Wheel V eniso n The R utting — — — Season Crippled D eer Slotting Warrantabl e o r — — O therwise N o rt h H ill Black G ame .

P CHA TER XI .

— — — ‘ — O h the M oo r U nke nne lling Kicke rs O ﬂ at Last The — — Sou nds o f the Chase The D ee rpark The Wate r Slid e — Awkward Paths Po int to Po int R aces .

H APTE R XI 1 C . — — Culbo ne Plai n The D ee r Fe nce D e vices fo r Protect ing — — Crops from D ee r Ni ht Watchin The Ti vert onSta — g g — g h ou nds Th e Quantock Stagh ou nds Th e Barnstaple — — Cou nt ry The Stowey R oad A Chase on the — “ — Quantocks O ve r the Cliffs Trugg R ich The

Watchet Hind .

HAP T X11] C ER . — — — Increased Spe ed Blanching a Stag Slowley Wood Kings — — — brid e Th e M ineral R ailway Th e St eart Sta Tame g— — g— D e er Ways and M eans Th e V eni sonFeasts Time

Ho nou red Custo ms .

F L R A I N LI ST O IL U ST T O S .

Chi eﬂy from Photographs

L u m . inl n f w b M a. 0. M . C. v by M R . H . M . Lo w , c udi g a e y

The whole from block: by the Art Rep roductionCo .

H ungvy T! mes H om er page 2 D rawi ng out the Tafters

' Tuftmg onWi nsford H ill

O u H addonH ill

’ M eet at Venmfom Cross

O u li te Culbone R oad “ n P ” H ou ds , lease

' Kennell zn the Pack Cl utsham g , o Anthony H uxtable Szdney Tucker onH om e r H ill

M eet at Ch illy Bridge H om e r Stream

’ Wznsford Coming over

' Stag gmng up H om e r Water

Bury Ford “ I s She The re ?

The Grave ard Bunk r y , e y x LIS1‘ 017 LL R iv . U S A I N S I T T O .

Boggy Place onD unhe ty page 73

Wai ti n or the Pack onStoke R i d e g f g 9 2 . M eet near Culbone Stables 94 All R eady to Beg i n 95

Bad ' orth Wood g w y 102 .

The Pack at Clou tsham 106.

ulbone Stables : Anthon ri des o i th Tu t rs 1 C y f w f e 18.

N ear West Anste 1 y 30.

M en i th D w ead Stag 135.

ust Kill d 1 j e 36.

La n om 1 hc be 37.

The i 1 St . ud r A es H ead 15 .

’ l u ll W C o tsham Ba f rom ebber s Post 160. Lord E bri ngtonbri ngs ou t the Pack to Lay O n

The M aste r and Anthony onStoke R idge 178.

Goi ng to R ouse H i m 188 .

1 0 9 .

1 O u the Way to Luccombe 19 .

N V n — B n P d 202 e r V h i arwie d . r a tsto es G . k a j Godda

The Late M r sh ua Cl rke . jo a

Th P rl W e o och ei r Boat 2 2 3.

La urer D bo s wi th ead Stag 230. W ai ti ng for the Stag u nde r Cou ntisbmy Foreland 2 38 .

At P rl W r o och ei 24 3.

The M eet—D unst r 2 e 4 4 .

- H ou nd s are Quarrelsome T0 D ay 24 5.

n Wi r 2 2 Lord E bri ngtonand others o Parloch e 5 .

l — l W r Fzlwhermenwi th Stag after Ki l Por och ei 2 58 .

r i n D ead Stag H u lstone Poi nt D i sta nce 264 .

' — ' 2 The E nd qf a Good R zm ﬂl i neheaa Cliﬂi 68 . LIST O F ILLU ST R AT I O N S . XV .

H om er Water

The Pack R u nni ng They H ave H i m ! The Water i nth e Valley

A Crippled D ee r takes to Water i n Wh at has become qf the Field ? Fu ll no'ver D z mhe i

’ Anthon s Last H ind—A ri l 1 01 y p , 9 U nhennelling at Ley Farm A Kill i nthe Boone Valley

T nchor H tel P rl he A o , o och

Ashl ey Combe

Water Slide i nthe Boone Val ley M ountsey H ill Gate

A Check

Trugg will Soonbe H ere M eet near Verm iford The M eet at Slowley

A Pool i nthe H addeo

HORN ER . E I CHAPT R .

I N TR O D U CT O R Y . — H A SE AS IT A EAR TO - DA A G A O I NG CA M ER A T1112 C PP S Y LL P — How THE TYRO GETS ENTERED TO THE SPO RT WHERE — THE TR 1P00 FAI LS TH E LON ELIN ESS O F E xmoo n

AS KIN G THE WAY .

The present work is an attempt by c o l l a b o r a t i o n of the camera and the e pen , to reproduc some of those de l i g h t f u l s c e n e s which fall to the lot of the favoured few w h o p u r s u e the wild red deer of West Somerset

and North Devon . T h e c l a s s i c s of ’ “ E xmoor Coll ns staghunting on , y Chase of the ” ” on Wild Red Deer , and Fortescue Staghunting , have brought the general reader well acquainted of with the history and origin this noble sport , ’ and the latter author s charming Story of a R ed 4 STAGH UN TI N G WITH TH E

Deer has touched a chord which appeals to all th e lovers of the moor and its wild streams and woodlands ; but a description of modern stag

- so far hunting , as it survives to day , has remained u e of nattempted , exc pt in the columns the papers , wherein the obj ect is rather to detail the course to of each particular run , than lead the reader through the most beautiful scenery of th e wild W est Country , and amongst the most stirring m of oments the chase . The difﬁ culties of obtaining satisfactory studies o f the more interesting phases of such a sport as this have only been surmounted by repeated eﬁ ort of and much persistence , the hazy atmosphere the moor , the exceedingly rough and rugged

nature of the ground to be traversed , and that at a high rate of speed , and the natural craft o f the noble animal pursued , have all militated h e against t successful use of the camera . While th e ordeal by photograph has become more and ofﬁ cials more familiar to all hunt of recent years , ’ and while every young lady s album contains

- snap shot groups taken at the meets , it is the e ndeavour of the author of the present volume to describe mainly those scenes when the long legged tripod and the kodak alike are far away “ ” n u a d the hunt is p . The Editor of Count! y Life has pioneered th e w ay in reproducing scenes of the Devon and S omerset Staghounds in motion , and to his kind

6 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

i s indeed a difﬁ cult task for a master to obtain sufﬁ ci ent for and keep room his pack , in which to of hunt the foil their nimble and wily quarry , and to puz zle out his numerous twists and turns o n - or the sun baked heather , amongst the stony tracks and intricat e paths of some hot and airless

woodland . When once the tyro has mastered the initial difﬁ cultie s of the sport his interest is aroused by the moorcraft and woodcraft dis

played , or at any rate constantly exercised by the

- in harbourer and huntsman , the whipper and th e many others who play subsidiary parts in ’ th e of long drama an autumn day s staghunting , and if he be something more than one of those who at all times only hunt to ride , he will endeavour to see what he can of those parts of ’ the day s doings that involve the most science and call out the most skilful man oeuvres on the

part of those providing his entertainment . O f the harbouring he naturally can see little and hear less , since it has necessarily to be performed at uncanny hours , and its result kept foot e0 le private , lest there should be a rush of p p to the lair of the harboured stag and a con sequ ent destruction of all chance of sport for

the day . O i the process of tufting he will endeavour

m - to see what little he can , fro some hill top or other coign of vantage sufﬁ ci e ntly distant from th e huntsman to make it quite certain that no

AND R DEVON SOM E SET . 9

harm can be done by his presence , and in this as in some other matters he will ﬁnd it a vast assistance if he can enlist the good ofﬁ ce s of of one those local sportsmen , and they are not who numerous , really know their way over the country , and at the same time understand what hounds are doing and what the huntsman ’s object to be is likely . It is indeed surprising at how great a distance the slightest sign will be read aright by the or trained eyesight of such a pilot , from how far his practised ear will detect the faint echo of the horn amongst the dense green woodlands , while a print in the soil of a bridle - path or a splash on a waterside stone will convey to him no end of useful information . When the tufting has ended and the master ’s horn has blown the signal that lets loose the as eager pack , he will take care to get as near on he can to the actual scene of the lay , no easy h H matter amongst a hurrying August eld . e will e recognise , if the pres nt volume should reach his hands , some of the scenes which met his interested gaze in the last autumn of the nin e teenth e : th e c ntury the kennelling of the pack , trotting out to draw with the tufters , the stopping e th e n of the sam , bringi g on of the pack , and the pursuit of it by himself and others ov er

n e e e e u dulating plains of h ath , with st p hillsid

paths and woodland rides to follow . I O STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

After this he will come upon some closing

scenes , where the gallant quarry betook himself n at last to the o ly refuge left him , the cooling

stream , or the deep salt waters of the Severn O n Bad worth v of sea . the banks of g y , belo ed

honeymooning couples , he will recognise the boulder beside which a stout forest stag breathed on his last , and again the pebble beach at Porlock Weir he will hear his spurs clinking as he scrambled down to see what manner of head the stag bore that the boat ’s crew were bringing in with such pride from the waters of

the bay . Exmoor in its way is a country of magniﬁ cent

distances , that often indeed seem much greater l than they rea ly are , by reason of the Norwegian sort of atmosphere that generally prevails over all

the wettest and boggiest expanses , and it is just those distances and the gloomy light that prevent so many a thrilling episode from becoming e print d history .

Some day , perhaps , it may become possible to obtain a sun picture of one ’s dearest friend

parting company hurriedly from his horse , the ﬁ rst bound of an antlered monarch of the moor as he leaps in alarm from his l air amongst the n e and tall gree f rns , the sweep of ear stern as

the pack drives across the plains of heath , or e h the expressions on the fac s of the eld , as they

come suddenly and in haste upon soft ground . 11 DEVON AN D SOM ERSET .

While the earlier scenes of the chase are seen to more or less advantage by the greater h proportion of the mounted eld , and by many a score of the more enterprising of those attend ing the picnic meets on foot or on wheels , it is what happens later on that has a more special interest for those who for one reason or another cannot be actually in the front rank . When the great eager hounds have streamed away over the Lancornbe purple plains of heather at g Head , when the long extended line of bobbing heads has passed and gone beyond the distant skyline , the twang of the horn has evaded the reach of car of the keenest , the drumming a thousand steel shod hoofs on the sunbaked peaty soil can be heard no longer , it is then that the many who are left behind , and the many who still of ride the chase by the aid memory , would fain see what is happening , as the old , old contest goes on between cervine speed and craft and ’ on endurance the one hand , and the hounds wondrous instinct coupled with human skill on the other . From hill - top to combe and from splashing to ford lonely wilderness of grass and fern , by lane and ﬁ eld and woo dland to tumbling river on A and deep rocky pool , the chase goes . gleam of sunlight between the soft grey moor land clouds throws out everything in a moment into most brilliant colouring ; what was ju st now STACH U NTI N G \V ITH TH E

grim and sombre becomes all at once a picture full a so entrancing , and so of movement by re son of a rift in the sky and the sudden advent of full the chase in cry, that it may well be carried ' to home in the mind s eye form food for reverie , f d ull o . or to lighten the , dark days winter When the elements are propitious there is no English landscape more beautiful than that of E xmoor proper , and there are times when the has moor very weird and impressive aspects , which are only seen by the very few whose occupation calls them to its lonely wilderness in times of storm and tempest , blizzard and

- thundercloud , or under a frosty mid winter moon when the whole expanse lies white . While the colouring of the Quantock combes is E generally more vivid , xmoor is clothed for the most part in neutral tints , and its chief charm lies in its desolate loneliness and wide range . The network of railways which elsewhere covers English ground i s here far distant ; here are no cottage chimneys at the corner of every other ﬁ eld : h ere are no busy farmsteads and creaking

: ploughs only grass and rushes , heath and fern , the whistle of a nesting curlew , the harsh croak of that diligent fi sh poacher the heron as h e flaps up disturbed from his banquet of small trout , or the whirring flutter of blackcock and grey hen as they ri se with th e ir brood from their e s f eding ground among t the whortleberry stems .

Snow CLO UDS O VER BRATTO N BA LL . S DEVON AN D SOM ER ET . 15

It may be in part the prevailing loneliness which renders the hill country farmers so cordial in their welcome to the visitor , whether he bestrides S a hunter from the hires , or tramps cheerily of a afoot in quest he lth and sport combined , but certain it is that one of the ﬁ rst impressions to be produced onthe mind o f the visitant is that of the courtesy and good nature of the aﬁ eld inhabitants whom h e meets when . English as she is spoke onthe moor is often a sore puzzle to unaccustomed ears , and the dialects encountered vary much with each watershed and county , but in time , the quaint idioms and the ways of thought of a bygone

age , when steam and electricity had not yet v ser ed mankind , become familiar , and the man from up country ” can understand and make O himself understood without undue delay . ne point will always istrike the traveller over this country of long and hilly miles and many cross who tracks , that the native answers his anxious queries can never appreciate his difﬁ culty in

understanding the directions given , or in follow o ing them out to the desired goal . The instru tions that would be ample for a West Country

man born and bred , are often sadly confusing to a native of a distant county or a Londoner out for of a holiday, while the local estimate distance always seems to err on the hopeful

. a or fo side In the d rk , in g, it is absolutely STAGH U NTI N G O N EXMOOR .

off necessary to get the moor as soon as possible , of if one is without a trusty pilot , no amount general knowledge being of any avail when the to usual landmarks are invisible . Alike to those E whom xmoor is an open book , and to those to whom wild red deer are strange and unfamiliar

beasts , this little book is addressed in the hope that it may present some phases of Exmoor at

its best .

M EET AT V E N N IFO R D CR OSS . E CHAPT R I I .

T HE O p z nm — o M EET A—T CLO UT S HAM TH E CO N CO U RSE O N CLO UT S HAM BA T H E PA A I N T L LL — R D E H E FI E D N OTABLE Fl G U R E S T H E M ASTER A ND m s STA FF ’ KE N N E LLIN G AT CLO U T S HAM F A R M —T H E D AY s Pao

CE E D I N G S —T H E TAKI NG F T TAG O HE S .

M U CH has been

written , and that by many an able

pen , of the great annual gathering that takes place on a little rounded hill - top between D unkery and the f e r t i l e v a l e o f H olni cote , when

for one day , at s lea t , in all the year everybody who is any body within half a county ’s length makes picnic upon this spot that has seen the Devon and Somerset Staghounds in all their glory from such time as the memory of living man runneth not to O the contrary . ne of the chief reasons of the unfailing popularity of the opening meet is doubt less to be found in the fact that it affords th e 20 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

very ﬁrst opportunity after the enforced idleness o f summer for the foregathering of all the various sorts and conditions of men that go to make

h . too na up a modern hunting eld Then , , e rly every master of foxhounds throughout the British Isles is as yet free from the cares of

- of ir wa cub hunting , and many them wend the y to Cloutsham are s of , where they ure meeting a nf r A of number of their co ré es. sprinkling American visitors are sure to be found amongst a a s the throng by the time the p ck appe rs , ome o f s who to hnd them tourist only, have chanced nor n or a s themselves at Lynto Ly mouth , perh p at of a es at Minehead , just the time this gre t W t C nr a e s of n ou t y festiv l , and others m mber Hu t

C inthe of a - a ann lubs land the st r sp ngled b er . A s n an and a s u trians and Russia s , Belgi s Germ n , c and a s are at Fren hmen , Portuguese Spani rd to th e hr and times be found amongst t ong, “ o ccasionally a coloured pusson or two join in ﬁrst n E a the mad rush of the seaso . xmoor is e r en land wher eve ything dep ds upon the weather , and a heavy thunder shower or two inthe earlier morning hours will keep hundreds of picnic s maker and cyclists away from the meet , thereby lessening the crowd of vehicles and de creasing in a as l th e rs cident lly the dangers , we l as humou o f the trafﬁ c which for a couple of hours before mid - day pours up the rough and narrow lan e f o th e o k Va or o the sa r m Porl c le , d wn ndy

STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

- a- e roads , and every sort of char banc and brak brings its contribution of foot peopl e to swell the throng . Some cyclists laboriously wheel their s a e machines up the la t long scent from Horn r , while others more wisely leave them i n safe keeping below and climb the remaining distance unencumbered . Breakdowns and minor accidents are not one plentiful , but more so than might v difﬁ culties of th e expect , ha ing regard to the way and the curious collection of vehicles and ’ tackle pressed into the day s service . A few years since a newly - married barrist er and his bride had the misfortune to break a leg a- i piece in a carr age accident of this description , and a little later on were to be seen attending the meets on wheels , duly strapped and splinted , and were naturally the recipients of unstinte d ” a sympathy . A few ladies ride encav lier with has e the Staghounds , and the art three xponents at the present time ; it might almost be wished perhaps that the practice might becom e more th e hot general , so trying are the hills and andems of all weather to tender withers . T ﬁnd to heights and sizes their way the meets , and the author remembers to have seen a well appointed donkey tandem thread ing the gre e n of a s Quantock tracks , and a tandem skewb ld cob at mbe Cuz z i co . Post , with pairs in curricles not a few

- u i s The time of the year being mid Aug st , it not surprising that there is a great diversity of

2 DEVO N AN D SOM ER SET . 5

O pinion as to the most suitable attire for the s occa ion , and inasmuch as the Hunt uniform is worn only by the master and two servants and the honorary secretary and by Lord Ebrington on certain days , all that has to be attained is a garb suffi ciently cool and at the same time s r e viceable . Straw hats of any rigid shape are u as ndoubtedly a mistake , they invariably blow off directly business begins . Many ladies wear light coats of white drill , and one enterprising sportsman attired himself in a spotless suit of

duck not many summers ago , and was promptly set down in the columns of the Sporti ng Times ” A as one clad in white samite . few khaki garments were in evidence amongst the ﬁ eld in 1 00 the summer of 9 , and a certain number of invalided troopers with uniform and cowboy hats

complete were to be seen . The assemblage on Cloutsham Ball sways to and fro as interest centres now in one spot a as around the p raded hounds , now in another the tufters are being drawn from the pack at now the kennel door , from side to side of the Ball as the progress of the tufting sets various s in deer in motion , and anon urges a crush towards one or other of the gates of exit when ’ s the day s cha e begins . It is popularly supposed that a big run i s not intended by the powers that be on the opening

days , but that they sometimes take place and 26 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E

are heartily welcomed by those who take part one in them , will be well remembered by the hundred and ten who saw the ﬁni sh of the

fi rst Cloutsham 1 00. O n run from in August , 9 this occasion a right good forest stag with four points atop took the most desired of all direc tions , and led his pursuers across the open , to disdaining touch covert , straight from the western end of D unkery to the banks of Badg w orthy Water . 18 1 e Some years before , to wit in 9 , ther was much diffi culty in getting any warrantable was a n stag away , and the pack not rele sed u til ’ fi ne after four o clock , but a very run ensued, and a stag with three and four atop was take n — ’ at half past seven o clock between Combe Park s and Watersmeet , where the Farley Water tumble n E s down from rock to rock to joi the a t Lyn . 188 I n 9 , too , a right royal stag with three and four atop went away from Hom er to Hawk Y enworth combe , Culbone and y Common , being set up and taken in the East Lyn under Southern o Wo d , after a chase of two hours and forty of s minutes . The time of year course militate against great performances onthese occasions stags are still in the velvet and the extreme tips of their horns are hardly as yet set , and the flies plague of is to them a very real fact . The pace , moreover , that makes hound pant and ff on horses sob and lather , tells with equal e ect

STAG HU N TI N G WITH THE the pack than there begins an eruption of table cloths to be spread under the shade of the a u s c rriages , pon their cushions , across the knee of r their occupants , and in fact in eve y con ’ ceivable fashion according to the entertainer s a f ncy . A field a mongst a so heterogeneous , and g thered not from so wide a sphere , it is surprising that of o to many , one the chief delights f the day is the making acquaintance , by sight at least , with personalities never otherwise encountered , and habitués of the Hunt often find their time pretty fully occupied in answering such ques O who tions as h , do tell me that curious ? ” “ looking old clergyman is or I say , my boy , how about the pretty lady yonder in the grey habit ? ” With the succeeding years it is the who actors of this play change , and not the scene : each year some well known and res pecte d faces are seen no more : famous men in other fi elds perhaps are seen once or twice and then fate keeps them busily employed else where others whom memory recalls as amongst the front rank have since made name and fame and helped the growth of the Empire . Sir Alfred Milner has been entered to the sport ; Sir Evelyn Wood knows the look of the moor ; H H G alitz in . . Prince is quite at home with the tufters amid the mazes of the Quantock wood lands and can hold his own when the great 1 DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 3 h ounds are driving at their fastest ; the Duchess o f Hamilton knows her way on D unkery ; Sir William Karslake has for many a year been a m of ember the Hunt Committee , varying the to il of government at Somerset House with the w elcome relaxation of a gallop over the heather and the grass ; Lord Poltimore is to be seen at th e Cuz z i combe me Post ets , which lie nearest to his North Molton residence at Court Hall ; w fi eld C. D . Sir T Acland , the o ner of the of r and some ve y large slices of red deer land , to first is generally be found at the meets , and M r has . Luttrell not far to come from Dunster s V E n of Ca tle ; while iscount bringto , the owner E xmoor proper , chairman of the Hunt Com mittee and fi eld master on those days when ’

Mr. Sanders himself carries the huntsman s horn ,

is sure to be present . M r s . Nichola Snow , the proprietor of the has famous sanctuary for deer , come across the b for V moor ; the mem er West Somerset , ice s r Al a Chamberlain and Trea u y Whip , Sir ex nder A has cland Hood , travelled from Saint Audries ;

‘

Mr. s Watermouth s Ba set , of Ca tle , and former M s of is a ter the Staghounds , to be seen ; and the Baroness Le Clement de Taintegni es i s a Ian dispensing hospit lity to admiring circle .

A as - as of who mongst m ters and ex m ters hounds , n al m a ﬁ eld atur ly for large section of the , the H n L. o . . W C. Hon. J Bathurst , the . Bampfylde 32 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

W R - ﬁ ur s . . e and Sir Williams , are well known g Clou sha at t m . M r R A th e The master , . . . Sanders , took ’ on hounds Colonel F. Hornby s resignation in 18 has as the spring of 95, and incre ed the number to of hunting days from three four each week , ﬁrst to being the master hunt the hounds himself , which he does on one of the four days whil e the huntsman enjoys a much needed rest after M r the other three . . Sanders conteste d the Eastern division of Bristol at the General Elec 1 00 tion of 9 , and considerably lowered the 1 01 e previous Liberal majority . I n 9 he becam an alderman of the Somerset County Council .

ﬁ eld - E wh o The master , Lord brington , only ’ s appears in scarlet on the fourth , or ma ter s day ,

M r. in each week , succeeded Bisset in the M r ofﬁ ce . mastership , and held until Basset 188 took command in 7. ﬁ ures The huntsman , Anthony Huxtable , who g largely in the illustrations , has been in the service

- five a has of the Hunt for twenty ye rs , and w fi ve H e fift a of kno n masters . retires at y ye rs for s age , having carried the horn twelve year , acted as whipper - into Arthur Heal for nin e years , with four previous years in the Hunt a stables . Born in Kentisbury p rish of working a as to p rents , he was brought an infant in arms fi rst Driver Cott , and made his acquaintance with E on xmoor , as seen from horseback , when riding

E DEVON A N D SO M R SE T .

’ of Larkbarrow the pommel his father s saddle at , where the latter serv ed for some years as bullock F e to . a h rd the late Sir . Knight Pursuing m ny v a bo a ocations , Anthony became in turn f rm y,

milk carrier in Barnstaple , teamster , iron miner , peat cutter and drainer (inwhich capacity he cut many of the forest gutters that he has since had ’ to ride over), quarryman , bus driver and billiard

r - ma ker , showing an all round aptitude , and directly controverting the old adage that rolling m H e stones gather no oss . has led the way

- i . n in many notable runs The whipper , Sidney ucker was T , promoted from the Hunt stables at m the same time as Huxtable beca e huntsman , ’ and has contributed very largely to the latter s to success , and the good sport generally shown .

The harbourer , Fred Goss , was appointed by

' 18 Colonel Hornby , in 94 , on the death of Andrew M has iles , and a wonderfully successful record , one of his best achievements being the harbour ing of six warrantable stags in six successive days in one week in the autumn of 1900 for

M r. M r. Sanders and Amory . ' M r The late Andrew Miles entered . Bisset s se 1862 to nto rvice in July , , and went Haddo ’ live six years later as Lord Carnarvons game

H e - keeper . harboured for twenty hy e years s v ﬁve r under four ma ters , and located o er hund ed s a s s t g , ucceeding Blackmore in his important th e o e . 36 STAG HU NTI N G WITH T H E

s r ad The duties of trea urer , secreta y and ministrator of the deer damage fund are combined

M r. E in the person of Philip vered , who was f M r E o A. C. . elected on the resignation . Locke 8 in 1 94 . Kennelling the pack is a very ordinary and of necessary function , and when the body the pack has been consigned to a cool and airy b uilding , and the desired number of hounds , generally from four to ﬁve couples in the stag s out hunting sea on , have been called by name b y the huntsman , he leaves the kennel door and counts over the chosen draft . O ne of the Hunt s ﬁrst l econd horsemen has his mount , genera ly a tufting pony , in readiness , and the master usually takes this opportunity of checking off by name each hound that is to take part in the

- a all important duty of the day . Ne r by the a h rbourer is waiting , ready mounted to conduct the huntsman to the lair of the forest king , that he has been watching for hours past with ! the trusty eiss glasses , now slung from his ass to shoulder . These gl es were presented him by a subscription raised amongst the followers o f of the hunt a few years since , and are the greatest assistance to him in his arduous and ul b diﬁi c t calling . T rough a vista of trees a gate way can be seen from the kennel door at Cloutsham the , with the outline of the moor on w of D unker estern end y just visible , and it is

DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 39

in some such direction as that that a stag must o e g if he would k ep to the open . Kennelling and drawing the tufters does not take long, and then the day ' s proceedings begin forthwith harbourer and huntsman jog off with their nine o r e ten hounds to rous the stag , while master and whipp er - inbetake themselves by other paths to the most o advantageous spots for viewing the s tag away , and for stopping the tufters until the ﬁ el pack and d arrive on the scene . While this is one of the most interesting parts of the day ’s work , it can only be seen from a distance by ﬁ eld the in general , as it is absolutely necessary for the Hunt servants to have the paths and l wood and rides to themselves at this juncture , and , moreover , a stag may be very easily blanched ’ at this point , and all prospect of a good day s sport ruined by an injudicious move , or the appearance of a body of horsemen between the ’ stag s lair and the open moor . A glowing spot of colour in the hot sunshine , o ne Cloutsham a may often see , from B ll , Sidney

Tucker sitting motionless on his horse , while Anthony draws some dense patches of covert below him on Parsonage Side . In the depths of the combe the Horner water bustles down w H urlstone to ard the sea , which it reaches at f Point , a blu f headland in the distance . In a all few minutes , if goes well and the harbourer ’ has judged correctly , Sidney s attitude will change 4 0 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E to animation as he gallops over the roughl y 0 th e carpeted ground to st p the tufters , while welkin rings with his piercing view halloa . Then with a white handkerchief h e signals across th e leafy depths of the East Wat er combe to th e s th e ma ter , Anthony joins him on hillside to s wait by the panting tufters until M r. Sander

brings the pack and its following multitude , and e th e then when due law has been allow d , and great hounds have taken up th e scent and are streaming away over th e purpl e slopes of Dun th e to kery , he drops back to the tail of Hunt n bring on straggli g and timid hounds , so that as many of the pack as may be shall be in at i the death of their nobl e quarry . O the run s itself , of the checks and turns , of the stratagem s of the stag , of the thousand and one incident which befall in the hurry and rush of som e two or three hundred horsemen and horsewomen over a wide extent of rough water - worn hillside e e r and moorland , subsequ nt chapters and th i

accompanying photographi c studi e s must tell . Let us pass on to th e last sc e n e but one in th e ’ th e ﬁnds day s drama , when gallant stag himself e and s at last outwitted and out—pac d , betake himself to his last refuge th e biggest water h he can nd . At e e this time of y ar , the s cond Tuesday in th e a s a August , moorland stre ms are m ll and e a e Bad worth are shrunken , Horn r w t r or g y 1 DEVON AN D SOM E RSET . 4

mere babbling streams , and their neighbours Exe and Barle have but few pools worthy of the name throughout many miles of their higher reaches . But the deer know well where the deepest

are - swims are to be found , for they hot blooded , o w thirsty creatures , and g do n to drink and roll in the limpid streams each night as soon as ﬁnish darkness falls , and again up their nightly wanderings with a bath in some sequestered mud - pit as a slight protection doubtless against ﬂi their enemies the es. As the dreaded cry and the echo of the

relentless horn draws nearer and ever nearer , the hunted stag trots wearily down the stony

- a river bed , leaving a tell t le splash on the

rounded boulders , refreshed for the moment by

his bath but with lowered head , closed mouth

ﬂank : and heaving then Sidney views him , and a the wooded v lley , erstwhile so silent , suddenly ﬁlls with music as the pack comes hurrying u ro nd the bend above , while the clatter of four times a hundred iron shod hoofs upon the stony riverside track rises to the topmost oaks

on Ley Hill . Now some harvesters throw down their pitchforks and run from the golden stubble o to the green meadows , and g yelling down the

yonder bank , for amongst West countrymen those who cannot ride a- hunting dearly love to

be in at the death . Running in the water while 4 : STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

’ the hounds run on the banks , the stag s stride soon shortens and he turns and stands at bay , u a noble pict re . It is always the object of the H unt staff to secure the stag and put an end to his sufferings as quickly as possible , and while the horns are no diffi cult still in the velvet this is very matter , especially as in hot weather hunted deer are e u as a rule quit exhausted when set p . But when the rivers are swollen with an October fi htin rain , and the g g instinct is aroused in the rv s u ce ine brea t , capt re is quite another matter , and is attended with q uite suffi ci ent danger to u render it a very thrilling occ pation , and one u i s not likely to be ndertaken by a novice . F r t and foremost in this diffi cult art is the welter weight of the Hunt and a member of the Com

mittee M r. , Philip Froude Hancock , who is equally ready to come to close grips with a ﬁ hti n g g stag in the narrow Quantock combes , or the deep cold ﬂood of the river Barle , amongst the mighty boulders and hanging ledges f To er of the Countisbury cli fs . many a pursu of carted deer this is a moment of intense on interest , when a stag with his horns , and knowing full well that his last moment has

- come , is approached single handed and deftly A con laid upon the ground . ninstant later and sciousness due has left the noble beast , and in course the four slots are awarded by the master DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 4 3 t o some of the many aspirants for these coveted t ro phies , and the two tushes become the property o f some member of th e ﬁ eld who has a fancy fo r a unique scarf pin or set of sleeve links . T h E en the hounds are sent home to xford , the c rowd slowly separates on its various homeward w a s y , a cart comes for the carcase of the stag , t h e head going to the kennels , the hide to the h u ntsman , and the venison to the deer pre s e rving farmers near whose land he was found , and the lengthening shadows close over another o p ening day .

