20 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



of a ' Mart ' hunt that no apology need be made for quoting it 

 in extenso : — 



' The meet/ he says, ' was at Wastdale, one of the grandest 

 and most secluded valleys in the Lake district. Long before 

 daybreak we were awakened, at the little inn, by the voice of 

 the huntsman who had arrived with six couple of hounds, vary- 

 ing in size from a beagle to a foxhound, together with three 

 wire-haired terriers. As the mist still hung like a wet blanket 

 on the hills, and the day had not yet broken, it was decided 

 that we should begin by trying our luck on the low ground at 

 the head of the valley, and thither we accordingly bent our steps. 

 We proceeded thus for nearly an hour, and though an occasional 

 whimper from one of the hounds led us to think that something 

 had passed that way during the night, if it had done so we were 

 quite unable to hit off its line. Being particularly anxious to 

 show some sport, the huntsman now resolved to take to the 

 hills, notwithstanding the mist; and, having received instruc- 

 tions to keep well together, we commenced the ascent of 

 Yewbarrow, a mountain rather over 2000 feet in height. It 

 soon became evident that something was on foot; the hounds 

 showed evident signs of excitement, eagerly examining ever}^ 

 nook and crevice, and stopping now and again to drink in, as it 

 were, the scent from all the rocks. Still they seemed at a loss, 

 until an old dog, which had been steadily hunting at a little 

 distance from the rest, suddenly commenced to give tongue. 

 The others made a rush towards him, and the whole pack was 

 quickly off full cry up the face of the mountain, raising a chorus 

 which resounded from crag to crag across the valley below, and 

 was re-echoed again and again from the rugged sides of Scawfell 

 and the adjoining heights. The object of our early start now 

 became manifest ; the knowing ones proclaimed that it was a 

 Mart which we were in pursuit of, and that we were probably 

 close upon it, having no doubt taken it unawares before it had 

 returned home from its nocturnal rambles. The hunting now 

 commenced in earnest — no easy galloping over well-kept pastures,. 

 no awaiting one's turn to pass through a crowded gate or well- 

 worn gap, no convenient check at a pleasant covert-side, but 

 downright hard work, not unaccompanied with the spice of 



