166 RED DEER. 



mounted on the stag's back, was drawn 

 along a considerable way, sometimes press- 

 ing the stag's head under water. " Credu- 

 lous" in one season was twice struck by 

 antlers, once in the breast, and again in 

 the hip, and yet he ran as staunchly as 

 ever. It is thought that the stags in the 

 woods by the sea swim sometimes in it for 

 their pleasure at night. They do in fresh 

 water, bathing in a pool, if they can find 

 one, in the evening as they come out of cover 

 before they feed. Water is a passion with 

 them. The brook, the mere streamlet, the 

 pond, or " soiling-pit," the river, or the sea 

 itself, it is always the water, as their friend, 

 and last resource. By day, if possible, they 

 lie near a streamlet, and drink always the 

 purest water ; they visit ponds or brooks as 

 they run, and come in the end to the sea. 



Chasing the red stag requires much endu- 

 rance on the part of hounds and huntsman. 



