RED DEER LAND. 19 



it is bare of trees (except in the coombes) ; 

 it is an open expanse of heather. 



But the deer are no longer limited to the 

 moors — they roam over a region of which 

 Exmoor forms only a corner. With a pencil 

 draw a line on the map from Bridgewater 

 to near Ilfracombe, from Ilfracombe down 

 to Exeter, and again from Exeter up to 

 Bridgewater, enclosing a triangle, each side 

 of which on the map would be about fifty 

 miles, but to ride twenty more, on account 

 of the irregular ground. It is not to be 

 supposed that every acre of this region is 

 visited by the deer, but either while wander- 

 ing at their own will, or when running 

 before the hounds, it is crossed and re- 

 crossed, and marked by their ' slot,' or foot- 

 prints. You could not put your finger 

 on any particular spot and say the herd is 

 here, because their motions are so uncertain; 

 one year they stay in one district, and the 

 next go on to another. 



They have been killed at the very 



c 2 