4 6 STAGH U NTI N G WITH THE where clay and rushes and neglected ﬁ e lds

. F predominate rom this hard and fast boundary , which the deer will not cross if they can help it l s , many a snug sec uded combe runs up toward ks the moorland heights , with wooded ban and tinkling streams and deep winding lanes leading to s few up little lonely farm teads , to which but the postman and the country doctor and he the valuer of deer damage know the way . T trend of the brooks is all southward ; here the th e Bath erum Haddeo E Tone and , , xe and all Barle , Brocky and Mole and Bray tumble sun e towards the midday , until at least they hav o f dived beneath the embankment the railway , “ and each river has its woodlands where the ” u d ndeer lie . e are so of Dulverton peopl proud , and justly , their staunch and consistent support of the chase , and though their own moors are small and their side of the country may be termed the woodland s side , still they are never better plea ed than when one of their deer leads hounds all across ’ the great stretch of West Somerset s westernmost corner and reaches the Severn Sea after a couple ’ of hours headlong gallop from the neighbour

hood of their thriving town . A better train service and greater resid ential e a amenities , as well as a more liveabl clim te , have no doubt much to say for the preference shewn for this side of the country as distinct N D EVON A D SOM E RSET . 4 7

are from the moor itself, where hunting quarters by no means over abundant and locomotion is fﬁ u a matter of di c lty and serious forethought . The extreme western end of the Dulverton c ountry forms in fact a district by itself, which might as truly be claimed as appertaining to the as to s moor the woodland district , ina much as deer , when roused in its strongholds , betake themselves to the Open quite as often as they O elect a course over the enclosures . ne large Bre mri d e covert , known as g Wood , is tunnelled under by the railway , and at this point deer to no u freely cross and fro , and hence do bt it i s that they lead hounds far down into the heart of Devon and bring their panting pur suers to the brinks of the salmon haunted to hnd Taw , themselves confronted by another obstacle in the line of the London and South

Western railway between Barnstaple and Exeter . At or s the other extreme ea tern end , the Wiveliscombe coverts lie well in sight of the

Quantock range , but with the red tillage lands of the Bishops Lydeard vale and the West is Somerset railway in between , and it only a occasion lly that deer head that way . Every now to and then , however , they seem remember that there was once a red deer land upon the Ba tr to e l ckdown Hills , and y mak their way towards the tall column of the Wellington Monu ment ; but once the deer has left his native 4 8 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

out v a hills and struck across a culti ated v le , if the hounds are anything less than an hour

behind him the end is fairly certain . In quite recent years an opening meet has on been held at Haddon , an occasion when , owing to the decease of the late Sir Thomas Cloutsham Acland , was closed ; but the space available proved barely sufﬁ ci ent for the con course that assembled to celebrate the unusual

event . O f all West Country villages there is none e mor picturesque than Winsford , and none more

u for u . too tr ly central stagh nting It is served , by one of the best kept roads in the whole one surrounding country, and whether measures the average distance from the pretty thatched “ of a O inn , that swings the sign The Roy l ak , to or to the u ua the meets , s l places such as or or Horner , Porlock Weir , Hartford Mill , at to which deer are wont die , it is only challenged

by Exford as a desirable and convenient centre . O n of u the day its great ann al meet , however , trafﬁc the village becomes blocked with , and it is only with the utmost care and difﬁ culty that hounds can be piloted through the maze of

vehicles when they move off to begin the day . “ The Royal Oak once witnessed a sensational ﬁ nish to a run , which at the time caused much al A loc excitement . stag from Haddon ran by E to se and the xe valley the Allotment pre rves ,

DEVON AN D SOM ERSET 51

ﬁ ndin d then , g his strength failing him , crosse the ﬁ elds of Halse farm and came down dead beat to the back of the village and rushed into e the premises at the rear of th hostelry . As the leading hounds closed in he essayed to scale a low and convenient roof , but slipping back , made the best of his way to th e back entranc e of the inn , and there in a gloomy passage encountered a waitress bearing a tray of glasses . to not Curious relate , the tray was dropped , d and the stag seeing an open doorway , passe into the best sitting room which was prepared for e e guests , while the r ady witted Heb closed

. s the door Thus trapped , the stag was ea ily u ﬁ eld sec red , the watching the proceedings a n through the n rrow window panes . The Wi s ford villagers have been born and bred amongst

! the deer , they are never far away from their a s sight and thoughts , and they are lways anxiou on of e that , their great day the y ar , a warrant

able stag should be forthcoming , and if possible should be induced to break from the silent rece sses of Burrow Wood and should cross the ’ ferny slopes at the foot of the Devil s P unch ﬁ eld bowl , where the assembled of horse , foot and carriage folk may look down from the ’ heights above and get a bird s - eye view of the

f . O t whole a fair ld stags , however , are mos e not un peculiar in th ir likes and dislikes , and r t f equently , after harbouring in a particular cover 52 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E for al s s s wi l unaccount sever year in ucces ion , l a for e of ars to a ain bly desert it a numb r ye , g take to it long after the original tenants have and s to met their fate , have left only their head of as u or adorn the walls c tle , manor ho se , x shooting bo . ’ Sir Thomas Acland s beautiful stretch of ’ heath e r that runs from Comer s Gate to Red Cleave is perhaps the very soundest of all the glorious galloping grounds with which Exmoor abounds ; the he ath is short and rabbit holes are a few and far between , and except for Br dley an u s to Bog there are hardly y q agmire be found . S er urrounded by coverts large and small , the de have ample shelter and have the wooded valley e e of the Barle in easy r ach , while the Hawkridg strongholds form a sure retreat to which a ’ q uarter of an hour s gallop will bring their flying f eet . E e o d The xe vall y , by which the county r a follows the winding of the river below Win s fi eld ford , becomes very familiar indeed to the towards the end of the average staghunting s finds season , for the rea on that every stag that himself hard pressed in the D ulverton country is morally certain to pass between Chilly Bridge and Weir on his way to or from the great O o f Haddon woodlands . ne of the worst points ’ of ew this same valley , from the hunter s point vi , on is the very fact of its excellent road , which ,

DEVON AN D SOM E RSET 55

a sweltering August afternoon , well sheltered from every possible breath of air and baked with pitiless sun glare , produces a cloud of dust that must be seen and felt to be duly appre ia c ted . For a long two miles river and road wind ever side by side down this romantic valley , while the great woods overhang the depths , reaching on one side in one continuous chain of dense greenery that touches the sky line , and falls with great abruptness right down to the dancing water . While the great hounds t push on hrough the cool , shady depths , following the warm foil along the winding deer paths ﬁ eld between the tree stems , the cannot well avoid packing together on the hard , high road , inasmuch as it is necessary to leave the wood land hunting tracks to the huntsman . Certain favourite places there are where a view of the hunted deer can generally be of a obtained , and a close view the chosen anim l

is sometimes of great importance in staghunting , inasmuch as there is no animal more cunning in shifting the burden of pursuit to his friends when he thinks he has had enough of it him

self . These viewing places generally have their of onﬁne complement foot people , who days in a utumn show great interest in the sport , and in many parts of the country oneach successive season the same ﬁ elds and trees have the same

occupants . 56 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

In the Brayford country this is particularly

noticeable , the coverts there being separated by ! 10 s s steeply ping pa tures , where the villager are congregate in highly interested groups , and generally anxious that the stag of the day should not o to d g straight away the moor , but shoul double to and fro amongst the woods and thu s give them plenty of opportunity to witness the s O n uantocks of the cha e . the Q again , the line a of Stowey ro d , proverbial for its collection s pedestrians , and the early British earthwork D anesborou h a ﬁnd upon the summit of g , lways d favour . Another spot that is never untenante when hounds meet at Cloutsham in the autumn D unker is the beacon pile on the crest of y , w in hence a glorious view can be obtained , and all probability several deer will pass within easy

w. of G rabhist vie The commanding ridge Hill , of ﬁ ure s near Dunster , again , always has its line g silhouetted against the sky to watch the panorama of Croydon Hill stretched beneath their feet , i s down the long slope of which , the Hunt generally seen in full progress when the meet Slowle is at y . The Exe and the Barle are the two biggest rivers that are usually encountered in the course ’ th e e of a day s work with Devon and Somers t , though of course the Taw is sometimes m e t

. E with , though more rarely Both xe an d

Barle form awkward obstacles when in spate ,

DEVON AN D SOM E RSET . an d for ds are l i ke ly to be e n c ou nt e re d where the swirling water reaches high enough to touch the saddle flaps . Between Marsh Bridge and Withypool the Barle has many fords , but it is only at Three Waters and Torr Steps and Bradley Clammer that one can ride comfortably through the foaming torrent in a as un flood , and even these p sages are not h as frequently quite unusable . Many a horse been led and some have been ridden across E the arly British bridge of stones at Torr Steps , but it is by no means a desirable method of c rossing , there being a rocking stone in mid fl ood , perhaps purposely constructed so by the prehistoric architect , which is very likely to throw a horse off his balance and send him s truggling into the rushing stream . The late m of uarme aster the Q Harriers , in leading his horse across on the occasion of a heavy flood , s tumbled over one of his own hounds and fell , s horse , hound and man with an alarming spla h from the causeway . The depth of water was no great matter , being little more than waist to high , but the struggling horse came near causing his master serious injury . Half a mile up the stream at Hindspit there is a much m diffi cult confluence of ore ford , where at the the Westwater stream a deep hole with awkward boulders once gave a master of the West Somer s et foxhounds a right good ducking . Here in 60 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

this same deep pool one might have seen in b O years gone y, after an ctober spate , a salmon or two secured by a noose of copper wire passed above the tail and cleverly attached to a bending

alder bough , to be retrieved after dark by some t a run cunning poacher . A spawning time s lmon E for freely up both xe and Barle many a mile , to if only there is water enough to ﬂoat them , the tiny streams that trickle down the moorland

combes , and in the shallow pools beneath the ﬁ sh rocks the great may be seen , sometimes

quite landlocked , if the ﬂood falls rapidly . The river Hadd eo in its wildest ﬂoods seldom has volume enough to be unfordable , but will often has rise quite unexpectedly , when perhaps there

been a heavy rainfall on the Brendon hills , while the Exe and Barle still remain placid and

uncoloured . Beaten deer seem to realise that a h eavv water is their safest refuge , and in the wide stretches near Dulverton it is often a very difﬁ cult matter indeed to handle a stag that u stands at bay far o t from the dripping banks . These are the occasions on which hounds are apt to suffer from the exposure to the chilling stream , and from being caught at a disadvantage in by the antlers of a ﬁght g stag . In particularly dry seasons stags appear to know where the deep weir pools , few and far between , to are be found , and doubtless they bathe in

62 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

but an innocent looking piece of heather with a hidden water channel or two will empty as many f S saddles as the sti fest fence in the hires . For strangers who wish to secure their ﬁrst glimpse of a red deer in a state of freedom there is no likelier spot for the attainment of their wishes of H adborou h or than the summit g , the neigh ’ bourhood of the harbourer s cottage that nestles

among the tall Scotch hrs at Frogwell Lodge . , From his house the harbourer can look out upon many a distant point which he has to visit in the course of his arduous duties : the heights of D unkery and Winsford Hill looming large against

the distant sky , while to the south he looks down

on country where deer live , but which he does not harbour inasmuch as it is lent to Sir John

Heathcote Amory . Across the Haddon valley a curious object in the landscape is the solitary tower of what was U once pton parish church , a tower which , like of on that Withypool the banks of the Barle , seems to have been built to defy the wear and of tear time and weather .

Far down bel ow , amo n gst gr e e n wat e r

meadows , three or four neat buildings and an ancient water wheel compose the hamlet known

as Hartford Mill , where lives a veteran enthusiast

in the science of harbouring , James Wensley to by name , whose training is due much of the ’ credit of the present harbourer s success . From

A D R DEVON N SOM E SET . 65

his cottage doorway Jim Wensley need never pass a day of all the year without seeing deer ! S on the lopes of Hartford Cleave , that lie within

a few hundred yards of his trim ﬂower garden . A walk through Haddon Wood with him is instructive indeed ; whether it be upon the tell

- of tale snow carpet of mid winter , the dry dust

July , or the moistened soil of September , endless signs and tokens convey a meaning to his

experienced eye , that notes at every few yards through the woodland paths some hint of the

presence of deer or fox , badger or pheasant , or of blackgame woodcock , the baneful presence some feathered vermin or some bloodthirsty H add eo stoat , while at each pool of the tumbling he may point out some sign that marks the

- ﬁ sh erman whereabouts of that arch the otter . kinﬁ shers Herons and brown buzzards , g and

water ouzels , all come within his ken in turn , but one of the chief pl e asures of this old shikari

lies in the recounting of tales of bygone days . If these narratives could be preserved in all their n ative raciness , and in the rich West Country d ’ ialect in which they are told , while the speaker s e ye and countenance convey unmistakably how ’ all - absorbing is the naturalist s passion burning w ithin , that were indeed a legacy to hand down to coming generations of sportsmen ! All the nature that surrounds Jim Wensley i s to of not him an open book , and him it is F 66 STAG HU N TI N G WITH TH E

’ inaptly t ol d t h at on being lent Fortescue s beautiful Story of a Red Deer , he remarke d “ ’ that he didn t think much of it as there was nothing in it that he hadn ’t known all his life ! E astward of Haddon , and separated from it by a mile of wild common land , lies a romantic and and sheltered glen , running north and south i s m e ﬁnd known as Btte co b . Here deer another safe harbour , under the protection of Sir John de Ferguson Davie , whose snug woodlands besi the Lupley Water are always tenanted by them . Lying as it does in a line with the Chipstabl e and Huish Cleave coverts , which form the eastern Bittescombe most sanctuary , often has hounds running across it from east to west and vic e a e vers , and its steep descent amongst fallen tre stems and gnarled and twisted roots often strike s terror to the heart of the unaccustomed or v ner ous pursuer . Very different from the cramped enclosure s of Chipstable and its vicinity is the fair open expanse of Molland Moor where the heather lies east and west for hundreds of acres in free untrammelled sweep , and where hounds can drive and ﬂing unchecked from Anstey Barrows to

Twitchen village . No wider landscape or one more beautiful is to be seen in all North

Devon , than is commanded by this , the southern E most reach of xmoor , from whence in a ’ - bird s eye view , the eye sweeps nearly all Devon ,

70 STAGH U NTI N G WITH T H E preparatory to a lay onupon the foil of some warrantable stag that has been roused by the for E tufters , and has ﬂed safety towards the xe Valley or the cramped enclosures of the Brush f ord and Combe districts . Packed with eager

horsemen and horsewomen , the narrow village r oadways , which can hardly by any stretch of di niﬁ e d of imagination be g by the name streets , become al most impassable for a while until the “ m of s a agic password hounds , plea e , cle rs a hot gangway , and the panting pack , and dusty a on lready , canters through , pressing closely

horses an d hors e m e n . T h e n t h e cavalcade follows with all haste to the scene of the lay o n on of Baronsdown , whether it be the heights o r in the cool green meadows at Hele Bridge . A little way up stream from the village there of Hadd eo lies a shady pool the , which seems to for have a fatal attraction hard pressed deer , ’ r and it is , by the way , a favourite otte s haunt ’ as well . Even in the longest summer s drought it has depth enough for a score of yards or more to for a stag swim and keep his enemies at bay, but even in swimming his stroke becomes feebler r old r and feeble still , until some hound bolde

than the rest dashes in and delays his progress , o nly to hnd himself ﬂung off and soused in the s muddy waves , to climb sadly a hore and bay d ﬁ ane Now e c from a safer distance . the long

- in lasso line comes into play and the whipper , 1 DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 7

t o ﬁ nal fastening a strong stick its loop , casts it deftly across the wide spread antlers , swings a r the tu n round corrugated beam , and then ’

. E indeed the stag s time is short ven then , O however , some stags , especially towards ctober , will give their captors some awkward moments , and the author well remembers a lassoed stag turning short on the holders of the rope in a E bend of the xe under Curr Cleave , whereby all they fell hurriedly on the slippery sod , and for some anxious seconds were very much at m his mercy . O nanother occasion in Ho er the huntsman found himself obliged to mount a tree all with speed , a roped stag swinging round with such celerity that nothing but tree climbing was

possible for the chance of an escape . C HAPTE R IV .

D U N KE R Y —H O W T H E M oo n m b e s—T ns G RAV EYA R D

Fo o F RO ST as o Sxow—T H B M oo nu mo TRE A M , , S S — — H O R N ER Woo o s 1x ‘V l XT E R LU CCOMBE ALLERS T H E

O O V — WE E E Y D A CUTC MB E C ERTS S T R B G L E Y .

0x 1: o f th e great f e atures . of s t ag

hunting , in siz e at

any rate , i s t h e great hill of Dun ke ry and t h o s e who fol low t h e staghounds will hnd the mselves on its rugged heights more often than on any other hill in e the whole of the West Country . Its w ather e beaten beacon , s venteen hundred feet above ma niﬁ cent nn on the sea , is a g scan i g place a ﬁ ne e August day , but woe b tide the luckless

S N N N TAGH U TI G O EXMOOR .

who wretch has to stand there long , in a winter O hailstorm or even upon a chill ctober afternoon . Bleak and inhospitable and very rough to the tread are many of the wide slopes that run down in comparatively gentle gradients to the heads of the deep water - worn combes with which the hillsides are seamed . O nthe northern slopes facing Cloutsham a carpet of green whortleberry and a less stony f soil a ford fairly good galloping ground , but to gallop across this wide expanse with any of or degree comfort safety , any rider must or know his way right well , else follow a pilot

to whom it is all familiar . Wootton Common and the Graveyard and the hillside facing D unkery Hill Gate are covered of with myriads loose surface stones , which are in great request for road mending and building ’ ur r s p poses , and the esult is , that where one s hor e not fixe d does trip upon a or rolling stone , he sometimes puts his foot into a hole whence a f boulder has been extracted . Some o the more stony parts remind the rider very much of the on going Dartmoor , but of that country and its “ has O n stones and bogs it been wittily said , Dartmoor you can ride nowhere except where onE you can , while xmoor you can ride every ’ ” u where except where yo can t . B unkery has its boggy tracts , and some well defined spring heads which must be avoided at 76 STAGH U NTI N G \V ITH TH E all times of the year excepting at the end of a “ th ev are l as continued drought , when most y a to s fe as Piccadilly , quote a Rhodesian term , but th e re are at least t wo gutters which always seem to prove tre acherou s to a hurrying Augu st fi eld e e a ula th e , and one of th s in p rtic r in ’ neighbourhood of \V e bbe r s Post not unfrequently i has half a dozen victims at once , ly ng well hidden as it doe s beneath a luxuriant growth of heath

u w e - e and r shes , hile the water trickl s knee de p f below the surfac e o the ground . Another such channel run s down to Swee terv from the h e ights of y Great Row Barrow , which ever now and then s e e R ow has its tale of empty saddle . B tw en Luccott e e i s al Barrow and th r soft ground g ore , and beside the Exford road th e re runs a drainage e nerallv dr b gutter which , though g y , has een washed out bv winter storms to an unpleasing O f s e depth . ne o the bog which does not mak one it e the much show until is fairly in , li s at Anni combe head of , but it has black peaty depths into which a small horse canmore or s e e mav be les disapp ar , and the sam said of s s the e another set of pring , above tre s in Hollow e e e combe , but th se fortunat ly do not often com h n f dire ctly in t e li e o the chas e . To ride a tired horse at all fast across th e stonier portions of the Graveyard is a trial of r to ne ve and horsemanship , but , strange say , there are comparatively few mishaps seen on

STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

to a the It is hard re lise , in riding across moor after rain , that close beneath the peaty surface lies the gravelly subsoil of whi ch the hills are composed for a depth of many feet until the bed rock is reached . s The peaty envelope varies greatly in thicknes , and it is where it is deepest , and consequently of ﬁ nd the most retentive water , that horses

difﬁ cult. going most Now , if Nature had only b r r his een let alone , and inte fe ing man with not schemes and projects , had cut and delved one al and drained , might still g lop with free bridle - rein over many a mile of wilderness that now requires much care and navigation . O n the topmost heights the peaty plains naturally

- on hold the rain water longest , while the steep scarps and slopes it d rains away and trickles d to i so a own join the bubbl ng streams , th t it u one be al is j st where would fain g loping , and all looks sound and prosperous to an inex eri ence d or or p eye , that a gutter , a deep hole , a rotten honey - combed expanse bids the hasty rider pause if he would not bring himself and his horse to grief . The Chains enclosure has a great reputation r one for uncomfortable going , and it ce tainly is of the least desirable parts of the moor to traverse at speed , each successive blind gutter being apt ﬁ eld a to take its toll of the , and there is certain gateway in a wire fence that spans th e DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 79 middle of the plain which is very apt to become totally impassable . Along by the southern bound ary there runs a path which is always fairly sound , and even when fetlock deep in standing water is far preferable to the soggy grass beside it . Running east and west , this path leads to of Pinker the retaining embankments y Pond , and here a considerable length of the peaty sides of the path fell in some few seasons ago and caused a veritable quagmire . f M . W. o r . J Budd , Combe Park , near

Lynmouth , had this miniature landslip removed , and in the midst of the debris there was found s of the complete carca e a moorland sheep , which was preserved in all its origin al freshness by

- the anti septic action of the peat . The long of rank carpet green moor grass , with which all the wet ground is thickly covered by the of of s end any summer average warmth , render no the surface very blind riding , and there is doubt that Exmoor rides actually better after a drying east wind in the spring and early summer than at any other time in the year . ﬁrst In August and the half of September , s however , if the sea on has been normally dry , one r al of can ide most anywhere , except , course , onthose occasional green spots at the heads of the various combes where deep - seated springs e ke p the ground permanently soft , and where a mossy growth for ever overlies the peaty 80 STAGHU N TIN G WITH TH E

quagmire beneath . Down in the combes beside m the strea s there are undesirable tracts , but the n moor sheep and the po ies , by their frequent n crossings , give ample indicatio where the sound e hnd no ground li s , and , indeed , one can better guide when indoubt than a well - worn sheep w track , that al ays leads to safety , winding its way from pool to pool until it comes out on m fi rm so e and welcome stretch of heather . The undermining of their banks by the tumbling of streams is sometimes a source peril , and a certain crossing of the Farley Water near its source in Blackpits once earned for itself a sinister reputation by e ngulfing in a sudden ‘ downfall of many tons of soft earth a somewhat “ - n ill tempered hu ter mare , known as Mrs . May b ” rick , that was carrying at the time the then f E F xh un Master o the xmoor o o ds. All the Exmoor bogs have certain ancient ways across and about them which are well known to the v moormen who li e in their neighbourhood , and are handed downby tradition to generations of ’ sta hunte rs to g , but know them for one s self, to be able to show the way to a well - mounted fi eld in a hurry over such lonely expanses as Black its or D uck ool Longstone Bog or p yp , is an e accomplishment poss ssed by few . al When all is still and b my , and the humming o f a thousand insects in the warm noonday sun one to E r shine lulls a dreamy contentment , xmoo N D S 81 DEVON A OM ERSET .

and its plains of purple and sage and emeral d are fair indeed to look upon ; but all this is on a or ly for month two , and then come the m far any days of winter , when the outlook is o r the wise . Then in a moment a great drifting

- immensity of sea fog arises upon the scene , and out a in a few minutes blots everything famili r , and reduces all the landscape to a circle of a

few square yards , surrounded by an impenetrable wa ﬂeec ll of y vapour , through which neither man nor horse may hnd his way except by following a beaten path or by sticking closely th e or to outline of some moorland wall fence , or haply by descending to the nearest stream and following its winding course . To attempt to ride straight across the open as is a most hazardous proceeding , inasmuch one cannot possibly maintain a straight line of

progress without visible landmarks ; and sound , For moreover , in a fog is as deceiving as sight .

hours and hours the fog will hang , and perhaps for days and even weeks it will keep the hilltops of silent and untenanted , and then a burst sunlight or a sweeping breath of the wild west or wind , perchance a rain shower , will disperse m the whole fabric as if by agic , and the moor w ill stand revealed , dark and damp and gloomy , U but still rideable . nder clearer skies comes usually the arch enemy of all hunting —the frost —and very severe indeed is its grip G 82 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E sometimes on these sh elterless plains a thousand e feet and more above sea level . In gr at and protracted frosts the streams are wont to freez e overﬂow e and then their frozen surfac s , freezing again and again in ti er upon tier of fairy - like i ce ﬁlagre e that delights the eye with its endless fantastic combinations of crystal and sheet i ce ve s and stalactite . The wet ground is ry perilou ’ n riding then , and one s favourite hu ter is better off at home in his loose box than scrambling over the precarious footholds of these wild

b - et forest y ways . Then there is y another terror and with which Nature vetoe s the chase . Ever e she again , as the winter months com round , h er n h er spreads white mantle all rou d shoulders , s drifting the road and paths bank high , and sending gre at swirling sheets of whiteness all

n e - e s across the ope , with h avy wind sw pt bank beside the hedge s and through the gaps and gateways where th e whistling north wind brings ﬂak its y load . Bright and hot is the sunshine e next day on the fallen mass s , and then by night the stars glitter with brightness in th e still blue heaven , and the frost grips all the world e E and turns it to cast iron . Wh n xmoor is in e e e its wild st moods it is s n by but few , and those who for the most part by long acquaint ance turn a dull eye upon its wonderful colourings and its fantastic skies and quaint lights and shades . S 8 D EVON AN D OM ERSET . 3

of Some its most impressive aspects , however , are undoubtedly those when the storm - hend i s abroad and the elements are at play . The blank r a cart idge of a westerly g le , against which the galloping deer cannot force th e ir way over the

- open , is all very well , but when double shotted with hail it is enough to make the boldest horse man turn and fly for the shelter of the nearest th e beech fence , where he may cower until s quall sweeps by . al The moorland streams are ways interesting , ' whether it be fi shing time or whether they are rushing down bank high in thick turbi d flood to join the Lyn or Barle or Exe or Horner e to water . Along their course hunted de r love

a - to run , with splashes and occ sional full stops roll their broad backs in the pools if they have sufﬁ ci ent start of their pursuers to allow them s to do it elves time , but every stickle and every angle ' of the stream has its complement of boulders and of water - worn rocks onwhich the tell - tale splash e s left by the hurrying animal prove a sure guide to the keen - eyed hunts r s man , and eve y here and there , at interval of or two s a mile , perhaps , are cattle pole

- stretched across the stream beds , where deer are or sure to leave the water , at any rate , s of a to how some trace their p ssing , either the ’ ’ hound s keen instinct or the huntsman s enq u ir

ing eye . 84 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

In the hot August days the frequent crossing of the streams gives panting dry - mouthed horse s m the opportunity for a hasty drink , which to the e s must be n ctar indeed , but it sometimes happen

that , not content with a mouthful , horses elect ’ to lie down and roll , regardless of their rider s o bjections . To ride the best part of twenty ﬁ nd miles to a meet , and then to oneself u nceremoniously deposited in the stony bed of a it stream is , to say the least of , distinctly u has nsatisfactory , and a horse , moreover , that once appreciated the pleasures of a roll in a to limpid stream is apt repeat the operation , f even in the middle o a run . The hunting power of certain hounds in the pack is brought into play by the habit the deer of have of running the course the streams , and many old hounds will cast themselves at a gallop a long the bank , questing each likely stone , snuﬂi ng at an overhanging bough or bunch of ’ off fern , and eventually hitting the deer s point o f departure with a loud and eager note which quickly brings the pack to join in the re - estab lished chase . O or ther hounds again , running j ealous hunt for l ing themselves a one , will strike the spot where

the deer landed dripping from his bath , and will

race away mute as mice upon the foil , gaining a long start of their comrades until the huntsman h a appens to catch a view of their m n oeuvre .

86 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E sinking themselves to the chin inthe ice - cold stream while the hounds quest doubtingly up or At s u down e ach bank . such a pot the h nts u n man will naturally cast an enq iri g eye , but sometimes the shelter is good enough to c e a is ompletely hid the hunted anim l , and it o nly by accident that she is seen to leave her has v and lair long after the chase mo ed away, she is safe till the next hunting day . In the Horn er Woo ds there are always sheep to be seen picking a precarious livelihood from e oo a the steep hillsides , leaving th ir w l on bri r and black thorn and occasionally in the treach e rous days of spring giving up altogether the diffi cul u i ls t struggle for life . The Q antock H l seem to be the place wh ere sh eep have most diffi cult n y in picki g up a livelihood , and here , too n u the , even the ponies occasio ally succ mb at e nd a of a h rd winter . The scene at the finish of a good hind a in hunting run , if it terminates e rly enough the day for the mid - winter afternoon sunto s for the illumine the scene , is far more uitable ’ painter s brush than the end of a day in the s Not h fi ures fa hionable season . t at the hind g for has an h much in the scene , she no tlers wit fi ht end which to g , and her is swift and sudden , of and the but the grouping hounds and horses , mere handful of human beings dragging the hind from the water and assisting in th e final

90 STAG H U N TI N G WITH T H E

they occasionally travel over the line of the dis used mineral railway on the Brendon Hills to e Withi l pond and the Haddon coverts . F e e ar from k eping their herds distinct , ther is no doubt that the deer frequently move to and fro between the districts into which the home country is nominally divided , the ol d hinds teaching their calves the paths and by ways by which th ey have been in the habit of v on tra elling themselves many a shiny night . Every now and then in the month of April a pair of shed horns will be picked up in some or on covert some feeding ground , where the n stag has gone as a complete stranger , and agai in wild October some stag will be found i n of e company with a herd hinds , having travell d many weary miles from his usual habitat . O n the whole , perhaps , the hinds stick more closely to their ownlocality than the stags . The most likely side of Cloutsham for good sport is th e Sweeter n s y fro t , where the trees and fern brake run up into the hillside combes and end i n h r of s. thick plantations larch and other Here , if a stag h as any confi d ence in his own fle etness him and endurance , there is nothing to prevent betaking himself at once to the open when s the tufters rouse him , and if he once goe fairly away from the head of Bagley Combe there is bound to be a run of no mean order . From the fi rst fi eld above the farm one can

V CHAPTE R .

’ ' ' — M R BAs sz r s AN D COLO N EL H o R N Bv s G REAT R uus A . — M E M O RABLE BY - D AY o n1 111; FOREST F RO M H AD D O N TO

WH EA L E LI ! A .

e x c e p t i n tim es o f p r o t r a c t e d d r ought a t l e ast h a l f a d o z e n memorable chases can be counte d upon during the all too short ten weeks of staghunting , and the w following records of some modern runs , ritten at to who the time , will prove interesting alike those took part in them and to tho se who for some reason or another missed being out onthose par

ti cular or . days , , even being out , got left behind O n of Wednesday , in the last week but one as of 188 the se on 9 , there took place a most

98 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

to again the other side the Farley Water , where not a slight check occurred , and before it was wanted . U p to this the pace had been tre mendons for forty - hy e minutes from the time

on - h y e of of laying , and only about twenty the

’ ﬁ ld u A e . were well p rthur cast up the water , and succeeded in hitting the line just before F u coming to the orest wall , whence ho nds bent to the left as they rose the steep side and came to the Brendon road , crossing it just at Brendon Two Gates and soon made good speed over Brendon Common , till they sank by the a w th Doone Valley into B dg or y Water . ' For a little distance the line lay up under ’ of r M . the fence Snow s Deer Park , and then crossed it to Manor Allotment , whence hounds made for the Chalk Water , by Stowford Bottom .

Still driving ahead , they soon reached Porlock Lucott to Chetti s and commons , and sank the Nutscale ford Water under , from which they rose again at once to cross Wilm ersham common and go down through Hole Wood to the Horner Cloutsham valley , where , just under , hounds got a up to their deer . Down the v lley they drove to m him Ho er Mill , and then with a sharp turn to the right , went up over Parsonage Side and into Chapel Plantation . Carrying forward through the pines , they ran right into Luccombe ﬁ nal on village , and the scene was enacted the of lawn the Rectory , at a few minutes after DEVON AN D SOM ERSET 99

’ w h . t o t ree o clock Time , hours and ten minutes , n H e and the distance over twe ty miles . was a

- - - old good bodied , seven year deer , with a head l-Ie rather onthe decline . carried three upon to on on p one side , with brow and tray , and two the other , a straight horn on top with tiny f o fers , and his rights complete below . The middle of September is a time at which one may expect good runs to commence . Rain has generally fallen by that time , harvest opera tions and a month ’s hunting have set the deer ’ in motion after their summer s rest , and they are in the best of condition . O n ﬁfte enth of Tuesday , the September , 18 1 on 9 , the hounds having returne d the previous Saturday to Exford from their annual ’ on uantocks week s staghunting the Q , the meet that morning was at a little wayside public house on the Filleigh and Martinhoe Road In known as the Friendship n. Within a mile — not on the Barnstaple—side and that town is many miles away lie the coverts of Bratton Tith ecom e Fleming , , Twitchen Wood , and so forth , which have several times of late years produced deer that have shown splendid gallops e a over the forest , but these wer not to be c lled

- e upon to day . Miles had be n harbouring as l usua , but his report was unfavourable , nothing warrantable was at home , only a hind and some male deer ; the stag that was supposed to be 100 STAG HU NTI N G WITH TH E

not S in the neighbourhood was forthcoming . o

M r. for Bra ford Basset gave marching orders y , and thither went most of the company in a illei h long procession up the F g Road . First the

hounds and huntsman , then a hundred horse so men or , then a number of carriages , then

ou . a more horsemen , and so Some late arriv ls by train from Dulverton met the vanguard just Bra ford before the turn down into y , an d nicked o in most opportunely . Passing nthrough the Bra ford village of y , till the bridge over Hole

Water was reached , the master had the coverts between the Simonsbath Road and Sh erracombe

- drawn with the pack . Just before half past twelve a four - year - old stag jumped up and went away up the bottom of Sh erracombe towards

Whiteﬁ eld - in to Down , the whipper managing ' stop the tufters by the ford . Huxtable s horse Sh erracombe to was taken down Lane meet him , and he quickly relinquished his tufting pony with on l the little red danger signal its tai . With

- a- the exception of half dozen horsemen , who were waiting in position onthe top of Whiteﬁ eld of h Down , the bulk the eld were in the neigh bourhoo d of the Poltimore Arms when the news ﬁ rst that something had gone away spread . ’ A few minutes gallop brought all to the i ve grassy lane above F Barrows Cross , where the master was sounding a note in reply to ’ Tucker s whistl e .

