GAME NOTES AND FOLK-LORE. 197 



slow curve of their outline is caused by an 

 occasional tumulus. There are no copses 

 on the summits of the ranges, only tumuli 

 here and there, singly or in groups. The 

 contents are not so well known as elsewhere, 

 for there is a prevalent dislike to opening 

 a barrow. The feeling is very strong, and 

 those who own property do not care to go 

 against it. It is believed that certain mis- 

 fortune will fall on the household of anyone 

 digging into a tumulus, and that generally 

 a death follows the intrusion upon the 

 ancient tomb. Possibly this idea may be 

 an unconscious memory of prehistoric times, 

 when sacrifices to ancestors and heroes were 

 made in the precincts of tumuli. They 

 were considered sacred then, and the feel- 

 ing seems to have lingered on down to the 

 present day. Places where battles have oc- 

 curred, and where human bones are known 

 to lie, must not be disturbed for the same 

 reason. 



It happened that some misfortune fell 



