THE HAYDON COUNTRY. 125 



kDown and most successful of these is the Border, of which 

 Mr. Jacob Robson has been for many years Master or joint 

 Master. Mr. Robson describes his country as " chiefly moor- 

 land," and though he has some nice vale country in the 

 neighbourhood of Bellingham, a majority of his big hunts — 

 of which he has many in the course of every season — take 

 place on the moors. Possibly my soldier correspondent has 

 been confusing the Border with the Braes of Derwent. An- 

 other moorland country is the North Tyne, immediately south 

 of the Border. There are also in Yorkshire the Goathland, 

 Farndale, Stainton Dale, and Bilsdale, which are not entirely 

 but to a great extent moorland packs, while many of the 

 Welsh packs have a great deal of moorland country, as have 

 some of the Devon packs. Indeed, I have spent one or two 

 whole days on the heather with the Exmoor, which, I need 

 hardly say, have their country inside that of the Devon and 

 Somerset Staghound country. 



The occasional moorland hunting I have seen in the north 

 of England has seldom been satisfactory from a rider's point 

 of view, chiefly because of the soft places which are to be 

 found on all moors in winter time, and also because the various 

 inclosures are in these days — wherever I have been — separated 

 by wire. The actual bog occurs at times, but it is boggy land 

 rather than a distinct bog which pulls one up, and which 

 at times will carry a man, but not a horse with a rider on 

 his back. To get off and lead, or to turn away and look for 

 sounder ground, is the only thing to be done, and a proces- 

 sion of ladies leading their horses through a few acres of very 

 soft going has its comic side. At times, however, especially 

 when the heather has been recently burnt, the going is found 

 to be both firm and good ; but, if possible, cart tracks should 

 be used, and until one rides over moors it is difficult to realise 

 what a considerable number of these cart tracks there are. 

 Sheep tracks generally show where the ground is sound, but 

 it is hopeless work following hounds that are running hard 

 on a sheep track, for the sheep track will twist about and make 

 a quarter of a mile into double the distance. A fox which 

 goes straight on to the moors is probably a moorland fox who 

 knows his way, and, generally speaking, both Mr. Priestraan 

 and Mr. Rogerson will have hounds stopped (if possible) from 