DEVON AN D SOM ERSET .

th e Then eager hounds race upwards , their whimpering cry ﬂoats by upon the cool west w ﬁnall ind , the hard high road is left y behind , t h e off sheep hurry stampeding , and the second f of orest run the season has begun , and no

e . mistak Close packed together , racing for dear m no life , heads up and ste s down , music now , away they go over Sq uallacombe and down the long slope of V intcombe to cross the tiny stream of the Barle and the Challacombe Road at

Driver Cott . Then right up over the long ascent

beyond , horses blowing and lathering, some left one far behind already , saddle empty , with the Chains onthe left front and Exe Plain on the — f Now e right a choice o evils . th y are bending for slightly to the right , a welcome sign , it means Farley Water and Brendon Common who so presently to those can live far . But ’ there is a lady s horse down , struggling with n ’ vain efforts i the peaty mire . And there s another ! How that man on the right in the ’ w off to ! hite garments shot , be sure Here s the Lynton Road , thank goodness , and the face

and of . voice John Tarr , with second horses O nagain now with four fresh springs and a new of Two pair bellows , leaving Brendon Gates n far be hi d . Down the long descending slope of n Brendon Common , gaini g on hounds at

every stride , through a miry gateway , and still downwards at full ga110p over H occombe Hill 104 STAG H U N TI N G WITH THE

Ba w W’ to the upper ford of the dg orthy ater . U p over Manor Allotment with hounds bearing away onthe right as if for Larkbarrow ; but they leave it on one side and the chase sweeps on.

Down and up at Stowford Crossing , fording the of on headings the Chalk Water , and straight over the short young heather of Outer Alscott

- — a part of Mill IIill to the Weir Water and

Porlock Allotment . Then there is a gradual rise to the Exford Road that tells terribly on all the horses that are carrying weight . In the road Lord Ebrington ﬁ nds a fresh horse where to e Lucott with fac Moor , from the top of which the Horner coverts heave in sight . Some Lucott dash on through Farm , others by Wil loutsham mersham and C . The stag holds on m n off almost to Ho er mill , the turns right e handed for Chap l plantation . Most of the hounds have straggled in coming down through h f w t e e on. woods , but a work Huxtable is at th e e n hand , and sees stag com doubli g back under Horner mill with one hound at his haunches . H e toils up the stream to East Water Foot and there stands at bay with the single hound at just two hours from when th e he was found , distance in a straight line from point to point being sixteen miles , and the n total probably over twe ty . The horn soon brought up more hounds and he broke away r th e e e on down st eam to mill , wh r he was taken

AN D S 10 DEVON OM E RSET . 7

the water wheel , after badly pricking two hounds ,

to a - which fell right the bottom . It took h lf an H to . e hour get him down had only six points . O n the following Monday , for the third time i n Cloutsham the season , the coverts provided a O stag which has gone to the pen , on each A occasion by much the same route . compara tively small fi eld were enjoying the unwonted fi eld onCloutsham sunshine in the meeting Ball , when suddenly the master appeared at of Pri ckslade galloping back from the direction , and sounding a cheery note of warning as he f . O o came ne and all , those who meant riding , for a made ready at once start , while the kennel d oors were flung wide open , and the pack i ssued eager for the fray . Piloting them him e off s lf , the master made at a good pace fi eld s through the to Stoke Pero , and thence to the fi eld s Pool , where Anthony was encountered . h of T en , after a change horses , there was a m on fi eld s ove to the upon Tarball , and hounds were laid upon the line of a stag which had gone away in the right direction with a good w s amount of law in his favour . This a at They readily acknowledged the line and topped the two or three fenc e s which separated them from Tarball Hill , in quick succession , then went out over the short heather of Wilm ersham n Nutscale Plai and down to the Water , at a rare pace , and checked opposite the foot of 108 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

Blackford Combe . They were at once cast up ﬁ eld the water at a quick trot , the bulk of the winding up the valley under Nutscale in single hle , by the sheep path which lies amongst the

A - boulders and the fern . tiny rough fox terrier for kept with the pack some distance , making the great twenty - hy e inch hounds look all the bigger by the contrast of its own diminutive At Nutscale inches . last , having cast all up the to Chettisford Water Bridge in vain , Anthony took the hounds all back again onthe Exford side of the water to the little water in Ember re Combe , and then completed the circuit by crossing the Ch etti sford Water and rejoining the master onGreat Hill . The stag meanwhile had crossed the water direct at the point where ﬁ rst l hounds checked , and ascending by B ack ford Combe and Babe Hill , had attained the crest of Lucott Moor and borne right away for of n the forest . Being told this , Antho y made a long cast , and struck the line at the boundary fence of Porlock Allotment , where the stag had crossed the Exford Road . Two casualties had already taken place , a lady falling on the way ’ Ch etti sford e up the Wat r , and a groom s horse pitching head ﬁ rst into the high road in the act of descending from the common at a place n n n where the ba k was u sou d . The hounds quickly traversed the easy de scending slope of Porlock Allotment to the

110 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

to face and body , but was able return to all Simonsbath . Just as were thinking that a fi nish n at Bratton Flemi g was imminent , hounds bent away right - handed again with a large on fi elds circuit , and bore down the near Parra combe . Right through the village went the a stag , attracting buyers and sellers like from an auction which was being held , and so on with ’ H e ddons sinking steps by Trentishoe to Mouth , where he was killed at A fine five - year old and stag, with brows and trays two atop one side and two and an offer on the other . The stag made so many zigzag turns that it i s diffi cult n to estimate the dista ce covered , but it

- cannot have been less than twenty three miles . In some seasons it happens that the perform

‘ of ance of an August stag , barely clear his it velvet , excels any run that follows , but this e is not g nerally the case . When , however , a u find s great run does take place in Aug st , it and both men and horses less set in condition , consequently makes more impression than a n brilliant gallop later o in cooler weather . By far the best run of the season of 189 2 ' M r e took place from . B o u v e ri e s C ut c om b 26th w coverts on Friday , August , here two deer were roused after a short period of tufting . One of these was plainly se en to be a fine stag of five n or six seaso s , and though both went Anni combe e when disturbed towards , yet th ir N D S 111 D EVON A OM ERSET .

sufﬁ cientl M r lines were y divergent to enable . n M r a of . Locke , acti g as m ster in the absence

Basset , to lay on the pack at in the North h Hawkwell elds after duly stopping the tufters . Hot and dusty was the advance down the

Dunster Road from Wheddon Cross , where hounds had been kennelled , and across the deep combe in which the Aville water trickles to from pool pool , and hotter still the climb up the stony lane above North Hawkwell to see A hounds laid ou . t a rack in the ﬁ rst fence above North Hawkwell Wood , they own it with a whimper and begin to scramble through the brush . Capt . Warre espies an obscure gate in h an adjacent corner , and the eld soon slip through , though a resounding thump and a smothered execration or two inthe crowd tell that one horse at least is making free with his

- heels . Over the sun baked ﬁeld s towards Hill or Barn hounds run but slowly , being once S anate twice at fault , and at p g a check of some Anni co mb minutes occurs . In e is a soiling pit e much frequ nted by the deer , and in this the stag had been seen to lie for a while , ere he made off towards Luccombe . From this point hounds take it up with more eagerness , and D unker soon traverse the stony side of y , over Brockwell and H untscott and sink into Luc ’ difﬁ culti es combe Allers , and Anthony s begin . r First of all , a great ruddy hind sta ts out of STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E the snug shelter afforded by this deep little s woo d e d gu l c h , an d st r i d e s away t owar d ’ d Webber s Post , with long ears pricked forwar r in wonder and alarm . Then a big male dee the breaks back lower down , and the bulk of pack settle upon his foil and run merrily for half a mile towards Anni combe till Sidney stops them and Anthony takes them back once more and to try solve the question in the Allers.

Again there is a cry and a rush , and a light

- - e out coloured three year old male d er breaks , for m of the pointing Ho er , but blanches at sight ﬁ eld and gallops over the side of Robin How Annicom s two and also returns to be . Toward ’ o clock Anthony crosses the head of the little Wytchanger Combe an d throws his hounds into the thick part of Middlehill Plantation , and a chall enge amongst the dark green pines at once “ out sets every one onthe qui vive . Stealing s from the trees comes the hunted stag , crosse a little space in the heather , and squats in a al furze bush , plainly seen by every one . Sever of on couple hounds come toiling up the line ,

but are stopped ere they disturb him , for others ot have g away meanwhile on the line of a hind , and the whole pack must be got together for the chase which is about to commence afresh . At a quarter past two Anthony moves up to the furze bush , coming down wind , but the stag th e lies close till hounds are all round him ,

114 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

s a enough , there goe the horn at the T rball end of Whitburrow Wood . There goes a red coat so off o too for all by Stoke Mill , we must g , , are h we worth , up the track through the elds to Lucott ﬁ elds , then into the again at the second gate above the farm and all down the to long sloping track Blackford . There is the

- s on acting ma ter just ahead , his gallant grey , and there are the hounds ﬂying up the meadows by w the water just belo . Yonder though are more , m further ahead , going with ste s down , mute as s N ow swallows , and as fa t . through the tiny out th e Blackford courtyard , round steeply ’ h to sloping elds beyond , from gate gate ; that s Anthony opposite galloping along the sheep ’ track , and about a score with him . Here s the boundary fence against Babe Hill , with never a gate and the ground as steep as the side of a house ; now where is the weak place ? U p there on O the right by that furze bush . ut over we o now to g , with a plunge and a struggle , and of crawl gingerly round the shoulder the hill , for a slip and a roll here mean broken bones for ' and a good horse done . Thank goodness that ’s left behind ! Now where on earth have to ? O on hounds got h , there they are , the onto of Lucott right , nearly p Moor and going as Now us if possessed . let trot up this long ascent as well as we can avoiding the spring 11 heads , and once atop we see who can gallop 11 DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 5

and who can stay behind . Up at last by the turf heaps , now we can see them again , sailing away on a breast high scent over Porlock H wk m Common towards a co be Head . Now let us o dodge through the wet ground , p p through u the sheep gap in the bo ndary wall , and sit down to gallop over this mile or more of short ’ sound heather . That s better now, the good little horse beneath us is catching hold of his us to bit again , and soon will bring up those

specks ahead . Already they look bigger as we ﬂy past Hawkcombe Head and come down to a canter just through the gateway of Lord Love ’ ’ hi lace s plantations . Now we ll extend m again for and thunder up the middle track way , that

tail hound is evidently running the line , and those foot - people are all looking towards Sil ’ combe . There s Sidney on the right , keeping an eye onthe laggards lest they stir up other No deer or drop behind altogether . w we must m us so leave this iddle track , which has served off to th e well , and strike right through the stubby pines and heather holding hard onthe snatﬂe we , an d guiding all know between the treelets dead and dying , or our headlong career A ’ may come to a sudden close . few minutes of check in the top Holmer Combe , j ust time to draw breath , and away goes Anthony again , of blowing like Boreas , past the top Twitchen

Combe , with the hounds on his left , and stays 116 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

a moment to cheer them onin the extreme too of . So corner the plantations we must stay , and now we must rattle down the stony lane to Broomstreet , rattle through the courtyard , just able to catch a glimpse of three hounds skim fi eld . A ming across a ley sporting farmer , on of mounted a sturdy roan , catches a view the leading ones as they race along the lower of Y enworth edge y Common , so up we must o one fi eld g , over small but steep , and once n Now one o . again we are the heather , reader , more effort if we can ; those fleeting forms fly faster than ever ; they are closing with their our to deer , and this open common is chance ou get up in time . Steady him till y gain the l summit , then give him his head and a gent e fl admonition with the spur , and y down the to long slope County Gate , take the right hand track and trot down the bridle path in Seven Thorns and look over into that round reservoir in the combe two hundred feet below you . There us he is , the gallant beast that has led such a too merry dance , and already hounds are there , and chasing him round and round with a

a of . Now ! clamour like a pe l bells , Sidney ! quick with the rope That has him . Well ! Now us to thrown let help take him , that f his su ferings may be short . What a noble head has ! he All his rights , bar the near side bay , two n and long ones atop o each horn .

D E VON AN D SOM E R SET

A glorious run took place at a by - meet on the Friday preceding the Opening meet of 1893 e from Culbon Stables , when a good galloping straight - necked stag was roused in M etcombe

Plantations and sent straight to the Forest . The tufters had been at work only a few minutes on who when they opened this gallant beast , of Lill combe beat round the head y , and then n ’ si king to the Weir water at Robber s Bridge , set his head proudly for the open by way of ﬁ rst was Mill Hill . Even from the it evident was not of the or that scent very best strongest , the pack dashing off with a rather uncertain or drive , but over the open moorland a degree two of scent more or less seems to matter but little ; the swampy surface always holds scent enough to enable hounds to outpace all horses

but the very best and boldest . And now let me take you with me for the

- next three glorious hours , into which a life time

of exciting events were crowded , but let it be not for in the spirit and in the ﬂesh , I pray , every pound avoirdupois will be a sore en cumbrance ere we help Anthony to administer “ ” the coup de grace to that ﬂying red form that has just disappeared over the crest of Mill us Hill in the sunshine . Let trot up the side of the Chalk Water for a little and slip off to as the Deer Park quickly as we can , for hounds us have started and will be there before . Gently 120 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

up the side of O ldhay Ridge ; it will never do

‘ to knock the wind out of the plucky Irishman u s ﬁ s . hts beneath just yet How he pull and g , ’ to be sure ! Fit to j erk one s arms from the

sockets . But he will soon give that up unless am us I much mistaken . Now let slip gingerly across Blindwell Combe by the narrow sheep o n track . There g the hounds raci g for the n Landcombe e larch pla tations in , and ther goes M r s n . r Snow , leading a mall squadro of caval y for t e n the gate into h Turf Allotme t . Some h e thing is wrong with t Deer Park gate . Never mind ! let us tip over the fence and show the “ s twe nty or so behind u the way . That is the n n style , says Antho y , who is remounti g , as the good grey lands us well out on the yonder n ur n . a e o and side Now h rd y heart , my frie d , we will sail awav for all we are worth to th e e s at th e e regain two minut lost f nce , all down the half - mile slope of th e Deer Park

to the head of the Doone Path , through the

- e e e a knee deep heath r and spongy gr n gr ss . There go the hounds just sinking to the Badg and we e worthy Water , must race lik the wind s if we are to be in tim e . There goe a—herd of fourte en de er bv Woodcock Combe that 110 i s —and old rascal , Ga per , driving them there goes a gre at heavy stag straight for Brendon Two Gates up the long slope of Badg worthy as Hill , but our stag h crossed the water lower

122 STAG H U NTI N G \V ITH TH E

“ left terra firma far be hind and th e land of bogs and peat holes i s loo ming large just ahead . There are the hounds stre aming up from th e ’ O ns o n Hoar ak Water , hard by Gammo C r er, for of pointing straight the head the West Lynn , and here are we by the wall dividing Exe Plain a do o to from Cheriton Ridge . What sh ll we , g r P r n M r fo inker ? . them , or make y Po d Snow so off o of says the latter , we g over a series our oo horribly trappy drainage gutters , but g d ’ ot on and e horse has g his eye em , pump d s a o though he is , put in never fo t , but hops for No w cannily over and is ready the next . hle one along by the wall , in Indian , in the s be z th e ound path , full of water though it it is only sound path in the long dreary expanse o f n n . O o o Pinkerr the Chains and we g , past y ’ a Pond and upwards towards Chapman s B rrow , but n ever a sign of the hounds : where onearth can they have got to ? Has our cast been in ’ vain ? Why here s a stag coming to meet u s and by all that ’s great and good he is the ! s no hunted one His mouth is fa t closed ; , he opens it again , and the great white flecks fl as of foam y on the wind , he plunges heavily through swamp after swamp in his long labouring ’ to gallop . He s going back the Pond to soil ; us u let wait till the hounds come p , every ’ our e s moment s breathing time will help hors . i of n There comes the str ng bobbing heads , toili g AN D S RS 12 DEVON OM E ET . 3 up the sky - line of the enclosure from which ’ has first the stag come , Anthony s hunting cap , a and the rest at interv ls , and h ere come the hounds , streaming over the fence from the direction of Tinerley . Down in the gorge below us is a shepherd with his collie rounding up a little flock of the prick - eared Cheviot sheep ; how surprised the man looks at the sudden incursion onhis solitude ! At one moment he fancies himself far away from human ken and at the next he of is aware a panting labouring stag , after which his collie courses ; then come a string of hounds on running mute , but always striding . Then the nearing twang of the horn sounds on his of ear , and two little parties pursuers converge

on the line from right and left , ploughing along

through the morasses , their horses in every Now u different stage of exhaustion . let s turn tail and scamper away back with what speed

we may , by the very same path we have come , for the stag does not mean soiling in the pond , of but is careering along the ridge the Chains , passing within a hundred yards of the tempting little loch now shining blue under the August Now onE sky . we are back at last xe Plain , s and there are the hounds running fa t , in a of close drawn string , down the side Long to Chains Combe the round ruin at the ford . N ow they check at the water and for about ten 124 STAG H U NT l NG WITH TH E

minutes Anthony casts around for the line . Let us seize the opportunity to jump onour second who n horse , a trusty veteran this has see more u I deer killed in her time than either yo or . ak m Surely that is a hound spe ing so ewhere , and

there he is , that is old Trueman up under the E southern wall of xe Plain yonder , and he has found the line and is hunting away merrily all So by himself . sound your whistle , Sidney , and call up Anthony from the depths of that lon ely as ravine , and let cram on the pack before out of s to Trueman gets reach . How they peak now as it , they regain the line and sweep over Exe Plain towards Blackpits Gate ! Quick to th e crossing or they will distance us ; now over the road and away over the swampy surface of Little Buscombe and Great b How Buscom e . horribly trappy the endless

gutters are , black and overgrown , with running water at the bottom ! One after another they e and come , some wid and visible , others narrow

treacherous . But we must keep galloping all the same and giv e th e old mare her head ; she has negotiat e d many a thousand of them and ’ u won t deceive s now . All down the length of we o on Trout Hill g , putting steam a little e in where the slop is our favour . We have the

advantage of hounds now , as they bend to our right into the upper part of Badgworthy Water . ’ O nLittle Tom s Hill just before us come two

126 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E to th e water , crashing through the bracken and A thorn bushes . few more dodges and rushes , N utscale and he falls into the Water , and the good hounds fall over him . Now , quick and off help to drag him out , put your foot on his antler , and keep back the hounds and Anthony e will be here in a moment . It is just thre hours exactly since the pack was laid on at ’ h Robber s Bridge , and the ounds have covered a point measuring twe nty and a- half miles on the to map , say nothing of their ascents and descents and their turnings and twistings round th e shoul ders of the combes and along the bends of the moorland streams . The stag has brow , bay and off tray on the horn , with a long upright and f an o fer , and on the near horn has brow , trav and two atop . H e is a good galloping four

- e be . H e year old , and as fat as ev r he can is the ﬁfth deer already killed this season . Thus did Colonel Hornby inaugurate his tenure of ofﬁ ce in a wet and chilly July with a three hours ’ gallop of the very best and with

- ﬁve deer taken on by days . The open moor held but few deer in those days and Culbone and Hom er stags were chary of crossing the

Weir water , still , when once a real forester was afoot , the sport ruled all the better in ' consequence . Colonel Hornby s best runs n however , as in this insta ce and the following A one , were generally with young deer . few 1 2 DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 7

’ r days previous to this great run M . Sanders Glenthorne marriage with Miss Lucy Halliday , of , w as solemnised at Oare Church . of From much abused Haddon , one the

old - s good fa hioned runs , of which bygone sta hunters to generations of g were wont tell ,

on m 18th 18 . took place Monday , Septe ber , 93 Miles had reported a good stag in Haddon for Wood , and Anthony was sent to tuft him

soon after eleven , with almost immediate suc

cess . But he took an unpromising line , dashed f across Hart ord Cleave , and at the same time a male three - year - old that had been following

him turned back through Haddon Wood , and ’ headed right away to Peter s Piece , with

one couple of hounds in full chase . Preferring C this line ol . Hornby touched his horn as a a to h sign l Ant ony , a little conversation was carried on under slight difﬁ culties between

Miles at Wind Corner and Anthony at Clammer , and by the pack had been unkennelled and were being taken with all speed down the

lane to Bury Village . O nagain we trotted to the Hele Bridge meadows and the Exe under on Rookwood , and hounds opened the line . U now Pixton p into Park , but here hounds ’ one of Carnarvon s are at fault ; however , Lady gardeners has seen the deer passing the Jury to th e quarry pit , and Anthony brings them l . a o ine Down by the p lings they g , and round by 128 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

s n e the pond di coursing sweetly u der the tre s , and then alas it is Ware buck ! Ware doe ! of as Ware fawn from a score throats , Grappler and Prompter break from the red ’ deer s line and race amongst the dappled herd of n before their eyes , leading some the vetera s ou s ! astray by their example . Ah ! y puppie Now h ! e , Ant ony , read the riot act Quick , Sidn y ’ and Barber , drop your thongs i into em ; this will never do ! Now down to Newbridge and us tr all let y fresh ground , away from this ’ s e veni on . Th re s the line right enough , just and above Newbridge , over the river and road ’ up into Eller s Wood ! Now we must canter up the ﬁ elds outside the wood and be ready ’ ’ o How for em ere they break away t Combe . they dwell in the wood ! The deer must have

for . e been doubling about , drawing others Her e e they com though , through the fence , and ther

is a view holloa above the upper Combe Plantation. on so Hounds are faltering the clay pastures , to and Anthony lifts them the four cross ways , a little below on the Gulland road is shown has an the place where the deer passed , nearly Now off th e hour before . they are again , over ’ ﬁ elds ! Here s a ﬂight of hurdles ! Crack ! ! ! s crack in two places at once Ah , my friend , ’ if you can t clear them you might j ust as well pull one up and walk through ; you will have f Now a plenty o company . down the hill into

AN DEVON D SOM ERSET .

deep , deep combe , and right up beyond . Hounds are onour right and running but slowly . Here u they come p , towards the Molland road , and are quite at fault . Anthony lifts them to Five

Cross Ways , and then trots down the lane that to E leads All Ways nd . In the ﬁ elds onthe left he hits the line for Armoor again , and hounds are bearing Wood when a lusty halloa from the direction of Rhyll M r n . sets all o the alert . Hawker shews the way down a most convenient hunting path , and M r we are soon at Rhyll , where . Dawkins and “ on a O ! his merry men all are the lert . h yes ! the deer has passed about ten minutes " for n o . O l since , bearing Whiterocks we g ’ There s his slot on the road plain enough , but wni on hounds cannot o t. Now we are the heather again and away they dart at a very

different pace to what they have shewn before . Over the upper corner of East Anstey Common they ﬂing through the dark wet heather , with s m not to te s lashing, quite settled the line yet , but plainly getting more eager at every moment . Now they are in V enford Common and running O o like mad . ut we g , by the gate at Anstey

M r. . Barrows , J Clatworthy has the lead ; perhaps h e sees them ; it is more than we can , driving against the misty rain at this pace . Miss M usgrave ’s horse falls heavily over a cart rut and lies still , but she gets up and disentangles STAG HU N TI N G WITH TH E

on herself and comes again presently , but little

the worse . Meanwhile we have scampered past of Lonstones to the head g combe , and sunk the D anesbrook of L shwell at the corner y Wood . Here are hounds in the water ; they are at too for fault , and a good thing , the path in Shi rcombe has Brake is steep , and the pace

made horses blow already . Anthony casts his

beauties up stream , and that failing , tries the Gloggs side of the wood and hits the line a hirc . S ombe gain Away we gallop , through courtyard and away to Gloggs Down ; hounds

were in Devonshire a moment since , now they how are in Somerset once more . Spur we on us may , they are still gaining ; they are now fairly racing , over the moory surface of Hawkridge Plain and away by Porchester Post ; how they speak on the wet ground ; ’ Here s an obstacle ; a yawning watercourse ,

' some four feet over , then a high bank with on it and some ancient thorn boughs laid ,

on . M r. perhaps a ditch the far side J . Clatworthy is onhis feet in a trice and scales a cob triﬂe the ramp rt , but the gallant roan is a too quick for him and hurries him rudely into No the next ﬁ eld onhands and head . damage and is done however , away he goes , leading on the van as usual . Now we are Withypool Common ; and there are the hounds crossing the two Knighton combes below and bending

134 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

to and All eyes turn the spot , there sure enough is this gallant little stag that has led us so far and so fast , toiling up the steep slope

f . opposite , so sti f that he can hardly raise a trot O to ne tally and a cheer his hounds , and

Anthony sinks the combe , climbs the other side o and settles them on the line . Away they g Winstitchen for Flexburrow over , pointing , but the sight of the buildings of Wheal Eliza has

turned the stag , and he has beaten down the n w for r Barle . O down ards a few hundred ya ds , and then in the limpid water hounds run right over their deer as he crouches in an attempt o all t hide . Another moment and is over with H e him . proves to be in poorish condition , off with the near brow antler broken short , and has two tines onthe near top and the upright ff ﬁfteenh f on o . t o s the The deer the sea on , and the time of the run three hours and three r of qua ters ; the latter half it exceedingly fast .

M r. . B. Coll ns was That veteran staghunter , J y , s going strong throughout this run , which rank easily fi rst among the three notable runs from E Haddon scored by Colonel Hornby . ncircled r as the Haddon Coverts are by enclosed count y, there is no doubt that their deer have not scope or range suffi cient to enable them to lead hounds d o first as gallantly as their cousins , but when once they have left the deep wooded combes of Exe and Barle behind they can gallop as stoutly 1 DEVON AN D SOM E R SET . 35 and as straight over the great grass ranges of southern Exmoor as ever a Culbone stag can stride across the heather of Porlock Allotment w A ead or the green s amps of cm . Their blood is the same , their instincts are the same , only the better feeding and the warmer lying makes their heads heavier and their haunches better fill ed . C HAPTER VI .

T E BLACK STAG o r BAD G WO R T HY—FRO M BLACK P11 1 5 TO H — — BRATTON CO U RT T H E G REAT Quanroc x STAG THE O LD E S 'I‘ STAG o n R E CO R D —FRO M O A R E TO BRATTON

’ — AN D E R S E 1 — m N G M R . S F I RST 0 STAG THB p aum o D AY o r 18 —F R 0M Po p mm W000 TO BA O — 95 BC WORTHY E I GHTEE N M u s s O N THE SO U T H F O REST “ — T1111 G RE AT N o rr STAG A R U N F R OM H AWKCO M BE

H EAD .

T H E staghunting season of 1 89 3 was concluded on O Monday , ctober 2 2 nd , s o f a r a s the Porlock side of the country i s e concern d , with a brilliant perform a n c e t h a t m ay fairly rank amongst the best runs of and th e e the year , int rest of it was much increased by th e fact that the quarry was no th e s Bad worth other than big tag of g y , known “ S a A ﬁ eld as the Bl ack t g. of about one hundred was fi rst conducted to Larkbarrow th e e e at H awkcombe from m t Head , being

138 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE just in time to take shelter from a cold and of drenching shower rain and hail , and hounds were duly kennelled in the farm buildings . Two couple and a half of tufters were ﬁrst on drawn , but , consideration , the master had one of couple these returned to kennel , leaving for to A three hounds Anthony work with . ’ was for M r move now made . Snow s Deer Park , keeping warily to leeward of the fence on so to South Common , as approach the deer up no wind , but sooner had keeper Steer held the for calvacade to gate open the enter , than a herd of some sixteen hinds , with a good stag in attendance , was seen speeding away over Lancomb the brown expanse to d e . The great black stag was supposed to be in the little combe facing the Doone Valley with three it others , but when the tufters entered , it

to . proved be empty of deer Ten deer , in two bunches of and three , could now be seen Bad worth l stealing away over g y Hi l , making a

of w - total t enty seven already roused , without a glimpse of the veteran ; a noble herd , maintained and preserved by that best of all supporters M r of staghunting , . Nicholas Snow . The tufters were now laid onthe line of bi to the g herd , to see if they would lead up the famous stag , and they had not been long out of sight amongst the larches in Landcombe before deer began to move in all directions . DEVON AN D SOM E RSET .

Two good stags and a male deer broke away from Badgworthy Wood over Black Hill at of sound the horn , and took an excellent line towards Dry Bridges , looking quite yellow in the bright sunshine . And now came the sensa tion of the day . While Miles was levelling his ﬁ eld glass at a the retreating st gs , the monarch of the forest suddenly made his appearance , followed by N ow another and smaller stag . , in an instant , n old all doubt is at end . The cu ning veteran that for so many a year has saved his life by w ily stratagems , that has eluded Arthur and A to r nthony again and again , that has come be e as no garded better than a fabulous myth , so much—has he been talked about and so seldom seen stands confessed . Here he comes towards us t , with migh y head held high and proud . Black not he is , only a darker brown than usual ,

especially about the poll , but in the weird misty air of the moor he looks at a little distance distinctly blacker than any other of the numerous

deer we have just seen . But it is by the proud

carriage of his head , and the square upward set of his spreading antlers that one may know

him amongst a herd of other deer . H e on carries all his rights of course , and e can see three long spiky tines at least oneither ! off top . Have at him now Ride the other all ou stag ; and frighten him y can , that he may 14 0 STAGH U NTI N G WITH THE go straight away and clear all these crossing M r . . ! foils Well done , Adams Now he flies to some purpose ; see his flanks rolling in his bounding gallop “ And now th e good stag fli es before

H i s dee - mouthed foe s across the moor p , And swifte r thanth e morning wind Lea es Bad worth far far beh nd v g y , , i ; T henbreasts the d stant h ll s nor fee ls i i , ' Th e eat turf w th ﬂ in hee l s p y i y g , N ow sniﬁ s t he wreathing mi st th at laves The ur le moor whose rollin wa es p p , g v O f rass and heather far and n h g , ig , ’ r g G ow dark a ainst t he t hund rous sky .

