The Bedale Hounds, 1832-1908 121 



utterly hopeless attempting to catch them 

 up, and a goodly number never saw a hound 

 again that day. What had happened was 

 — the fox had turned when' half way up the 

 hill and then made a bee line back to the 

 breeding ''earths'' three or four fields west 

 of Dalton Whin. As these are in the York 

 country they could not dig. 



I had to catch a train at Thirsk in the 

 afternoon, where I fell in with Elliot and 

 party ; all in high feather and, of course, full 

 of chaff. They told me the fox only escaped 

 by the skin of his teeth, going to ground in 

 view. Two hours and five minutes.'' 



1887—88. Again, Mr. ElUot'did not mean 

 the grass to grow under his feet, or his 

 hounds to be wanting in occupation, as he 

 managed to put in ninety-eight days hunting, 

 closing his season earlier than in the previous 

 lyears, on the 18th April, and killing twenty- 

 'two and a half brace of foxes. 



At the end of this season, owing to in- 

 creasing pressure of his Parliamentary duties, 

 Mr. Elliot gave up the hounds. His four 

 seasons at the head of affairs had been very 

 successful ones, and he had kept the ' * tam- 

 bourine a-roUing ' ' not only .as regards sport, 

 but festivities and fun generally. 



In February, 1888, a question arose 

 with the Hurworth (through the lifting of a 

 litter of cubs) as to the correct Hunt boun- 

 dary between Northallerton,' and South 

 Otterington. 



The Bedale claimed as their eastern boun- 



