THE FARNDALE. 147 



but who will not face the Yorkshire moorlands, simply 

 because of the treacherous character of the ground. These 

 miry morasses and the holes and jet workings which abound 

 on the hill sides are as a snake in the grass, an unseen enemy. 

 When the obstacle to be overcome is the most formidable 

 fence, the rider and the horse are both as a rule conversant 

 with what is ahead. With a bog and with heather-concealed 

 holes and crags, however, it is true, matters are different, 

 for generally speaking the man who gallops into a bog does 

 so in entire ignorance of what is in front of him. ' 'Ware 

 bog ! ' shouts a friendly sportsman over his shoulder as he 

 skirts the edge of a morass, but his kindly warning comes 

 too late, and in goes the horse and rider, up gurgles the inky 

 water from what seemed a perfectly safe piece of ground. 

 As often as not the sudden stop sends the rider from the 

 saddle — and this is exactly where he wants to be, for a horse 

 has a much better chance of struggling on to terra firma 

 without any weight upon his back. Even if the rider is not 

 thus unceremoniously removed from the saddle it is the 

 wisest plan for him to at once dismount and keep his horse 

 moving. The question may naturally arise what is a bog ? 

 Even the substance and raison d'etre of these oft-times deep 

 man-traps vary but usually speaking they are portions of 

 tableland where the drainage of the moor settles or a sub- 

 terranean stream runs. The remarkable thing is that though 

 with the least pressure water appears, there is no indication 

 of moisture on the surface save the herbage peculiar to marsh 

 and morass. Yet let a horse get on to the ground and there 

 is a gurgling and a spluttering as though one were sinking 

 into the depths of the bottomless pit. There are bogs 

 and bogs ; whilst some will not bear even a sheep, others only 

 cause a horse some inconvenience and possibly wrench 

 his shoes off if he is not shod well ' in.' The worst morasses 

 soon become known to hunt servants and regular followers, 

 who in these countries — though they may be blunt — are ex- 

 ceedingly thoughtful and warn the field against them. 

 I am reminded as I write of an experience in one of the 

 worst bogs in the Bilsdale hunting country. It is known 