Now stop your tufters , Anthony , while we watch e e e his lin . Ther he goes yond r over the yellow m oor rass Bad worth o g on g y Hill , and there g e two littl yearling deer , racing after him , bother ’ e Now cm l They will spoil sport to a c rtainty . he sinks into the combe that holds the H occombe

Le us . Y es e th ev . t Wat r , and so do watch , e there he goes , right up ov r the crest of Lana ’ combe , against the sky , and there s one at least of the little d e er still toiling after him . Anthony e has gone to conf r with Colonel Hornby , and th e pack will most likely be coming along in hy e minutes ; let u s trot down to the ford and splash through Badgworthy Water and see h ow many of the ﬁ eld come up to th e scratch when

are oh . e hounds laid Yes , h re come the hounds e ﬁ eld right nough , and here comes the in two

14 2 STAG HU N TI N G WITH TH E steep side overlooking Hoar Oak Water ; per haps the veteran may have stopped i n that ’

h . lonely stream ; but no , there s nothing t ere Now he and Arthur trot slowly back towards Black its p in disconsolate frame , all the skill and

- deer craft of past and present allied , but quite disco mﬁte d . Where can the phantom stag have got to There are lines all over the place ; any o ne of nw them may be his . H ow can they tell o which to follow ? No friendly halloa to guide them in this dreary solitude , no chance to detect ’ the fugitive s slot in this wide expanse of No swampy grass . human being nearer than H occombe O Hill , or Hoar ak Cottage ; in the z on distance a few moor ponies gra ing , an d every hill some sheep . But stop ! why are those sheep huddled so there in Blackpits beside the Farley Water ? What do they see that Anthony cannot ? The wind is from him to them ; if it

be off . be deer , they will in another moment Tally ho ! there they go ! the two- year - old ’ sta lins all g g and a hind , and by that s lucky, there is the black stag with them still . Now ' e e m ! Blust r and Dalesman , hav at em , y boys But not a bit ; there seems to be some magic by reason of which hounds cannot hunt this ’ deer . There are the deer still going , and there s M r . Charles Glass . Now will they take it up ? off or no Yes , they are at last , and at what a 1 DEVON A N D SOM ERSET . 4 3

! N ow old ou pace , my friend , y must look alive , or they will be at your haunches in a few s s minutes . Spla h , spla h , jump , splash , stagger , —all Buscombe jump the way down over , a treacherous drainage gutter , and as blind as a

- two to bag , every twenty yards , say nothing of “ ’ m ” cross ones . I ve seen any a fall hereabouts , of one says Arthur , by way encouragement , and ’ can quite believe it too . Here s the Trout Hill i fence , and the ground is a l ttle sounder . See , ’ ’ here they crossed ; there s the stag s great slot ’ are and the hound s pads , but the hinds parted ; v now we shall ha e sport . Away down Trout as o for to Bad Hill hard as we can g , the p g ’ - in worthy crossing . There s a whipper galloping in the grassy corner of Manor Allotment opposite . H w e stops ! there are t o white dots beside him . ’ H e ﬁ eld has stopped em , and all is well . The come speeding up from Badgworthy Water full of a eager enquiry , and delight spreads from f ce to face as the news ﬂies from one to another that the big stag has been fairly separated and s for of driven away at la t , the interval waiting on H occombe Hill has been long and cold now of and dreary , and there is every prospect m a brilliant run . I n a very few inutes hounds V have been brought from the Doone alley , off Anthony has changed horses , and they are like pigeons just as the ominous growl of an approaching thunderstorm makes itself heard . STAG H U N TI N G WITH T H E

U p M anor Allotm e nt and into Kittu cks thev s e a e tr m , stringing out in the breathless rac , e e Acme ad n th n b nd to the right over , and ﬂi g w n e into H urdle Do n . The high beech fe ces hav e th e nor do not turn d fugitive , they check s th ev hound long , but falter a little amongst

the so dd e n h e ather ere they sink into N utscale. But se e now how they ﬂing over Wilmersham D ad co mbe ! e Plain , and dive into y How th y s e p ak at the water , an d what an eager blood thirsty burst o f tongue it is ! Not a moment e now n do th y dwell , but while we are climbi g th e Lancombe path out of g , they are dashing o e d v r Stoke Ri ge into Bagley . o There they g again , not a hundred yards e e s as m ah ad , pack d clo ely together they rise fro Swe etworth e n y Combe . Now the rain b ats dow s r n upon our luckle s heads , blurring eve ythi g, dre nching one to the skin ; but this is no time to think of putting oncoats and aprons . ll r mb Hark what a cry in A e co e . Have they w ? ’ come up ith him No , tis three hinds jumping u p . There they go back and the pack s divide , but Anthony sets them right in a twinkling and gallops forward past the head of Hollo wco mbe and upwards for Robin Howe . The heavy rain has done its work though and s washed the oil . Slowly and doubtfully hounds

ﬂing from right to left , yet ever trending to wards the direction of Brockwell . Now comes

STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

D u nker as the great Nott stag of y , whose l t wild race for life is narrated ona subsequent page .

- s of wh o The switch horned tag Haddon , shed his malformed horn and died at Couple Ham fi htin two g gwith normal horns , and scratching such as one horses came within his reach . The old of e horned stag Cothelston , who charged amongst fi S the eld at Kingston t. Marv and the great stag of Stoodleigh . At the tim e of writing there flouri shes on

D unker - s y an old one horned stag , with at lea t four points atop on his single beam , who travels much the same line of country as the black stag was wont to . But the black stag roused more curiosity than all the other marked deer of the not past two decades , and a few were incredulous as to his existence until he was safely hung up s of by the heel at Bratton Court . The legend for rs his existence had being going several yea , but it came to a sudden and a glorious end on that October afternoon in 1893. F O 2 th 18 riday , ctober 5 , 93, was the last day of e na the legitimat season , but an additio l b - ma niﬁ cent y day was held on Saturday , g deer being killed on each occasion . O nthe former e day , the me t was at Bagborough Plantation as of e Gate yor , and was not very largely attended , later arrivals , however , swelling the ranks of the mounted ﬁ eld to about one hundred all told . 1 D E VON AN D SOM ERS ET . 4 7

’ Barber s harbouring operations had been

favoured with success , the freshly moistened s re - on to tate of the ground , partly dried p , being most suitable for his task in the earlier u of ockercombe ho rs the morning . High up in C where the fringe of oaks and coppice dwindles to a mere belt in the bottom of the goyle , he d of one of had detecte the presence two stags , e ﬁ n them b ing an unusually ne o e . Soon after ’ Colonel Hornby s arrival at the trysting place , off to as hounds were moved , be kennelled usual at Quantock Farm before tufting was c ommenced . With a draft of three couple and l A was to Cockercombe a ha f , nthony now sent to draw for the big deer , and with almost

immediate success . Descending to One Tree

- Bottom by the well worn path , with his tufters a at his heel , and Miles in attend nce on a neat was black cob , the little procession soon lost to

sight amongst the tall trees in the dingle . f Cheer ul sounds soon arose , however , as the ’ tufters struck the line , and Anthony s cheery voice

rose clear as a silver bell above their chorus . l Down the main va ley they swept , waking the

echoes with their melody , till opposite the ’ E Devil s lbow , and then turned short up again as Al l if to break upon Parsonage Side . of a sudden they divided ; one part drove a stag

through the tree stems up the combe , while the o d ther , consisting of two houn s only , drove the 14 8 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E big stag from his stronghold in Cockercomb e w e s to ards S ven Well . Some two couple and a s half tuck to the smaller deer , which would have be e n warrantable enough had no better e e se n and n b en pr t , he was soon to be see mounting the ope n hillside with thoughts intent on Bagborough . No sooner had he gained the e w e op n , ho ev r , than he was fairly headed back into covert by pedestrians . This bit of bad luck ' e d for did not interf re with the ay s sport , the big stag was be ing steadily hunted away through Great Wood till he came down to the water in a rushy m e adow low down in Seven Wells . H e re h e stood at bay for a while with one u th e hound facing him , but on more coming p , was for an tuneful sound of the bay . exchanged eager yelping chase up the length of Ashl e y M r ra ﬁ ld a e . G nd e Comb . was in his usu l ’ G ovett s e position near Cops , and obtained a good vi ew of the stag as he galloped up to the for Stowey Road , pointing the Camel and his e Driver , whil Colonel Hornby followed his ’ of movements from the distance Lord s Ball . No sooner had the latter obtained a glimpse of the magniﬁ ce nt spread of his antlers against the skyline than h e set off with all speed towards F Quantock arm to liberate the pack , blowing was loudly as he went . Anthony meanwhile a diligently hunting the sm ller stag , which by on the way carried two long tines either top ,

150 STAG HU NTI N G WITH TH E

- w n on o St. furze their way t Audries . Blo was as th e though he , the gallant be t had leapt th e high deer fence and entered the park , and d leading hounds , with Michael at their hea , were soon pressing him through the square o f gorse inside , amongst the retreating forms r r the pa k deer , and downwards near the Recto y k Beating up the combe within the deer par , a ot he tried to scend , but the leading hounds g to e at him and raced him down again a gat , ﬁ eld to by which he got out , the scattering of h right and left . Leaping the chain fence t e onto the churchyard in and out , he staggered r house and entered the front conservato y. Amidst a crash of ﬂower pots and ornamental plants he was borne to the ground and secured.

M r. E e lliot Lees , the new Conservative candidat for T of ﬁ rst to d aun—ton , being one the lay hans on him a tas k of no slight danger in that w ﬁ . as h u e conned space . The head the est ev r l on ki led in the West Country , numbering four one top and four and an offer onthe other . Some of the measurements are worthy of notice

oin. Round outer curve of near horn , 3 ; width

0 m. to across at the fork , 3 1 from inside outside ; 2 in m perpendicular height , g . ; size round bea

in. at fork , 7% , and same between brow and n 1 i . bay ; outer curve of brows , 4 l h This head , mounted origina ly with the air on l at St. A of , graces the ha l udries , the seat H E Au o m s s H A T 1 . E D S .

STAGH U N TI N G \V ITH TH E and e a th e as w h vy in beam , bo ted only bro s travs h two f and , wit and an o fer atop ; this , I e and f ar , would interfere sadly with the rules principle s as to age of deer lately laid down in a corre spondence appearing in the columns

' The Il est Somerset Free Press I for of , which , ’

n . a s one , followed with much i terest The st g injurie s receive d in his e arly days would account e n no doubt for his r markably small weight , seve s e a of a cor , while his m sk and slot were those

- e - four v ar old hind . In old a e e g , or after severe injuries , ther can be no do u bt that deer decline in their e as the horns as w ll in their bodily proportions , beam be coming thinner and smoother and s e to but a suming weaker curv s from year year , e are e long brow antl rs , even though thin , a sur characteristic of old deer . O u 2 th 18 n Monday , August 7 , 94 , drawi g w to v ith the pack was resorted , for a hea y stag had be en harboured by himself by George w O e Bar ick in Hollacombe Wood , almost pposit ’

M r. Birmin O M r. Snow s , at are . Christopher g ham was the ﬁ rst to view him as he rose from s n his lair in the short oak scrub , and his rou i g ” ’ Tally ho ! was quickly followed by Anthony s ’ cheer and Sidney s quick note with the whistle. In thre e minutes the wood was made too hot for Lill combe to hold him , and he raced away y w ot u m a here two other stags g p , one of the N S 1 DEVON A D SOM ER ET . 55

nott stag of gre at size . Meanwhile the hunted stag was crossing H ookway Hill for the Weir

. A Water , with hounds not far behind him s to he rose the skyline on Mill Hill , he stood at az w g e for an instant , sho ing his spreading horns against the blue and then bore away for th e

Forest at best speed , pointing for Three Combes

F . U o oot p Stowford Bottom g the hounds , and Anthony stops them at the top to give the stragglers time for a very welcome breathing i to space , and then they beg n race again by way of Manor Al lotment to the Badgworthy lannacombe N w Water under C . o they are toiling up Badgworthy Hill opposite ; we must get over , and that quickly , or we shall be for h handsomely left behind , t ey are bearing away for Brendon Two Gates with stem s down h and in ot earnest . As they rise again from the head - springs of the Hocco mbe Water there are four or ﬁ ve deer before them ﬂying across the Two not road at Brendon Gates , but the stag is of with them ; he has played the old , old trick for changing, and done it with great success , oi nowhere can he be seen or heard , and hounds break away at such a spe e d after the fresh deer that they are not stopped till Sidney gets to them far down the Farley Water a mile

- Two a- and a half away . couple and half divide upon a strapping great hind which heads right for Pinker away y , but come back eventually to STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

Lanacombe to , which Anthony has by that time

a . At returned , in c sting back last the welcome news is signalled from the Deer Park that the stag has been viewed stealing back from the of direction Trout Hill , and has laid up in the

smallest of the Deer Park plantations . When

hounds are brought there , however , he is found anna om to have moved into Cl c be . Out of the

larches he bounds , driving three yearling deer M r H C. before him , but Captain Curzon and . . Glass set to work and cut him out after a das h r over the heather , short , sha p and decisive .

This is warm work , as their horses testify , but n they have do e yeoman service , and that in the now nick of time , for he is away by himself , and f r a heading right away o Farley . It is ne rly four ’ and ﬁ rst s o clock , horses have lost their fre h

to - O ness , but as we sink Hoar ak from Cheriton to Ridge we begin overhaul hounds somewhat . As we gain Furze Hill we see them running ’ n e over Ly ton Common above Gammon s Corn r , for pointing straight Parracombe . In the next little stream we come up with them ; the stag has just left the wire fence onthe ridge abov e us ﬁve e a not minutes before th m . Horses c n o only climb slowly now , but hounds cann t ﬂ u exactly y either ; ten couple are p , and the “ ” u rest are like the boy in Casabianca . Let s look round now as the good little horse that h as carried us so well splashes through the tiny

158 STAG H U N TI N G WITH T H E and by that very timely aid enables h im to kill his deer handsomely . The bulk of the pack change to a hind in Twitchen Wood , but w he stops them by Button Bridge , and mean hile Sidney is busy with the stag with only th ree H onaco t t . hounds under Breaking away , he conceals himself until Anthony returns with the rest of the hounds , and then a few turns up and down the water quickly finish him . A e n h of real for st ki g , wit a royal head twelve A perfect points , the velvet clean gone . very diffi cult stag to take ; the tenth of the season; time , seven hours and a quarter ; the pace at first s quite fa t enough , but slow towards the

A - end . lemon coloured hound called Sovereign e s seiz d this stag by the ﬂank , and never relea ed his hold though carried for some distance through the air . Nearly half of those who saw the ﬁni sh out lay at Simonsbath that night . M r R A e . . . n The new master , Sa ders , h ld

ﬁ rst b - day at on his y Hawkridge Friday , ’ 1 th 18 July 9 , 95, after a soaking night s rain , which made the country perfectly rideable . was e R incombe Anthony s nt to tuft in Wood , ’ on Lord Clinton s estate , and soon roused two warrantable stags , which both went away over ’ Molland Common , following each other s tracks . Sev e n couple of puppies and double that number of old hounds were laid onthe foil of f the second and larger stag , a ter he had been 1 DEVON AN D SOM E RSET . 59

w ’ ﬁndin allo ed half an hour s law . Fresh g him W s in hiterocks , they cha ed him merrily all wn V E do the Barle alley and across to the xe , A an d here roused him from soil again . t the H ad deo hounds checked , but the stag was viewed stealing away from Haddon Wood , and after twenty minutes ’ pretty water hunting under the Deer Park , he was taken at Steart Cottage . This remarkable stag stood before hounds for ou three hours after the lay , in spite of his great size , eleven score and seven pounds clean H s . e wa weight , minus head and slots a perfect w on fourteen pointer , ith the velvet still , of course , but the points were hardened under s neath the velvety covering . His head mea ured as — follows Height , 3oin . ; length round curve i of n. near horn , 35 ; spread at fork , outside to 2 in 1 m inside , g . ; curve of brow antlers , 4 3 . girth of in A ﬁne beam , 7 . very head for the British

Islands . Seldom has the chase been better seen on the opening day by the multitude assembled on Cloutsham th Ball than it was on August 7 , ’

8 first M . 1 r. 95, the year of Sanders mastership Th e run itself lasted only about an hour , but e fi eld the stag , in his doubl s , led hounds and to th e and fro in sight of farm , to the great th e delight of foot and carriage folk , who moved from fi eld to fi eld on the Cloutsham

Ridge , and kept the Hunt in view for some time .

STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E to be harried out of my lair in the middle of to off all the day , and have scuttle this distance r to —m e without the w etches trying hunt me , of all and deer , with all my age and experience r a my g eat big horns . I must trot up the E st

Water a bit , I suppose , and run a few doubles and lie down in a good thicket , and then I should hope it will be all right , and those horrible hounds will go about their business ! So off E s he goes up the a t Water combe , as it does not seem good for his health to stay of as in view Sidney any longer , but he passes of H ollowcombe Allercombe from the foot to , he finds to his dismay that he is viewed again by a whole crowd of foot people onth e ferny Cloutsha o side of m Ball . Hurrying n past Allercombe al a , he glides ong through the t ll Sw r has eete . trees in y Meanwhile , Anthony h regained the farm , and is in consultation wit me the master , and in a few moments the welco and order to take out the pack has been given , the fi eld is crowding four abreast down the w r A steep roadway into S eete y . good many old sta hunters to g ride quickly , however , out fi elds the above the farm , for if the stag has gone up Bagley Combe , he may be away to do the moor ere this , and it would never to start a forest run on a half beaten horse . There no as is to be such good luck this , however , for hounds soon fresh hnd him amongst the AND S R DEVON OM E SET .

s Sweeter fern in y , and he doubles short back Allercom into be . Now all hopes of a forest d run are over and one with . It will be Cut m or or co be Horner , , at best , the sea in

o . d Porl ck Bay See , yon er he goes over those green swamps at the h e ad of H ollowcombe ; how his head spr eads and bran che s ! and how grey the dying velv et looks in the sunlight ! Now he bounds over the ro ad and goes striding a s for aw y round the houlder of the hill , as if H untscott nni b us or A co m e . Now let get up ’ to the road and give our horse s a moment s

breathing space , for the hounds will be here in ve a few minutes , and we may ha to cross the s e e ﬁr graveyard at best pe e d . H r come the st ten couple ; now giv e them room and come

along . Mind that blind wat e rcourse ; hold him ’ up o ver that clitt er of stones ; don t ride across of d e s in front each other , pretty la i , if you can i th e s help t. Now hound ﬂing downwards ; ’ e s that s Luccombe All r there below . Look at those two sheep - dogs coursing the stag down s ! there by Holt Ball . Poor bea t he is pressed as i hard enough t is . Now he ﬂies for W tchaner y g , and gains the shelter of the

Luccombe Plantations , but with one hound M r pressing after him . In the old roadway . o Ch rley views him , and Michael is stopped till ’ “ u and a the pack come p , then it s forr rd on a e al ag in , through the acres and acr s of t l Scotch 164 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

ﬁr r , till the water is reached under Pa sonage

Side . Here the leading hounds co me up with

him , and ten minutes later he is safely taken

at West Luccombe . Time , just an hour after

- on the lay . Suitable as is such a chase for an opening f ffa day , the one that follows is a far di ferent a ir , and is one of the performances that go to build To i f up staghunting history . ride in s ght o the leading hounds from Sherracombe to Badg worthy is to enjoy a sensation which memory al l to will ways reca l , and is enough convert the veriest tyro into a lifelong staghunter . It was four or ﬁ ve seasons since a gallop ing stag left the coverts below the Poltimore Sherracombe Arms behind him , and climbed , to gain the heights of White ﬁ eld Down onhis way to the North Forest and the mill wheel of m . on 2nd Ho er But Saturday , September , 18 all as 95, went merry a marriage bell . The e harbouring had been laborious , but was don to was perfection ; the tufting short and decisive , ’ and by one o clock a real forest king had take n his last drink in the tiny tributary of the Hole Sherracombe Water , which trickles down , and

to . was away the open , unblanched Popham Va h Wood , down the Hole lley , had the onour ’ of for s providing this gallant stag the day s cha e , o e s and a staunch one he proved t b . The tufter dr to r soon ove him from Molland Wood Bera ,

STAG H U NTI NG WITH TH E away from th e rest as we climb through the fe rns i nth e h o s O e on t unshine . v r yonder the ’ r i n ha a of ight , t t l ne , there s a surging crowd bobbing h e ads ; one scarlet coat goes down ' a e a tis th e s lr dy ; ma ter , but he seems none the wo se and c e m s . to r , o on again gaily Now stop

M c ae and le t and i h l the rest come up start fair . ’ H e re o nthe top there s a delightfully cool east w n H r s a . e re a i d o s sobbing and lathering lready, but th e v w hav ill e just time to catch their wind . ” H o w o n a ? l g has the stag gone , f rmer ” “ st a o ut a ar k ju b q u ter of an hour , sir . Hoic , o ck sa s n o h h i , y A thony , and away they g , t en fa e for a m n d lt r i ute , and again swing forwar w to ard D ucky Pool . Now sit down in your sa d e m v ri e n d l , f d ; catch him tight by the head , and co m a o n are off e l g ; they like the wind , ' and tis a far cry to your second horse at Bren o nTwo a es H ow d ry d G t . the moor is , to be sure ! It is nea e nd rly the of September , and et o ne ca a it y ng llop over the worst of . Still a re - distributionof seats has begun already ; the d rainage gutt ers are taking their toll of th e daisy

e s a - z clipp r nd star ga ers and the tied shoulders . H e re we go d own over the long slope of Vint m e the anc e co b to ient fording of the Barle . Tim i s wa e v w th e . to th t r , t el e minutes from Down ' D r . B n s o s o d h r e essays to soil with him , as it o nce did b e fore inthe Hadd eo Water with woeful e f e no w f ct , but whip and spur and obj urgations 16 DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 7

on o . bring him to his feet again , and we g There ’s the master with a large following bearing off ﬁ elds to the right for the Driver , and there are on the hounds the left racing up Goat Hill , us with their heads pointing for Pinkery . Let o for g on with them , fear the stag should be m soiling in the pond , and should betake hi self W olhan to o ger or Parracombe . Here they come for across though , heading straight Chains

Barrow ; now the right contingent will be saved . O o ver into Long Chains Combe they g , stringing out already by sheer speed ; now down the O combe and into Hoar ak , now up again and into Farley . U p once more at a slant amongst the sound heather of Brendon Common towards

Dry Bridges . Patter across the Lynton Road , the only ﬁrm ground since the road at the ford a by Driver . There must have been sever l falls us Karslake behind by this time ; Sir William ,

M . M r r r . M Miss Batt , Leney , de Las Casas , .

S. N . ui cke Q , and several others show signs of having bitten the peaty mud ; telescoped hats and dirty backs are the order of the day , for the pace is a cracker , and the great hounds keep sailing on as if they never meant to stop , with no semblance of check or turn . ’ Away they go towards Lankcombe ; tis

now - sounder going , down this long two mile slope Bad of heather , and we must be down at the g worthy Water yonder as soon as the hounds , 168 STAGH U NTI N G O N EXMOOR .

or they will give us the slip amongst fresh deer

er- Now as o in the D e park . spl h into the co l o Badgworthy stream ; let him bury his muzzle ’ o o all deep in this cool , clear p ol ; he ll g the

better . Hark at those angry , eager notes just ’ b on a ove in the larch ; that s the line , depend it Now we must climb this sloping path ; hark H e has to Sidney , whistling above there Two a and no galloped straight in from G tes , , H e a doubt , has viewed our stag . w ves Anthony towards the larches high up in Landcombe ; two e out big male d er come bounding , but

Anthony will have none of them . In his haste o ne of them crosses his legs and turns clean e e over . Then com s the prettiest sight we hav se en this season ; the hunted stag forced from bv his shelter the hounds , comes bounding out from th e same place as if to follow the But other two . Anthony is too many for him ;

he knows him at once , and with a cheer has

every hound on his line . One of them essays to off s are cut him , but the great antler quickly we and lo red , the hound rolls over yelping in

the heath . With staggering gait the beaten stag now lurches across the plain into Woodcock ’ and Combe again sinks into the larches . There s a moment of suspense as hounds bustle down amongst the ﬁ r stems ; then Lord Ebrington as m views him he steals away up the botto , and a moment later the master 's horn rings out

170 STAG H U N TI N G WITH THE

H e loud and long . struggles gamely up the Bad worth e g y Water for a few minutes , and th n r i l M . t n k turns savagely to bay , but Ham l o quic y h ff seizes him by t e o antler and all is soon over . m Ti e , just sixty minutes from the top of hi fi e l W te d Down . The seventeenth stag of the e a season . The scen of the take was exactly th t of the famous picture which adorns the dining and room of Bagborough House , was about a hundre d yards above the spot where His Maj esty e the King , wh n Prince of Wales , despatched first E a his xmoor stag . The deer c rried brows e f and trays , with v ry short o fers for bays , and s fine two long tine upon either top , and was a heavy stag . Hounds were so blown when the stag stood up that the bay was little more than e l th e a seri s of ye ps , a sure testimony to pace of the run , and had it not been for the cool e e e asterly bre z blowing against horses , there would have be e n many a tale of woe befo re

ﬁnish . the As it was , there were fully three quarters of the held beside the water be fo re e the deer was d ad . O u 1 th 18 6 Saturday , September 9 , 9 , the Brayford cov erts afforded a galloping deer and

th e - w a run of good old fashioned sort , hich , e s e e though som what low , p rhaps show d the e e and o ne staghounds at th ir b st , obtained from “ ” and all the verdict of a real good day . Not for som e ye ars have we seen a deer run over A S S DEVON N D OM ER ET .

t E the southern por ion of xmoor , the last one so that did , I think , being killed at Twitchen ’ “ Co l ns some years ago . In l y Chase of the Wild Red Deer we are told that if a stag makes FyldonRidge from Whiteﬁ eld he will go to Sh eard on Hutch and Landacre and so f down the Barle , and this in e fect was some what the line of our deer of Saturday , the

19th .

e - I think , how ver , that being only a two year old d male eer , he soon found himself out of his country , and was more occupied in going down wind and putting good distance between himself and the ringing notes of Anthony ’s horn than in making any particular point . With young deer , I have often noticed there is a to o w tendency g do n wind when hard pressed , though of course a warrantable stag will always

make his point , no matter though he be forced d to run against a riving gale . Noon had passed ere Anthony had roused th e best deer which

Fred Goss could harbour in the Gratton coverts ,

and a small one he was at that .

However , young deer ere this have shown ’ M - r. good runs from Bray , Basset s three year Sh erracombe old to wit , which ran from to m A ﬁ rs . t t Ho er mill wheel , he looked like ’ Leworth d making y Bri ge and Mole s Chamber , but he doubled short in covert and turned down ra f towards B y ord . 172 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E

’ w s T a on the Saturday after Barnstaple Fair ,

- - be - en just two years ago , that a never to forgott stag took the same turn and led us to Castle U Hill and mberleigh , on the river Taw , whereby some of the ﬁ eld lav out that night and did

e . e e in not get hom till morning Now , how v r , S h e pite of foot people in every ld , this game little deer headed up the green pasture s under L d e cott e and y , and made for the Hole Wat r ,

the chase began .

The master brought the pack from Gratton ,

e M r. e wher Robins had provided snug quart rs , e and laid them on where the de r left covert .

Leaving Molland Wood well to their right , hounds hunte d merrily up the long wooded combe which le ads to the Poltimore Arms at th e Sh erra Yard Down , but checked at foot of d e combe , where the streams ivid . Anthony was casting up Sherracombe wh e n Sidney Tucker galloped up to him with the news that a few hounds were driving from Colent Wood toward the Yard Down Road . Now a convenient lane soon brought Anthony to the spot where a r se e d count yman had just n a eer in the road , e but whil Anthony was enquiring of him , h e ﬁ eld d ounds took a lin in the beyon , and off L d i combe made at score to y d Bottom . Just d y beyon , a ﬂock of sheep made a timel check , which enabled us to get to them by way of F ldon e and y Lan , here Anthony hit it again

174 STAG H U N TI N G WITH T H E they re - crossed the water and streame d over Withypool Common to the Barle above Land

a . Now cre here is an exceeding steep descent , one o for down which perforce must g , the great hounds were plunging eagerly through the broad of to brown stream the Barle below , as if cross and take it up onthe yonder bank . Leading

- s down with whip thong through the reins , horse slid down to the swampy green marsh beneath at a rate which pulled their owners headlong on hands and knees . It was excellent soft a fi f lling , however , and the eld were soon fording the Barle and climbing the slopes of Landacre as l Common if for Newland . Thundering a ong now on the sound heather of the table - land s c above , the hundred of prancing hoofs stru k the ﬁrm surface of the moor with a very different sound to that of the soft swishing

- moor grass just left . Bending to the right , h ounds entered the Blacklands Fields , and in we a short mile fresh found their de er . As scampered down Kitridge Lane approaching ’ Withypool we could hear Sidney s shrill view halloa as the de er jumped in Woolpitts Copse and raced back up th e Blacklands Fields and

so made for the Barle above Brightworthy . The lane to Landacre seemed our shortest

' wav v , and as we clattered down it we could iew the deer racing over Withypool Common as if Sheard n for to regain o Hutch . Hounds faltered DEVON A N D SOM ERSET . a moment at the Barle , but soon came on again , f r and were plainly running o blood . We had to scamper now at a far better pace to live with them as they splashed through the Barle and streamed up the Picked Stones Fields to the

White Water at Cow Castle , and so past the s e ruined cottages made famou by Warden Pag , n o . U u and so up stream p and p , onwards e or and onwards , with n ver a check a doubt, the great hounds pressed steadily on the hot

foil of their sinking quarry , and the end drew r d near . From Ash Plantation the rooks ﬂutte e e out at the unwonted sound , and a moment lat r they may well have been scare d as the hunted deer rose from his last soiling place in th e White Water stream and went on up the marshy bottom as if for Cloven Rocks amid a

chorus of view halloas . was But now his course run , hounds rapidly and s overhauled him , in the home pa ture of Winstitch enFarm th ey fairly bowled him over in the open after three hours and a quarter of

e - steady hunting , of which the last thre quarters of an hour had been the fast e st part . Throughout the run hounds were only lifted e once , and there wer only two checks , except ﬁ rst Sh eardon on coming to the Water , when the deer had travelled the stream bed for a long

. e distance Time from the lay on to the tak , three hours and a quarter ; twelve miles from 176 STAG H U N TI NG “1 1 11 T H E the lav o nto the ﬁnd and th e fresh , six to ' — take at Winstitche n e ighteen miles in all as n ran hou ds . The e e the s s and bv far ighth de r of ea on , h run o a se a t e best up t d te . There were ver l

t s no t . or emp y saddle , but par icular grief Two e s e e to s b u t thre horse w r ridden a tandstill , soo n recovere d . While one - horn e d de e r are by no means u on E or ss ncommon xmoor , nott hornle de er onlv rarely occur and arouse much interest and no little emulation when the chase whic h ss is to secure one o f them is fairly in progre . The theory that th e ir hornless condition is du e to injury of som e part other than the head may I think be dismissed as not born e out b y investigation. The great nott stag which has roamed th e moor for so many years cam e to a glorious e nd o n s 2 rd 18 6 and Wedne day , September 3 , 9 , s be showed uch sport as will long remembered .

The harbouring was somewhat doubtful , but the master was informed wh e n he arrive d at the meet that a warrantable stag with one or two others had been seenat feed in the e arly S ter morning in wee y. While Anthony was at work with his tufters M r s four deer were viewed by . Alfred Gla s Al lercombe had stealing quietly into , which al re ady be e n drawn bl an k exce pt fo r th e

DEVON AN D SOM ERSET .

