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THE 
 
 MOOR AND THE LOCH 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 MINUTE INSTRUCTIONS IN ALL HIGHLAND SPORTS 
 
 WANDERINGS OVER CRAG AND CORREI, 
 "FLOOD AND FELL" 
 
 JOHN COLQUHOUN, ESQ. 
 
 THIRD EDITION 
 
 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 
 
 EDINBURGH AND LONDON 
 
 MDCCCLI 
 

 TO 
 
 SIR JAMES COLQUHOUN OF LUSS, BAKT, 
 
 LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON* 
 
 IN REMEMBRANCE OF 
 THE MANY RAMBLES WE HAVE TAKEN TOGETHER 
 
 IN BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 
 
 WITH OUR FISHING-RODS AND GUNS 
 
 THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS BROTHER 
 
 293 
 
Ilk flow'r that blooms on foreign fell 
 Wad mind me o' the heather bell; 
 Ilk little streamlet's jeuk and turn 
 Wad mind me o' Glenourock burn. 
 Lands may be fair ayont the sea, 
 But Hieland hills and lochs for me !' 
 
PEEFACE TO THIED EDITION 
 
 IN order to make my book on Highland Recreations 
 complete, I have united it with " Rocks and Rivers." 
 The materials have also increased on mj hands, 
 it being mj constant habit to mark down every 
 novelty not, however, entering it as manuscript 
 until strictly subjected to further observation. 
 
 Without the slightest pretension to be called a 
 Naturalist, I have always endeavoured to keep my 
 eyes open when the wilder points of Nature were 
 unfolded before me ; and I can truly say, that no 
 part of my mountain-life has given me such unmixed 
 delight as watching for myself the minute and tender 
 care of the Great Parent of all good, in adapting 
 these creatures of the storm to their solitudes, and 
 spreading before them " a table in the wilderness." 
 
Vlll PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Buffon, when asked the secret of his success, 
 replied, " I have sat at my desk for fifty years ! " 
 Much, therefore, of his choicest information must 
 have been derived from hunters, all of whom ought 
 to be amateur naturalists. When we see the blun- 
 ders bequeathed from scribe to scribe, even in many 
 books of good authority, it gives great encouragement 
 to those whose amusements afford them the means 
 of noticing remote and peculiar creatures, to com- 
 municate to the scientific their own fresh and natural 
 remarks. In regard to the habits of fish especially, 
 no man is better qualified to give accurate information 
 than a finished angler ; for much of his superiority 
 must consist in having a more thorough knowledge 
 than his neighbour of all their wiles and ways. 
 
 Perhaps a more favourable observatory of this 
 kind could scarcely be found than my present fasci- 
 nating home on the banks of Loch Awe. The crow 
 of the moorcock is heard from our windows, the bell 
 of the roebuck, in the adjacent hanging wood, sounds 
 close to our door ; a good eye and glass may 
 command the correis of Ben Cruachan ; infinite 
 varieties of wildfowl crowd our Loch in winter, 
 
PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. IX 
 
 many of them rare Polar visitors ; the salmon 
 streams of the Awe and Urchay are within easy 
 distance, and the mighty Ferox roams our ^shores for 
 miles. 
 
 Having some sympathy with the classic chronicler 
 of Selborne, who, lamenting the scarcity of quadru- 
 peds in our island, remarks that " every new species 
 is a great acquisition," I have determined to keep 
 my hands clear of the extermination of any. The 
 marten, the wild-cat, the kite, and the eagle, are not 
 banished from the shaggy woods and rough braes of 
 Sonachan and Barbea they are scarcely grudged 
 a share of the spoil ; and though this whimsical 
 forbearance may subject me to the charge of having 
 sunk the sportsman in the " amateur naturalist/' it 
 is an accusation to which I can very cheerfully plead 
 " Guilty." 
 
 April 1851. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 A PLEA FOR THE WASTES 
 
 Page 
 
 A shrewd citizen's plan for making money of the Premier Loch at the 
 expense of its sterile "Ben." His partnership in the firm sug- 
 gested. Loch Bah, and Lochan Nahachalach. Juxtaposition of 
 golden and sea eagles' eyries. Corrach-Bah. Expedition from 
 Glasgow to the Black Mount. Trolling rods in danger of being 
 impressed as sailors. Rescued by a landlord and returned by a 
 post. Inveruran. Peter Robertson. Forest scenes. Male 
 golden eagle. The eyrie. Stalking the female. Strength and 
 ferocity of eagles. The author in " his chariot" drives to Loch 
 Awe. Sandy M'Kenzie and his man Johnny. Castle Connal. 
 A Highland chief stabbed by a penknife ! A fifty-year-old 
 badger. Anecdotes of badgers Hooking a fine ferox opposite 
 the Gled's Nest. Johnny's Government grievances. The mur- 
 dered Tinker's Cairn. His savage wife. Well-meant endeavours 
 to set Johnny and the Government at one again. Logical reason- 
 ing to that effect. Adieu to poor Sandy and Loch Awe, . 1 
 
 DEER- STALKING 
 
 No sport more dependent on weather. Difficulty of knowing the 
 points where the wind strikes fair. Novices generally miss from 
 nervousness. No man with good nerves need despair of being a 
 tolerable rifle-shot. American backwoodsmen and their ill-poised 
 rifles. The old Highland deer-stalker. The left-shouldered 
 man. Very deliberate shooting necessary for deer. Best stalk- 
 ing weather. Bright sun. High wind. Mist. South and west 
 wind. High and low passes. Ox deer. Best time for a quiet 
 shot. Stalking between deer. Down hill. Quick sight of 
 foresters. Best chances at old harts. Driving on a large scale. 
 On a small scale. Risk of the herd seeing the least motion. 
 
xil CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Gleiiartney Forest. The Black Mount. Fine deer of that forest. 
 The battle. Shooting one of the combatants. The virtuoso. 
 Forest baths. Cunning of the old harts. Fierce stag. Massy 
 antlers of a park red-deer, 
 
 WILD-GOATS 
 
 Their splendid horns and long hair. Game and tact of these goats. 
 Erratic habits even of the tame goat. The truants from Glen- 
 Douglas and Tyndrum. Goat-stalking a substitute for deer, . 55 
 
 CRAP-NA-GOWER 
 
 The bearded chief. Naval expedition against his territories. Chief 
 
 and his henchman slain, . . . . . .58 
 
 SALMON-ANGLING 
 
 Its fascination to men of genius. Stately i-ivers. Highland salmon 
 streams. Kivers in flood. When fallen low. General directions 
 as to the size and colour of the fly to suit the different states of 
 the water. Trolling with par. With minnow. Worm angling 
 for salmon. Daintiness of salmon. Their occasional greedi- 
 ness. Causes which prevent fish from rising to a fly, . . 67 
 
 TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX 
 
 Haunts of the salmo-ferox. Level shores. Steep rocky banks. 
 Trolling depths when loch is large or discoloured. When small 
 and clear. Baits suitable for both moods of the water. Sep- 
 tember baits. Feroxes choose deeper water in autumn. Often 
 keep the middle of the loch then. Five days' trolling on Loch 
 Awe. King Alexander's hunting-ground. The Black Knight o' 
 Loch Ow. Ben Cruachan wild-cats. Castle Connal Bay. The 
 estuary of the Awe." The Foord at the fit o' the Loch," . 87 
 
 GROUSE AND BLACK-GAME SHOOTING 
 
 General rules for August and September. The steep side of a hill. 
 A detached range. Evening feed. Preserved ground. Squeakers. 
 An attractive coup d'ceil not to be trusted. Never to choose a 
 range without a word from shepherds or hillmen. The effect of 
 food on the colour of birds. The top or brow of a hill. The 
 steep peak. Windy weather. Sultry days. To advance on 
 grouse, if possible, from lower ground. Best time of day to com- 
 mence. Advice to a man unaccustomed to climb hills. When 
 birds become strong on the wing. As the season advances a 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 Page 
 
 larger gun requisite. Minute rules for the sport at this time. 
 Black-game. Old cocks. Their food. Apt to seek the shade of 
 brackens. Their wildness. How to get a shot at them on the 
 stubbles. When the fields become bare. Shooting them in 
 covert, ........ 101 
 
 PTARMIGAN SHOOTING 
 
 Lofty mountains of the West. Ptarmigan more numerous in the 
 North, and the hills of far easier access. Boyish expedition after 
 Ptarmigan. Another sporting-day on Ben Voirla, . .120 
 
 DOGS FOR THE MOORS 
 
 Most efficient dog for grouse. How to choose one. Close rangers 
 abjured. One pair of pointers enough at a time, if first-rate. 
 Faults and defects of dogs. Care in the breeding, . .128 
 
 INSTINCT OF DOGS 135 
 
 ROE-HUNTING 
 
 Habits, manner of shooting, &c. Bungled roe-hunt. Sylph step of the 
 roe. Cautions. Fox-hounds best dogs to run them out of covert. 
 Small belts. Bloodhounds. The roe's sagacity. Its dislike 
 to the fallow-deer. Two islands on Loch Lomond full of roes. 
 Their loch-passes. Capturing them in boats. Tame roe, . 145 
 
 THE ALPINE OR WHITE HARE 
 
 IN SUMMER CALLED " THE BLUE HARE " 
 
 Its playful look when started. Times of changing colour. The 
 brightness or dinginess of its coat a criterion of the severity or 
 mildness of the winter. Eagle and hill-hare. Strong position 
 of the Alpine hare in presence of the foe. Miniature stalking. 
 Great increase of hill-hares. Their snow-burrows, . .154 
 
 WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES 
 
 Regularity of flight. Prefer open ground at first. Come to the 
 covert-springs at dusk. Shooting Woodcocks. Irregular belts of 
 plantation. Narrow strips. Large tangled copses on the steep 
 hillside. Woodcocks breed in the islands of Loch Lomond. 
 Their evening flight. Mire Snipes. Jacks, . . .160 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LOCH-FISHING 
 
 Page 
 
 Best times to fish different lochs. Flies. Pike an advantage in many 
 lochs. A ravenous luce. Fly-fishing. Sea-trout. Weeds. The 
 minnow-tackle. Boat-trolling. Trolling for pike. The gorge. 
 Set lines for pike. The long line for pike. Eels. Perch, . 167 
 
 FISHING ON SALT-WATER LOCHS 
 
 Trolling for sea-trout. The long line. The hand line. The white 
 
 feather, 183 
 
 THE MOOR BURN 
 
 When in ordinary trim. When small. Lynns. Eddies. When the 
 burn flows over level ground. The Balnaguard burn. A succes- 
 sion of cataracts. Overgrown burn-trout. To fish for them up 
 stream, and when the burn is low. Rapid growth of burn-trout. 
 Tame burn-trout. Sea-trout in autumn. Spates. Caprice of 
 white trout as to flies. A greedy angler. Difficulty of stirring 
 white trout when burns are low and clear, . . .192 
 
 RIVER- ANGLING 
 
 Choice of flies. The Water of Leith at Colt Bridge. Still deeps. The 
 circle. Dragging the cast. Small black summer-fly. The 
 Almond. The May-fly. The Ale. A hint to the young angler. 
 
 Unruffled deeps. A curl on the water. Obstacles in the way. 
 
 Queer coincidences. Insensibility of fish. Small minnow a 
 killing bait about dusk. Places where trout harbour. Wind, 203 
 
 WILD-FOWL SHOOTING ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS 
 
 The squire and the clod.- -No flaring velveteens or black Newfound- 
 lands allowable. An awkward advance. A wildfowl shooter 
 must be hardy. His dress. His gun and shot. Wild geese. 
 Suitable retriever. Gruff. How to approach fowl. When about 
 to fire. To leeward of ducks and widgeon, if possible. Their 
 noses, however, " not worth a straw." Springy drains. A shot 
 at ducks in March. Morillons. The Golden-eye. When several 
 are diving together. When the flock is large. When the water 
 is shallow. Dun-birds. How to manoeuvre them. Tufted and 
 scaup ducks. Goosander, red-throated diver, &c. Wild swans. 
 Widgeon and teal. Shovellers. A large loch. The harvest 
 moon. The winter-storm. Open weather. Misty frost. Sitting 
 shots the only proof of skill. An instance, . . . 21 1 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 THE PEAT ISLE 
 
 Page 
 
 Its attractions for wild-fowl. Spring and summer visitors. Winter, 
 or the season. Crowded with company at that time. The Castle 
 of Galbraith. Eight days' duck-stalking during the gay season, 234 
 
 HAWKING 
 
 Varieties of British falcons and hawks. Their capabilities. Sparrow- 
 hawk and teal. Hawk and wild-duck. A pupil of John Ander- 
 son. Peregrines of Glen-Douglas. An October hawking-day. 
 Flying the hawk at snipe. At crows and magpies, . . 254 
 
 THE BASS ROCK 
 
 Its effect when first seen. Numerous varieties of sea-fowl. Raven 
 and peregrine. Martyrs' cells. The look down. A ponderous 
 son of Vulcan floored. A pithy smuggler. Cliffmen. Old Jack. 
 Canty Bay, 259 
 
 ON EAGLES 
 
 The golden-eagle. The sea-eagle. The osprey, . . . 268 
 
 THE KITE . . . . . . . .282 
 
 OWLS 
 
 rt The hoolet " no favourite with the common people. Curious habits 
 of two tame ivy-owls. Tame white owls. They occasionally 
 hoot. Less nocturnal than the brown. Hospitality to guests. 
 The long-eared owl. Builds in the Castle Rock of Edinburgh. 
 The short-eared owl, . . . . . .286 
 
 WILD PIGEONS 
 
 The cushat or wood-pigeon. Spring habits. Winter flocks. A white 
 ring-dove. The stranger. Wild pigeon or stock-dove. Not the 
 stocker of the pigeon-house. Rock-doves the wild originals of 
 the dove-cot. The turtle-dove, ..... 295 
 
 ROCK AND RIVER OUSELS 
 
 Rock-ousels gregarious in autumn. Feed on fruit. Hatch in low 
 bushes on lonely waste ground. Young have no ring. The river- 
 ousel also a bird of solitude in spring. Frequents the mountain 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 buru and moor loch. Comes down in winter to larger streams. 
 Congregate at that time. Sometimes feed on very minute sub- 
 stances. Cream-coloured water-ousel. Sing in hard frost, 302 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF GLKNCROE . , 306 
 
 LENNIE BURN 
 
 Its romantic beauty and waterfall. Burn-trout. Offshoot from the 
 burn. Frogs. Imprisoned trout and eels. Their gaol habits, 311 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN-FOX 
 
 His gallant bearing. Destroys full-grown sheep. " The fox-hunter." 
 The fox's den detected by grouse-feathers and wool. The 
 litter. Adroitness of the tod." Streakers. A Highland fox- 
 hunt. The cur-fox of the Lowlands, . . . .316 
 
 THE WILD-CAT 
 
 Scarcity. English cats run wild. Tame wild -cats. Marks of the 
 true breed. Large female wild-cat. Wild kittens. A sad 
 tale, . 323 
 
 THE MARTEN 
 
 Originally a Yankee. Only one kind in this countiy. A marten hunt. 
 Its coolness and agility. Attack on the henhouse, and capture 
 of the thief. Martens' dreys. They are now rare even in the 
 Highlands, ....... 328 
 
 THE OTTER 
 
 Otter hounds. Terriers. Fowmarte a good substitute for an otter. 
 Enormous Skye otter. Trapping otters. Seals. Otter and 
 young ones. Water-mouse. Water-rats. Otter's tactics when 
 hunted, ... . 331 
 
 THE HILL POACHER 
 
 English poaching. Scotch Lowland poachers. Highland poachers. 
 Their sporting propensities. Family likeness. A Will-o'-the- 
 wisp. Juvenile poachers. A female poacher. Gregor More. 
 A poaching minister. His exploits. Shooting a shepherd for a 
 deer, .... ... 339 
 
CONTENTS. XV11 
 
 Page 
 THOMAS A' THING 356 
 
 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS 
 
 Drive from the Holy Loch to Loch Eck. A jolly hermit. Dalmally. 
 Salmon-fishing at the falls of the Urchay. Superstitious hill- 
 man. The Morayshire witch. A gowk's errand. The otter's 
 whistle. Sea-eagle's eyrie. Large pike at Kilchurn. Voracity 
 of pike. Gourmand cod. Night-march. Second disappoint- 
 ment. The Kannoch shepherd, .... 361 
 
 FRAGMENTS 
 
 Arts of ground-hatching birds to decoy from their young. A pattern 
 to stepmothers. Large summer dragon-fly. Stories about the 
 nightingale and other small birds. Adders. Norway rats. 
 Stoats. Weasels. White pheasants. White roe. White red 
 deer. White rook. Royston crows. Waxwing. Seafowl of the 
 Firth of Forth. A mole-catcher, . . . .378 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 TRAPPING THE TRUE AND LEGITIMATE WAY TO 
 DESTROY VERMIN 
 
 Four-footed vermin. Winged vermin. Traps. Vermin terrier. 
 
 Strychnine, ....... 397 
 
ILLUSTBATIONS 
 
 HYBRID BETWEEN GROUSE AND PTARMIGAN, ' . Frontispiece 
 
 OLD FORESTER, ...... 35 
 
 HEAD OF A HART, ...... 49 
 
 DO. FALLOW-DEER, ib. 
 
 HORNS OF WILD-GOAT, ..... 57 
 
 PTARMIGAN IN THEIR USUAL ATTITUDE, . . .127 
 
 POINTERS, . . . . . . .132 
 
 KOEBUCK CLEANING HIS HORNS, . . . .145 
 
 HEADS OF THE ALPINE AND COMMON HARE, . .159 
 
 RETRIEVER, FOR LOCH-SHOOTING, . . . .216 
 
 THE OSPREY, ...... 275 
 
 CUR-FOX, ....... 321 
 
 MOUNTAIN-FOX, ...... lb. 
 
 WILD-CAT, ....... 325 
 
 DOMESTIC CAT, ...... ib. 
 
THE 
 
 MOOR AND THE LOCH 
 
 COKKACH-BAH; OE, A PLEA FOE THE WASTES 
 
 How shrunk are Scotland's rugged untamed desolations ! 
 We see those mushroom larch-plantations skirting the 
 steeps of our brown mountains, with their luxuriant 
 verdure. The subsoil-plough, tile-draining, and all the 
 ingenious etceteras of modern invention, have reclaimed 
 many a bleak and barren moor, which once only served for 
 pasture to the hardy black cattle the unhoused hirsel of 
 the hills. Thriving fields of yellow grain, and glancing 
 sickles, and merry voices swelling the autumn gale, now 
 enliven those wastes, once the chosen haunts of the bittern 
 and the whaup. Many of the lords of the heather them- 
 selves have caught the improvement mania, and either 
 modernise their " own grey tower," or pull it down ; 
 building a splendid mansion in its honoured stead. The 
 wild feudo-Highland grounds and scenery must, of course, 
 
2 COEEACH-BAH ; OE, 
 
 be made to fit this upstart of a house ; and many a knoll, 
 covered with its tangled brushwood, and blazing with the 
 yellow gold of the whin and the broom, must be levelled 
 and swept away, to convert the whole into an English 
 lawn.* 
 
 In addition to this we have the new law of entail, which 
 will go a good way to destroy our famed nationality ; and 
 by introducing moneyed strangers who know nothing, and 
 feel less, of sympathy with the Highland character, will 
 (unwittingly, perhaps,) do all they can to extirpate it 
 altogether. It is melancholy to hear some "nouveaux 
 riches" at Radical meetings, spouting forth their untutored 
 volubility upon this (to me) painful subject " If the here- 
 ditary feudal lairds and lords cannot improve their estates, 
 they ought to sell them to those who can ! " to those 
 pioneers of civilisation, whose chief idea of a Highland 
 estate is that of a good bargain, and whose notion of raising 
 the Highland character consists in assimilating it to their 
 own ! They may give employment, f and money for 
 money's worth, but all their efforts will be unavailing to 
 transform the Gael into their beau ideal of a peasant ; and 
 never can they gain that place in his heart, only to be 
 
 * " Fortunately for mankind, as some counterbalance to that wretched 
 love of novelty, which originates in selfishness, narrowness, and conceit, 
 and which especially characterises all vulgar minds, there is set in the 
 deeper places of the heart such affection for the signs of age, that the 
 eye is delighted even by injuries which are the work of time." 
 Modern Painters, by a Graduate of Oxford. 
 
 f A great outcry has been raised against the " Highland clearances," 
 and much obloquy cast upon the proprietors of these remote islands and 
 
A PLEA FOE THE WASTES. 3 
 
 occupied by his feudal chief of ages past. Our Queen 
 better knew her northern people, when, upon her first 
 memorable visit to this land of Catarans, she, like the great 
 chieftainess, cast herself freely, fully, upon the unbought 
 devotion of her clans. 
 
 Perhaps I feel too strongly on this subject ; and I know I 
 am open to the remark that feudalism implies dependence, 
 while no feeling of that sort is compatible with improve- 
 ment in character or country. But are we sure that all 
 we term improvement is more than simply alteration? 
 And is there one mountain-born son of Albyn who will 
 not agree with me in preferring our unspoiled, unplanted 
 glens, our wild game, and our national distinctness, to all 
 the busy important bustle of modern civilisation, which has 
 already transformed many of our most romantic nooks into 
 models of "suburban villas"? I well recollect offering to 
 show an exquisite specimen of real Highland taste and 
 beauty, with all its wild character preserved, to a worthy 
 metropolitan : his answer was, " Ah, thumthing in the 
 Englith thtyle ! ! " He had ascended Ben Lomond shortly 
 before, the day lovely, only a few light clouds flitting over 
 
 localities for turning adrift their dependents. Many of these poor 
 creatures, although suffering every privation, refuse to emigrate, even 
 when given all reasonable encouragement. It is a hard case, but what can 
 the lairds do ? To give employment, by reclaiming such land, is out of 
 the question, and to support such numbers of starving people would ruin 
 the estate. The only resource, now that the kelp-trade has failed, is to 
 reduce the population, at the same time enlarging the grazing farms, 
 (the surest return in the Highland districts,) and giving leases to 
 respectable Highland tenants. 
 
4 CORRACH-BAH j OR, 
 
 the brown heath or scattered rocks, between long intervals 
 of brilliant sunshine : the lights and shadows upon the 
 opposite mountains seemed formed to call up feelings and 
 recollections long gone by. Our citizen, however, returned 
 vastly delighted at having rather called up so good an 
 appetite for dinner. After having satisfied his craving, he 
 abruptly broke out, u Would it be pothible to fill up Loch 
 Lomond ? " His own genius anticipated the reply " Ah ! 
 by tumbling Ben Lomond into it, I thuppothe ! Now, 
 how many acres of good land would you gain ?" " Well," 
 thought I, " this is improvement with a vengeance ; " and 
 I should, with great pleasure, have pitched in his little fat 
 body, by way of a sleeping partner to the doomed moun- 
 tain ! However, upon thinking over his strange proposal, 
 it struck me that it was a plain, matter-of-fact, pounds- 
 shillings -and -pence view of the subject; and if I was 
 fairly attacked upon that point, I should not stand half a 
 chance in the argument. No doubt the country will be 
 richer the more it is cultivated ; but few Highlanders, with 
 any touch of imagination, would barter, even for this, its 
 former lonely and desolate grandeur, with its accompani- 
 ments of wild birds and animals ; or would, without a 
 pang, change the bold heart and ready hand of the natives 
 into those of passive and obedient serfs. If driven to make 
 a choice, I must shelter myself under the shrewd logic of a 
 fellow-countryman, who, having affirmed that the grapes 
 of Scotland were better than those of England, and being 
 asked to prove it, coolly answered, " I maun premeese, I 
 like them soor ! " Like him, I must also premise, that I 
 
A PLEA FOB THE WASTES. 5 
 
 would not give the frowning crag or barren fell for all 
 the rich slopes and verdant valleys of the Lowlands. 
 
 There are two kinds of wild scenery pre-eminently 
 deserving the epithet " sublime ; " but to feel their over- 
 powering effect, they must be seen with every associated 
 object. You cannot view the sea-cliff in perfection unless 
 there is nothing before you but the boundless, fathomless 
 ocean. An arm of the sea, or a firth, will not do ; their 
 waves are never those rolling, booming surges, which 
 impress one with the vastness from which they come. 
 There must also be the countless variety of sea-birds,* 
 some thickly studding every jagged projection, and others 
 riding the swelling billow, their bright plumage glancing 
 in the beams of the morning sun. My greater favourite, 
 however, is the wild and lonely mountain, with its crags, 
 its bare heath, its solitary moor-loch, and, above all, the 
 eyrie of the golden eagle, dread monarch of the mist. 
 Spring is the season to enjoy both in perfection, as all the 
 winged tenants have then taken possession of their tempo- 
 rary abodes. Every variety may be seen and studied; 
 while from their tameness a nearer view may be obtained 
 than at any other time. Few springs have passed without 
 my enjoying either a marine or mountain treat, sometimes 
 
 * The white-tailed eagle, or erne, not unfrequently hatches on the 
 overhanging rocks of the sea, and by her gallant swoops and screams, 
 when her territory is invaded, adds much to the impression of wildness 
 and grandeur. As congenial a haunt for its nidification is the island 
 of a moor-loch, if there are any old trees to fix the eyrie upon, finding 
 its hunting-ground in the neighbouring morasses ; whence it has acquired 
 the name of the bog-eagle. 
 
6 CORRACH-BAH ; OR, 
 
 both, and the pleasure has then been heightened by 
 contrast. A slight sketch of one of these later excur- 
 sions may be admissible here. 
 
 In the recesses of the Black-Mount Forest, very con- 
 siderably above the level of the sea, there is a muirland 
 lochan, about a mile long by half a mile broad, called in 
 Gaelic, Lochan Nahachalach; and a little to the east, 
 connected by a rocky brook, is Loch Bah, (the Drowning 
 Loch,) about three miles long by a mile broad. The 
 shores of these lochs, if shores they may be called, which 
 consist of an occasional strip of yellow sand, are seldom 
 trodden by any foot but that of the wild deer or the 
 otter. Jagged points of rock continually obtrude them- 
 selves above the blue-grey water, and the eyrie of the 
 sea-eagle fixed upon the top of an old birch, on a rugged 
 heathery islet of Loch Bah, while another eyrie graces 
 an aged Scotch fir of Loch Nahachalach, complete a 
 picture so exquisitely savage, that fancy in its wildest 
 mood could scarcely alter or amend. On the south these 
 lochs are bounded by an extensive morass, full of small 
 tarns, intersected by a pretty large muir-burn ; and on 
 the east of Loch Nahachalach a steep craggy hill rises 
 abruptly from its side. An eyrie of the golden eagle is 
 placed on a shelf of rock half-way up, and I have enjoyed 
 the rare luxury of seeing both eyries at the same moment, 
 and both queens in undisturbed possession of their thrones. 
 Seldom any collision took place, each having her favourite 
 hunting-ground. There was the mountain for the nobler 
 bird, and the morass for her more vulture-shaped neigh- 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 7 
 
 bour. They sometimes, however, had a battle in the 
 air ; but the looser form, the heavier movement, and the 
 less daring spirit of the erne, made her no match for 
 the mountaineer, who soon drove her screaming to her 
 island. 
 
 In the distance may be discerned the dark forms of 
 mountains belonging to that range called Corrach-Bah, 
 a very favourite resort of the golden eagle. The correis 
 which intersect them afford the richest pasture for the 
 deer ; and the hill-fox, the wild-cat, and the marten are 
 not yet banished from those desolate precipices. It is 
 not to be inferred, however, that the deer-forest is also 
 a preserve for vermin. There is many a splendid hunt 
 after the marten or the fox, which taxes the mettle both of 
 men and dogs. And although there often are only the 
 hounds and their quarry upon the bare mountains, and 
 the echoes of the rocks to cheer them on, yet, to a lover of 
 the pure picturesque, it is worth a hundred Lowland fox- 
 hunts, with their red coats, horns, huntsmen, whippers, 
 and all ! Nor are the eagles allowed to increase beyond 
 a certain limit, as each pair consumes no inconsiderable 
 number of red-deer calves as well as other game. But 
 Lord Breadalbane has too much of the Highland heart to 
 grudge this, or to wish, like some other proprietors, to 
 extirpate our truly national bird. 
 
 It was towards the end of April 1845 that, armed 
 with my duck-gun to storm one of these eagle-fortresses, 
 I sailed in the Loch Goil steamboat, on my way to these 
 favourite haunts. I had also put up two trolling-rods in 
 
CORRACH-BAH ; OR, 
 
 compliment to the salmo-feroxes of Loch Awe. We left 
 the Broomielaw at seven o'clock on a fresh sunny morning, 
 and paddled merrily down the Clyde. The fat rosy 
 steward, with his quaint face of good-nature, was in high 
 feather, and frequent in his assurances that we might 
 expect " a pleesant sail." Under his auspices we were 
 soon seated at a good breakfast of whitings taken out of 
 the firth the night before. By the time we had discussed 
 them, we were coasting the shingly beach of Loch Long ; 
 and having touched at Ardentinny, and viewed the 
 fairyland of Glenfinart, its emerald lawn, and rampart of 
 brown hill and tangled wood, we struck into the bleak 
 Loch Goil. A short time brought us alongside of its 
 primitive quay, where we deposited ourselves and luggage 
 in the mongrel kind of coach, half-boat half-omnibus, 
 which was to convey us across the isthmus separating 
 Loch Goil from Loch Fine. Creeping up one side of the 
 hill at a tortoise pace, we rattled down the other at a 
 gallop, by way of a change. A very small steamboat 
 plies between St Catrine's and Inverary, and I was in 
 the act of superintending the embarkation of my chattels, 
 when a bustling official assured me that he would see them 
 all safe. I put faith in him, and immediately began a 
 discussion with two fellow-travellers about the whale that 
 had been harpooned shortly before in the loch or the hill 
 of Dunnequaigh or the Duke's Castle or I don't recollect 
 what. Upon landing at Inverary my trolling-rods were 
 missing, and no " satisfaction "to be had, as my officious 
 friend was safe on the opposite shore, and my poor rods 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 9 
 
 lying within tide-water mark ! The landlord of the 
 Argyll Arms, however, obligingly offered to send the 
 ferry-boat and forward them next morning by the post * 
 to Cladich, where I hoped to bivouac for a few days after 
 my eagle campaign. 
 
 Having dined with my two agreeable companions, we 
 hired an open carriage, and drove to Cladich, where we 
 parted, they going on to Oban by Port Sonachan, and I 
 to the Black Mount. After a long, rugged, but enjoyable 
 drive, partly along the banks of Loch Awe, where the 
 cuckoo was heard in every dell, or seen poising himself 
 upon some still leafless patriarchal thorn, and partly 
 through the environs of the forest, I arrived at the 
 solitary little inn of Inveruran. The Forester's house 
 was within a short distance; so I arranged with him 
 that we should start by daylight next morning for the 
 eagle's eyrie, partook of Highland cheer in a snug little 
 Cyclops of a parlour, ornamented with the horns of the 
 red-deer, and then retired to my dormitory. 
 
 Day was just breaking when I crossed the river Tulla, 
 on my way to Peter Robertson's cottage. He was stand- 
 
 * Generally a stout hale carle, of middle age, who walks from ten to 
 fifteen miles and back again in a day, with the mail-bag slung at his 
 back. The first time one of these primitive posts was dignified with a 
 little gig equipage, he came in late, and made excuse that " he was 
 taigled wi' a gig ! " Of course he was turned off. Poor Sandy Bell had 
 walked twenty-seven miles a day for thirty years of his life, and at his 
 dismissal was fresh as May. He bitterly complained that he lost, first 
 his bread, "by thae new-fangled nonsense," and then his health, for 
 want of exercise. He is only an instance among many who have been 
 ruined by cutting a dash. 
 
10 CORRACH-BAH ' OR, 
 
 ing before his door, consoling himself for his early start 
 by a pipe of very strong tobacco. The morning was 
 all we could wish, calm, grey, and mild. As we passed 
 the banks of the loch, roe-deer were quietly cropping the 
 greensward which sloped to the water's edge, and now and 
 then a fine buck would raise his head and look listlessly 
 over his shoulder, as if wondering what business we had to 
 be so soon astir. The black-cock, surrounded by his hens, 
 was crooning his antics on the tops of the knolls, and was 
 answered by the red-cock with many a cheery but eccentric 
 call, from the more distant heights. A male hen-harrier 
 was flitting stealthily above the heather, seeking his break- 
 fast where it would be easily found, with small chance of 
 human company at his morning meal. Now and then an 
 Alpine hare would canter lazily away, or raise herself upon 
 her hind legs to listen, moving about her inquisitive ears. 
 
 For some miles we walked along the road which inter- 
 sects the lower end of the forest, when Peter suddenly 
 turned into its gloomy depths. Small flocks of deer now 
 crossed us frequently, and sometimes a large herd would 
 saunter past at a slow walk. Occasionally we saw their 
 profiles on the crests of the mountains, or at feed, dotted 
 along some distant correi, in appearance no bigger than 
 roes. 
 
 Peter had been entertaining me with many a hunting 
 anecdote, or with the natural history of some of the wild 
 denizens of the forest, when the first streak of the rising 
 sun struck the gaunt head of a bald cliff in the centre 
 of the mountains of Corrach-Bah. " Now, sir, " suiting 
 
A PLEA FOB THE WASTES. 11 
 
 the action to the word, " in that craig is your eagle. " A 
 threatening crag it was j from the view I got, it seemed 
 as steep as the side of a house from top to bottom. For 
 the first time I felt a slight misgiving, lest the shot might 
 be crank and difficult, when the bird flew out of such a 
 rugged mass. What if I should miss ! However, I 
 banished these craven thoughts, and marched on merrily 
 as before. 
 
 We were still a long mile from our rocks, when a dark 
 bird rose in the midst of them, and winged his way to 
 the opposite mountain. Was he a buzzard ? No ; small 
 as he appears, that determined flight, and free flap of the 
 wing, can belong to no bird but the eagle. Peter looked 
 carelessly at him. '< Ton's the cock: he'll be for the 
 opposite hill, after bringing the hen her breakfast. " He 
 now whipped out his glass, and placing his back upon a 
 hillock, and the glass upon his knee, looked long and 
 anxiously through it. At last, jumping up, shutting the 
 glass with a satisfied jerk, and looking to me with a smile, 
 " She's on, sir. " I now took his place, but it was some 
 time, in spite of Peter's minute directions, before I could 
 discern the eyrie. " Look, sir, to the side o' yon bushes 
 in the face o' the craig. " 'Twas easy enough to see 
 them ; they seemed " moored " not " in the rifted " but 
 solid " rock. " When I at length detected the eyrie, it 
 appeared no bigger than a rook's nest, and how Kobertson 
 had discovered " she was on " I was a good deal puzzled 
 to find out. But he told me to keep my eye upon the 
 east side of the nest, and I should see a black ball which 
 
12 COERACH-BAH j OR, 
 
 would seem higher at some times than others, and was 
 caused by the eagle's raising her head. My qualms 
 returned ; I saw that the eyrie was about thirty yards 
 down in the cliff, that my footing would not be firm, and 
 that, if the bird were so inclined, she might dash into the 
 abyss with the speed of the wind. Peter, however, was 
 talkative as ever, evidently in high glee that there was 
 every chance of a shot. 
 
 We now struck off to the left, as if walking away from 
 the eyrie. Having taken a long circuit, we edged in, till 
 we got a slope of the mountain between us and our quarry. 
 This achieved, we walked rapidly round till we came to its 
 base, at the opposite side to that where the noble bird was 
 sitting in perfect security and peace. Peter now climbed 
 slowly up, continuing his stories to most inattentive ears. 
 I had some faint recollection, afterwards,, of a curious bird 
 with extraordinary feet, which frequented the forest, whose 
 history he was relating with great animation just when he 
 gained the ridge of the mountain. There, however, all 
 his tales were at an end. He at once relapsed into the 
 cool and wary hunter. Creeping forward with prompti- 
 tude and decision, he knew, to an inch, where to look for 
 the eyrie among all that fantastic chaos of rocks. Beckon- 
 ing me to advance, he showed the outer sticks of the nest, 
 and pointed to a rock close to us, where lay a grouse 
 nearly devoured, and a ptarmigan beautifully picked, but 
 with the skin unbroken. Our attack upon the eagle began 
 by plundering her storehouse; for Peter, rolling up the 
 ptarmigan in his handkerchief, pocketed it as a bonne louche 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 13 
 
 for dinner. We now held a consultation as to the easiest 
 way of approach. Scrambling down a hollow, we were 
 within fifty yards of the eyrie, when a ravine intercepted 
 our progress. I pointed to a little bank of ochre-coloured 
 moss beyond. " That's the place, " whispered Peter. 
 Back we ducked again, over the same ground, and, crawl- 
 ing along the ridge, evaded the ravine. The critical 
 moment of failure or success was now arrived. With my 
 left knee on the bank of moss, and my right foot planted 
 against a rock, to prevent a slip on the steep, my eye 
 fixed on the outer rim of the eyrie, and Peter, mute as a 
 stone but sharp as an arrow, awaiting the signal, I 
 stopped a moment to take breath. A slight nod over my 
 shoulder, and Peter gently struck the palms of his hands 
 together, pat pat. It was just enough for the eagle to 
 hear, but it seemed very loud to me. Pat pat pat, 
 louder and louder. I was now getting very nervous. 
 " Throw a stone at her ! " Peter had too much general- 
 ship for that. He selected a small pebble, and threw it on 
 the steep, directly above the eyrie. I watched every hop 
 of the stone, lower and lower, till I saw that it must drop 
 straight upon our victim. I knew it was now or never. 
 Instantly, I caught sight of the bold flap of a giant wing, 
 and the mighty bird soared majestically from the dizzy 
 chasm. The shot was not difficult. I may say, that my 
 aim was cool and determined. She reeled round and 
 round, and fell headlong into the yawning abyss, quite 
 dead. I now took a long breath, and but for Peter's 
 delighted face, could scarcely persuade myself she had 
 
14 CORRACH-BAH ; OR, 
 
 fallen. If he had either hallooed loud, or thrown straight 
 at the eagle, she would most likely have dashed out, wheel- 
 ing and tumbling an uncertain and difficult shot. Fain 
 would I have secured the eggs, but this was impossible 
 without ropes, which we had neglected to bring. Peter, 
 however, offered to send them to Cladich the next day. 
 
 I was now impatient to secure my prize. We had to 
 descend the sloping ridge, and come round in front, at the 
 base of the chasm. It was, certainly, a lordly fortress 
 fit abode for this marauding Thane of the Wastes. 
 Flanked by bastions and buttresses of massy rock, which 
 guarded the stronghold on either side, and keeping watch 
 upon its rugged eminence, the eagle's sleepless eye could 
 detect the most minute or distant object in the valley 
 beneath. 
 
 We searched the rough ground at the foot of the preci- 
 pice for some time, without discovering the dead eagle. 
 Indeed, we both fancied that she had dropped much further 
 off than was actually the case. At last I discovered the 
 red-brown feathers, like a large tuft of her own heather, 
 close to the foot of the cliff. A finer specimen could not 
 be seen ; the markings were perfect, and the plumage in 
 the finest order. 
 
 The sun had now risen high and clear, the surrounding 
 mountains looked low, warm, and blue. I was now gay 
 as Peter, and, while we tramped over moor and moss, 
 I made him repeat his forest tales. I found that the 
 " extraordinary feet " he had so minutely described, 
 belonged to the night-jar, which bird, however, is rarer 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 15 
 
 in the forest than in more cultivated localities. Some of 
 his anecdotes of eagles are really worth notice, as illus- 
 trating the strength and ferocity of the bird. A couple, 
 cock and hen, were trapped at the same bait by Kobert- 
 son. As they were not seriously injured, he wished to 
 bring them home alive. This would have been an impos- 
 sibility to most people, as there is but one way of carrying 
 them with any degree of safety: it is by placing the 
 enormous creature under your arm, and holding his legs, 
 immediately above the huge claws, firmly in your hand. 
 As long as you walk steadily, and do not shake him 
 roughly, the eagle will remain still, and make no effort to 
 escape. But if you stumble, or turn sharply round, it is 
 ten to one that he fixes his talons to the bone in your 
 thigh. Robertson was carrying the two birds in this 
 manner, and, having come a long way, his arms became 
 cramped, and he was trying to relieve them by leaning 
 upon a stone dyke, when one of the savage creatures 
 struck its claw into his leg. The pain was great, but he 
 knew that if he attempted to extricate himself he would 
 lose both birds. So, Spartan-like, he patiently waited till 
 some assistance should turn up. On looking down the 
 road he saw a packman slowly padding along ; but, in 
 trying to accelerate his professional pace by a loud shout, 
 he shook the hen-bird, and she immediately repeated the 
 attack on his other thigh. He was now fairly pinioned, 
 and the pain scarcely bearable. At last the pedlar came 
 up, but his horror was so great at poor Peter's predica- 
 ment, that he only stared in blank dismay. " Toot, man, 
 
 i 
 
16 CORRACH-BAHj OE, 
 
 tak' ma knife oot o' ma pocket, and cut open this beast's 
 claw." This was done with some difficulty. " Noo gang 
 roond on the ither side, an' ye'll fin' anither job." The 
 man, who had no idea that Peter was grappled on both 
 sides, quickly obeyed, muttering, " Saw I ever sic sorrows 
 o' birds in a' ma life ! " Both eagles were brought safe 
 home, but Peter assured me that he was unable to walk 
 for many a day. 
 
 Another story of a prisoned eagle vindicating his 
 dignity has so much of the comic about it that we forgive 
 the savage revenge. A raw-boned Highlandman came 
 to Robertson's house: u Is your faither at hame?" 
 " No," said one of his children. '' Has na he a tame 
 aigle?" The little girl pointed out the place where it 
 was confined. There was a hole cut at the bottom of 
 the door, where its food was thrown in ; Donald peered 
 cautiously into the hole $ quick as light, the eagle seized 
 his nose, and it was only by a severe struggle, and the 
 cartilage giving way, that he effected his escape. When 
 Peter came home, he found him sitting in a doleful plight, 
 but, having comforted him with a dram, and patched up 
 his nose with sticking plaster, he sent him away with his 
 curiosity quite cured about eagles. 
 
 I mention one more, to show the power of the bird 
 when a mere nestling. Peter and two shepherds had gone 
 to take an eaglet from the nest. The eyrie was a little 
 way from the top of the cliff ; Peter descended to it by a 
 rope, one of the shepherds was a little above him, and the 
 other, who had a very weak head, stipulated for a secure 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 17 
 
 berth at the top. Peter passed the eaglet to the first man, 
 who, in .like manner, gave it safely to him at the top. 
 But, he having most likely given it a nervous twitch, it 
 seized him fiercely. Down he fell on his back, dread of 
 toppling over into the abyss drowning all sense of pain. 
 Up came the other shepherd, but, when he saw the man 
 moaning and helpless, he was seized with such an uncon- 
 trollable fit of laughter that he could give no assistance. 
 When Peter reached the top, he drew man and. eaglet 
 upon firm ground, and then extricated the claw. As soon 
 as he found himself upon level ground and free, he 
 rushed at his jocose neighbour, and Peter had some 
 difficulty to prevent a battle. It was a mortal affront to 
 mention an eagle in this man's presence ever after. 
 
 But we have now got back to Peter's cottage. Loch 
 Tulla lies glistering under a burning sun : I see the land- 
 lord at Inveruran slily peeping round the corner, anxious 
 to discover whether we had returned empty-handed. My 
 appetite also warns me that it is past nine; so, having 
 appeased it by a subsoil of u halesome parritch," and a 
 top-dressing of fresh eggs, " Now, landlord, out with the 
 1 shan-dra-dam.' " * 
 
 My jolting drive to Cladich in my "chariot" was not 
 over till towards two o'clock, but the keen air of the 
 mountains had completely effaced the recollection of my 
 
 * The name given by a rural minister of the Kirk, who sported one of 
 these vehicles, to a little spring-cart with a seat across for the " dames." 
 " The minister's man " could never be persuaded to attempt this learned 
 word, and would persist, in spite of him, to call it his " chariot," as the 
 nearest approach he could master. 
 
 B 
 
18 CORRACH-BAH j OR, 
 
 solid breakfast. I therefore ordered a mutton-chop, and 
 went to the shore to examine my craft. I had already 
 bespoken the services of old Sandy M'Kenzie, " wha kens 
 whar the big fish lie as weel as ony man on Loch Ow 
 side." Sandy being appointed skipper, begged to be 
 allowed to choose his own crew, which consisted of a stout, 
 good-natured "callant" of about sixteen, yclept u Johnny ," 
 occasionally u Jock," when Sandy was in a patronising 
 mood. Sandy was once a strong bony man, and piqued 
 himself upon being one of the best wrestlers in the country. 
 Now his eye is dim and filmy, much the colour of a boiled 
 onion, and his athletic arm is paralytic and weak as a 
 child's. I might have had far abler men at the oar, and as 
 knowing about the haunts of the fish ; but whenever I troll 
 Loch Awe, none but that poor, ragged, woe-begone old man 
 shall command my boat so long as he is able to do it. 
 
 Having satisfied myself that the "cobbles" were not 
 more leaky than they generally are, I returned to the inn. 
 Monzie's keeper had been there to see my eagle, so I 
 asked his leave to shoot a couple of ring-dotterels which 
 were tippeting on a green bank close to the boats. This 
 he at once civilly agreed to. All was now ready for the 
 evening fishing. Johnny carried my trolling-rods ; Sandy 
 a a cogue-fu'" of live bait, and a little basket of provisions; 
 and I my duck-gun, loaded with No. 6 for the dotterels. 
 Poor little fellows ! They looked so pretty that it was a 
 shame to fire at them. But as I had no specimen in 
 my collection, I could not resist the temptation of 
 stringing both at a shot. One lay, but the other, 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 19 
 
 being only wing-broken, ran into the water with so light 
 and graceful a step, it seemed as if walking on glass. 
 The rods were soon baited, the evening was perfect for 
 fishing, and the feroxes took well. We came over no 
 large ones, however, and the three brought into the boat 
 were only four, three, and two and a half pounds. We 
 had intended to troll to the bay of old Castle Connal, 
 eight miles down the loch, built, as Sandy says, by the 
 Danes, but were obliged to defer it till next day. The 
 bay which this castle commands is a famous resort of the 
 largest size of the ferox. When we fish it, Sandy always 
 tells a story of one of the Lochiels, who had been taken 
 captive by a hostile clan, and confined there. His jailor 
 had an annuity during his lifetime. The Camerons, how- 
 ever, found out where he was concealed, and came down 
 in a body. As soon as the wretch saw them, he stabbed 
 him with his penknife, having no other weapon at hand, 
 expecting a reward for his atrocity, which, no doubt, he 
 received. 
 
 Night overtook us before we could gain the harbour of 
 Cladich, alias the Burn Foot, which is the only safe anchor- 
 age in case of a storm. And, indeed, it is very difficult to 
 bring up a boat anywhere else, the coast being so shallow. 
 The entrance to this burn is so intricate, that a man 
 rowing in and out every day may be completely puzzled 
 after dark. " Johnny," by some hieroglyphic shadowy 
 marks of the trees upon the water, known only to himself, 
 at last piloted us safely through, and was." Jock, my man," 
 till we got to the inn. 
 
