DEER 105 



at his hocks. Even if he is standing still, a strong fresh deer 

 with the slightest advantage of ground will hold his own, and 

 the hounds will not go in at him. No doubt the men are 

 usually there or thereabouts, and the thongs in near earshot ; 

 no doubt, too, most of the hounds have had reason to acknow- 

 ledge at some time or other the flashing accuracy of a red 

 deer's forefoot ; but making due allowance for these considera- 

 tions, this can only be accounted for by the force of education 

 and example. The courage of individuals cannot be doubted. 

 A hound called Falkland, a three-season hunter which I sent 

 in a draft to Baron Houdemarre in Normandy, went straight 

 in at a wild boar the first day in a way which the Baron 

 described to me as heroic ; so did one or two of the others, 

 but Falkland would not have done this with a deer. Like 

 most people do, he conformed to public opinion. Not be- 

 cause he was in the least afraid of the deer, but because he, 

 the individual, had been merged in the pack. But a deer 

 must have the advantage, or at all events not the disadvan- 

 tage, of ground. In a ditch, for instance, he at once loses 

 all his prestige, and is in a fair way of losing his Hfe. The 

 best of deer have a great liking for deep wet ditches, and 

 seem to forget all sublunary things in their enjoyment of 

 them. A wired country is bad enough ; a wire fence some- 

 times throws a deer in a most disagreeable w^ay to see ; it 

 prevents the men riding to hounds and being there to help 

 him if he is in any straits ; but I declare water-meadows are 

 worse, and hounds should always be stopped at once. 



I spoke just now of the value of old past-master deer, 

 but it is only fair to say that an untried deer will often give 

 you a fine run. Indeed, as a rule, I think, a deer tells you 

 all about himself the first time you hunt him in an open 

 country. He may not give you a good run the first time, 

 but by the pricking of your thumbs or some other esoteric 

 connnunication you know that it is in him to do so. Thus 



