HIND-HUNTING. 187 



coats of those who ride through, and every 

 peaty place is full of water on the moors. 

 Bitter winds sweep furiously across the open 

 distances, driving the rain before them. 

 Vapour hangs heavily on the hill-tops and 

 joins them to the clouds. Rain is often 

 almost incessant, and even those who are 

 hardened to it find of the cold. Hind- 

 hunting is hard work, so that it sometimes 

 happens not more than half-a-dozen staunch 

 riders are present. Those who follow the 

 stag in summer have all the glory; the 

 labour falls to the hardy hunters of the 

 winter time. 



Hinds have their first calf in the third 

 year, and afterwards breed yearly, though 

 sometimes they miss. The calf remains a 

 long time with the mother, and a calf and 

 a yearling are often seen running beside her. 

 Now and then a hind has two calves. The 

 calf at first is dappled with white spots, and 