20 CORRACH-BAH j OR, 
 
 The old dun eight-day clock had just " chapped " seven, 
 when my gallant crew cleared out of harbour, and, with, 
 my rods, bait, provisions, and pea-jacket, were making 
 for Port Sonachan Quay, where I had directed them to 
 meet me. The morning was colder, the wind had changed 
 from west to east " a bad airt " for the fish. There were 
 certain appearances also in the sky which foreboded 
 squally weather. The best of the fishing-ground is below 
 Port Sonachan, so I did not wish to waste time on such 
 an unpropitious day, until we got there. I sauntered 
 dreamily along, admiring the views as they unfolded them- 
 selves, and had sat for some time on Port Sonachan shore, 
 listening to a chorus of ctickoos, before the measured 
 stroke of Sandy and Johnny appeared at some distance, 
 slowly propelling their clumsy boat. I question if I 
 gained much time by my manoeuvre, though Sandy 
 appeared quite satisfied with the rate of their progress. I 
 was soon seated in the stern, with lovely baits towing 
 behind. "No a rug," as Sandy repeatedly said ; but he 
 endeavoured, poor fellow, to keep up our spirits by telling 
 a tale of every wood, hill, or rock, we crept slowly past. 
 " There's the badger's rock, sir ; he has never left it for 
 the last fifty year." The grey hermit of the rock called 
 me back to my boyish days. The " brock-holes " in the 
 oak wood the traps my brothers and I had purloined 
 from the old keeper, who preferred killing vermin by the 
 lazy method of the gun my delight when I detected 
 the first poor captured badger all rose fresh before me, 
 as in those sunny mornings of life's early spring. My 
 
A PLEA FOB THE WASTES. 21 
 
 brothers and I had been brought up in the country, and 
 were hunters from our childhood. Our couple of terriers 
 were game as flint, and yet they were never able to draw 
 a badger from his natural fastness. I have heard them 
 hold one to bay for hours, in the inmost recesses of his 
 earth. On one occasion, when a favourite terrier had 
 teazed the poor animal for a long time, it slily followed, 
 and when the dog was within a yard of the hole's entrance, 
 bit his hind leg to the bone. This harassing the rear of a 
 retreating enemy showed tactics, on the part of the old 
 grey friar, that we could scarcely have expected. I once 
 brought home a half-grown cub which had wandered 
 from the hole, rolling it up in my jacket. (What will 
 not boys do ?) It soon became so tame as to eat beetles 
 and humble-bees from our hands, and would lap up 
 porridge and milk like a dog. I well recollect for it was 
 a job that cost us no small trouble digging out an old 
 she one. To the last she kept the dogs at bay ; and even 
 when we heard the growl within a couple of yards, they 
 were unable to dislodge her. Whenever we struck into 
 the wide cell, they dashed in upon her, and inflicted such 
 injury that she soon died. There were two cubs, about a 
 week old, which made a low chirping squeak. The cell 
 where they were was round, hard, and dry, about two feet 
 in height, by four or five yards in circumference. There 
 was no food in it. Many a badger we trapped, and, I 
 verily believe, were as proud of the brock-holes as an 
 Indian chief of his finest hunting-ground. Those that we 
 trapped soon learned to take part of the dogs' supper. 
 
22 CORRACH-BAH j OR, 
 
 We never saw them eat grass or hay, and should as soon 
 have thought of giving such food to a dog as of insulting 
 them with it. What they call u badger's hay-making " is 
 neither more nor less than the routing up the moss, which 
 they are obliged to do to get at beetles, grubs, &c., among 
 its roots. This dries, and the badger brings home a little 
 for its winter bed. We used to notice as much of this hay 
 made as would suffice for a good-sized stack, and more 
 than would fill up every badger's hole in the country. I 
 need scarcely say that what they carried was never 
 missed. 
 
 My reveries were now broken by Sandy pointing out 
 the nest of the a salmon-tailed gled," and there are the 
 owners wheeling their graceful circles. Two roes were 
 also looking at us from the shore, and another a little 
 further on. They seemed not the least afraid, as we 
 pulled slowly past. I was admiring the beautiful hanging 
 wood, in which the kite's nest held a prominent place near 
 the top of one of the finest old oaks, when a pull, that bent 
 my rod's top to the water, and spun round my large 
 wooden pirn, brought me to my legs at a spring. To 
 seize the rod and place the butt above my knee, with a 
 good bend at the top, was the work of an instant. Sandy 
 was also active : he gave both oars to Johnny, and began, 
 with his shaky hands, to wind up the other rod out of the 
 way, in case of a collision. I told him always to do so 
 when I hooked a trout. At this moment the gorgeous 
 fish sprang a yard out of the water, coming down with a 
 splash that made the rocks echo. Sandy, at no time very 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 23 
 
 expert, became quite nervous at sight of the monster, and 
 bungled his work sadly. I gave him a push out of my 
 way, and in so doing knocked off his tattered hat into the 
 water at the bottom of the cobble. He only smiled, with- 
 out a vestige of anger. I saw his thin grey hair, and am 
 happy to recollect that at that exciting moment, ashamed 
 of my impatience, I picked up his hat with my left hand, 
 and placed it on his head, poor Sandy all the time begging 
 me " never to heed it." Sandy^s whole heart was in the 
 capture of the fish. His rod was by this time wound up, 
 he was again at the oar, and I had fair play. The ferox 
 bored like a harpooned whale ; sometimes he would change 
 his course, and go down to the bottom, taking forty yards 
 of line, which he made swirl through the water with a 
 humming noise, like a low sound of the telegraph wires. 
 When I shook him up, he would fight away for the middle 
 of the loch. At length he grew weaker, and I got him 
 under command of a short line. It was a beautiful sight 
 that noble fish, sometimes showing his glancing scales 
 for a moment, and then trying to bore under the boat, and 
 always foiled by the boatmen, who promptly obeyed my 
 slightest signal. He now began really to fail, and I felt 
 I could lead him ; so, directing Sandy to a shingly part of 
 the shore, where there were no rocks, I determined to land 
 him there. The beach was very shallow ; and, in spite of 
 my remonstrances, Sandy walked up to his knees in water, 
 and drew the cobble ashore. I was now on terra firma, but 
 my fish was by no means done up yet. Every time that I 
 brought him to the shallow, he dashed away with as much 
 
24 CORRACH-BAH j OR, 
 
 vigour as before. This could not last; and the bursts 
 became shorter and slower, till my victim was unable to 
 get down at all, and only struggled on the top of the 
 water. I had ample opportunity to admire his dimensions, 
 colour, and shape, and was determined that no rashness or 
 eagerness to obtain it should rob me of so rich a prize. 
 At last he turned upon his broad and gleaming side. 
 Now was my time. And like a wrecked and gallant 
 vessel he lay stranded on the beach ! 
 
 A proud man was Sandy M'Kenzie then. He took 
 entire possession of the fish, and would hardly let Johnny 
 look at it ; if he ventured to touch it, he met a stern 
 rebuke. Well did Sandy know how rare it was to come 
 across a trout of that size in Loch Awe now-a-days, and 
 all the fishing guides there are as proud of their gentle- 
 men's performances as if they were their own. They 
 reckon their honour concerned, and banter each other 
 about the failure of their employers as reflecting upon 
 their own want of knowledge of the haunts of the 
 fish. 
 
 We now sat down upon a green bank, close to the 
 Gled's Nest wood, and had out our little basket of 
 refreshments. I gave Sandy a plentiful supply for both. 
 "Now, Sandy, eat your fill, and give Johnny the leavings." 
 This is a favourite joke with Sandy, and Johnny is 
 obliged to shield himself from its point by chuckling as 
 heartily as he can. The Glenlivat was soon uncorked ; 
 and when I was taking my modicum, mixed with the clear 
 water of the spring, I overheard Johnny complaining of 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 25 
 
 the scarcity of the " sma' stells which were ance thick 
 eneuch on Loch Ow," and reprobating the tyranny of our 
 rulers, " wha hinnered folk frae dom* what they liket best 
 theirsels wi' their ain pickle barley." Sandy likes his 
 whisky raw, but is " very fond o a drop water after '#/ " 
 The first time I gave him a glass into his paralytic hand, 
 he spilt about two-thirds. I now insist upon holding the 
 glass to his mouth myself. This indignity Sandy resisted 
 at first, but I was peremptory, and he now contrives to 
 keep me between him and Johnny, who is slily keeking 
 round. When he has got his glass, however, he seems to 
 think it a good job well over, and occasionally attempts 
 some wit. I never like to see his sorrowful face then, 
 or even to hear his joke; it seems as if uttered in 
 bitterness of heart. 
 
 I could not resist having a peep into the kite's nest. 
 She had no eggs yet, but all was ready for them, 
 plenty of soft warm odds- and -ends for the lining. 
 The two birds, balancing themselves at a great height 
 above, kept strict watch over our movements. It is 
 a great pity that the kite has become so rare, for it 
 always gives a sort of finishing touch to our pine-clothed 
 hills. 
 
 The breeze had freshened. The squalls had settled 
 into a steady gale, and we were fully seven miles 
 from Cladich. I wished, at least, to try some of the 
 best ground on our way home, having little hope of 
 pulling the whole distance against such a head-wind. 
 Sandy, however, was unable to make any way ; and upon 
 
26 COKRACH-BAH j OB, 
 
 Johnny's complaining that the boat was drifting back, 
 fairly gave in. I had always relieved the old man when 
 we had to cross the loch, or go quickly past bad fishing- 
 ground, upon which occasions I used to hear Johnny 
 taunting him. When I took the oar, Sandy always had 
 his revenge, by " You've met your match noo, lad." 
 Since it was impossible to fish any of the way back, I 
 dried niy lines along the shore, and determined to enjoy 
 the lonely walk to the inn. The road for some miles was 
 a steep mountain-track, which seemed only fitted for a 
 flock of goats. On some parts of this dismal region the 
 sun seldom shines, and on others scarce a ray penetrates 
 all the winter. The whole hill was studded with 
 ragged rocks and stones, and a more dreary path could 
 hardly be imagined: gloomy without grandeur. Slowly 
 we plodded to accommodate old Sandy, whose short breath 
 effectually stopped his wild legends. 
 
 We had nearly gained the summit, from which there 
 is a charming view of the loch, when Johnny, who had 
 sauntered on a few paces before, stopped suddenly, and 
 pointing to a little bing of stones " This is the Tinkler's 
 Cairn." " Deed, no,"" says Sandy, with an air of superior 
 knowledge ; " I'll show the Tinkler's Cairn." And stump- 
 ing on a few paces further, " This is the very bit where 
 the tinkler was murdered." I felt a thrill of horror. A 
 more appropriate place for a deed of blood could not have 
 been chosen ; it looked like haunted ground, so bleak 
 and bare and lonely, with its stern rocks of perpetual 
 gloom. After carefully examining the little cairn of stones, 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 27 
 
 which is always reared over the spot where a dead body is 
 found upon the mountains, I asked Sandy to relate the 
 story, the substance of which is as follows : A tinker and 
 his termagant wife had long travelled the country. He 
 was much older than his wife, who was a woman of 
 immense muscular power, and nearly six feet high. " The 
 puir body," said Sandy, " had little peace wi 1 her. A 
 perfect she-deevil was Kirsty ; I kent her weel. Mony a 
 day after the deed was done she travelled the country, and 
 her sons are to the fore yet." One day they left Cladich, 
 and took their course over this mountain, in the way of 
 their trade. From what motive is not known, but when 
 they came to this spot, she seized a stone, murdered her 
 wretched husband, then coolly walked on to the next 
 shieling, where she slept, and in the morning pursued 
 her way through the hills. A shepherd soon after dis- 
 covered the poor tinker, lying stark and gory upon his 
 cold hard bed. The woman was taken up, but dismissed 
 for want of evidence. Life was held light in the High- 
 lands in those days, and soon little was said or thought 
 about the poor lost tinker or his tyrant mate. 
 
 I felt relieved to quit this dismal scene, and to descend 
 the more sunny side of the hill. We were now threading 
 the waving woods of Sonachan and Bock Hill, where the 
 blithe mavis was pouring its evening melody from the 
 topmost bough of many a tall pine or shadowy beech. 
 I took the opportunity of explaining to Johnny that the 
 large " stells " paid a deal o* money to Government, which 
 they could not do if the little ones were allowed to 
 
28 COEEACH-BAH j OE, 
 
 compete and pay nothing ; that Government paid an 
 army with this money to keep the French from coming 
 over, and taking him where he would never see a glass of 
 whisky more : that if he objected to pay soldiers in this 
 way, he must e'en go and be a " soger " himself for 
 nothing, to prevent the aforesaid French inroad. This 
 last piece of logic evidently had some effect; and I 
 question if Johnny will long for the strong waters of 
 " Loch Ow'," the next time he is so fortunate as to be 
 presented with a glass from the large a stells " of Glenlivat 
 or Glen Islay. 
 
 Arrived at Cladich, my first step was to order in 
 the steelyard, when my fish proved 15 Ib. odd, so 
 must have been nearly sixteen when taken out of the 
 water. I had killed in Loch Vennacher, the year before, 
 with single gut, a clean salmon which weighed 17 Ib. 
 when brought home. This salmon did not make near so 
 fierce a run as the Loch Awe trout with gimp. I have 
 heard gentlemen speak slightingly of the best trout when 
 compared with salmon; but let them have one of these 
 Loch Awe monsters on their hooks, in as good condition as 
 mine was, and I venture to say they will not complain of 
 the want of mettle in the trout. I have no doubt that the 
 salmo-ferox is superior, both in strength and spirit, to the 
 salmo-salar. Unless the ferox is in first-rate condition, 
 his head is very ugly, and looks much too large for his 
 body. This was not the case with the specimen I have 
 just described ; his head is smaller, and his shoulder more 
 round than any I have ever taken ; on which account I 
 
A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 29 
 
 had him preserved by Fenton * in George Street, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 I took the road at five next morning, to be in time for 
 the Inverary steamboat, which left at seven ; but, even at 
 that early hour, poor Sandy, with his fragment of a hat 
 in his hand, was waiting at the "brae-fit" to wish me a 
 " gude journey." Having shaken him heartily by the 
 hand, I turned my back, for a time, upon these cherished 
 scenes of beauty, grandeur, and romance. 
 
 * I consider Tommy Fenton the best artist in the kingdom, not 
 excepting Leadbeater of London. He comes from the Highlands, and, 
 having seen and studied the creatures in their native haunts, is unriv- 
 alled at " positions." 
 
DEEE- STALKING 
 
 THIS first of British sports can only be enjoyed by the 
 few Highland proprietors who still maintain their forests, 
 and those to whom their permission is extended. Still, 
 if the many keen sportsmen who are panting to try their 
 rifles upon a gallant stag were thoroughly entered at deer- 
 stalking, they might find less cause to regret their priva- 
 tion than they now imagine. In the first place, no sport 
 is more ruled by the weather ; again, one is so dependent 
 on the skill and tact of the stalker, in whose hands, for 
 some time at least, you must be content to act like a 
 mere puppet. And when the deer are driven, a single 
 false move, or the mistaking of a signal by the hill-men 
 employed, may spoil all. In every other kind of shooting 
 the sportsman ought to trust to his own resources and 
 foresight ; but in deer-stalking, unless he has passed his 
 life in the forest, and is thoroughly acquainted with every 
 correi, crag, and knoll, he had much better trust to those 
 who are. Without this knowledge, it is impossible for 
 any one to tell how the wind will blow upon a given 
 
DEER -STALKING. 31 
 
 point : sometimes it may be north on one side of a hollow 
 and south on the other ; and I have seen the mist moving 
 slowly in one direction along the hill-side, and half-an-hour 
 afterwards the very reverse, without any change in the 
 wind. To account for this on the spur of the moment 
 would often puzzle the scientific, but the unlettered hill- 
 man, who has only been taught by the rough experience 
 of the crag and the blast, though unable to talk theoreti- 
 cally on the subject, yet, from constant and acute obser- 
 vation, will confidently predict the result ; and, taking 
 advantage of every shifting change, bring you within 
 fair rifle-distance of the unsuspecting herd. 
 
 To a novice, even though an expert rifle-shot, the first 
 sight of " the antlered monarch of the waste " will almost 
 take away the power of hitting him. But to any one 
 accustomed to the sport and constantly practising it, the 
 sameness abates somewhat of its intense interest : for it 
 admits of no variety but the age and dimensions of the 
 stag. In wild-fowl shooting, the excitement is kept alive 
 by the various kinds of game that present themselves, 
 from the magnificent hooper to the tiny teal. On the 
 grouse mountains there is often the uncertainty whether 
 the next point may be the red or the a jetty heath-cock," 
 or whether a twiddling snipe may spring, or an Alpine 
 hare start unexpectedly before you. It is the same 
 uncertainty which gives zest to cover-shooting. The 
 golden-breasted pheasant, the russet woodcock, the skulk- 
 ing hare or dodging coney, may all successively appear. 
 
 I do not mean by the above remarks to depreciate deer- 
 
32 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 stalking. It is sport for princes. I only offer them as 
 consolation to those who undervalue the amusement within 
 their reach, by exaggerated ideas of that above it. 
 
 No man with good nerves need despair of becoming a 
 tolerable rifle-shot, as the great art is to take plenty of 
 time ; in fact, to shoot as coolly at a deer as at the target. 
 The American backwoodsmen with their ill-balanced rifles 
 can hit the jugular vein of an animal feeding or moving 
 about, with unerring accuracy, at thirty or forty yards. 
 Every one must see how much this depends upon nerve 
 and coolness ; and these settlers are taught the self- 
 command, which is the basis of their dexterity, from their 
 earliest years. I recollect being shown, by the owner, 
 a rifle which he considered a chef-d'ceuvre of American 
 workmanship. The most cool-headed forester of our 
 country would have been puzzled to do much execution 
 with it at first. It looked and felt exactly like a toy, 
 with its peaked and silver-mounted toe and heel-plate, 
 long unbalanced barrel, and ludicrously small bore. Our 
 rifles, on the contrary, are beautifully poised, and their 
 weight enables us to take a much steadier aim at a long 
 distance ; while the ball, from being much larger, is less 
 affected by the wind. I dare say, however, if a Highland 
 deer-stalker and American wood-ranger, both finished 
 adepts in their own way, were fairly matched, each 
 would have a sovereign contempt for the dexterity of 
 the other. 
 
 I have constantly observed that the performers most to 
 be depended on with the rifle are what are called " poking 
 
DEER -STALKING. 
 
 shots 5 " for although the first-rate hand with the fowling- 
 piece may often bring down the deer running in admirable 
 style, yet upon any unexpected fair chance presenting 
 itself, he is apt to fire too quick, forgetting the different 
 style of shooting which is required for a rifle 5 while the 
 slow man, however taken unawares, always gives himself 
 time for deliberate aim. Any one, also, who has been 
 practising much at snipe, or other quick shooting, will, 
 unless quite on his guard, be almost certain to miss the 
 deer until his hand is brought in, after which, when he 
 again returns to the snipe, they will stand a better chance 
 of escape, from the poking manner in which he will at 
 first be inclined to fire at them. As a boy, I remember 
 being much perplexed to see a gamekeeper miss a fair 
 shot at a deer, when a few days before he had killed seven 
 swifts out of eight flying past at " full bat ; " while his 
 father, the old forester whose likeness I have given, could 
 scarcely have touched one, and yet seldom missed a 
 rifle-shot. There was another man who generally accom- 
 panied them in their stalking expeditions, and whose 
 shooting was a still greater puzzle. Although not left- 
 handed, he shot from the left shoulder, being unable to 
 close his left eye, and was as slow a performer as ever 
 pulled a trigger. Flying shots he invariably missed, and, 
 at last, seldom fired at ; but ground game, except rabbits, 
 had no chance with him. Nothing could flurry or put 
 him out of his shooting. If the shot was not intercepted, 
 and he was only allowed plenty of time, it was certain 
 death. 
 
34 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 I had twice an opportunity of seeing these three men 
 fairly tested with the rifle. Some deer being discovered 
 near the top of a high hill, it was arranged, as all their 
 passes were well known, to drive them with some shepherds 
 and their colleys. My brother and I begged hard to join 
 the party, and were placed under charge of the game- 
 keeper, whose pass was one of the best. Before starting, 
 however, the left-shouldered man wished to fire off an old 
 load, being afraid to risk it at the deer. It was suggested 
 that he should shoot at a hare. We had not gone far 
 when one rose about forty yards off. Even now I think 
 I see the cool way in which he raised his rifle, and, allow- 
 ing poor puss a free stretch of thirty yards, fired. The 
 hare dropped dead, and, when we went up, she was fairly 
 struck between the shoulders. After a time we were safe 
 in our passes, and the driving-party commenced their 
 manoeuvres. We soon heard the yelp of the dogs, and, 
 shortly after, the floundering of a deer in some mossy 
 ground immediately above the pass. Presently it made 
 its appearance, crossing us at about sixty yards' distance. 
 It was a beautiful chance. Taking deliberate aim, the 
 gamekeeper fired. To our astonishment and chagrin, the 
 deer which had been moving slowly along, bounded for- 
 ward, frightened enough, but unhurt. No other chance 
 was obtained till near the end of the day, when the old 
 forester fired a tremendous long shot, and struck the deer, 
 which ran for a few hundred yards, and then dropped. 
 
 Another time, when the deer had taken the water, there 
 was a general scramble to the shore ; a boat was quickly 
 
DRAWN FROM LIFE 
 With his trusty flint-locked long-barrelled rifle of the last century 
 
DEER -STALKING. 35 
 
 procured, which the cunning animal no sooner saw bearing 
 down than it turned short round, and was within a few 
 yards of grounding, when the three aforesaid stalkers were 
 ready to fire within fair distance. The left-shouldered man 
 took deliberate aim at the head, the only part above water, 
 and cut off the horns close to the skull. The deer now 
 struck ground, and when bounding along the shore was 
 missed by the gamekeeper, but immediately brought down 
 in admirable style by his old father. That a man could 
 miss a deer, and yet knock down double shots one after 
 another at game, used to appear a complete problem to 
 me ; especially as one of his rivals could not hit a bird at 
 all, and his father as a game-shot was not to be named in 
 the same day with him. After a little practice myself, the 
 solution was plain. I have seen this old man in his 
 eightieth year, bring down a deer running, and last season 
 had some venison sent me, killed by him, when ninety-one 
 years old ! ! 
 
 As I consider this forester the finest specimen I ever 
 met with of a Highlander of the old school, I may perhaps 
 be allowed to mention some of his peculiarities apart from 
 his professional avocations. His words like his shooting 
 are slow, but sure to tell. When addressing his superiors, 
 his manner is marked by the greatest courtesy, without 
 the least approach to servility. He is well read in ancient 
 history, knows all about the siege of Troy, and talks with 
 the greatest interest of Hannibal's passage over the Alps. 
 On one occasion, when several gentlemen were talking on 
 a disputed point of history, he stepped forward, begged 
 
36 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 pardon for interrupting them, and cleared it up to their 
 utter amazement. His memory is still excellent, and 
 nothing gives him greater delight than old traditions, 
 legends, &c. The last time I saw him, he gave us an 
 account of some of the Eoman Catholic bishops of Scotland 
 with characteristic anecdotes. In politics he has his own 
 peculiar opinions, is particularly jealous of the encroach- 
 ments of the " Great Bear," as he calls Russia, and thinks 
 the Allies committed an irreparable error in not partition- 
 ing France after the battle of Waterloo. No present finds 
 greater favour than the last Newspaper ; and it is curious 
 to see the old man devouring its contents without spec- 
 tacles. He would not be a true Highlander were he not 
 a firm believer in all their superstitions. Two instances of 
 second-sight he related to me as having happened to 
 himself; although he is very unwilling to talk upon the 
 subject, and I have often noticed his evasive replies to 
 those who questioned him. I premise my account by 
 saying, that wherever he is known, his word has never 
 been doubted, and I would believe it as implicitly as that 
 of the proudest peer in the realm. One day, when return- 
 ing very tired from some sporting expedition, he met an 
 acquaintance, accompanied by a young man whom he also 
 perfectly well knew. The first stopped to ask " what 
 sport?" he gave a short answer over his shoulder, and 
 saw the young man walk on. That afternoon he heard 
 he had been killed by a fall from his cart, at the very time 
 of this rencontre. Upon questioning his companion the 
 next day, he said there was no person with him. The 
 
DEER-STALKING. 37 
 
 other instance happened one rainy evening when looking 
 over his kennel. He saw a man with a grape cleaning 
 out the gutter, and called to know who had desired him to 
 do so. The gutter-cleaner walked slowly towards him, 
 but something having arrested his attention in the mean 
 time, he lost sight of him, and could not make out how he 
 had disappeared ; upon inquiring of the overseer, he said 
 this man was unwell and confined to bed. He shortly 
 afterwards recovered, which was sufficient confirmation to 
 the old forester of the truth of his vision, for in all cases of 
 second-sight, where the object approaches, it is a sure sign 
 of recovery, and when it recedes, of death. Another of 
 his prejudices is the lucky or unlucky ''first foot." Half 
 the people of the country were one or the other with him. 
 There was a canty old carle of a herd whose happy cheer- 
 ful face was enough to banish care from every other brow ; 
 but the old forester had unfortunately met him on the 
 morning of some unlucky day. Now as it happened that 
 this conscientious old herd, whose boast it was " I never 
 did ahint ma maister's back what I wad na do afore his 
 face, " was generally one of the earliest astir, he was 
 oftener the "first foot" than any other body; and as he 
 came crooning some old Gaelic song, with his staff over 
 his shoulder, and gave his blithe salutation, " Goot mornin, 
 goot mornin ; goot sport, goot sport ! " a stranger would 
 wonder at the look of gloom which overshadowed the 
 forester's face, and the scarcely articulate grunt which was 
 his only reply, sometimes followed by the half-muttered 
 exclamation, " Chock that body ! " To shoot a wild-swan 
 
38 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 was reckoned a most unlucky feat. One severe winter, 
 when after water-fowl with another man, four hoopers 
 were discovered close to the shore. His companion eagerly 
 pointed them out, when the old forester, who had most 
 likely seen them first, coolly replied, " You see, John, 
 we'll just let them alone ! " The only thing not truly 
 national about him was substituting a pinch of snuff for a 
 quid of tobacco ; and when out on the hills he has often 
 expressed his belief, that the moss-water he was sometimes 
 obliged to drink would long ago have been the death of 
 him, had he not always followed it up by the antidote of 
 a pinch which " killed all the venom. " 
 
 But the character of my old friend has beguiled me into 
 too long a digression. I must now return to the rifle. 
 
 Every man before firing at deer must be thoroughly 
 acquainted with his own a 'point even more important 
 with a rifle than a shot-gun. Under eighty yards it will 
 most likely shoot a little high ; and if the wind is at all 
 strong, it will alter the direction of the ball fully a foot at 
 a hundred yards, for which allowance must be made. The 
 best place to hit a deer, unless he is lying down, and so 
 close as to tempt one to try the head, is just behind the 
 shoulder. If struck fair, he will most likely bound forward 
 ten or twenty yards, and then drop. One that I shot ran 
 fifty yards before it fell, although the lower part of the 
 heart was touched. When this occurs, you may be sure it 
 will never rise again. If, on the contrary, it falls instan- 
 taneously, unless shot through the head, neck, or spine, it 
 may very possibly spring up on a sudden, and perhaps 
 
DEER -STALKING. 39 
 
 escape altogether. If struck too far back, a deer may 
 sometimes run for half a day, and the wound has even 
 been known to heal up, but is more likely to prove fatal 
 the next day. When a deer is discovered lying down, in 
 such a situation that he might dip out of sight the moment 
 he rises, and only his horns are visible, the sportsman 
 should advance with extreme caution until the deer hears 
 him, when he will most likely slowly raise and turn his 
 head before springing up. Now is the time to shoot 
 him between the eye and the ear. 
 
 The most propitious day for deer-stalking is a cloudy 
 one with blinks of sunshine: exactly such as you would 
 choose for fishing. When the sky is cloudless, and the 
 sun very dazzling, the herd are apt to see you at a great 
 distance, and take alarm. High and changing wind is 
 always very bad, as it keeps, them moving about in a wild 
 and uneasy state. In such weather it is better, if possible, 
 to wait till it settles a little, and take advantage of the first 
 calm. If the breeze be light, they will not move much, 
 but a strong steady wind lasting for some days will always 
 make the deer change their ground, by facing it often for 
 miles. Mist is the worst of all, as the deer are pretty sure 
 to see you before you see them. Always advance on deer 
 from above, as they are much less apt to look up than 
 down a hill. If possible, have the sun at your back, and in 
 their face. With this advantage you may even venture to 
 approach them from below. (Birds, on the contrary, 
 always look up, and it is best to stalk them from lower 
 ground.) If it is a quiet shot, and the sun is at your back, 
 
40 DEER - STALKING. 
 
 wait for a clear blink * before making your near approach. 
 Of course every one knows that it is out of the question, 
 under any circumstances, to attempt advancing on deer 
 unless the wind be favourable ; so all other directions are 
 subject to this. 
 
 In correis and hollows it is quite impossible to know how 
 the wind will blow upon a particular point, unless you have 
 marked every change of wind upon every point of the correi, 
 
 In high wind, deer are always difficult to drive. Should 
 they make a pause, they will in all likelihood turn in the 
 face of a hundred men, and not suffer themselves to be 
 driven further. As the wind becomes stronger the higher 
 you ascend, the deer on the tops of the hills are most 
 difficult to drive. The lowest ground is always the best 
 for driving on a windy day. 
 
 In south and west wind, the deer are far more easily 
 stalked, as the colder and sharper north and east keeps them 
 always moving and beating against it. When fired at, 
 they will go double the distance with an east or north wind. 
 
 Deer will go far more readily to the high passes in the 
 morning, and to the low passes in the evening ; so this 
 ought always to be attended to. 
 
 Never stalk between two herds, if it can be helped ; it is 
 always considered bad stalking. 
 
 Ox -deer, or " heaviers," as the foresters call them, 
 (most likely a corruption from the French hiver,) are 
 wilder than either hart or hind. They often take post 
 
 * Before fishing a sure salmon-cast, do just the reverse. If possible, 
 wait for an obscuring cloud. 
 
DEER -STALKING. 41 
 
 upon a height that gives a look-out all round, which makes 
 them very difficult to stalk. Although not so good when 
 December is past, still they are in season all the winter ; 
 hence their French designation. Yeld-hinds are also fit 
 for the table till the end of January. The latter are easily 
 distinguished by an experienced forester from their light 
 colour. The ears of the " heaviers " are always cropped, 
 that they may at once be known from the hinds. This 
 deformity makes their hornless heads look perfectly 
 hideous. When stags grow very old, their horns go back, 
 just like a tree going to decay. Sometimes a stag, neither 
 a rig nor a heavier, is hornless, and even " takes the rut." 
 
 The best time for a quiet stalking shot is either early in 
 the morning or late in the evening, as the deer are not so 
 much on the alert, and are busy feeding. It is at these 
 times also that they are apt to come down from the high 
 to the low ground. 
 
 Some forests are so crowded with hinds and calves that 
 stalking between deer is often unavoidable: this is the 
 most difficult of all stalks. You have to keep a look-out 
 upon the deer on each side, as well as those in the middle, 
 which you are advancing on. Should those on either side 
 catch sight of the sportsman, or get his wind, he may still 
 have his shot, if there is any cover in front^ by running 
 forward under shelter of it. Sometimes when the deer on 
 both sides have taken the alarm, even should the ground be 
 bare, those in the middle will stand staring, trying to dis- 
 cover what had frightened the others. Under these circum- 
 stances, whenever the sportsman sees the deer on either 
 
42 DEEE- STALKING. 
 
 side begin to move, his only chance of a shot is to run on ; 
 and perhaps the attention of the centre ones may be so 
 fixed on their companions as to allow him to get within 
 range. When the wind is fair, the best plan is to have 
 good patience until the deer feed up, without attempting to 
 stalk between them. When you have a side wind, how- 
 ever, it is very difficult to manage, especially with a train 
 of men and dogs, to all of whom the stalker must give 
 his signal at once, perhaps with only twenty yards of 
 ground to come and go upon. 
 
 When stalking a herd, or between deer, down hill, the 
 best way is to slide upon the back, with your feet foremost. 
 This can be done by leaning upon the elbows, and using 
 the heels of the shoes to draw on the body. The knees 
 will thus be prevented from rising too high. Should you 
 attempt to crawl down head foremost, the back will often 
 be two feet higher than the head, and the stalker never be 
 aware of it. In sliding down the hill, both stalker and 
 sportsman must have their eye upon the deer; and, if 
 they raise their heads, must keep the exact position they 
 were in when the deer looked up. It is very bad general- 
 ship, either with deer or wild-fowl, to clap down quickly, 
 as they at once see this manreuvre. Instead of doing so, 
 remain steady as a rock, until the deer begin to feed again, 
 or look in a different direction. Should they suspect you, 
 and thus render it necessary to move out of sight, with- 
 draw yourself inch by inch, so as to prevent their seeing 
 the least motion. In stalking up hill, you must crawl 
 sometimes upon hand and knee, occasionally flat upon 
 
DEER -STALKING. 43 
 
 your face when the deer come more prominently into view. 
 As they always look down hill, greater caution is required 
 than when stalking from above. Should two good stalkers 
 be noticed by deer, one ought always to remain where 
 they were first perceived, the other advancing alone. If 
 the deer are in sight, and not far off, a knowing forester 
 often restrains the eagerness of the novice, by telling him 
 to " coont the grass as they go along ; " that is, to count 
 the deer as they raise their heads for a moment when 
 feeding up. This, by ensuring a very slow advance, 
 doubles the chances of their escaping the notice of the deer, 
 and keeps the young stalker more cool. The forester all 
 the time has his eye on the leading deer. When selecting 
 your hart, raise the rifle most leisurely to the shoulder. 
 If brought up in a hurry, or in the same way that a quick 
 shot takes aim with his fowling-piece, you are almost 
 certain to miss. 
 
 A good forester generally becomes very nervous in the 
 long run, from the bungling of some gentlemen, and the 
 ill-temper of others, together with his constant anxiety to 
 procure them fair chances. 
 
 The quick sight of a skilful forester in first discovering 
 deer will appear miraculous to a stranger to the sport, 
 and, unless quite bewildered, he cannot fail to admire 
 the generalship which follows. The whole ground is as 
 perfectly known to his guide as his own pleasure-grounds 
 to himself. Every hollow, every knoll, is taken advantage 
 of ; every shifting turn of the wind, up the one or round 
 the other, is surely predicted, until, to his own utter 
 
41 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 amazement, the panting Sassenach or Lowlander is told 
 that he is within fair rifle-distance of a bevy of noble harts. 
 
 After deer have been stalked and shot at, they become 
 much wilder ; the best sport at the old harts is therefore 
 obtained at the beginning of the season. They generally 
 keep together, and when their stately mien and branching 
 antlers are seen in the distance, it is enough to inspirit 
 the most apathetic; but when told to cock his double- 
 barrelled rifle for a shot, I could well excuse a novice 
 for being scarcely able to obey. When there are hinds 
 in the herd, they often present themselves between you 
 and the unsuspecting harts ; but even should they be at a 
 distance, great caution is necessary, as, if one hind gets a 
 glimpse of the crouching enemy, the whole herd, stags 
 and all, are sure to scamper away, amidst the bitter 
 execrations of the forester upon its hornless head. 
 
 The next best time for a shot at a fine old stag, after 
 they have become wild, is about the beginning of October, 
 when each lot of hinds is sure to contain a good hart. 
 The chances then may often not be so good, but from 
 the stags being dispersed, there are more of them. If 
 deer are feeding forward, it requires very nice calculation, 
 when at a distance, to know the point they will arrive at 
 by the time you have neared them, especially as a shower 
 of rain or a gust of wind will quicken their motions. But 
 if the stalker is not far from the herd, which is feeding up 
 to his place of concealment, with a favourable wind, he 
 should not grudge waiting ; for, by sending round drivers 
 to windward of the deer, they are often apt to turn and 
 
DEER -STALK ING. 45 
 
 face them. I can't say that driving, under any circum- 
 stances, gives half the pleasure that stalking does; for 
 my own part, I would rather kill one stalked hart than 
 several driven. Driving, however, upon a large scale has 
 a most imposing effect, and, although it cannot be other- 
 wise than injurious to a forest, yet the exhilarating nature 
 of the whole proceedings, in which so many friends may 
 join, often makes the proprietor overlook the consternation 
 and panic it creates among the wild and timid herd. Some 
 part of the forest is selected to which the deer are to be 
 driven; a great number of hill-men and shepherds, who 
 thoroughly understand what they are about, are then sent 
 to the furthest extremity to bring all the deer they can 
 collect to this spot ; the passes, of course, being well 
 known, are occupied by the sportsmen with their rifles. 
 The drivers sometimes hallooing, and sometimes giving 
 their wind, gradually contract their circle ; the deer are 
 huddled together, and, finding the only clear ground in 
 the direction of the rifles, slowly and cautiously take their 
 doomed way. There is often great difficulty in driving 
 them, as they are always obliged to go with the wind, 
 which their natural instinct of self-preservation makes 
 them very unwilling to do, and, if they possibly can, 
 they always face it. When the herd come within distance 
 of the rifles, great mischief often ensues ; the nervous and 
 indifferent shot firing into the centre of the living mass, 
 while even the experienced deer-stalker, in singling out 
 the stag-royal, may sometimes wound a couple of hinds 
 beyond him. 
 
46 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 So much for driving on grand occasions, which gives 
 the shooter a tolerably snug sinecure until the game comes 
 up to his hand. But when it is practised in a small way, 
 there is no sport which more calls into play his pluck and 
 endurance of fatigue. He first climbs to the ridge of the 
 hill, where he is at once seen by the hawk-eyed driver who 
 has taken his station near the foot, or on the opposite brow, 
 and has marked with his glass every herd at feed or rest on 
 the face below. As soon as he has selected one, he 
 attempts to drive it up the hill, towards the sportsman, either 
 by hallooing or showing himself; at the same time giving 
 warning by the manner of his halloo which way they are 
 likely to take. The sportsman must be thoroughly 
 acquainted with all the passes, or have some person with 
 him who is ; and, running from one " snib " to another, 
 in obedience to the signal below, catch sight of the horns 
 of the herd, as, with serpentine ascent, they wind their 
 wary way. From the zigzag manner in which they often 
 come up, it is very difficult to make sure which pass will 
 be the favoured one, and I have been within a few hundred 
 yards of the antlers when the prolonged shout from below 
 has warned me that I had an almost perpendicular shoulder 
 of the hill to breast at my utmost speed before I could 
 hope to obtain the much-desired shot. If the wind is at all 
 high, so determined are the deer to face it, that, unless 
 there are a great number of drivers, one herd after 
 another may take the wrong direction ; but, if the day is 
 favourable, with only a light breeze, a knowing driver or 
 two will generally manage to send them up to the rifle. 
 
DEER- STALKING. 47 
 
 When the deer have selected their pass, should you be 
 within fair distance, with both barrels cocked, beware of 
 making the slightest motion, especially of the head, until 
 you mean to fire. Even when perfectly in view, if you lie 
 flat and don't move, the herd are almost sure to pass. 
 One or two hinds generally take the lead. The fine old 
 harts, if there are any in the herd, often come next, but 
 sometimes, if very fat and lazy, they lag in the rear. 
 When the first few hinds have fairly passed, the rest 
 are sure to follow, until their line is broken, and their 
 motions are quickened, by a double volley from the rifle. 
 
 When stalking (September 1840) in Glenartney forest, 
 by the kind permission of the noble owner, I had as 
 fine a chance as man could wish spoiled by the scarcely 
 audible whimper of a dog. I was placed in a most 
 advantageous spot, within near distance of the pass. 
 Presently an old hind came picking her stately steps, 
 like a lady of the old school ushering her company to 
 the dining-room. Next her came a careless three-year-old 
 hart, looking very anxious to get forward, and perfectly 
 regardless of danger. All was now safe, I felt sure of 
 my shot ; when, horror of horrors ! a slight whimper was 
 heard. The old hind listened, halted, and then turned 
 short round upon the young hart, who instantly followed 
 her example, and the whole herd ran helter-skelter down 
 the hill. The unfortunate sound proceeded from one of 
 the forester's two colleys, the only dogs Lord Willoughby 
 allows in the forest ; they are kept for the purpose of 
 bringing to bay any deer badly wounded, and are never 
 
48 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 slipped upon other occasions. The mar-plot above alluded 
 to is an old dog, and very good for the purpose ; he 
 had winded without seeing the deer hence his mistake. 
 
 Glenartney is a beautiful little forest, walled round by 
 fine green hills, but the deer being too numerous for its 
 extent, are rather small. It also stands high, and is not so 
 well sheltered as might be desired ; on which account the 
 deer, when the winter storm sets in severely, although fed 
 to the full, cannot remain to eat their food, and are 
 obliged to seek the shelter of the woods for many miles 
 round, far beyond their* bounds. At night they wander to 
 the turnip-fields for sustenance, where numbers are shot 
 by poachers, who watch the gates and openings into the 
 fields. One man boasted to me that he had in that manner 
 killed six during one storm, with a common fowling-piece 
 loaded with ball. The turnip-field where he performed 
 this feat was more than twelve miles from the forest. 
 
 Perhaps as fine deer as any in the kingdom are those 
 of the Black Mount. The cup * on the top of the horns 
 of many, according to Highland phrase, would hold a gill 
 of whisky ; and yet there are heads now preserved in 
 Taymouth Castle, which show that their forefathers, though 
 fewer in number, were even greater than they. The Black 
 Mount is twenty-one miles long by twelve broad ; and the 
 Marquis of Breadalbane, notwithstanding his numerous 
 engagements in public life, has not neglected this noble 
 appanage of a Highland proprietor. No expense or 
 
 * The three top prongs of the horn, growing out together, form a cup. 
 There is no cup at all except in the finest and oldest stags. 
 
l\ 
 
DEER -STALKING. 49 
 
 trouble is spared which can contribute to the winter 
 subsistence of the deer, or protect them from poachers. 
 Patches of different kinds of food are sown in the valleys, 
 and left uncut, to which they flock during the severity of 
 winter. The forest has plenty of green summer food, and 
 abundance of long heather, which affords shelter in cold 
 weather, and is greedily eaten in the snow-storm, when 
 hardly any other food can be reached. I shot the subject 
 of the woodcut there about the beginning of October 1840, 
 when the forest was in all its glory, and nothing but 
 sounds of rivalry and defiance were heard in every 
 quarter. The head is not by any means the largest 
 size, but may be taken as a fair average specimen. 
 The fallow-deer's head was from life, one of the finest 
 I ever saw. 
 
 The day I shot the red-deer was perhaps the most 
 unpropitious for stalking which could possibly have been 
 chosen. In the morning, the mist was rolling lazily 
 along the sides of the mountains in dense masses, and 
 it was evident there would be rain before the close 
 of the day. It was enough to damp the heart of the 
 most ardent deer-stalker, but I determined (having 
 little time to spare) to abide by the forester's opinion. 
 His answer was, that " we would just do our best; but 
 if we were unsuccessful to-day, I must e'en wait for 
 to-morrow." With this determination we started for the 
 forest, followed by an under-keeper, with one of Lord 
 Breadalbane's fine deer-hounds, led in a leash. A slight 
 breeze at first sprang up, and partially cleared away the 
 
50 DEER- STALKING. 
 
 mist from some of the lower hills. The quick eye of 
 Kobertson immediately discovered a deer lying down upon 
 the ridge of one of them. His glass was instantly fixed. 
 " There, sir, if you could manage that fellow, you would 
 have one of the finest harts in the forest." " Well, 
 suppose we go round by the back of the hill, and come 
 down that hollow, we should be within fair distance from 
 the rock." " If he'll only lie still, and give us time 
 enough." This, however, the stag had determined not to 
 do, for when we came to the hollow, he had risen from his 
 rocky couch, and was immediately detected by Robert- 
 son, quietly taking his breakfast, among his hinds, a con- 
 siderable way below. The place was so open all round 
 that it was impossible to get near him, and the mist soon 
 afterwards came on so thick that we only knew that the 
 deer were all round us by their incessant bellowing. The 
 forester looked much disconcerted ; for, in addition to the 
 mist, a drizzling rain began to descend. We sat down 
 behind a hillock, and I desired the under-keeper to produce 
 the provision-basket. " If there was only a breeze! 1 ' says 
 Robertson ; " and I do believe it's comin', for the draps o' 
 rain are much heavier." And so it proved, for the mist 
 again partially cleared. We hastened to take advantage 
 of the change; and Robertson, ten yards in advance, 
 mounting every knoll, and searching every hollow with 
 an eye that seemed to penetrate the very mist, suddenly 
 threw himself upon the ground, and signalled us to do 
 the same. A roar like that of a bull presently let us know 
 the cause, and on a little amphitheatre about five hundred 
 
DEER -STALKING. 61 
 
 yards off, his profile in full relief, stoo^ as noble a stag as 
 ever " tossed his beamed frontlet to the sky." There he 
 was, like knight of old, every now and then sounding his 
 trumpet of defiance, and courting the battle and the strife. 
 Nor did he challenge in vain, for while we were admiring 
 his majestic attitude, another champion rushed upon him, 
 and a fierce encounter followed. We could distinctly hear 
 the crashing of their horns, as they alternately drove each 
 other to the extremity of the lists. " I wish the ball was 
 through the heart o' one o' ye ! " muttered the under- 
 keeper. His wishes were soon to be realised ; for the 
 younger knight, who seemed to have the advantage in 
 courage and activity, at last fairly drove his adversary 
 over the knoll and disappeared after him. Robertson now 
 rushed forward, signing to me to follow, and peeping 
 cautiously over the scene of contest, slunk back again, 
 and crawled on hand and knee up a hollow to a hillock, 
 immediately beyond : I following his example. When we 
 had gained this point, he took another wary survey, and 
 whispered that the hinds were on the other side of the 
 knoll, within thirty yards. It was now a nervous time, 
 but I could not help admiring the coolness of the forester. 
 Without the least appearance of flurry, he had both eyes 
 and ears open, and gave his directions with distinctness 
 and precision. " That will do; there goes a hind, the 
 whole will follow. Place your rifle on that stone, you'll 
 get a famous chance about eighty yards." "He'll come at 
 last," he again whispered, as hind after hind slowly passed 
 in review, when a roar was heard immediately below us. 
 
52 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 " As sure as I'm leevin', he's eomin' on the very tap o' us. 
 Hold the rifle this way, sir, and shoot him between the 
 horns the moment his head comes ow'r the knowe." I 
 had scarcely altered my position, when head, horns and 
 all, appeared in full view. Seeing us in a moment, he 
 was out of sight at a bound, but, taking a direction 
 round the base of the hillock, presented his broadside 
 a beautiful cross-shot. I had plenty of time for delibe- 
 rate aim, and the Eed Knight of the Wilds lay low and 
 bleeding. 
 
