216 SHOOTING. 



Spittle, near Bowes, in Yorkshire, may be regarded as a sort 

 of general rendezvous for those sportsmen who either do not 

 choose to ask, or are unable to obtain, permission to range 

 more particular domains. At this place, there is a great extent 

 of moor, which is claimed by a number of proprietors, who pos- 

 sess no paramount right, and therefore are unable to prevent 

 a general unsolicited range, which uniformly takes place. At 

 the same time the mountains are much better travelling than 

 they will be found in many other places, and being surrounded 

 by excellent preserves scarcely ever fail to abound in game. 

 Spittle is also a general resort for dog dealers and dog stealers ; 

 and the sportsman who visits this neighbourhood unprovided with 

 this very essential assistant in the chase, may be accommodated 

 exactly according to his means, or the price he is willing to give. 

 But, though this may be a general practice, it is one " more 

 honoured in the breach than the observance ;" and that sports- 

 man who depends upon such suspicious means, will hardly fail 

 to experience disappointment. 



Ten brace of grouse may be bagged on the 12th of August, 

 on the Bowes moors, on which, at this period, a general flashing 

 is kept up from one extremity to the other. At some distance 

 further Lord Stanley occupies some excellent moors, at a place 

 called Mucar (I am not certain as to the spelling of the name) 

 and in the early part of the season generally averages twenty 

 brace per day. His Lordship, however is much annoyed by 

 poachers ; and, as a curious instance of this sort occured three 

 years ago, I will take the liberty of relating it \ his Lordship's 

 watchers had frequently observed a stranger, accompanied by 

 one dog only, who, in defiance of all authority, took the diver- 

 sion of grouse shooting on his Lordship's preserve. The 

 watchers had repeatedly approached this unasked and unwelcome 

 visitor ; but when they came within a hundred yards of him, he 

 uniformly altered his position, or moved on, and moved so 



