2 THE RED DEER OF EX MOOR. 



North Devon and West Somerset that the deer 

 found sanctuary ; and the reason why here, and here 

 only, they were safe may fairly be said to have 

 been because here, and here only, the great merit of 

 the red deer as a beast of venery was duly recognised 

 and appreciated by the people. Laws might exist, 

 and might be enforced with never so much vigour, 

 but the deer would have perished had it not been 

 that the whole country loved the sport of stag- 

 hunting. How absolutely the existence of the deer 

 depended on their being hunted is clearly shown 

 from the fact that when, in the early part of the last 

 century, staghunting was at a low ebb, deer poaching 

 was rife ; but with the revival of staghunting 

 poaching has almost disappeared. What a deep 

 debt of gratitude the country owes to Mr. John Palk 

 Collyns, Mr. Froude Bellew, and a few others who 

 kept the staghounds going through the times of 

 trouble, and thus preserved the herd from extinction, 

 is fully appreciated by a grateful countryside, and 

 their memories are honoured when the old toast of 

 " Prosperity to Staghunting" is drunk. The 

 ancient Royal Forest of Exmoor is the true centre 

 of staghunting, and the history of the forest, the 

 history of the deer, and the history of staghunting 

 are indissolubly bound up together. 



As the train rolls westward from Bridgwater we 

 cross a muddy and singularly uninteresting tidal 

 river, the Parret, and enter the red deer country. 

 Uninteresting as the Parret is at first sight, it is 