 It was now nearly four o'clock, and the forester had some 
 doubts whether we could get him to Inveruran that night ; 
 but as I was anxious to start early in the morning, we 
 despatched the follower for a cart, and with great difficulty 
 dragged the stag by th6 horns down the hill to the road. 
 Notwithstanding the weather, I had been delighted with 
 my expedition, and only regretted having killed the 
 younger and victorious champion instead of his more bulky 
 rival. During our walk to the inn, I had many anecdotes 
 of former bloody deeds in the forest from Kobertson, and 
 not a few where the balls had flown scatheless. One, in 
 particular, amused me. The Marquis, accompanied by 
 two friends one of them, I should imagine, more famous 
 for his scientific than sporting qualifications were stalking 
 some very fine harts. When within rifle-distance, his 
 lordship and one of his friends were crawling over a knoll, 
 in order to select the best of the lot. " What are they 
 about up there ?" said the virtuoso. " There are the deer." 
 Bang ! bang ! Off went the harts in a twinkling, wishing, 
 
DEER- STALKING. 53 
 
 I have no doubt, that they had always such fair warning 
 when danger was near. 
 
 We passed, during the day, several forest-baths, in full 
 use; i. e. moss-holes where the stags plunge up to the 
 neck and roll about to cool themselves, in summer and 
 autumn. When they come out again, black as pitch, they 
 look like the evil genii of the mountain. In former times 
 poachers used to fasten spears with the points upward in 
 these places, and when the stag threw himself into the 
 hole, he was impaled. 
 
 Lord Breadalbane has a very fine kennel of dogs exclu- 
 sively for bringing the wounded deer to bay. They are 
 for the most part a breed between the foxhound and grey- 
 hound, but some are between the deerhound and foxhound. 
 The former are reckoned the best winded. The forester 
 is justly proud of these dogs, mentioning that some of 
 them, when chasing a cold (unwounded) hart with hinds, 
 were so knowing, that, should the hart give them the slip 
 at a burn, and run down it, they would stop their pursuit 
 of the hinds, recover his track, and hold him at bay all 
 night should no one come to their relief. The cunning of 
 the old Forest rangers is also remarkable. Once, when 
 some young dogs were being entered at the two-year- 
 old harts, a stag-royal presented himself, but, seeing 
 he was not the immediate object of pursuit, he witnessed 
 the whole chase from the shelter of a plantation, and 
 when the foresters returned, they again started him, close 
 to where he was first put up, when he dashed into the 
 thicket of the wood. There was a tame one kept at one 
 
,54 DEER -STALKING. 
 
 of the shooting-lodges which attacked every one but the 
 foresters, and at last was removed to the park at Tay- 
 mouth. This fellow became so savage and expert with 
 his antlers, that he killed, I have been told, two horses, 
 and no one dared to pass his haunt unless he knew 
 them, 
 
 The finest red-deer head I ever saw was that of a park- 
 deer killed last autumn by a stab in the flank from 
 another in the Duke of Atholl's park at Blair. Of course 
 high feeding was the cause of his immense horns. Such a 
 head is never met with in a wild state. I have now a five- 
 year-old in my brother's park at Rossdhu, and mean to 
 try whether good keep will have' the like effect upon his 
 antlers. He is very savage : no one dares to go near him 
 without a dog. The Atholl deer was fourteen years old. 
 
WILD-GOATS 
 
 I HAVE often thought that for those who have a taste for 
 deer-stalking, without the opportunity, it might be no bad 
 substitute to have a flock or two of goats upon a remote 
 range of hills. The idea suggested itself to me from 
 having heard and seen a good deal of the nature and 
 habits of a few kept wild upon an island in Loch Lomond. 
 These goats, originally a breed between the Welsh and 
 Highland, were very large, and the oldest inhabitant does 
 not recollect when they were first introduced. After 
 having been completely left to themselves for a few 
 generations, they became very cunning and suspicious, 
 always haunting the most out-of-the-way craggy places 
 they could find ; and one precipice in particular has been 
 called from time immemorial Crap-na-gour, or Hill of the 
 Goats. They have now rather deteriorated, from the fine 
 old wild ones having been killed off, and some of the 
 tame kind substituted to cross the breed. The hair of 
 some of the old u Billies" of the wild breed was eighteen 
 inches long ; and I have contrasted a horn of the last fine 
 
56 WILD -GO ATS. 
 
 specimen of the race, shot many years ago, with a good- 
 sized one of the domesticated species. To stalk these half- 
 tame goats afforded no small diversion, and I have seen 
 several sportsmen engaged nearly a whole day before the 
 fatal shot was fired. But in their wilder state, I am told, 
 they showed amazing game, tact, and cunning in eluding 
 an enemy. The hero, whose horn I have represented, man- 
 aged to escape several of the most experienced hands in the 
 country, some with ball and others with buck-shot, for a 
 couple of days. He was brought down on the evening of 
 the second day, after being hard struck a short time before ; 
 and I have been assured that even larger than he have been 
 killed upon the island, with horns proportionably finer. 
 
 Another circumstance also made me imagine that goat- 
 stalking might be practicable. One of my father's tenants, 
 who farmed the remote range of Glen-Douglas, had a flock 
 of goats pastured among the precipices. This flock was 
 always under the command of the shepherds and their 
 dogs. A fine old Billy, however, broke away from the 
 rest, and spurned all control. This lasted upwards of a 
 year, when he became so completely wild that it required 
 half a dozen shepherds, with their guns, to range the 
 mountains for some days before he could be shot. 
 
 As further proof how strong the love of freedom is 
 implanted in the goat, I last summer heard of another 
 patriarch of the flock, who appeared also disgusted 
 with the monotony of his tame life, and, like the captive 
 Bedouin longing for the desert, again sought his congenial 
 wilds. He left Tyndrum, wandering from mountain -to 
 
WILD -GOATS. 57 
 
 mountain, a passing shepherd now and then catching a 
 distant glimpse of him in his progress, and was at last 
 discovered to have chosen his quarters in a retreat as 
 savage and solitary as that romantic district could afford. 
 
 I am aware that many objections might be raised 
 against my suggestion ; first, that the goats would never 
 be wild enough to afford sport, and that, if they were, they 
 would be apt to take refuge among inaccessible rocks and 
 precipices, where no man could stalk them. I own that it 
 would be many years before goats could become quite 
 wild, but if a fine breed were turned out on some of the 
 steepest and least frequented of our mountains, and 
 especially if they were never disturbed or brought to bay by 
 dogs, I have no doubt that their progeny would become fit 
 for stalking. And as to sheltering themselves in rocks 
 and precipices, they would be far less apt to do this when 
 they had acquired confidence in other means of escape. I 
 only, however, mention goat-stalking as an untried amuse- 
 ment, and think it might be worth while for the proprietors 
 of Highland mountains to make the experiment. Sheep- 
 farms, where deer never remain, would answer the purpose. 
 Goats do not interfere with the sheep, and generally choose 
 the roughest ground where the pasture is of least value. 
 It is unnecessary to say that the old males would be uneat- 
 able, but the mountain-fed kids are reckoned very delicious. 
 
CBAP-NA-GOWEB 
 
 THE heather was bare and run to seed, the bell had long 
 faded, and the grouse were wild and packed, when I 
 received a note from my brother to say " that, in conse- 
 quence of the mischief the flock of wild goats had done to 
 the newly planted trees on his deer island, he had de- 
 termined to extirpate them ; but had reserved the two 
 old Billies for my rifle." Well pleased, I obeyed the 
 summons. 
 
 The evening I came to Kossdhu was dull and cold; 
 rather watery looking for the west ; but at grey of next 
 morning I threw up my window, and was happy to find 
 that it had cleared to bright starlight, with a crisp night 
 frost. The ivy owl was sounding his melancholy note, 
 foreboding abdication, while old chanticleer welcomed the 
 first faint streaks of the dawn by a blast from his cheery 
 trumpet. It had a curious effect, and seemed a contention 
 between the spirits of night and morning. It was a good 
 omen, for the sun rose in cloudless lustre, and by breakfast- 
 time was flaming down upon the antiquated beeches, now 
 
CRAP-NA-GOWEE. 59 
 
 in their rich and variegated autumnal tints, and casting his 
 warmest glow over the red and withered bracken upon the 
 slopes of the distant hills. 
 
 I found the bearded chief was at least ten years old, and 
 his henchman about two years younger. They had been 
 the progeny of a cross between the original wild black goat 
 of the rock, and a tame white Billy of very large size, who 
 fell a victim to the change of life ; having hanged himself 
 by the horns on a yew-tree, in attempting to feed upon the 
 higher branches. They had been bred among the craggy 
 ravines on the unfrequented part of the island, and had 
 never left them. A four-oared yawl was soon manned by 
 hardy Highlandmen, and we pushed off for Crap-na-Gower. 
 
 There is nothing more exhilarating than the air of these 
 calm autumn mornings. The breath of spring may be 
 more fresh and fragrant, but it is not so buoyant nor clear. 
 The little robin seems to feel its effect ; for his monotonous 
 but plaintive wail, sadly sweet, like a lament for summer, 
 is always loudest then. Our loch was calm as glass, and 
 reflected the wooded islands and copses of various hues, 
 relieved here and there by the dark Scotch firs, with their 
 knotted and twisted branches. A black-backed or giant 
 gull, perched upon a large stone at the end of Inch Moan, 
 was shouting his rough music (which sounded doubly 
 atrocious over the calm expanse) to another couple, floating 
 at a distance so airily upon the clear water, they scarcely 
 seemed to touch it. The giant gull is a beautiful fellow, 
 with his snowy breast and dusky wing ; and, barring 
 his voice, is the greatest ornament to our inland lochs 
 
CO CRAP-NA-GOWER. 
 
 during summer and autumn, of any bird except the 
 osprey. 
 
 Leaving master Black-back in possession of his platform, 
 like many as noisy an orator equally au fait at gull 
 rhetoric, we stood out for the middle of the Loch, in order 
 to have a good view of the rugged part of Inch Lonach, the 
 territory of the goats. As we expected, we soon twigged 
 their white coats in broad contrast to the dark heather and 
 darker yew-trees. Upon inspecting them through our 
 telescopes, we found they were in a sort of rocky hollow, 
 a capital situation for stalking, and busily engaged in 
 cropping the lower branches of a venerable yew. I saw, 
 with pleasure, that there was considerable difference in 
 their size. When we got to the island, they told us that 
 we could not help knowing the patriarch, as his horns 
 came down to the small of his back, 
 
 As my rifle was only a single barrel, I was anxious to 
 make sure of Mm first, in case he might hide, if alarmed 
 by my firing at the other. Should he do so, we might 
 not find him again all day. 
 
 Crap-na-Gower, the stronghold of the goats, is perhaps 
 the most fascinatin g spot of the far-famed Loch Lomond. 
 It is placed midway between the lovely islands at the foot, 
 and the rugged and romantic grandeur at the head of the 
 Loch, and quite commands the best views of both. It rises 
 perpendicularly out of the Loch, by an almost inaccessible 
 succession of rocks and shaggy heather, full of deep holes 
 and caverns. Seen at a distance from a boat, with its 
 wild-goats browsing among the grey rocks and scaurs, 
 
CRAP-NA-GOWER. 61 
 
 shaded here arid there by a clump of reverend yews, a finer 
 study for the artist's pencil could not be found. It was 
 to this lone spot, where the poor goats had braved the 
 winter frost and summer sun of many a long year, that 
 I now bent my steps, the messenger of their destruction. 
 
 We thoroughly knew all the passes, and stationed 
 sentries in them to intercept the goats, should they 
 attempt to cross to the other side of the island, which is 
 about two miles long. When they found their progress 
 blockaded, they would immediately return to Crap-na- 
 Gower. My business then was to find out the pass they 
 would use on their way back, and lie concealed. This 
 was not difficult, as the barricaders in front would give me 
 the signal. A very slight one might suffice, as I was also 
 well acquainted with all the back passes. 
 
 I took my telescope in my hand, and was followed by a 
 keeper, carrying my rifle. A circuit of a mile, to gain the 
 wind, brought us to the far side of Crap-na-Gower. We 
 were then about a quarter of a mile to leeward of the 
 two poor goats, who were unsuspectingly munching their 
 delicious repast of yew-twigs, in the full enjoyment of a 
 midday sun. Our near approach was over a succession of 
 rocks and knolls covered with heather, so long as nearly to 
 reach the waist. We were constantly kept upon the alert, 
 for this heather often concealed holes that it would have 
 been no joke to have stumbled into; and were also annoyed 
 by the sunk rocks^ which are often covered as effectually 
 by this long heather as by the waters of the deep. 
 
 Having gained the knoll, on the other side of which we 
 
62 CRAP-NA-GOWER. 
 
 hoped to find our victims, we held a consultation as to the 
 point of attack. This arranged, we slunk very warily 
 round the angle of the knoll, in case the goats had moved. 
 It was well we were so cautious ; for scarcely had we 
 turned the peak, when the head and long horns of one of 
 the hirci rose into view, not more than fifty yards off. He 
 was rearing himself upon his hind legs to reach the branch 
 of a yew-tree, which made the apparition of his head so 
 sudden. I at once dropped into the long heather, and 
 beckoned to the keeper for my rifle. When I crawled 
 forward upon hands and knees, it was quite evident the 
 poor creature had no idea of an enemy. He continued his 
 yew-cropping, occasionally scratching his shoulder with his 
 long pointed horn, which seemed admirably adapted for 
 the purpose. Sometimes he would rear himself upon his 
 hind legs, to seize a twig just out of his reach when on all 
 fours. I was quite amused at his activity, and the length 
 of time he could remain in this erect posture. 
 
 All my endeavours to ascertain whether he was the ten 
 or eight year old were unavailing, and it was impossible to 
 move further, as, in trying to get a sight of the other, I 
 might probably scare both. From his position being rather 
 above me, he looked very imposing, and I felt pretty sure 
 he was the patriarch. Kaising my rifle by inches, I fired. 
 The ball struck him true in the centre of the shoulder; 
 but, from his being above me, it took a slanting direction, 
 (as we afterwards found,) and he did not drop. Up I 
 started; and, at the same instant, the old goat bounded 
 from the opposite side of the tree, and took the lead of his 
 
CHAP -NA- GO WEE. 63 
 
 wounded companion. It was now apparent I had struck 
 the junior. A severe race the keeper and I had to keep 
 sight of him ; but in vain. The last we saw of him was 
 lagging far behind the other, his snow-white shoulder 
 bedabbled with blood. He soon after disappeared among 
 the rugged ground, and was seen no more that day. The 
 old chief, however, kept on at a swing gallop by himself. 
 Knowing that our sentries would soon turn him, and that 
 his object would then be the rocks of Crap-na-Gower, we 
 kept watching for the signal which was to make us aware 
 of his course. It sounded, and I was again at my post for 
 a shot. 
 
 After waiting for half-an-hour, I saw the tips of his 
 horns coming straight for my ambush, and making for the 
 wilds of the island 5 which, if he gained, adieu to him for 
 that day. Before he quite came up, I raised myself and 
 fired. He halted, and changed his course, but I was up to 
 him. I knew that if I could, by taking a short cut, gain 
 the pass where it entered Crap-na-Gower, I should be 
 pretty sure of an excellent chance. Billy had a long 
 circuit to make, and was. moreover, a good deal blown, so 
 the odds were in my favour. 
 
 Throwing off my shooting-jacket, waistcoat, and neck- 
 cloth, I cut away at full speed, though in danger every 
 moment of tumbling into one or other of the natural pit- 
 falls, or of knocking my rifle to pieces against a rock. 
 Panting and toiling under the burning sun, I at last arrived 
 at the pass, and had scarcely five minutes to recover 
 breath, when William, equally done up, appeared, thunder- 
 
64 CRAP-NA-GOWER. 
 
 ing over the adjoining height. I was in no hurry this 
 time, and allowed him to cross fair, and so present the full 
 target of his side ; as I well knew that nothing could keep 
 him from the rocks but a rifle-ball. Crack ! The poor 
 animal gave a cry, something between a bleat and a howl, 
 (it was far too human to be agreeable,) walked on a 
 hundred yards, and then stopped. It was plain his race 
 was run. I loaded as quickly as I could, to put him out 
 of his misery; but whenever I attempted to move, he 
 braced himself up for a last struggle. With one desponding 
 look at his own Crap-na-Gower, which he now despaired 
 of reaching, and was never to see again, he turned his 
 back upon it, and hobbled slowly to the shore. I did 
 not press him. Poor fellow ! I felt too much for him for 
 that. Notwithstanding my " successful skill," I was far 
 enough from regarding him with " apathy.' 7 My great 
 anxiety was to end his woes. I watched him to the shore, 
 and then saw him wade out upon a rock surrounded by 
 water. Keeping out of his sight, I stalked him from 
 behind a heathery bank, which ran parallel to the shore, 
 till I got within thirty yards. When I peeped cautiously 
 through the heather, he was standing with his side to me, 
 and his head sunk down nearly to the rock, the very 
 picture of meek despair! Kesting my elbow upon the 
 heather, to make sure, I aimed at his heart. He gave one 
 brave bound from his rock to the shore, staggered, and fell 
 dead upon the beach. 
 
 There were soon plenty of hands examining his wounds. 
 We found the first ball had grazed his neck, although I 
 
CKAP-NA-GOWER. 65 
 
 fancied I had missed him altogether. It was a wonder to 
 all of us how the second had not finished him, so fair was 
 he struck. The third passed through his heart. 
 
 It was now agreed that we should separate, for a 
 thorough search after the wounded goat. It proved 
 unsuccessful, although we were assisted by half-a-dozen 
 pair of active limbs and sharp eyes the general birthright 
 of Highlanders. The shades of evening drew on, and we 
 were obliged to take to our boat. 
 
 ******** 
 
 What motive was it that made me decline a shooting 
 party next morning, and determine upon a second excursion 
 to the Lone Isle ? After the narrative of the preceding 
 day, I have little right to expect belief, when I say it was 
 compassion. I could not help thinking that the poor goat 
 might be alive ; and, if so, nothing awaited him but a 
 lingering death of pain. Having quickly finished my 
 breakfast, I was soon seated at the oar, with a sturdy 
 partner, and pulling rapidly for the quiet strand. 
 
 The people of the island had been on the outlook; and 
 about two hours before we came, had seen him slowly 
 limping up a hill. With my attendant behind me, I 
 immediately walked off in the direction they pointed out. 
 I had not long to look. Upon the pinnacle of the hill, 
 which commanded a view all round, sat the poor goat, 
 evidently in dread of a surprise like yesterday's. There 
 was no possibility of stalking him ; and the moment he 
 saw me, he rose leisurely to his feet, and descended the 
 hill on the other side. He then sauntered to the rocks on 
 
 E 
 
66 CKAP-NA-GOWER. 
 
 the shore, being quite unable for the steeps of Crap-na- 
 Gower. We followed to the beach ; but, upon getting 
 there, he had hidden again. 
 
 After a search of many hours, my follower winded him. 
 Upon looking cautiously all round, he detected him com- 
 pletely engulfed in heather, with rocks on each side, and 
 only a small aperture by which he had entered this snug 
 shelter. He had an instinctive knowledge the moment he 
 was discovered ; for he immediately rose and limped out of 
 his retreat. The man hallooed to me, and I took my 
 station upon a rock which commanded two passes, one of 
 which he must cross, as he was unable to climb the high 
 rocks. When he was within forty yards, I shouted to 
 make him turn oif the shore, and thus present a broadside. 
 He only looked up languidly, and kept his course along 
 the beach. He passed directly under me, at the distance 
 of twenty yards, when I fired at the back of his neck, and 
 hit him in the spine : of course his death was instantaneous. 
 
 Our boat was at the other side of the island, and we had 
 no time to bring it round; so we could only leave him 
 where he fell, and send early next morning to fetch him 
 home. A light cobble and couple of gillies were along- 
 side of him by five o'clock ; but, even before that early 
 hour, Kob Koy's " bedrels, the corbies, and the hoody 
 craws," had entered upon office. I made them welcome 
 to their share, but preserved his head, horns, and skin, 
 together with that of his chief, which are as handsome 
 trophies of the chase as any I have in my collection. 
 
SALMON-ANGLING 
 
 I SHALL hope to be pardoned if I claim for fishing the 
 appellation of a science. I have never considered it, like 
 shooting, a mere art. At all events, it has certainly not 
 yet been brought to perfection ; and the more able the 
 angler, the more willingly will he admit, that not a season 
 passes without his acquiring fresh secrets which he is not 
 over-solicitous to tell. If a man fancies he can jump into 
 proficiency after a season or two's practice, he is vastly 
 mistaken ; it is not a few fishing excursions now and then 
 that form the adept, but the heedful experience of years. 
 Take an instance ; and suppose a man to be expert in the 
 knack of throwing a line ; he is angling down a fine 
 salmon-stream, followed by a finished master of the fly, 
 and has just completed his last throw of a promising pool. 
 Upon looking over his shoulder, his companion has hold of 
 a good fish, at the very part of the cast on which he had 
 bestowed the most care and pains : he immediately suspects 
 that his comrade has been more knowing in the choice of a 
 fly. But when the salmon is landed, he discovers, to his 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 
 
 amazement, that it was attracted by a facsimile of the 
 identical fly which a moment before he had so dexterously 
 tendered to its acceptance ! Every really first-rate fly- 
 fisher will meet with such occurrences, when angling in 
 the wake of a less gifted craftsman. And although to the 
 looker-on it appears as if he had charmed the fish, yet it is 
 only by a more scientific knowledge of the exact spots 
 where the salmon are likely to come up, and lingering over 
 these with the motion of a glancing insect. This mastery 
 of the gentle craft can only be attained by long practice 
 and the most perfect command of the rod. 
 
 Angling for salmon may be called the deer-stalking of 
 the streams. As in the first sight of the herd there is 
 more excitement, and more satisfaction when you bring 
 down the stag than any other game, so in salmon-fishing, 
 compared with all other kinds, the interest is greater when 
 you rise a fish, and the satisfaction double when you lay 
 him on the shingly bank. Like deer-stalking, however, it 
 has its disadvantages ; not the least of which is, the greater 
 stock of patience required, and the greater uncertainty of 
 the sport ; unless, indeed, in preserved waters, where there 
 is much less opportunity of displaying the superiority of 
 an accomplished fisher over the ordinary performer. In 
 unprotected water, for instance, should the weather be 
 unpropitious, the best rod may flog the river for hours 
 without stirring a fin ; while a couple of fish is always 
 reckoned a good day's work. Under the same untoward 
 circumstances, the trout-fisher may often, by skill and 
 perseverance, make out a very tolerable bagful. 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 69 
 
 I have heard it said by some pseudo salmon-anglers, 
 that the only pleasure was the hooking of the fish ; and 
 some have even declared they would not mind breaking 
 every salmon directly after fastening him. Such men, to 
 be consistent, should drop the salmon and stick to the 
 trout : they will of course have more rises, and fix more 
 fish ; but the idea is absurd. If they have arrived at such 
 a pinnacle of perfection, why not reduce their tackle to a 
 single horse-hair ? And if even this should be too strong 
 for their exquisite skill, let them carefully cull the softest 
 hair from the softest lock of their own softer heads. 
 
 However one may admire the dexterity of a master of 
 the rod, as he casts his line between every opening among 
 the trees, in a difficult river, yet I would rather see him 
 manage his fish after hooking it ; the cool nerve and 
 delicate touch is the very perfection of art : and I should 
 never pronounce a man a true salmon-fisher until I had 
 seen him working one in a difficult situation. To throw a 
 very long line, and to search the casts properly with the 
 fly, are no doubt indispensable requisites ; but a river 
 fly-angler, (for I don't here speak of either bait or loch 
 fishing,) who can work his hooked fish scientifically, will 
 seldom be deficient in all the prerequisites of fixing him ; 
 while the rising man, who has only fished preserved waters, 
 where all is clear and open, should he hook a salmon in a 
 difficult place, will most likely find that he has got hold of 
 too strong a customer. And here we may ask, what was 
 the magic in angling that captivated the intellect of such 
 men as Chantrey and Davy? Sir Humphry, I suspect, 
 
70 SALMON - ANGLING. 
 
 would have looked rather queer if an officious friend had 
 told him that all the sport was over when the forty-pound 
 fish he landed above Yair Bridge was first hooked. And 
 the great sculptor would have been equally astonished if 
 the struggles of a sixteen-pound Thames trout had been 
 treated with the like contempt ! Whatever may be the 
 reason, all true anglers know that the doubtful contest 
 with a monster-fish forms no inconsiderable part of the 
 enjoyment ; and his being laid upon the shelving bank 
 the crowning point of all. No doubt the philosophy or 
 the poetry of angling was one reason of its being the 
 pastime of so many great minds ; but when even contem- 
 plative Wotton had fairly landed a gorgeous fish, I will 
 venture to say that the triumph of success swallowed up 
 every other pleasure. 
 
 But, without analysing their feelings, we know not how 
 much we owe to this recreation of departed genius. Might 
 not the safety-lamp have been lit amid the limpid waters 
 of the Tweed, and some of the most beautiful creations of 
 Chantrey's fancy been first conceived on the green banks 
 of Father Thames ? Great men, however, can sometimes 
 be great boys at the water-side. I have witnessed, with 
 some amusement, the late Sir Charles Bell's comical 
 vexation, when an unlooked-for rod bore down upon him. 
 His testy frown, when interfered with, was quite irresist- 
 ible proof enough of his eagerness in the sport. But 
 perhaps this unbending of the bow may have given it 
 double power when strung again. Sir Charles was only a 
 second-rate fisher, and it often seemed curious to me that 
 
SALMON - ANGLING. 71 
 
 he, and several men of the brightest intellect whom I have 
 watched at the river-side, seemed more ignorant of their 
 favourite amusement than of any other thing. I should 
 not have wondered at any want of practical skill, so much 
 as their ignorance of the habits of fish ; in which department 
 they seemed scarcely to excel the herd-laddie, who stared 
 at them with vacant gaze. 
 
 Every newly arrived salmon-fisher should secure the 
 services of the ablest native practitioner who may proffer 
 them, and will thus be shown all the best casts of the 
 river. It is absurd vanity to suppose oneself capable of 
 discovering them without a great waste of time. No 
 doubt a good salmon-angler will at once perceive the 
 places where fish are most likely to harbour; but the 
 misfortune is, that those casts which appear the most 
 certain may sometimes deceive, while there are particular 
 nooks, perhaps the least attractive even to an experienced 
 eye, where a fish is pretty likely to rise ; this is especially 
 the case when the river is swollen. An angler must have 
 but a poor knowledge of his craft, who, after once or twice 
 fishing down a stream under proper guidance, could not 
 afterwards manage for himself. It will be very necessary 
 to get a list of the most killing flies in use, on the spot, 
 and tie them of various shades and sizes. 
 
 After being thoroughly shown the casts of the river 
 when swollen, it may be as well to have recourse to the 
 guide again, when it becomes small and clear ; as some 
 pools that are excellent in flood, are not worth a throw 
 when the water has fallen in, and others that were too 
 
72 SALMON - ANGLING. 
 
 foaming and boiling when the river was large, then come 
 into prime order. The resorts of salmon, however, are 
 much more easily detected when the river is low. This 
 state of the water also requires considerable difference 
 in the fly, chiefly in size. In my opinion, most salmon- 
 fishers use too large hooks. 
 
 A stranger will often find his guide's knowledge superior 
 to his practice ; and that is the reason why the lower 
 orders frequently excel those who might appear to a 
 spectator to throw a better and finer line. Some anglers 
 have an additional piece to screw on to their rods for long 
 casts ; a very thin butt is required when this piece is not 
 added, and it is more apt to twist the rod. If equal in 
 other respects, a man who has the power of throwing a 
 very long line has the same advantage over a less gifted 
 friend, in this particular, that a far-killing gun has over an 
 inferior one, both in the same skilful hands. I should, 
 therefore, advise every aspirant to excellence in salmon- 
 fishing to attain this knack in the greatest possible per- 
 fection. 
 
 Some anglers who throw the longest line make it swirl 
 out upon the water, the hook appearing to alight last. 
 Others cause the fly to hover for a moment, and touch 
 the water before any part of the line. These last appear 
 the neater fishers, but the others command more water. 
 In fishing a salmon-cast, throw a point down stream, 
 bringing your hook gradually round by short jerks, but 
 always keep it two points against the stream, and never 
 bring it in so straight towards you as in trout-fishing. In 
 
SALMON - ANGLING. 73 
 
 dead water, when a very long cast, you may throw straight 
 out, bringing your fly round, by keeping the point of the 
 rod up instead of down stream. There is an under-handed 
 throw much in use on the Spey, which prevents the line 
 from circling behind. Of course this is a great advantage 
 among trees or other obstacles. It is generally practised 
 up stream, and the line with its swish upon the water goes 
 over all the fish before they see the fly, which appears to 
 me a great objection. These Spey-fishers can throw this 
 under-handed cast as far as an expert hand in the ordinary 
 way. A peculiar rod is necessary, which must be very 
 stiff. Indeed, a common salmon-rod would be apt to break 
 in the hands of these fishers. The cast is easily learned, 
 and must be seen to be thoroughly understood. 
 
 Large rivers require a large rather than a gaudy fly, 
 which must decrease in size as the river narrows. Rapid 
 brawling streams, on the contrary, take a gaudy fly rather 
 than a large one. There are many Highland burns where 
 salmon and sea-trout ascend in numbers in the autumn. 
 These being generally shallow and rapid, a large fly would 
 frighten as many as it would attract. If you fish with a 
 small hook of sober colour in such troubled water, it might 
 not catch their sight. Streams of this kind are in best 
 order when tumbling over stock and stone something the 
 colour of London porter. The reason that a large fly of 
 sombre hue is preferred for a stately river, arises from the 
 depth, and clearness of the water. A large fly is required 
 to catch attention of fish at the bottom, while gay colours 
 would be apt to alarm them as they come up, when the 
 
74 SALMON -ANGLING. 
 
 water is so clear. When a large river is also rapid, as in 
 the higher parts of the Taj, the fly may be proportionally 
 bright. The size of the stream is an excellent criterion 
 for that of the hook ; and you may see every village urchin 
 fishing for the spring trout in Tweed with a hook double 
 the size of that he uses in Gala, or any of the other 
 tributaries, for the very same purpose : the favourite fly 
 in both cases being a woodcock- wing, hare's-ear body, tied 
 with blue thread. 
 
 The regular fishermen, as they call themselves, of any 
 particular river, will hold up the flies they are accustomed 
 to use, and affirm that they will kill in any water. These 
 men have, of course, a great advantage over occasional 
 visitors, both from their knowledge of the flies and places 
 where the fish lie ; gentlemen are therefore apt to overrate 
 their pretensions, and pay compliments which they suck 
 down as eagerly as (by their own account) the salmon do 
 their flies. But take both to a strange river and leave 
 them to their unaided resources, and, if equal in other 
 respects, the advantage ought to be on the side of the 
 amateur ; because, from the variety of rivers in his fishing 
 tours, he gains twice the insight into the habits of fish ; 
 although he may not appear to the same advantage with a 
 far inferior fisher, when the latter is upon his own regular 
 beat. Nevertheless, I must say that most gentlemen are 
 so careless of everything but throwing the line, that the 
 advantage gained by their more extensive means of observa- 
 tion is more than counterbalanced by the reflection of the 
 lower orders, who put all their head-piece into their practice. 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 75 
 
 In the deep rocky parts of the river, especially at the 
 beginning of the season, put on your largest fly, trying a 
 smaller should you not get a rise. In the rapid Highland 
 streams, where I have said before a small fly should be 
 used, if you need any alteration, let it be in colour rather 
 than in size. But on this point, as no invariable rule can 
 be given, it will be better to get advice on the spot, if you 
 can obtain it. For instance, though the Thames is so 
 sluggish, and the trout so wary, the most killing fly there 
 is what they call " the soldier-palmer, " that is, a bright- 
 dyed hackle, red pig's wool, and gold tinsel. 
 
 When fishing for salmon only, never have two flies on 
 your cast. The pleasure of hooking more fish will not 
 make up for the vexation of losing one, even should more 
 be secured in the long run. This, however, must be a 
 matter of taste. By changing the fly judiciously, you have 
 nearly as good a chance with one as with two, although 
 sometimes the fish may be a little longer in stirring. Don't 
 be too certain that you have detected the most killing fly 
 because fish take it well one day, as salmon, in some moods, 
 will rise at anything you throw over them. 
 
 When large rivers are so low that the salmon reject the 
 smallest legitimate fly, reduce your hook to the size of 
 those recommended for the Highland streams viz., what 
 is called a sea-trout fly, and try before the sun is up, and 
 after it sets. It is needless to say that this fly must be of 
 a very sober cast. With these reduced flies, and no glaring 
 sunshine on the water, a fish may now and then be taken 
 in the pools, when there would have been no chance with 
 
76 SALMON -ANGLING. 
 
 the smallest salmon-hook. An excellent fly for some light 
 summer waters is a ptarmigan wing, dull yellow, or dark 
 green body, and a hackle half black and half red. This is 
 first-rate for large sea-trout. In the Echaig, a blue jay- 
 wing is a standing favourite, both with salmon and 
 sea-trout, in every state of the river ; and even in full 
 flood they refuse a lighter wing. A dark mottled pheasant 
 tail for wing, red body, and gold tinsel, is also a choice fly 
 for the grilse and salmon of that water. 
 
 The salmon almost always keep the channel* or deep 
 parts of a river ; so, if it is fordable, you will often have 
 to change from one side to the other, as the heaviest 
 stream alters its course. In small waters this is not 
 difficult, but in great rivers one is frequently obliged to 
 make choice of a side. This requires judgment, as much 
 of the day's sport depends on securing that one which 
 combined circumstances render the most desirable at the 
 time. 
 
 Trolling with par is a most deadly method, the bait 
 being so gaudy, but it is ruinous to fly-fishing. If a par 
 has been trailed over a salmon, there is little chance of its 
 rising to the fly for some time, perhaps not even for that 
 day. The Scotch peasantry have invented a substitute 
 for the Thames trolling-rod. I had one made by a 
 
 * This rule does not hold good with trout. Often the weather-side 
 of a stream, even when shallow, is the surest find for them, because the 
 flies and other insects, being drifted across, are collected on the opposite 
 bank. In lochs, they would be devoured almost as soon as their 
 voyage had begun ; therefore the contrary rule obtains. 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 77 
 
 country joiner, although without joins, which cast even 
 the fly nearly as well as my best salmon-rod ; but the 
 point being stiff, it was better adapted for par or minnow. 
 By unwinding the length of line you wish to throw from 
 the reel, and then pulling it through the large rings, until 
 only a few yards hang down with the appended bait, you 
 can jerk it out something after the manner of an English 
 troller, with this difference, that the cast is made over 
 the right or left shoulder. Some prefer a supple top, 
 which entices the fish from its lively spinning, but is more 
 apt to miss them. After all, it is but a sorry shift for the 
 beautiful smooth underhanded casts of the Thames anglers. 
 Even a moderate performer with a London trolling-rod, 
 would excel the most skilful Highland par or minnow- 
 fisher. There is also this great advantage on the side of 
 the southern rod, that it injures the bait far less. But 
 indeed the English manner of baiting, and whole arrange- 
 ment of trolling-tackle, is very far superior to ours. I 
 have fished with Thames trollers who were so particular 
 as to bait differently with a bleak from a gudgeon.* A 
 bleak is best on a dark windy day, from being showy a 
 gudgeon on a calm bright day, as its dark colour conceals 
 and confounds the hooks. By the same rule, a loach is 
 
 * A bleak, with three rows of three hooks, tied back to back, and 
 a single hook the reverse way, to separate the lowest row from the one 
 above : and one top hook through the lips of the bait. A gudgeon, two 
 rows of three hooks, one of two, and a single hook for the lips. It is of 
 no use to describe the process of baiting, as every man must take a prac- 
 tical lesson from a good troller, before he can make any hand of it. 
 
78 SALMON - ANGLING. 
 
 good in our lochs in clear weather. Bleak, however, are 
 thought the best spinning bait on the Thames, unless at 
 very rapid mill-dams, where the tougher gudgeon is not so 
 apt to spoil. * 
 
 Young herring, from their shining scales, are found to 
 be a most enticing bait for salmon. I have often tried 
 them with success, especially in the lochs. Of course they 
 must be used salt. The great objection to using them in 
 the river is, that they are so very tender. 
 
 Should the water be confined, and the streams narrow 
 and rapid, every inch may be searched by standing at the 
 pool-head, and letting out line by yard-lengths, shifting 
 the bait alternately from one side to the other until all 
 the reel be nearly expended. Unless the river is flooded, 
 very little lead is required. Pull your line, instead of 
 winding it, slowly back again, searching as before, and 
 when satisfied, wind up and proceed to another pool. 
 When the river is broad, and you require to throw, you 
 can make very far casts, as the par is tough and not easily 
 spoiled. Swing it gently back as far as you can, and 
 then bring it forward in the same way. I have seen a 
 man with only one arm, a perfect master of this kind of 
 throwing so much does it depend upon a little knack. 
 Some will say that very rapid spinning is not good. But 
 I have always found, both in boat and river trolling, 
 whether with minnow or par, that the more rapid and true 
 the spinning, the greater my chance of stirring the fish. 
 When trolling for salmon or large shy trout, I therefore 
 adopt the mode of the Thames fishermen, on account 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 79 
 
 of the superiority of the spinning, as well as the lesser 
 risk of missing the fish. 
 
 When the diminishing water prevents the salmon from 
 rising at the par, you may still succeed with minnow, in 
 the streams, especially about dusk. Yery large trout, 
 also, that scarcely ever rise to a fly, dash freely after the 
 minnow when the sun is down. They may also take it 
 in the daytime, if the water should be a little swollen 
 and the sky cloudy. But the river salmon-fisher is more 
 indebted to bait than either par or minnow ; and for this 
 reason, that salmon will take a worm when the river is so 
 low that they refuse all other kinds of prey. In river- 
 angling a large hook should be used, and a mixture of 
 dew-worms and the small red, or the brandling if it can 
 be procured. The bait should be massy, nearly as thick 
 as your little finger. This is accomplished by pushing up 
 all the odds and ends of the worms you put on, along the 
 shank of the hook and the gut, more or less, according to 
 the angler's fancy. In rapid running water, a good lump 
 of bait is more easily seen from a distance, and if a 
 fresh worm be put on the point of the hook, the imposture 
 cannot well be detected in the moving stream. Lead the 
 line to reach within a yard or so of the bottom, and search 
 every inch of pool and stream, noticing the slightest tug. 
 When you perceive the least straightening of the line, 
 always go over the same inch until you either fix the fish, 
 or disgust him. Never be in a hurry with a large fish : 
 give him time if possible to gorge. A good hold is half 
 the battle with a good salmon, as, in a long-continued 
 
80 SALMON - ANGLING. 
 
 struggle, an indifferent one is apt to wear and give 
 way, often at the few last faint efforts to spurn the 
 shore. 
 
 Behind large stones and in eddies there is always a good 
 cast for worm ; and in searching the latter you cannot be 
 too particular. Try every variety of depth and current ; 
 in fact, seem to humour the line, though dexterously 
 guiding it. No greater test of a practical bait-fisher than 
 this. 
 
 I always like to have some bait in my pocket, even on 
 the most propitious day for the fly ; and the following 
 successful results of the practice occurred the summer 
 before last. There are four pools at the top of the Echaig, 
 a little separated from the other casts. As the season 
 advances, the large fish are very apt to remain in them. 
 My custom was generally to begin at the lowest of these 
 pools, fish up with fly to the top, and, if unsuccessful, to 
 put on bait, and rake them down again. In the autumn of 
 1847, I rose a salmon in the bottom pool, at the first 
 throw, gave him a rest, and rose him again. Another ten 
 minutes' rest, while I put on a smaller fly. He rose a 
 third time ; but not wishing to disgust him, I passed on to 
 the pool above, A second salmon rose near the tail of the 
 pool. But, although I gave him the customary law, and 
 also changed my flies, he was stubborn. I therefore 
 walked off to the two top pools, but no fish moved in 
 them either at fly or bait. I returned to my first salmon 
 up he came again, keen as ever. I left him once 
 more for his neighbour in the pool above, but his mood 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 81 
 
 was still unchanged. I therefore put on bait, when he 
 dashed at it like a bull-dog. In about twenty minutes I 
 had him extended on the gray shingle, half on land, half 
 in water, when his hold broke. I rushed down, but had 
 the mortification to see him waddle into the deeps again. 
 With my crest a little lowered, I descended to my quon- 
 dam friend in the first pool ; a fifth time he rose fiercely. 
 I therefore waited the usual time, and he rose again. 
 Upon the seventh trial, however, he refused ; so I gave 
 him the same lure which had nearly proved fatal to the 
 other. Instantly he was at it and fast. But a more cross- 
 grained " sea-king" I never contended with. It was 
 about twelve o'clock when I hooked him. At one, he was 
 fresh as a laverock. About forty yards below, a tree that 
 jutted over a deep part of the river prevented my leading 
 him down stream, so he had every advantage, and I must 
 say seemed inclined to take it. Sometimes he would 
 sulk, and when with great trouble I shook him off the 
 bottom, he would rush up or down the pool, terminating 
 his vagaries by a fair somerset. Half-past two o'clock, 
 and my arm quite tired. I looked often to the road for 
 assistance, but no one appeared. A little before three, I 
 saw a car, and hailed the driver, who good-naturedly left 
 his vehicle, and to my question if he could gaff a fish, 
 replied that " he wasna gude wi' the flee, but gie him 
 a stroke at the sawmont wi' the clip, and he wadna 
 seek anither." I gave him my gaff, and began to strain 
 and shake the salmon, if possible to bring him within the 
 reach of my self-confident ally. At last I brought him 
 
82 SALMON -ANGLING. 
 
 with some difficulty near the fatal weapon. The "stroke" 
 was given, but it was too plain the " sawmont " would 
 require if he did not " seek anither ! " The man had 
 scraped him, and thus rendered him desperate. Down he 
 pushed, past the tree. It was not of so much consequence 
 now, for I gave my rod to the driver for a moment, 
 (who handled it exactly like his whip,) got round the 
 tree, and was all right. Having the command of the 
 stream, I soon brought the fish under the bank, when the 
 man gaffed him cleverly. Although so game, he was only 
 ten pounds weight ; and had I not been hampered with 
 the tree, I should have managed him in half an hour. I 
 anticipate the remark, " A bad day for the fly is often a 
 good one for the worm." This maxim was not applicable 
 in the present case ; for with one of the flies, several times 
 refused by the salmon, I hooked and landed a three-pound 
 sea-trout, in the next pool I fished. No sooner had I 
 dropped it into my bag, than a five-pound grilse sucked 
 down the same fly as eagerly as the trout did, and shared 
 the same fate. I had no more time to spare, but, if I 
 could have remained, I should probably have had prime 
 sport with the fly, as I left a beautiful reach of the river 
 untried. 
 
 About a fortnight after, the water was again in excellent 
 trim for the fly, and I alongside of the pool I considered 
 surest for a heavy fish. After twice going carefully over 
 it with the most approved flies, and not even a break, 
 feeling almost certain that a salmon lodged there, I again 
 had recourse to the worm. At the very foot of the pool, 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 83 
 
 where it joined the shallow, my bait stopped, and the 
 peculiar twitching of the line made good my prognostic. 
 Allowing him time to gorge, I struck, and had hold of a 
 noble fellow. After a good struggle, I landed the largest 
 fish I ever secured in the Echaig, fifteen pounds and a half 
 when I brought him home. This day, however, neither 
 salmon nor sea-trout would look at a fly. 
 
 A raw salmon-fisher is seldom aware what sized fish has 
 risen. It often appears much smaller than it actually is, 
 from the fore-shortening caused by the salmon coming 
 straight up, seizing the fly, then descending head fore- 
 most ; which last motion generally gives a glimpse of its 
 tail. Instead of this, if the fish should flounder its whole 
 body out of water in coming at the fly, the effect is very 
 imposing, and even a six-pounder will appear to the novice 
 a perfect monster. 
 
 When hooked fish splash on the top of the water, take 
 great care, or you may break their hold by too tight a 
 strain. The opposite extreme is equally dangerous, as 
 they may then shake the hook out of their mouth. It is 
 the nicety of art to let them get down without falling into 
 either error. Should the river be small, of course most 
 of the heavy fish will be collected in the deepest pools. 
 Pay most attention to them. When stones and rocks are 
 easily seen at the bottom, there is a clearness either in 
 the air or water that hinders fish from stirring freely ; you 
 have then, perhaps, a better chance with worm than any- 
 thing else. Also, when leaves and other rubbish come 
 floating down, they frighten fish, and prevent their seeing 
 
84 SALMON -ANGLING. 
 
 the fly. The nearer the bottom you angle, of course these 
 impediments are less in the way. They are most trouble- 
 some on a windy day. When foam is thick upon the 
 water, fish rise badly to fly. A succession of floods, or, 
 as we call them, " spates," will gorge the fish, and make 
 them shy, especially of taking bait. In landing a salmon 
 or any heavy fish in a river, if possible get below him. 
 You are thus favoured by the stream. Whereas, by 
 standing above, you hang the fish's weight against the 
 current, and are more apt to strain and break its hold. 
 
 I shall here add an instance or two of the fastidiousness 
 of salmon at one time, and their voracity at another ; by 
 which it will be evident that there are days when a very 
 bungler may capture them, and others when all our skill 
 is well needed. In summer, when the Teith was rather 
 dwindled, a Highlander rose a grilse with a small sea- 
 trout fly. He, of course, gave him a rest, and tried him 
 with a larger, to no effect ; went back to the small one, 
 and again rose him. He then put on, in succession, a 
 worm, a par, and a minnow, without getting a tug ; and, 
 as a last resource, cut off the par's tail,* when the fish 
 came up greedily and fastened. He would never have 
 wasted so much time had he not known that, from the low 
 state of the river, there was little chance of another rise 
 
 * The par tail is an excellent substitute for the minnow, and in some 
 moods of the water is to be preferred. It is easy to bait with, and 
 bears very rough usage on the hooks. The head and shoulders are cut 
 off in a slanting way, and you bait in the same manner as with the 
 minnow or par. 
 
SALMON -ANGLING. 85 
 
 all day. On the other hand, a shepherd lad was looking 
 dreamily over the Brig of Turk, upon the large deep hole 
 below, overhanging which the martins had formed a colony 
 in the sand-bank, when one of the young martins fell out 
 of the nest into the river, and was immediately gulped 
 down by a large salmon. The shepherd procured a bait- 
 hook, and the coarsest tackle, took another young bird out 
 of the nest, and baited ; the fish at once came up again, 
 was hooked, and landed. 
 
 Salmon are certainly far scarcer now than formerly, and 
 the average weight of those taken is much decreased. Six- 
 teen-pound fish are now as rare as twenty-pounders used 
 to be a few years ago. Many reasons are suggested for 
 this falling off, but the most rational I have heard is the 
 dexterity of the sea-netters close to the mouths of all our 
 good salmon rivers and streams, and latterly the rage for 
 thorough-draining, which makes the rise and fall of the 
 rivers both sudden and extreme. In consequence, the 
 winter spawning-beds are often left so shallow as to be 
 chilled and rotted by frost. 
 
