GREAT BUSTARD. 551 



Harting, in an article on " The former occurrence of the 

 Bustard in Yorkshire," in the Field, 6th March 1897. Mr. 

 Harting states that the precise details have only recently come 

 to light in a letter written by the grandson of the keeper 

 who shot the birds. For this information we are indebted to 

 Lieut. Gen. A. C. Cooke, who writes as follows : — 



" On looking over some old documents belonging to a 

 deceased relative, I came across the following letter, which 

 may, I think, be of interest to sportsmen and naturalists. 

 It gives an account of eleven Great Bustards killed at one 

 shot on the Wolds of Yorkshire, near Sledmere, in 1808, 

 by one Agars, gamekeeper to Mr. St. Quintin of that day. 

 The writer of the letter was Agar's grandson, whom I knew very 

 well, as he was watcher to the Foston Trout Club, in whose 

 water I used to fish. The father of the writer (and son of 

 the shooter) I also knew well. He had been gamekeeper 

 to Col. St. Quintin, and was a fine specimen of the old English 

 keeper, of good presence and courteous manners. The 

 account now transcribed, and given below, was written by 

 his son at his dictation in 1864, and, as he states that he was 

 twelve or thirteen years old when the occurrence in question 

 took place (1808), he must have been then sixty-eight or 

 sixty-nine. Col. St. Quintin's property adjoins the Foston 

 Club water. When the occurrence took place the Wolds 

 had not been ploughed up, and consisted of uninclosed rolling 

 downs, the natural haunt of Bustards, which bred there, 

 and of which some were doubtless killed every year, for it 

 seems that the equipment of a Wolds keeper included a stalking 

 horse, a coat made of horse hide with the hair outside, and a 

 blunderbuss. This particular occurrence had evidently im- 

 pressed itself on the old man's mind, on account of the unusual 

 number of Bustards killed in one day ; and the fact of his 

 remembering the subsequent destination of the dead birds 

 shows that his memory was tolerably accurate. Of his 

 rehability I have no doubt. Possibly some old members of 

 the Foston Club will remember him ; Mr. Woodhall, who was 

 for many years secretary, may possibly do so. The following 

 is his letter : — 



VOL. II. N 



