68 RED DEER. 



and in their terror will often pass under 

 people standing on the foot-bridge. Till 

 absolutely compelled they will not leave the 

 water ; they will return to it again and again 

 a little lower down, and are only driven 

 from it with continued chasing. Frequently, 

 if roused far away on the open moors of the 

 North Forest, they will make at once straight 

 for Homer Water. Then again, after a long 

 run, when they feel their strength ebbing, 

 they will circle back to die in their beloved 

 stream. There is a projecting rock by the 

 brook, standing out from the hillside, to 

 which a stag once retreated, and, with his 

 back to the precipice, kept the hounds at 

 bay. It was the same as if he had been at 

 the end of a steep wall, and he would never 

 have been driven from his position by the 

 hounds unaided by man. Stags will often 

 do this when they can no longer keep in 

 front of the pack. 