 The following make-shift is inserted for the benefit of 
 the luckless wight who may have the misfortune to break 
 the top of his rod at the water-side, and neglected to bring 
 a spare one. On the morning of my last day's fishing of 
 the Echaig, I hooked a four-pound sea-trout on my bob, 
 and when the fish was quite spent, the trail-fly fastened 
 on a rotten stump. I waded in to try to disengage it, and, 
 in so doing, carelessly strained back my rod over my right 
 
80 SALMON -ANGLING. 
 
 shoulder. The fish gave a languid plunge, and, of course, 
 broke the top. Although I had only some thread, and a 
 pair of scissors, I cut a couple of twigs, and spliced my 
 rod, as clumsily as ever a country surgeon bungled a poor 
 man's leg. With my maimed instrument I killed two 
 fine salmon and several sea-trout. I had fished since 
 July, and bagged two hundred and fifty-seven sea-trout, 
 many very large, and twelve salmon and grilse, with the 
 same top, and little expected to break it the last day, when 
 I was particularly anxious to do great things. A few 
 years ago, the same mishap befel me when fishing in Loch 
 Dronkie. At the beginning of the day, a large yellow 
 trout rose, and was fixed, just under a perpendicular bank. 
 Not being able to land the fish without throwing back my 
 rod too far, I snapped the top, though I secured my prey. 
 Nothing daunted, I mended my rod with a bit of twine, 
 and killed five more fine trout. I question if, either day, 
 I should have had better sport had no accident occurred. 
 
TEOLLING FOE THE SALMO-FEEOX 
 
 (t IT'S A FAR CRY TO LOCH OW ! " 
 
 TKOLLING for giant trout is the very acme of rod-fishing. 
 It is generally thought that the whole of this exciting 
 sport consists in fixing good baits upon the trolling-rod, 
 letting out a sufficiency of line, and mainly relying upon 
 the boatman's skill to point out the best fishing -ground. 
 Although trolling after this fashion may occasionally be 
 successful, yet the reverse is far oftener experienced, when 
 all the blame is sure to be laid on the weather, as the best 
 ground has been carefully searched, and the baits were 
 excellent. Few gentlemen are aware how easily this best 
 ground may be changed to a good distance on either side, 
 by a bright sun, a breeze of wind, or a rise of the loch 
 after rain. This is invariably the case where the shores are 
 level, and the depth consequently gradual. Should the 
 sky be dark and the loch discoloured, or, on the contrary, 
 small and clear, with a cloudless sky, a difference in the 
 size and colour of the bait, and rapidity in spinning it, 
 may bring home an empty boat, or reward us with a 
 
88 TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 
 
 couple of trout, that will give the boatman as much 
 trouble to carry as two buckets of water. 
 
 There are three kinds of trout that peculiarly belong to 
 this description of fishing. And, first, the great salmo- 
 ferox, from its size, strength, and cunning, deserves the 
 highest place. Next, the gillaroo, (pronounced "ghirroo" 
 by the Highlanders,) which, although not nearly so shy, 
 nor of such giant proportions as the other, yet has been 
 frequently taken from sixteen to eighteen pounds. (I have 
 never fished much for them myself, and the largest I have 
 caught was five pounds weight. I hooked him with 
 minnow near the foot of Loch Lubnaig, as I rowed home 
 after fly-fishing the green sunk banks at the top. He 
 was in excellent condition, but in fight and appearance 
 strongly reminded me of a barbel.) And, lastly, the 
 famous trout of the Thames. It seldom attains the dimen- 
 sions even of our gillaroo; but merits place among the 
 first triumvirate, both from its beauty and the skill 
 required to hook it. 
 
 In trolling for any of these fish, especially the salmo- 
 ferox, great attention should be paid to the tackle, not 
 only that it is all of the very best quality, but also that it 
 is dressed in a manner least apt to miss the trout. Of 
 course the angler must not expect many runs in a day, 
 which makes it particularly vexatious when the fish that 
 do dash at the bait escape the hooks. In boat-trolling for 
 smaller trout, I often use but two hooks a large one 
 through the tail of the bait, and a smaller through its 
 mouth. This has many advantages ; you bait quickly and 
 
TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 89 
 
 easily, the appearance of the minnow is not spoiled, and 
 when the trout are at all greedy, they don't often miss. 
 There is this to be said against it, however, that when shy 
 fish bite warily, they may sometimes seize the bait by the 
 middle, and, for want of middle hooks, blow it away again, 
 when slightly pricked by the others. The spinning also 
 is neither so quick nor so true as by the following method., 
 which I have tried with great success. It is, first a single 
 hook, next three tied back to back, then another single one 
 tied the contrary way, ending with a second trio. Of 
 course, when trolling for the feroxes, all the hooks must 
 be very large. This latter plan, when properly baited, 
 moves very naturally ; and, although there are so many 
 hooks, I am convinced, from the rapidity of the spinning, 
 they are even less perceptible than when there are few. 
 One of the last hooks being inserted at the side of the bait's 
 tail, the whole tail-fin catches the water better than by the 
 other more simple method ; and there are three hooks for 
 the shoulder and three for the tail, the two places where 
 the feroxes are most apt to strike. I am quite sure, after 
 trying both ways, that this last plan not only misses fewer 
 trout, but secures a greater number of runs. I should, 
 therefore, strongly recommend it when large shy fish are 
 the object, although not where trout are small and plentiful, 
 especially in cold weather, when the difficulty of baiting is 
 a serious objection. 
 
 When fairly afloat, beware of trusting too implicitly to 
 your boatman, even should you be totally unacquainted 
 with the loch. It commonly happens, unless he is a good 
 
90 TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 
 
 practical fisher, that he will take you over the same 
 ground under all circumstances ; and should no fish run, 
 lay the blame on something unpropitious in the day, 
 which it may require some ingenuity on his part to 
 discover, and some credulity on yours to believe. Your 
 best plan with such a guide is to make him be most 
 particular about the surest resorts of the large fish; and 
 should you be unsuccessful the first time of going over 
 them, try again a little nearer the shore, if there is much 
 wind ; or, if it be calm, a little further out, especially 
 when the loch is small. Towards dusk you may generally 
 keep nearer the shore, also when the loch has risen, or is 
 discoloured with rain. You must not then sink the baits 
 so deep, but raise them by taking off some of the sinking 
 lead, not by winding up a part of the line, as the shallower 
 you troll, the more need of a long line. It is always a 
 good plan to have baits of different sizes ; the larger upon 
 the outside rod, which should have the longest line and 
 heaviest lead. This rod should be fixed by the butt, at 
 the opposite side of the boat, so as to cross before you. 
 I need not say the reel and line must be quite free. Keep 
 the other rod in hand, now and then sinking the point in 
 the water as it grows deeper or the day calmer. Should 
 the rod across the boat hook a fish, instantly throw the 
 other to the boatman next you, who may wind it up out of 
 your way, his comrade guiding the boat with both oars. 
 If the fish is large, he will most likely strike away from 
 the boat, and your first effort should be to shorten your 
 line by backing water. Whenever the fish is under 
 
TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 91 
 
 command of a short line, and you can persuade him to 
 follow the boat, land and kill him from shore. 
 
 While sitting in the stern, be always on the look-out for 
 weeds, and give the alarm. Your boatmen will immediately 
 turn rapidly into the deep ; and you, raising a rod in each 
 hand, as high as possible, should make every effort to 
 keep the baits near the surface. If this is done cleverly, 
 it may prevent that major misery of boat-trolling, a double 
 fast. If fortunate enough to get clear, it may be as well 
 to examine the baits; indeed, this should be done at 
 intervals throughout the day ; as a small green weed 
 attached to the bait will prevent it from spinning, or, at 
 all events, act as a damper to the trout. Fish always for 
 such shy customers with a very long line, especially if 
 there is little wind to curl the water. Where the shores 
 are level, the depth is generally gradual ; therefore try 
 the good places at various depths, as your own judgment 
 may suggest. But should the rock or mountain rise 
 abruptly from the margin, the water almost always deepens 
 suddenly within a short distance of the shore. Once going 
 over is quite enough if you keep between the shallow and 
 the deep, which only occupies a few yards. When sky and 
 water are dull, a large bright bait, such as a salmon-smelt, 
 is very good ; but, if the loch is clear and low, bait one 
 rod with a par instead of a burn-trout, the ordinary bait. 
 
 Never find fault with your boatmen, when the hooks stick 
 fast, for taking you into too shallow water. If you do, 
 they will most likely prevent this annoyance, by keeping 
 too deep for any fish to see your bait. Most fishing-guides 
 
92 TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 
 
 are too apt, at any rate, to err this way, to save themselves 
 trouble ; as they dread a fast even more than the angler. 
 The truth is, when trolling for the salmo-ferox, the baits 
 should be hung only a few yards from the bottom. They 
 must therefore frequently catch a weed, or root, or sunk 
 rock. Be assured that the largest fish are generally taken 
 by trolling close to the bottom, as they are lazy. In 
 rough ish weather row slowly, in order to give them a 
 good opportunity of seeing and seizing the bait ; quicker 
 in a mild clear day, for it is then as well to give them 
 little time to reflect. East and north are the worst winds 
 for Loch Awe ; west, south-west, and even north-west are 
 very favourable. By adhering to these rules, a fair troller 
 ought to take one or two large feroxes every good day. 
 
 In the year 1842 I had five days' trolling on Loch Awe, 
 and, as I noted down each day's success, will here record it. 
 
 Head-quarters, Cladich, April 30th. Did not go out 
 till five o'clock ; a fine evening, but too calm. Trolled 
 down three miles on the Cladich side of the Loch, returned 
 over the same ground, a little nearer shore ; not a tug 
 until dusk, when we were within half a mile of the inn. 
 I then hooked a fish : he was a dull wretch, and made 
 indifferent play. Weight, eight pounds. When brought 
 to table he cut up white, but was firm and good to eat. 
 I have observed two kinds of the salmo-ferox one, dark- 
 skinned and white in the flesh ; the other, pink in flesh, 
 and of starry scales. The latter always makes the most 
 spirited resistance. Perhaps it may be inferred that there 
 is only one kind, and that the difference arises from their 
 
TROLLING FOfl THE SALMO-FEROX. 93 
 
 condition. This is not the case, however, as I have 
 taken white-fleshed specimens in the finest possible order. 
 
 May 2. Started at seven for Castle Connal, about 
 midway between Cladich and the ford at the foot of the 
 loch. Castle Connal Bay a great resort for the heavy 
 fish killed a brace, one six pounds, the other two and a 
 half. Trolled till six o'clock. 
 
 May 3. A close sultry wind ; did not go to fish till 
 after dinner, when it got brisker. Tried the islands and 
 head of the loch ; hooked a fine fish off Enish Isle ; he 
 made capital play for half an hour, when I stranded him 
 upon the island. Weight, nine and a half pounds, in 
 first-rate condition, and a beautiful fish. Had a look at 
 the island, and a description of it from old Sandy. It is 
 a fine green sheep-pasture, and often called the green 
 isle, as well as Enish Isle, or Ellen's Island. Ellen was 
 a daughter of Sir James M'Naughton, and was the first 
 person buried in the island. She was drowned in the 
 loch. The poor chief of Lochiel, who was stabbed with 
 the penknife in Castle Connal, was also buried here. 
 After having satisfied my craving for traditions, true or 
 false, we re-entered the boat, and coasted Fruich-land, or 
 the Heather Island. The Castle of Fruich-land is a 
 picturesque ruin. Sir James M'Naughton was once 
 governor of it, and, when Ben Cruachan was a deer- 
 forest, Alexander the Third sojourned in the castle to 
 enjoy forest sport. Its shore, however, afforded none to 
 me. We now coasted the mainland, to the head of the 
 loch, where I hooked a small fellow, only one pound and 
 
94 TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 
 
 three quarters came round the opposite side, and entered 
 the estuary of the Awe, a fine black deep creek, but I 
 never hooked a large fish in it. To-day we only got a 
 small thing, rather more than a pound. To make up, 
 Sandy was profuse in story. Pointing to the dark threat- 
 ening mountain, with the white streak of the winter drift 
 upon its summit, " It was on the side o' Ben Cruachan here, 
 that the Irish chief, M'Faydon, was beat by Sir William 
 Wallace, and chased into a cave yonder (showing a crag 
 opposite.) Sir William fand him oot, however, an' stuck 
 his head on a spear on the tap o' the craig, by order o' 
 Sir Neil Campbell, Black Knight o' Loch Ow." 
 
 I was pondering over the rock, where the Irish chiefs 
 knowledge-box had, no doubt, afforded a resting-place for 
 the sage owls of the neighbouring dells, when Sandy 
 again called my attention to a brook, fringed with oak 
 copse, which trickled over the heathery brow of Ben 
 Cruachan. From his solemn air, I expected an improve- 
 ment on the Black Knight's cruelty to poor M'Faydon. 
 " Ton's an awfu' place for wild-cats. I heard them 
 answering 'ither wi' sic screighs, ae nicht whan I passed 
 late, I thoucht I wad hae been frichtened oot o' ma 
 joodgment. " " And what did you do, Sandy ? " u I jist 
 falded my arms across ma throat, an' ran past the burn as 
 hard as I could split. Catch me gang past that place 
 again after the gloamin'. " 
 
 There is something very imposing in this outlet of the 
 Awe : the rocks on each side so rugged and steep ; the 
 narrow deep water so dark from their shadow. If you 
 
TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 95 
 
 drop a pebble into it, the sound is so vivid and hollow, 
 you shudder at the distance it must sink before finding 
 its bed. I rather think the sudden and great depth of 
 the water is one reason why so few fish frequent this 
 creek. We now emerged from the bay, and coasted the 
 stony cheerful shore of New Inverawe. When skirting 
 this shallow, and gliding slowly past the little isles which 
 lie beyond, Sandy is always in expectation " o' a rug. " 
 He was not gratified by one to-day. 
 
 May 4, Up at four o'clock, intending to troll down 
 to the Ford at the foot of the Loch, a distance of nineteen 
 miles. It was a dead calm when we rowed off, but, from 
 certain appearances in the sky the evening before, we 
 were pretty sure of at least as much wind as we wanted 
 before breakfast-time. So it proved. By ten o'clock we 
 had a south-wester which effectually barred our progress 
 farther down than Castle Connal. Put about, and drifted 
 back with the wind, trolling the best bays and shores on 
 each side of the loch. Hooked a very fine trout off a 
 rocky point five miles below Port Sonachan. It was 
 tenderly hooked, and slipped off, to our chagrin. Crossed 
 to the Sonachan side, and hooked another with a salmon- 
 smelt. Landed him, after a tough struggle of three 
 quarters of an hour, on Bala-Menach shore ; ten pounds, 
 and in the finest condition. No more runs till we passed 
 Cladich burn, and began to pull along the inhabited island. 
 I then hooked a fish which soon came to the top of the 
 water, and I saw he was a pike. Sandy assured me it was 
 " ane o' thae new beasts that cam' doon the Urchay frae 
 
96 TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 
 
 Loch-Tulla, that my Lord Breadalbane pat in." We 
 made small bones of him, as he was only four pounds 
 weight. Got two more trout, rather above a pound, on 
 our way home. 
 
 May 5. I had now only one more day to spare, and 
 was disappointed at being unable to devote it to the 
 west end of the loch, at " the foord," decidedly the best 
 trolling ground for the large fish. It was a squally 
 showery morning, so I waited to see if the afternoon 
 would clear up. There was no change, but as the wind 
 was westerly I ordered out the boat about four o'clock. 
 Trolled down three miles, when I had " a rug." Landed 
 the trout in a few minutes only two pounds. Crossed 
 over and searched the Inistrinich shore on our return. 
 Unsuccessful, till we reached a very weedy creek nearly 
 opposite Cladich, which Sandy was anxious to avoid. 
 But to me it looked so tempting that I made him turn 
 in, although he cast many a rueful look at his great 
 enemies, the weeds. About half-way down the little bay, 
 a strong lively fish seized the bait ; we got clear of the 
 confined water with some difficulty, landed, and played 
 him from shore. Although he only weighed six pounds, 
 I have seldom taken out a more high-mettled trout. The 
 evening was bitterly cold, so we did not bait again, but 
 pulled straight for the harbour of Cladich, and next day 
 drove over the hill to Inverary for a short sojourn there. 
 Caution : Always weigh the large fish yourself, or see 
 them weighed, .when at a fishing inn, otherwise they will 
 probably weigh two pounds heavier down stairs than up. 
 
TROLLING FOR THE SALMO-FEROX. 97 
 
 When the loch has been thoroughly flooded, wait till 
 it falls in a little, as the large fish especially are glutted 
 with food, and lazy, after continued wet weather. Upon 
 the water diminishing and getting clear, they will become 
 more alert than before the rain. 
 
 The best time of year for the salmo-ferox is the end of 
 April, May, and the beginning of June. They are very 
 dormant all July and August. Although much more shy 
 than in spring, they sometimes take pretty fair in Septem- 
 ber. A small bait is generally most successful in this 
 month. The large ones lie farther from the shore than 
 earlier in the season. Many of the best worth hooking 
 even haunt the middle of the loch at this time of year. 
 I killed two last September (1850) in midloch, which 
 weighed twelve and a half and twelve pounds. Some of 
 the Loch Awe fishing-guides suggested to me, that the 
 partiality of the feroxes for deep water then might be 
 occasioned by the pike driving the small trout from the 
 shallows, and that the feroxes followed the shoals into the 
 deep to prey upon them. But if this is the reason, why 
 don't they do so in May and June ? In autumn a good 
 fish is sometimes taken in the estuary of the Awe, called 
 the " Brander," as they are making for the river to spawn. 
 The Brander is generally blank at any other time. 
 
 MOUNTAIN TAENS 
 
 There are a number of little mountain tarns in the 
 neighbourhood of Inverary, most of them well stocked. 
 
98 MOUNTAIN TARNS. 
 
 A chain of lochans, about eight miles over the hills, is 
 well worth the fly-fisher's attention. I climbed to them, one 
 balmy day, with my fly-trouting rod, and a few casts round 
 my hat. The scenery from the tops of the hills did not much 
 hit my fancy, although the views of Loch Fine and the 
 opposite glens no doubt are pleasing. It was a long dreary 
 walk, with few objects of interest to shorten it, except the 
 instinctive wiles of a moss-cheeper (meadow-pipit) and a 
 sparrow-hawk to decoy me from their respective nests. The 
 pipit really deceived me at first, so completely did it sham 
 a broken leg and wing. As for the little hawk, although I 
 marked the very spot she rose from, all my ingenuity could 
 not discover her young. She flew about, appearing quite 
 unconcerned so long as I kept near this place ; but when I 
 walked away, she always pitched down, making a great fuss, 
 as much as to say, " Keep off my nest : here it is" giving 
 me a false direction as plainly as a bird could speak. 
 
 The first lochan of the chain, named Camisdown, lies 
 much lower than the others, and is a good deal the largest. 
 Some of the trout in it are eight or ten pounds' weight. I 
 only got one rise, and secured a fish of about a pound. 
 There are few days in the year that they rise well in this 
 loch, and bait is more acceptable than fly. The other 
 little tarns are upon the tops of the hills. Two of them 
 contain no fish, and look as if they were dead, when con- 
 trasted with the others all alive from the continual rising 
 of trout. In a few hours I filled my creel, (a pretty large 
 one), and might easily have stocked it again, as the day 
 was good for the fly, and the fish keen. 
 
THE WEEDY LOCH. 99 
 
 A fisherman in the neighbourhood gave me a strange 
 account of a moss-hole for it deserves no more dignified 
 name which breeds trout of twelve pounds' weight. As 
 the " weedy loch " was only half an hour's walk from 
 Inverary, I took advantage of the first favourable day to 
 give it a trial, both with fly and bait, for one of these 
 monsters. I thought my guide was joking when he 
 pointed to a shallow hole, no bigger than an English 
 duck-pond, and so overgrown with water-plants that 
 there were scarcely three square yards clear. After 
 watching for a little time, a great break of the water, but 
 slow and heavy, in the midst of the weeds, betokened the 
 kind of customers I should have to deal with. The 
 trolling-rod was quickly baited, but there was some diffi- 
 culty to find opening enough for the hook to sink. After 
 shifting several times, for the great bubbles at top of the 
 water were still seen at distant intervals, I put on the 
 most approved fly for the " weedy loch," viz., a red wing 
 from the landrail's feather, (a partridge tail feather will 
 do as well,) and a green body. It was the strangest 
 fishing I ever attempted, to pitch the fly at every open 
 space, however small, and twitch back again without 
 playing it an inch. Even thus, you were almost sure of a 
 weed at each endeavour. I did hook a fish, however, and, 
 thanks to the goodness of my tackle, landed him in spite 
 of them. It was the shortest, thickest, and most silvery 
 yellow trout I ever brought to the bank of loch or river. 
 Weight, two pounds and a half. Angus, my guide, told 
 me that all the very large ones were caught with worm ; 
 
100 THE WEEDY LOCH. 
 
 but a dull, windy, showery day was indispensable, so none 
 would look at mine. 
 
 I gave them an hour's rest, and during this interval 
 had an account of a Loch Fine herring-fisher's life, from 
 Angus, a frank athletic young man, the skipper and part 
 owner of a boat. The fleet of scows, which are always 
 hauled up, high and dry, to refit after the season is over, 
 were all launching at present, and Angus meant to set 
 sail in ten days. When shooting their nets, they had 
 their choice of the best herrings to eat ; for when they 
 sold them " by the dizen,* the warst made up the coont, 
 and fetched the same price as the best." In the creeks 
 and lochs where they anchored, they could always get 
 milk from the shepherds' sheelings and bothies scattered 
 along the banks, which milk from the little Highland 
 cattle, grazed in the sheltered straths and glens, was " as 
 rich as cream every drap o't." Some of the fishermen, he 
 said, "indulged in dirt;" which luxury, however, he 
 strictly prohibited in his boat. 
 
 It was now time to take to my rod again, and go over 
 all the open places with the fly. Another trout actually 
 rose and hooked at the same spot as the former one ; but 
 in straining to prevent his entanglement in the weeds, 
 his hold broke. The " weedy loch " is a novelty to most 
 anglers, and well worth a visit on that account. 
 
 * Various sizes of herring frequent different lochs. They are called 
 ' skulls ; " and the Loch Fine skull is so much larger than the others 
 that five hundred go to a cran, while seven hundred from Loch Long 
 are required to make it. 
 
GEOUSE AND BLACK GAME SHOOTING 
 
 GROUSE-SHOOTING, when the season begins, and our 
 moors are thronged by ardent sportsmen from all parts 
 of the kingdom, although requiring some tact and skill, 
 is mere child's play compared to what it becomes when 
 the birds are wild and wary. 
 
 In the month of August or September, a few general 
 rules may enable a good shot, upon a tolerable moor, to 
 load his game-carrier. He should commence upon the 
 farthest end of his range, giving his dogs the wind, and 
 select some part of the moor, near the centre, to which 
 he must endeavour to drive all his packs. His follower 
 should be a good marker,* active and intelligent in com- 
 prehending his least signal, and always ready, when the 
 dogs point, to place himself so as to prevent the birds 
 taking a wrong direction. After having skirmished in 
 
 * In marking grouse, when you can no longer distinguish them from 
 the brown heather, still let your eye follow their course, as the flapping 
 of their wings when they light is much longer discernible than the 
 rapid motion of their flight. 
 
102 GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 tins way until about two or three o'clock, he may send 
 for a fresh couple of his oldest and most experienced 
 dogs, and, with the greatest care, begin to beat this 
 reserved ground. If the day is favourable, and he has 
 not strangely mismanaged, he ought to make bloody 
 work. Should his range be along the steep side of a 
 mountain, the birds are much less likely to leave the 
 ground ; when raised, they will probably (unless he is 
 beating up and down the hill, which is neither an easy 
 nor good way) fly straight along the mountain-side, and 
 the young grouse-shooter might suppose would drop down 
 upon a line with the place they rose from. But no such 
 thing : the pack, after getting out of sight, before lighting 
 will take a turn, and fly a considerable way either to the 
 right or left. The sportsman must judge by the wind,* 
 nature of the ground, &c., which direction they have 
 taken : if he can see the way their heads are turned just 
 when going out of sight, he may also form a shrewd guess; 
 but if he does not find them on the one side, he must try 
 the other. Should he have the whole of a detached hill, 
 even if a small range, the birds are so unwilling to leave it 
 at the beginning of the season that they will often fly 
 round and round until he has completely broken them : no 
 finer opportunity than this for filling the bag. Early in 
 the season, when an unbroken pack is found at evening 
 feed, if the birds do not rise together, too much care 
 
 * If high, grouse are very apt to fly with it, unless they have some 
 stronger motive to the contrary. 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 103 
 
 cannot be taken to search the ground. They often wander 
 a good way from each other, and after hearing a shot will 
 lie till they are almost trod upon. 
 
 On some of our moors, grouse are as plentiful as 
 partridges in the preserved turnip-fields of Norfolk: no 
 man would then break his beat to follow a pack ; but let 
 him select the lowest and most likely ground, as near the 
 centre of his range as possible, for his evening shooting. 
 Grouse, and indeed all game, when raised, generally fly to 
 lower ground, and when they begin to move about on the 
 feed, are more easily found by the dogs ; for which 
 reason the evening is always the most successful time of 
 the day.* 
 
 The experienced grouse-shooter well knows how little it 
 will avail him to attempt to find out the best part of a 
 moor with which he is unacquainted, by a distant coup- 
 cFceil, or by theory, however plausible. On the same 
 range the packs will be strongest and most numerous 
 
 * Should the sportsman knock down an old cock and hen, and after- 
 wards have the mortification to see the " squeaking " pack rise all round 
 him, my advice is not to massacre them from the idea that, if left alone, 
 they must necessarily die a more cruel death. I know most keepers will 
 say that the young birds would starve, and I was of the same opinion ; 
 but I began to doubt the truth of it some time since, and a few years 
 ago had an opportunity of proving its fallacy. On a part of my moor 
 where the birds were very scarce, I got a point, and after killing a brace 
 was proceeding to pick them up, when the young pack rose, five in 
 number, as decided " squeakers " as ever struck remorse into the callous 
 heart of the shooter. I at once determined to ascertain whether poults 
 left in so unprotected a state must die. So, after ranging the ground most 
 carefully for a considerable distance, to be certain there was no other pack 
 
104 GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 one year on the top of the hill, another on the brow, and 
 a third on the flat at the foot, and this often without any 
 assignable reason. A man who chooses his range by rule 
 will be as likely to fix on the worst as the best. The 
 only plan, supposing he has neglected to make himself 
 acquainted with the ground before the 12th of August, is 
 to find out from the shepherds where the packs are most 
 plentiful, and concert measures accordingly. It often 
 happens that, if the hatching-time is very rainy, the best 
 packs may be found on the brow of a hill, from being less 
 exposed to the wet ; and in a dry sultry season the best 
 places to range are the flats between the hills, or even the 
 tops, if dotted with " peat-hags." * The very reverse, 
 however, may be the case if there are few mossy 
 springs or "peat-hags" on the flat or top, and if the 
 hill-side is supplied with water for the young packs by 
 a constant succession of little brooks. It is impossible 
 for a stranger to find out these minutiae without question- 
 near, I left them undisturbed for eight days. At the end of that time I 
 found and shot two of them, not at all fallen off in condition, and quite 
 large enough to count in the day's return of the slain. These poults were 
 not in company, but at a little distance from each other. It therefore 
 appears to me that their great danger is from vermin, missing the warning 
 cry of the old birds when an enemy approaches. There can be no doubt 
 of its being both cruel and destructive to the young brood to murder 
 their protectors ; but should the sportsman unfortunately do so, and not 
 discover his mistake till too late, he had better give them the chance of 
 escaping vermin than shoot them out of humanity, erroneously supposing 
 that they cannot but die of starvation. 
 
 * Places where peats have been " cast" or dug out, in which the moss 
 water collects, and affords drink to the grouse. Sometimes these "hags" 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 105 
 
 ing those who are in the habit of travelling the hill, and 
 who will be just as likely to know what is of more conse- 
 quence viz., where the packs are to be found in the 
 greatest abundance. 
 
 As to the ground immediately round him, a man accus- 
 tomed to the moors can always tell whether it is likely to 
 harbour game ; and let him be ranging the top, the ridge, 
 the brow, or the flat at the foot of the hill, if he is sur- 
 rounded by alternate patches of old and young heather, 
 interspersed with numerous green mossy springs, or peat- 
 hags half filled with water, he is in full expectation of a 
 point. If, on the contrary, the ground is bare and the 
 heather burnt, or if it be growing in one unvarying crop of 
 rank luxuriance, he looks anxiously for a break, and 
 almost grudges the unflagging exertions of his persevering 
 dogs. Still he never gives up hope, and often finds game 
 where he least expects it. 
 
 When grouse are raised on the top or brow of a hill, the 
 flight is generally much shorter than when found on a 
 level at the foot. In the latter case, they generally fly far 
 out of sight ; but if the ground is hilly and uneven, they 
 often take a few dodging turns, and drop down at no great 
 distance. On the steep peak of the heathery hill, I have 
 seen them fly quite round, and again settle not far from 
 where they were first discovered. In fine weather, before 
 
 are formed by natural rifts in the bog, with a small red brook running 
 through. This water is very unwholesome, and a man had better bear his 
 thirst than drink it. The peat-stack is a sure index of these supplies 
 of water, and can be seen at a considerable distance. 
 
106 GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 the packs are strong, and especially before they have been 
 much shot at, their flights are usually not nearly so long 
 as they are afterwards ; but even then, should the day be 
 windy, they are generally rapid and uncertain. When 
 this is unfortunately the case, they are so capricious in the 
 choice of their refuge as often to baffle the most determined 
 tramper of the moors. 
 
 Grouse are much more difficult to find in the middle of 
 the day than in the morning and evening, when they move 
 more about ; but in sultry weather they lie quite still, 
 except at feeding-time ; and not having stirred perhaps for 
 hours, the dogs may come within a yard or two before 
 winding them. To procure shots at such times tries the 
 mettle both of the sportsman and his dogs. During con- 
 tinued rain, they are apt to gather beneath the shade of a 
 hillock, or in scaurs and ravines. To continue ranging is 
 mere waste of time, until it clears, and the ground has 
 dried a little ; for, to say nothing of the other miseries, the 
 birds, even when found, will not run a yard in the wet 
 heather, and generally take wing at a long distance. 
 When the weather is boisterous, they are very fidgety and 
 wild, even at the beginning of the season. It is then easy 
 to see who does and who does not understand anything of 
 grouse-shooting. Every inequality of ground must be taken 
 advantage of. The sportsman should crouch as much as he 
 can, wearing a drab-coloured cap, which will often take him 
 five or six yards nearer his game than the lowest-crowned 
 hat he can procure. If possible, he should always advance 
 from lower ground, walking up any cracks or hollows in 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK-GAME SHOOTING. 107 
 
 the moss. When this is skilfully done, he appears to the 
 birds at a greater distance than when they see his whole 
 figure prominently coming down upon them from higher 
 ground. I have already said, that if you have reason to 
 suppose the pack are on the side, or at the foot of a 
 steep hillock, only a gunshot in height, the best plan to pop 
 upon them within reach is to come straight over the top ; 
 but under other circumstances, this should never be 
 attempted. 
 
 Most young shots are not content unless they are upon 
 the moor by peep of day on the long-anticipated 12th of 
 August. And what is the result ? They have found and 
 disturbed most of the packs before they have well fed, and 
 one half will rise out of distance, and fly away unbroken. 
 Had the moor been left quiet till eight or nine o'clock, fair 
 double shots might have been obtained at almost every 
 pack, and many would have been scattered for the evening 
 shooting. It will generally be found that if two equal 
 shots, upon equal moors, uncouple their dogs, one at five 
 o'clock and the other at eight, and compare notes at two 
 in the afternoon, the lazy man will have the heaviest 
 game-bag, and his ground will be in the best order for 
 the deadly time of the day, to say nothing of his com- 
 petitor's disadvantage from having fruitlessly wasted his 
 own strength and that of his dogs, when many of the packs 
 would not allow him to come within reach. My advice, 
 therefore, to the young grouse-shooter, is always to wait 
 till the dew is dry on the heather. If he starts at eight 
 o'clock, and travels the moors as he ought, there is time 
 
108 GROUSE AND BLACK-GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 enough before dark to put his powers to the proof, however 
 he may pique himself upon them. I do not mean to say 
 he must run over the ground, but keep up a steady deter- 
 mined walk, up hill and down hill, without flagging for an 
 instant, unless the dogs come upon the scent of game. 
 Of all sports, grouse-shooting is the most laborious. None 
 can stand a comparison with it except deer-stalking ; and 
 yet the veriest " soft," puffing and blowing at every step, 
 may put off a whole day upon the moors travelling them 
 I will not call it and boast after dinner that " he wonders 
 how people can find grouse-shooting so toilsome and 
 fatiguing ; fox-hunting is much more so ! " 
 
 There are a few rules which a man not accustomed 
 to climb hills will find his account in observing, if he 
 would escape the suppressed smile of derision which his 
 flagging will be sure to excite from the sturdy hill-man 
 who carries his bag. One is, to eat a very light breakfast ; 
 another, to drink as little as possible but especially no 
 spirits and water. If you can hold out without drinking 
 till your luncheon or dinner-time, your thirst will never be 
 very oppressive ; but once begin, and the difficulty of 
 passing a clear brook is tenfold increased. The provision- 
 basket should only consist of a cold fowl or a few 
 sandwiches, and a bottle of table-beer or light ale. When 
 you again begin your exertions, make your attendant 
 carry a bottle of strong tea, without cream or sugar, which 
 will more effectually quench your thirst than a whole flask- 
 ful of spirits and water to correspond. Should any object 
 to this " tea-toted " system, a little fruit may be no bad 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 109 
 
 substitute. When I first took out a license, I thought the 
 spirit-flask almost as indispensable as the powder-flask ; but 
 experience has since taught me that nothing more effectu- 
 ally expends the remaining strength of the half-worn-out 
 sportsman than a few pulls at the liquor-flask, however 
 diluted : he gains a temporary stimulus, which soon ends 
 in complete exhaustion. 
 
 As the season advances, and the birds become strong 
 on the wing, the difficulty of breaking the packs is tenfold 
 increased, and the sportsman's energy and activity doubly 
 tried ; for, although he has not to endure the burning heat 
 of August and September, yet his pace may with advan- 
 tage be quickened, as there is less risk of passing birds ; 
 and he should also carry a heavier gun. Taking every- 
 thing into consideration, a medium between the common 
 fowling-piece and that recommended for wild-fowl shooting 
 on the lochs will be found the most efficient. A gun of 
 this description ought to carry No. 5, or even 4, with the 
 same regularity as a common gun would No. 7. Some fire 
 very large shot among the birds, when they rise, in order 
 to disperse them : this may often succeed, but is a most 
 unsportsman-like proceeding. The plan I always adopt 
 is, first to select my ground for the evening, taking care 
 that it is full of hillocks: grouse have a great liking to 
 them, and when thus concealed their flights are much 
 shorter. I then commence ranging my other ground 
 as described ; and when I get a shot, although the 
 pack should rise at some distance, I select one of 
 the leaders ; and, if it drop, the pack is far more likely 
 
nO GROUSE AND BLACK-GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 to break, and the nearer birds are left for the second 
 barrel. 
 
 Always cross the dog a good way ahead when he points, 
 and cock both barrels ; it is impossible to bring down 
 your birds in crack style otherwise. Unless shooting in 
 company, I generally have my gun cocked, and held 
 ready to fire, when walking over ground where there 
 is any likelihood of birds rising. This I only recommend 
 to the experienced sportsman. 
 
 Never increase the size of your shot when the birds 
 are wild, unless with a larger gun. Those who object to 
 this additional weight, or who give their gun to be carried 
 by a servant, will make but poor work at this season, as 
 many of the best chances rise without a point at all. 
 Stick to the last to scattered birds : one broken pack at 
 this time is worth a dozen others. 
 
 About an hour before dusk, be upon the hillocks with 
 your most experienced pointers : if they have been 
 accustomed to grouse-shooting at the end of the season, 
 they will hunt round them with the greatest caution ; 
 and when they wind birds, if ever so slightly, will point 
 and look for your approach. Suppose your dog, statue- 
 like, on one of the hillocks, watch the direction of his 
 nose, walk rapidly and noiselessly round in the opposite 
 direction, as it were to meet his point, and you will 
 most probably come upon the birds within fair distance. 
 Should the hillock be steep, and only about a gunshot 
 in height, walk straight over the top ; and if the grouse 
 be, as is most probable, on the side or at the bottom, you 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK-GAME SHOOTING. Ill 
 
 are certain of a tolerable shot. Should you have broken 
 any packs in the morning, and driven them here, you are 
 very likely to get some excellent chances. 
 
 As the shades of evening close upon you, the birds 
 will lie much better ; many a capital shot have I got 
 when I could scarcely see them. A very indistinct view 
 of his object is quite enough for a good snap-shot who 
 is accustomed to his gun ; and I would not guarantee the 
 success of any other at this time of the year. In fact, 
 you must be prepared for every shot being a snap at the 
 beginning of the day, and many at the end. By always 
 following the above directions, I scarcely ever, to the end 
 of the season, came home with less than two or three 
 brace after a few hours' shooting, upon a moor where I 
 used, in August, to average from fifteen to twenty in a 
 whole day. 
 
 When a moor is regularly shot over, and the large 
 packs thinned, grouse are less apt to flock early, which 
 is often occasioned by several large packs joining company. 
 Late in the season, before they are tamed by a frost, 
 a windy day generally produces the heaviest game-bag 
 to a good quick shot. When his dog points, the sportsman 
 has generally a shrewd idea where to expect the pack, 
 as they collect behind rocks and hillocks, most frequently 
 on the lee side. They keep all together, so there is no 
 danger of stragglers ; and as they don't hear so well in 
 windy weather, he may often pop upon them close enough 
 for a capital right and left. 
 
 An indifferent or poking shot should choose a sunny 
 
112 GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 calm day at this time of the year ; for although birds 
 rise at a longer distance, yet their flight is so much 
 slower than during a breeze of wind, that the length of 
 the shot to Jiim^ in both cases, would most likely be pretty 
 much upon a par. Added to which, in windy weather, 
 they are apt to fly as twisting and irregular as snipe. 
 
 In a breezy day, never range near those parts of your 
 marches where the wind strikes fair from your own to 
 the adjoining moor. If you do, most of the birds will 
 fly out of your bounds, notwithstanding every effort to 
 intercept them. 
 
 The Perthshire grouse are much smaller and darker 
 in colour than those of Argyllshire. The west High- 
 lander is a beautiful rich red, and very large. Grouse are 
 never so plentiful on the west coast, from the wet springs 
 addling so many of the eggs. This deficiency in quantity 
 is the reason of the superior quality of the Argyllshire 
 birds ; it being a never-failing rule that, when ground is 
 overstocked, the creatures deteriorate. In the low corn 
 districts, such as Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, and the 
 Border counties, the grouse are a very light brown, 
 borrowing a tint from the stubbles on w T hich they delight 
 to feed. Snaring grouse in these counties on the "stocks," 
 with wire no thicker than horse hair, is a very common 
 way of poaching. Forty or fifty are often taken at a 
 time, during the period between the corn being cut and 
 carried. All these birds are so light in the colour as mor6 
 nearly to resemble partridges. But .let us take the 
 mountain from top to bottom, and admire the wondrous 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 113 
 
 care of the Divine appointments. The ptarmigan, the 
 colour of its snowy summit in the winter time, and of the 
 gray granite rock in summer ; the grouse, lower down, 
 exactly like its own red-brown heather in the autumn ; 
 while the partridge,* which subsists upon the little patch of 
 corn that skirts the moor, has the yellower shade of the 
 stubble on its wing. 
 
 As the nights grow long, grouse take a far fuller even- 
 ing than morning feed. In mid-winter their crops at dusk 
 are as hard as drums. They seldom fill them in the 
 mornings then. Black-game also often content themselves 
 with heather at this time, from scarcity of other food. 
 Late in the year, both these birds sit best when evening 
 feed begins. 
 
 No man ought to beat the same range oftener than 
 twice a-week, as packs of grouse, after being dispersed, 
 seldom all collect in the evening like partridges, but are 
 often some time before they gather : the best days are 
 those with a warm sun and light breeze. Cold wind 
 and rain, after October, makes them flock ; and it is of 
 no use to disturb them till it is fine again, when they 
 disperse. You may expect good sport the first black 
 frost. A sort of lethargy seems to come over the birds : 
 I have seen several in a day standing up, without an 
 attempt at concealment, within forty yards a rare oppor- 
 tunity for poachers and bad shots. 
 
 Many suppose that grouse change their ground with 
 
 * These moor partridges, which spend much of their time in the 
 heather, are of a daiker colour than those of the Lowlands. 
 
 H 
 
114 GROUSE AND BLACK-GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 the changes of weather, and even lay down rules what 
 parts of the mountain they frequent according to its 
 variations. I have watched them narrowly for many 
 years, and am firmly of opinion that they only shift to 
 the longest heather on the lee side of any knolls near 
 their usual haunts, when they want shelter from the sun, 
 wind, or rain. When they become strong on the wing, 
 and the weather is cold or boisterous, they will shift 
 from one mountain-face to its opposite counterpart, to 
 avoid the cold and take advantage of the sunshine, pro- 
 vided the distance does not much exceed their ordinary 
 flight. This, I think, they never willingly do at the 
 beginning of a season. I have likewise heard it 
 asserted that grouse descend the hills to feed : this I 
 also believe to be erroneous; and have no doubt that, at 
 feeding times, they only move to the first short sweet 
 patch of young heather, the tender tops of which form 
 their chief food during a great part of the year except 
 indeed in winter, when many of them come' down to 
 lower ground than they ever frequent at other times. 
 The young poults eat the seeds of the various grasses and 
 weeds that grow in the moors, and are particularly fond of 
 sorrel. At the hatching-time, the hen devours quantities of 
 earth-worms with great avidity. 
 
 BLACK -GAME 
 
 Black-game do not pair like grouse ; and shooting 
 the hen and young birds at the beginning of the season 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 115 
 
 is a simple business.* You have only to make yourself 
 master of the places they frequent. They may always 
 be found near a short thick rush, easily seen on the 
 moor, the brown seeds of which form the principal food 
 of the young packs. When your dogs point near these 
 rushes, and especially if they " road," you may be almost 
 sure of black-game. The old hen generally rises first, 
 the young pack lying like stones : no birds are more 
 easily shot. 
 
 The old cocks, even in August, are never very tame : 
 for although, where the heather or rushes are long and 
 rank, they may lie tolerably well at first, yet even then 
 they are sure to rise very high, and take a long flight, 
 generally quite beyond your beat : they are sometimes 
 found singly ; at others, in small flocks, from six to ten. 
 Their food on the moor consists of cranberries ; another 
 
 * Many gentlemen are now beginning to shoot the hens, observing 
 the great increase of black-game and decrease of grouse in some districts. 
 This may in part be attributed to the advance of cultivation ; but I 
 cannot help thinking the black-game have a good share in driving off the 
 grouse as I know of one instance where the former were killed off, and 
 the latter again returned to their old haunts. I believe it is also more 
 than suspected that the capercailzie, wherever they are introduced, have a 
 great inclination to dispossess both. It is a curious fact, that the young 
 capercailzie thrive better under the foster-care of the grey-hen than if left 
 to their natural protectress. When a capercailzie's eggs are discovered, 
 they are divided among several grey-hens, whose nests the keepers search 
 out for this purpose. The grey-hens, however, will not sit upon them, 
 unless some of their own eggs are also left. But when the young are 
 hatched, they pay equal regard to both; and it is not until the capercailzie 
 are fully grown that they drive away their step-mothers, who dread them 
 as much as hawks. 
 
116 GEOUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 berry, found in mossy places, called in Scotland the 
 " crawberry ; " and the seed of the rush before-named.* 
 They, being very strong on the wing, have not the same 
 reason as the young packs for keeping near their food, and 
 are often found far from it, especially in the heat of the 
 day ; shelter from the sun being their chief object. There 
 can then be no better place to beat for them than among 
 thick crops of bracken. Should you find them in such 
 good cover, they will often give you a capital double 
 shot. 
 
 As the season advances, black-game are the wildest of 
 all birds. Fair open shooting at them is quite out of the 
 question. As they seldom eat heather, their food on the 
 moors soon becomes scarce; they then much more frequent 
 the stubble-fields and copses by the hill-sides. You may 
 often see twenty or thirty feeding together on the sheaves, 
 when the corn is first cut ; but they are exceedingly alert 
 for the approach of an enemy. I have seen them doing the 
 farmer as much injury as so many barn-door fowls. Your 
 best plan then is to hide yourself among the sheaves, and 
 wait for their feeding-hours. If you are well concealed, 
 and select the proper part of the field, you may have an 
 opportunity of killing a brace sitting with your first barrel, 
 and another bird with your second. 
 
 As the fields become bare, and the days shorten, they 
 begin to feed three times ; namely, at daybreak, at noon, 
 and an hour before dusk. To get a shot then is much 
 
 * I shot a fine old cock in August 1840, whose crop was full of a 
 yellow flower of the dandelion kind, very common on the moors. 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 117 
 
 more difficult. I have made a hole in the stone walls 
 which enclose most of the Highland fields, in order to shoot 
 through it. I have also placed a bush on the top to screen 
 myself when rising to fire ; but they have such quick sight 
 and acute hearing, both well exercised, when feeding on 
 this dangerous ground, that I have found it a better plan 
 not to attempt the sitting shot. My way is to crawl as 
 near the place where they are feeding as possible, and 
 make my attendant and one of the farm-servants enter at 
 each end of the field opposite, and come leisurely down 
 towards the birds ; they are then almost sure to fly 
 over your head, and give you an excellent double shot. 
 Care must be taken, however, to ascertain that no sentinel 
 is perched upon the wall, or any high ground near, as 
 there often is at the beginning of the feed. Should there 
 be, wait patiently till he joins the flock. I have also, by 
 this method, often got a capital chance at grouse feeding 
 on the stubble, when returning home in the evening from 
 shooting-ground on the Lammermuirs and in Selkirkshire. 
 In a country where there are few corn-fields, you may 
 get the best sport at old black-cocks by judiciously beating 
 the plantations on the sides of the hills, especially if there 
 are birch and alder in them, the tender tops of which form 
 a great part of their winter food. They are still more 
 likely to frequent these belts if juniper-bushes are near. 
 But great caution is necessary in beating them. After 
 quietly taking your station at the upper side, send your 
 man, with an old and very steady pointer, to the under ; 
 keep about thirty yards in advance of them. The man 
 
118 GROUSE AND BLACK- GAME SHOOTING. 
 
 must remain outside the plantation, striking the trees 
 with a stick, and making all the noise he can. The 
 pointer must not, if possible, range out of his sight. You 
 are thus pretty sure of the shot ; but if your man beats 
 through the belt, the birds are very likely either to fly 
 straight forward, or out at the under side. Two brace of old 
 cocks may be considered a good day's sport. If the planta- 
 tions are very large, beat by sections in the same way. 
 
 Even in woodcock shooting in large covers, unless there 
 are a number of guns regularly placed between the beaters, 
 more harm than good is often done by a noisy crowd. I 
 never take more than one attendant, my retriever, and an 
 old pointer. When I get a point, I choose the most open 
 place, and send my man to strike the bush on the opposite 
 side employing my retriever to beat any very thick cover 
 near. This, however, he is not allowed to do unless 
 desired. Any man who adopts this plan will eventually be 
 more successful than with beaters. More birds may, of 
 course, be put up when a number of people are scouring the 
 woods, but the shots will neither be so many nor so fair. 
 
