302 THE RED DEER OF EXMOOR. 



of the herd afterwards. Followers of the hounds 

 owe a deep debt of gratitude to his memory. 



Mr. Bisset had, like all other Masters of hounds, 

 to endure a large amount of obloquy, particularly 

 owing: to his strict adherence to all the old laws of 

 staghunting, written and unwritten laws which had 

 been almost completely disregarded for many years, 

 but by 1870 he had conclusively proved how right 

 he had been throughout, and no less than four 

 hundred and thirty grateful supporters contributed 

 to present him with his portrait. 



As the herd increased and as the popularity of the 

 sport increased — and the history of Mr. Bisset's 

 Mastership is a story of continual upward progress — 

 the number of hunting days had to be increased. 

 Mr. Bisset began by hunting twenty-five days in a 

 season — the whole season, not staghunting only — 

 but by 1 87 1 this had risen to fifty, and continued 

 steadily to be added to, for now we come across the 

 first traces of a difficulty, which subsequently grew 

 and grew until it almost threatened the existence of 

 the hunt — namely, the superabundance of deer. 



The crowds of hinds in Horner was then, as now, 

 one of the chief sources of trouble, and to meet it 

 Mr. Bisset determined to hunt many consecutive 

 days together in Horner, and to hunt with relays of 

 hounds. 



In 1875 Mr. Bisset generously bought a small 

 property at Exford, and thereon built at his own 

 expense the present kennels and stables. Everything 