- - - n presence of a one horned four year old stag . O looking closely at these they were seen to be

- w the well kno n nott stag , the stag that was lost onD unker y after the last Wheddon Cross meet ,

- - and two three year old male deer . Whistle and th e handkerchief soon brought Anthony to spot , and then , with tufters hard at them , the four Sweeter o ne deer hurried up y towards Bagley , l turning back on the way . Ten minutes ater the master was galloping into Cloutsham for th e a e off a E p ck , and we wer and aw y up the xford road , with every prospect of a rattling run . When Stoke Ridge was reached th ere was still t a little tufting left to do , for the great not stag and another were hanging amongst the patches ﬁ of r plantation in Bagley Combe . the h Here , for once in a way , eld could see n hrs the whole thing ; dashing i to the , hounds drove out ﬁrst as a matter of course the wrong D unker deer , which doubled back over y , but a for the nott st g showed a minute . Stopping hounds in a trice , Anthony soon had them e on s ttled him , and he broke covert now in f n m e grand style or La gco b Head . Giving him ’ a few moments law , the master now cheered ’ on our them again , and we set horses heads for the moor and fairly raced beside them down to Nu scale U now to Lucott t . p Moor and away to the Colley Water and down the Weir . Down w as . stream it , and onwards down Three fresh STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

s e no deer cro s d the foil , but matter , Anthony Un Lille combe held forward at a canter . der y e and he hit the lin , then we knew that hounds ’ s must be gaining on their deer . Twa but thirty - two minutes from Bagley Combe to the

- hy e Weir Water , and another twenty minutes dri ving at full speed forced this game old stag by Lillycombe and North Common and from a C n Hollacombe Wood to C re and are Commo , and to bay in the Badgworthy Water at Cloud . n M almsmead Beati g the water down to Bridge , he made a tough ﬁght of it ere he was taken ’ H e to at last at two o clock . proved be an extremely heavy stag with two bony knobs beneath th e skin where his horns should have been . The second day of the season of 1898 proved

. O the to be a lucky one nly the year before , ﬁ rst H awkcombe Head meet produced a great now on moorland run , and again the same occasion in the following year have those who no were out reason indeed to complain . This of run too , took place in spite a most unfavour hot able day , for the strong , southerly wind soon swept away scent once the damp moor land surface was left behind , and hounds , f horses , and men all su fered alike from the heat and dust . To add to this the stag that was before hounds was a very stout ﬁ ve or six- - old of old year deer the forest sort , game

STAG HU N TI N G WITH THE

e o to picnic lunch at a me t of the Stagh unds , an bot at throw away empty tle or sh tered tumbler , s even in what appears the lea t frequented spot , is laving a most dangerous snare for the gallant hounds and horses that are sure to sweep in s a wi ha te over the spot sooner or l ter . Glass ll remain for y e ars with its cruel edge still keen in the bed of the river or brook down which l o the great hounds wi l presently c me , pressing s n r or clo e to their sinki g quar y , will lie like a venomou s snake amongst the heather and the grass ready to stab at the prancing hoof or cut t r deep through muscle and tendon and ar e y , giving the smooth open wound which takes so long to heal . ’ O n hrs of Beggar s Knap , hard by the Lilly e combe Plantation , th re lay three stags , sunning themselves as they stretched at ease on th e o o sh rt smooth heath , while four more sto d amongst th e pines just within the covert to z boundary , turning their heads uneasily ga e at the gathering crowd of foot people onMet n of ar combe Hill , at the li e c riages and clou d of of dust on the Lynton road , at the spot scarlet and grey over opposite upon Mill Hill . az o While they g ed and w ndered , there suddenly approached them up the wind their a to mort l foes , the tufters , brought cunningly w close quarters by Anthony . No there is a hrs th e rush and a commotion amongst the , N 4 S DEVO m) OM E RSET . little horned she e p scampe r away over the cr knap , stampeding from the hue and y . Two or three moments of uncertainty pass as hounds and deer div e into the thick et and for a while are lost to view ; then the cry goes round like “ wildfi re e o and , See , ther they g , sure enough one can espy a little he rd of horned deer ste aling down quickly over an open spot between the hrs on their way to H ookway h e fi rst and Weirwood . Soon t tufter comes and then another and another—four couple and a- a half in ll. Now glasses are levelled on Weirwood e Common , where the de r are just rising into v e iew on the dark purpl plain of heath , beyond the stunted scrub of Weirwood , and the leading deer is seen to have a good spread of beam as he pilots th e rest in hasty flight over the too undulating plain . Sidney is on the move , cantering along on Mill Hill to cross the Weir Water and come up on Porlock Al lotment level fi eld with the retreating deer . Swing your glasse s now on yonder brow where the Green Path dips to the Colley Water ; see how the tall red deer are extended as Sidney comes A . cm ead alongside Now they sink the dip , and lies in such a haz e beyond that one can hardly e h e see the whit tufters even in t sunlight glare . Here com e s Anthony bustling up the road on n his black tufting pony , with an occasio al twang 184 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

on his mellow horn to clear the way . Soon he f n onAcmead sees the lutteri g signal y onder , for a and ﬂies back his pack , and one re lises that there will be a gallop shortly of no mean order . ’ Tis 12 - 20 as the kennel doors ﬂy open and the next few moments are a purgatory of d ust as e the and heat , the cavalcad pounds up sandy road to H awkcombe H e ad ; but once out ’ onthe e not Gre n Path tis so bad , and as we dip to the Weir Water we plainly se e the mast er and Sidney awaiting us with the stopped

e we e a tufters . Th re h ar th t the two best stags have be e n cut out and have l e apt th e old two s w wire fence into Kittuck . Through the narro hunting gat e we ﬁle with what patienc e we mav the sa e ns the , and with m , hou d stoop to foil and are off with a scre am and a whimper at All across th e gre e n mossy expan se Kittucks e o a e of th y g , racing for pl c , almost s mut e in their headlong e age rn e s . Th e ﬁ eld S e th e scatters in a mom ent . om ford wate r at hre e o e s o s e s the T C omb Fo t , om truggle across s a Lark e e e e bv barrow . gre n plain , om m k a d tour

Th e de er have d e clin e d the ne w three - wire s e e e A and h p fenc into Manor llotment , hounds ’ now lead us past Tom s Hill and away to the s North Fore t . Now , harden your hearts , my e ! Pinford masters , and com along bog is as

- e was hard to day as it ev r yet , and if the

186 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

a of par llel with the course the stream , but how high u p . This is glorious galloping ground now that it is dry , and the easy descent favours e it for are horses just when they n ed , tails now w quivering , and the hite foam is showing on n e ck and thigh . Here come the leading u our and ho nds right across front , into the Exford Road half - a- mile short of White Cross ; fi rst Kittucks fortv time , from the whimper on , e O n fi e s fair minut s . they drive down the ld to N e Penncombe wlands , and on again to the y we M r Water , where come suddenly upon . Pitsworth Hayes , of y , who has divided the two e d er only a few minutes ago , and now shows he e Anthony which way t bigger one w nt . O n down the combe to Chibbet Ford the big u ho nds carry it forthwith , but already they are e e and g tting distr ssed with the pace the heat , w which in this narro valley indeed is intense . Through the fi elds for half - a- mile upwards they go to the White Cross Road just above Chibbe t the Post , and throw up in the road , whereby M r stag gains much time , but . Morland Greig pre sently spies him stealing away towards Mill n Lane , and Anthony takes hou ds at a sharp trot ’ - an- e n . o a to the foil Half hour s law , howev r , day like this means much in the matter o f e a sc nt , but hounds try hard for him , and c rry the line right prettily up over the fi elds to n unker o D . onth e Hoar Moor and to y Now , 18 DEVON AN D SOM ER SET . 7

s sun- th ev tones and baked heath , have harder we f not work , and must be care ul to press them . e c e e e Presently th y h ck , but the stag has b n

e s skv- vi wed cros ing the line near the Beacon , and th ey pre se ntly ownit onthe old heather er b Now and head straight into All com e . watch vou a them , good sirs , and sh ll see a sight which ’ shall be graven on your mind s eye for all your r days . Through the fern and who tleberry they ﬁlter down in twos and threes right to the bottom of the goyle , where stands a leafy birch u and e b sh , from th re comes striding out the u e stiﬁ not h nted stag , w ary and , but beaten yet , for his spreading head is still carried proudly

. Hollowcombe and high Away , into he goes , with hounds straining after him down through e cr out the cool leafy d pths , where the y rings h e e erc and loud , th n up the red dusty roadway V ' V ebber s w for a space to Post , and do n once more to the fern and furze and ﬁ r trees on W tchaner y g Ball and Luccombe Allers . Here e v e he shak s them all , but is i wed stealing away amongst the thick furze just above Ford , and s ot here , as oon as hounds can be g together , e s he is fr h found once more . Game still , he a and g llops to fro , and would beat hounds even ' for n who now were it not the huntsma s aid , at e m very turn and twist still holds the forward . e u now Nev r were ho nds more weary than , what 188 STAG H U N TI N G O N EXMOOR .

' s reﬂe cted with the un s rays from above , from th e s parched tones beneath , the short spiky ’

s . furze , and the train of a four hours hunt Still they toiled onward to wh e re th e ir stag awaited

e th e - th m amid tall fern in a tiny combe head , whence he made a ﬁnal rush to the foot of s and e Luccombe Aller , was immediately tak n at ce e e Distan , n arly twenty mil s . Two long an is tines on e ith er top d all h rights .

C HAPTER V I I .

— ' T H E R U N o p H A L F A CE NTURY FRO M H AWKR I DGE ro — ’ — G LE N T HO R N E —A STAG s SOLI LOQUY TH E O PE N I N G D AY O F 1900 BRE N D O N H I LL A N D E LWO RTHY .

T H E H a w k r i d g e stags are gentlemen and th e Hawkridge e men can rid , but never surely was the r e blu e r blooded stag than that of h T ursday , Septem 1 18 ber 4 th , 99 , and surely never did th e m e n as Hawkridge have to ride so f t and far , e on h th e or with such judgm nt as t is , greatest e run of r cent years . Why and wherefore there should suddenly h e a maddening scent ; why and wherefore a real forest king should happen onthis particular to n day leap from his lair , and lead a rejoici g ﬁ eld of E m h over the cream x oor , rig t against to u but so a cool north wind , is idle disp te ; it was , and it will ever be that when a great run not off is expected it does come , and conversely 192 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

h h a fi eld out that w en t ere is a sm ll , and indifi ere nt n run sport is expected , the the great and will come , and the over particular the fair e weather sportsman will not be th re . A fi eld of about one hundred saw the n run begi ning of this memorable , and less than finish e one twenty saw the , for unl ss got a one flying start , and unless took the right turn h of a every time , t ere was little hope m king up r n for e lost g ou d , ev n the best conditioned horses had all they could do to live with hounds fi rst two h through the hours , w ile they drove with eager cry across the limitless expanses of u so thern and northern Exmoor . This stag had a weakness for running the line of th e forest for streams , although keeping high above them the most part on the grassy table - lands and one on fern covered slopes , but with eye the S a water all the way . o great was the pace th t h e never gained much distance on the hounds , and the fi eld got many a view of him striding o n e w h before his fast coming fo s , ith ead held n high and neck set straight , in this his lo g wild gallop which never seemed to falter or to and e tire , which led him on and on for mil s e n after mile , avoiding steep a c nts and leadi g straight from point to point with only two t n e n coverts touched , and hose ti y ones betwe

North Barton Wood and Cheriton . Many veterans will call to mind a run in the

194 STAG H U NTI N G WITH T H E

t through th e moorland streams . At one poin ’ ju st short of Flexburrow the stag had a moment s thought of Hol e Water and turned up a long fe rnv c e m e omb , but he knew far or country no ne tha expected , and must have passed from E xe e a h d to the Barle before , for although hard e sse h e e pr d , still had tim to choose his way , and did so with a will which would have saved him tim e s over on any day when the sc e nt was l e ss burning or hounds less equal to th e ir work . Som e ﬁ ftee nstags of gre ater and l e ss d egree had work e d their wicked will on a turnip ﬁ eld o n w d e d e a so Ha kri g Ri ge on Wedn sd y night , that VVhiterocks was aliv e with deer when the we e i n n tufters r thrown , and a general scatteri g th e wa of h erd took plac e . Some headed one y e an me and som other , but this gallant stag ca round by Birch Cl e ave to Thr e e Wat e rs and hung about ainongst the thicke st of the fern as A e e n though loth to go . gr at f rn frond hu g all across his antlers as with swift bounds he

ﬂed from th e leading tufte r past Three Waters. e and and The mast r Anthony conferred awhile , th e n th e former went for the kennelled pack to East H ollowco mbe and brought them to the e sc ne of action . Anthony trotted them quietly down to the foil just half an hour after the s e one stag had pa s d , and at ten minutes past the cry began which was only to e nd at Glen DEVON AN D SO M E R SE T

h e . t e thorn The chase was now begun , but

swift part of it was not yet awhile , the line had to be hunted through Row Down and e South Barton , and th re was a check at the e e n water und r the R ctory , whereby Antho y made it good against Ashway Side and then C ast up the water beyond Torr Steps . Then all of a sudden the wooded valley of of no the Barle rang out with music , and that n a and uncertain sou d , for the stag had d llied , e e hounds w re at him with a veng ance , so that the welkin rang again with their loud - mouthed

challenge . In a trice he was away all up the

long line of the West Water and away beyond , leaping gates and fences in his haste to gain the ’ - lonelv hrs of Lord s Plantation . Knee deep in

heather and grass and whortleberry , the fore of th e ﬁ eld most went on in a hurrying string , guided by that eager cry which left no manner be of doubt which way it was to . Lush and vi eldin green and g, the surface of old Barrow

Down is poor galloping ground , but Withypool e Common is better , and the further they w nt th e better it still became . With Porchester Post on the left and

Knighton Combe still nearing , hounds streamed

a . away in right g llant style , as if tied to him m e Heads up and ste s down , ars laid back by e e the breez , was the ord r of the day ; nothing or to stop turn them , only the breast high 196 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

on d . scent to raw them , all racing for a place D alacombe Past and Landacre , and down to ar on water under Sh e d Hutch . See ! yonder he Sh ard n And e o . goes , up the meadows with

the same , hounds ﬂing forward from the water , r n needing no help and waiting fo one .

Away up the level hams , and away past

Horsen ford , away over Great and Little Wool s s combe , up the valley pa t Cow Castle , and pa t Flexburrow Halsecombe on , over , hounds the southern side of the Barle and the ﬁ eld on the

northern , sound short turf under foot , and the cool breath of th e north wind against one all So th e the time . great is pace that the stag h cannot keep long out of view . Simonsbat on heaves in sight , and he still strides straight as Halsecombe n by Mount Ple ant , with Pla tation d just below him , then rops over the South

Molton road , and seeks an insecure shelter in Corna u h m . Brake Mute and panting , ho nds ﬁ r A enter the dark green covert . few moments hnd u pass and then they fresh him , p sh him out Cornham he from the end nearest , whence

backs it over the meadows to the lower end , only to be again pushed out forthwith , and to ﬂy over Bale Water and the Challacombe road and away up the sunlit ﬁ elds between Dure of down and Lim ecombe . Now comes the tug war horses have come so fast that the

a to . scending slope , though gentle , begins tell

198 STAG H U N TI N G WITH T H E

stag , they still have another point of four miles

a- to and half cover , and the mighty gorge of as the Lyn to sink and rise , which the stag , straight as the contour of the ground will let

ﬁv a- e a . him , makes in miles and h lf This makes the two points of the run total up to twenty

a- miles and half , and the distance covere d

- a- w h amounts to twenty four and half, hich wit some backward and forward turns at the h uish might with safety be called twenty - ﬁve miles e and be well under the mark . Hounds driv him unaided round the giddy heights of Lyn C to leave and Myrtleberry Barton Wood , an d he is viewed climbing Countisbury Common by ' uco D mbe Wells with quarter of an hour s start . A M H r. R nthony lays on afresh , . . Fry driving past at the moment , and hounds stream away as if they had only just begun . Down by o so n Desolate they g , and straight along a gree path on the cliff which brings them to Glen fro h e thorne . Here they race him to and ; tries the back door of the house , and presently f be with a rush goes right over the cli f, to and picked up stone dead on the beach below ,

- - the two year old Guardsman with him . O n 1 18 was d September 4 th , 4 9 , a stag hunte from Hawkridge to G lenthorne and there taken

d . Th and saved , a curious coincidence of ate e only run of recent years which can at all compare with this is that from Leeworthy Post DEVON AN D SOM ERSET 199

’ e M r to Luccomb which befell in . Basset s mastership . was one The stag a fairly heavy , with two short points atop on either side and brows and trays . A king of the forest lay in his downv couch among the tiny hrs that line the sides of the V little combe that faces the romantic Doone alley , h e mom of O . 11t on the dull gr y Wednesday , ct , “ 18 : 99 , and thus he soliloquised to himself I wonder what George Barwick is doing , sneaking about looking at me over the fence ! I suppose ’ h i m he thinks I don t see , but I do , and if I were anywhere else but here I suppose I should ’ e o a hav t make a move . He s lways out looking about when he might just as well be at home so getting his breakfast , and is John Lang over Cloutsham at , and Keeper Wensley at Langham , ’ —h e an d that other chap , Goss doesn t se em to me to belong to these parts altogether by the smell of him . However , I suppose it is all ’ right , but one can t be too careful at this time of the year , when everything smells so plain , and there seem to me to be hounds about most days of the week . What a good job it was I lay so close the other day in Horner ’ Wood when Anthony came by ; if I d once m e oved I believ he would have been after me , ’ and I can t run a bit , though I believe I could

ﬁght if the worst came to the worst . I should 200 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E not care for a few hounds or even half a hnd d dozen , especially if I could a goo deep th e m pool , but bother of it ust be when they ’ get all round you and you can t run any more ;

‘ ’ ’ th enI I d don t know what I should do , but ’ take good care they didn t touch me ! H ow good those acorns were last night down in ’ ’ Badgworthy Wood ! It s a pity there weren t any more of them though ; they take so long ’ hnd — —are to , and the hinds bless em ever so am much cleverer than I , picking them out w amongst the leaves . I onder how that light coloured stag is that I had such a round with after my morning bath as I came up from the water b e through Wood com e Combe . H went away f th e mighty sti f , I thought , after that last dig in ’ e a to ribs I gave him . It s an awful both r h ving drive away all these young stags who seem to e s fancy that the whole place b long to them , but ’ ' ’ it doesn t , it s mine , and I ll let them know it

- ! too , as soon as the moon sets to night My ’ throat s rather sore though from singing so much , but I do like to hear the sounds go all down ’ from combe to combe ; and don t th e hinds like a to he r it too . Th ey know a good voice when ’ d it. a they hear There s th t pretty little hin , with the red j acket an d long n e ck over in Clannaco mbe e and ; she r ally understands me , I think would follow me anywhere—but what ’s ? O ! ’ l that moving over there h , I see it s on y

D S S T DEVON AN OM ER E .

d shepher Armstrong , going out with his dog ’ to look at those ewes on the Lees . I needn t ’ mind him ; he s a quiet peaceable sort of chap ’ enough , so I ll just stretch myself and have a th e look round and then settle down for day . ’ I wonder whether George Barwick s there still , ’ ’ or off whether he s gone at last . No , I don t for see him . It looks all right a pretty peaceful ’

. be day , and there s not too much sun I may ’ ’ able to get a few hours sleep What s that

h . I thought I eard something Yes , I certainly ’ heard horses ; and what s that horrible smell ? There must be hounds about ; Anthony thought h e h e ? would catch me napping , did Not much at my time of life ! But I was a fool to go sleep in such a little place . ! of Just look What a lot them , all the way ’ ? back to the top gate . Who s that yelling That ’s not Anthony ! Why it must be the s d E ma ter himself , and there is Lor brington , I ’m 0 ! as a living stag . Great turnip t ps I must be off Here goes for a move and a ’ ! Now h speedy one , it s all very well to rus at me like that , but you might just as well try to catch a swallow on the wing as me when I feel disposed for a gallop ! Here are the h ’ ot er deer , now I ll duck down in the ferns , ’ ' b ’ it and I ll bet they ll go right y . That s !

Just look at them , going like mazed things . Now if I bide quietly here in Woodcock 204 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

Combe the hounds can run after them as be much as they like , and I daresay it will How all right . the horses pound along ! It must be jolly hard work carrying great fat men on their backs like they do . I wonder they put to up with it. I should like see any man touch me ! I could throw him yards and then spike ’ him as well if I liked , but those horses don t seem to know any better ; they are nearly as ! fat as the men . Hark I hear them all down N w ’ . o by Cloud , they re coming back again , I ’ low do to must lie , for twould never be found here now with all my herd scattered to the ’ to four winds . I shouldn t know where look for a deer to help me , and really running makes me feel quite faint the last season or ’ two . Who is that yelling now ? That s Christo ’ pher Birmingham , unless I ve forgotten his voice . That thre e atop stag I gave such a thrashing ’

no . to is coming back , doubt I hope he won t bring those beastly hounds up to me . I think ’ ’ I ll slip off into Land combe : there s more shelter there , and I might presently get a chance out to draw away altogether of this noisy place , for there s e em to be people everywhere to - day ’ and I shan t get a wink after all this fuss . Hark ! how they talk and laugh ! I can 't see ’ what they can h nd to laugh about . I don t see anything funny in such a row on a nice quiet too day . And just listen to those hounds ! I

206 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

? ’ What are they up to , I wonder I don t all o know at that things look healthy , I shall g ’ ’ on. O ! h bother em they re all coming now , ! and there is a whole pack . of hounds This ’ o t utscale won t do at all . I must g right on o N ’ hot as quickly as I can , as it s confoundedly and my winter coat is nearly half grown too . ’ Here s the Porlock road ; now it is all down hill and I can go a bit faster . Surely I shall

N utscale . wind some other deer in Brake No , ’ e be a ther don t seem to any . Sh ll I stop and ’ e ? hav a try round I don t suppose it would do , e on so th y might be coming , for if I can smell ’ e ! well perhaps th y can too . Here s the water

This is delicious , I should like to roll in it for ’ ’ - an- off . half hour , but I won t , I ll be again ’ ’ e is Her s a sloping path . I ll run up that , it easier travelling than over the heather and ’ i ’ stones . Here s Wlm ersham Wood . I ll just slip down through the trees and cross the water and of get up the other side Ley Hill , ! and then I can look back and see if it is all quiet . It is rath e r a grind getting up through the wood and my horns are so wide and so big that every w ’ t ig seems to catch them . What a rate I ve ’ come to be sure ! I ll just skip over the top and get down into Horner Wood , and then if they follow me as far as that I must run the ’ woods and put up fresh deer , and it s sure i of to be all r ght . I know there are a lot deer DEVON AN D SOM ERSET .

e ee there , becaus only last w k I was here myself , s now and hould have stayed till , only I could hnd not anything decent to eat , and a fellow must have something tasty to keep up his s 0 trength . ! murder ! Here they come again ; I hear the hounds speaking at the water by ’ e Poole Bridg , and there s a horn in the bottom . How fast they come to be sure ! Here goes for Y ealscombe ! N ow down through the ferns , that ’ ’ e se e will scatt r them , if it don t . Here s a m al beautiful ping path . Who made l these ﬁne paths , I wonder , just for fellows like me to run along when we feel disposed ? I ’ll jog down here and slip round into a quiet place I know ’ of H ale scombe in , for I ve got a horrid stitch ’ e in my sid and I don t like going much further . ’ There ; it s nice and quiet here at any rate . I must stop and blow . Not a man about anywhere .

. O ! This is more like h , you brute have you ’ ? o found me already I won t g a yard , but if ’ ’ you don t hold your noisy tongue , I ll pin you right to the ground . What ! more coming ! are m e n ! And there too Dozens of them , and there is a whistle blowing . This is bad . What ’ ’ shall I do ? I won t be caught ! I ll go down will no and get in the water , and there be

. How ! scent there , at any rate they yell The woods are alive with men ; every place seems ’

or . thick with them , hounds , or both I can t ’ ’

t . even stop o drink Here s a good tree . I ll 208 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

’ to a wh o set my back th t , and then we ll see

. O ou ou ? dares h , y great red villain , would y

I wish I had you down here in the water . ’ ’ ’ s Here s a chance ; I ll pin that hound . There ’ one for ! o him , anyway I ll g up to the mill

off e . leat ; perhaps I can shake them ther No , this is worse than ever . Here comes Sidney ’

. e ? running with a rope What s that for , I wond r Now down the meadow . If that brown sheep ’

not . dog does get out of the way , I ll spike him ’ it ? O O Here s a wall ; can I clear nly just . ut ’ ’ u I d I h o . d of the way , y horses If time teac ’ you ! Now down to the water again where tis

. O ! deep and dark and shady h , you hounds ’ ’ ! of I d Get out If there weren t so many you , ’ show you how to worry your betters . What s ? O h that on my horns , George Barwick , George Barwick ! I wish I ’d kept away from you in the morning . on Harbouring the moor has , from the of to nature the ground , be done almost entirely s by viewing the deer , and consequently require of great care and judgment , the small amount all the covert rendering deer , and especially

older stags , particularly liable to move their has quarters at the least alarm . Thus a watch often to be kept upon their movements until as the tufters are actually brought to their lair , e ev n when settled in their bed for the day , some thoughtless passers - by may come between

2 10 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

that all was ready . With great consideration for ﬁ eld he to tr - the , returned the ysting place

e - a itself , and blew th re several long drawn bl sts , summoning from the carriages all whom it might who to see i i concern , and wished , this day, a stag must die . Then from their kennel the great hounds out came trooping into the sunshine , and moved up the long stony lane which leads from Cloutsham E to xford , the usual crowding being much relieved by the major portion of the ﬁ eld having scampered away beforehand to view the L k stag breaking covert . High up on ancombe Head a dense line of horsemen was awaiting of the advent the eager pack , themselves all ready for the coming pursuit across the moor.

Not hurrying his trusty pack , but at a steady pace suited to the tender age of the young of entries and the time year , the master brought ﬁrst his charges to Anthony , and the run of the legitimate season began within a few minutes

- of half past twelve . Avoiding with care the line of two other stags that had broken covert much in the same the direction , Anthony brought his hounds to

- w foil , and then , with a cool life giving esterly breeze fanning cheek and muzzle and ﬂank , horse and hound sprang forward over the grassy luxuriance of the billowy plains and combes which stretch around for miles upon miles from N D S 11 DEVON A OM ERSE T . 2

horizon to horizon in apparently endless width . At ﬁrst the ground was yielding as the great hounds swung down from corrie to glen in E mbercombe and , settling by degrees with more more steadiness to the ample scent ; down through the rushes and the fern and from one to the glancing sunlit pool another , down past overhanging brim and the stunted thorn bush at the bottom . See v , yonder goes the stag , and what a hea y one he is ! H e has waited so long in Chettis ford Water that hounds will be close at him . Up the Opposite slope with its mingled growth of ra r g ss and heather he sp ings , and labours in his stride , but his strength is all in him as on yet , and he gains at every bound the wide for spread array of his pursuers . If he heads now w h e the Forest there ill be a run indeed , if makes for Culbone there will be a nice run all the s r ame , if he joins the herd there will be t ouble , but a run perhaps , if his heart fail him and he sinks again to Horner , he will die but a less

. m glorious death See now he cli bs the hill , and has disappeared over the skyline , his head is set for of E the great plain xmoor , and now there will be sport if he only descends the Weir Water , but with Black Mires before him he has an one o ample choice and no t bar the way . O n two M r Babe Hill saddles are empty , . Nickals Hugh disappears beneath his horse , but 2 12 STAG H U N TI N G WITH THE

the falling is soft and he is soon up and on Lucott h again , and at Cross the great ounds

swing to the left over Acmead and all is well . The yielding moor grass plashes beneath the of the tread countless feet , horned sheep scatter and e as scurry tog ther in huddled ﬂocks , the chase sweeps out with fast incre asing speed over

the grassy expanse , the moor ponies snort and scamper with ﬂying manes and tails as the cavalcade invades with breathless haste their

quiet solitude , and the curlews wheel and

whistle in alarm . Far from beating a cowardly retreat down the quiet combe of the Weir e Water this gallant stag , though his years w igh on s heavy him , and his head has many point , goes striding on over Black Barrow and leads

the way down Hoscombe to Chalk Water . Then he takes a rather unexpected turn in to for w climbing Stowey Allotment , hounds s ing

- t left handed , and reaching Manor Allotmen t m o wn with best oot fore ost , g streaming do to the little combe which leads to the deep

- gorge of the Badgworthy Water . This half mile a slope of e sy , long descent they covered at a pace which brought out the quality or th e reverse of many a panting steed that had already begun to feel the strain of ﬁfty minutes at

best pace over the cream of Exmoor . O n on n and , down and down , with the dashi g t i n hin white line over a hundred yards ahead ,

2 14 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E s h e tems and lichened branches , and away goes with hounds almost at his haunches up the line of Badgworthy and away by Hoccombe f Water , hard pressed and making his last e fort . With a short turn he comes back over Badg V worthy Lees and up the Doone alley , where a young male deer springs startled from the fern : then he backs it again over Brendon Hoccombe Common to the Water, as though H e Buscombe he would gain Farley . climbs with staggering strides and comes down to Buscombe Water in evident distress a drainage grip entraps a horse that falls and lies apharently — o back broken a dreary place in which t die . e R gaining the Deerpark , the stag meets Sidney ﬁve with couple of hounds , which forthwith make the pace and put the ﬁnal touch to the ’ stag s troubles . Sinking to water he skirts the Bad worth th e lower fringe of g y Wood , and gorge rings again with the cries of the chase as the hounds close with their noble quarry . I Y ealscombe l all n — he tries a doub e , but it is no good there is nothing left him but th e n . O on d water and , down the valley the goo to m hounds drive him from pool shallow , fro n slippery rock to bubbling pool again , and the

at Cloud Farm he can go no farther . To i n and fro he doubles , and leaps fences f desperate e fort to mount a rocky knoll , leaping r to the river n the wire bounda y , , and threateni g AN D S S DEVON OM ER ET . 2 15 the angry hounds with his velvet antlers—all no is use , he takes to the deepest and widest him pool and they have . Another horse meets his fate in the last few moments of the run , breaking his fetlock in the path beside the water , a sad piece of ill fortune . M r . Froude Hancock seizes the stag by the to off near horn which , strange say snaps short to at the p in his grasp . As Anthony delivers with all speed the coup de grace , a herd of sixteen stags stands out lined in bold relief on the skyline of Care

Common , looking down at the fate of their O n off on leader . the top are four points and w be the broken near top , three , the long bro tokening the goodly age of the stag , and his well ﬁlled haunch betraying the good pasturage and snug lying of his summer haunts . In former times the deer no doubt crossed freely from the grassy ranges of the Brendon uantocks Hills to the opposing slopes of the Q , before the enclosures of the fertile red vale of Crowcombe we re rendered doubly impassable by the construction of the West Somerset railway . And their most favourite point of departure from the Brendons would naturally be at their quiete st r E and most solita y point , where lworthy Combe runs down towards the H artrow and Willett coverts , and where the journey across the vale to the Crowcombe Woo ds is by no means a 2 16 STAGH U NTI N G WITH THE

one f long . The romantic depths o Combe Tilse Sydenham , the thickets of y plantations and of E h the fern brakes lwort y Combe , are still favoured by wandering units of the Haddon and Slowley herds and it was with one of these that

the following chase occurred . o on 1 The run to k place Saturday, 5th Sep

1 00 a - - old tember , 9 , with a g lloping three year deer ' . from Parson s Close Plantation near Luxborough . Two deer had been slotted by the harbourer where they left their feeding ground adjoining e one of the dense sh lter of the plantation , and these being presumably a warrantable deer , the other turning out to be a galloper of the ﬂ et l most e footed description . A though the time of year has come when a light bodied deer may be hunted with good prospect of so sport , the ground is still dry that it is not an undertaking to be entered upon without due e h cause . The covert , how ver , lying detac ed as f e it does , a fords any d er found in it opportunity of choo sing at least three lines of country over

which the going is good , and wherein fresh deer e are not over likely to be ncountered . The tufters had not be e n at work many minutes e e e wh n a male d r with brows , trays and uprights as e w rous d and driven away , Woodman dashing at him with a speed which set him going to such a t une that it took three hours of steady hunting At ﬁrst the to come up with him . , of course ,

2 18 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

and Washford . Down through the dense green shades of the oak woods hounds hunted slowly on was , and perhaps it as well that they did to to hunt slowly , for ride hounds amongst

these precipices takes time and circumspection , and the staghounds are not so often in this particular neighbourhood that their followers are r For ove learned in its geography . half an hour at a time hounds were left perforce entirely h c old as to t emselves , but su h performers Slow l boy , Woodman and Pi ot could well be trusted out to attend to the matter in hand . Picking the line piece by piece , the pack forged s of teadily onward , traversing the steep incline the mineral railway and passing onfrom wood land glade to ferny slope till they came to the e commons at the head of Sticklepath Hill . Her ’ was there another check , but Anthony s per e e to e s veranc was not be denied , and after som pretty hunting over the furze and a little s w lotting down a road , the pack s ung away over a turnip ﬁ eld to the higher end of Colton

Pits . Here in the larch plantations the deer was might well have lingered , but the line still cold and doubtful , and it was only by patient work that it was carried on over some wide commons and sterile ﬁ elds to the head of

Elworthy Combe .

H ere , with the Quantock range facing the th e Brendons across the Crowcombe vale , with DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 2 19 sea below and the vale of Taunton Deane

- stretching away to the south east , there was just time to look round and think of the landscape while Anthony cast downwards amongst the fern E and gorse . In the fold of lworthy Combe under some stunted thorns a trickle of water had tempted the hunted deer , and Regal gave evidence in solemn tones to the still fresh scent . e Ling ring among the fern lower down , the deer now heard the dread approach of his pursuers , safely left behind , as he thought , nearly four

. u hours ago , and many miles away Springing p , he was quickly viewed , and began to gallop ’ M r e over . Notl y s domain of Combe Sydenham , So apparently still strong and fresh . much e pati nt hunting , however , was not to be thrown away ; hounds were after him in a trice , and at f a very di ferent pace from that shown hitherto . e With a cry that mad the welkin ring again , hounds dashed through the tall trees , and swept down over the rabbit - burrowed slopes of Combe

Sydenham , where an awkward descent awaited ’ the ﬁ eld th e , with an angry wasp s nest in most

- uncomfortable part . Then came a heart breaking climb to the conﬁne s of Nettlecombe and another descent brought the ﬁ eld to the civilisation and the high farming of the valley beneath Sir Walter ’ Tr l an e eve s . y anc stral home In a stream , of which I do not know the name , running down

from Nettlecombe Court to the village below , 220 STAGH U NTI N G O N EXM OO R

s the deer took a hurried bath , but found hound a too close to him for lingering , and sped aw y over the stitfly fenced enclosures towards Wash to ford . Blind as they were , several banks had be negotiated , and that without loss of time , for hounds were driving their sinking deer with u e a heads p , sterns down , and hackl s rising in m manner that meant business . Another mile fro fi eld fi eld to brought them to the Williton road , where th e ir deer had be e n viewed only a few e O n short minutes ah ad of them . over the level tillage grounds until a short turn gave them pause for a few minutes n ear a small e e s covert , called , I b lieve , Furz Close . Into thi a they presently carried the line , and there was hnd O n t rousing fresh . before them speed he e to ns deer , still abl bound lightly over the ba k e th e al to and trim f nces of v ley , but unable i maintain the pace for long . Swinging round n th e a ring to corner of Furze Close , he came to a final standstill in a small hurdled enclosure M r in a disused lane . Here . John Clatworthy , E off se him of xton , jumped his hor , and took single - handed before the leading hounds could th e reach him . Time from lay on four hours , an d hnd E from the fresh at lworthy Barrows , one hy e s e hour and minutes , thi latt r part particularly s s f diffi cult H fa t and over a ti f and country . e o had br ws , trays and uprights only .

