1 5 8 STA G- HUNTING ON EXMOOR. 



in the open, and it sometimes happens that a good 

 number in some seasons are killed on dry land ; but 

 while a hind, being defenceless, is sometimes killed 

 before she can reach the nearest water, a stag can 

 generally fight his way down to it. A hind has usually 

 little strength left in her by the time hounds run up to 

 her, but a stag, especially an old stag, often keeps 

 some In reserve for the final struggle. There are signs 

 by which it may be known when a deer is failing — the 

 slot shows the claws wider spread and the print of 

 the dew-claws, and the tracks show that the animal is 

 reeling. Again, a deer always ascends a hill slantingly, 

 and it is only when they have not strength to go to the 

 top that they try to climb straight up. It is when they 

 are thus pressed that they make those marvellous leaps, 

 even to fifteen feet high, to escape from their enemies. 

 As a rule a beaten stag blunders on as far as his 

 strength will let him, but a beaten hind is apt to turn 

 back at the last. 



A stag, and particularly an old stag, makes, as a 

 rule, a desperate fight for his life, and it is then very 

 dangerous to get too close to him. Hinds also will 

 turn and butt, but they of course are not to be dreaded 

 like stags. A stag at bay stands with his chin high 

 in the air, like the noble beast he is, not with his nose 



