Gents Mag 1899 part 2 p.540
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Gentleman's Magazine 1899 part 2 p.540
upon the other. He had not noticed the addition, having straightway turned the whole drove into a large field among the others. How to pick out the missing ones seemed impossible, as they had no distinctive brand mark, till one noticed his neighbour's dog, which had followed him. "Dosta think t' ahld dog 'll ken 'em?" "Ah don't knah, but mebe she will. Nell, tell mine!"The dog chased round the flock and almost immediately singled three for special attention; the humans, it may be added, accepted this verdict. The sheep-dogs of the fells are sheep-dogs alone, seldom descending to the chase, and bearing themselves on all occasins with dignity and decorum. In breed they are chiefly Old English, or that crossed with the Scotch collie, very handsome animals both of them. The pure-bred collie, being incapable of withstanding the exposure of a life on the mountain side, is lost to its natural duties and instincts. The dreary grey-green slopes of the mountains are the best grazing ground, and these affording few picturesque views are avoided by the popular touring routes. Yet in an excursion between Little Langdale and Eskdale, over a pack-horse trail now little used, a flock of sheep, under the control of a shepherd and two dogs, may be met. Passing over Wrynose, a man is seen coming up the narrow valley. In irregular strings, grey fleeces wander along at different levels, over scree and boulders, in and out of craggy ghylls, across patches of damp, wiry bent-grass, and it is difficult to understand that this crowd of animals is under complete command of the heavy-booted dalesman. Two dogs, one grey, the other black, are barely visible, yet so alert that at the first shrill whistle they will instantly drive the sheep nearest them more quickly forward (and what one sheep does the rest follow), or bring the wings of the flock nearer the centre as desired. They are always on the look-out for stragglers, and it is indeed a smart animal that can break back without being caught. The Shepherd's Year may be said to begin in the spring after the Shepherd's Meet. This festival was founded when communication between outlying districts was very difficult for the return to their owners of strayed sheep. When a wander was found during autumn or winter the shepherd incorporated it in his flock till the Meet, which was held at some secluded place among the fell-heads. The institution is now almost dead - its glory has departed, and the work-a-day fells do not tolerate useless cere- |
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