MASTERSHIP OF STAGHOUNDS 221 



But in the West you must not only know whence 

 your venison cometh, but on what day the mort was 

 sounded over him. 



But there is a vast difference between 1879 and 1903. 

 In addition to the old-established pack, now under the 

 Mastership of Mr. R. A. Sanders, we have Sir John 

 Amory's, kennelled at Tiverton ;the Barnstaple Hounds, 

 under the joint Mastership of Captain Paterson and 

 Mr. A. Clarke, with kennels at Brinsworthy, near 

 Barnstaple ; and the Quantocks, over which Mr. E. A. V. 

 Stanley presides and acts as his own huntsman. More- 

 over, the farmers say that they want and must have 

 more hunting, owing to the extent to which the stags 

 have increased and multiplied. Now, the damage 

 caused by a fox is infinitesimal in comparison with the 

 damage which can be caused by a stag before the 

 harvest is in. Besides, it is easy to compensate the 

 small farmer for the loss of a few turkeys or fowls, but 

 it is difficult to assess the damage caused to a field of 

 standing corn. 



I have already referred to Mr. Bisset, to whom 

 modern stag-hunting on Exmoor may to a certain 

 large extent be regarded as a monument. I should like 

 to add a few words about him in his capacity of a 

 Master of Hounds. " Mention his name," says Mr. 

 Fortescue, " to any of the yeomen or farmers, who 

 knew him in the stag-hunting district, and they will 

 say, ' Mr. Bisset — ah, he was a good gentleman.' " Plain 

 words, but what words could convey higher praise ? 

 Yet I doubt if Mr. Bisset was popular with the strangers 

 in the field. These strangers might be divided into two 