 Black-game and grouse are easily tamed ; ptarmigan, I 
 believe, never. The keeper of the pheasantry at Eossdhu 
 had a black-cock, a grouse, a partridge, and a pheasant, 
 confined together. They agreed pretty well ; and the 
 grouse, being a hen, hatched two successive seasons. The 
 first year the whole of this cross-breed died ; but the next, 
 with great care, a couple were reared. They were both 
 cocks ; and, when 'come to their full plumage in winter, 
 were a blackish brown, something between the colour of a 
 
GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 119 
 
 grouse and a black-cock. They were presented by my 
 late father to the Glasgow Museums, where they may now 
 be seen. I have given in the frontispiece an accurate like- 
 ness of that in the College Museum. 
 
 Before ending this subject, I may put gentlemen on 
 their guard against two ways of poaching grouse and 
 black-game, I believe not generally known. The first is, 
 hunting the young packs, before the moors open, with a 
 very active terrier or " colley." If the dog understands 
 the business, he will chop a great many in a day. On a 
 moor in Koxburghshire, I saw a sheep-dog, accompanied 
 by a young farmer, performing to admiration. I had the 
 curiosity to watch their proceedings, until I saw the dog 
 snap a young grouse quick as thought. The other plan is 
 to set traps on the peat-stacks, or in the green springs 
 where the birds come to drink and to eat small insects. 
 This last may be continued all the season. We often 
 hear that these traps are set in the former case for hawks, 
 and in the latter for carrion-crows. They may be, but 
 any one who understands the habits of grouse and black- 
 game knows what birds they are most likely to catch ; 
 and if this way of destroying vermin is persevered in by 
 the keepers, " the laird " will soon begin to shoot his grouse 
 minus a leg. 
 
PTABMIGAN- SHOOTING 
 
 IT is worth while to make an excursion to the rocky 
 haunts of the ptarmigan, if only for the splendid views 
 they command, and the strange novelty of the scene. 
 Ben-Lomond, Ben-Vein, Ben-Voirla, and indeed all that 
 lofty range in the west, are inhabited by these solitary 
 denizens of the mountain-top. Except for this additional 
 motive, however, not many sportsmen would be tempted 
 to ascend them for the chance of the few shots they would 
 be likely to obtain. Some of the mountains of Eoss-shire 
 and Inverness-shire are far easier of access, and the birds 
 much more numerous : as many as ten or twelve brace 
 may there be bagged in a day. Not having had the good 
 fortune to shoot upon them, I can only speak from my 
 experience in the West Highlands. The sportsman who 
 climbs any of the mountains I have named, and falls in 
 with the ptarmigan, cannot fail to observe how well it 
 harmonises with the scene. Perched upon a ledge of the 
 shelving rock, which it nearly resembles in colour, its wild 
 look seems in contrast with the little dread it shows at the 
 
PTARMIGAN -SHOOTING. 121 
 
 sight of man, who so seldom disturbs its craggy abode. 
 They are even so stupid that, if stones are thrown over the 
 pack, they will sometimes crouch down, in dread of their 
 more common enemy, the hawk $ and, bewildered at the 
 sound of the gun, suffer themselves to be massacred one by 
 one. This experiment, however, more often fails, when 
 they all take wing together at the first stone ; and far from 
 being so slow as many suppose, they are quite as rapid in 
 the air, or even more so, than grouse : they will also 
 sometimes take as long flights, although their more com- 
 mon way is to fly round the angle of a rock or precipice, 
 and immediately drop down. 
 
 I cannot better describe ptarmigan-shooting than by 
 giving an account of the first day I ever enjoyed this 
 sport, of which I have a most perfect recollection, and also 
 of an expedition, in company with an English friend, some 
 years ago. 
 
 When fresh from school, the first year I took out a 
 license I went on a grouse-shooting excursion soon after 
 the 12th of August. Having slept at the nearest farm- 
 house to the ground, I started at daybreak for the base of 
 " the mighty" Ben-Voirla, where, I had been told, grouse 
 were plentiful that year. My guide was the game- 
 preserver, a reclaimed poacher, who had as quick an eye for 
 a hare sitting, or a ptarmigan among the rocks, as ever 
 peered from under a shaggy brow. After about three 
 miles' very rough walking, we reached our destination. 
 With eager hope I uncoupled my dogs, who soon came to 
 a dead point ; off went both barrels it certainly was 
 
122 PTARMIGAN -SHOOT ING. 
 
 missing in good style! not even a feather dropped to 
 hang a peg upon for the exercise of my companion's 
 ingenuity. All the excuse that his wit or wisdom could 
 frame was " You've made them leave that, at ony rate !" 
 After two or three equally successful points, I began to 
 wish myself well out of it ; and, looking up to the 
 stupendous mountain, asked if there was any chance of 
 finding ptarmigan should we climb it. Having small 
 hopes of my performance on wing, and knowing, from 
 experience, that a sitting shot might thus be obtained, he 
 caught at the plan, and we commenced our steep and toil- 
 some ascent. An hour and a half brought us to the first 
 shoulder of the hill, when all of a sudden he stopped, 
 eagerness in every feature, and, pointing in the direction 
 of a large rock, said " If it wasna that I thocht it owre 
 low, I would tak my oath that thing on the tap o' the rock 
 is a ptarmigan." I now walked first, and, ducking down 
 into a ravine, came out about sixty yards from our object. 
 Immediately it took wing, and my gun was at the same 
 moment discharged, with, I must confess, scarcely an 
 attempt at aim. To my inexpressible delight, the bird 
 dropped. Heedless of spoiling my dogs, I rushed up, and 
 seized rny prize. After carefully wrapping its broken 
 wing in tow, to prevent the blood from soiling the feathers, 
 and giving it in charge to my sharp-sighted friend, I 
 proceeded for a fresh search. 
 
 My utmost hope now was to make out the brace, but 
 we toiled to the top of the mountain without seeing 
 another bird. I had sufficient opportunity to admire the 
 
PTARMIGAN -SHOOTING. 123 
 
 care and skill with which my guide scrutinised every 
 likely spot ; passing over the hanging cliffs by which 
 we were surrounded with a very superficial glance, he 
 directed his chief attention to the cairns^ or heaps of rock 
 and stone scattered jaggedly about. All at once I felt his 
 vice-like grasp upon my shoulder, the other hand pointing 
 to one of these cairns, not twenty yards oif. I strained 
 my eyes to the utmost, but could see nothing, save the 
 dull grey rock. His impatience grew extreme, and 
 vented itself in loud whispers " Shoot him sitting ! " At 
 last I caught sight of the bird, its head and tail carried 
 low, and colour so like the jutting rock that it might well 
 have been taken for one of the points none but a prac- 
 tised eye could possibly have discovered it. With eager- 
 ness and trepidation my gun was raised off went the shot 
 up went the ptarmigan with a hoarse croak a fine 
 cock ! My second barrel followed the example of the 
 first. The bird flew rapidly round the precipice, and with 
 it my last lingering hope ! I saw the difficulty of finding 
 them, and despaired of hitting even when found. So we 
 retraced our steps with my solitary bird, which happily 
 served to stop minute inquiries about the day's sport. 
 
 Many years elapsed before I again visited Ben-Voirla, 
 but in that time I had taken a leaf out of my instructor's 
 book, and could also trust myself not to throw a chance 
 away when the birds were discovered. I was now 
 accompanied by a friend from the south a very good 
 shot, and particularly anxious to see and bring down a 
 ptarmigan. 
 
J 24 PTARMIGAN - SHOOTING. 
 
 When we got to the foot of Ben-Voirla, we found that 
 there were two packs on what is called the second top, and 
 were thus saved the trouble of scaling the highest. - So, 
 taking two young farmers as guides, we reached the 
 ground after a stiff climb. On ranging one side of the 
 mountain, just as we were turning round to the other, the 
 dogs ran into a small pack, which jerked round an angle, 
 and were out of sight in a moment. I knew their flight 
 would probably be a short one, so began to look about 
 with the utmost caution. My friend, quite a novice in 
 this sport, had no idea of finding the game himself, and 
 continued to hunt the dogs with great assiduity. We 
 happened to be pretty near together when they again 
 " poked up " a ptarmigan. Neither of us thought of each 
 other, or the ordinary rules of shooting, but fired at once, 
 and down came the bird. This was rather unsatisfactory, 
 as the " honour and glory " belonged to neither. How- 
 ever, we determined it should not happen again. I 
 described what places the birds were most likely to haunt, 
 and cautioned against trusting to the dogs, which were 
 quite unaccustomed to such ground j but finding my 
 companion preferred his own plan, I left him, and 
 commenced my slow and wary search. At last I 
 caught sight of a ptarmigan upon the very ridge of the 
 hill, about thirty yards above me. It was in the same 
 crouching attitude before described, and, had I attempted 
 to put it up, would have dipped out of sight in an 
 instant. I was therefore obliged to shoot it sitting. But 
 the moment I fired, another flew straight over my 
 
PTARMIGAN -SHOOTING. 125 
 
 head, his hoarse croak proclaiming the cock of the 
 pack! I had a fair shot, and down he dropped. The 
 first I killed being a hen, they made a capital pair for 
 my collection. 
 
 I was now very anxious my brother sportsman should 
 have a good chance. So, joining company, we reconnoitred 
 the ground on every side without success : only one bird 
 was put up out of all distance, which my friend determined 
 to follow. So, agreeing to meet at the foot of the hill, we 
 took different ranges. Fortune again declared in my 
 favour ; for, just as I was scrambling with hand and knee 
 up a steep precipice, a pack of four rose upon the very 
 top, and flew into mid air, just giving me time to steady 
 myself, cock my gun, and get a distant shot, when 
 one of them dropped into the gulf below. I sent my 
 guide to fetch it, which he accomplished with some 
 difficulty, and then despatched him in quest of my less 
 successful companion, with the injunction that, if he 
 joined in pursuit of my game, the odds would be three 
 to one in his favour. 
 
 I had scarcely got to the peak, where I thought it most 
 probable my three fugitives would again take refuge, when 
 I was overtaken by one of those bitter hail-showers which 
 often fall on the mountains in early autumn ; so, placing 
 my gun in its waterproof cover, and my back, Fitz-James- 
 like, against a rock, I impatiently hoped for the cessation 
 of the storm. Scarcely had it begun to abate, when an 
 alpine hare came curtseying past about eighty yards from 
 jny shelter, and then seated herself with equal grace, as 
 
126 PTARMIGAN-SHOOTING. 
 
 tempting a mark for a rifle as could possibly be placed. It 
 was not to be resisted even with my small shot. So, 
 slowly uncasing my gun, and taking deadly aim, I fired. 
 Puss gave an active bound at this unlooked-for attack, and 
 took her leave with far less ceremony than she made her 
 entree. 
 
 I had just reloaded, when my guide appeared with a 
 breathless malediction on my gun. He had seen my friend 
 going down the mountain,, but quite beyond recall ; and, 
 when returning to me, had stumbled on the ptarmigan, 
 most conspicuously perched on the top of a rock. He was 
 in the act of taking his marks to know the place again, 
 in the hope of finding me, when my shot abruptly put an 
 end to his schemes. The birds were equally dissatisfied 
 with the sound as their four-footed ally of the crags, and 
 made the same use of their wings that she did of her legs. 
 It was now late, but as the man had some idea of where 
 they might be, I could not resist the temptation of giving 
 them one more trial. We had almost given up hope, 
 when they a third time rose, very wild, fully a hundred 
 yards off, from a knoll of moss where they were at feed. 
 My time was now " up," so I descended the mountain well 
 pleased with my day's sport, notwithstanding the mishap 
 at the end. 
 
 The ptarmigan, I believe, has never been tamed. It 
 subsists on the rock-plants, mosses, and berries, upon which 
 it is curious to see a pack feeding like grouse on young 
 heather. The plumage begins to change colour in October, 
 when the bird gains a double set of feathers for winter. 
 


PTARMIGAN -SHOOTING. 127 
 
 In spring, all these drop off, and it again assumes the 
 colour of the rocks. 
 
 The woodcut represents a ptarmigan in its common 
 
 attitude, cowering under shelter of a stone; the other is 
 perched upon the top of a rock an equally characteristic 
 situation. 
 
DOGS FOE THE MOOES 
 
 MY advice on the subject of dogs must begin with the 
 caution, never to lay too much stress on their general 
 appearance. For my own part, I must confess that I am 
 not very partial to the exceedingly fine-coated, silken- 
 eared, tobacco-pipe-tailed canine aristocracy; for, even 
 if their noses and style of hunting be good, they are 
 invariably much affected by cold and wet weather, and 
 can seldom undergo the fatigue requisite for the moors. 
 
 The most necessary qualifications of a dog are travel, 
 lastiness, and nose. The two first are easily ascertained ; 
 but the other may not be found out for some time. I 
 have seen dogs shot over for a season without committing 
 many mistakes, and on that account thought excellent 
 by their masters : their steadiness of course has been 
 shown, but they have given no proof of first-rate nose. 
 Even a good judge may be unable to form an accurate 
 estimate of a dog's olfactory powers until he has for 
 several days hunted him against another of acknowledged 
 superiority. The difference may then be shown, not by 
 
DOGS FOR THE MOORS. 129 
 
 the former putting up game, but by the latter getting 
 more points. Should there be no tip-top dog at hand to 
 compete with, the only other criterion, though not at all 
 an infallible one, is the manner of finding game. The 
 sportsman must watch most narrowly the moment when 
 the dog first winds : if he throws up his head, and moves 
 boldly and confidently forward, before settling on his 
 point, it is a very good sign ; if, on the contrary, he 
 keeps pottering about, trying first one side, then another, 
 with his nose sometimes close upon the ground, even though 
 at last he comes to a handsome point, I should think it 
 most probable that he is a badly-bred inferior animal. 
 
 Of all dogs, the worst for the moors is what is called 
 a near ranger. Such flinchers may do well enough in 
 preserved partridge ground, but on the steep hillside it 
 is quite sickening to see their everlasting canter fifteen or 
 twenty yards on each side. The dog-breaker may say 
 that although the dog ranges near, he is working as hard 
 as his more high-mettled competitor. For my own part, 
 I never saw one travel in that way that either worked so 
 hard, kept it up so well, or found half as much game as 
 a free-hunting dog. 
 
 Let your pointers be first-rate, and a couple will then 
 be quite enough to hunt at a time ; more only encumber. 
 If well broke, they will not pass over the near game, and 
 when birds are scattered^ (the only time when the near- 
 ranging potterers are in their element,) will find them one 
 by one, with equal certainty and greater despatch. Many 
 gentlemen, however, take no trouble about procuring good 
 
130 DOGS FOR THE MOORS. 
 
 dogs, until just before the season begins, and consequently 
 must put up with inferior ones, in which case they are 
 forced to hunt three or four together, or have little chance 
 of finding game. And a most vexatious thing it is, after 
 all, to see these cross-bred ill-broke curs uniting their 
 efforts to annoy; one putting up birds, another finding 
 none, while a third contents himself with admiring the 
 feats of his companions ! " What's Bob doing?" " No- 
 thing." " What's Don doing?" "Helping Bob!!" 
 Aware of what he has to expect should he be unprovided, 
 the knowing man of the moors has always as many good 
 dogs as he can work himself, and never suffers them to be 
 hunted or shot over by another.* 
 
 The purchaser, before taking the trouble to try a dog, 
 should make sure that he has a hard round foot, is well 
 set upon his legs, symmetrically though rather strongly 
 made ; but the great thing is the head. It ought to be 
 broad between the ears, which should hang closely down ; 
 a fall in below the eyes ; the nose rather long, and not 
 broad ; nostrils very soft and damp. If these points are 
 attended to, the dog will seldom have a very inferior 
 nose. The above remarks relate principally to pointers, 
 as I greatly prefer them to setters ; but if the sportsman 
 
 * The only way to hunt two couple of dogs at the same time, without 
 risk of slacking their mettle, or otherwise spoiling them, is for each couple 
 to be commanded by a separate keeper, and at a sufficient distance apart to 
 prevent interference. The sportsman can thus move from one to the other, 
 as they find game. I, however, always prefer hunting my own dogs, and 
 never suffer them to be spoken to by any one until I have fired, when I 
 trust to my man to enforce the " down charge " without noise. 
 
DOGS FOR THE MOORS. 131 
 
 has a scanty kennel, I should rather recommend the 
 latter, as they are often capable of undergoing more 
 fatigue, and not so apt to be foot-sore. For my own 
 part, however, I find the pointer so much more docile 
 and pleasant to shoot with, that I never use setters ; 
 concerning the choice of which, as there are so many 
 varieties, totally differing in appearance from each other, 
 it would be useless to lay down any rules. 
 
 Many gentlemen, when the shooting -season -begins, 
 are shamefully taken in by dog -breakers and others. 
 Few are aware how difficult it is to know a good dog 
 before he is shot over. The breaker shows his kennel, 
 puffing it off most unmercifully. The sportsman chooses 
 one or two dogs that suit his fancy ; they drop at the 
 sound of the pistol, and perhaps get a point or two, when 
 birds are so tame that no dog but a cur could possibly 
 put them up. The bargain is struck, the dog paid for ; 
 but, when fairly tried, he shows his deficiency in finding 
 game. I have seen the breaker look round with an air 
 of the greatest triumph if a hare should start, and his 
 dog not chase : this is what any man who understands 
 the elements of breaking, by a little trouble, and taking 
 the dog into a preserve of hares, can soon effect. 
 
 Other obvious defects, such as not quartering the ground, 
 hunting down wind, not obeying the call or signal, the 
 veriest novice in field-sports will immediately detect. It 
 is not, however, with faults so apparent that dogs for 
 sale are generally to be charged. They are, for the most 
 part, drubbed into such show subjection, that the tyro 
 
132 DOGS FOR THE MOORS. 
 
 fancies them perfect, and only finds out their bad breeding 
 and nose after a week's shooting.* To assist the judgment 
 of the uninitiated, I have given accurate likenesses of the 
 two best pointers I ever had. I know some faults might 
 be found in them, but they have all the main requisites. 
 
 If your dogs are well bred, the great secret of making 
 them first-rate on the moor is, never to pass over a fault, 
 never to chastise with great severity nor in a passion, and 
 to kill plenty of game over them. There are two faults, 
 however, to which dogs, otherwise valuable, are some- 
 times addicted ; these give the sportsman great annoyance, 
 but may often be more easily corrected than he is aware. 
 One is the inveterate habit, contracted through bad 
 breaking, of running in when the bird drops. This trick 
 is acquired from the breaker's carelessness, in not always 
 making the dog fall down when birds rise, a rule which 
 should never be neglected, on any pretence. The steadiness 
 of a dog, whether old or young, depends entirely upon its being 
 rigidly observed. After the fault of running in is once 
 learned, the quickest remedy is the trash-cord and spiked 
 collar; but many gentlemen buy dogs before shooting 
 over them, and commence their day's sport without these 
 appendages. They are thus obliged either to couple up 
 the dog, or run the risk of having any birds that remain, 
 
 * Dogs of this kind remind me of an anecdote I remember to have 
 heard from a brother sportsman, but for the truth of which I cannot 
 vouch. "Walking out with a high-broke pointer, he suddenly missed him, 
 when he presently espied him soberly and submissively following the 
 heels of an old Guinea-fowl, whose reiterated cry of " Come back ! Come 
 back ! " he had thought it his duty to obey ! ! 
 

DOGS FOR THE MOORS. 133 
 
 after the pack has risen, driven up, and those that have 
 fallen mangled by him. I have seen dogs most unmerci- 
 fully flogged, and yet bolt with the same eagerness every 
 shot. It was easy to see the reason : the dog was followed by 
 the keeper, endeavouring to make him " down;" there was 
 thus a race between them which should reach the fallen bird. 
 
 The plan to adopt with a dog of this description is, 
 when the grouse drops and the dog darts forward, never 
 to stir coolly allow him to tear away at the game until 
 you have loaded ; by which time he will most probably 
 have become ashamed of himself. You will now walk up 
 most deliberately, and, without noticing the bird, take the 
 dog by the ear, and pull him back to where you fired, all 
 the time giving several hearty shakes, and calling " down." 
 When you get to the spot where you shot from, take out 
 your whip, and between the stripes call " down" in a loud 
 voice ; continue this at intervals for some time, and, even 
 when you have finished your discipline, don't allow the 
 dog to rise for ten minutes at least ; then, after speaking 
 a few words expressive of caution, take him slowly up to 
 the bird and lift it before his nose. If this plan is rigidly 
 followed for several points, I never saw the dog that would 
 continue to run in at the shot. 
 
 The other defect is chiefly applicable to young dogs : 
 it is when they trust to their more experienced comrade 
 to find the game, and keep continually on the outlook 
 expecting him to do so. Nothing can be done for this 
 but to pay the greatest attention to their point ; selecting 
 it in preference to that of the other dog, and always 
 
134 DOGS FOR THE MOORS. 
 
 firing, however small the chance of hitting the bird. Also 
 change the dogs they hunt with as often as possible. 
 Young dogs, with this treatment, will very soon acquire 
 confidence, and never keep staring at their companion, 
 unless he is settling upon a point. 
 
 When the sportsman rears his own puppies, he should 
 be most particular, not only about the acknowleged 
 excellence of the sire and dam, but also that their breeding 
 is unexceptionable and well known especially that there 
 is no cross of the rough, however remote, when breeding 
 pointers, and no smooth blood when setters are the object. 
 It sometimes happens that a dog, though not well bred, 
 may turn out first-rate ; but the progeny of such dog or 
 bitch hardly ever do. This double caution is therefore most 
 necessary, as otherwise much time and trouble might be 
 spent upon a dog that never would be worth it, from a 
 mistaken idea that, as his parents were excellent, he must 
 in the end turn out well too. 
 
 To cross pointers and fox-hounds, or setters and spaniels, 
 for the sake of improving the noses of the former or the 
 travel of the latter, seldom answers. The one qualification 
 may be gained, but the dog generally loses in every other. 
 
 In choosing young puppies, it is no bad plan (as the 
 free-tempered and high-couraged generally turn out the 
 best) to whistle out the litter, then strike your hands 
 smartly together above their heads : the timid will at once 
 shrink back. Give the preference to those who show least 
 alarm. A timid sulky dog often grows worse as years 
 increase ; but a bold free one improves. 
 
INSTINCT OF DOGS 
 
 IT is often amusing to hear those who know little about 
 the subject describing the "almost reason" of the St 
 Bernard's dog, and not unfrequently of the Scotch 
 " colley." 
 
 It appears to me that the instinct of these animals is 
 more prominently forced upon their notice, and they do 
 not take the trouble to watch and discover it in the other 
 species. Sagacity is more equally distributed among the 
 different varieties of the dog than such casual observers 
 are aware of ; but it, of course, takes different directions, 
 according to the temper, habits, and treatment of the 
 animal. It would be a waste of time so far to control the 
 keen tempers of sporting-dogs (by which I mean setters 
 and pointers) as to make them perform the duties of a 
 well-broke phlegmatic retriever. The instinctive power 
 may therefore appear greater in one than the other ; but 
 from the quiet easy temper of the retriever, it is much less 
 difficult to develop and make use of his instinct in that 
 particular way: while the setter and pointer, owing to 
 
136 INSTINCT OF DOGS. 
 
 their more active life and hunting propensities, may often 
 pass unnoticed, even by their masters, though every time 
 they are in the field displaying as much tact as the most 
 cautious retriever. Their sagacity is never thought of; 
 and the only praise they get is, that they are " excellent 
 dogs ; " which means that they find plenty of game. 
 
 There is another reason why sporting-dogs appear 
 more deficient in sense than some others, and that is their 
 mode of life. Confined always in the kennel, unless when 
 seeking game, all their powers are employed to this end. 
 There are, however, abundant proofs that, when made 
 companions, and suffered to occupy a place upon the 
 hearth-rug, they are capable of the same attachment, and 
 would equal in sagacity the much-lauded dogs of St Ber- 
 nard.* Indeed, the usual mode of imprisoning sporting- 
 dogs is so great a disadvantage, that I have seen some, 
 with excellent noses and every requisite for the moors, 
 grow sulky, and refuse to hunt with their usual freeness, 
 unless left in a great measure to themselves. This, I know, 
 arose partly from a want of proper management, and 
 not keeping the medium between encouraging kindness 
 and merited correction; for too much lenity is nearly as 
 injurious to a dog as over-severity : sulkiness will often be 
 the effect in the one case, shyness in the other. Still, if 
 the dog were allowed to be the companion of his master, 
 
 * May we not be allowed to suppose the dog in Helvellyn, whose 
 attachment to its dead master was thought a fit subject for their muse 
 by two great poets of the day, was of the sporting kind ? at all. events 
 it was " not of mountain-breed / / " 
 
INSTINCT OF DOGS. 137 
 
 he would both acquire sense and tact in half the time, and 
 would not give half the trouble either by shyness or sulki- 
 ness ; whereas it will generally be found, that a kennel-dog 
 is long past his best before he excels in that sagacity on 
 the moor which so greatly assists him in finding game. 
 Even the veriest village-cur, when kindly treated and 
 permitted to bask at the " ingle-nook," will learn all sorts 
 of tricks, many of them requiring as much reflection as the 
 most intricate duties of the shepherd's dog. I had a little 
 cocker, reared in a cottage, that of its own accord, when 
 only seven months old, brought in the post-bag, thrown 
 down by the mail in passing. The person who had charge 
 of it, having been detained a little, was astonished to see 
 the bag safely deposited in the house ; and, upon watching 
 next day, saw the little creature marching along with its 
 load. It had seen the bag carried in once or twice, and 
 immediately learned to do so. 
 
 I do not mean to deny that some varieties of the dog 
 may excel others in sagacity but this will be found in 
 most cases to arise from other circumstances than the 
 natural gift and that dogs, whose avocations require a 
 phlegmatic quiet temper, have certainly the advantage 
 over others, though the instinctive powers of both, in the 
 first instance, may have been equal. A terrier, for 
 example, may and has been taught to herd sheep, and if 
 kept to this employment, would appear more sensible ; but 
 his snappish disposition (an advantage in his own more 
 congenial occupations) renders him unlikely to excel in 
 those of the colley. The latter again is admirably adapted 
 
138 INSTINCT OF DOGS. 
 
 for his own work : his thick rough coat protects him from 
 the severity of the weather, to which he is constantly 
 exposed, and his less ardent temper prompts him to look 
 for guidance from his master in all his movements. Both 
 sheep-dogs and terriers may be taught to point, but they 
 are always deficient in hunt, and their olfactory powers are 
 never so acute as in those dogs which nature seems to have 
 formed for the purpose. We thus see that dogs are trained 
 to different employments, for many qualifications apart 
 from their instinctive powers, though these may be 
 materially increased or retarded by the nature of their 
 occupations. 
 
 The Newfoundland and water-dog are generally reckoned 
 paragons of sagacity ; but has their treatment nothing to 
 do with this? From their earliest days taught to fetch 
 and carry, and never leaving their master's side, they 
 learn to understand his least signal, and, from constant 
 practice, sometimes even anticipate his will. This is also 
 precisely the case with the colley: as soon as it is able, 
 made to follow the shepherd to the hill, and from every- 
 day habit always on the alert to please him, it daily 
 acquires greater dexterity both in comprehending and 
 obeying, till at last it can perform feats that perfectly 
 astonish those who have not seen the gradual process. 
 My retriever, to be spoken of anon, has given many 
 proofs of sagacity which have excited the admiration of 
 those present 5 and yet I don't consider him at all more 
 knowing than the old pointer, whose cut I have already 
 given. A superficial observer would wonder at the com- 
 
INSTINCT OF DOGS. 139 
 
 parison ; but, independent of the tact and ingenuity dis- 
 played by the pointer in finding game, I feel convinced 
 that if his educational advantages and temper had been the 
 same as the retriever's, he would have equalled him in 
 his own ~beat* 
 
 To illustrate my meaning, I may mention a feat or two 
 of each : Having wounded a rabbit on the moors when 
 the pointer was behind a knoll, but fancying, from the 
 agility with which it made its escape, that I had missed 
 it altogether, I was surprised to see him shortly after- 
 wards bring a rabbit and deliberately lay it down at my 
 feet. It would have been nothing if the dog had been 
 taught to fetch and carry ; but, on the contrary, he is, of 
 course, broke to drop at the shot and never to lay a tooth 
 upon game. Had he seen me fire and afterwards stum- 
 bled upon the rabbit, he would from his breaking have 
 thought he had no business to touch it ; but, not having 
 seen the shot, he fancied he had a right to bring what he 
 had himself found upon the moor. Any person who was 
 no judge of dogs would have said, " Why, this is no more 
 
 * Both these invaluable dogs have been under the sod for some years. 
 They died of pure old age and hard work. One day, shortly before the 
 old pointer's last 12th of August, a knowing keeper remarked to my man, 
 " Surely you don't mean to hunt that dog. Why, he is not fit to walk 
 along the road, let alone travelling the moors." Never was man more 
 " out." According to my custom, I threw off with old Cigar and his 
 comrade at eight o'clock, and hunted them till two, when they were 
 relieved by a fresh pair. I shot till near eight in the evening, and 
 bagged thirty-five brace. Fully the half fell to the old dog's point, and 
 I never saw him hunt or find better in his life. It was his twelfth 12th ! 
 
140 INSTINCT OF DOGS. 
 
 than what any retriever puppy would have done." It is 
 not, however, the mere act alone, but the connecting 
 circumstances which often show the superior instinct of 
 the canine species. 
 
 The performances of the retriever are more showy, 
 and the generality of observers would immediately on 
 that account pronounce him the more sagacious dog. 
 In taking a walk with him one winter, I met a friend 
 who had dropped a whip : if this had happened to myself, 
 there would have been no difficulty, as I had only to 
 send the dog off upon my track ; but, upon trial, he 
 immediately ran back upon that of my friend, recovered 
 the whip, and brought it to me. Another time, when he 
 was following an open carriage, a shawl was dropped ; 
 no one perceived the loss until the dog was seen carry- 
 ing it in his mouth behind. Not long after, a bouquet of 
 flowers was missed : I immediately looked round for the 
 retriever, and, to be sure, there he was with the bouquet 
 most jauntily carried in his mouth. But perhaps the 
 following instance may serve still better to show the 
 
 He died the following spring, and was immortalised by a dog-grel 
 epitaph : 
 
 " We climbed the rocky hills, and trod the heather, 
 
 And many a 12th of August have we seen together. 
 
 At length thy foot grew weary, age its only clog ; 
 
 And here thou art at rest, my poor old dog ! " 
 
 Poor Gruff died a couple of years after Cigar, but I have never been 
 able to replace him by a worthy successor at least by one uniting all his 
 excellencies. A Tweed spaniel came the nearest to him in docility, but, 
 like most of these silken gentry, he is shy of the water in cold weather 
 Gruff was as hardy in the winter-storm as a walrus. 
 
INSTINCT OF DOGS. 141 
 
 influence of temper and education upon the instinct 
 of dogs. Having taken sea-bathing quarters for my 
 family, about forty miles from my residence in Perth- 
 shire, I walked there over the hills, accompanied by 
 my faithful retriever. When I returned for a week's 
 shooting, I ordered old Gruff to remain behind. After 
 waiting three days, and finding I did not come back as 
 he expected, he started off one night about nine o'clock, 
 made his way through the most intricate bye-paths and 
 short cuts of all descriptions, across a deep ferry, and 
 arrived at home about five next morning, when he was 
 discovered lying at the door. There are many authen- 
 ticated accounts of dogs making much more distant 
 journeys than this ; but the point to be noticed is, his 
 remaining three days, though perfectly at large, and 
 then taking his departure. A keen-tempered dog would 
 have started the next day, at latest, or, by having his 
 attention engrossed with other things, have remained 
 quietly where he was. Even in the former case, he 
 would not have gained half so much credit for sagacity, as 
 every one must have perceived that the patient retriever 
 waited to see whether or not his master would return. 
 Few would give themselves the trouble to remark that 
 his education and apathetic temper favoured him in this 
 particular, and that equal instinct might have been shown 
 in the more hasty resolves and quicker movements of 
 another. It is thus that keen dogs always appear deficient 
 in sense, because they are hurried away by their temper 
 from one thing to another; and their feats are seldom 
 
142 INSTINCT OF DOGS. 
 
 such as to arrest the attention or excite the wonder of 
 the general observer. The instances I have given are 
 merely mentioned as explanatory of my theory viz., 
 that we are apt to overvalue one dog for sagacity, while 
 we overlook its more unpretending neighbour, because, 
 from shyness, surliness, eagerness of temper, or want 
 of practice, all its powers of instinct and memory are 
 employed in a different and less obvious way / for there 
 is no doubt, if a dog is eager, shy, or sulky, it may have 
 superior instinct, and yet show less than another of a more 
 phlegmatic, sociable, or easy disposition. This accounts 
 for the difficulty of procuring a good retriever from a 
 cross between the water-dog and terrier, so valuable if the 
 medium between them is preserved ; because, when the 
 dog partakes too much of the nature of the terrier, his 
 quick temper unfits him for the purpose,* and when too 
 little, he is generally deficient in nose. A cross between 
 the water-dog and any others of the sporting kind would 
 be still less likely to suit ; and the Newfoundland is too 
 large, and of the wrong colour. Perhaps (the noses of 
 
 * A dog of a very cool temper will retrieve wild-fowl better in loch- 
 shooting, than another with quicker movements and perhaps a finer nose. 
 Many of the cripples in this shooting take refuge in weeds and bushes, and 
 the keen-tempered dog is apt to overrun them, thus losing time ; whereas 
 the other slowly tracks them one by one to their hiding-place. It must be 
 recollected that I do not speak of coast and cover-shooting, where more 
 agility is required : on the coast, from the numbers to be secured after a 
 heavy shot of the stanchion-gun ; and in cover, that wounded hares and 
 rabbits, winged pheasants, &c., may be more speedily retrieved. For my 
 own part, I should prefer the slow dog even in cover ; but few sportsmen 
 like to wait. 
 
INSTINCT OF DOGS. 143 
 
 colleys and terriers being pretty much upon a par) a 
 breed between a water-dog and colley might answer 
 well ; there is only the objection, that the progeny might 
 be too large and conspicuous. 
 
 With regard to the St Bernard dogs, what is it they 
 do but what almost any dog of equal strength might be 
 taught also ? It is certainly a noble occupation, but far, 
 I should think, from difficult, to teach a dog to run the 
 track of a man upon the bare mountain, and either guide 
 or carry the benumbed wretch home. The colleys in 
 the Highlands do the same when sheep are in jeopardy, 
 and know their own flocks from any others. They will 
 also climb hills and work by the slightest signal from 
 their masters at the foot.* All this may appear very 
 wonderful to any one unacquainted with the nature of 
 dogs ; and still more so when he sees the very colley 
 which had excited his admiration, completely outdone 
 in some more domestic feats of usefulness by a wretched 
 turnspit. 
 
 If, therefore, my hypothesis be correct, that there , is 
 not so much real difference in the instinct of dogs, but 
 
 * A shepherd of my late father, celebrated for having the best colleys 
 in the country, preferred those with quick tempers, to save himself trouble. 
 This man used to stand at the door of his hut, sending his dogs to " clear 
 the marches/' at the tops of the highest hills. They worked by signal long 
 after they could not hear his voice. For this distant work, a slow dog, 
 though more easily broke at first, and steady as a rock afterwards, was 
 often found too lazy. The shepherd has known one lie down to rest for an 
 hour behind a rock, when he thought himself unobserved. He therefore 
 reserved these cool geniuses for the near work, and sent the younger and 
 more keen-tempered on the distant and toilsome duty. 
 
344 INSTINCT OF DOGS. 
 
 that the degree of sagacity they will exert for our benefit 
 or amusement depends in a great measure upon their 
 tempers and dispositions ; and that the treatment they 
 meet with has much to do in forming these tempers and 
 dispositions, it follows that too great care cannot be 
 taken to train them properly, and especially never to 
 correct in anger or caprice. 
 
BOE-HUNTING 
 
 MANY of the woods that fringe our most romantic lochs 
 and glens abound with the roe ; its chief food being the 
 leaves in summer, and the tender tops of the trees in 
 winter. I do not mean to say that it is not also fond of 
 grass or clover, but the other is its most natural choice. 
 So destructive is it to young woods, that many gentlemen 
 give it no quarter on this account. Even trees of con- 
 siderable growth are not safe from its attacks ; the buck 
 sometimes fixing his horns against the stem, walking 
 round and round until the ground is bared, and the bark 
 so injured that the tree dies. The favourite haunts of 
 the roe are those belts of young plantation, surmounted 
 by large pine-forests, common throughout the Highlands : 
 the former supply it with food, and the latter give it 
 shelter. 
 
 The pursuit of the roe, if followed in a proper way, 
 affords first-rate sport, and taxes to the full the strength, 
 skill, and energy of the hunter ; but this is seldom the 
 case, and the generality of roe-hunts are nothing but 
 
146 ROE -HUNTING. 
 
 blunders from beginning to end. The common way of 
 proceeding is, to place half-a-dozen gentlemen with their 
 guns in the passes, and then, with a host of beaters and 
 dogs, to scour the plantations, always commencing at the 
 windward side, where the roes are sure to be found. I 
 confess I have no great liking to this plan ; the planta- 
 tions are thoroughly disturbed, almost every head of game 
 being driven out ; and I never saw a party of this kind 
 succeed much better than when one or two experienced 
 roe-hunters had the whole sport to themselves.* 
 
 A description of one of these noisy parties will, with a 
 few exceptions, apply to all. We will suppose the sports- 
 men snugly in their passes, while the beaters and dogs 
 are in full hoot and howl in the wood below : one man 
 allows the roe to slip by unobserved, until it is almost 
 out of reach, then fires his buck-shot, perhaps wounding 
 his game, which the dogs are unable to run down ; another 
 never sees it at all ; a third shows himself in the pass, and 
 so throws away his chance ; and I have even know T n two 
 instances of our brethren from the south leaving their 
 posts for a time to take a comfortable luncheon their 
 love of a roe-pasty prevailing over their love of the chase. 
 
 * The roe is occasionally stalked, and shot with the rifle, and I have 
 heard it alleged that it is thus raised to the dignity of a deer, whereas 
 the common method of buck-shot degrades it to the level of a hare. 
 Having several times tried this experiment, I may safely pronounce it 
 a most wretched burlesque upon deer-stalking. Roes almost always 
 confine themselves to the woods, and although, by peeping round 
 corners and openings in the plantations, you may sometimes get a good 
 rifle-shot, yet you are much more apt to come upon them quite within 
 
ROE -HUNTING. 147 
 
 One of them was only detected by the hounds and roe 
 having run right through his pass during his absence. 
 Although a man should not be so churlish as to refuse 
 joining a party of this kind, yet I could excuse any know- 
 ing roe-hunter for anticipating with greater pleasure and 
 hope of success the day when he should take the field alone. 
 Such a one will always prefer a day with .scarcely a 
 breath of air, high wind being destruction to his sport : 
 first, from the difficulty of hearing the hound ; and, next, 
 from the currents of air which he will be obliged to 
 avoid, lest the roe should wind him. His only com- 
 panion is a very slow and steady hound. Thoroughly 
 acquainted with all the passes, he places himself in that 
 he considers the best, ready to change his position should 
 the baying of the hound seem to indicate that the roe 
 has taken a different direction. If it escapes at the first 
 burst, he is not at all disconcerted, as his tactics now begin. 
 The roe perhaps stretches away into the large pine-forest, 
 and he sees his good hound slowly and surely threading 
 his way through the thick underwood, making the welkin 
 ring. Now is the time for our sportsman to display the 
 strength of his lungs and limbs. Aware that the roe, 
 
 range of buck-shot, especially if the cover is not very thin, which a good 
 haunt of roes seldom is. They are thus almost sure to see and hear you, 
 and steal away unperceived ; but should you succeed in getting the shot, 
 it is pretty certain to be a running one, and you will stand but a poor 
 chance with a rifle at a roe bounding among thick plantations. 
 The great excitement of deer-stalking consists in seeing your game 
 from a distance without being yourself perceived, which affords ample 
 scope for skill and tact in approaching it. 
 
J48 KOE- HUNTING. 
 
 after a fair heat, will probably slacken his speed, and 
 with the hound scarcely more than a hundred yards 
 behind, course slowly round and round a knot of hillocks, 
 perhaps for half an hour at a time, he will use his utmost 
 efforts to keep within hearing of the bay. Whenever 
 this appears nearly confined to one place, he advances 
 with extreme caution, peering round at every step, with 
 his gun cocked and held ready to fire. The sound seems 
 now at hand again more distant, as it is obstructed by 
 the intervening hillocks ; he conceals himself upon an 
 angle of one of them, near the centre of the knot, to 
 command as good a view both ways as he can. If the 
 hound continues opening near, he watches with the utmost 
 vigilance, almost holding his breath to catch the slightest 
 sound. After waiting some time, should the dog still 
 remain near, he will occasionally shift his position, but 
 always with the same caution. 
 
 A novice would scarcely believe the noiseless step with 
 which a roe will often pass, and the scanty covering of 
 brushwood that will screen it from observation. Should 
 it slip by in this manner, you will of course immediately 
 know by the tracking of the hound, which has often made 
 me aware of its almost magical transit. Attention and 
 experience, however, will considerably lessen the roe's 
 chance of escape. Whenever it takes another direction, 
 follow at your best speed, until it again tries the dodging 
 game. Continue the pursuit so long as your hound is 
 stanch, and your own strength holds out, taking advantage 
 of every pass within and round the wood. 
 
ROE -HUNTING. 149 
 
 Here let me give two cautions always to dress as 
 near the colour of the ground and trees as you can, and, 
 when concealed, never to make the least motion : if you 
 do, the roe will at once perceive it and stop short. You 
 will most likely only be made aware of its having done 
 so by the hound coming within forty or fifty yards, and 
 then turning away in another direction. When properly 
 dressed, even should your place of concealment not be 
 very good, the roe will be pretty sure to pass if you keep 
 perfectly still. This is even more necessary when expect- 
 ing a hill-fox. Should the roe take a straight course, 
 right out of your beat, you must await its return ; which, 
 if it has not been alarmed or shot at, you may pretty 
 confidently expect. 
 
 In recommending the above manner of roe-shooting, 
 it must be remembered that I do not say it is easy ; but 
 I do say, that, when thoroughly understood, it will be 
 attended with much greater success in the long run, and 
 the roes will be less disturbed, than when many of the 
 passes are kept by novices in the sport. I once, in Ken- 
 mure wood, at the head of Loch Lomond, by this mode 
 killed two in a few hours one of them a very fine old 
 buck without harassing any others ; while a party of five 
 or six of us, and beaters to correspond, after alarming 
 the whole wood, and firing many shots, only got three 
 yearling fawns in four whole days. 
 
 Many gentlemen have a great prejudice against allow- 
 ing hounds to enter their covers, for fear of driving the 
 roes away, when the blame should rather be laid on their 
 
150 ROE -HUNTING. 
 
 large party, unskilful manoeuvring, and long random shots. 
 I have had good proof that roes are not so much afraid 
 of fox-hounds as people suppose. A gentleman of my 
 acquaintance had a newly -planted wood much injured by 
 them : he desired the gamekeeper to hunt them out. So 
 little, however, did this frighten them, that they have 
 been known to return within an hour after the hounds 
 were taken off ; nor would they leave the place until one 
 or two had been shot. 
 
 Nor is this the only instance which has come within 
 my own notice. On the shooting-ground which I took 
 for a season at Kinnaird, in Perthshire, was a pine wood, 
 with an oak copse at the side ; here I frequently saw a 
 fine buck and two does feeding. They were very tame, 
 and I tried in vain to beat them out with the shepherd's 
 dogs. I had not then much knowledge of roe-hunting ; 
 but I procured an old hound, and pursued them every 
 day for a week without getting a shot. They were still 
 to be found in their old haunts every morning, although 
 ever so hard hunted the day before. They would take a 
 stretch upon the open moor for an hour, and then return, 
 always keeping together ; and it was only by marking a 
 much-used pass that I at length succeeded in getting a 
 very fair right and left, killing the buck with one barrel, 
 and one of the does with the other. A stray shot struck 
 the other doe, which happened to be in line, and broke 
 her leg, although I was not aware of it. Two days after, 
 a farmer sent me word that a wounded roe had been seen 
 in the wood. I again put the hound into the cover, and 
 
ROE -HUNTING. 151 
 
 in a short time the poor creature came limping past, 
 when I shot it, to prevent the dog from putting it to 
 a more cruel death. I do not mention this as claim- 
 ing any merit, for the shots were open, near, and easy ; 
 greater skill might have secured them some time be- 
 fore : but I think a fair inference in proof of my asser- 
 tion may be drawn from this and other instances of the 
 kind. 
 
 When roes haunt a small belt of plantation, it is often 
 impossible to say where they will break cover. The 
 surest plan is to take a pass a little way off, as the roe, 
 wherever it may break, soon falls into a beaten track when 
 leaving one wood for another. 
 
 It is a rare thing to take a right and left at roe ; they 
 slip past so quickly, and generally in small numbers. I 
 have known many old sportsmen who have shot them all 
 their lives, and yet never killed a couple right and left. 
 Blood-hounds are now coming into vogue, instead of fox- 
 hounds, for running them out of thick coverts. From the 
 truer nose, slower movement, and more deep-toned voice 
 of the blood-hound, he is certainly far better adapted for 
 the purpose. This noble dog is supposed to be the lineal 
 descendant of the old deep-flewed English slot-hound, or 
 talbot; and there is certainly little difference, except in 
 colour. The prevailing hue of the talbot was white, that 
 of the blood-hound is black and tan. All the finer qualities 
 of the talbot have been sacrificed in his degenerate suc- 
 cessorthe fox-hound of modern days to acquire the 
 great desideratum, speed. 
 
152 UOE- HUNTING. 
 
 Never gralloch * a roe near a favourite pass, unless you 
 wish it to he forsaken. 
 
 The roe's sagacity in discovering real from apparent 
 danger is remarkable : the crouching shooter with his 
 deadly gun is instantly detected, while the harmless work- 
 man may even blast the rock and cause no alarm. This 
 fact I have been assured of by men employed on the 
 Highland road, who had often seen the roes peeping at 
 them from the cliffs above, watching their whole proceed- 
 ings without any signs of fear. 
 
 The roe has no great kindliness for the fallow-deer. It 
 is a curious fact that, on Loch Lomond, there are two large 
 wooded islands which the roes constantly frequent, without 
 ever crossing to a third, where deer are kept, though well 
 adapted to their habits. When swimming in and out of 
 these islands, the roes have regular passes, as on land ; but 
 if a boat be near they will never attempt to cross. A few 
 years ago, an English gentleman wishing for a couple, a 
 plan of catching them in the water was thought of. For 
 this purpose, boats were concealed near the passes, and the 
 roes hunted out of the islands. But they were such dex- 
 terous swimmers, and doubled so well, that they always 
 escaped, until the thought of fixing a noose to a pole sug- 
 gested itself, by which simple device they were soon 
 secured. In a short time they became quite domesticated, 
 and would eat from the hand of their keeper. 
 
 Another was caught many years ago, which my brothers 
 and I, when boys, begged to be allowed to tame. We 
 
 * Clean out the inside. 
 
ROE-HUNTING. 153 
 
 used to bring it leaves in great quantities, which it would 
 eat from our hands, always preferring those of the mountain- 
 ash. The confinement, however, did not agree with it; 
 and, although supplied with grass, clover, and everything 
 we could think of, it fell off in condition, and we were 
 obliged to set it free. 
 
 The roe has two young ones at a time, the most beautiful 
 little creatures possible. It is curious to see them, when 
 started, bound away with the greatest activity, though no 
 bigger than a cat. 
 
