DEVON AND SOMERSET. 269 



trail of scent on the land, whereby their pursuers 

 may follow them, but in the same line of white 

 tumbling foam lies one of their dangers, for though 

 amongst the boulders of a rocky beach or 

 further out amongst the tumbling breakers they 

 may be hard to distinguish from the crest of 

 the cliffs above, vet when they stand defined 

 against the snow white line of surf they are 

 easily espied and then their troubles thicken. 

 Often they will go to sea again and again, only 

 to find themselves met each time by the inde- 

 fatigable huntsman, whose chief care is to keep 

 his shivering hounds as far as possible out of 

 the numbing chill of the water and in the lea 

 of some headland of rock that may break the 

 force of the breeze. 



For the winds blow rough on Exmoor and 

 in all its neighbourhood, and the rain falls cold 

 and heavy, and the life of hounds and horses 

 is one in which the elements are generally 

 averse, and much has to be endured. Driven 

 by the gale the sheets of rain fly level along 

 the hillsides in misty columns, which strike 

 through the thickest protection, and a couple 

 of hours on an exposed sea beach at the end 

 of a heated chase will stiffen the pack almost 

 beyond recognition. 



To carry much weight over a country so 

 hilly horses need much careful management, 

 and the chief strain comes at the time of 