E V CHAPT R I I I .

T1111 B S ? 1 1; E m r: D EER—THEI R Nmsnw ss O LD N—E S 01 11 x oo — — TR E AD THE Turrmo PO NY D UST THE M ADD IN G — — ‘ CRO WD THE Cous mse unv Cu rrs Sunsm O N THE

SE A.

T H E greater part of the ﬁ eld of course do their day ’s hunting

on one horse , and long distances are covered in the course of the many hours which go to the full c o m p l e m e n t of a day ’s pursuit of the wild stag . Horses are naturally by no means at their best when the herd is in its “ pride i it of grease , as the anc ent chroniclers have , but still they contrive to carry heavy weights for a great many hours over much rough are country , and much sustained no doubt by the bracing nature of the air at the great heights above the sea where the deer are mostly to of be found , and also by the springy nature ﬁ rm the foothold , which as long as it be enough , is of the very best possible description for 224 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

galloping over . Comparisons are often made between the amount of work a horse can do if he spends his life amongst the hills and E combes of xmoor , or if he has to carry his master to foxhounds in the Shires . In a ﬂying r count y , or more certainly still in a big banking far country , the perpetual landing is more trying to forelegs and tendons than the galloping chases of E f xmoor , and the constant e fort of heaving himself and his rider into the air takes far more out of a willing hunter than the struggle up the narrow hillside paths and through the mire and wildnerness swamps of the western . Though the hours are far longer and the distances galloped as over much greater , horses certainly l t longer , if only they receive fair treatment , than they d o when ridden , equally hard over a ﬂatter th e country with usual obstacles . For the hotter and more especially trying days of August old horses are far better mounts than young ones , t and will take heir turn with more certainty , while bringing their rider home with less weary

ﬁve - - footsteps than the or six year old mounts , that in hind hunting will prove the better horses ; for it take s a ﬂeeter and a fresher horse to catch a long necked hind than it does to follow the straight running line of a monarch of the moor . When a stag has a point to make he will make it without fail , although he may be turned

226 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

e E r is abroad . Whenever on encounters xmoo deer one is struck by the difference which long centuries of training have made in their demeanour from that of their brethren north f o the Border . If deer in the Highlands get win d of a h a uman being they at once become une sy , but these noble animals take small account of

o r so mankind , whether mounted on foot , and long as one passes on and does not stop to gaze at them as they stand or lie with eyes ﬁxe d on your approach , they will hold their owneven though you pass to windward of thei r lair , but if you should be accompanied by dog or how be a hound , no matter small a one he , they immediately become uneasy , they turn to their heads and fro , some old hind stamps or e a warning signal , the oldest stag pres nt u prods his nearest neighbo r with his antler , and then with a long j erking trot they glide across the heathy carpet to turn and swing th e round at a short distance , and then if scrutiny doe s not please them to break into a l urching gallop which carries them in less time than it takes to tell , round the nearest of shoulder the rolling plain , and so away for awhile until quieter ground is reached . If you o follow them as they g , it is pretty to see how timid and distrustful they are of each obj ect in their path and how the leading hind will shy 22 DEVON AN D SO M ERSET . 7 and j erk to right or left at each bunch of w blossoming furze or hite spar boulder , how sometimes even the stroke of the wind on the heath will make them suddenly alter their O n en course and start off at a tangent . countering a road or pathway th e whol e herd u will tread so as to avoid the beaten s rface , as though unwilling to leave any printed sign of e h their cours . When a herd of inds is being t run by tufters over the hilltops , one may coun with safety on th eir ﬁ xed habit of running round the contour and by pursuing th e opposite side of the hill to that on which the hinds are one n retreating , may meet them as they retur and create great confusion in their ranks , when they hnd the ir time - honoured man oeuvre anticipated . When stags are in their winter herds their mancxauvres are much the same , but when they are in season they seem to know that their slower pace and shorter wind does not allow them to take such liberties with their

pursuers , and they more frequently bethink themselves of some qui e t stronghold at a few o m miles distance , and g right away fro the eager cry of the tufters that have roused them ’ - and from the whipper in s piercing view halloa . The stopping of the tufters is not an invariably f e l easy a fair , especially if the stag take sev ra be turns in covert before breaking , or if he 2 28 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

s not found exactly where the harbourer denote , but to it has to be done if good sport is follow , for the pack will never run eagerly if one of the ir number is ahead of them and the foil c onsequently covered . Very often however the huntsman finds himself obliged to hunt such e rseve i s a foil , and after awhile his p rance generally rewarded by coming up with th e truant hound at some water where the stag batfled one e has his pursuer , and wher it ’ ’ r to n equires man s reason aid hound s insti ct , ’ in order to cope with the stag s craft of self p reservation . Old hounds that have been through many a season and have been stopped and s of topped again , may perhaps obey the voice the casual stranger who finds himself with the o to as pportunity help the hunt servants , but a rule the great hounds from Exford will hearken to v i none but those whose o ces they know, and who know their names . an The ease with which their master , huntsm and - in whipper control them is well known , it being by no means uncommon to see them stopped by a word across some impassable e r ravin , and such control is naturally of the ve y great est importance in securing a successful issue ’ e to the day s und rtaking . All through the days of summer the young hounds are exercised and trained in the way t o e hat they should g , and taught to discriminat

AN D 2 1 DE VON SOM ERSET . 3

between the sweet smelling . moorland sheep , as

they scamper through the ferns , and their

lawful game , and to take no account of the tempting odour of the fox cub , that scuttles along the dewy gre e n track between the expanses of to no heather , and pay attention to the yellow

hare , that bounds from her form and strides

across the close cropped hilltops , with ears laid back and pattering feet that kick the dusty

pollen from the heather bloom . The noiseless tread of all beasts of the chase is a matter well worthy of observation ; e W a ven a e ry stag , galloping with failing stride

down the hard high road , is barely audible except by his laboured breath , the fox just

unkennelled , rushing over the carpet of crisp

brown leaves in covert , makes no more sound

than a gust of wind , while a hunted hare coming towards you as you sit silently on your horse observing her , is audible more by her panting breath in the still sunny mornings e of midwint r , than by her galloping feet on batﬂe the trodden pathway , where she tries to the chiming pack that will presently roll her

over . The horns of deer make a curious rattling

- sound as they rush through dense oak coppice , and that sound once heard will be always

recognised by one who loves the chase , and when he hears it he will watch with keen 232 STAGHU N TI N G WITH TH E

for of a delight the appearance the hunted st g , as he comes down hard driven by t he l eading he hounds to plunge into the river , which will never leave again until he is drawn ashore to the sound of the angry bay with the notes of the horn ringing over all . The oaken woods abound in dead twigs and e ﬁ rst hi s sticks , but xcept when rushing from s h lair , a stag will pa s almost noiselessly throug the densest jungle , his horns laid back upon

his shoulders , and his muzzle held straight ﬁrst before him , though sometimes at the s alarm , when some enquiring tufter come pushing through the ferns right up to hi s broad red haunch he makes wonderful leap s which occasionally end in disaster . A goodly stag in Kersham Wood near

Timberscombe a few seasons since , crouched in his lair until hounds fairly touched him , e and then leapt over an adjoining rock , wher he fell and damaged himself so badly , that he ’ could only run a very short distance and the day s S ndercomb sport was nil . Another stag in y e Wood near West Molland had only been roused a few minutes when he made a fals e s tep at a wide ditch and broke his back within hy e minutes of his rousing . O nthe moor again one of the treacherous drainage gutters entrapped a four - year - old of deer at the head the Farley Water , and

STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

o a deer could possibly g across the map . Again in a great run from Culbone Stables to Stentway ’ Bridge , on the Hole Water , Arthur Heal s second horse arrived on the scene directly hounds checked for the ﬁ rst time after being laid on

Hawkcombe . At on near Head the lay , hounds flash to or in their eagerness , often right left or for fi eld run heel awhile , and the too is more apt to over rid e the line when starting than or two perhaps at any other time , an hour of waiting in the keen moorland air and the opening cry of the pack seldom failing to make fit o horses , if they are really to g , pretty much of a handful , and a delay at a crowded gate way or two while hounds are gaining an

irrecoverable start does not mend matters . Wide E though the plains of xmoor undoubtedly are , a fi eld of three hundred or so soon makes an impenetrable crowd when a hillside path is encountered , or a stream has to be crossed at a rocky ford , and then patience and philosophy are the only supports to the good man and true who would be forward when the chase is stirring . The fine filmy dust of certain roads that are

much used in the dry days of August , will rise and hang in a long white line above such spots Pittcombe to as the Lynton Road , from Head

Culbone Stables , when the pack is brought out in haste to be laid upon the foil of a forest n going deer , and a day amongst the North Devo DEVO N AN D SOM ERSET . 235 highways and by- ways of the South Molton country will send its participators home with d usty hats and garments , a decided taste in their mouths , and the clatter of innumerable c hoofs on macadam still ringing in their ars , as they drop off into that sound slumber which is seldom denied to a weary staghunter .

Amongst pilots and their followers , like follows like : he who is greedy for a gallop selects some pilot who is well mounted like himself , while paterfamilias , who is introducing his daughters to the chase that he loved in his y o w uth , ill point out some steady going resident , who can be relied upon not to cover more ground than is absolutely necessary , and to avoid the traps and peat holes and the dangerous eve rv h going which is ere and there to be found , and which come so unexpectedly in the line of anaverage gallop . There are many who will w follo a pilot up to a certain point , but when they see him stop or swerve without any apparent reason , while hounds appear to them to be running exactly as they did before , will o n hnd carry at full speed and themselves , to ffi their surprise , either in di cult ground , or ’ beneath the correcting lash of the master s tongue . How often on the swampy plains of

Acmead - , where the ponies graze knee deep amid s the lush green moor gras , has one seen a string of white garment e d sportsmen suddenly forsak e 236 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

s to a their pilot , becau e he pulled his horse n trot , well knowing the holdi g nature of the ground to which they were coming . Then they to one rush their undoing , hireling after another

flounders and staggers and rolls over , or recovers itself to catch its shaken and surprised rider at the critical moment . If the moor had only been left entirely far ss alone , its traps and pitfalls would be le r at numerous than they are , but eve y tempt at r of husband y, every stroke the spade , has for e u r made a snare the horseman , ach g tte remains from year to year and from decade to decade , while each peat cutting remains a ’i n morass which many horses might lie buried . Many a glorious plain over which one might dr has gallop like the wind in y weather , been difii cult made most riding , seamed gridiron fashion with countless gutters with unsound fill u to s sides , that never completely p ; add thi innumerable cart ruts sheltered by the heather h fixed and the grass , and rocky pat s with and r rolling stones , and river fords that have thei moving boulders and slippery ledges ; add deep tussocky heather and springheads overgrown floatin a with g grass and weed , and you have it country that is all right when you know , but to first you have know it . One of the most awe inspiring parts of Red Deer Land is that which borders onth e

N N D S S 2 DEVO A OM ER ET . 39

f Severn Sea . Along the cli fs from Ashley Combe to Countisbury Foreland there are paths and ways which overhang a rock bound beach by a giddy drop of some three hundred feet . Several times each season beaten deer to s betake themselves these cliff , and by paths where few can follow them make their way to or salt water , sometimes reach the boulders of the beach and running along reclimb the ramparts , and return to the moor a mile or w two further up or do n the coast . These cliff paths are uncanny places into which to venture with any but the quietest and handiest of hnd mounts , for one may sometimes oneself upon a sheep track which winds from slope to slop e until it ends in some sheer drop or cascade of rolling shillett where a horse has o no room or foothold to turn r und , and the close cropped turf moreover is exceedingly slippery when burnt brown by an August sun , and a horse whose shoes are worn smooth has little chance to maintain his foothold if he makes the least mistake . A fall here means an avalanche of loose

' débrzs stones and , a bumping roll to the edge of the sheer cliff below and then a sickening fall upon the jagged rocks or into the boiling surf . The woods of these rain swept precipices to o at are curious lo k . Here cling in the STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

n r combes , oaks a cient and gna led and lichen and covered , with bent withered limbs and v grotesque shapes , the sur ivors of a thousand and winter gales , living a hard life indeed , as different as possible from their straight stemmed relations in the sheltered combes inland . Seagulls wheel and scream amid the rocks e low below, whil in these boughs countless in ' pigeons roost the winter nights , when the a southerly g les pass humming high overhead, and this north coast lies sheltered . Amid the ledges of rock and the overhanging ivy many ff fox has a a cli his kennel , whence he ste ls out to to r at dusk ! climb the fa m lands above , secure that if he can only regain his un appoachable den no hound can ever follow him and that the passing steamer ’s siren will be the only horn that he will ever hear .

The raven and the brown 'buzzard haunt s of these solitary rock , and an occasional pair peregrine falcons use certain benches which are covered with a white débris of bon es and feathers . Descending these cliffs in pursuit of beaten deer is only possible in certain places , but once down it is a far more difﬁ cult affair to ’ regain the summit , where one s horse stands ’ patiently awaiting one s return . Hunting boots no for f are by means suitable cli f climbing, and a heavy rain - sodden coat makes matters

24 2 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

o ne venison out of reach of the waves , while has to keep a watchful eye on the swift advance s ’ off of the tide , lest one be cut from one s only n path of return to the heights above . Whe the sea is calm enough the Porlock Weir boat w off and ill take the carcase of the slain deer , th e with a favourable breeze , will be back at beach in front of the Anchor Hotel before th e last horseman has fairly regained the Lynton and Road . In climbing up again from the wild desolate scene on the beach , in times of heavy rainfall the scanty foothold is especially yielding and treacherous , each tuft of grass or mountain shrub may come away by the roots as o ne u grasps it in struggling p , and the rolling stones are more than ever liable to form a miniature avalanch e and hurry the adventurous hunter r A down to the hung y rocks below . few hundred yards out some heavily freighte d pleasure steamer is ge nerally to be seen speeding

w f - - home ards to Cardi f or Weston super Mare , its decks packed with tourists who have bee n having a happy day at Lynmouth or Ilfracombe ve n fi ne floats if the e ing is , the sound of music s v clear acro s the ge ntly hea ing waters . Then as ‘ v a the har est sun dips into its western bed , in f h t glory of cloud colouring , the sombre cli fs lig up with all manner of shades of lake and e e s carmine and purpl , the pearl grey sea blush with a pale pink radiance , and even the stunte d D S DEVON AN SOM ER ET . 24 3 oaks that remember the days of the Druids reflect on their tough old stems the warm gleam th e of the after glow . The tinkle of music h s fades away up channel , the light ouse lamp d shine clear across the deep , the ravens , scare anon , drop back to their familiar roosting place , a and below , where he fought and died , the st g , l if he could not be reached that day , lies til ’ to - morrow s tide shall allow the boat to come close w in and carry him a ay , to provide a haunch ’ perhaps for the master s venison feast at

Porlock .

ST AG H U NTI N G \V ITH T H E t h e n staghunting season , followi g its Horse Show day brings together an exceeding great c e - so a oncourse of pursu rs and sight seers , re dily i s the home of the Luttrells approached by

a . n road and r il Minehead , with its fast growi g e e out population , li s n ar by and turns in force to attend this meet , and the many villages around all send their contingents of horse , b foot and wheel men . Alcom e and Timbers c e omb , Carhampton and Bilbrook , Stogumber and Williton are all in easy reach of the long wide street on which Dunster Castle looks of down , and this same street by the hour e leven b ecome s thronged indeed at the Yarn n market end . The great hounds lie panti g o nthe dusty red stones of the roadway opposite the low arched frontal of the Luttrell Arms

Hotel , and round them presses an inquiring and admiring crowd , as thickly packed as upon Cloutsham or of Ball , at the corner Bagborough t one Plantation . The district round Duns er is which of all others need a heavy and recent e do for rainfall to enabl hounds to good work , its dry and gravelly soil holds no scent to s peak of unless well moistened , and the neighbouring hilltops are so plentifully be s prinkled with a growth of gorse as to make most unple asant travelling for hounds and

s . too to a s even for horse The deer , seem re li e that hounds cannot follow them with such DEVON AND SOM E RSET . 24 7 swiftness and certainty over these close cropped solitudes , and immediately choose the most prickly of the ground over which to lay their G rabhi st course . Hill at the back of Dunster Town is a very favourite spot for hardy pedes trians on all days when the staghounds are anywhere in the neighbourhood , and from the grassy paths that line its long ridge much hunting can be seen , whether the chase lies over the stony sides of Croydon Hill or threads the thicket of the Broad Wood coverts or passes away to Timberscombe Common or Great oft Headon Plantation . Many a time and has a Slowley stag fled by way of Long Wood or Kitswall Farm to ford the Aville Brook and climb the steep front of G rabhi st hillside to the great delight of the patient watchers who have chose n this spot to await the chase . Then while the fugitive climbs with heaving flank G rabhist and panting breath to the crest of , hounds appear on the southern skyline , a scarce of w visible distant mass small white specks , hile fi eld the , a larger collection of moving obj ects , on n presses in their wake , dividing i to numerous strings and sections as hounds pass through the leafy depth of Long Wood , and streams from one covert to another of the Dunster Castle e state , until they come down with unerring instinct to the spot where the quarry has splashed through the stream which comes down STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E from the southern s10pes of D unkery to supply

Timberscombe and Dunster . n t Inte se heat , and glare and abundant dus and a plague of horse ﬂies are what one expects so f i s at the great Dunster meet , and di ferent the climate down here at sea level that deer hunting seems a very different matter from what it did but a few days before on the towering heights of D unkery or H awkcombe r Head . Dunster Park lends itself pa ticularly to the chase of the wild red deer ; nowhere is the chase seen to greater advantage than here upon the short turf of the undulating knolls that sweep down towards the Castle lawns . Between the ancient oak stems some Slowley stag of square and pond erous haunch gallops with stately strid e past a wondering s herd of fallow buck , whose ancestor perhaps were brought from Normandy by Baron Mohun , then comes the distant cry of the pursuing ’ the pack , silvery twanging of the huntsman s horn and in a trice th e glade is full of rushing forms . The park deer scurry in wild alarm e o n to right and l ft , the great hounds stride ’ upon the red deer s foil , and bestow no glance th e e ma f or thought upon h rd of s ll stu f , which might well distract their attention as they s pass before them in ea y view . The scarlet e the ﬁ eld coats pr ss on beside the racing pack , the s e o f i s canters down ea y slop turf, that

256 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

to better advantage or more wholly fit in with the For nature of the spot . wild deer hunting is of all our English fi eld sports the most romantic and the one that appeals with most effect to the poetic side of those upon whom grand scenery and colouring and beautiful so unds have an fluence To in . many no doubt of an average fi eld the aesthetic enjoyment of some parti cu larly happy grouping of the moving figures of s l the cha e is of sma l moment , but to those to to whom it is given see natural beauties , and to hear melodies in the tumbling of the surf on to f the rock bound coast , or feel the di ference o m between a well pitched halloa , ech ing fro the depths of a combe and the same words

uttered unmusically , there is endless enter tainm ent in staghunting , especially if the skies one be propitious . From afar may distinguish in the depths of leafy Hom er the well - known voice of some habitual staghunter who views the deer , and from afar one may tell by the different tone of the huntsman ’s horn what he wishes to convey . ’ The stones of D unkery s Graveyard are reproduced on a smaller scale on the bold weather beaten top of Croydon Hill that overlooks the villages of Timberscombe and A Luxborough . scanty growth of heath for many a century had hidden the litter of loose boulders that now stand revealed , owing to

254 STAG H U NTI N G WITH T H E

a this uncomfortable growth , hinds , in particul r , will always lead the pack it they can possibly s own contrive to do o . Although their feet and legs suffer not a little in galloping over a this dense and prickly c rpet , they evidently know well its virtues in arresting the progress of their enemies the hounds . Slowle The y coverts , with their warm lying

and red soil , and with the good feeding which the deer obtain upon some of the farms in

their neighbourhood , have always been famous for to the good heads they produce , and the credit of the neighbouring Minehead district must be laid the record trophy secured by M r . Sanders during his long and successful of f term o fice . Slowle The Selworthy , y , and Minehead herds

constantly travel to and fro and intermingle , so that a stag may be seen in either one of these

- all districts to day , and with likelihood be reported as an inhabitant of another covert by to - morrow a morning . This particul r stag carried a most curious division of the beam on the top of th e e near horn and abound d in points , large and

e all . O small , numbering sevente n told ne curious

point about him was , that although various large deer had be e n seen and harboured in these i ’ allied districts , yet this dentical stag s presence had never been de tected until within a season or two of his capture , so that he would seem D EVON AN D SOM E RSET . 255 to be another instance of those many deer who hide themselves so effectively during the autumn months as to be quite unknown , even to those whose business it is to make themselves acquainted with all the larger and more con s i cuous p members of the herd , until by some lucky chance they bring themselves into the ’ ﬁne harbourer s ken , and on some hunting morning hnd themselves suddenly approached in their well concealed lair by the inquisitive noses of the questing tufters . 1 01 This stag was taken in the spring of 9 , when the snow lay deep on every other part of was un the home country , and entirely

' harboured ; TivingtonPlantation was drawn at a venture and he was found with comparatively H e little trouble . then ran to such purpose that he out- distanced the ﬁ eld and the greater part of the pack , but a few couples of hounds followed closely on his foil through

Longwood to Kingsbridge , and he was there secured and killed before the huntsman ’s arrival . His head was set up with the winter on coat , and forms a striking contrast to the appearance of an ordinary autumn head . The custom still prevails at Exford of mounting the generality of heads with the frontal bone alone remaining to carry the horns . O nthis white surface is painted the date and e main features of the chas , and the whole is 2 56 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

mounted upon an oaken escutcheon . The heads , as of old , become the property of the master , and are occasionally presented by him to those covert owners whose preserves produce the n oblest supply of warrantable deer . While any stag with not less than two long for points on either top may be run , what is sought by the harbourer is to hnd if possible a stag with

three atop upon each horn , it being tolerably certain then that the animal roused will be not l ess than seven years old , and consequently

will well repay the difﬁ culti es of the chase . Two atop deer are wont to give both hounds and horses far more than they can do in the

hot days of August , and their speed moreover carries them so far ahead of their pursuers that

their scent is apt to wax faint and unreliable , and in that way alone the sport is less desirable t to han with a heavier animal that , trusting to his cunning rather than his speed , clears o nly a short distance between himself and the

hounds , and consequently leaves an abundant and enticing scent which quickens the pace and

keeps the interest fully alive . Then too there is always the doubt as a heavy stag enters e ach covert in succession whether he will

succeed in putting up fresh deer , but in the l e afy days of autumn , when hinds and their calve s are separate and hidden in the thickest r e ﬁndin etr ats , stags do not so often succeed in g

N 2 D EVON A D SOMER SET . 59

company . Increased numbers and increased hunting have rendered the Exmoor deer more clever than ever in running to herds , and nothing but the pace , which is constantly s i n increa ing too , prevents them from look g for their comrades whenever they hnd themselve s s in the lea t danger . Porlock Weir is a chosen spot whence many a generation of staghunters has enjoyed the noble sport , and it is well placed indeed for f many o the best meets . Save that one has a steep hill to climb it is within very easy reach of all the great plains of heather that lie before the eye in looking outward from Culbone Stables and when the days have turned colder and the rain clouds begin to m sweep across the oor , the seaside climate and warm shelter of Porlock Weir form a very acceptable change to the bl e ak heights over e which the deer are always trav lling . One great feature of the We ir is th e deer - catching ﬁ sherm e n boat with its lusty crew of swarthy , who have brought to hand many a score of deer that have made their last bid for safety O n by striking out to sea . this rock bound coast there are many states of the weather when no e e i s boat can live at sea , but wh nev r it possible to venture Noah Pollard and his merry men can be relied upon to secure a swimming deer however far out to sea h e STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E

may have gone or the tide may have carrie d h im .

A new deer - fence that has be en erected b y the Earl of Lovelace for the protection of his farms at Culbone has turned away towards the moor many a deer that would other wise

have gone to sea near Ashley Combe , but the Weir boat still has many a call down the c oast to Glenthorne or upwards across th e d ancing waters of Porlock Bay towards Hurl s tone Point . This cruel headland with its serrated ledge s o f s surf beaten rock , drops heer into the tumbling water from the grassy slopes of N en orth Hill , and at its most weather beat extremity deer from time to time dash into t he sea . A certain one horned stag that ran to this point from Haddon in the October of 1888 one r , after covering the distance in hou and ﬁfty minutes from the time of his rousing ’ ﬁ elds a in the above the Lady s Drive at Ste rt , b roke from his bay here , and striking boldly o ut to sea , swam round the headland and ' was carried by the tide and his own efforts for some miles towards Minehead , landing at G reenale i h last near g and being safely taken . T his stag was subsequently sent to Lord Rothschild and shewed several good runs b efore his pack .

262 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E

warm upon its ledges and hollows add a glow to every tint of the grey face of water - worn s rock . These ledge form perilous climbing , and if a stag once takes his stand on some

- difﬁ cult out lying bench , it is often most to get near enough to him with a rope to secure

him , while for hounds there is the double peril o f encountering his antlers or being knocked o ver the edge to fall onto the jagged points

below , or haply to be drowned in the heaving s urf . The swimming powers of deer are very

great indeed , but they have their limits , and deer are more often drowned at sea than is sufﬁ i e t supposed . The chill of the water is c n has at times to drown a beaten deer , and it occasionally happened that a stag or hind has to e been seen drown in comparatively still wat r , when they might have returned with ease to

the beach . Many a deer too in striking boldly out through the waters of Porlock Bay ﬁnds him or hers elf suddenly entrapped in the rac e of the tide way , where deep water succeeds few the comparatively fathoms of the bay . Swung round and round and hurried through a of or so choppy sea , at a distance a mile from e e shore , a b at n deer , already thoroughly chilled with a long swim is very likely to fall a victim to the curl and wash of the breaking waves , driven h e n by some sweeping westerly breeze , and t ,

266 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

and e in much less time than seemed probabl , the boat returned to the anxious watchers on

the rocks , towing the stag , already dead with the of on chill the water , and with seven hounds b one of m oard , which had already succu be d to f of e merely the e fects his long swim . Anoth r two d rowned hound shortly was seen , and o thers never returned to land . ’ B and y sea and rock , and stag s antler , ’ horse s heel , the great hounds have much peril o u so of to g thro gh , that a veteran six seasons , who has survived all these dangers and the s n train of summer heat and wi ter cold , and the deadly chill of the rushing rivers with the i r ﬂood icy , when the blood is heated to boiling exce point by a long and rapid chase , is the p

tion rather than the rule . De er are almost always faster swimmers than or hounds , and take to all water whether salt e fresh with evident delight , but it sometim s happens that ondashing into the sea hounds are quick enough to secure their stag before he of out of hi s can swim clear them , and once depth a stag is easily mastered by a couple of as can bold and resolute hounds , inasmuch he no or longer use feet antlers , and if seized by the ear is easily drowned . When hunted deer s have been to sea and have come a hore again , they may often be seen standing in the knee deep surf , as though unwilling to create a fresh

276 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E year when they are still naturally soft and out of condition and it is the nursing of a good horse through a great run that is the best test of the judgment of a practised rider on m i s the oor . The stamp of horses employed to no improving from year year , greatly owing doubt to the agency of the annual horse show E V E at xford instituted by iscount brington , and there is also a growing tendency amongst hunting visitors to bring their own horses to Exmoor instead of relying e ntirely upon the eﬁ orts of m e the local job asters . These latt r too have improved enormously their class of animal and pay far more attention than for

merly to the great question of condition , without careful attention to which no hors e can follow the staghounds regularly throughout e are e the busy time . Many h avy weights carri d th e e well through longest and fast st runs , but it is on the yielding surface of the moor that e e the welter w ight is most at a disadvantag , and it is h ere that knowledge of cou ntry avail s u least , altho gh of course it is still a great

advantage . For here the hounds get quicker from point to point than they do amongst e e nclosures and frequent woodlands , her the e scent is generally more burning , xcept in wet e e or threatening weather , when the h avy moistur on the long m oor grass and he ath er is apt to O nth e hinder hounds from doing their best . S 2 1 DEVON AND SOM ER ET . 7

hnd moor , however , deer can more easily t r company than in any other par , and thei man oeuvres amongst a herd inevitably give a chance to the tail of the hunt to pick up lost r g ound . A rider of ten stone ona blood horse that has some idea of going down hill should be able to live with the leading hounds almost w on E m n any here xmoor , but there are a y t m t of the softer par s where , after rain , he us take a pull if he would not invite an over

or ! one reach , presently drop heavily into of the abundant drainage gutters that at a slower pace can be negotiated with ease and comfort

. by any, horse that will look where he is going In the ardour of the chase one may and frequently does hnd oneself in an apparently z one endless ma e of peat cuttings , where necessarily must take a little time to pick a no u way , as horse can do himself j stice in leaping on the edge of a quaking turf pit with a spongy take 03 and a miry landing up to or t A m his knees gir hs . few oments spent here in twisting to and fro between the quagmires while the hounds drive gaily ahead are n well spent , and can soon be regained whe one has pushed past the treacherous tract and off the sounder going , never very far , has been l reached . The o d rule is true as ever that one mu st get down to the water in each quickly 2 72 STAG H U NTI N G WITH T H E s a ucceeding combe with the hounds , for lthough ’ o ne may hold one s own onthe level plain a to bove , or in the rather abrupt descent the b w of oulder stre n channel the forest stream , it is quite certain that when once the hounds ’ have struck the stag s point of departure o n the opposite side they 'will leave the best of horses in the struggling climb to the next h and r illtop , to hur y a game hunter up such hills as these must shortly bring him to a s r tandstill . When hounds are crossing count y where the hills are high and the combe s t n herefore deep , still more time must be take , and it is often far better to circumnavigate the head of a long deep combe than to struggl e across its depths where the hounds actually

. and the passed Hills and gates take time , breathless heat of the narrow valleys takes the s out of st pring the freshest horse , and the longe way round is often the shortest way home . A big horse onshort legs is the one that will see the end of more runs with the Devon and t Somerset than his stable mates , which migh perhaps be better suited for negotiating fence s ; deep girth is essential and the more pony and t - horough bred he has in him the better . The stag - hunting district is so wide that it c b overs several foxhunting and arrier territories , and there come besides all manner of masters o f b so on e ounds from other parts , that som

DEVON AN D SOM ERSET .

days in August the fi eld is thickly sprinkled r with ve y keen critics . It must be remembered , e however , that , except in the New Forest , ther is no criterion by which to analyse the ways and methods of the chase of the wild stag as o on E carried n xmoor from time immemorial . French methods no doubt adhere more closely old to the established ideas , but the establishment at Exford has moved with the tim e s as they E the are in modern ngland , and changes made have been proved n e cessary by the march of O n e events . a broad surv y they would seem to lie chicfly in the increased speed of the chase and its adaptation to the entertainment of fi elds e greatly increased , that whil peopling the n whole country side in the short autum al season , demand a far greate r quantity of their favourite sport than was the case in the years of which

former works on this subject tell . Being the senior pack by a very long lead

indeed , the other packs which pursue foxes , and s hares , otter in the wild west country defer their appointments to the arrangements made at Exford ; but the shifting habits of deer a frequently falsify all c lculations , and the best laid schemes for the rousing of some particularly eav to o n h y deer are apt g wro g , especially after ’ h For old harvest as once begun . when an stag s favourite feeding ground amongst the succulent cornhas all at once been invaded by noisy 2 76 STAGH U N TI N G O N EXMOOR .

who ﬁ ni sh machines and equally noisy reapers , “up their day with a cheerful rabbit hu nt from t he last patch of corn after the manner of their old kind , the stag in his lair inside the covert fence registers a vow that he will be 03 as soon as ever it becomes dark enough to move in s w e afety , and that he ill travel as many mil s as u h he can from s ch a noisy spot . Lucky is e indeed if some inquiring sheepdog does not nose his way in the course of a hot Augu st afternoon through his well trodden rack in th e c overt fence and thread the path that his migh ty feet have beaten through the fern beds to th e muddy pool where he is wont to take his morning r fro no oll , and then questing to and , has t roused him with a crash and a bound from h i s c e r omfortabl and solita y lair .

