408 tfHE ZOOLOGIST. 



fields at the head of the lake constrasting well with the dark sides of 

 the surrounding heights. Towering above, Lingmell, Great Gable, 

 and Scawfell Pikes seemed to watch over the scene, while away to the 

 west the waves of the Irish Sea sparkled under the rays of the morning 

 sun. Close to us a pair of Ravens and a Buzzard, attracted by our 

 presence, were doubtless wondering who it was that had ventured to 

 invade their domain. But it would not do to linger; already the 

 hounds were out of sight, and nothing but their baying would enable 

 us to follow in their track. 



" Another check, this time amongst a quantity of loose boulders, 

 extending for some hundreds of yards in each direction. Again the 

 terriers were set to work, and again the Mart continued on his way 

 unharmed. It was, however, the beginning of the end. We were now 

 on the summit of the mountain, and before us extnnded a grassy 

 plateau, only here and there broken by fragments of rocks. The 

 quarry was evidently making for the Pillar Mountain, which stood out 

 in the distance, a notable stronghold for birds and beasts of prey, and 

 which, if once reached, would afford a certain protection. Bravely the 

 little creature raced on, no longer stopping to take refuge in the rocks, 

 which it knew could not give it shelter, but staking all on its swiftness 

 of foot. On the level ground, however, it had no chance, though it 

 managed to head its pursuers for about a mile after leaving the rocks. 

 The actual circumstances of its death need no description ; in fact, the 

 hounds alone were present at the critical moment. The huntsman, 

 however, arrived in time, and we were able to carry off the skin as a 

 memento of our day's hunting amongst the Cumberland mountains." * 



It is in this sort of country that, so far as England and Wales 

 are concerned, one has the best chance of viewing a Marten ; for 

 in the great woods of the midlands and south-western counties, 

 where a few of these animals still linger, their arboreal habits 

 render them, amidst the dense foliage and old hollow trees, 

 extremely difficult to discover, except by accident. 



For some years past, in fact ever since the appearance of the 

 second edition of Bell's * British Quadrupeds,' in 1874, 1 have lost 

 no opportunity of collecting information concerning the occur- 

 rence of the rarer species, and the result is an accumulation of 

 notes that by this time would fill another volume of the same size. 

 Those on the Marten would probably fill an entire number of 

 1 The Zoologist.' 



* ' The Field,' Gth Dec, 1879. 



