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also took place from LiDwood Moss — it was a frightfully wet 

 day — when a fox broke in the direction of Houston, and on 

 through Elphiuston. The field here, somehow, all got thrown 

 out, and Mr. Thomas Speirs on his stallion was the only one 

 who wont on, with two couple of hounds, to ground at Knock - 

 mountain. A short sharp spin from Craigmarlock down to 

 Finlaystone originated the Craigmarlock Club, Mr. Allan 

 Scott and Mr. Aird being the chief promoters. Amongst the 

 Members were Messrs. Scott, J. Morrison, R. Armour, D. 

 Hunter, W. Redfern, Aird, Brodie, Murray, Clapperton, C. T. 

 Dunlop, Kelly, &c. Many jovial Meetings we used to have, 

 which were held in the Waverley Hotel, when song and 

 sentiment prevailed to the " wee hour ayont the twal." 

 There was no Forbes Mackenzie in those days. The Club has 

 not held a Meeting for many years. John Harrison, who 

 hunted the hounds before Squires came here, was a first-rate 

 huntsman, but was rather apt to lose his head at an intricate 

 cast with a lot of hard-riding Glasgow men pressing on his 

 hounds (one of whom, a first-rate fellow, and now married, I 

 heard once say, " bother the hounds, can't we do without 

 them "). Latterly, John was a little too much addicted to 

 examining the inside of a black bottle ; and I daresay a number 

 of old hunting men will never forget one Christmas day, 

 when, mounted on old Simon, he jumped a tremendous wall, 

 with a wire along the top of it, near the Skiff. John was 

 sent home, and Sandy Chalmers, first whip, took the horn, 

 but they had no sport. The Colonel, when he heard of it, 

 said it served the hunt jolly well right for taking the hounds 

 out on Christmas day. It was entirely a subscription pack 

 then, A nasty accident happened to the father of the present 

 Mr. Sudden, who keeps the excellent hostelry at Kilwinning. 

 One day, when riding a horse belonging to Mr. J. Steven, in 

 jumping out of the Skifflat wood, his horse put his foot in a 

 hole and rolled over him. He was picked up for dead, 

 recovered a little, however, but was never the same man 

 again, and died shortly afterwards. A very unprecedented 

 circumstance once occurred at the Waukmill Glen. A brace 



