INTRODUCTION 7 



recognized and encouraged by generations of former 

 owners of their newly acquired acres, they are 

 depriving the inhabitants, condemned by circum- 

 stance to Hve at home all the year round, of the one 

 form of recreation best suited to relieve the monotony 

 of a somewhat colourless existence. 



Reference has been made to the bogs of Dartmoor. 

 There are two varieties : the wet bog, locally called 

 a Mire, in the valleys ; and the Bog proper, con- 

 sisting of dry, powdery peat, on the very summit of 

 the hills. The latter are worse than the former and 

 more difficult to distinguish from sound ground. 

 There are also gradations between the tw^o. I do 

 not recall ever hearing of any authentic case of a 

 man or a horse being bogged irretrievably. One 

 bad experience, among many, occurred with the 

 Mid-Devon hounds on Boxing Day, 1892. For five 

 miles we had galloped over sound turf. Then the 

 character of the ground changed, and the frozen 

 crust of the bog lured us on for a considerable dis- 

 tance before we broke through. Soon half a dozen 

 or more horses were down at once and the plunging 

 and struggling began. Presently the horses sub- 

 sided, too blown for further effort, and we were 

 able to survey the scene. All around, horses in 

 various positions : one on its side, another sitting 

 up like a dog, a third with all four legs underground ; 

 on the edge of the bog, a knot of horsemen who had 

 pulled up in time, clustered round the " Bishop of 

 Dartmoor," the Rev. W. H. Thornton, whose ex- 

 hortation to " come back " we should gladly have 

 followed if we could ; and, away in the distance, the 

 pack running on, unattended, into the silence of the 

 forest. 



Meanwhile Mr. Hayter-Hames and Mr. Prickman, 



