MAMMALIA 



63 



of the huge pasty always provided for the guests, and the 

 excellent qualities of the liquor which slaked the thirst of those 

 who assisted in driving a Stag from the hill to the lower ground. 

 Once at bay, the animal was secured alive with ropes, in order 

 to afford sport in the annual celebration of the Inglewood Hunt. 

 Sometimes the quarry was obtained from Gowbarrow Park, 

 which the Martindale stags occasionally chose to visit, swimming 

 the lake near Howtown. As lately as October last I paid a 

 visit to both herds. This was all the more interesting, because 

 the arrival of the pairing season had induced the older stags 

 to join their seraglios. As soon as we entered Bannerdale a 

 stag commenced bellowing hoarsely on the Nab, and a few 

 minutes later we saw thirteen on the top of Rampsgill, stand- 

 ing out in clear relief against the sky-line far above us on the 

 left. 



Climbing the nearest face of the Nab, — the hill was slip- 

 pery from a frost which was fast melting in the sunshine, — 

 we soon saw three hinds gazing intently at us. A little more 

 walking brought us up to a fine stag accompanied by five hinds, 

 and then nine hinds appeared with a stag, whose weight was 

 guessed at 1 8 stone. After crossing a small ridge, we scrambled 

 along a small knoll on the wet hillside, and saw between sixty 

 and seventy head, old and young, beneath us, grouped together 

 in every possible variety of attitude. Some of them appeared 

 to be disconcerted by our appearance, and trotted hastily out of 

 sight. One or two of the older stags advanced a few yards 

 towards us, but they soon decided to retire, following in the 

 wake of the hinds and calves. For many years the breed 

 remained pure, but the present owner has recently introduced 

 a Scottish stag and a few young hinds, in the hope of improv- 

 ing the heads. They are very wild during the summer; as 

 Clarke says, they are not fed in winter, at least the majority are 

 not. Some of the younger animals are learning to avail them- 

 selves of the provision lately made for them in severe weather, 

 by the erection of feeding-troughs; a judicious arrangement, 

 and one well calculated to prevent a recurrence of the heavy 

 losses experienced by their owner in some seasons of long pro- 

 tracted frost and snow. The hardy Herdwick sheep character- 