THE ALPINE OK WHITE HAKE 
 
 SOMETIMES CALLED THE BLUE HAKE 
 
 THE white hare inhabits many of our mountains. It is 
 not confined, like the ptarmigan, to the tops of the highest 
 and most inaccessible, but, on the contrary, is often met 
 with on grouse-shooting ranges, where there are few crags 
 or rocks to be seen. I have frequently shot it on flats, 
 between the hills, where it had made its form like the 
 common hare ; and, though I have more often moved it in 
 rocky places where it sometimes has its seat a consider- 
 able way under a stone I do not think it ever burrows 
 among them, as some suppose ; for, although hard pressed, 
 I have never seen it attempt to shelter itself, like a rabbit, 
 in that way. Indeed, there would be little occasion for 
 this, as its speed is scarcely inferior to the hares of the 
 wood or plain, and it evidently possesses more cunning. 
 When first started, instead of running heedlessly forward, 
 it makes a few corky bounds, then stops to listen moving 
 its ears about ; and, if the danger is urgent, darts off at 
 full speed, always with the settled purpose of reaching 
 
THE ALPINE OR WHITE HARE. 155 
 
 some high hill or craggy ravine. If not pressed, it springs 
 along as if for amusement ; but takes care never to give its 
 enemy an advantage by loitering. 
 
 I put up one, on the 16th of March 1840, when inspect- 
 ing the heather-burning on my moor, at Leny in Perth- 
 shire, which' (contrary to their usual practice) kept watch- 
 ing, and allowed me several times to come within a 
 hundred yards. I was at first surprised, bat the explanation 
 soon occurred to me that it had young ones in the heather. 
 I had thus a good opportunity of noticing the commence- 
 ment of its change of colour. The head was quite grey, and 
 the back nearly so; which parts are the last to lose, as well 
 as the first to put on, the summer dress. I shot one nearly 
 in the same stage, on the 22d of November 1839.* The only 
 difference was, that the whole coat of the former appeared 
 less pure. This is easily accounted for, as in winter the 
 creature, though receiving a fresh accession of hair, loses 
 none of the old, which also becomes white ; whereas in 
 spring it casts it all, like other animals. Thus, by a 
 merciful provision, its winter covering is doubly thick ; 
 
 * I twice shot fine specimens of the alpine and common hare on 
 the same day. The difference between them, when thus closely 
 compared, was very perceptible. The head of the alpine was much 
 rounder, which was rendered more obvious by the shortness of its 
 ears. The scut was also ludicrously small ; while the roundness of the 
 body was increased by the soft and very thick coat of fur, which made 
 that of the common hare appear hard and wiry. One of the alpine hares 
 was shot on the 17th of September ; there was not the least appearance of 
 the change of colour. The other, shot on the 6th of October, had a few 
 silver hairs about the toes. On the llth I shot another which had the 
 feet and half the hind-legs white, and was a little silvered behind the ears. 
 
156 THE ALPINE OR WHITE HARE. 
 
 while at the same time, being the colour of snow, (with 
 which our hills are generally whitened at that time of 
 year,) it can more easily elude its numerous foes. The 
 same remark applies to the ptarmigan. 
 
 During a mild winter, when the ground is free from 
 snow, the white hare invariably chooses the thickest patch 
 of heather it can find, as if aware of its conspicuous 
 appearance ; and to beat all the bushy tufts on the side 
 and at the foot of rocky hills, at such a time, affords the 
 best chance of a shot. The purity or dinginess of its 
 colour is a true criterion of the severity or mildness of the 
 season. If the winter is open, I have always remarked 
 that the back and lower part of the ears retain a shade of 
 the fawn-colour ; if, on the contrary, there is much frost and 
 snow, the whole fur of the hare is very bright and silvery, 
 with scarcely a tint of brown. When started from its 
 form, I have constantly observed that it never returns, 
 evidently knowing that its refuge has been discovered. It 
 will sometimes burrow in the snow, in order to scrape for 
 food, and avoid the cold wind, as well as for security. 
 These burrows are not easily discovered by an unaccus- 
 
 On the 2d of December I shot another couple : the lower part of the 
 body and hind-legs were like swan's down, the back and sides grizzled, 
 and the only unchanged parts were the crown of the head and cheeks. 
 The last day I went after them was on the 15th of December, when I 
 wished to ascertain whether the change was quite complete. On that day 
 I killed two hares and a leveret, and was astonished to find that one of the 
 former was in the same stage as those shot on the 2d of December; 
 while the change in the other hare and in the leveret was complete, except 
 indeed a shading of grey on the back, which is never purely white but in 
 the depth of the severest winters. 
 
THE ALPINE OR WHITE HARE. 157 
 
 tomed eye ; the hare runs round the place several times, 
 which completely puzzles an observer, and then makes a 
 bound over, without leaving any footmark to detect her 
 retreat. It is hollowed out, like a mine, by the hare's 
 scraping and breath, and the herbage beneath nibbled bare. 
 
 When deer-stalking in Glenartney last autumn, I was 
 quite amazed at the multitudes of alpine hares. They kept 
 starting up on all sides, some as light-coloured as rabbits, 
 and others so dark as to resemble little moving pieces of 
 granite. I could only account for their numbers from the 
 abundance of fine green food and the absence of sheep, 
 which are as much avoided by hares as by deer, from their 
 dirting the ground with their tarry* fleeces. 
 
 An eye-witness, on whom I can depend, gave me a 
 curious account of the tactics of a hill hare, which com- 
 pletely baffled the tyrant of the rocks. Puss, as is her 
 wont when chased by an eagle, sheltered herself under a 
 stone. The eagle took post at a little distance, and watched 
 long, exactly like a cat waiting for a mouse. Although 
 her fierce foe was out of sight, the hare seemed to have a 
 mesmeric knowledge of his vicinity, for she never would 
 move so far from her hiding-place as to be taken by sur- 
 prise. Several times she came out to feed, but the moment 
 the eagle rose she was safe again. At last her pursuer 
 got tired, arid flew away. The white hare has always a 
 refuge of this kind where eagles haunt. 
 
 * Should anybody be disposed to call in question the correctness of this 
 word, I beg to say my title to it is long use and wont: "Tarry woo', 
 tarry woo' ! tarry woo' is ill to spin." 
 
158 THE ALPINE OR WHITE HARE. 
 
 The brown hare is not on good terms with his mountain 
 cousins. The latter have enormously increased, by the 
 wholesale destruction of the larger vermin, such as eagles, 
 wildcats, martins, &c. They have completely dispossessed 
 the co'mmon ones of those territories where they abound. 
 Like the northern hordes, I rather think they owe possession 
 of the land as much to their numbers as their courage, for 
 the brown hare, although proverbially timid, is very 
 pugnacious. I once saw a battle between two of them, 
 which appeared exactly like monkeys sparring. On slip- 
 ping cautiously forward, to see what this Lilliputian fight 
 could mean, I was much amused to find it was a couple of 
 Jack hares, reared upon their hind-legs, pummelling each 
 others heads and shoulders with right good-will. The 
 blows were sharp and true ; and if all the old brown 
 champions boxed the ears of their alpine kin to the same 
 tune, it must have been no easy matter for the hill-men to 
 make them sound a retreat. 
 
 Should an alpine hare be started at the base of a cairn, 
 if unpursued, she will most likely run up to a large piece 
 of rock, and place her back against it, watching the 
 motions of the enemy underneath. She will remain long 
 in this position, quite still. If the sportsman leaves his 
 attendant at the foot of the cairn, and, by taking a circuit, 
 comes down above, there is no danger of the hare seeing 
 him. The only difficulty is to find out the rock, among so 
 many pretty much alike, especially as its shape from above 
 is often very different from what it appeared below. To 
 prevent mistakes, I generally directed my game-carrier to 
 
THE ALPINE OR WHITE HARE. 159 
 
 hold out his blue-bonnet in his right or left hand, to point 
 out on which side of me the rock lay ; but if it was directly 
 below me, to place his bonnet on the ground. In a calm 
 day, I have sometimes taken off my shoes, to prevent the 
 hare from hearing my steps, and very seldom failed to 
 shoot her. This miniature stalking is within the reach of 
 many grouse-shooters ; and, by trying their skill at it 
 when the birds grow wild, they may find out whether they 
 have any turn either for wild-fowl or deer-stalking. 
 
 When one of these hares is pursued by a colley or terrier, 
 she will run round and round the hill, on her own track, 
 trying to confound the scent, and, as a last resource, scuttle 
 along a watercourse, if there is one near. 
 
 The alpine hare is a good deal less than the common 
 shorter, and stouter made for its size ; and its legs stronger, 
 for climbing in rocky places. Its colour in summer is a blue 
 fawn ; and in winter the tips of the ears, which are much 
 shorter than those of the common species, are jet-black. 
 
 ALPINE COMMON 
 
WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES 
 
 THE habits of woodcocks and snipes cannot fail to interest 
 every one who has opportunity for observing them. There 
 is a method in their movements which arrests the attention 
 of a naturalist ; but, unless he is a sportsman too, they are 
 less apt, than many other birds, to come under his notice. 
 
 The first few woodcocks generally arrive about the 
 beginning of October. Their approach is always made 
 known by the red-wing, which bird one cannot help con- 
 necting with the woodcock, as guests who commonly arrive 
 together, however unlike in other respects. When wood- 
 cocks first come, they keep to the open ground, taking 
 refuge in brushwood, rushes, or heather. At this time 
 they are constantly found and pointed on the moors; 
 comparatively few frequent the coverts, at least in the 
 daytime : towards dusk, I have seen them come down to 
 the springs. The first frost, however, drives them to the 
 woods, where the ground is of course less hard. Should 
 the weather continue severe, many take refuge under thick 
 hollies or junipers, especially where these bushes are sur- 
 
WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 161 
 
 rounded by plashy ground. It is worth notice that if a 
 woodcock is found at one of the covert springs, about dusk 
 in October, he is sure to be at the same place in the day- 
 time when the frost sets in. Each bird has its own 
 favourite, evergreen retreat, which it does not abandon till 
 the weather becomes open. A good beater well knows 
 that this bush should be struck smartly on the opposite 
 side from the gun, or the woodcock is warned, and flies 
 away hidden by the boughs. 
 
 During a long-continued period of frost and snow, most 
 of the woodcocks leave the inlands for the oak and larch 
 belts on the coast, in order to feed upon the sea-worms 
 within tide water-mark. This sea-ground, of course, is 
 seldom much affected by frost, and is the last resource of 
 the woodcock during a storm. In the severe winter of 
 1838-9, hardly a stray cock was to be found in the inland 
 coverts after the first few weeks of hard frost. Numbers 
 were seen, dead and dying of starvation, among the planta- 
 tions which skirted the sea, even the sea-worm having 
 failed about the end of that long- continued storm. 
 
 The passages of the woodcocks, either at evening flight, 
 or from one part of a coppice to another, when flushed, 
 seldom vary twenty yards. In beating large coverts, shots 
 who are aware of this have a great advantage. After once 
 seeing the bird fly, they can form a shrewd guess where to 
 place themselves next time. By facing the beaters, and 
 securing any opening that the cock may have skirted, they 
 will rarely be disappointed, as every woodcock will be 
 found next day at its former post, and take precisely its 
 
162 WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 
 
 former course, if sprung in the same direction. Should the 
 bush or tree be beaten on the opposite side to what it was 
 the day before, the woodcock has likewise a well-known 
 flight the reverse way. So certain is this propensity, that, 
 even in long narrow strips of plantation, every woodcock 
 flies to the side (unless prevented by bungling irregular 
 beating) a short time after being flushed the sharp fliers 
 a little farther on, and the tame proportionally nearer. 
 The flight of both can be easily calculated : and if there 
 are two pairs of experienced shots outside the wood, one 
 pair for the wild and the other for the tame birds, scarcely 
 any escape without being fired at. 
 
 There are, however, many plantations, and these often 
 the most noted haunts of the woodcock, which it is impos- 
 sible to beat by the above methods. Few sportsmen would 
 even walk through some of our tangled coverts in the 
 Highlands, and shooting is out of the question, 
 
 " Where, sunk in copse, your furthest glance 
 Gains not the length of horseman's lance ; 
 And oft so steep, the foot is fain 
 Assistance from the hand to gain." 
 
 It is in such places that cockers and springers are of 
 real service. The woodcocks generally fly straight over 
 the tops of the trees, and drop down near the opposite 
 side of the covert. Sometimes they take the whole 
 round, and pitch close to where they were sprung. 
 
 Should one of these large circular belts be placed on 
 the steep side of a hill, there is a capital opportunity for 
 taking a lesson in the tactics of this bird. By placing 
 
WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 163 
 
 yourself upon an opposite knoll, every flushed woodcock 
 is immediately seen, and his course traced without the 
 possibility of subterfuge or evasion. Many sportsmen 
 place a marker upon this point ; and are thus directed 
 to the very spot where all the sprung birds have pitched. 
 But it they had the patience to watch a few times for 
 themselves, they would be amply rewarded by insight 
 into the manoeuvres of this interesting visitant. If sprung 
 fairly, most of them will top precisely the same trees, and 
 fly past the same openings every time. Some will make 
 it their rule to pitch down after taking one stretch across ; 
 others, by wheeling about, take two ; while a few lazy 
 ones may content themselves with a flight only half 
 through the wood. If flushed a second time, however, 
 their movements, for that day, are not so much to be 
 depended on. Should the party of beaters be numerous 
 and noisy, many of the woodcocks will drop down outside 
 the covert ; especially if much persecuted and driven about. 
 Some sly old fellows try this ruse after their first flight. 
 The sportsman, therefore, should always walk round the 
 plantation, outside, before quitting it. But, as most of the 
 birds will fly sharp, he must be prepared for snaps. The 
 extreme regularity of the woodcock's flight has been proved 
 to me, even after putting him up the second time. We 
 flushed one in the Kilmun coverts, out of reach. He flew 
 straight for a bit of marshy ground ; some woodcutters 
 were at work there, and prevented his settling. In a 
 short time we noticed him come back, and light close to 
 the same spot where he was first put up. He again rose 
 
164 WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 
 
 wild ; but my beater reminded me of the woodmen. So 
 we stationed ourselves in the line of his return progress, 
 and soon had the satisfaction of seeing him, as we expected ; 
 and I shot him flying over my head. 
 
 In overgrown larch plantations, with long bare stems, it 
 is impossible to fire too soon, as all the shots must be 
 taken before the birds rise to the branches. If, on the 
 contrary, the covert is low, the cock should be allowed to 
 get among the tree-tops ; and there will, most likely, be 
 opening enough for a quick shot. Otherwise, pick a snap 
 through the thinnest screen of tree-tops and branches. To 
 do all this mechanically, requires both self-command and 
 long practice. Of course these remarks refer to large 
 plantations, where there are no open spaces to take 
 advantage of. 
 
 A few woodcocks remain to breed in this country ; and 
 nests of young are found, most seasons, in the heathery 
 islands of Loch Lomond. When the summer is very 
 warm, they, like the wild-drakes, moult so severely as for 
 a short time to be unable to fly. I have occasionally seen 
 them in the twilight, after a calm, clear, summer day, 
 chasing each other high in the air ; making a piping noise 
 not unlike the "blouting" of a mire-snipe. In former 
 times, I never heard of their nests being discovered : so, 
 most likely, our less sunny summers have induced a 
 sprinkling of them to remain the whole year. I have in 
 my collection a couple of woodcocks' eggs, found in 
 Inchtavanach a few springs ago. 
 
 The evening flight of the woodcock is rather earlier than 
 
WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 165 
 
 the wild-duck's. The shrill chirp of the blackbird is 
 a good signal when to expect them. This chirpy 
 scream of the blackbird generally begins a little before 
 dusk ; the woodcocks fly about dusk, and the ducks a little 
 after. In a good place for evening flight, you may 
 generally secure four or five fair chances at woodcock. A 
 few cocks come to the coverts again in March, immediately 
 before taking their final departure. As the ground is then 
 soft, and plenty of worms, &c., are to be found in every 
 part of it, they are not so apt to frequent moist places ; 
 and may, in fact, be flushed in any part of the coppice. 
 It is, therefore, scarcely worth while to beat for them. 
 
 Numbers of the mire-snipe breed among the heather on 
 our moors, and afford no small amusement to the grouse- 
 shooter. I have often bagged four or five couple in a day, 
 when after grouse ; merely picking them up as they came 
 in the way. The young are constantly met with in all 
 stages of progress from the downy ball of a few days old, 
 to the scarcely fledged bird, essaying its first tottering 
 flight. 
 
 Jacks come in September, but are more local in their 
 habits. They are found in considerable plenty on many of 
 our more marshy moors, It is very amusing to witness 
 the attempts of an indifferent shot at jack-snipes in such 
 open ground. They are easily found by a good dog, as 
 they have a strong scent; and, being close-lying birds, 
 they generally spring within a yard of the sportsman's 
 toes ; who at last wishes his teasing game far enough, 
 when a heroic jack doggedly offers another chance. A 
 
166 WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 
 
 good shot will hit a jack even more certainly than a mire- 
 snipe. 
 
 In bare ground, I have frequently noticed both mire 
 and jack snipes squatted before my dog's nose. Once I 
 plainly saw the point of a mire-snipe's bill stuck in the 
 ground, ready to hoist him into the air. I watched 
 narrowly, and, in taking wing, he used his long bill 
 exactly as we would a walking-stick. Snipes have the 
 same predilection for a particular spot as woodcocks. One 
 severe winter, my retriever sprung a mire-snipe out of 
 a puddle, close to the Gala water. It flew across the 
 stream, and I fractured the tip of its wing just when it 
 reached the other side. It fell among thick furze, and we 
 were unable to find it. Next day my retriever picked it 
 up at the same ditch, unable to fly a yard. It could only 
 have recrossed the Gala by swimming. 
 
 While speaking of the covert, I shall make one quota- 
 tion from a periodical about battue-shooting, which entirely 
 coincides with my own ideas : " The battue is a bastard 
 sport, an attempt to graft foreign customs on good English 
 pastimes. It is only fitted for the emasculated creatures 
 who have not sense or stamina enough to endure a day's 
 toil in the legitimate pursuit of beasts and birds, whom 
 nature seems to have designed for the purpose of testing 
 the skill and resolution of men in the pursuit and capture 
 of them." 
 
LOCH-FISHING 
 
 THE true angler is almost always a lover of nature ; if 
 not, he loses half the pleasure of his art. In following 
 the river's course, he must of necessity pass through the 
 finest and most varied scenery ; and that, too, at a time 
 when beauty crowns the year. But, enchanting as are the 
 woodland banks of the quiet stream, there is to me a 
 higher and yet more powerful charm in the solitary 
 wildness or savage grandeur of the Highland loch. The 
 very stillness of those bare hills and craggy summits, 
 broken only by the rushing of some rapid burn that 
 intersects them, has a tendency to elevate, while it calms 
 the mind ; and I envy not the man who could frequent 
 such scenes and not feel them. 
 
 But if the proficient in the gentle craft has an eye 
 equally keen to the beauties so lavishly scattered around 
 him, it happens no less often that the admirer of nature's 
 wildest charms fancies himself an angler. Our man of 
 taste has, perhaps, fished a few rivers near him, in the 
 spring, when trout are lean and hungry; and, having 
 
168 LOCH-FISHING. 
 
 chosen a propitious day, has sometimes returned with a 
 tolerable creelful. He then starts on his pleasure-tour, 
 and of course his fishing-rod forms an important accompa- 
 niment. At first he makes some determined attacks upon 
 the finny tribe ; but, being generally unsuccessful, his 
 rod is laid aside, and, after having been delighted with the 
 sublimities and beauties of half the Highlands, he returns 
 home with but an indifferent account of his piscatorial 
 achievements. To such an one I particularly address the 
 few simple directions in loch-fishing, which time and 
 patience have enabled me to collect. 
 
 There are particular times in every season when trout 
 more readily take in many of the Highland lochs, and 
 these it should be the angler's first study to discover. For 
 instance, the best time for trolling with the minnow, in 
 Loch Vennachar, is from the end of February to the middle 
 of May, when large fish may be taken. They never rise 
 well at the fly in this loch. In Loch Lomond, the trolling 
 does not begin till May, and only lasts till the middle of 
 June, when the fly-fishing commences. More may then 
 be caught, but, with the exception of sea-trout, seldom 
 nearly so large as with the minnow. In Loch Katrine, 
 you may troll with success all the season. The fishing in 
 Lochs Earn, Lubnaig, and Voil is not good till M.ay : the 
 trout in these lochs being small, they are never trolled 
 except for the gillaroo, which inhabits them all, and 
 sometimes grows to a great size. The trouting in Loch 
 Ard is best at an early part of the year, falling off very 
 much as the season advances ; while Lochs Chon and Dhu, 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 169 
 
 not so good as Loch Ard at the beginning of it, are much 
 better afterwards. In short, a number of the lochs in the 
 Highlands may, at certain times, be either fly-fished or 
 trolled with greater success. There are also some which 
 may be fished either way throughout the season ; the 
 angler's judgment determining which, as wind, water, and 
 sky suggest. These, if inhabited by pike, are my particu- 
 lar favourites, especially when the greater part of the shore 
 is so clear of weeds as to make one independent of a boat. 
 
 Many people think a loch injured by pike : on the 
 contrary, unless very numerous, as in Loch Menteith, I 
 have seldom seen one much worth fishing without them ; 
 always excepting those where the Loch Awe trout or 
 gillaroo are to be found. If a man prefers killing eight or 
 nine dozen, with scarcely a half-pounder among them, to a 
 dozen fine trout from half-a-pound to three pounds weight, 
 then he may count the pike his enemy but the latter 
 feat will both better prove his skill and afford him much 
 greater sport. He who wishes to excel in angling will 
 leave the loch with its tiny multitude to the bungler, 
 and select the other, where all his science will be called 
 into play. 
 
 The reason why yellow trout are always large where 
 there are pike is obvious : the small fry are all devoured 
 by the latter, and the others, having more food, increase in 
 size. A few years ago, Loch Katrine was choke-full of 
 very small trout, which have gradually become larger since 
 pike have been introduced ; and now two or three dozen 
 fine red trout may be taken in a day. 
 
170 LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 There are two other small lochs near Loch Katrine 
 which breed very large pike, and are full of prime trout, 
 Loch Arklet and Loch Dronkie but they are less fortu- 
 nate than their neighbours in not having been immortalised 
 by our Great Minstrel. The latter especially, from its ill- 
 sounding name, we cannot wonder that a poet discards ; 
 but an angler will find its attractions. The shores of these 
 lochs being almost clear of weeds, and the ground firm, the 
 best parts may be reached by wading, and fish taken from 
 half-a-pound to three pounds weight. Upon one occasion, 
 when playing a good-sized trout in Loch Dronkie, an 
 enormous pike made several dashes, and at last succeeded 
 in seizing it. I used every effort to frighten him away ; 
 but so determined was he, that, though I could see him 
 quite plainly in shallow water, with my trout held across 
 his tremendous jaws, he would not be beat off; and at 
 last, when kicking the water I strained my line, he gave 
 a plunge, broke my rod, and escaped with his prey. 
 
 FLY-FISHING 
 
 The flies I have generally found best for loch-fishing 
 are a light-speckled or brown-mottled mallard wing, 
 according to the day ; reddish-brown mohair body, red 
 hackle, and No. 7 hook, tied with yellow silk, for a trail ; 
 and a teal-wing, claret-colour mohair body, black hackle, 
 and No. 6 hook, tied with orange or yellow silk, for a 
 bob. If the loch is full and muddy, add a small thread 
 of silver tinsel to the latter, and increase the size of both : 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 1?1 
 
 in large lochs, a green body is also very killing. In 
 fishing a loch where the trout are small, diminish the size 
 of your hook ; even in river-fishing, I seldom use any but 
 those I have named, only much smaller and without the 
 mohair adding a hare's-ear body and woodcock wing 
 early in the season, and a mouse body and snipe wing at a 
 later period. 
 
 Should the loch you are fishing contain sea-trout or 
 salmon, ascertain from any good fisher in the neighbour- 
 hood what are the most killing flies, and tie them for your- 
 self. Should you not be " up to this," beg, borrow, or buy 
 them from Mm. In fishing with a long line, from a boat, 
 let the trail be either a sea-trout or salmon-fly ; but if 
 throwing from shore, never use the latter except by itself. 
 When a salmon rises, whether in a loch or a river, you may 
 allow him a second or two longer than a trout. He may 
 be safely permitted to turn before you strike. A two- 
 handed rod, large reel with plenty of line, and the lightest 
 tackle are necessary. 
 
 If the wind is so high as to cause decided waves upon 
 one of these small lochs, you will succeed much better 
 with the minnow-tackle than the fly ; indeed, the best plan 
 then is to troll for pike, with a par : they always take 
 best in high wind, but are so capricious that you may have 
 three runs in half-an-hour on one day, and perhaps not 
 one in several apparently favourable days. High wind is 
 prejudicial to fly-fishing in lochs where the trout are large, 
 because it scatters them into unlikely places ; and being, 
 of course, much fewer in number than when small, you are 
 
172 LOCH -PISHING. 
 
 not so apt to stumble upon them : the waves also prevent 
 their seeing the fly so readily. 
 
 When there is a fine even breeze, immediately repair to 
 the loch. Begin to fish those parts where the wind blows 
 fairest from the shore ; if you know the loch well, you 
 have a great advantage. The trout have many feeding 
 places, and shift from one to another with the slightest 
 change of the wind. Near some one of these they generally 
 keep watching the breeze, which blows them flies and 
 insects. They are usually in companies^ so when the 
 angler hooks one, he should endeavour to get it away from 
 the rest j he will then most likely rise another the next 
 throw or two. He must keep a very sharp look-out for 
 these places, and may generally detect them by the rising 
 of the trout. They sometimes, but not so often, feed singly. 
 
 When a fish takes the fly, raise your arm with a sort 
 of indescribable turn of the wrist : if this is done with a 
 jerk, the fly is whipped away from the trout; but if 
 omitted altogether, it will often make its escape, after 
 feeling the hook. It is for want of knack in this par- 
 ticular that so many trout are lost after having risen to 
 the fly. When you hook a good fish that never shows 
 above water, but swims low with a dead heavy pull, be 
 very cautious ; it is most likely tenderly hooked, and, with 
 the least strain upon the line, will break away. 
 
 The shore, in many parts of the lochs, is fringed with 
 weeds, beyond which you may cast by wading. Should 
 you hook a trout in such a situation, and not find an open- 
 ing to lead it through, use every endeavour to keep it 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 173 
 
 from the weeds : and when quite tired out, raise its head 
 above water, and tow it rapidly over them. If you can 
 reach beyond the weeds with your landing-net, the diffi- 
 culty in a great measure ceases. 
 
 When salmon or trout spring out of the water, you may 
 be sure that neither will be so apt to rise to your fly, 
 whether in lochs or rivers. 
 
 , THE MINNOW-TACKLE* 
 
 In fishing for trout with the minnow, I also prefer a 
 moderate breeze, unless in bright sunshine, when more 
 wind is necessary. Your tackle should be the very best 
 single gut, dyed with strong tea, or anything to take the 
 shine off; a No. 13 hook and two No. 8's tied back to 
 back : two swivels are enough, and no lead on the line. 
 Any one with the least knowledge of angling knows how 
 to bait. The large hook enters the minnow's mouth and is 
 brought out near the tail, which is curved in order to make 
 it spin ; one of the others is passed through its lips. A fly- 
 top makes the minnow spin more lively, and is therefore 
 preferable to a bait one : the rod-makers will say the reverse. 
 In river-fishing, another branch and couple of small hooks 
 fastened to the gut, and fixed in the minnow's side, are 
 often used ; but I do not recommend them for the lochs. 
 
 * It is very necessary to have wire-cages for par and minnow. By 
 sinking the cages in the nearest burn, leaving the tops above water for air, 
 and feeding the live bait with small worms, they will thrive for months. If 
 the cages are placed in a loch or any still water, they are apt to die. 
 
174 LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 The best, though most tedious way of casting, is to 
 gather the line with your right hand, and, letting the 
 minnow hang down about a yard, throw it out, shifting 
 the rod at the same time from the left hand to the right : 
 you can thus make farther casts, and the minnow lasts 
 twice as long. If the wind is high, try all the sheltered 
 bays ; you may then often hook a fish where you would 
 otherwise have had little chance. Sink the minnow a few 
 inches below the surface, and when you see or feel a bite, 
 slacken your line a little : when you strike, it must be 
 done with much more force than in fly-fishing. 
 
 When trolling from a boat, the less the breeze the 
 longer the line ; sink it with lead to a considerable depth. 
 In baiting, use a No. 9 hook through the minnow's lips, 
 and a 13 or 14 through the tail (vide cut). You thus bait 
 
 much more quickly, and the minnow's appearance is not 
 so apt to be injured ; its tail can also be curved up, more 
 or less, to make it spin true. Thus baited, you may troll 
 with it from a boat for half a day ; but if you attempt to 
 cast, it will very soon be thrown off. Always take with 
 you two coarse trolling-rods that you do not mind sinking 
 in the water, and very large reels with plenty of line or 
 oiled cord, if you wish. 
 
 Your boatman should be well acquainted with the 
 ground ; but if he is not, endeavour to troll between the 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 175 
 
 shallow and the deep, where the trout are on the out- 
 look. Find out if there are any sunk rocks or banks, and 
 troll round them also. Always sweep past the mouths of 
 any rivers or brooks; they are very likely places either 
 with minnow or fly. 
 
 Troll as much as possible with the wind, although in fly- 
 fishing it is best to row against it. Take care, when you 
 hook a fish, that your boatman does not strain your line in 
 the former case, nor slacken it in the latter; either of 
 which he is apt to do, by lying upon his oars, watching 
 your proceedings. You must, in fact, direct his slightest 
 movement. When the waters are large and deep, such 
 as Loch Lomond and Loch Awe, the heaviest fish are 
 always taken by trolling with small trout, minnow, or 
 par. 
 
 If the loch is frequented by salmon, have one of your 
 rods baited with a par ; and, if passing any of his haunts 
 near the shore, take your fly-rod, land, and throw from it, 
 but do not go near the place with the boat. Should no 
 fish rise after you have thrown some time, take off your 
 fly, put on a large bait-hook and two floats, one about six 
 yards from the other ; the line is thus prevented from 
 dangling near the hook, which must hang down about four 
 yards from the last float, baited with two large dew-worms 
 in the following manner : Enter the hook at the tail of 
 one, and bring it out about one-fourth of an inch below the 
 head ; pull up the worm upon the gut ; then put in the 
 hook about one-fourth of an inch below the head of the 
 other, leaving the same length of worm at the point this 
 
176 LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 moves about, and entices the salmon ; pull down the first 
 worm to the other, and your hook is baited. ( Vide cut.) 
 
 When the float disappears, be in no hurry to strike till 
 the fish has tightened the line ; you are thus pretty sure of 
 its head being turned away, and consequently have a 
 better chance of hooking. This should only be attempted 
 where the shores are deep and rocky, on a cloudy day, 
 with a stiff breeze from the south or west, and skiffs of 
 rain. Do not give up hope too soon, for the salmon are 
 generally swimming in small shoals, backwards and 
 forwards along the shore; a little time may thus elapse 
 before they pass where you are fishing. 
 
 In trolling with par for Loch Awe trout, salmon, or the 
 gillaroo, use double or even triple gut, well dyed ; a couple 
 of swivels are quite enough, and a very heavy lead. The 
 manner of baiting, and best hook-tackle, have been already 
 mentioned when treating of the salmo-ferox. Should the 
 weather become calm, you may often hook a large cunning 
 fish by waiting till dusk of evening, letting out a very 
 long line, and sinking your rod in the water, with the 
 butt against your shoulder. The biggest fish are always 
 on the search for food at this time ; and, perhaps, the 
 most killing bait is a loach also excellent for large perch, 
 some of which I have caught, when trolling, fully three 
 pounds weight. 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 177 
 
 TROLLING FOR PIKE 
 
 The common way of rod-fishing for pike in the High- 
 lands is with a running-bait a par, or small trout, and 
 plenty of hooks, tied back to back on gimp, stuck all 
 round it ; also a couple of large swivels, and the line a 
 little loaded with lead. They always take best mornings 
 and evenings, except on very windy days; so, if the 
 angler is inclined to try a cast for pike, after having 
 filled his creel with trout, he may begin about six o'clock. 
 
 THE GORGE-TROLL 
 
 Trolling with the gorge is often very deadly in weedy 
 lochs, especially small openings that cannot be fished with 
 the running-bait. I have seldom, however, seen it used 
 in Scotland, except in a very clumsy way a large double 
 hook, armed upon wire, with the bait inverted, and no 
 attempt to make it spin ; unless pike are in a very hungry 
 mood, this is not very enticing. The proper gorge- hook 
 is a small double one, commonly used for eels, with very 
 sharp barbs, slightly turned inwards; the shank loaded 
 with lead, in order to make the bait sink quickly, and 
 enable you to make far casts with precision. This hook 
 is fastened by a small brass ring to about a foot of gimp : 
 (you require a baiting-needle :) after cutting off the tail 
 and all the fins but one of the top side ones, hook on the 
 loop of the gimp to the needle, and insert it at the mouth 
 
 M 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 178 
 
 of the bait, bringing it out at the middle of the fork of the 
 tail ; the lead and shank of the hook will thus be hid in the 
 mouth and belly of the bait, and only the barbs and points 
 visible. Tie the tail to the gimp with thread. ( Vide cut.) 
 
 After casting, let the bait sink to the bottom, then draw it 
 to the top, and the single fin will make it spin beautifully. 
 When a pike seizes, you must not be in hurry to strike, or 
 you have small chance of hooking : let out your line with 
 your hand ; give him sufficient time to gorge the bait, and 
 then he is fast and firm as you could wish. Use a coarse 
 trolling-rod, with large strong rings, and reel of oiled cord : 
 no swivel is required. Some use a large gaudy fly for pike j 
 I never do so, and do not recommend it, though I have 
 sometimes caught small pike even with a common trout-fly. 
 It is much more easy to find out the haunts of pike 
 than those of trout. The best places are in and near 
 the weedy bays. Fish all these with the running-bait, 
 and, if possible, by wading, cast immediately beyond 
 the weeds, between the shallow and the deep water ; this, 
 however, the sinking mud will often prevent your accom- 
 plishing. If you have found the pike on the feed, 
 you may return over the same ground with the gorge, 
 trying all the openings among the weeds that you could 
 not fish with the running-bait. I never troll for pike from 
 a boat unless they cannot be reached any other way. 
 
LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 SET-LINES AND TRIMMERS FOR PIKE 
 
 179 
 
 Although rod-fishing for pike affords undoubtedly the 
 best sport, and requires much greater skill, yet by far 
 the most deadly way is with set-lines. This is either 
 done with a long line, and from twelve to twenty hooks, 
 or with single hooks, fixed to a bottle or other equally 
 buoyant float, called a trimmer. I have also heard of 
 tying baited hooks to the legs of geese, and turning them 
 adrift : when a pike seizes the bait, the goose begins to 
 flap its wings, and there is often considerable sport in 
 the struggle ; but it is certainly a most cruel diversion, 
 especially if a large pike is hooked. The humane man 
 will be more amused with the trimmer, which I have 
 often practised with great success. 
 
 After very tightly corking up the bottles, and fast- 
 ening the cord to them, let from two to eight feet 
 hang down, according to the depth of the water ; fix a 
 large double pike-hook, armed upon brass wire, and 
 baited with a small perch, trout, roach, or frog to each : 
 be sure to cut off the perch's dorsal fin and lower part 
 of the gills. The baits are inverted, the barbs of the 
 hook projecting from their mouths. The best time for 
 this amusement is on one of those delicious evenings 
 with scarcely a breath of air, when the shadow of the 
 mountain becomes more imposing on the unrippled loch, 
 and twilight begins to steal over the scene. Let the hum 
 of the beetle be your warning bell. 
 
180 LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 Having arranged all your tackle, and baited your hooks, 
 place them regularly in a light two-oared boat, and row to 
 the weedy bay. You will now drop them one by one, 
 about twenty yards apart, outside the weeds, between the 
 shallow and the deep.* The pike have been basking all 
 the sultry day in the shallows, and are just emerging from 
 their green covering in search of food. The first object 
 that arrests their hungry eyes and craving stomachs is 
 your tantalizing bait, suspended at such a distance from 
 the surface as to excite no apprehension, and perfectly 
 still. With avidity it is seized and pouched ; down goes 
 the bottle ; scarcely, perhaps, has it disappeared, when 
 another follows its example ; it is nothing uncommon to 
 have four or five all bobbing up and down at the same 
 time. The sport now begins, the angler stretching to his 
 oars, first after one, then another, as they alternately rise 
 and sink. If large pike are hooked, they will often keep 
 their tormentor under water for a minute at a time j and to 
 run the ivhole down is no contemptible evening's exercise. 
 
 THE LONG-LINE FOR PIKE 
 
 In setting a long-line for pike, fix branches of small 
 whip-cord to it, about a yard in length, and three yards 
 
 * Sometimes, when tbe water is unconfined, it is necessary to fasten the 
 trimmers to prevent their floating away. Cut poles of about ten feet, fix 
 a heavy stone, with a piece of twine longer than the depth of the water, to 
 one end, and the trimmer with another piece of twine to the other end of 
 the pole, which lies flat on the top of the water and prevents the fastening- 
 line from dangling near the bait. 
 
LOCH -FISHING. ]81 
 
 apart from each other ; the same hooks as described 
 above appended to them, and baited in the same way. 
 The line is set in a like situation to the floats, in the 
 following manner : After driving a pole into the mud, 
 fasten the end of your line to it. Your companion will 
 now row leisurely along, whilst you lift out hook after 
 hook, until you come to the end of the line ; having done 
 so, fix it to another pole, and drive this also into the 
 mud. Do not make the line too " taught, "" or it will not 
 hang low enough for the pike ; no floats are required. 
 The line may remain all night, and has thus the morning 
 and evening chance. 
 
 EELS 
 
 As lines for eels are of course set at the bottom, a 
 short description of the way to do so may be necessary. 
 Fasten a stone to the end of the line, to which also append 
 a branch with a float the same at the other end ; the 
 line thus lies flat upon the ground, the floats showing 
 exactly where. Eels may be set for in rather deeper 
 places than pike ; but be sure there is a soft muddy 
 bottom. Both hooks and baits must be a great deal less 
 than when setting for pike, the former armed upon strong 
 wire. Cut the fish, or whatever you bait with, into small 
 pieces, just large enough to cover the hook, and fix them 
 firmly on. I recollect catching five or six beautiful eels 
 at one haul, with no other bait than two frogs ; the legs 
 set upon some of the hooks like worm, and the bodies, 
 
182 LOCH -FISHING. 
 
 cut into several pieces, for the others. The drawing of 
 an eel-line, what with twisting and slime, is often sorry 
 work ; if a large swivel was appended to each hook, it 
 would both tend to prevent this and increase the chance 
 of success. It is of little use to set single hooks for eels, 
 as the great likelihood is that the first that comes may 
 have a mouth too small for sucking in your hook, but 
 large enough to devour your bait / in fact, there are twenty 
 small for one large ; and from a line of three dozen 
 hooks, it is a very good night's work to kill half-a-dozen 
 large eels. 
 
 I have thus given an outline of the different kinds of 
 fishing in fresh-water lochs except perch, which float 
 and worm recreation, as it has come under the ban of 
 Dr Johnson, I might leave the novice to find out for 
 himself. All he has to do is to ascertain their haunt, 
 which any one in the vicinity can show ; fasten a float 
 to his line, and a No. 10 hook ; bait with an earth-worm ; 
 throw in without art ; and give the fish time to gorge 
 the bait before striking, or it may slip out of its capacious 
 mouth after being sucked in. 
 
FISHING ON SALT-WATEB LOCHS 
 
 THE sea-loch has a character peculiarly its own no 
 wooded islands, no green or pebbly margin, like its 
 inland sister, except perhaps for a short time at full-tide ; 
 and the dark mountain more often rises abruptly from 
 its side in craggy and bold relief. It is a novel sight for 
 the traveller, whom the refreshing evening breeze has 
 tempted out of the neighbouring inn, at the landlord's 
 recommendation, to try his fishing-luck with such a clumsy 
 rod and tackle as he had never dreamt of before. The 
 awkward-looking herring " skows," well matched with 
 their black or red sails, scudding in all directions ; the 
 nasal twang of the Gaelic, as they pass the bow or stern 
 of his boat, shooting their nets; the hardy, weather-beaten 
 face of the Highlander, always civil in his reply, and 
 courteous in pointing out the most likely ground to the 
 " stranger " reiterating his injunctions (when his stock 
 of English extends no further) " to keep on the lyroo" 
 yet plainly showing that he expects the like courtesy in 
 return, and that the least slip on your part would imme- 
 
184 FISHING ON THE 
 
 diately make him change his tone, all this can hardly 
 fail to impress on the mind of the imaginative, that the 
 spirit of the Highlands, though dormant, is not dead, and 
 to carry back his fancy to the old times of clans, catarans, 
 and claymores.* 
 
 The fishing of the sea-loch is not nearly so scientific 
 as that of the inland. The great art lies in being 
 thoroughly acquainted with the best state of the tide for 
 commencing operations in having a perfect knowledge of 
 the fishing ground, and being able to set your long line 
 with neatness and despatch. Having lived for a couple of 
 years on the banks of two sea-lochs, I had every oppor- 
 tunity (which I did not neglect) of practising the diffe- 
 rent kinds of fishing, and making myself master of the 
 most propitious times of the tide for doing so with success. 
 
 TROLLING FOR SEA-TROUT 
 
 May be ranked at the head of this fishing ; but, before 
 attempting to describe it, I shall mention two curious 
 
 * It is often amusing to see how easily the warm blood will boil, even in 
 those whom years and hardship might have cooled. The following charac- 
 teristic instances occur to me : A spruce young gentleman and party of 
 friends, in crossing a ferry, had only one boatman, nearly eighty years old, 
 tugging away at both oars. The young spark, who rather piqued himself 
 upon his performance, offered to relieve him of one. " Na, na," says old 
 Donald, whose manner was the extreme of respect, " ye'll no be accustomed 
 to this wark." " Me ! " says the youngster, " I'll row any man in your 
 country." The Highlander instantly faced him with a look and tone of 
 perfect equality, " I've seen the day when ye wad hae been sair pushed ! " 
 The other case was that of an old " grannie " in defence of her rights and 
 
SALT-WATER LOCHS. 185 
 
 facts relative to the sea- trout and salmon, which it is 
 difficult to account for. One is, that the former will 
 take greedily in one loch, while you may troll a whole 
 day in its next neighbour, though full of them, without 
 getting a single bite. This was precisely the case in the 
 two lochs alluded to. The other, that, although you may 
 see the huge tails and back-fins of salmon rising all 
 round, I never heard of one taking the bait ; and during 
 the whole of my trolling in the salt water, I have only 
 killed one grilse. This is the more strange, as the salmon 
 is not at all shy of the spinning-bait in the fresh-water loch. 
 The best time to begin fishing for sea-trout is at the 
 turn of the tide, when it begins to ebb : the same rod and 
 tackle as when trolling from a boat in fresh water. The 
 herring-fry, salted, are the most killing bait, (also excellent 
 for large fish in fresh-water lochs,) although minnows are 
 very good : a sand-eel may also do, the black skin pulled 
 over the head, so as to show nothing but the white body ; 
 this shines very bright, but, as it does not spin, is far less 
 deadly than the others. A boatman who thoroughly 
 
 privileges : An efficient and benevolent magistrate, who had been very 
 active in his endeavours to stop the progress of the cholera, was inculcating 
 the necessity of cleanliness. Grannie listened with a sort of half-consenting 
 air, which seemed to say " we must submit to all this for the good that's 
 to come" until he mentioned the necessity of removing the dunghill 
 from before the window. Her Highland blood could not endure so 
 audacious an inroad upon her freedom : she determined to make a 
 stand upon this odoriferous ground, proverbial for inspiring even the 
 craven with pluck. With an attitude of defiance, and her fists firmly 
 stuck in her sides, she bawled out " Deed, Major, ye may tak our lives, 
 but ye'll no tak our midden f ! " 
 
186 PISHING ON THE 
 
 knows the fishing-ground is indispensable, as it is much 
 more difficult to find out than in the fresh water. Strong 
 eddies, formed by the tide, are often good places ; also 
 any bays, especially if mountain-burns run into them. 
 The largest size of sea-trout are caught in this way ; and 
 when hooked, from the depth and strength of the water, 
 make capital play. Large lythe also are frequently taken : 
 these are like passionate boxers fight furiously for a 
 short time, after which they are quite helpless. 
 
 If there is a good pool at the mouth of any mountain 
 burn, by going with your fly-rod during a " spate," or 
 coming down of the water after heavy rain, and when the 
 tide is at the full, you may have excellent sport. The trout 
 are all floundering about, ready to take your fly the 
 moment it touches the water. This only lasts for a short 
 time, as they all leave the pool at the receding of the tide. 
 I say nothing of sea-trout or salmon flies, which vary so 
 much in the different lochs, rivers, and streams, that every 
 angler should be able to dress them for himself. Any 
 fishing-tackle maker will be happy to teach him for a con- 
 sideration. He has then only to learn from an approved 
 hand near what flies are best for the loch or stream he 
 intends to fish, and tie them accordingly. 
 
 THE LONG-LINE 
 
 The eel-line, already noticed, is precisely the long-line 
 in miniature, with the exception of the hooks, which are 
 such coarse blunt-looking weapons, that the wonder is how 
 
SALT-WATER LOCHS. 187 
 
 they catch at all. They are sold for a mere trifle at any 
 of the shops in the sea-port towns, and tied on with a wax 
 end, but sometimes only with a knot of the twine itself : a 
 turn of the wire on the shank enables you to do this. A 
 baiting basket is required, one end for the line, the other 
 for the baited hooks, which are placed in regular rows. 
 My line had only three hundred hooks, but some have 
 double that number. Herring, cut into small pieces, are 
 the best bait : I required about a dozen for one setting, 
 provided I eked out with mussels, but eighteen or twenty 
 were necessary if the line was baited exclusively with 
 herring. Mussels, however, drop off the hook so easily, 
 that when herring can be procured they are seldom used. 
 Seeing the long-line baited, set, and drawn, will thoroughly 
 teach any one who has an idea of fishing writing how to 
 do so never will. It generally took me about an hour and 
 a half to bait mine ; so I taught a boy, who, after two or 
 three lessons, could bait as well as myself. 
 
 The best time to set the long-line is after low water, 
 when the tide has flowed a little, and brought the fish with 
 it. To know the different " hauls"* is most important, as 
 your success in a great measure depends upon the selection 
 of a good one. After the line is set, it should be left exactly 
 one hour ; and, if you have hit upon a shoal, you will most 
 likely half fill the boat. I have several times killed about a 
 dozen, from twenty to fifty pounds weight, besides quantities 
 of smaller. The fish for the most part taken are cod, ling, 
 haddock, skate, large flounders, and enormous conger-eels, 
 
 * Banks, and parts of the loch, where the shoals of fish congregate. 
 
