l68 HISIORY OF THE BRAMHAM MOOR HUNT. 



'December 24th. Wigliill village. Tried Shire Oaks, blank. 

 ' Went to Hutton Thorns. Found ; and away at once to 

 ' Hessay, nearly to Harevvood's Whin, turned to the right 

 'past Rufforth, Hutton Hall, over Marston Hill, Fairy 

 ' Carrs ; left Duce Wood on the left, pointed for Deighton 

 ' village ; came to a check by the drain before reaching 

 'Wighill coach road, hit him off, and ran Ijack, leaving 

 ' Bilton on the left, past Marston and Hutton Hall, Collier 

 ' Hagg, and Swann's Whin ; forward, leaving Grange 

 'Wood on the left, Askham on the right, to the Bogs, 

 'skirting the corner on to Copmanthorpe, turned to the 

 'right, ran hard to Bilbrough. ( )ur fo.x. was in Colonel 

 ' Fairfax's garden, slipped out, ran a ring round the village, 

 'and got to ground in the small planting. The first fifty 

 ' minutes to near Wighill was most severe, and few could 

 ' live with hounds ; the country very deep. They continued 

 ' to run on, and, I believe, a fresh fox jumped up in front 

 'of them as they ran over Marston Hill. Hounds (the 

 ' bitch pack) ran without ceasing for three hours, — deserved 

 'their fox. All the horses were tired ; it was a tremendous 

 'hard run.' 



There is little doubt but what hounds changed at least 

 three or four times. That they changed at Wighill, some- 

 where between the villao-e and the coach road, was .Smith's 

 opinion, and at Marston Hill there was no mistake about it, 

 as the fresh fo.x jumped up in view in a field of turnips. 



They had three days in the early part of January ; on 

 the 1st killing a brace of fo.xes after good runs from Hook 

 Moor, and on the 5th they had a fair day from Cross 

 Roads, Bramham Moor, running a brace to ground. The 

 remainder of January was spent in grumbling at the pro- 

 lono'ed frost, and wonderino" when we should i^et to work 

 again ; and it was not till February 3rd that hounds were 

 able to make another appearance in the field. Then after 

 the sudden thaw the riding was bad. That, however, could 

 have be(Mi put up with if scent had been .satisfactory, but 



