THE BRAES OF DERWENT COUNTRY. 67 



foxes. This waa in the early autumn of what particular year 

 I do not remember, but some time in the 'seventies, nor have 

 I any recollection of how Captain Apperley fared. What I 

 do know is that I had a letter from John Greenwell one day, 

 telling me he was going to have a hunt with these hounds, and 

 asking me to go with him. We sent two horses on to Blanch- 

 land, drove there one afternoon, saw the keeper — I think 

 there was no one at the shooting lodge that week — and arranged 

 to be at Riddlehamhope at eight on the following morning. 



Meantime we stayed all night at the popular Crewe Arms 

 at Blanchland, and if my recollection is correct we arranged 

 that one or two of the local farmers should join us in the 

 morning. This same morning was very hot, and we drew the 

 Triangle, Ellers Hill, and other coverts without finding. 

 Hounds were then put into the Gill at Gibraltar, to draw 

 down below Newbiggin House, andi here they found and 

 quickly reached Deborah Wood, where they divided — we had 

 only six or seven couples — but after a. time four and & half 

 couples took a line out at the south end of the wood near the 

 spot where there was once a lead mine. Going on southwards 

 for a while, they did not quite reach the top of the hill, but 

 turned towards Ruflfside, and we followed them as best w© 

 could over the moor, hitting ofiF the Shotley Bridge-Blanchland 

 road about a mile west of Edmundbyers. There had been 

 some ten or twelve horsemen — mostly hill farmers on ponies 

 — with us when we started, but when we left Deborah Wood 

 we had lost all our following except one farmer, and we had 

 also lost about two couples of our very small pack. The nine 

 hounds which went through this run were, however, very 

 staunch, and though they frequently checked, and were cast 

 by John Greenwell, who carried the horn, they kept worrying 

 on the line throughout a long autumn day. Reaching the 

 lower ground below Hunter House the fox travelled down the 

 river (Derwent) side to Redwell Hall, and then turned up the 

 hill to Manor House. Of course he was not being pressed, and 

 could pick and choose his ground, and, curiously enough, he 

 had undoubtedly a great liking for the open, and either did 

 not know or cared little for the coverts. From Manor House 

 we worked across to Shotley Field, and hounds ran through 

 the top end of Walker Shank — near which place a flight of 



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