CHAPTER Yl. 



The Zetland Hunt. 



Probably some of my read-ers may bo getting tired of the 

 frequent referenoes in this volume to the latei John Green- 

 weill, of Broomshields, but it ig impo'ssible for m© to writ© of 

 the earlier hunting which I saw without: bringing his nam© 

 in. He was suoh an enthusiastio and whole-hearted foxhunter, 

 such a. preserver of foxes, and was so deeply versed in foxlore, 

 that it was a, pleasure for anyone of similar tastes to go about 

 with him. Together in schoolboy days w© learnt something of 

 the mysteries of earth stopping, and it was in his company 

 that I first saw anything of what is now the Zetland country. 

 But this was during the late Mr. Cradook's time, and before 

 Lord Zetland took the country more than fifty years ago. And 

 first' I may explain for the benefit of those who do not know the 

 district thati the Zetland country is partly in Durham and 

 partly in Yorkshire, the two districts being of about equal sdz©, 

 and divided by the river T^ies as it flows from Barnard Castle 

 to Croft. Hounds go west, of Barnard Castle on both banks 

 of the river, but the best part of the hunti, broadly speaking, 

 has Darlington at its eastern end, and Barnard Castle in Dur- 

 ham and Richmond in Yorkshire at. its western end. My first 

 recollections of the pack are, however, with the extreme 

 northern part of the hunt, which extends as far as the river 

 Weiar — which, indeed, separates it from the North Durham 

 country for a. considerable distance, in the neighbourhood of 

 Wolsingham, Witton-le-Wear, and Etherley. It was this 

 part' of Mr. Cradock's hunt that I first saw, more particularly 

 when hounds were in th© neighbourhood of Hamsterley, or at 

 the Black Banks, a fir covert overhanging th© Wear, and to 

 th© besti of my knowledge the most northerly covert drawn 



