44 The Natural History of British Game Birds 
stated that the first person to shoot Grouse on the wing was a member of his family 
who died in 1687. In the early days of the muzzle-loader, bags of Grouse were 
small. Thus we read of a Teesdale keeper being matched to kill forty-three brace of 
Grouse on August 12, 1840. His performance of the feat was considered remarkable. 
Three brace per gun was voted as good, and fifty brace in the day unusual for a party 
in 1841, when driving was instituted. In 1849 on Ryshwork and Edwardes's moors 
a record bag of 448 Grouse was obtained. 1 After this, Yorkshire moors improved steadily, 
for in the year 1872, on Mr. R. H. Rimington-Wilson's moor at Broomhead, 1313 brace 
were killed in one day by eleven guns. Wemmergill was equally prolific in this famous 
season. In six days a party of six guns killed 3983-^ brace, whilst no fewer than 
17,074 birds were shot in the whole season, of which the late Sir Frederick Milbank 
claimed 5668. The average bag on this moor for twelve years was 4133 brace. The 
largest actual bag in one day for Wemmergill was made on August 20, 1872 : 1035 
brace were shot by six guns, Sir Frederick accounting for 728 birds. 
Some doubts having been cast on the remarkable bags of Grouse made on the Wem- 
mergill Moors in 1872, it will be of interest to quote a letter written by Sir Frederick 
Milbank on October 17, 188 1, which appeared in the Field (August 15, 1908) : — 
"Dear Sir,' — I have pleasure to give you information concerning some of the shooting. 
On August 22, 1872, I killed to my own gun on the Wemmergill Moors (which are now in 
my possession), about fifteen miles due west of Barnard Castle, 730 grouse, and I may also 
add, what may appear more extraordinary, nevertheless true, viz., that in three successive drives 
on that day as I stood in my butt — 150 grouse, 140 grouse, and 190 grouse. At the latter 
drive I did it exactly in twenty-three minutes ; the other two drives took not more than thirty 
minutes each. I may also say that five other gentlemen were shooting in other stands, and 
made very large bags. 
"All my birds were laid out in rows at every drive, which is our practice with all shooters, 
in full view of everybody, and counted before every one of the shooters, keepers, and 
drivers who may choose to be present, and the birds are again checked off by the man who 
is in charge of the game cart at a distance (as the moors are too boggy for the cart to get 
near the butts) as he receives them from the men with ponies and panniers. By this means 
we know the result of the entire bag before getting home, when the birds are counted over 
in the buttery. And I may here mention, on that day the entire bag showed twenty birds more 
than the shooters claimed, accounted for by drivers picking up dead and wounded birds during 
the drive. 
"Altogether we were six shooters; the total bag for the day was 2070 grouse, and one of 
the gentlemen (Lord Rivers) only arrived on the ground at half-past two o'clock. These are 
the shooters : F. A. Milbank, Powlett Milbank (my second son), Mark Milbank (my eldest 
brother), Lord Rivers, Mr. T. Preston (Moreby Hall, York), Mr. Collinson. 
"The possibility of my shooting 190 grouse in twenty-three minutes has often been ques- 
tioned, and people who know nothing about grouse driving say, ' He must have killed five 
and six at a shot,' and 'It is so many a minute!' I answer that during the whole of that 
day's shooting, but twice only I killed two birds at one shot. I had three guns and two 
loaders, and not for one second did I stop or cease shooting, except to allow my loaders to 
load quick enough. Put up a target the size of a grouse at twenty-five or thirty yards, get 
three guns, and three loaders, and see how many shots a minute you can shoot ! Well, that 
is the very way I shot the grouse. The birds never ceased for one second in coming in a 
continual stream. 
1 Field, Aug. 17, 1907. 