188 FISHING ON THE 
 
 some of the latter more than half the length of your boat, 
 and as thick as a man's leg. These would generally be 
 thrown back again, were it not for the havoc they make 
 among the other fish, and the damage they do to the set- 
 lines. Their throats are, therefore, cut as soon as they are 
 pulled up, after which operation they will live for hours. 
 The skate is also very tenacious of life ; and nothing can 
 be more absurd than the grotesque pompous faces it will 
 continue to exhibit for some time after being deposited in 
 the boat. The round shape of its jagged crown is exactly 
 like a judge's wig ; and when it puffs out its cheeks, the 
 whole face and head so forcibly remind one of those learned 
 lords, that you almost fancy you hear it pronouncing sen- 
 tence upon the devoted congers. The conger, if dressed like 
 other fish, is uneatable ; but when the oil is taken out, by 
 parboiling, some people prefer it to cod. Care should be 
 taken to untwist the line as much as possible when draw- 
 ing it, which saves a deal of trouble afterwards. There is 
 generally so much filth and discomfort in the whole 
 business, that gentlemen seldom care to engage in it, 
 except a few times from curiosity.* 
 
 * Thunder is generally believed to be destructive to fishing of all kinds 
 and so it often is. I, however, know an instance, when a Mend of mine 
 set his long-line just before a tremendous storm, which raged the whole 
 hour it was in the water. As soon as it cleared, he rowed to his line, with 
 no hope of success for that day : to his astonishment it was perfectly 
 loaded with heavy fish. Something similar happened to myself, when 
 going to fish the Almond, near Edinburgh. I was overtaken by a thunder- 
 storm when close to the river ; directly upon its subsiding, I commenced 
 fishing, and at the second or third throw hooked a fine trout. After a few 
 hours I returned home, having had excellent sport. 
 
SALT-WATER LOCHS. 189 
 
 THE HAND-LINE 
 
 When a boy, I used to be much delighted with the 
 hand-line, and never failed to practise it as opportunity 
 offered. It is simply a piece of whalebone fastened cross- 
 wise to the line, and a hook at each end, tied upon strong 
 gut, with a heavy lead in the centre. This lead sinks the 
 line rapidly to the bottom, which it no sooner touches than 
 you feel it strike. You are thus enabled to keep moving 
 the hooks a yard or two up, and then sink them to the 
 ground again, which entices the fish. All the art of the 
 hand-line is to pull up the instant you feel a bite, and never 
 to slacken (unless to play a large one) till the fish is safe in 
 the boat. Keep changing your ground, and dropping your 
 anchor, unless the fish seem taking. Mussels are the best 
 bait ; and it is a good plan to throw a few into the water, 
 as well as the empty shells. 
 
 Hand-line fishing may be followed at any time, but is 
 best at the flow of the tide. As the water retires, shift 
 your position further down the loch, and vice versa. Almost 
 every cottage on the banks can supply a hand-line, and 
 every inmate knows how to use it. 
 
 THE WHITE FEATHER 
 
 To some highly facetious authors, a pun upon the white 
 feather might prove a prize, so I shall make them a present 
 of it instead of my readers, and proceed to its dressing 
 
190 FISHING ON THE 
 
 and use. Of all apologies for a fly, this is the clumsiest j it 
 is only a swan's or goose's feather tied round a large and 
 very coarse bait-hook, without the least pretence to art ; 
 any man who had never dressed a fly in his life would be 
 as successful in the attempt as the most finished performer.* 
 The rod and line are in perfect keeping with the fly ; a 
 bamboo-cane, or young hazel-tree, with ten or twelve yards 
 of oiled cord, and a length or two of double or triple gut 
 next the hook : no reel is used. 
 
 The fish generally caught in this way are lythe and 
 seithe, although mackerel will rise freely also ; when 
 fishing for the former, good double gut may be strong 
 enough, but if large fish are expected, I should always 
 recommend triple. Seithe take best in the morning and 
 evening, and a slight breeze is rather an advantage : 
 although the fly is sometimes sunk a little with lead, it is 
 more often fished with at the top. You may begin at any 
 state of the tide, and row over all the sunk banks and 
 places where the fish frequent, at a slow rate, with three 
 or four rods placed regularly in the stern of the boat. 
 
 * Worsted is occasionally used instead of the feather, and it is some- 
 times a killing way to have a different colour for each rod viz., white for 
 one, yellow for another, and red for a third. This last is best for mackerel ; 
 and in some states of the water and sky, both lythe and seithe, especially 
 the former, prefer the yellow to the white. It is a curious fact regarding 
 the seithe, that when it grows old it changes both its nature and appear- 
 ance ; the colour is nearly black instead of the rich green ; it grows to a 
 great size, and gains a formidable set of teeth. It is then called a stanlock, 
 or black salmon, and is quite as destructive to other fish as the conger-eel. 
 In this stage it is never known to rise to the fly, but it is occasionally taken 
 by the hand or long-line. 
 
SALT-WATER LOCHS. 
 
 When a small seithe is hooked, pull it in at once, and out 
 with the rod again as fast as possible : sometimes nearly 
 all the rods have a fish at the same time. In lythe fishing 
 you need not launch your boat till low water ; sink the fly 
 with a couple of buck-shot, and troll on the brow, where 
 it descends perpendicularly ; this is easily seen at that state 
 of the tide. When you hook a large fish, try to prevent it 
 getting down, or you may be obliged to throw the rod 
 overboard, in case the lythe should break away; but, if 
 you can manage to swing it about at the top for a short 
 time, it will soon be unable to offer any resistance. 
 
 Trolling with the white feather has this recommendation, 
 that it may be enjoyed by an invalid or party of ladies 
 and, certainly, a more delightful way of spending the cool 
 of a summer evening cannot be imagined : rowing slowly 
 along those romantic shores hearing the distant gurgle of 
 the dwindled mountain-brook in its steep descent, and ever 
 and anon passing the blue curling smoke of a shepherd's 
 or fisherman's grass-topped hut upon the banks. 
 
 I have now, I think, given all the necessary instructions 
 in fresh-water and sea-loch fishing ; and feel confident that, 
 by following them, the admirer of " flood and fell," even if 
 a beginner in angling, may return from his fishing tour, 
 having as often filled his creel from their depths as gratified 
 his taste with their scenery. 
 
THE MOOB-BUBN 
 
 I DON'T know whether the moor-burn more properly 
 belongs to the moor or the loch ; but, as it begins in the 
 one and ends in the other, it was rather an omission on 
 my part to have left it out in my first edition, especially 
 as at certain times of the year it affords excellent sport to 
 the angler who penetrates the wilds. 
 
 When in ordinary trim, the moor-burn is generally 
 neglected by the finished adept, as a more fitting amuse- 
 ment for the school-boy during his summer holidays ; 
 and certainly nothing can 'be easier than to kill a basketful 
 of burn-trout at such a season. To do this in as short a 
 time as possible, treat them with earth-worms baited upon 
 a smallish hook. They will rise well at the fly, but the 
 worm is more deadly. As you have often queer-looking 
 places to scramble up, where a longer and smarter turn-out 
 would be sadly in the way, use a coarse short rod, very 
 small reel, and casting-line of good single gut. I have 
 generally been most successful when the burn was small, 
 the trout being then eager for worms, having tasted few 
 
THE MOOR- BURN. 193 
 
 since the last flood. The great point at such a time is to 
 keep out of sight, by dropping the bait over a rock, or 
 from behind a bush or tuft of heather. There is generally 
 sufficient motion in these rocky streams to prevent your 
 line from being seen by the trout, and they will seize the 
 bait with such avidity that I have sometimes, when a boy, 
 taken a dozen out of one pool or lyn, as they are called. 
 Many prefer the burn a little swollen, and in this state it is 
 certainly easier for the unscientific craftsman, who is then 
 much less likely to be observed by the trout. But would 
 he take proper care to conceal himself, he would not only 
 find them more greedy when the burn is small, but would 
 be better able to detect their usual haunts, which they are 
 very apt to leave when the water rises. When the lyns 
 are black, and whirl round in eddies, let the bait humour 
 the water ; in fact, the only art in fishing them is to make 
 the worm appear naturally to follow the course of the 
 stream. When again the burn flows over level ground, 
 lengthen your line, as you have there more difficulty in 
 keeping out of sight. Fish all the streams and deep-looking 
 places, and, if need be, don't grudge to crawl to them on 
 hand and knee, or you will often be detected by the 
 quick-sighted trout when the water is clear. To fish the 
 moor-burn in this way is capital practice for the novice 
 in angling ; with a little attention, he will seldom return 
 with an empty creel. In the Balnaguard burn, which 
 runs into the Tay near Logierait in Perthshire, I killed 
 nine dozen and two in a few hours. I tried the burn by 
 the advice of an old gardener, who told me he had one day 
 
 N 
 

 194 THE MOOR -BURN. 
 
 killed nine dozen in it himself. So having equalled him, 
 with two to spare, I washed my hands of bait-fishing 
 during the rest of my sojourn on the banks of the Tay. 
 
 Of trout so caught, not above one in fifty averages a 
 quarter of a pound. But there is another manner of fishing 
 the deep lyns and rocky eddies, which is difficult, and 
 sometimes even dangerous, except for a steady head and 
 practised hand. Yet if love of adventure should entice 
 the angler to try it, he will be rewarded by larger trout, 
 and perhaps a heavier creel. 
 
 In most of the small Highland burns, there is a succes- 
 sion of cataracts and pools, with a parapet of rock rising 
 perpendicularly on each side, and often scarcely footing 
 enough for a dog to pass. The greater proportion of 
 picturesque -looking brethren of the angle would almost 
 start at the idea of continuing their pastime under such 
 disadvantages. They therefore make a circuit, and come 
 down again upon the burn, where it is more easy to fish, 
 and the ground less rugged. The trout in these places are 
 thus left till many of them grow large, and each, taking 
 possession of a favourite nook, drives all the smaller fry 
 away. The difficulty of reaching these places is, I admit, 
 often great, the angler sometimes having to scramble up 
 on his hands and knees, covered with wet moss or gravel, 
 and then to drag his fishing-rod after him. These lyns 
 should always be fished up stream, otherwise, the moment 
 you appear at the top of the waterfall or rock, the trout 
 are very likely to see you, and slink into their hiding- 
 place. The burn, however, must always be low, as at no 
 
THE MOOR -BURN. 195 
 
 other time can you distinguish the snug retreat of these 
 little tyrants which indeed they often leave, during the 
 slightest flood, in search of prey. By fishing up the 
 stream, your head will be on a level with the different 
 eddies and pools, as they successively present themselves, 
 and the rest of your person out of sight. Hold the baited 
 hook with the left hand, jerking out the rod, under-handed, 
 with your right, so as to make the bait fall softly at the 
 lower end of the pool. The trout always take their station 
 either there or at the top where the water flows in, ready to 
 pounce on worms, snails, slugs, &c. as they enter or leave 
 the pool. Should a trout seize the bait, a little time may 
 be given to allow it to gorge, which it will most likely do 
 without much ceremony. If large, care must be taken to 
 prevent it from getting to the top of the lyn, which may 
 probably harbour another expectant. The best plan is, if 
 possible, to persuade it to descend into the pool below.* 
 Having deposited the half-pounder in your creel, you 
 will now crawl upon hands and knees, just so near the top 
 of the lyn as will enable you to drop the bait immediately 
 below the bubbling foam nearly as favourite a station for 
 an over-grown monopolising trout as the other. Except 
 
 * In fishing a small pool, where you have reason to think the salmon 
 have congregated, the same method ought to be adopted. When you hook 
 one, tumble him over out of the pool down stream ; at all events, prevent 
 him, if you possibly can, from disturbing the throat, where there may be 
 some more. If the fish are at all tractable when first hooked, several 
 may in this way be taken out of the same pool ; whereas by fishing down 
 stream, should a salmon be hooked at the throat of the pool, he will 
 so frighten the others that very probably no more may rise. 
 
196 THE MOOR -BURN. 
 
 in such situations, the burn-trout seldom exceeds a quarter 
 of a pound, and may be pulled out with single gut, without 
 much risk of breaking it. In these lyns, however, I have 
 occasionally taken them upwards of a pound, which is 
 easily accounted for. As soon as the trout grows to a 
 sufficient size to intimidate his pigmy neighbours, he falls 
 back into the best pool for feeding, not occupied by a 
 greater giant than himself, and as these lyns are almost 
 always in precipices very difficult of access, he remains 
 undisturbed and alone, or with a single companion, driving 
 all others away, until he may at last attain to a pound 
 weight. 
 
 I have seen two curious instances of the rapid growth 
 of the burn-trout under such circumstances, from the size 
 of a par to fully half a pound. They were deposited in 
 separate spring-wells, about three feet deep and five 
 round. The trout in neither had any means of escape, 
 and became so tame as to seize worms, minnows, &c. 
 when dropped from the hand. One of them was within 
 a hundred yards of Arden Connel house in Dumbarton- 
 shire, where I then lived. It had been in the spring 
 about four years, and although large-headed and lean- 
 looking, as all overgrown burn-trout are, seemed in good 
 health and spirits. It always came to the top of the water 
 for the remains of my minnows, when I returned from 
 trolling ; and on one occasion I emptied a pailful of live 
 ones into the spring, which not only gave it several hearty 
 meals, but exercise and amusement to boot. It pursued 
 and seized them with a rapidity the eye could scarcely 
 
THE MOOR -BURN. 197 
 
 follow. At last the poor minnows, from several dozen, 
 decreased in number to three or four, who only escaped 
 the fate of their companions by discovering a small crack 
 between two stones ; and I noticed that the trout soon 
 ceased to molest them, having discovered that the attempt 
 would be vain, as they always kept close to their refuge. 
 This trout, I believe, is still alive, but the other, I have 
 heard, is dead, after a solitary existence in the spring of 
 nine years' duration ! 
 
 But to return to the burn. Although when small or in 
 ordinary trim the angler must be content with its common 
 inmates, yet the time to fish it in perfection is during the 
 floods at the end of summer and beginning of autumn. 
 The sea-trout, salmon, and grilse then come up in great 
 numbers. To select the proper moment for commencing 
 operations is the great point. Many of the smaller burns 
 remain in proper trim for so short a time that the angler 
 ought to be waiting at the side, ready to begin fishing as 
 soon as the white muddy water has run out, and the burn 
 assumes the deep red tinge. After it decreases to a 
 certain point, he will hardly rise a single fish. Nay, he 
 would even stand a better chance before the water is 
 sufficiently clear, with an enormous gaudy fly, with which, 
 should he come half-an-hour too soon, he may amuse him- 
 self until it is time to put on the proper ones. 
 
 As I have already said, every experienced angler is 
 well aware how capricious are the salmon, sea-trout, and 
 grilse of different streams as to their flies. I was in 
 the habit of fishing sea-trout in three burns in the same 
 
198 THE MOOR -BURN. 
 
 neighbourhood, (two of them running into the same sea- 
 loch,) each of which had its favourite fly. I often put on 
 the chosen three, and fished them all in turn ; but invari- 
 ably, when the water was in its best state, the fish in 
 each were most constant to their own fly. I merely 
 mention the fact without attempting to account for it, 
 and will name the flies to show that the difference was 
 considerable : one was a yellow and green, or red and 
 green body, red hackle, and either teal or light-speckled 
 mallard-wing ; another, a blue body, red hackle, and 
 turkey-wing ; and the third (for the burn which ran 
 into a different loch) a green body, thread of gold tinsel, 
 red hackle, and dark mottled mallard wing. The second- 
 mentioned of these flies, with the addition of an orange 
 tuft, is the best that can be used for salmon on the Tweed, 
 if the water is in its ordinary state ; and by lessening the 
 hook as the river decreases, you may continue to kill fish 
 with it when the water is so small that they will not look 
 at any other.* 
 
 As to the most killing flies for particular burns, it is 
 impossible that any rule can be given ; this is a point 
 which one's own observation, or the information of adepts 
 in the neighbourhood, alone can decide. But supposing 
 
 * The best turkey feathers for the wings of salmon and sea-trout flies 
 are those with the smallest spots, very difficult to procure ; and nothing 
 can stand a comparison with the forked tail of the kite, when a red-brown 
 wing is required for salmon. 
 
 Flies for salmon ought to be fastened to the gut in a different manner 
 from any others viz., with a small loop of double or triple gut, through 
 which the length of gut is passed and tied with a double knot. You may 
 
THE MOOR-BURN. 199 
 
 them chosen, we will now proceed to throw 'them. If 
 unacquainted with the burn, you should never pass over 
 the streams, eddies, &c. when it first runs clear ; and as it 
 decreases in size pay most attention to the pools. If the 
 "spate" or flood has not been very heavy, the fish will 
 soon refuse to rise at all. It is then that a man who 
 knows the water will often kill a fish or two, when perhaps 
 an angler equally expert, but without this advantage, 
 would stand little chance. I once in this way astonished 
 a fellow-craftsman, no mean performer either. I was at 
 the burn-side just at the proper moment, and having 
 fished the best of the water, was about to return after 
 killing a couple of fine sea-trout, when I saw a rival, with 
 whom I was unacquainted, trotting down to the bank. His 
 first salutation was, " Are the fish rising ? " He then 
 desired to see my flies, being a stranger to the burn. As he 
 seemed what is called " a greedy angler, " I thought it no 
 harm to take a rise out of him. The water by this time 
 was long past its best ; so, after supplying him with a 
 fly, I said I would not interfere, but walk down and show 
 him the casts. He was evidently a good fisher, but, as I 
 anticipated, did not kill a fish, and only rose one. In the 
 burn there was one very strong eddy, where the trout 
 never rose to the fly, but where I seldom missed taking 
 
 thus fish always with good strong single gut, next the hook, cutting it off 
 and making a fresh knot whenever it chafes at the shank. This method, 
 of course, will not be very strenuously recommended at the fishing-tackle 
 maker's, as, by the usual way, the fly is of no more use when the gut 
 cracks or chafes close to the hook, which, unless double, or even triple, 
 it will soon do. 
 
200 THE MOOE-BURN. 
 
 one with the worm, when the water was at all swollen. 
 On coming near this place, I said, "if he had done 
 nothing it was not his fault, but that I would now try 
 my luck. " I then let him go a good way ahead, took 
 off my flies, put on a bait-hook and worm, and from this 
 place pulled out two whitlings half-a-pound weight. I 
 then whipped on my flies again, and overtook him at the 
 end of the burn. I could hardly keep my gravity at 
 his astonished face when I showed him my success. He 
 never suspected the bait, and I soon took my leave, 
 wishing him better sport the next spate ! 
 
 Sea-trout, after the burn has run small, will never rise 
 to the fly ; they fall back to the pools, and, as anglers say, 
 stick to the bottom, where they may often be seen. At such 
 times they are also very unwilling to take a bait, and the 
 only chance is to try both pools and streams with the 
 minnow after it becomes nearly dark. I recollect once, 
 when the water was quite dwindled, taking a very fine one 
 with worm ; but although I have often tried the same 
 pools before and since, never with success. I had been 
 fishing a small moor-loch in company with another angler, 
 and thought of returning home by the burn, and trying 
 the steep lyns with bait for a sea-trout. My companion 
 laughed at the idea, saying, that to catch one then was 
 totally out of the question. I thought the same, but 
 having plenty of time, resolved to make the attempt ; so, 
 selecting one or two of the largest pools, where the rocks 
 on each side rose perpendicularly, darkening the water, I 
 gently and slowly let down the bait, allowing the worm, 
 
THE MOOR -BURN. 201 
 
 but no part of the line, to touch the water. After one or 
 two attempts I hooked and killed a fine trout, fresh from 
 the sea, and as white as silver. So small was the burn 
 that he never even tried to get out of the pool, and my 
 great difficulty was to scramble down the precipice in 
 order to secure him. This trifling occurrence would not 
 be worth mentioning, did it not serve to show that an 
 angler always has a chance, however little he suspects 
 it, if his energy and perseverance do not fail. Perhaps 
 the following may be a still better instance of the efficacy 
 of this latter qualification, when science and skill have 
 been found unavailing. One of the fat lazy trout of the 
 Thames, which I detected feeding near one of the locks 
 above Henley Bridge, after refusing my artificial flies, a 
 bleak, and a minnow, I hooked at last with a common bee 
 sunk like worm, which I had intended for a chub, and 
 happened to think might take his fancy ! * 
 
 Having named the noble Thames, I cannot let him pass 
 without a tribute, and, if I may be permitted, will offer a 
 few hints on river-fishing, though not properly belonging 
 to my subject. I have had nearly as much practice 
 in the sluggish and muddy waters of the Lowlands 
 as in the rapid and rocky Highland burns ; and, if I 
 cannot but prefer those to which early associations bind 
 me, yet the pleasure of wandering along the green banks 
 of the southern streams, as they sweep through the 
 
 * The above examples are not related for imitation, as they would 
 probably be unsuccessful ninety-nine times out of a hundred, but merely 
 to enforce the advantage of patience the angler's good genius. 
 
202 THE HOOK -BURN. 
 
 clovery meadow or the fringing copse, is perhaps increased 
 by contrasting them with the grey rocks and purple hills 
 of my country ; while the laugh of the wood-pecker, the 
 song of the nightingale, the " azure plume " of the little 
 halcyon as he flits past on a calm summer's eve, are 
 noticed with a more lively interest when substituted for 
 the swoop of the eagle and the crow of the " gor-cock." 
 
EIVEE-ANGLING 
 
 MY first advice to the beginner in river-fishing is to give 
 himself little trouble about the old-fashioned descriptions 
 and arrangement of flies, such as good old Isaac (un- 
 equalled in every other department) has so elaborately, 
 and, I must say, so unnecessarily discussed. The theory 
 of fly-fishing has been much simplified since his day, and 
 a few directions as to its practice are all I think necessary 
 to give. For the sake of illustration, I will take the 
 Almond and Water of Leith near Colt Bridge, two 
 streams well known to all Edinburgh anglers, and which 
 also bear a strong resemblance to many of the English 
 rivers. The trout in both these waters, especially the 
 latter, are shy, well fed, and lazy ; and here, if 
 anywhere, one would imagine the whole absurd catalogue 
 of artificial flies would be needed to tempt their dainty 
 appetites. So far, however, from this being the case, I 
 have never used more than three or four different kinds 
 during the whole spring and summer, and was generally 
 at least as successful as any of my numerous competitors. 
 
204 RIVER -ANGLING. 
 
 These flies were the same as those I have mentioned 
 under loch-fishing, only of course suiting the size of the 
 hook to the nature and quality of the stream, whether it 
 is much whipped over, &c. If the angler pleases, he may 
 vary the mouse-body to the water-rat, which will make 
 it a little darker for a bright day ; and a bunting's is 
 the best blae-wing he can use. When the water is very 
 small, the mallard and teal-wings, for the sake of lightness, 
 I have occasionally omitted, and fished with the flies as 
 palmers. At Colt Bridge especially, the trout, from 
 being constantly harassed with anglers, require very 
 fine fishing. I have taken most of the fat heavy ones 
 either with the mouse-body and snipe, or bunting-wing, 
 or a small black palmer, hook an or No. 1 at the 
 largest. If the water should be rather swelled and dis- 
 coloured, always use the mallard-wing and red hackle 
 for the trail, and it is a good plan to clip off a piece of 
 the shank of the hook before tying the fly. You may 
 thus fish with a No. 2 as lightly as a 1, which is a great 
 point in all still waters where the trout are shy. 
 
 To fish these deeps with success, the angler must not 
 only be able to throw a long line most delicately, but 
 also attain the art of making his fly alight within an inch 
 of any given point, in order to take advantage of the 
 rises of the trout. When the fly is dropped in the centre 
 of the ring, the instant after the trout has helled up^ it 
 is ten times more likely to rise again than if the fly 
 touched the water at ever so short a distance, even if 
 thrown as lightly as possible and clearly . seen by the 
 
RIVER -ANGLING. 205 
 
 fish. There is more art in this than most anglers are 
 aware of. In dragging the past, the gut should not 
 cause the slightest ripple ; to prevent which the flies 
 must be sunk a little, and the motion slow. It is also 
 very desirable to attain the knack of throwing well when 
 trees are close behind you ; as trout, especially in summer, 
 are apt to harbour under them for the sake of the insects 
 that are blown off into the water beneath. 
 
 There is often in summer a small black fly that keeps 
 playing on the top of the water, and every now and then 
 alighting for a moment, as if tempting its aquatic foe. 
 When the angler sees this fly thus sporting with the jaws 
 of death, let him always have a small black hackle on his 
 cast. There is also another summer-fly which comes down 
 upon the river in great numbers, they keep all together, 
 and hover about two or three inches above the surface. 
 The trout follow them in shoals, and in the Almond I have 
 seen half-a-dozen heads at a time darting up at the busy 
 throng above. As these flies do not alight on the water 
 even for an instant, the trout are all intent on seizing them 
 in the air ; and there being generally a dead calm where 
 these insects congregate, your cast, though thrown ever so 
 lightly, has more the effect of alarming than enticing the 
 fish. It is most tantalising ; but all that can be done is to 
 take a few light casts now and then, stopping whenever the 
 trout cease to rise. By this cautious proceeding, you may 
 take one or two of the most greedy. When I have caught 
 trout at such times, I have observed that they as often as 
 not took the fly on the cast least resembling the insect. 
 
206 RIVER -ANGLING. 
 
 It would be treason to doubt the omnipotence of the 
 May-fly, whose reign, however, seldom begins in Scotland 
 till June. The more ignorant the angler the more deter- 
 mined will he be to have the imitation on his cast when the 
 natural fly is on the water. Well, let him, it will kill, 
 but whether better, either in May or June, than those I 
 have named, let the man who can deftly throw them judge 
 for himself. I was at one time as great a stickler for the 
 May-fly as any one, but for the last few years have had 
 none upon my cast, and never missed his company. I 
 don't profess to be a theorist in my fishing, but have come 
 to the conclusion that a few judicious shades from light to 
 dark are quite sufficient when fishing with small flies for 
 yellow trout, whether or not they take them for a known 
 insect ; and the least observant man, by having four of the 
 flies I have mentioned on his cast, will soon find out 
 whether light, dark, or medium is the order of the day. 
 
 When river-fishing, I never trouble myself with more 
 tackle than three or four casts round my hat, each having 
 a different trail thus being able to fish with the fly as 
 trail, which seems for the time the favourite. If unac- 
 quainted with the stream, it may be as well to have a few 
 additional casts, with the hooks of different sizes. 
 
 In some very muddy waters, such as the Ale in Selkirk- 
 shire, (exactly the colour of its name,) a single thread of 
 silver is recommended when fishing with a dark fly. I tried 
 this, but found a red palmer quite as effective. No doubt, 
 however, the tinsel is good in such a case, though I have 
 seldom seen a river discoloured enough to require it. 
 
RIVER -ANGLING. 207 
 
 Another hint to the young angler is to mind what he is 
 about when he approaches the still deeps of the river. 
 Many are apt to pass them by altogether, and scarcely 
 try a cast until they come to the pools and streams again. 
 Perhaps the best test of a finished performer is the manner 
 in which he fishes these dead deep places, especially if there 
 is little wind, for they generally harbour the largest and 
 best-fed fish, which are, of course, the most suspicious and 
 difficult to rise. We will suppose a first-rate angler ap- 
 proaching one of these unrippled deeps : his tackle is of 
 the very lightest description he is watching with a hawk's 
 eye for the rising of a trout. Should he see one, he instantly 
 moves up till within rather a distant cast of the place, taking 
 advantage of any bush or tuft of reeds which may the 
 better conceal him ; or, if necessary, going down on his 
 knee, ready to drop his cast, light as gossamer, right across 
 the next circle, which the crafty fish may make by sucking 
 down another incautious fly. If the trout should rise, he 
 is not unlikely to be one well worth hooking, and to give 
 good sport in such quiet water. When there is breeze 
 enough to make much ripple, it may prevent any but a 
 quick and practised eye from seeing the rises most worth 
 notice; in which case the water should be fished with as 
 long a line and as light casts as possible. You need not 
 despair should trees or any other obstacle prevent your 
 sweep from being so free as otherwise it ought, for if you 
 are suitably dressed,* and make no rapid motions, you will 
 
 * The slate-blue of the heron's back is the best colour for a fisher's 
 dress. 
 
208 KIVER- ANGLING. 
 
 be so masked by the trees or bushes as to allow of a much 
 nearer approach and shorter cast. In the Water of Leith 
 there are two pools a little way above the bridge, over- 
 shadowed by old trees, and much frequented by large 
 heavy trout. There I have been often more successful 
 than when my sweep was perfectly unencumbered ; and I 
 must be allowed to mention a curious circumstance which 
 happened to me some years ago in one of these said pools. 
 Having tied a cast rather hurriedly in the morning, I 
 hooked a good fish upon my bob, a mouse-body and snipe- 
 wing, when the single knot slipped. Two days after, when 
 fishing the same place, I again hooked and killed a fine 
 trout, upwards of a pound weight, and, to my astonish- 
 ment, my own handiwork with two inches of gut was 
 sticking in its lip. One of the fraternity, sedulously em- 
 ployed on the opposite bank, remarked, that " it must have 
 been an honest trout, for it was not for want of temptation 
 that he kept the hook for the right owner!" He also 
 related a fact of the same kind which had happened a week 
 or two before. A friend of his was fishing with minnow, 
 when the tackle caught in a tree behind, and, not being 
 able to reach it, he had broken the gut. Soon after, when 
 some one was shaking the tree, to secure the tackle, it 
 dropped off into the water, and, being slightly loaded with 
 lead, immediately sank. Next day an eel was taken at a 
 set line with a piece of gut hanging out of its mouth, and 
 the very person who had lost the tackle being on the spot, 
 it occurred to him that it might be his, which proved to be 
 the case. 
 
RIVER- ANGLING. 209 
 
 The insensibility to pain, which an angler can scarcely 
 fail to notice in these cold-blooded creatures, is a point 
 which happily redeems from cruelty the necessary inflic- 
 tions of his craft. I recollect catching three fine trout one 
 evening when trolling on Loch Lomond with a friend, and 
 we discovered hanging out of the mouth of one of them a 
 strong hair line. On opening the fish, we found a large 
 bait-hook fixed firmly in its stomach, the wicker and part 
 of the hook being nearly digested. The creature had 
 evidently been caught and broke away from a set-line, 
 and, though hooked in so vital a part, not only took our 
 bait greedily, and made a most capital fight for a quarter 
 of an hour, but was in the very finest condition, having 
 fattened on his hard fare, instead of wasting from torture. 
 
 The last hint I have to give on the still parts of the river 
 is, that when the large trout refuse to rise, being sated with 
 summer-flies, a small minnow about dusk is most likely to 
 succeed. 
 
 With regard to the streams, and more rapid parts of the 
 river, it certainly requires practice to find out the feeding- 
 places of trout. There is always a good cast just where 
 the water begins to steady itself, after falling and foaming 
 over a ledge of rock, also in the eddies caused by roots, 
 stones, branches of trees, &c. An angler who loves his 
 craft will very soon become knowing in this department, 
 and will then find much less difficulty here than in the still 
 deeps. Of course, the more rapid the water the less likely 
 is the trout to observe either a fisher on the banks or his 
 line, though perchance heavily thrown. But show me the 
 
210 RIVER -ANGLING. 
 
 man who can fish the still parts of the river with tact and 
 science, and I will be answerable for the rest of his per- 
 formance. As to wind, which most anglers make such a 
 fuss about, although a moderate breeze is a sine qua non 
 in loch-fishing, and also an advantage to the clumsy 
 craftsman on the river, yet if the water is in its best state, 
 and the sun not very bright, a first-rate angler would 
 rather have too little than too much. 
 
 The above observations apply equally to all the rivers 
 and streams I have fished ; and my practice has been in 
 many parts of England, as well as in the north, south, 
 east, and west of Scotland. 
 
WILD -FOWL SHOOTING ON THE HIGHLAND 
 LOCHS 
 
 THE exciting nature of the winter shooting on one of our 
 large Highland lochs, if well frequented by water-fowl, can 
 hardly be conceived by a stranger to the sport. It, in fact, 
 partakes so completely of the nature of deer-stalking, that 
 a man who is an adept at the one would be sure, with a 
 little practice, to be equally so at the other. I should have 
 been astonished to find this amusement so little followed by 
 gentlemen, had I not sometimes witnessed the bungling 
 manner in which they set about it : it is, indeed, as rare to 
 find a gentleman who knows anything of this sport as a 
 rustic who has not a pretty good smattering of it. The 
 reason is obvious. The squire, who may be a tolerable 
 shot, is all eager anxiety until he can show off his right and 
 left upon the devoted fowl ; while the clod, having only his 
 rusty single barrel to depend upon, and knowing that if the 
 birds should rise, his chance is greatly lessened, uses all 
 the brains of which he is master in order to get the sitting 
 shot ; and knowing also, from experience, that the nearer he 
 
212 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 gets to his game the better his chance, spares no trouble to 
 come to close quarters. He will crawl for a hundred yards 
 like a serpent, although he should be wet through, reckless 
 of his trouble and discomfort if he succeed in his shot. 
 
 I will now suppose the squire by the loch-side on a fine 
 winter morning, dressed perhaps in a flaring green or black 
 velveteen, with a Newfoundland retriever of the same sable 
 hue. He sees a flock of fowl well pitched on the shore, 
 which most likely have seen both him and his dog, and are 
 quite upon their guard. He looks round for a few bushes 
 to screen him when near the birds ; and then, with a sort of 
 half-crouching attitude, admirably imitated by his canine 
 friend, advances upon his game. Unless the place is par- 
 ticularly adapted for a shot, the flock have probably seen 
 him appearing and reappearing several times, and when- 
 ever he is sufficiently near to alarm them, fly up together, 
 to his no small chagrin. But should he ly any chance get 
 near enough for a shot, his dog, not being thoroughly 
 trained, will most likely either show himself, or begin 
 whimpering when his master prepares to shoot, or, in 
 short, do something which may spoil the sport ; and 
 even supposing the better alternative, that he should 
 have no dog at all, and be within shot of his game, he 
 will, in all probability, either poke his head over a bush 
 when going to fire, or make a rustling when putting his 
 gun through it, and so lose the sitting shot. 
 
 Now for the few hints I have to offer. It may be thought 
 that none were wanting, after the subject of wild-fowl 
 shooting has been so well and fully discussed by Colonel 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 213 
 
 Hawker ; but I have never seen any suggestions to assist 
 the beginner how to proceed in the winter shooting on our 
 large Highland lochs ; and many a man may have it in 
 his power to enjoy the recreation in this way, who has 
 neither opportunity nor inclination to follow it in all its 
 glory on the coast with a stanchion gun and punt. 
 
 The man who engages in this sport must be of an 
 athletic frame and hardy habits : he must not mind getting 
 thoroughly wet, nor think of rheumatism while standing or 
 sitting in clothes well soaked, perhaps for an hour at a time, 
 watching fowl. As to water-proof boots, they are totally 
 out of the question : the common diker's boots would so 
 impede your walking, and also be such a hindrance when 
 crawling upon ducks or running upon divers, as consider- 
 ably to lessen your chance; and the India-rubber boots 
 would, in no time, become so perforated with briers and 
 whin as to be of little more service than a worsted stock- 
 ing. The most suitable dress is a light brown duffle shoot- 
 ing-jacket and waistcoat, as near the shade of the ground 
 and trees in the winter season as possible, your great object 
 being to avoid the quick sight of the birds ; shoes well 
 studded with nails, like a deer-stalker's, to prevent slipping, 
 and a drab-coloured waterproof cap. Should the weather 
 be very cold, I sometimes put on two pairs of worsted 
 stockings, but never attempt any protection from the wet. 
 If snow is on the ground, wear a white linen cover to your 
 shooting-jacket, and another to your cap. 
 
 A gun suitable for this sport is indispensable. It cer- 
 tainly ought to be a double-barrel, and as large as you 
 
214 WILD-FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 can readily manage ; it must fit you to a nicety, and carry 
 from two to three ounces of No. 3 or 4 shot, (I prefer 
 the latter,) both very strong and regularly distributed. 
 Its elevation must be most true; if anything, over-ele- 
 vated. As to length of barrel, calibre, &c., every man 
 will, of course, suit his own fancy, and give his directions 
 accordingly. Should he not be au fait at this, by explain- 
 ing the sort of gun he wants to any of the first-rate 
 makers, he need not doubt their giving him satisfaction. 
 Unless for geese or hoopers,* (when, -of course, I would 
 sacrifice my chance at other fowl,) I never use any shot 
 larger than No. 4, as a fair chance at a small bird like a 
 teal might be missed with larger ; and a man should not 
 
 * Except in the hardest winters, geese of any description seldom pitch 
 upon the Highland lochs. 
 
 In the winter 1841, some nocks of the bean-goose appeared on Loch 
 Lomond during the first storm. They remained about a week, and, when 
 seen, were always feeding on the shores. Three of them my brother 
 killed. I never knew this to occur before ; for although wild-geese have 
 occasionally pitched for a short time, they always chose the deep inac- 
 cessible places of the loch, and, after resting for a few hours, took their 
 departure without attempting to feed. I went to the loch shortly after 
 the geese had left it, but the thaw unfortunately began the next day ; and 
 of the five days I remained, it rained nearly three. I, however, bagged 
 thirty-eight head of wild-fowl, mallards, golden-eyes, dun-birds, widgeon 
 tufted and scaup-ducks my charge never exceeding If oz. of shot. It 
 was a curious fact that there were fewer hoopers that winter than in many 
 of far less severity. Scarcely any came to Loch Lomond at all, and I did 
 not see one, though I looked for them in all their most likely haunts. 
 During the severe winter of 1837-8, not one wild-goose of any description 
 was seen, although there were numbers of the common wild-swan, and a 
 few of the black species, one of which was shot : so much for the uncertain 
 movements of wild-fowl. 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 215 
 
 go alarming the whole shore, firing random shots at flocks 
 of fowl nearly out of reach on the water. 
 
 Next in importance to the gun is a proper retriever.* 
 The Newfoundland is not quite the thing : first, his black 
 colour is against him brown is much to be preferred: 
 then, I should wish my dog occasionally to assist me in 
 this inland shooting, by beating rushes or thick cover up 
 creeks, where you may often plant yourself in an open 
 situation for a shot, and your dog put up the fowl, which 
 are almost certain to fly down past you. If you accus- 
 tomed a Newfoundland to this, he might, from his strength 
 and vivacity, learn the trick of breaking away when you 
 did not wish him. The best and most efficient kind of 
 
 * My first attempts at shooting were in pursuit of wild-fowl when quite 
 a boy, and I still consider it superior to any other sport. In these early 
 days, however, I had no idea to what perfection a retriever might be 
 trained; if the dog took the water well, and was close-mouthed, I expected 
 no more. As I was always obliged to lead him by my side, he often 
 spoiled my best chances, either by showing himself, or hampering me 
 when crawling over difficult ground. I was at last so disgusted with these 
 encumbrances, that I generally dispensed with their services, and trusted 
 to my own resources for recovering the killed and wounded. The conse- 
 quence was, that the greater proportion of the latter always escaped, and 
 unless the wind was favourable, not a few of the former were drifted 
 away. On one occasion I was foolish enough to swim one hundred yards 
 into the loch, in the middle of winter, after a golden-eye, and had some 
 difficulty in regaining the land. I had watched it for some time, and at 
 last succeeded in getting to the nearest point on the shore. The golden- 
 eye, however, was diving a long shot off, as these shy birds not unfre- 
 quently do : without once considering that the wind was blowing strong 
 from the shore, I fired, and the bird dropped dead. To my great chagrin, 
 it was blown rapidly out into the rough water. What was to be done 1 
 Had it been able to make the slightest effort to escape, I could have 
 
216 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 
 
 dog for this work is a cross between a water-dog and 
 large terrier ; the terrier gives nose, and the water-dog 
 coolness and steadiness. I should say, that, before you can 
 procure one which upon trial may prove worth the great ' 
 trouble of thoroughly training, you may have to destroy 
 half-a-dozen. You should begin your training when the 
 dog is very young ; and, if you find he is not turning out 
 as you could wish, seal his fate at once. The dog you 
 want must be mute as a badger, and cunning as a fox : 
 he must be of a most docile and biddable disposition ; the 
 generality of this breed are so : they are also slow and heavy 
 in their movements, and phlegmatic in their temper great 
 requisites ; but when fowl are to be secured, you will find 
 no want either of will or activity, on land or water. The 
 accompanying woodcut may serve to show the sort of dog 
 
 allowed it; but there it lay, still as a stone. So, throwing off my shooting- 
 jacket and shoes, I plunged in, waded up to the neck, and struck out for 
 my prey. By the time I reached the bird, it had floated fully a hun- 
 dred yards ; but getting its leg between my teeth, I wheeled about for the 
 land. My difficulties now began, for the waves were very high, and 
 dashed right into my face. Several times, during my slow progress, I 
 determined to leave the golden-eye to its fate, and as often braced myself 
 up again, unwilling to have so cold a bath for nothing. At last I nearcd 
 the shore, got into calm water, and, after sounding once or twice, struck 
 gi'ound, and reached terra firma with my prize, the leg of which I had 
 nearly bitten through during my exertions. It was an intensely cold day 
 about the end of December, with frequent snow-showers ; and had the 
 golden-eye not been the most valued of the diving race, I should never 
 have made such a fool of myself. I arrived at home quite benumbed, 
 determining no more to act the part of a retriever. 
 
 Another stormy mid- winter day, a farmer sent to let us know that a 
 flock of wild-swans had appeared off the shore. My brother and I instantly 
 started with our duck-guns. When we had reconnoitred with our glasses, 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 217 
 
 I mean, being a likeness of the best I ever saw. He 
 never gives a whimper, if ever so keen, and obeys every 
 signal I make with the hand. He will watch my motions 
 at a distance, when crawling after wild-fowl, ready to 
 start forward the moment I have fired; and in no one 
 instance has he spoiled my shot. I may mention a proof 
 of his sagacity. Having a couple of long shots across a 
 pretty broad stream, I stopped a mallard with each barrel, 
 but both were only wounded: I sent him across for the 
 birds. He first attempted to bring them both, but one 
 always struggled out of his mouth : he then laid down one, 
 intending to bring the other ; but whenever he attempted 
 to cross to me, the bird left fluttered into the water ; he 
 immediately returned again, laid down the first on the 
 shore, and recovered the other. The first now fluttered 
 
 from a rising ground, we saw that the flock were resting some hundred 
 yards from the land, but had little doubt, from the high wind, that they 
 would soon seek its shelter. We accordingly chose different stations, and, 
 crawling to them with the utmost caution, waited patiently for upwards of 
 an hour. At last the swans, by imperceptible degrees, and much turning 
 and wheeling, neared the shore, opposite my brother ; but the water being 
 shallow, they began to feed, as soon as their long necks could sound the 
 bottom. He was thus forced to rush down to the edge, and take the 
 distant shot. One lay badly wounded : had the wind been blowing 
 towards the shore, the swan was so disabled that it could not have made 
 head against it ; but as it blew sideways, the creature managed to paddle 
 itself out into the waves, every now and then uttering its wild piping cry. 
 There was no boat nearer than a mile ; we, however, set off at full speed, 
 and, with a shock-headed urchin at the helm, launched into the deep. 
 The wind was blowing a perfect gale, the waves lashing over, wetting us 
 to the skin ; and every time we changed our course, we were in danger of 
 being swamped. We had almost given up hope, especially as the white 
 foam of the bursting waves was so exactly like the object of our search as 
 
218 WILD-FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 away, but he instantly secured it, and, standing over them 
 both, seemed to cogitate for a moment ; then, although on 
 any other occasion he never ruffles a feather, deliberately 
 killed one, brought over the other, and then returned for 
 the dead bird. 
 
 The only other essential to the sportsman is a glass. 
 A pocket telescope that will command two or three miles 
 will be generally found quite large enough. 
 
 Having now equipped our wild-fowl shooter, we will 
 again bring him to the shore. His first object should be 
 to see his game without being seen himself, even if they 
 are at too great a distance to show signs of alarm. To 
 effect this, he must creep cautiously forward to the first 
 point that will command a view of the shore for some 
 distance ; then, taking out his glass, he must reconnoitre 
 it by inches, noticing every tuft of grass or stone, to which 
 wild-fowl asleep often bear so close a resemblance, that, 
 except to a very quick eye, assisted by a glass, the differ- 
 ence is not perceptible. If the loch be well frequented, he 
 will most likely first discover a flock of divers, but must 
 not be in a hurry to pocket his glass, until he has tho- 
 roughly inspected the shore, in case some more desirable 
 
 to prevent our distinguishing it at any distance, when the " gilly " at the 
 helm sung out, " I hear him ! " All eyes were strained in every direc- 
 tion, and the poor swan was at last seen rising over the billows like the 
 spirit of the tempest. There was much difficulty, and some danger, in 
 getting it safe on board, and in all probability we should n^ver have per- 
 ceived it, had it not betrayed itself by its dying song. My retriever would 
 have recovered both these birds in five minutes, and there would have 
 been no risk of his spoiling the shot beforehand. 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 211) 
 
 fowl may be feeding or asleep upon it. I will suppose 
 that he sees some objects that may be wild-fowl. Let him 
 then immediately direct his glass to the very margin of the 
 loch, to see if anything is moving there. Should he find it 
 so, he may conclude that it is a flock of either ducks, 
 widgeon, or teal; those first perceived resting on the 
 shore, and the others feeding at the water's edge of course 
 not nearly so conspicuous.* If there is no motion at the 
 margin of the loch, he must keep his glass fixed, and 
 narrowly watch for some time, when, if what arrested his 
 attention be wild-fowl asleep, they will, in all probability, 
 betray themselves by raising a head or flapping a wing. 
 
 He must now take one or two large marks, that he 
 will be sure to know again, as close to the birds as 
 possible ; and also another, about two or three hundred 
 yards immediately above, further inland. Having done 
 this, let him take a very wide circle and come round 
 upon his inland mark. He must now walk as if treading 
 upon glass ; the least rustle of a bough, or crack of a 
 piece of rotten wood under his feet, may spoil all, espe- 
 cially if the weather be calm. Having got to about one 
 hundred yards from where he supposes the birds to be, 
 
 * Duck-shooting on rivers and streams is generally unsatisfactory, there 
 are so many turnings and windings which prevent you from seeing the 
 fowl until they are close at hand ; also so many tiny bays and creeks, where 
 they conceal themselves beyond the possibility of detection, until the whirr 
 of their wings and the croak of the mallard betray their hiding-place. 
 Unless the river be large and broad, even the most expert wild-fowl 
 shooter must expect few heavy sitting shots, and content himself with the 
 greater number being distant flying ones. 
 
