66 CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 



endwayes, and that he hath seene experience thereof 

 in the He of Cypres, from whence they go commonly 

 unto the He of Cylice, the which is thirty miles 

 distant ; yea, and he sayeth that they have the vent 

 and sent of the rut from the one ile to the other. 

 To speak a truth, I have seen some hunted in 

 forestes adjoyning to the sea, which have beene so 

 sore hunted that they launched into the sea, and have 

 been killed of fyshermen tenne miles from the shore.* 

 The invigorating effect of a plunge in the water 

 upon a deer when pursued and fatigued is almost 

 incredible. I have constantly seen a stag with his 

 tongue hanging out of his mouth, and his nostrils 

 open wide, apparently scarce able to drag one leg- 

 after another, rise from the rippling pools of a fresh 

 mountain stream, active and fresh, as if he had just 

 left his lair. In 'soiling' during a chase they 

 frequently sink themselves in the pool, laying their 

 horns back over their necks, and merely thrusting 

 their noses and mouths above the stream, and in this 

 attitude they will lie close until the hounds have 

 drawn over them. An incident worth mentioning 

 occurred in the course of a run with a deer which 

 had thus concealed himself from his pursuers. A fat 

 old stag was found in Haddon, near Dulverton, in 



* 'Art of Venerie,' p. 41. 