THEY HAVE H m . X C HAPTE R . — — R E M A R KABLE H EADS THE R E CO R D WEIGHT SO UVENIRS o r 1 111; CHA E—TAKI NG A STAG—THE SE V E R N SE A S — — BE ACO N F l R E S HOR NE R M ILL WHEEL V ENISON — — T 1113 R UTTING SEASO N CR IPPLED D EER SLO TTING

— ' — WARRANTABLE on O rnanwxsE N onrn H ILL BLACK

G A M E .

U ND E R many a roof in West Somerset and North Devon shire are to be f o u n d hand some trophies of the chase in the shape of the spread ing antlers of bvgone mon archs of the w o o d a n d moor that have b e e n t a k e n

with hounds . I n f o r m e r years it was a not uncommonpractice to gild the extreme of fine and tips particularly pairs of horns , 280 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E many a good head has been mounted in of the skin , but after a few years the ravages St moths , as in the case of the great . Audries has to head , which lately had to be reduced the o frontal bones , are apt to destroy the hands me coat which becomes the stag so well in his life o first H oft time ; the ears g , the eck drops l w piecemea , and then the skin yields by slo degrees to the insidious attacks of time and n n of i sects . The measureme ts the above men tioned fi rst head , which claims place amongst wild trophies secured in the British Isles , have been given in a previous chapter , but two years M r fi st oo two later . Sanders in his r seaso nt k r fi rst ve y notable deer . The of them was the fourteen pointer described in the narrative of l th 18 6—a the run of the g— July , 9 very early date for a staghunt and the second was a stag with the extraordinary spread of 38} inches ; from outside to inside at the fork . This stag was roused inR edcleave after a meet at Winsford V 2 rd r illage , on the 3 of August , and ran ve y pluckily by way of Haddon to the Bittescombe w was coverts , hence he driven , after a rousing fresh hnd in Sir John FergusonDavie ’s lower

lake , to the railway embankment at Petton Chapel . Passing this obstacle he presently stood at bay Lu le and in the muddy channel of the p y water , upon being handled proved to carry a rounded knob on one of his three points on th e near

282 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

Freaks are more common than evenly balanced v of 0 well grown heads , an e en head three at p each side being only secured once or twice in w a season , and the extra gro th of a well ’ favoured stag s horns seems more generally to run into odd points and wid e nings than to go to ﬁll out the beam and strengthen the rights l or antlers in symmetrical fashion . Pa mated and thickened tops occur with most frequency on the Quantock range , where the herd is to of a certain extent inbred , in spite the numbers to which it has attained of late years ; double brow and double bay antlers are met with to th from time time , and nondescript grow s springing from one horn or the other have given certain deer the appearance of bearing three horns .

- A certain switch - horned stag that frequented Haddon for several years had one eye com pletely blinded by the downward growth of e his deformed horn , but he shed his encumbranc eventually and died ﬁghting with two normal n . s horns , though still of course mi us an eye Bit of stick sometimes get wedged into a growing nand hor cause curious malformations , falls and ﬁ hts e of g splint r the points antlers and tops , and n one horned deer are by o means uncommon . A suitable mounting for shed horns is often made from an oaken shield carved in the

oak- s semblance of bracken fronds or apple bough , DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 283 and whennicely coloured falls in well with the wild character of the eight or ten pounds of i dark and deeply corrugated horn above t. Fantastic armchairs have been fashioned from a number of selected horns forming seats

more curious than comfortable . Bolted together with iron stays they form strong and durable seats for verandah or entrance hall , but their many projecting points are very apt to catch

in the garments of the occupier . The tanned H ff hides of hinds , cured without the eck , a ord excellent material for the covering of dining

room chairs , wearing to a good surface and w darkening with age to a rich colour , hile the e of softer skins used inside out , mak the best hunting waistcoats . For gaiters and shoes they f are hardly so e fective , as they too readily absorb the wet . The slots of young deer that

have met their end by misadventure , form n n ha dsome ha dles for presentation cutlery , if taken off at the knee instead of at the fetlock joint . Shod with neat silver shoes , and with

the horn brightly polished , they form an

attractive wedding gift , and if the junction of steel blade and shank bone be neatly encircled by a band of chased Dutch silver work the ff th e e ect is all better . Stag ’s skins killed in the autumn form H w handsome mats , but the eck ears loose in and e n time then they lose their app ara ce . 284 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

Eve ry labourer who can get close enough ‘ to the carcase of a newly killed deer loves to pluck a wisp or two of the long rough hair of or that adorns the neck a stag , the winter jacket of a hind , and with this ragged lock in his hat band he may be seen for the next or few months , until the next opportunity ne occurs of replacing it with a fresh o . The workmen on certain farms have exceptional

n at' opportu ities of assisting the taking of deer , and inasmuch as a pair of wet legs is always no enthu handsomely rewarded , there is little siasm displayed when the hunted animal comes final to his stand still . While the chase is in one n h full swing , is ofte met wit the anxious ” enquiry Is he nearly runup ! and if the reply be in the affi rmative tools are cast hastily aside and hobnailed boots go pounding down the waterside track to the accompaniment of much hard breathing and many a hoarse ejaculation . Then , when the weir pool is being lashed into foam , and the hounds are plunging in on all sides to the assistance of their luckier and more adventurous kennel mate s that have been fi rst to come to close grip s are with the stag , brawny arms stretched n through the leafy alder boughs , the brow many pointed horns are seized as they turn with some anxious movement of the mighty head , and with a heave and a shove and a lusty

DEVON A N D SOMERSET . 287

shout three full hundredweight of resisting n r ve ison are lifted up the muddy, slippe y , dripping bank to the shelving green sward n where the huntsma waits . Sometimes a hard pressed stag will take refuge beneath the narrow span of some road way bridge across a trout stream , and once within this shelter will prove a very awkward to for r customer handle , to seize an ang y stag in a place where there is no room to step back and avoid his charge is a very ticklish

matter indeed , and the hounds moreover have far less opportunity of joining in and attract ’ ing the creature s attention just when the venturous human is in most need of their

assistance . The Bristol Channel with its muddy waters n and its high rising tides , its de se and frequent n n fogs , its shifting quicksa ds and its da gerous shores must ever ﬁgure largely inall narratives of staghunting in the west .

Just opposite red deer land , across the capricious and troubled waters of the wide r of estua y the Severn , stand the tall chimneys of Cardiff and Newport with their glare of light at night and their drifting clouds of s smoke by day . The Wel h hills presented a striking appearance on the Jubilee night of 18 ta a 97, when every impor nt pe k from the ' ' M alvern beacon ti re s to Haldon sprang into STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E

flame within ten minutes of the appointed hour ’ of D u ker ten o clock . n y beacon was ready with its pile of duly prepared combus tibles , and a steady southerly breeze drove great pillars of smoke and flame outwards sea s two towards the Severn , while ome hundred loyal folks joined hands ina gigantic ring round the burning bonfire and sang the

National Anthem with great enthusiasm . O n of a and a the northern end D rtmoor , way to of across North Devon the Isle Lundy , a brooding cloud hid the beacon lights that ’ should have shown full plainly lfrom D unkery s on of lofty top , but all the rest the wide circle

of horizon , from which the daylight had only an ﬁ re s to just departed , there were abund t be n noted and the locality of each assig ed . Not only did the beacons of gallant little Wales a seem to shine brightest , which may h ve been partly owing to the air being purer in that

direction , but their number was actually larger in proportion to the area than of those to be E of seen on nglish soil , which an immense z extent !was visible in the soft ha y twilight , h from Mendip to Sidmout Gap , and from

n - O Winca ton to Castle Hill . pposite the h o to Quantock range w ere deer g sea , the tide o s is wont to g far out across the muddy ﬂat , and the stag must trot far in shallow wat e r before he can hnd depth enough to swim away

290 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

it roadway , and is moreover sheltered by bushes ,

forms the more attractive course of the two . Beaten deer almost invariably take to the artiﬁ cial for channel , and a time it leads them on in

comparative safety , but while they splash along its cooling course the hounds run faster onthe firm and green bank above them , force them fi nd further and further still , until they themselves confronted with the old mill building , and in a trice are forced to pull up short or dash right over the terrible drop of the old mill wheel . Here on the wooden buckets they some n r times turn and co front their enemies , and a ve y w a kward place it is in which to handle them . Deer are ve ry different intheir readiness to fi ht s g the hounds , and also amongst themselve some appear to be much more ready fighters s than others . Among t the many battles which take place between the older stags in October it seems surprising that more fatalities do not u two occur , but few years pass witho t one or stags or male deer being picked up dead or in a dying state at the time of the annual s combats . Broken neck and injured backs are more generally the immediate causes of death than lac erated wounds from the points of the ’ e antlers , the forc of the stag s charge being more deadly than the actual aim which he takes with the pointed weapons with which h e is armed . D EVON AN D SOM ER SET 29 1

’ In striking at a hound the stag s object i s e to to vidently pin him the ground , and then to strike downwards at him with his antlers and tr nsﬁx a him when helpless . In goring a horse c of a stag annot course strike downwards , but th e of lowers his head , so that upward curve his brow antlers may not prevent the points

. a from coming into play I n striking at a man , stag would doubtless try to bear him to the transfix r ground , and then him after the manne of a s hound , but fortunately such object lesson or are seldom never seen . Deer will use their feet both fore and hind difli culti es and very cleverly when in , will deal r s sh ewd kicks and stroke at unexpected angles , bringing up a hind foot to dash away the hand or that would !seize their fore leg , dealing out cow and kicks with great force rapidity, and a the downward , stroke of a cleft forefoot is thing to be avoided . With October and its wild nights and showery days the stag becomes wild in habit and appearance , and his gutteral melancholy voice is heard loudest on some stormy night when the sleet squalls are dashing across the hill s and lashing the wooded combes that are lit up ever and anon with the fitful gleam of on l sheet lightning . Lying her back the sick e moon lights up the dripping foliage with b r uncertain gleam as the storm passes y , roa 292 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

n s answers roar amo gst the echoing tree stem , the great horns rattle and clash as the monarchs so ﬁ ht onas meet , and the g goes it has ever gone for thousands of years , in these self same c oak on ombes , among the same woods , and

s . uch wild autumnal nights When day dawns , c be old and shivering , the victor stag may heard hoarse and weary but belling still , while his beaten rival has slunk away to some secure r etreat , where he can nurse his wounds and his hnd r pride , until such time as he can a smalle and be feebler stag , and take his revenge and c ome himself a conqueror . Stag venison carries more fat than that of not and hind or male deer , but is so delicate , yet at its prime in September forms the best roast of all three , especially when well hunted and brought to the board within three or four

nights of its capture . After that the hunted ﬂavour off goes , and it rather loses than gains evenby the most careful keeping . At the the annual venison feast , at which master entertains a goodly gathering of deer preserving farmers from each side of th e c ountry at Dulverton and Porlock , a smoking haunch is laid which has onsome recent date b e en taken from a well run stag , and the giant joint resists sturdily the attack of from s eventy to eighty healthy appetites . It has o ccasionally happened that when all the

2 94 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E r u ﬁ rst oom for the whole sinuo s body , where th e nose could only penetrate , and then another u deer follows and yet another , till in the m rky ’ blackness of th e winter s night a struggling ' a m ﬁ eld u u s f r er s is f ll of m nching bea ts , whose

presence can be heard , but by no means seen . Hard work ed and we ary the farmer sleeps on the bed of feath ers which his careful spouse has save d when the ducks were plucked for the e low market , with dim gl am of a turned l e w amp beside his bed h ad , and restles in his dreams with the farthing that wool has dropped o r the iniquitous rise of the poor rate .

The stag , with his branching head , cannot sufﬁ ce crawl through the gaps that the hind , e but he is a bold jump r and a clever climber , and if h e once can crook one foreleg over the t opmost binder , and gain a purchase with a hinder toe amongst the slippery stone work e b low, he will draw himself over to the coveted e e feast , and onc insid amongst the turnips will d o as much damage as half a dozen of his ’ smaller kind . But perhaps the farmer s son , having notice d the ﬁ rst signs of these cervine to e e out visits the tr asur d crop , may have crept th e shivering in frosty darkness , to disturb e e s the nightly trespass rs , and with a y ll , breathle s

and discordant , rushes from a gateway right across the dripping rows of strongly smelling l eaves . U p go the munching heads and long

298 STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

r for her out of her mise y , or she may linger many an agonised week to succumb to the i s hardships of winter , or again , and this more frequently the case , she may part entirely u with the broken end of the inj red limb , and may recover in great measure her health and strength , or the fractured bone may set itself ’ h after nature s fashion , and may ear her weight r so remarkably well after a few sho t months , that she may be able to hold her own with d hounds , and even give a comparatively goo run when at last she meets her fate . Many and many a deer has stood before hounds for r an average length of time , that was neve suspected to have had all the time a broken limb , until he or she was actually handled . s These injuries account no doubt , for the curiou uneven slots , and limping treads , that often meet the harbourer ’s eye when he is tracing deer to their lair .

The constant habit of following deer , leads many a dweller in the wild west country to be continually noting the hints which every state of the ground conveys in this much i hunted country . Here the book of sport s i n laid wide open , for those who are skilled it to study and learn and decipher as they go e on their way with both eyes open , and som n d there are who can not o ly read , but can rea l th e as they run , or rather can follow a ong DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 299

hard high road while at a hand canter , the a print of the hunted anim l before them , where

hounds noses are of no avail . One of the last a ﬁnish ed ttainments of a staghunter, is the art of judging what stag is big enough or warrant f able , under the di ferent conditions in which deer present themselves to the eye in the At hunting season . other times of the year they often show themselves under much more favourable l circumstances , both as regards distance and ight , and they seem actually bolder and more careless of out of s consequences when sea on , than in the of O three months p receding the middle ctober . r m a Deer va y so uch in appearance , that of h lf a dozen warrantable individuals it is quite possible that no two may be good enough for the same A ma niﬁ cent H reasons . stag with g length of ank

and width of haunch , may carry a miserable head , although it is true that he will generally be well provided with horns if he is in good case as r f egards venison , and again the di ferent positions in which deer are viewed cause them to bulk so differently that one may readily be de ceived

and give a wrong verdict . In looking down from a height upon a moving stag against the light green herbage of some strip of meadow in a e f valley , his size may seem altogeth r di ferent from what it would appear if he were galloping broad side onover a plain of dark heather at an equal e e level with the y , or again a stag coming towards 300 STAGH U NTI N G WITH T HE

one m a over the skyline in the eye of the sun , y a r seem light and n rrow and undesirable , compa ed with the sam e animal going straight away from

one between the tree stems of some endless wood . a The trained eye , however , judges by m ny signs , e and the v rdict , though perhaps not strictly out w reasoned , is seldom found rong when given by one of the few who have the art of judging who not deer aright , and moreover do allow e their wish s to be fathers to their thoughts . For the temptation is great to add a year or two to the age of a stag that is taking a desirable line , or has made his appearance at a time when has o sport been ruling slow, and the aftern on is n At u well o . s ch times it is a lamentable fact that with many people every deer becomes a e stag , and ev ry stag a hunted one , and it is at such times that one cannot but admire the tact and equanimity with which a trained huntsman will receive and appraise at its true value a vast

quantity of volunteered information . Th e h unting field has its valuable lessons for those who have self restraint enough to benefit e one by th m , and of its plainest teachings is that of the duty to speak of nothing but has what one really seen oneself . The hunting of a twisting de er on a bad scenting day is a matter so extremely diffi cult that it must necessarily take many years of application to the ak science to even understand what t es place ,

STAGH U N TI N G WITH THE

’ but the chief test of age in the stag s head and the safest one to go by is the length of the u brow antlers . If these be only long eno gh , s whether they be thick and ma sive , or thin old and pointed , the deer is sure to be an one , no matter though the rest of him may be small u and the surmo nting beam be attenuated . Occasionally deer have been killed with heads of three atop each side which were e diminutiv throughout , the deer themselves n m bei g small and probably far past their pri e . n u Lo g pright horns are not to be despised , as they are often carried by old deer of great weight , and inasmuch as they are deer which owing to their lack of points are likely to escape pursuit they should when id entiﬁ ed be specially m arked out as objects

of the chase .

The same may be said of nott stags , on account of their liability to be mistaken for but e e e hinds , once the y has fully realis d the action and gait peculiar to old and heavy stags , there is littl e fear of their being mistaken for their difﬁ cult long necked consorts , except in cir cum stan s one ce of light and distance . This of e distanc occurs only too often , for warrantable deer are well aware of the danger of showi ng themselves for any longer period than they

are absolutely obliged , and it is only when

’ the tufter s attention become re ally pressing 6 DEVON AND SOM ERSET . 3 3

t hat they betake themselves to the open hill , w here their noble proportions stand revealed . The majority of warrantable stags do not c a rry all their rights , and the movements of a s so tartled deer are quick and nervous , the t urnings of his antlered head are so constant , and so the ground he traverses is rough , that difﬁ cult e rac it is indeed , ev n to the most p ti sed eye , to be positive as to the exact amount of points that he will prove to number at the end of the day . There are many

points which the trained observer will note , and either of these when present is suffi ci e nt to convey as information to the master . d efined Three well points on either top , filled a square and well haunch , or long brow suffi ci e nt antlers , are any of them upon which to lay the information which shall lead forth with to the unkennelling of the spangled pack fi el and the sallying forth of the waiting d . f The seafront cli fs of North H ill , that divide

the vale of Porlock from Minehead bay , are to the full as dangerous and unclimbable as the of rocks Culbone and Countisbury , and they are not so well provided with bushes and scrub to form foot and hand hold for the venturous hunter who would get down to the

beach to see the last of a sea going stag . ! igzag paths have been engineered in places , n of but the actio time and weather , the heave 304 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E of the frost and the sweep of the midwinter m wind have crumbled the , and every here and there they lead to impassable stone slides . and The hill sheep , in their constant passing m out repassing , wear the away , and they work innumerable small recesses with their feet in which they may lie and obtain some small shelt e r from the stroke of the wind in cold weath e r and the attacks of tormenting ﬂi es in the summer solstice . These same shelters occur a all over the hills , and are most easily m de f by the sheep in the peaty ground o the moor . To a horse that is not accustomed to the ways a of hill sheep , it often proves larming to have the little horned animals jump up out of the ground as it were , when he is in the midst of a stretching gallop over the heath and ﬂi e ferns . The es that trouble the sh ep worry as the deer incessantly well , and it is no uncommon sight to see a warrantable stag lying out on some bare hillside , far from the oaken thickets of his hiding place in the sweltering days of June in order that the passing bre eze may give him some little respite from his ever att e ndant cloud of winged tormentors . Lying back from H urlstone Point the beautiful ilex wood of Selworthy clothes the slopes and shoulders of North Hill , and olni te overhangs the fair domain of H co . In

306 STAGHU NTI N G O N EXMOOR . superabundant growth of spiky furze and over G rabhist this , as on and Croydon , hounds e U have much ado to pick th ir way . nlike fox the o and hare which follow paths , the deer g the th e straight across prickly carpet , and heavy dog hounds have trouble e nough to ﬁnd a spot on which to place their feet in comfort . Being nearer to the sea than such hilltops as Molland e Moor or Winsford Hill , wh re much destruction e e was don , the gors here survived the severe e frost in great m asure , while the tenderer ilex

bv . boughs hard , shrivelled and lost their leaves

3 10 STAGH U N TI N G \V ITH THE t hose that radiate from Simonsbath , and they not do exactly serve for Minehead , whence the sta hu nters o majority of g c me . Being all open

going , with only occasional soft spots an d e th e uncrossable comb s , moor is practically all e n s roads for the w ll mou ted hor eman , but a ten ’ minute s scurry ov er the drainage gutters of the Chains or the North Forest seems to effect a wonderful change in the ideas of the majority o f fi eld s the . To be actually on the Chain is the darling ambition of many a young lady whose fi rst or se cond season on the moor has so far not brought her acquainted with this great gre e n wilde rness of swamps and gutters and lonely sheep pastures . If there be anything esp ecially attractive in labouring over a swamp that is somewhat swampier than the other mav swamps around , it be enjoyed to the full on the heights of the Chains inclosure , which attracts the lion share of the rain that falls from the Atlantic clouds , as they sail majestically in fi rst to break where they touch land . Rough and uncomfortable is th e going on the wettest E parts of xmoor , and exceedingly exhausting even to the best of horses , and the traps and pitfalls are very numerous in places . Where the sheep bite a horse can gallop ; where there is heather , or heather mixed with grass he should be able to gallop too : where there are ferns there is sound going , but where DEVON AN D SOMERSET 311 the surface is a dark and dismal green with grass 2 foot high it is time to go steady and n z collect your horse . The comes a ma e of ancient peat cuttings or an acre of natural e n swamp , and her time must be give , or the best horse ever foaled will be down on his e knees and nos , and will have a struggle to regain his footing . After a prolonged tufting, and wh e n fre sh hounds have been taken out ’ o e nce or often r to the huntsman s assistance , stray tufters are apt to turn up at odd times ’ e V throughout the day s chas . ery possibly they e o wn may be running a de r on their account , and often a blank dav has been averted by the unexpected p erformanc e of some tufter that e had been lost sight of for awhil , only to turn

up with a warrantable deer before him , which he had be en pursuing steadily all by himself

from one retreat to another , through the deep green sylvan fastnesses whence he had at length w e hnd stolen a ay to the op n hill , only to himself r ﬁ eld obse ved by the whole , and a few minutes later to hear the whimpering scream of the e on pack as they op n his foil . In hind hunting and espe ciallv in rough weather when perhaps the greater part of the ﬁ rst draft of

tufters have been lost , it is no uncommon practice to take out fresh hounds and ride to

the nearest high ground , where before long some hunted hind is almost sure to heave in 312 STAG H U N TI N G WITH T H E

two sight , pursued by a plodding tufter or e through the drifting wr aths of wind swept rain . Thoroughly under control as the staghounds are , and well accustomed to being stopped over ’ and over again in the course of a day s hunting , e they will prove disobedi nt to the casual stranger , and after stopping for a moment will slip past his horse and continue their hunt rejoicing . More often than not it proves impossible to get the whole pack back to kennel at the end of ’ a day s hunting , but with an unerring instinct the

great hounds , thanks to their careful summer train e e e ing , seldom fail to r trac the weary mil s to the e e e e w kennel gat s befor morning . Wh n n hounds come to Exford in the course of the summe r e e me e r constitution of the pack , th y so tim s meet e as th e with adventur s , and only as lately summer of 1901 a hound from the sal e of the ’ L s le t Hon . . J . Bathurst pack , on being out by accident from Exford made her way in the course of one night to h er old ke nnels at

Eggesford . A few s easons earlier a new hound escaped at Dulve rton station and becoming quite uncatchable wandered about the country until he had to be A shot . familiar sight on all hunting days is that of the whipp e r - in returning towards the kenn e l to which the pack is for the time consigned with a few stray tufters following at ' his horse s heels . These have perhaps been

1 DEVON AN D SOM E RSET . 3 5 stopped by him when in full pursuit of some other deer than the one selected for the day ’s chase . Cheerily he brings them back to the kennel door , opens it just wide enough to admit

re - of their entrance , carefully keeping back the eager pack that press and struggle from within ; panting and hot the tufters slip in at the narrowly opened door to be welcomed by the growls and envious whimp ers of their comrades who are spoiling for a hunt . The unkennelling of the pack always provides e some exciting moments , hors s and hounds alike th e t ﬁ eld are fresh and eager for ray , and the know that a warrantable beast is away , and that off a run is to come forthwith , and the great question of how to obtain a good start at the

- on lay is uppermost in every mind . If a horse is a kicker , or has any form of vicious temper , it is sure to come out now , when after a long wait he ﬁnds himself in the midst of an excited ’ multitude of his kind , with the master s horn n e ri ging in his ears , and the sc nt and sound of the hounds just released from kennel close to him . Small wonder then , if inherited temper be comes out , for his rider may just as excited as himself , and the thoughts of the coming struggle may have turned his muscles to whipcord

a- e and set every limb trembl . The corn measure has been heaped up perhaps for weeks past and the gallant beast feels that he must arch his STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

back , snatch the reins from the trembling bridle

hand that holds them , and give just one ﬂing ere he settle down to the task which he knows ’ is before him . Tis play to him , but it may be

death to some one , horse or man . In crowded gateways and in narrow lanes there is no room

for lashing heels or uplifted forehands . Some times the way is long and tedious to the spot where the tufters stand waiting : sometimes defective harbouring or the restlessn ess of a disturbed deer may make it necessary to move hounds and fi eld as much as four or h y e miles and from the trysting place , the very fact that some me ets have to be fi xe d as much as a fort night before hand naturally militat e s against an immediate hnd whe n the appointed day comes e e be e round , for th re se ms to an irresistibl temptation to go and look at or for a deer that ’ e is known to be destin d for the morrow s sport , e e and again many d r move of their own accord , or in the height of the season hounds may very possibly run through their favourite haunt in e e pursuit of some other d er roused at a distanc . O r w again , if all has gone ell and a right good stag has been found within short distance of the kennel , and has been got away without undue e are delay , th n before midday , and while horses e still at their fresh st and best , the cavalcade s rattle out , the stony farm track is pounded by fi eld a thousand quickly striking hoofs . and the ,

318 STAGH U NTI N G wr1 11 T H E

side at an angle to the water , and then when enough yards have been covered to allow of the water dripping from the quarry ’s Hank and legs enough for the scent to resume its wonted power , a few eager notes and another cheer from the huntsman , and in a trice the horses , briskl with their second wind gained , press v up the most convenient tracks that mount the O pposing hill . O nthe plain beyond there is grass that has been rendered splashy by recent rain : horses that have to gallop as soon as ever they reach the top of the steep and narrow path are soon tti t pu ng and blowing more loudly han before , h while their tread has a squelc ing sound , and ﬂ n At the water i gs off the overladen herbage . length a long stretch of oaken wood is reached that lies hot and airl e ss in the full glare of the e aft rnoon sun . Down its length for a full mile and had the stag has gone , the cry that such volume is now reduced to the sound of one or d e s two of the ol t voices in the pack , that with deep and angry ton e foretell the end that must soon and surely come . Down at last towards e the inevitable water they incline , but befor

it - they reach , that shrill ear piercing yell arises with which all West Countrymen that are to the e manner born give v nt to their joyful feelings , when they see at length the obj ect of all their for strenuous exertions , and then awhile the DEVON AN D SOM ER SET . 319 w elkin rings with a very carnival of sound . Heard m fro above , the sound that preponderates is the charge of the ﬁ eld up and down the nearest

convenient roadway, the hounds are too breath s h les to make much music , except w en the stag st ands to bay for awhile in some ﬁxed position ; e th n the hammering on macadam stops , the tuneful peal wells up above the topmost

branches of the oaks , the huntsman winds h is horn to swell the chorus and th e only quite

silent being is the stag . To ride in a close packed string behind the pack for two or three m iles along a dusty road is a very doubtful a ple sure , but to accompany hounds across the moor when they emerge from Badgworthy Cottage to go towards Hoar - Oak or Black - pits d e is a nice ri e in its lf . ’ If it be the master s day as huntsman , it will v ery likely be the ﬁ eld master who unkennels

the pack and takes them out , with a second horseman acting for the nonce as whipper - in

u ntil the scene of action is reached . All the old hounds know full well what is e expected of them , and hurry on in clos order ,

only wishing to strike the foil at once , and get clear of the line of thundering hoofs behind

them , with which they are always threatened at

the beginning of a run . If the moor be dry its surface gives out a plainly audible sound when a g lloped over by a number of horses , and this 320 STAGH U N TI N G WI TH TH E oncoming pounding sound must be very trying to a nervous hound when he has for the moment lost the line and scent fails him . Deer do not like the company of stock of all any sort ; sheep , cattle and ponies interfere with their comfort , disturb their midday repose and crop the pasturage with which they would have to be sati sﬁ e d if the farmers tilled no n D succule t crops within their reach . The are Deerpark is a striking example of all that is e most suitable for wild red deer , absolute qui t a ffi e t and abundant w rm lying , joined with su ci n snug covert amongst the young larches with and which the combes have been planted , within easy reach lie half a score of farms which they can visit in turn when the crops reach the point preferred by their fastidious

. F ence d all taste on sides , it can be entered by none of the moor ponies or sheep which range over the commons and allotments onall s sides , and right out in the middle of its miling plain can be seen at almost any time of the year its herd of deer . Here the spotted calves lie out amongst the rank growth all through the dreamy days of e or l a June and thund ry July , fo low their d ms e e e h through the gr n shelt r of the larches , wit e of e to th ir avenues gr y lichened stems , down the banks of Badgworthy Water to see their ﬁrst n at soili g pit in full use as a mud bath . Here

322 STAG H U NTI N G WITH TH E

Bad worth th e g y Cottage , but knows its way to n ns Deerpark inclosure , excepti g perhaps the denize and of Winsford Hill or the Minehead coverts , very little pressing is required to send a Bray Wi stland d s ford stag , or one from Poun , acros

the southern or western heights of the moor , to take refuge amongst the numerous herd E always to be found in the sanctuary . very here and there the feet of the combes that debouch on Badgworthy Water are guarded by

small rocky kopj es , and the one at the bottom of Lankcombe facing the main Deerpark planta Few s tion is crowned with oaken coppice . scene are more romantic than the narrow green glade between this natural tumulus and the fringe of Bad worth h g y Wood , with its scrubby growt he untrimmed by the hand of man . Here t m ﬁ ure s hnd bright , quickly oving g of the chase an appropriate setting amongst the tall banks and of heath , with rocks and coppice a tumbling stream that falls from pool to pool towards the n s Water Slide , where a rustic foot bridge e able pedestrians to cross dry shod while th e hunting path goes through the limpid stream . Happy is the huntsman who has got his stag Lankcombe has well away up the line of , if he only frightened him enough to ensure that he shall not return to his comrades in the Deer o F r park , but will g away forthwith to arley Wate ' a or Brendon Two Gates . Then there is lmost

326 STAG H U N TI N G WITH TH E

E To o verhang the ast Lyn . get about them at

all on horseback is a large order , but to have to do so towards the end of a reallv magniﬁ ce nt to befel run with horses done a turn , was what in the course of the greatest run of half a 18 century from Hawkridge in 99 . Then it be came n e c e ssary to follow the course of the E so ast Lyn upwards from Watersmeet , and in d n e oi g a plac was soon encountered , where the path be side th e torrent had slipped away until there remaine d nothing but the narrowest of e th e ﬁ eld sheep paths . Som of crossed this

dangerous pass in safety , while others elected

to ride up the bed of the river itself, a mass o f fallen and jagged boulders , but fortunately not covered at the time by any great depth of

e - water . Th n ensued a particularly heart breaking n climb to the heights of Countisbury Commo , and no sooner had half a mile of this been traversed than more nerve - shaking paths were encountered along the cliffs by Desolate and n d of Wi gate Woo , till the garden walks Glen e e e thorne wer reached , and hors s were onc e of again on saf ground , though with a climb a full thousand fe et between them and the road

they all must reach at County Gate . Th e e North For st is a tract like the Chains , wh e reon the average staghunter sometimes ﬁnds n himself , and when he does he can ot help e it w b ing aware of , so s ampy is the going in N 2 DEVON A D SOM ER SET . 3 7 m any parts if rain has lately fallen , so frequent are the gutters and the peat cuttings and the undermined water courses . So undisturbed is this wide tract of Lord ’ E brintons g territory , that a herd of stags will o ften lie for weeks together amongst the grass and rushes of the silent wildernesses of Lanacombe Buscombe and , Trout Hill and Pinford Bog , sallying forth to The Warren farm to regale themselves at night with juicy and e d rape rip ning corn , or even to pull own and e scatter the oat n sheaves of a late harvest .

