3o6 CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 



head, the beam remarkably small, and the opinion of the 

 cognoscenti in such matters differed considerably ; some 

 declaring him to be a very old deer past his prime, 

 commonly known as a bater, whilst others insisted he 

 was only a four-year-old. 



October ^th. — The hounds met this day at Jury Kennel, 

 and were moved to Blackmore's Lodge on Haddon. 

 Here he reported a brace of stags in Haddon Wood ; but 

 as he had harboured them the day before in Huskam 

 Wood, the tufters were ordered to draw this in their way 

 for Haddon Wood. They found directly ; and a brace of 

 fine stags broke together on to the hill, and made for 

 Upton, but had not gone far before they stopped in a 

 ravine. They now separated ; the oldest going over 

 Haddon and the other for Westhill Wood ; all but a 

 couple of the tufters were stopped, and these ran the 

 second stag to Hollery and on to Brendon Hill. The 

 pack was laid on the deer that crossed Haddon, ran him 

 to Wind Corner, and down through Birch Cleave to near 

 Bury village. He now backed it for Harford and went up 

 towards Deer Park, but backed it into Huskam Wood, 

 then broke again over Haddon. Here the pack got on 

 some hinds and a three-year-old male deer. It was 

 thought advisable to stop them, and nearly an hour was 

 lost before they again came on the line of their hunted 

 deer, which they did on Haddon farm, ran him over this 

 and Wind to Bury. He now broke into Hangman's 

 Wood, crossed the Haddeo between Forgan's Lodge and 

 Bury village, and up over the enclosures to Peter's Piece 

 plantation ; he now left this for Bury Wood, came again 

 to water on the Haddeo, and beat down for the Exe ; the 

 hounds ran him down the water to below Perry ; he now 