It was across a part of this district , on a course o ver Dry Hill and so round over Swap Hill to Larkb rrow M r a . , that Sanders instituted some s highly succes ful point to point races , the winning po st being near the back of Lark burrow . Casualties however were somewhat plentiful owing to the rough and somewhat hold n and the e ing nature of the grou d , cours has been e one Hawkcombe changed for a saf r near Head . With the sound ground of Manor Allotment and Badgworthy Leas imm ediately adjoining and e overlooking this gr at tract of soft ground , there is abundant opportunity of avoiding the dith culti es it of a course across , and a considerable section of th e ﬁ eld as a rul e do not set foot on its e e e green expans . Som times how ver , as in a c ertain well re membere d run from Hawkcombe

Head , hounds may turn due south across the 328 STAGH U N TI N G O N EXMOOR .

Pinford th e centre of Bog , and traversing n m Warren Combe , may leave the trickli g strea E all not of the xe behind , and those who are really following them lamenting for the rest O n of the day . that occasion two stags were one before hounds , and of them , the one that was not followed , shaped his course for Landacre and Molland Moor , while the other was eventually taken after a hot and punishing chase at Luc combe Allers .

E XII CHAPT R . — — CULBONE PLAl N TH E D E E R FENCE D EVICES FOR Pao T E CT ING CR O PS AND D EER— N IGHT WATCH I NG—TH E — TI VERTON STAGH O UNDS TH E QUANTOCK STAGH O UNDS — — T1113 BARNSTAPLE COUNTR Y TH E STOWEY R OAD TH E — CH A S E O N 1 111: QU ANT O CKS O VER 1 111: CLIFFS TR U G G — R ICH T HE WATCHET H mo .

O F a l l t h e w i n d s w e p t weather beaten e heights , wher s t agh u nt e r s from time to tim e shiver and wait while the tuft ers wre stle with unwilling

stags , the post ing stables at Y arnor Moor Lodge remain th e most cl early ﬁ xe d in the m e n t a l e y e amongst many m e mories of p h y s i c a l dis h comforts . Crus ed chill e d out of exist e nce 332 STAGH U NTI N G WITH TH E

th e of fir by force the wind , the stunted trees , the of add dwarfed like productions Japanese art , no inches to their stature with the flight of years . Nine months winter and three months cold weather is said with some truth to compose E b the climate of xford , and on Cul one Plain when it is cold it is very, very cold , and when it is hot the Lynton coach road grinds r d to a dusty track of flint and powde y san , while the fli es of the thickly grown combes are about the most venomous and innumerable E o l of all that swarm on xm or . Redo ent of low turpentine , the tangled growth of pine e e boughs sc nts the whole hill , save wher a a u burnt breadth presents clearing, and thro gh the resinous thickets hounds can never make l the pace . We l worn hunting paths run in all and directions , from those on the seaward front , noble views of the Bristol Channel and the Welsh coast present themselves . The tall de e r fence erected by the Earl of from Lovelace , to protect his Culbone farms the e o f e ravag s of the deer , consists wire sh ep s five netting ome feet in height , erected on the top of the old stone faced sheep fence that e n ' bounds the low r edge of the pla tations , and is stoutly staked with larch poles all the way . th e Starting from Ashley Combe , it follows fold F of the ground upwards to Pitt arm , and then turns away to the Y arnor drive and so follows

334 STAGH U NTI N G WITH 1 1113

f for so e o fer a sanctuary deer s cure , that they have much the best of the conte st when l are to fo lowed by hounds , and they not slow avail themselves of the odds in their favour

d w - aﬁ or ed them by the low s eet smelling boughs . O neither side of the dusty main road the remains of strained wire fences lie snake - like

in rusty coils amid the luxuriant growth , and render it diffi cult to negotiate the roadside banks , in fact it may be said that none of the moorland banks can be safely leapt without previous knowledge , owing to the large amount of e wire used in former days for sheep fenc s . Th e jumping powers of the moorland sheep o f are well known , and nothing short a stone faced bank six feet high , with an overhanging C n oping or a strained wire to surmou t all , has the slightest effect in keeping them within o first bounds . Moreover where the deer g the sheep are sure to follow , until a well established rack by long usage wears down the whole fence to e ground lev l . When deer are attacking some hnd a to toothsome crop , if they the fence e sy get over they will often restrict themselves to one or two racks , but should it be high and diffi cult or to a , should the farmer endeavour s ve for himself some portion of the cr0p wrested of b from the thin soil by the sweat his brow, y or r stopping the rack with thorns othe wise , then ll l the deer wi choose new crossing p aces , and if DEVON A N D SOM ERSET .

h t ere should be a few wet nights in succession , when a large herd of heavy and hungry deer ’ of is foraging , the trim line the farmer s hedge will soon be seamed all over with muddy gap s that will take much labour to repair , and will call down pl e ntiful abuse on the offending head s o f the midnight marauders . Many are the d evices by which deer may be checked in fi rst e their attempt on forbidd n sweets . Tarred co rd is frequently stretched along the whole l e ngth of the hedge which they have begun to a fi ure s tr verse , g fearful and wondrous , surmounted ro by green and rusty hats , are mounted in p m inent positions , lanterns covered with green and red paper are set swaying and dangling in lonely turnip fi eld s and strong smelling d e terrents such as pigs blood are sometimes ff e ective . When once however gnawing hunger , m an d the contempt that comes with fa iliarity , have made the deer bold enough , as they speedily do in the long dark nights of winter , no artifi ce will long avail to keep the starving herd from the tempting food which they can smell from afar . Spring guns may terrify them for o awhile , chained dogs may pr tect a small area in the immediate neighbourhood of the draughty barrel where they shiver through th e night , and clattering windmills may make them pause in their advance from the shady boughs of the nearest covert , but somehow or other , 336 STAGH UN TI N G WITH 1 1113

and not fi eld e e if in one th n in the next , th y fill h will have their , and that of the best whic th e ff neighbourhood a ords . it effi ci e ntl Night watching , y carried out , will t diffi cult hwart their attack , but the y of keeping body and soul together for many mid - winter nights in succession on the exposed heights where the deer mostly feed is too great for the e v ndurance of the a erage watcher , and after a while he more often than not cannily goes l home to bed . The eerie lone iness of such a v igil must be tried to be appreciated . The near neighbourhood of the deer is more l e general y heard than seen , as th y rush through the wet turnip leaves at the near approach of the A shivering guardian of the crop . stick cracks at the fence and the boughs quiver and rustle

against the gloomy sky, which is only one d e gree lighter than the slumbering earth .

Presently a hailstorm patters and rattles , as it s weeps across from hill to hill , drenching and w the chilling all nature in its course , bo ing

broad turnip leaves with added moisture , and n setting the hedges drippi g , while each cart rut O r r runs with ice cold water . again , a f osty moon perhaps has just set beneath the western the w horizon , and by the bright starlight atcher s n e ees a lo g line of grey whit forms , trooping silently across the crop he has been set to

guard , until they come to the part which is

338 STAGHU N TI N G WITH TH E

a e h s on v ll y, w ich is al o attacked the opposite s e ar n ide by the D erp k herd , and straggli g of t of o bands deer from all par s the mo r , but its gen eral effect on the sport has been benfi e cial. The Devon and Somerset is a hunt much f of a fected by the gentler sex , which a large part of the fi eld is composed during the fine weather months . Long and tiring as the days as to frequently are , and rough is the ground o ll be traversed , many ladies g extremely we with the staghounds , and in the longest and fastest chases some of them are sure to be at fini sh up the . The rapid growth of everything connected with the sport has had its outward and most visible sign in the tendency to multiply the a s h p ck t at do the work . The successful ’ i nitiation of Sir John H eathcoat Amory s pack has led to an establishment onthe Quantock n for the Hills , where the li es laid down regulation of the Tiverton Hunt have been ar s followed in almost every p ticular . Wherea in former days the Devon and Somerset Hunt Committee was the only authority as regarded s are the deer and their welfare , wider interest now involved by the establishment of each ar e i a sep at pack . The preservat on of e ch herd h as become a matter of still more widely spread est and has e h firml inter , becom t ereby more y

34 2 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

s a s oﬁ Somer et Railw y , which cut them from of v and the home country the De on Somerset , much in the same manner that the line of the Taunton to Barnstaple railway marks the northern ar f e of bound y o the Tiverton pack . In the cas e ach pack local provision is made for the compensation and settlement of deer damage and claims arising within the country lent them , h k al neit er pac employing profession huntsmen , subscriptions are only taken for the purpose of h in defraying such claims . W en hunting by v itati on h t ﬁ eld r in the ome coun ry , the tu ning o ut with either pack are under obligation to subscribe to the funds of the Exford establishment ' as though they were hunting with the original

pack . While the Tiverton country is a great deal too a too h narrow , and its herd a great de l t in n of the r se in poi t numbers , for regula exerci

’ a two a e i s of day we k pack , the Quantock H ll with their numerous herd present far more scope for a h to a n a loc l hunt , which s ould be able ret i within its borders ample material for its own

requirements . At o Barnstaple , however , there is hardly ro m for the maintenance of a suffi ci e ntly large herd s to as to tand regular hunting from season se on , and the lie of the land hardly admits of many days being given by invitation to a pack on the western border of the moor itself . Here DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . again a railway forms an eflective line of demarcation between a local pack and the Ex so h ford country , t at the Devon and Somer set territory is now contained in an irregular out a parallelogram , marked by three railw ys f and the coast lin e o the Severn Sea . Quantock deer make their headquarters chi efly or so of within a mile the Stowey road , and amongst the extensive plantation s of Bag fi h . r a eld boroug When they wander fu ther , they hnd warm lying and security in the

r St. wooded combes towa ds Audries , or among th estone or v the Co el Buncombe Hill co erts . Long periods of tranquility have always tended to make the deer herd together in their favourite

combes , whereas continued hunting scatters them

into remoter hiding places , and the establishment of the Quantock pack should tend to spread them far and wide into every available wood airﬁ el f land from F d to Kingscli f . The Stowey road is a rubicon over which

deer sometimes return in safety , but more often it the v stag be a hea y one , and well tufted w ithal , his doom is sealed when once he has St set his nose for . Audries , and has left the

dusty line of the hilltop road behind him , where his friends the Stowey broomsq uires are always waiting on ﬁ ne hunting days to greet his appearance from the depths of R amscombe ’ G ovett s d or the recesses of Copse , and to sen 34 4 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E him on his way with quickened bounds and e he a a h ad ld high in l rm . O nthe slopes that overhang the fair vale of w Stowey , a peculiarly tough and tangled gro th of stunted oak copse clothes the shoulders of the h and i s as ill , known Great Customs . Here the Stowey villagers have ancient rights , and here the deer cross by preference from ’ G ovett s to D anesborou h i Copse g , know ng that they will be less exposed to view than in O crossing the pen heath on the hilltop , and the ascent from Seven Wells is also less exhausting . A stag that takes a line low down in Great to Customs , is sure seek shelter in the quiet s Sherve d e depth of g Wood , which forms part of the Dunster Castle estate . Here he will invariably wait for hounds , while soiling in the black and peaty pit within the shade of th e coppice , and then as he hears his enemies s approaching , will teal away over the heathy to i shoulder of Woodlands Hill , s nk into the Butterﬂ s depths of y Combe , indulging perhap ’ in a hasty roll in Hayman s Pond . E ven as the cool wave laves his broad loin , the whimpering cry that he has already learned as to dread , comes again on his quivering ear , the leading couples come striding over the sun ov baked brow ab e him , and come plunging down towards him by the self same track he followed through the fern and coppice , over the

34 6 STAGH U NTI N G WITH 1 111:

k as hi s e h bac even piercing vision can r ac , horsemen are coming fast to converge upon his H e ow line of ﬂight . n plainly sees himself in t danger , and regretting vainly that he ever lef or the big Quantock woodlands behind him ,

that he ever crossed the Stowey Road , resumes his lurching gallop and puts the skyline between himself and danger . The sea breeze e H as fans his heated ch ek and ank , with prickly gorse beneath his feet he sinks to d e to hnd E rri . g Combe , where water is hard on Without waiting , he passes all round the sa sea long slopes of West Hill , smelling the lt more plainly with every long laboured stride . Now w he knows hat he must do , he must play w his trump card and gain that ide sea below , for there he feels certain he can easily distance the ﬂeete st hound that ever walked out from O n Bagborough . the furzy ground sheep and az d ponies are gr ing , an far ahead against the i n sunlight he esp es a long black li e , that runs

of St. all down the slope , the iron rails the ne Audries fe c . Right across to it he goes , as he o e has often done bef re by moonlight , to exchang w compliments with the deer ithin , but as he nears it now it looks higher and stiffer than it e v er did before , and a passing thought of leaping it is relinquished at once . With lowered head , and quickly panting breath he trots down beside its long black length , and presently

356 STAGH U NTI N G WITH 1 1113

th e t a to nex hedgerow, and st nds confront hi s e a ar unwelcom follower . Me nwhile the f m “ ” ur v labo ers hear Ship gi ing tongue , and their ’ view holloas reach the huntsman s ear as he follows his pack beside the deerpark railings

where the stag came down . Full well he knows that welcome sound which foretells the ’ s Hi s uccessful ending of his day s work . and practised eye glances far ahead , forwards to ﬁ elds downwards the green beneath the road , out that lies spread like a map , with the

u ﬁ ures of - do r nning g the workmen , the sheep g a brown dot , and the cornered stag, a larger of e splash red beside the hedgerow . Just th n the stag charges at the dog , just as the lusty sons of toil come running through the open ﬂi gateway . The dog es yelping and the stag u to t rns an easy gap , to clear it with deliberate so f t stride , and gallop down to the cli fs tha

. Now f face the sea the cli fs just here are high , n and at foot are perpe dicular , but the stag ot out of having g sight of all pursuers , thinks he can hnd a satisfactory hiding place by walking a little way down over the steep earthy slope where the fi elds break off and the cliffs At fi rst find s begin . he fair foothold and his cloven feet grip the weather worn marl quite fi st . on r well But as he goes , and turns the corner, the ground becomes more crumbling and treacherous and slopes at a steeper angle . DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . 351

s e h Here frost and rain , wind and sun hin ave e to don their work , and turned powder the has a o clay and , which the waves have long g worn down to their present conformation . All below him is sheer and sudden death : in front and beyond him onthe crest some thirty feet above a scarlet coated ﬁgure suddenly

: appears looking down upon him he turns , his r u : foothold gives , eve ything slides and r shes the to rocks leap up meet him , and he drops t head foremost with one gasp o instant death . Meanwhile from afar there has been following the e chas by green and bumpy hill tracks , by lanes and roads and accommodation farmways ’ brooms uire s a long , low q cart which presently finds to a way down the rocky beach , and with of on all that remains a gallant stag board , to returns laboriously the hard high road , by which to convey the venison to such destiny as “ Tru the master shall appoint . gg Rich is the owner of the Quantock venison cart ; and with unfailing skill has contrived for many years to be up at the death or soon after whenever s h H e hound ave set up their deer . has carted as as has many three dead deer at once , and l s r fol owed ome notable runs , often a riving at the fini sh as fi eld as quickly the . Many a “ ” passenger has Trugg had upon the some what insecure bench that does duty for a seat onhis one vehicle , and if be young and active 352 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

f one and not a fected by jolting , and if would on is see a run without riding horseback , there no better plan on the Quantocks than to entrust ’ oneself to William Rich s care ; for whatever else may happen , he and his much enduring pony and his very useful cart will bring the w or deer home , no matter hich way he she will

or or be . run , how long crooked the chase may “ ’ ” Tru s C gg vehicle has been often opied , and Stowey carts may be seen onother hills besides uantocks the Q , and they will get over sur r i p i s ngly rough ground without coming to grief . When they do turn over amongst the deep ruts or weather worn hill tracks , they are easily righted again , but a quiet pony , staunch in

- to collar and decidedly sure footed , is necessary enable the charioteer to wrestle successfully with the by - ways of such rough country as the “ ” Tru Quantock Hills . The story goes that gg was much agitated when he first heard that a for facsimile of his vehicle was to be made , b and driven y , a lady of title living in the uantocks he neighbourhood of the Q , and that at once made an expedition to ascertain at first hand whether there was to be competition for n offi ce his hitherto u contested of venison carrier , feeling greatly relieved when told that hi s

monopoly was not to be invaded . Deer from the Quantocks sometimes run as far a as n as the estu ry of the river Parret , where by re o

D EVON AN D SO M ER SET . of v mudbanks extensi e and shifting quicksands , are they sometimes very hard to secure , even ’ ﬁ shermens when drowned by the hounds . The boats from Steart and Combwi ch are not always and a at hand when wanted , the p rticularly high tides which occur on this coast run with great force up the river to Bridgewater , or return with a rush that is apt to carry the strongest rower or swimmer far down stream . I n the Spring of 1900 a hind crossed th e water near Black Rock and was pulled down by the hounds amid the mud ﬂats adjoining of the Pawlett Hams . The present master the a of Wells H rriers , divesting himself his hunting v to coat , olunteered swim across the ebbing and ed tide , after a very muddy landing secur the hind and brought her back to the Otter

hampton bank . The ﬂat bottomed boats which are used onthis coast are of a singular shape which has been found exactly suitable to th e to co e circumstances with which they have p .

With raised ends , after the manner of a cocked v on hat , they ha e a flat floor , which a three legged stool not unfrequently does duty for a f 2 thwart . With a sti f short mast and lug sail these boats will tack remarkably close to th e v to e wind , heeling o er so as make the angl between their flat bottoms and raised sides take of a the place the keel in an ordin ry boat . I n running before the wind they will glide over 356 STAG H U N TI N G WITH 1 1115

sea a choppy in most approved fashion , and amongst rocks will behave quite as well as a a r bo t of ordina y make . O nanother occasion a hind was driven from ’ th e an ks M r Qu toc in . Basset s mastership and o btained a start of two hours on her pursuers , was sufﬁ cie ntl to she y frightened , however , c V ross the Stowey ale , and carry on by i din n a l F d gto and Knp ock to Hill House . Here she sank to the marshes of the Steart level , and taking to the Parret near the Powder e hous , swam far and fast down stream , until she found herself amongst the quicksands oﬁ s Steart village , and felt inclined to come a hore . A bitterly cold north west wind was blowing ’ and a baker s cart , turned round with its back to to the gale , was made do duty as a shelter for two individuals who kept watch on her e e e through a glaz d p phole at the back , until s e A she came a hor . Scotch deerhound had

by this time arrived upon the scene , and made her a dash at from the muddy foreshore , but was u tired though she , the nat re of the ground was in her favour and she escaped the rush f o the long legged hound . A e for pack of harri rs had also been sent , ' but when they arrived the hounds also put in

an appearance , and then a very short scurry brought the hind to a standstill in the nearest rhine , behind the pebble beach which protects

8 S AG N N N 35 T HU TI G O EXMOOR .

. O nth e s new previou night , however , whether e by accident or int ntion , her prison doors as of became unf tened , and mounting on a pile w alabaster , hich is obtained in profusion from th e f s she e neighbouring cli f , scal d the roof, and made good he r e scap e from the scene of e s ss her troubl , and doubtle survived to attain a e E a hoary old g . xcellent photographs were o e e btain d of this hind whil in captivity , and an ingeniou s use was made of one of the negative s so obtained to depict the hind in the e e act of escaping ov r the brok n stable roof, e h er e a e wher tr d cracked several slat s , and the s e of picture produced had every emblanc reality , a h e lt ough the actual scape took place by night .

362 STAGH U N T I N G WITH TH E

e e e has practically becom a d ad l tter . No doubt e s e e u s h avy stag gav bett r r ns in olden time , and would give better runs to - day if thev ’ h o s e e m could have half an ur r spite grant d the , in which to make shift to shake o ff their e e nemi s . That this would not invariably hold e e e e good , how ver , is som times s n in the case e s of h avy old tags , that trust so much to s e e tratag m and so little to sp ed , that when th e tufte rs are whipp e d off they betake the m s e s elves forthwith to the near t thick covert , and splashing into the first conve nient soiling lie e e pit , th re at their ease until the whol body of the pack bursts in upon their retreat; finds s fresh them in view , and their ca e e To fox five becomes desperat indeed . give a minutes advantage on a sunburnt plain of so heather , dry and dusty that a carelessly thrown down match would instantly cause a fi re to prairie , would be make sure of losing so him , but with deer this is not .

If modern foxhounds , chosen for their speed e and b auty , do not possess perhaps all the s no e and hunting power of their forerunners , that led l e ss well mount e d ﬁeld s across the e to moor , th y can at any rate get nearer their deer , and in that way improve the scent . The pace and endurance of the deer too s e e m s fully e qual to the greater demands made o nthem by the dash and galloping power of DEVON AND SOM ER SET .

h e the hounds now used , and if the days as as not as long and tiring formerly , they are e , at any rate , quit long enough and th e e hard enough for greedi st , and the chase of the wild red d e e r of Exmoor may be s e se aid , without r rve , to be the most severe and arduous of all forms of English sport

carre d on with horse and hound . To those who h av e only hunted carted e s as d deer , it com a novel i ea that the noble e e a a animal is kill d wh n t ken , and the uthor has oft e n he ard surpri se expressed that such v aluabl e animal s should be converted into e s ﬁrst venison , with what app ar to be at sight e reckl ss prodigality . e h we e The r ason why , o v r , of many doings that appear strange to th e casual visitor to E m e e x oor , b comes evident aft r awhile , if the enquirer mixes with those who inhabit red e o deer land all the y ar r und , and then by

degrees it dawns upon him , that a large herd e e e of red d r numbering s veral hundred , main taine d in a cultivated country , is a tremendous tax o nth e loyalty and sportsmanlike feeling of

an agricultural population , and that the death e th e e of the gam is truly lif of the sport . To give advice to profe ssional s would seem e e manv to be the chief obj ct in lif of a novice , and to offer loud mouthed criticism o nrules e that have stood the t st of hundreds of years , 364 STAGH U NTI N G WITH THE

after an acquaintanceship with the sport of a a to few weeks only , seems to come natur l the w out for to nsman a holiday . Human nature comes out wonderfully amongst the petty trials and dangers and discomforts fi eld a of the hunting , and if a man be natur lly or selfi sh self assertive or quarrelsome , he is almost sure to show it when his outward veneer of good manners is rubbed off in the excitement of a quick thing over diffi cult or ground . Any person , whether man woman , who can be a true lady or gentleman through ’ out a long day s hunting , need never fear to hnd themselves in any circumstanc e s or in any

company . Blood will always tell , and education e never fails to leav its mark , and the regular habitués of a hunt get to know each other more intimately perhaps than in any other form and of society , being thrown together more often for longer hours and under circumstances more

trying to temper than in any other way . There has been discussion without end as to the advisability of using - ﬁrearms to despatch a deer that stands at bay in some spot where

he or she cannot be immediately approached , and there are no doubt one or two occasions each season when the employment of such d means woul be merciful .

To lay down a hard and fast rule , however , that an arm of pre cision should always be called

366 STAGH U NT IN G WIT H 1 111:

To blanch a stag is sometimes quite easy and at other time s th e whole field cannot do it , try they as manfully as they may , but the e be general rule se ms to , that when once a stag of warrantable age has made up his mind to no of strike out for a distant point , amount off it heading will keep him from , and again , if once confronted and turned back into a big of woodland , he will be very chary leaving it unless the whole hillside be left quite unoccupied and he be hard pressed by hounds within v v the co ert . As with scent , howe er , rules cannot well be laid down for the behaviour of n deer , the unexpected always happe ing . There seems to be a deep rooted conviction in the public mind that deer always take th e th e c same line from same overts , and when crossing any particular hill can be depended to upon make the same points . When deer v M r were ery scarce , and in the days when . Bisset was restoring the sport and putting it on the footing from whence the present flouri shing a of has st te things come , it may have been that stags roused in Horner always ran to or Sweeter a Porlock Weir , y deer inv riably made for Bad worth g y, but many stags have many s one t mind . and for hat now leads the pack t d a exactly where he is expec e to , half dozen e f wn f out o o . o strike a cours their This is , be a of th e course , as it should , for a great p rt DEVON AN D SOM ERSET . charm of all hunting lies in the traversing of e fresh and un xplored ground , where a way has to be found or made , and that without loss of time . Slowle Along the top of y Wood , there runs s a green gra s track , and by a certain thorn s bush successive ma ters have taken their stand , of to await the appearance harboured stags , roused in the jungle below by the tufters . H ere sooner or later if deer are plentiful in for the wood , and they have been so many to a years , there is sure be view at close so n of quarters , but amongst ma y acres covert it may well happen that the tufters fi rst one A rouse any animal but a warrantable . lusty male deer perhaps does the stag service s not by leading the pursuit a tray , and until he bounds out from the topmost fringe of the covert , can it be seen that he is not the real article . Then the tufters must be taken back ’ s and the quest resumed , and the hunt man s voice sounds fainter and more distant as he s s tries downward amongst the endless thicket , where for acres and acre s the ling grows up in luxuriant masses amongst the sheltering of r copse . Then , again , in the depths g eenery e a a hound challeng s , and there follows tell tale rush and rattle that makes the bushes sway of and nod their topmost twigs . But . instead bearing upwards to the open hill side where 368 STAGH U N TI N G WITH TH E

w he is anxiously awaited , this stag goes do n wards to try some cool retreats he knows of in of the valley woods below . Beneath some clusters hrs tall Scotch , dark foliaged and red stemmed , he stops stealthily to listen , for although he s has heard much , and that unplea antly near to him , he has seen nothing yet . I n the instant t that he turns , however , a good spor sman waiting with self denying patience in the roadway that winds up to Slowley Farm is rewarded for his of zeal by catching a view his noble proportions . Silently he waits till the approaching cry of the tufters makes the stag bound across the road r way to disappear in D ucombe Wood below . Then he lifts up his voice after the manner sta hunters dear to all West Countrymen and g , the tufters come bustling through the bushes with panting breath and eager eyes , the huntsman on his tufting pony comes rattling down a stony track , all waterworn and sprinkled with roots and boulders , and with every here and

’ there a great heap of débns collected by the “ he wood emmets . What sort of a stag is , ” “ M r . ? O Ridler h , a rare good one , sure on enough , with three atop one horn , and I ’ ” “ . O couldn t see what he had on the other h , ’ o he ll do then , will you please g up and tell ’ the master on top , and I ll stop the tufters if handker he breaks away below , and wave my ” chief for the pack . Ten minutes later the

AN S DEVON D OM ERSET . 371 harvesters at work onthe Treborough side begin to run and shout , and the horn can be heard going steadily away in the direction of Leather So barrow . the pack is trotted down to rekennelled for Kingsbridge and there awhile , till the whipper - inarrives with his horse in a lather , to report that all the hounds are stopped , and the stag has gone right away towards the line of the Mineral Railway .

Now when deer take this line , they com pletely alter the complexion of an ordinary Slowl e . y day Instead of stones there is grass , instead of bad scenting ground there is good country for hound work over the slope s of the Brendon Hills pointing southward , and instead of the Minehead and Porlock contingents ﬁnding themselves close home at the end of

’ who the day s work , it is the Dulverton folk have cause to congratulate themselves . Straight in front and to the southward lie the Haddon ﬁ rst to strongholds , and as a point make the stag has the Withiel Florey stream , a strong attraction after his h urried ascent of Leather f barrow . The disused Mineral Railway o fers less of an obstacle than it did to the passing and repassing of deer between Haddon and Slowle at y, and is easily negotiated by them the various points . Three short miles down Withiel Water brings the stag to the neigh bourhood th e of Steart Cottage , where he has 372 STAGH U NTI N G WITH T H E

’ Carnarvons Countess of woods all round him . so of Slowle But even , the good feeding y has rendered him so fat and well liking that too for the pace has been much him . Instead of having strength left to climb to

Haddon Hill , where some friendly hind might lead the eager hounds astray , he turns aside into a convenient orchard and lies down in th e

s of . helter a ditch Hounds overrun the mark , but on casting back the huntsman presently fi nds . him , and his doom is quickly sealed In the narrow waters of the H addeo he can make fi ht no to no g , pool serves set the hounds a swimming while he stands his ground , and before the field are well aware that the end of the chase is so near , he has been seized and de spatched . O i all the queer place s that hunted deer R oadwater have got into , the roller mills was one of the most dangerous and inconvenient Slowle both to stag and hounds . Here a y stag gave some very anxious moments to his captors , but by good fortune avoided the e machin ry in motion , and passed on into a stable where he was secured after an exciting tussle . Slowle i Another stag in the y distr ct , but which had run from Cloutsham on an opening day will be long remembered as having made his way into the dining room of Steart

374 STAG H U N TI N G WITH THE s natch morsels from the plates of guests s eated at the table , but his boldness reached s uch a pitch that he came to an untimely end . A ’ former Secretary of the Hunt , the late M r S W . . arren , kept a tame deer at his s tables at The Mount , Dulverton , and this animal was wont to take its walks abroad , the stabl e doors being left open for it as a of retreat in case emergency . This plan a for nswered well a considerable time , but at l one ength , on unlucky day , the unfortunate animal was pursued by hounds and found the stable door accidentally closed , when his fate was sealed .

I n other hunting countries , regulations have been made of late years tending to raise the minimum subscription which can be tendered b ” y any regular follower , so as to enable the s port to be maintained on a suitable footing , and this principle has been accepted by the of Hunt Committee the Devon and Somerset , where the minimum subscription for a day ’s hunting with one horse has been ﬁxed at half

a guinea , and when the neighbouring packs meet within their borders it has been decided that their fi eld should subscribe to the funds of E the xford establishment . While many hunting visitors subscribe liberally towards the s port they enjoy , there have undoubtedly been i n time s past a considerable number whose DEVON A N D SOM ERSET . 375 donations have fallen far short of even this modest minimum , and when one considers that the casual tourist does not shrink from an outlay of two guineas a day on the stout hireling he bestrides , it seems indeed a moderate exaction to fix his contribution towards the upke e p of such a pack as he will find fi ure waiting for him at the meet , at such a g as the this , which will not add appreciably to e r xpenses of his sojourn in the West Count y . To one such a it will probably not occur until , bitten with the sport , he repeats his visits a again and ag in , that the maintenance of the r Devon and Somerset in all their glo y, entails not only the expenses incidental to any four days a week pack , but necessitates the provision of a large sum by way of compensation for the nightly ravages of over five hundred t deer . Harbouring and boats , and the car ing v and distributing of venison , are hea y items in ’ do to lot the master s bill , such as not fall the of of a master foxhounds , and , in addition , the festive board is nobly spread at Porlock and at Dulverton for long lines of deer preserving ’ who farmers , accept the master s invitation and assemble in great force to do justice to a smoking haunch . These same venison feasts of are matters long established custom , and the old routine is ceremoniously followed . At the high table , the master takes the 376 STAGH U N TI N G WITH T H E

on e s of chair , supported either hand by memb r of r the hunt committee , and masters othe s packs , and an occa ional hunting visitor . The

Church , the Law , Physic , and the Press are generally represented , and after grace the a to w comp ny fall with right good will , ith which is mingled the satisfaction of knowing that the fast diminishing haunch , that made the ﬁ rst on board groan when it was set , will fatten ’ of t no more at the expense the eaters urnips , no will browse no more upon the ripening corn , more will tear the juicy mangolds from the ground to throw them bitten and destroyed all h over the disordered eld at home . Many other seasonable dainties tempt the appetite of those who cannot face roast venison , and there are such even in the wild West Country , and when e at length the last course has been clear d away , of a mighty bowl steaming punch , curiously e concocted and very pot nt withal , is placed e l before the mast r , with a long hand ed silver e ladl and many punch glasses . When these ﬁlled u have been duly and handed ro nd , and e oi the customary toasts hav been disposed , the master proceeds to the toast of the e to vening , and gives Prosperity Staghunt to ing , seizing the opportunity to refer

the sport enjoyed throughout the season , and to touch on any striking incid ents which may e have occurred sinc last the toast was given .

8 S N N N 37 TAGH U TI G O EXMOOR .

vice - chairman then continues the sitting for so another hour or . O n the following night the “Town and ” Trade of such places i s entertained by the ’ hotel keeper who catered for the master s s of fea t , and the remains the haunch do duty for a second festive night , when the fun is to apt wax fast and furious . With the recurrence of the October venison s feasts , the sea ons , as they come around with d to each revolving year , raw near a close , and with this sketch of a time honoured hill country

custom this work must come to end . Cover 188 1 01 ing the years from 7 to 9 , it touches on not events hitherto described , except in to e cursory form , and strives bring hom by the aid of the photographic studie s how the Devon and Somerset Staghounds look to - day amid the beautiful surroundings of their moor land home .