220 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 he will tell his retriever to lie down ; the dog, if well 
 trained, will at once do so, and never move. His master 
 will then crawl forward, until he gets the advantage of 
 a bush or tuft of reeds, and then raise his head by inches 
 to look through it for his other marks. Having seen 
 them, he has got an idea where the birds are, and will, 
 with the utmost caution, endeavour to catch sight of them. 
 I will suppose him fortunate enough to do so, and that 
 they are perfectly unconscious of his near approach. 
 He must lower his head in the same cautious manner, 
 and look for some refuge at a fair distance from the 
 birds, through which he may fire the deadly sitting shot. 
 After creeping serpent-like to this, he will again raise 
 his head by hair-breadths, and, peeping through the bush 
 or tuft, select the greatest number of birds in line ; then 
 drawing back a little, in order that his gun may be just 
 clear of the bush for the second barrel, after having fired 
 the first through it, will take sure aim at his selected 
 victims. Should he unfortunately not find an opening to 
 fire through, the only other alternative is by almost 
 imperceptible degrees to raise his gun to the right of the 
 bush, and close to it ; but in doing this the birds are 
 much more likely to see him, and take wing. Never fire 
 over the bush, as you are almost certain to be perceived 
 whenever you raise your head : more good shots are 
 lost to an experienced hand by a rapid jerk, not keeping 
 a sufficient watch for stragglers, and over-anxiety to fire, 
 than by any other way. Having succeeded in getting 
 the sitting shot, the fowl, especially if they have not 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 221 
 
 seen from whence it comes, will rise perpendicularly in 
 the air, and you are not unlikely to have a chance of 
 knocking down a couple more with your second barrel j but 
 if they rise wide, you must select the finest old mallard 
 among them, or whatever suits your fancy. Directly upon 
 hearing the report, your retriever will run to your assist- 
 ance, and having secured your cripples, you will reload, 
 and, taking out your glass, reconnoitre again ; for though 
 ducks, widgeon, &c., would fly out upon the loch at the 
 report of your gun, yet the diver tribe, if there are only one 
 or two together, are perhaps more likely to be under water 
 than above when you fire : but more of them by-and-by. 
 Another invariable rule in crawling upon ducks is 
 always, if possible, to get to leeward of them ; * for 
 although I am firmly of opinion that they do not wind 
 
 * If you have also a bright sun at your back, and in their eyes, your 
 advantage is great ; but should the sun and wind favour opposite direct- 
 tions, let the nature of the ground decide your advance. 
 
 I was some winters ago shooting wild-fowl with a gamekeeper who firmly 
 held the common notion of their keen noses. We saw a flock of about 
 twenty pitched upon a long point, and no possibility of approaching them 
 except directly to windward. " Now, sir, " says the keeper, "if you'll stalk 
 these ducks so as to get a good shot, I'll never care for their noses again !" 
 They had the full benefit of the wind as it blew pretty strong, but there 
 was some soft snow on the ground, which I knew would prevent their 
 hearing; so I took him at his word, killed three with my first barrel, and, 
 had they not been intercepted by the trees and bushes, would have 
 knocked down at least one more with my second. The keeper has said 
 ever since that their noses are not worth a straw : my decided advice, 
 however, is never to stalk wild- fowl to windward, if it can be avoided ; for, 
 should the snow be at all crisp with frost, or if there are many twigs and 
 bushes to crawl through, their noses become acute enough ! ! ! 
 
222 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 you like deer, as some suppose, yet their hearing is most 
 acute. I have seen instances of this that I could hardly 
 otherwise have credited. One day I got within about 
 sixty yards of three ducks asleep upon the shore ; the wind 
 was blowing very strong, direct from me to them, a thick 
 hedge forming my ambuscade. The ground was quite 
 bare beyond this hedge, so I was obliged to take the 
 distant shot through it. In making the attempt, I rustled 
 one of the twigs up went the three heads to the full 
 stretch but when I had remained quiet for about five 
 minutes, they again placed their bills under their wings. 
 Upon a second trial, the slight noise was unfortunately 
 repeated : again the birds raised their heads ; but this 
 time they were much longer upon the stretch, and seemed 
 more uneasy. Nothing now remained but to try again ; 
 my utmost caution, however, was unavailing the birds 
 rose like rockets. I never hesitate concealing myself 
 to windward of the spot where I expect ducks to pitch, 
 feeling confident that, unless I move, they will not find 
 me out. I have often had them swimming within twenty- 
 five yards of me, when I was waiting for three or four 
 in line, the wind blowing direct from rne to them, with- 
 out perceiving by any signs their consciousness of an 
 enemy's vicinity.* 
 
 * Perhaps the sportsman may ask, what it signifies whether wild-fowl 
 are aware of your approach by hearing or winding ? My answer is, that 
 although it is of little consequence when crawling upon ducks, yet when 
 lying concealed, expecting them to pitch, it is a considerable advantage to 
 know that you will not be detected by their sense of smell ; otherwise, the 
 best refuge for a shot must often be abandoned for a much worse. 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 223 
 
 When the weather is very hard, and ducks are driven 
 to the springy drains, a simple way of getting fair shots, 
 but seldom practised, is, to make your man Jaeep close to 
 the drain, and take your own place fifteen yards from it, 
 and about forty in advance of him. The ducks will then 
 rise nearly opposite to you. To walk along the drain is 
 not a good plan, as they will generally rise either out of 
 distance or very long shots ; and, if you keep a little way 
 off, they may not rise at all. When the loch is low, the 
 sportsman may often get a capital shot at ducks the first 
 warm sunny days in March, as they collect on the grassy 
 places at the margin, to feed upon the insects brought 
 into life by the genial heat. 
 
 But to return to our wild-fowl shooter, whom we left 
 glass in hand looking out for divers. He sees a couple 
 plying their vocation fifteen or twenty yards from the 
 shore, about half a quarter of a mile from where he stands. 
 He selects his vantage-ground as near as possible for a last 
 look before commencing his attack. Having gained this, 
 he makes his dog lie down, and peeps ,cautiously until he 
 sees the birds waits till they both dive together ; then 
 running forward whilst they are under water, again conceals 
 himself, expecting their reappearance., The great difficulty 
 is always to keep in view the exact spot where the birds 
 come up : once lose sight of it, your progress is stopped, 
 and, in recovering your advantage, the birds are almost 
 certain to see you and fly. When within one race of the 
 divers, cock both barrels, and as soon as they together 
 disappear, run to the nearest point on the shore for a shot. 
 
224. AVILD-FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 If the day be calm, the rising bubbles will show where they 
 are ; you can then clap your gun to your shoulder, ready 
 to fire. Always, in such cases, shoot on wing, and be sure 
 to fire well forward : should a diver only be winged, it is 
 useless to tire your retriever in pursuit ; but if he is at all 
 struck about the legs also, a good dog should be able to 
 secure him. 
 
 So much for the small morillon. The golden-eye is a 
 much more artful bird, and requires more caution. If, with- 
 out seeing an enemy, he is at all alarmed while diving near 
 the shore, he will probably swim out to a considerable 
 distance reconnoitring all the time, and making a noise 
 something like a single note of the hurdy-gurdy. You 
 may perhaps expect his return, and wait for him ; but 
 although he may remain about the same place, making 
 these calls, and apparently careless, he is all the time very 
 suspicious ; and I only once or twice, in my whole expe- 
 rience, knew him return to the spot where he was first 
 discovered. Should he get sight of you, there is no hope, 
 even if he does not take wing, which he most likely will. 
 The little morillon may return, if you think him worth 
 waiting for ; but he is so hard and coarse on the table, that 
 it would be paying him too great a compliment. The 
 golden-eye, on the contrary, is a great delicacy a suf- 
 ficient proof, I think, were there no other, that moril- 
 lons are not young golden-eyes, as many suppose. This 
 idea, I have little doubt, arises from the colour of the 
 female golden-eye being pretty much like that of the 
 morillon. The shape, however, is different, and the size of 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 225 
 
 the female golden-eye nearly equal to that of the male. I 
 have shot them, right and left, when diving together, the 
 female being the most wary of the two. The morillon may 
 be in the same flock, as different kinds of divers often are ; 
 but there is not half the caution required to get a shot at 
 him, and, when compared, he is much rounder in shape and 
 one-third smaller in size. It may be said, " And why 
 should not this be the young of the same species ? " I 
 answer, That the young males of all the duck tribe that 
 breed in this country, from the mallard to the teal, gain 
 their bright feathers the first moulting, after which the 
 young males are at least equal in size To the females. But 
 my chief reason I have already given If the morillon 
 is the young bird, why should he reverse the usual order 
 of things, and be less tender and delicate than his 
 parents?* 
 
 When several are diving together, you must get as near 
 as possible without alarming them ; and, selecting a couple 
 who dive at the same moment, hoot away the others, who 
 will be far out of reach before their companions come up. 
 They will probably never miss them until they have taken 
 two or three dives, thus giving you an opportunity of 
 getting the shot ; of which you would have had a much 
 worse chance while they were together. 
 
 * Mr Baker, the bird-fancier, assures me that there are a couple of 
 morillous in the Regent's Park, which have been there some years, and 
 show no signs of the golden-eye. His words are " Any one may see the 
 difference at a glance." There is a mark of faded orange, or dingy white, 
 upon the morillon' s lill, that I never detected on a golden-eye's, young or old. 
 
 P 
 
226 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 In recommending this, be it observed, I am supposing 
 the ground of difficult access ; when favourable, even a 
 novice should be able to get within a run of any number of 
 fowl, without being seen by the most wary of the flock, 
 and can then make his selection. For my own part, I 
 hardly ever adopt this plan ; but where the ground is bare 
 and open, an unpractised wild-fowl shooter would stand no 
 chance otherwise. 
 
 When the flock is large, it always puzzles a beginner to 
 ascertain the length of time they are under water, in order 
 to know what time he may safely allow for his last run, 
 which in such a case must generally be a long one. The 
 fowl are continually coming up and disappearing again, 
 which confuses him ; and unless he knows the depth of the 
 water, the only way to find out how long they are under is 
 to watch the most marked or detached of the flock, and 
 then choose his devoted pair. If the water is very shallow, 
 those below are sure to perceive the flurry made by their 
 friends at the top, as soon as you commence your last run, 
 and instantly join them in their retreat. In such cases it is 
 always best to try for a distant sitting shot, from the 
 nearest refuge you can safely reach, among as many as you 
 can get in line. But by attempting this, there is always a 
 risk of losing the chance altogether, and it should never be 
 resorted to except under such circumstances, or with dun- 
 birds, who keep more close together, and thus present a 
 better opportunity for a heavy sitting shot than any other 
 divers. 
 
 Of all wild-fowl, a flock of dun-birds is the most agree- 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 227 
 
 able to the sportsman's eye. They are the most stupid of 
 all the diver race : I have even seen them, after having 
 been driven from their feeding-ground, return in the face 
 of the shooter, who had only lain down without any cover- 
 ing or concealment whatever : they have begun diving 
 again within thirty yards, and of course given him an 
 excellent shot. I never wish for assistance in manoeuvring 
 any other kind of water-fowl, but these may be herded like 
 sheep ; and, if feeding on one side of a bay, you have only 
 to conceal yourself at the other, and send your man round 
 to where they are diving. They will most likely come 
 straight towards you, and, again beginning to feed, will 
 probably every five or ten minutes draw all together with 
 their heads up. Now is your time to fire, if you have the 
 good fortune to be within shot ; but should you prefer two 
 birds in the hand to waiting for their knitting together, 
 you may have a capital right and left when they come up 
 from diving. I, however, should be loath to lose the 
 opportunity of the sitting shot. 
 
 But the case quite alters when dun-birds have been fired 
 at once or twice. Like deer under similar circumstances, 
 they become most wary and suspicious ; and although, upon 
 the first appearance of the flock, a novice may easily pro- 
 cure a heavy shot, yet, after they have been surprised by 
 the leaden shower, the most dexterous wild-fowl stalker 
 may often be baffled in his attempts to approach them.* 
 
 * When dun-birds have been so persecuted as to frighten them away to 
 try fresh feeding-ground, they are again not difficult of approach until 
 fired upon in their new quarters, when they become wilder than ever. 
 
228 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 This should make the owners of wild-fowl lochs most 
 particular to keep all quiet near the feeding ground of 
 large flocks of fowl, but especially of the dun-birds. 
 
 I may advance another claim why the first arrival of 
 dun-birds should not lightly be disturbed, viz. : the 
 supply of food they cast up for other wild-fowl. Widgeon 
 and ducks feed upon the blades which float upon the 
 surface of the water, after the roots have been torn up 
 from the bottom, nipped off, and devoured by the dun- 
 birds. They are thus unwittingly made to minister to the 
 wants of their poorer brethren. When, therefore, the 
 sportsman sees a tempting flock of widgeon in attendance 
 upon their purveyors, who have been scared away from 
 the shore, to dive on a too distant shallow, it is of no 
 use to wait for them ; for, be the wind ever so keen, the 
 widgeon will not leave the plentiful supply of grass food 
 cast up by the diving birds. But with a cutting wind 
 and no dun-birds to depend on for food, ducks, but especially 
 widgeon, never try the patience long ere they seek the 
 shelter of the shore. 
 
 There are many other divers that frequent our lochs, 
 such as the tufted and scaup-ducks, &c., but they may 
 all be approached in the same way as the golden-eye and 
 morillon ; none are so shy as the former.* Those that 
 
 * I had once a good opportunity of contrasting the artful and sus- 
 picious nature of the golden-eye with that of the more confiding 
 morillon. When shooting wild-fowl on the banks of the Teith, I dis- 
 covered, with my glass, a golden-eye feeding at the top of a long creek, and 
 a couple of morillons at the bottom where it joined the river. As they 
 were at some distance from each other, it was impossible to keep an eye 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 229 
 
 feed on fish, such as the goosander, speckled diver,* mer- 
 ganser, &c., require rather different tactics. To get a shot 
 at any of these, you must watch which way they are feed- 
 ing, and, taking your station somewhat in advance, wait 
 until they pass you : they will not keep you long, as they 
 are very rapid in their movements. Take care that the 
 water is pretty deep where you place yourself, or they 
 may dive at too great a distance from the shore for a shot ; 
 but, after all, they are good for nothing but to be stuffed 
 for a collection. 
 
 The only other bird that requires a separate notice is 
 the mighty hooper, monarch of the flood. To get a shot 
 
 upon both. So, knowing that if the golden-eye got a glimpse of me, he 
 would not stay to take another, I was obliged to trust to the simplicity of 
 the more social morillons. I got within a fair distance for my last run, 
 when the morillons, who had caught a transient glance at my manoeuvres, 
 paid the compliment of giving me their undivided attention ; but as they 
 did not leave the ground, nor show any other sign of alarm, I was con- 
 gratulating myself that all was safe. The moment, however, that the 
 golden-eye came up from the dive, he perceived that the morillons were 
 resting on their oars, and instantly was on his guard. It was most curious 
 to see the cunning and tact of the creature, which I had every advantage 
 for observing, as I was well concealed. He kept cruising about with out- 
 stretched neck, peering first on one side of the creek, then on the other, 
 always selecting the best points of sight to halt and make his observations. 
 Nor would he recommence his repast until the morillons had set him the 
 example. And, had I not known his usual precaution of making the first 
 dive or two, after being scared, very short, he might even then have 
 escaped. 
 
 * The black-throated diver is sometimes met with on our lochs. My 
 brother shot a young one on Loch Lomond. I killed another bird of the 
 year out of a flock of six, but unfortunately let off the old drake, a tree 
 having intercepted my shot. 
 
230 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 at the wild-swan is the great object of the sportsman's 
 desire : he is not naturally so shy a bird as the wild-duck, 
 but still his long neck, and acute sense of hearing, render 
 great caution necessary. If, as often happens, he is feed- 
 ing along the shore, you have only to plant yourself in an 
 advantageous situation a good way ahead, and it will not 
 be long before he makes his appearance ; but if he is 
 feeding at the mouth of some brook or stream, you must 
 crawl in the same way as when after wild-ducks. Should 
 you get within a distant shot of a hooper, and are not 
 close to the water-side, instead of firing from where you 
 are, rush down to the edge of the loch, and before the 
 swan can take wing, you will have gained ten yards upon 
 him. When the thaw begins after very hard weather, 
 they are almost sure to be feeding at the mouths of any 
 mountain-burns that run into the loch. Should you see 
 hoopers feeding greedily, nearly out of range of your gun, 
 in place of taking the random shot, try to prevent their 
 being disturbed, and return at dusk of evening or grey of 
 morning, when they will most likely have come pretty 
 close to the shore, especially if any little rivulets run into 
 the loch near : this rule applies to most water-fowl. If a 
 swan be alarmed by an enemy on shore, his wont is not to 
 fly, but to swim majestically away. 
 
 Widgeon and teal are approached in the same way as 
 wild-ducks, only the widgeon are less shy than the ducks, 
 and the teal than the widgeon. You may sometimes, in calm 
 weather, see widgeon in a large flock purring and whistling 
 a couple of hundred yards from the shore ; you need give 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 231 
 
 yourself no trouble about them, as they will probably not 
 leave their resting-place until they feed in the evening. 
 Always try to get a heavy shot at widgeon, which, with 
 a little patience, you may generally accomplish. Teal are 
 usually in small flocks ; so that, if you can get two or 
 three in line, you had better fire, for fear of losing the 
 sitting chance altogether. I once killed six at a shot ; 
 but, except when they collect in small ponds and drains 
 about the loch-side, so good an opportunity seldom occurs. 
 I have occasionally seen shovellers on our lochs ; but only 
 in the hardest winters. They resemble wild-ducks in 
 their habits : the only one I ever shot was among a flock 
 of ducks. 
 
 Good sport need never be expected when the loch is 
 large, as many of the fowl swim up creeks, and among 
 the morasses in-shore, where it is difficult even to get a 
 flying shot ; while those that remain on the margin of 
 the loch are so concealed by the bushes, &c., that it is 
 quite* impossible to see them. The lower the loch the 
 better; at all events the shore should be clearly defined. 
 At such times, wild-fowl have always favourite haunts for 
 feeding and resting. 
 
 There is a common saying, that specimens of all the 
 different kinds of water-fowl which frequent the loch in 
 winter present themselves during the harvest-moon. This 
 is erroneous; for even the morillon, earliest of the diver 
 tribe, seldom appears so soon ; and the tufted and scaup- 
 ducks, dun-birds, &c., never until the winter sets in. 
 Multitudes of wild-ducks do come down from the moors, 
 
232 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 
 
 during harvest, to feed upon the corn-fields on the banks 
 of some of the larger lochs, and, when the stubble becomes 
 bare, return to the moor-lochs until these are frozen over, 
 which again drives them back. This is the only founda- 
 tion for the vulgar error. A day or two is generally 
 sufficient to freeze over these little lochs, and their occu- 
 pants then come down to the larger ones, the greater 
 parts of which remain open long after the storm has set in. 
 Now is the time for the wild-fowl shooter : if the ground 
 is covered with snow, so much the better. The fowl are 
 then in groups close to the shore, pinched with cold and 
 hunger, seeking shelter and a scanty morsel. If at the 
 same time it is windy, with drifts of snow, no weather 
 can be more propitious for ducks, widgeon, teal, and all 
 wild-fowl that feed at the margin. When the snow is 
 falling thick and fast, a capital sitting shot may sometimes 
 be obtained, though the ground be so bare as to offer no 
 concealment. In most cases, however, it is best not to 
 take the cover off your gun till the shower moderates a 
 little, as snow is so apt to penetrate, and make it miss 
 fire. 
 
 If the weather be open, the higher the wind the better, 
 as it drives to the shore whatever fowl are upon the 
 loch, although until the frost sets in they will be com- 
 paratively few. 
 
 The most auspicious weather for divers is one of those 
 frosty days, accompanied by mist, when the loch is per- 
 fectly calm, and looks like a mirror dimmed by one's 
 breath. You may then hear their plash in the water 
 
ON THE HIGHLAND LOCHS. 233 
 
 sometimes even before they can be seen; and, if care is 
 taken to make no rustling among the bushes, when they 
 are above water, you have every prospect of a good 
 chance. The smoothness of the surface and the mist 
 makes each bird appear twice as large as it is, which 
 enables you much more easily to catch sight of them 
 coming up from the dive. The mist is also an excel- 
 lent shroud if the ground is open, without a tree or 
 bush to hide behind, when the birds are above water. 
 
 The wild-fowl shooter must never forget that the true 
 proof of his skill consists in obtaining sitting shots, and 
 stopping a number of fowl at one discharge ; and, unless 
 with divers, must not think of a flying right and left. 
 
 As an instance of what may be done by patience and 
 caution, I may conclude this paper by mentioning that 
 the gamekeeper of a relation, having seen a flock of ducks 
 pitched upon the shore, and no way of getting near them 
 but over a bare field, crawled flat upon his face a distance 
 of three hundred yards, pushing his gun before him, not 
 daring even to raise his head, and at last got within such 
 fair distance that he stopped four with his first barrel, and 
 one with the other, securing them all. His gun was only 
 a small fowling-piece. I should add that he had been 
 trained to deer-stalking, under his father, from a boy. 
 
THE PEAT ISLE 
 
 A SQUARE flat island on Loch Lomond, called Inch 
 Moan, but familiarly known as " The Peat Isle," (from the 
 people of Luss having liberty to cast peats there,) is a 
 favourite resort of every kind of wild-fowl. At a little 
 distance, it appears almost level with the water, on which 
 account, as well as from its mossy formation, it abounds 
 in swamps and morasses. This may partly account for 
 the partiality of the wild-fowl to its shores. But there are 
 stronger reasons still : the retired wild character of the 
 place, seldom visited by man, except for an occasional 
 boat-load of peats, added to which the shallowness of the 
 water at the edges, growing deep so very gradually, is 
 most favourable to their feeding. In the season, the 
 further end of the island, having a grassy margin and 
 bottom, is much frequented by flocks of wild-ducks and 
 widgeon ; on many occasions I have put up not less than a 
 thousand in one company. In the severest weather, the 
 sea-eagle continually resorts there to prey upon the wild- 
 fowl ; and so voracious is it at this time that my father's 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 235 
 
 gamekeeper had his water-dog nearly drowned by one of 
 them when retrieving a wild-duck. He managed, how- 
 ever, to shoot the erne, the talons of which were long 
 preserved as a trophy. I have seldom done much execu- 
 tion there with my gun, from the difficulty of approaching 
 such a multitude of eyes over a dead level, where there is 
 not a bush or tree to serve as a screen. 
 
 When the hoopers come to the loch, they are generally 
 first observed at this part of Inch Moan ; but to get a shot 
 is next to impossible, as they can sound the bottom at the 
 distance of several hundred yards from the land, and 
 seldom feed nearer. They are also excellent watchmen 
 for the fowl resting on the banks, and it is astonishing to 
 see the quickness with which the latter notice the slightest 
 sign of alarm shown by their white sentinels. But 
 although I have had many disappointments from the 
 aforesaid causes, yet by watching them at a distance with 
 my glass, I have taken many a lesson in the habits of 
 the birds, and got useful hints for future operations. 
 
 A short distance from the shore, perhaps, may be seen 
 a flock of tufted ducks, diving at longer or shorter 
 intervals, according to the depth of the water; seldom 
 appearing at the top without their mouthful of grass, 
 which is cunningly watched by a stray mallard or two, 
 ready to pounce upon the prize the moment it is seen. 
 The mallard, however, but rarely succeeds in his piracy, 
 as the divers generally manage to gulp down their mouth- 
 ful. At last, tired of the bootless chase, the plunderers 
 join their comrades at the margin, contenting themselves 
 
236 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 with what may drift there from the feeding-ground of 
 the divers. 
 
 In very severe weather, especially during a snow-storm, 
 both ducks and widgeon are apt to trust to the diving 
 tribe as their purveyors. It would be difficult for any one 
 who has not witnessed it, to imagine the supply left by a 
 flock of dun-birds on a lee shore. I have seen as much as 
 a cart-load drifted on not more than fifty yards of coast. 
 
 The wild-duck sometimes feeds by diving, but this is 
 only in spring, after pairing. The dives are very short, 
 and it is probable that at this time they are feeding on 
 some water-insect which they could not find at the margin. 
 In winter they never feed farther from shore than they 
 can sound the bottom, by sinking their heads and turning 
 up their tails, like the domestic duck. An artificial 
 supply of food will sometimes cause moss-ducks to collect 
 in small flocks on running streams. The river Gala flows 
 sluggishly just below the town of Galashiels, bringing 
 down the refuse from the houses, and here I never 
 missed seeing ducks in hard weather. They stuck to the 
 place most pertinaciously, although I repeatedly fired at 
 them from behind a wall and killed several. I solved the 
 mystery one morning by finding half a potato, neatly peeled 
 and cut for the saucepan, in the bill of a mallard I had just 
 shot. So I perceived that this spot was a kind of nucleus 
 round which a quantity of the rubbish had collected. 
 
 But I have flown far away from my island, where, in 
 summer as in winter, there is always some rare and shy 
 sojonrner. At the end of some long point, immersed to 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 237 
 
 the feathers in the clear water, stands the patient lonely 
 heron, waiting till the shoal of incautious fish, which the 
 warm sun has brought to the shallows, begin curiously to 
 nibble at its silvery legs. When, striking down its 
 harpoon bill, with far greater certainty than a leister 
 thrown by the most skilful hand, it rarely or never fails 
 to draw up its victim. Not far distant, and perched upon 
 an archipelago of rocks, may be seen the snowy-breasted 
 herring gull, while its mate is floating upon the glassy 
 deep. At the sound of a footstep, they both extend their 
 sluggish wings, and soar high into the air with loud and 
 discordant scream a pretty sure sign that the nest is 
 near. This call, not altogether unlike the barking of a 
 dog, may be heard for miles around, and is to be considered 
 a note of alarm rather than of defiance. 
 
 Herons and gulls build every year on this island, or 
 near to it.* We have often tamed the young of both, and 
 it would be difficult to say which are the most voracious. 
 I have given half-a-dozen perch at a time, which have 
 been instantly swallowed, dorsal fins and all, by one of 
 these young gluttons. As soon as their wings grew, they 
 wandered away, and would not suffer themselves to be 
 secured until they were half-famished. The gulls would 
 often be driven back by extreme hunger to the place where 
 they were usually fed : the herons, even in this state, had 
 always to be carried home, tempted by a fish or piece of 
 
 * Formerly there used often to be a brood of black game on the 
 Peat Isle, but of late years grouse have always hatched at the far end of 
 it : this I believe they do on no other island of the loch. 
 
238 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 raw flesh which was held out to them. After getting hold 
 of one by the above stratagem, I was amazed to see it- 
 throw up a dead mole, which showed the straits to which 
 it had been reduced. Another, which I winged about the 
 end of November at the foot of a drain, cast up three or 
 four good-sized trout. How it had caught them at that 
 season, I should like to know.* 
 
 The young gulls are very fond of slugs, &c., and two 
 kept in my father's kitchen garden were of great use in 
 destroying such reptiles. They require more solid food, 
 however ; but these dainties appear to come in as a dessert. 
 The nests of the herons are always on a tree or ruin j those 
 of the gulls on a dry sandy piece of ground on the island. 
 The red-breasted merganser, and the goosander, may be 
 seen in the summer, but are constant visitors in winter, 
 the latter sometimes scattered along the shore in flocks 
 of fifty and upwards. 
 
 But the most interesting summer emigrant is the curlew. 
 There is a melody in its two wild notes that carries an 
 indescribable charm over the calm waters or the lonely 
 moor. It generally makes its appearance a little after the 
 green plover, and both hatch on the island every year. 
 By imitating the curlew's cry, I have often arrested its 
 flight, even at an immense distance, and brought it wheel- 
 ing round my head for some minutes together. In early 
 spring it is generally most clamorous, and continues so 
 until it leaves the inland moors and lochs for the sea-coast 
 
 * In the winter 1837-8, 1 shot five fine specimens of the heron. None 
 of them had any food in their crop. 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 239 
 
 with its young brood. The chicks run very soon, but are 
 so difficult to find, that upon some of our Lowland moors I 
 have counted at least a dozen pairs of old birds, yet have not 
 stumbled on a single young one. As I was returning one 
 day from fishing, my old dog found and pointed a couple, 
 which I transferred to my creel, and had dressed for the 
 table. They were nearly full grown, but could not fly a 
 yard. The young curlews are great annoyances to the 
 gamekeeper, from the facility with which they elude 
 even the best-trained pointers. The dog is continually 
 touching upon their scent, which distracts his attention 
 from game; but he scarcely ever "winds" one, to make 
 amends for this waste of time. Before the 12th of August, 
 however, all the curlews have left. 
 
 Many years ago, an eccentric man was tempted to raise 
 a house on the Peat Isle. He put up four substantial walls, 
 but stopped payment at the roof; and this edifice, so far as 
 it goes, still stands, a monument of his folly. It has often, 
 however, been useful to us as an observatory for wild-fowl. 
 
 The sheep-pasture of this island is peculiarly rich, and 
 always in great request among the farmers. It is seldom, 
 however, that its quiet is disturbed by the presence either 
 of a shepherd or his dog. Should any traveller chance to 
 read this description, and look down upon my lowly island 
 from one of its commanding neighbours, no doubt he 
 would wonder at my selection. There is, indeed, no 
 waving copse, no rocky height, with its varied view, to 
 entrance the summer visitor, but it has to me even a 
 greater charm in its wild and lonely seclusion. 
 
240 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 For the last few winters, the wild sport on Loch 
 Lomond has much deteriorated from what I recollect it 
 in former years. The frosts have never been so long-con- 
 tinued nor so severe as to tame the fowl, and bring wild 
 swans or geese.* Besides, the soft rainy weather of the 
 west has prevailed so much, rendering the loch large and 
 full, that the few water-fowl that do frequent it at such 
 unfavourable times, have all kept to the shallow water on 
 the eastern side. But should a frost set in, the shallow 
 parts of course are first frozen, the loch falls rapidly, and 
 they come pouring over to our side. Every day brings 
 fresh numbers both from the shallow coast opposite, and 
 the moor lochans, now frozen up. In January 1848, 
 there were only ten days of frost, and the preceding year 
 about the same amount of continued hard weather. I 
 spent the best days of both seasons 011 the loch, and will 
 endeavour to show what the admirer of wild-fowl shooting 
 may expect upon such expeditions. 
 
 There are three ^excellent ranges for wild-fowl, all 
 
 * It was very different in my boyish days, when our harder winters 
 often froze the loch completely over, and secured us plenty of northern 
 refugees. I have a perfect recollection of the white forms of the hoopers 
 before our nursery windows. On one occasion my late father, who was not 
 nrnch of a sportsman, and only an indifferent shot, loaded his common 
 fowling-piece with " swan-post," and killed, in the bay behind the house, 
 two swans with his first barrel, and one with his second all fine old 
 birds. 
 
 A few years ago, a young hooper made a presentation of itself to the 
 Zoological Gardens of Edinburgh. It flew into the wild-fowl pond of its 
 own accord, was secured, and pinioned. It lived nearly two years, and 
 I have frequently seen it. 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 241 
 
 beginning at Rossdhu House. One, down to the old 
 water of Fruin, called the Mid-Eoss Shore, is a great 
 resort of widgeon and ducks. It extends along a flat 
 grassy lonely coast, with fine screens of whin and broom. 
 Another takes in the whole shore as far as Luss. It is full 
 of weedy bays and green points, and is much frequented 
 by dun-birds, tufts, scaups, and morillons. The third 
 range comprehends the islands viz., Inch Moan, which I 
 have just described, Inch Tavannach, and Inch Connachan. 
 The narrow passage between these islands, called the 
 Straits, is a fine shelter for all wild-fowl from the hooper 
 to the teal. And, lastly, the Castle of Galbraith, a very 
 small island, although it has no feeding ground, makes 
 a good resting-place for ducks at mid-day. When they 
 are detected there, in fancied security, with their beaks 
 under their wings, and one leg tucked up comfortably 
 into their breast feathers, it is the most certain oppor- 
 tunity for a sitting shot. There is also a fine view of Inch 
 Moan, and part of the Straits, from the top of the ruin, 
 once the yearly resort of the osprey, and which I never 
 ascend without regret for having murdered her on her 
 own threshold. From the top of this ruinous castle, the 
 best haunts of the wild-fowl on the adjoining islands may 
 be commanded with a telescope. Tradition says that a 
 sort of wild man, called Galbraith, domiciled in the old 
 castle, and being a most expert swimmer, as he had much 
 need to be, he used to strike out for Rossdhu House, take 
 the roast off the spit, tie it round his body with a string, 
 and return in triumph to his island. When a boy, I was 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 much horrified at this account, and used to picture a sort 
 of half-demon, half-maniac, breaking into the house, the 
 inmates flying right and left, while he marched to the 
 water with his smoking booty. 
 
 I will now recount the adventures of eight days' duck- 
 stalking, beginning Friday, January 21st, 1848. Frosty, 
 but not very hard. Took the Luss beat, the loch not being 
 low enough for Mid-Eos s shores, attended by gamekeeper, 
 with a little wiry hairy retriever that looked as if he could 
 stand as much cold as a Polar bear. No fowl of any kind 
 on Luss shores, so embarked for the islands. Detected the 
 whole mass of tufts, dun-birds, morillons, &c., diving and 
 feeding together on the Inch Tavannach side of the straits. 
 Saw it would be a most difficult stalk, and, from the 
 nature of the ground, that I could only get a flying right 
 and left. So it turned out: a long circuit brought me 
 within a distant run could get no nearer, so chose a 
 pair of tufts, as being closest to shore. Watched their 
 simultaneous dive. Made my run, and dropped both. 
 Took boat for Inch Moan, as the straits were now cleared 
 of fowl for this day. Only three moss-ducks on a green 
 point of the south side. A long stalk, and distant chance. 
 Dropped a pair ; one, however, rose again, and made off. 
 Came round to north coast of the island. Nothing but a 
 dab-chick, which I shot for a specimen. In the far dis- 
 tance, to the west, keeper spied what we thought a 
 morillon diving, but when I advanced I saw it was a male 
 tuft. Dropped him dead; a long shot. No more fowl 
 seen to-day ; total, five head. 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 243 
 
 Saturday, 21th. Embarked at ten o'clock, and steered 
 straight for the Castle of Galbraith, as the fowl were not 
 pinched enough to frequent Luss shores. Ascended the 
 castle, and had the satisfaction of twigging a shoal of dun- 
 birds busily feeding on the north shore of Inch Moan. 
 Immediately set sail, and landed on the south side, under 
 cover of the roofless house. Perused the flock through 
 my glass, and was a little let down to see three ducks on 
 the shore close under the dun-birds. The chance of a 
 heavy shot at the latter materially lessened by the ducks. 
 Waited to see if they would decamp, but they were hungry, 
 and would not quit the weeds drifting in from their 
 diving friends. Leaving gamekeeper in the house, I took 
 a crouching stretch along the south shore, and, as the 
 ground was dry and hard, did not grudge a long hand- 
 and-knee crawl across the island. Neared the north shore 
 without disturbing their operations, and, when within fifty 
 yards of them, got my eye upon the mar-plot ducks, about 
 thirty yards from me. Could easily have strung them all. 
 The dun-birds were feeding in circles of from twenty to 
 thirty yards in circumference. They were now at the 
 farthest point, and I, of course, waited till they came to the 
 nearest, which brought the mass to within forty yards. 
 Fired into the middle of them. Six lay dead at my first 
 discharge, and two from wing at my second. Three swam 
 away, two only wing-broken, but the third badly struck in 
 the body also. The keeper prudently did not slip the 
 retriever, but instantly ran for the boat : he, too, had 
 marked the mortally wounded bird ; so, after securing the 
 
244 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 eight fowl, we followed in pursuit, and drove him ashore 
 into a bush on Inch Tavannach. I J)ut my hand into my 
 pocket for my powder-flask, to load, in case he might dash 
 out into the water again. No flask was there! I had 
 left it on my dressing-table, when charging my gun, before 
 coming out in the morning. Nothing now for it but to 
 slip the retriever. Before he could reach the bush, how- 
 ever, the wary bird rushed out again upon its native 
 element. Down under water, but the dive was a short 
 one. Dive after dive shorter and shorter. At last it 
 could not get out of sight, and I soon picked up the ninth 
 dun-bird to two discharges. When it is borne in mind 
 that my charge did not exceed an ounce and three-quar- 
 ters of No. 4 shot, and that the dun-bird is nearly as large 
 as a duck, and decidedly the most hardy bird to carry 
 away shot of all the anas tribe, any expert wild-fowl 
 shooter will at once perceive how rare a piece of good 
 fortune a shot of this kind is. It was, therefore, without 
 much grumbling that I rowed to Rossdhu for my powder- 
 flask, a distance of* about two miles. When we returned 
 to Inch Moan, the day had worn on. I got a flying 
 right and left at widgeon, on the far end of the island, 
 killing both. 
 
 It was now late, so we sought the mainland, and I 
 emptied my gun at a fine roebuck passing close to me in 
 the dusk. My No. 4 told well, and he fell dead without a 
 struggle. Eleven head, and a roe. 
 
 Monday, 24^. Mist so thick that stalking was out of 
 the question. Calm. Frost hard, and ground dry. Only 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 245 
 
 one chance at a mud mallard, and slew him on Inch Moan. 
 One head. 
 
 Tuesday, 25th. Close and misty as yesterday. Frost 
 continued. Only two chances; (they certainly might be 
 called so, for the mist made it all chance together ;) one at 
 widgeon, which I stalked by sound of their purring and 
 whistling on Mid-Koss shore. Killed three at a shot. 
 When returning, stumbled on a mallard, and dropped him 
 dead. This evening a brisk wind set in. Four head. 
 
 Wednesday, 26th. Clear frost, with a little wind. Took 
 the Mid-Koss beat. About a mile before we got to the 
 good ducking-ground, a heron rose out of a swamp in an 
 oak copse. Fired, and dropped her among the trees. A 
 good omen ! As soon as we ascended Auchintulloch Brae, 
 which commands a long reach of Mid-Ross, saw three 
 ducks and a drake feeding in the nearest bay. A very 
 easy stalk. Wounded two ducks sitting with my first 
 barrel, and, had not my second slipped off by accident, 
 would have killed the mallard in all likelihood. Dick, the 
 retriever, secured one of the wounded; the other made 
 away. The next chance was a flying right and left out of 
 the old watercourse of the Fruin. Killed a duck, and 
 mortally wounded a drake. Both long shots. Marked 
 down the drake, which separated from the flock. With 
 my glass I perceived a fine phalanx of widgeon, closely 
 wedged on Fruin Point. A bare and difficult approach 
 over the long promontory, and very few bushes to hide 
 me. Could not get nearer than sixty-five yards. Had to 
 fire lying flat on the ground. Only one lay. 
 
246 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 Kested for an hour, to give the fowl time to come in 
 shore for the evening feed, and then returned over the 
 same ground. Keeper discovered, with his telescope, a 
 mallard near where the wounded one pitched. Had no 
 doubt it must be him. A very difficult approach. When 
 I neared him, found he had a couple of ducks with him, so 
 was sure it could not be my victim. In attempting to get 
 a fair sitting shot, they saw me, as the ground was bare, 
 and flew up at sixty yards. I did justice upon the polyga- 
 mous chief by killing one of his ducks. Did not obtain 
 another chance till near the end of the beat, when I saw a 
 couple of widgeon feeding in a weedy creek, and killed 
 both at one shot. Six head and a heron. 
 
 Thursday, 27th. Clear hard frost. This morning a fine 
 fleet of dun-birds sailed into Koss-dhu Bay, the first that 
 had appeared there since the winter began. The keeper 
 and I were soon on the gui vive. They were diving 
 within a near shot, on the opposite side of the bay. When 
 I succeeded in getting within fifty yards, a piece of white 
 ice gave way under my foot. They did not see me, so 
 only ceased feeding, and paddled out into the bay. I 
 knew they would soon return, so kept my post. Unfortu- 
 nately, they neared the shore further down the bay ; and, 
 as I saw they would not move from the plentiful table that 
 had attracted them, I dodged back, and came round above. 
 Fired right and left ; a longish shot. Four lay, one only 
 wing-broken. Dick retrieved the trio, but I only got a 
 glimpse of the other close to the beach. 
 
 We now started for Mid-Eoss. Spied a trip of five 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 247 
 
 widgeon from Auchintulloch Brae ; they were greedily 
 feeding a few yards from shore, close to a fine screen of 
 whin. Waited long for three in a line, as they were 
 scattered. At length I succeeded in getting them placed 
 fair. Only the centre bird lay ; the swelling waves saved 
 the others. By aid of telescope, saw a fine batch of teal 
 on old Fruin Point again. Precisely the same stalk as 
 yesterday ; the teal were, however, nearer than the 
 widgeon. Killed four, and did not see any wounded. 
 Gave the customary hour's law of rest, and then returned. 
 Keeper perceived a duck and drake in the first bay after 
 crossing Fruin Water, on our way home. A good shelter 
 within forty yards of them, which I easily reached. Killed 
 the mallard sitting on the beach and the duck flying out 
 upon the loch. Only one more trip of widgeon on the 
 shore ; a very long shot from the nearest ambush. Fired 
 right and left, sitting and flying, without bringing down a 
 bird. Ten head. 
 
 Friday, 28th. A heavy snow-storm all day. Did not 
 leave the house. 
 
 Saturday, 29th. Keen wind and hard frost. Snow a 
 foot deep. A famous day for water-fowl. Thought the 
 weather sufficiently severe to bring the fowl to Altochly, 
 Camstraddan, and Luss shores, so determined to try them 
 before the islands. Saw three widgeon feeding on the 
 green surface food in Rossarden Bay. As they were out 
 of shot, did not wait, intending to give them a benefit on 
 my return. A couple of moss-ducks were grubbing in 
 Altochly Bay, two yards from the land. With difficulty 
 
248 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 obtained a long right and left. The first I fired at sitting, 
 the other flying. The No. 4 flew all about the sitting 
 bird, but she did not seem hit ; the other fell dead, to 
 Dick's delight. Proceeding a little further, we were 
 encouraged by a distant view of the dun-birds busily at 
 work in Camstraddan Bay. A long, intricate, and danger- 
 ous crawl, from the birds being very scattered, brought me 
 within a run. Sorry to see that they were diving upon a 
 bank at an uncertain distance. Selected the nearest two, 
 and made my run. Fired the moment they topped the 
 water ; both fell, one dead, the other fluttered away into 
 the waves, and was soon lost sight of. Keeper, meantime, 
 had got his eye upon a solitary morillon, a short way off, 
 which was under water when I fired. The ice prevented 
 his getting so near the shore as he evidently wished. 
 Easily stalked him, and made the first dead miss since the 
 commencement of niy sport. Meant to shoot him on the 
 wing, but he would not fly until I was in the act of taking 
 a poking sitting aim ; spread his wings at the critical 
 moment of pulling the trigger, and, in fact, flew away from 
 the leaden shower before it reached him. Did not waste 
 my second barrel upon so worthless game, but had a good 
 laugh at his escape. When we returned to Eossarden, 
 two of the widgeon had fed pretty close to the shore, the 
 other remained in the deep. . Stalked the pair from Koss- 
 arden wood, and strung them both at a shot. 
 
 Embarked for Inch Moan. When about a mile off, saw 
 two small flocks of moss-ducks, one on the north and the 
 other on the south side of the island. Of necessity, we 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 249 
 
 must put up one flock by stalking the other. Made choice 
 of the southerns. When I neared them on hand and 
 knee, they were so dispersed that I could only pick off a 
 bird with each barrel. Wounded both badly, but one flew 
 out into the rough water before it dropped. Dick retrieved 
 the other with difficulty. 
 
 A crowd of widgeon were collected in the north-east 
 bay of the island. Made a long and careful approach. 
 Got within a fair shot, and dropped four to my two dis- 
 charges 5 secured three. Dick had the fourth under his 
 paws, but it managed to escape. It was now almost too 
 dark to spy our game ; we, however, twigged a couple of 
 morillons in Inch Connachan Bay. Got to the nearest 
 point without difficulty. Both popped up their heads at 
 the same moment ; I killed one, but the other flew into 
 the dark shadow of the island. Nine head. 
 
 As will be seen from the above sketch, the rough weather 
 drove the wild-fowl into the shelter of the bays to-day ; 
 also the waves prevented the wounded from being either 
 seen or retrieved. 
 
 Monday r , 31s. Delightful weather for wild sport ; keen 
 frost and calm. The same range as yesterday. Only a 
 solitary duck on Eossarden to-day. Poor thing, she was 
 taking advantage of the few slant rays of sunshine for a 
 siesta ! A massy rock, which towered about forty yards 
 from her resting-place, was easily gained. She was stand- 
 ing on one leg, with her bill under her wing, the very 
 picture of repose, which I don't think I broke, as she never 
 moved after she fell off her green cushion into the water. 
 
250 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 Saw the dun-birds, but they were also at rest midway 
 between the islands and the shore. Settled to pay them a 
 visit at dusk, when we were sure they must be at supper in 
 Camstraddan Bay. In the meantime to search the islands. 
 Saw some little black lumps on Galbraith, and, with my 
 telescope, made out a small flock of ducks. It always 
 inspirits us to see them on this island, as, with good 
 management, a fair shot can generally be obtained. We 
 pulled silently past, until we got the castle between us and 
 our quarry, and then, by slow and noiseless strokes, reached 
 the strand. The brushwood was so thick that, although 
 I had only about twenty yards to creep, it took me near 
 half-an-hour before I was placed fair for my shot. They 
 were quite dispersed and asleep ; so, as my second barrel 
 was useless, from the thicket in which I was enclosed, I 
 picked out a fine mallard, and the rest escaped scot-free. 
 No fowl on Inch Moan to-day. Spied a flock of dun-birds, 
 however, in Inch Connachan Bay. Got to the nearest 
 ambush on the shore, but they were diving on a sunk bank 
 in the middle of the bay. Lingered an hour in vain, as 
 they would not leave their feeding-ground. Was obliged, 
 at last, to content myself with a morillon, which oppor- 
 tunely fed round between them and me, just when my 
 patience was exhausted. To make up, keeper, in the 
 meantime, had a noble chance in the straits, all ready for 
 me. Widgeon, tufts, and golden eyes were all within easy 
 distance from the snow-covered rocks. With great caution 
 I neared the white rampart, placed my white cap on my 
 head, and peeped cautiously over. It was some time ere 
 
THE PEAT IWLE. 251 
 
 I made my selection, but at last I got several tufts, golden 
 eyes, and morillons together. Killed two fine male tufts, 
 and winged a morillon with my first discharge, knocking 
 over a golden eye flying with my second. The winged 
 bird, however, escaped. We now set off at racing speed 
 for the dun-birds in Camstraddan Bay. In taking a 
 passing glance at Galbraith, was surprised to see some- 
 thing like ducks. Took out my telescope, thinking it 
 most unlikely that fowl would be resting there again, 
 especially so late. To be sure, it was a couple of ducks 
 asleep ! We, therefore, determined to sacrifice the dun- 
 birds to the ducks. A bird on the isle worth two in the 
 bay. Got to them in the same way as before, for they 
 were nearly in the same spot. Had to change my position 
 several times before I could get both in line; this is always 
 dangerous. At last I detected a small opening in the 
 bushes, which gave me the command of them. Fired, and 
 both lay. Sprang down to secure them, but the mallard 
 rose again, so I gave him his quietus with my second 
 barrel. The duck was dead. Eight head. 
 
 This ended my wild-fowl shooting for 1848; in all, 
 fifty-four head, a heron, and a roe. The gamekeeper 
 gave me able assistance, and is the only one I ever was 
 out with who understands that sport. In January 1847, 
 I bagged forty-eight head in the same number of days.* 
 It is curious that the frost lasted about the same time 
 
 * In 1849 there was neither frost nor fowl. In 1850 I had five days, and 
 killed forty head ; on one of the days 1 bagged twenty-two head, and only 
 let off three wounded birds ; but the frost, although long-continued, was not 
 
252 THE PEAT ISLE. 
 
 both years, and, by the merest chance, the thaw began, in 
 both seasons, the very day I had fixed to leave the loch, 
 when the frost was at the hardest. Neither swans nor 
 geese showed themselves either year ; but, had the storm 
 been more severe, we should, no doubt, have had some 
 fine chances at them. 
 
 Inch Tavannach and Inch Connachan were teeming with 
 roe ; we seldom passed their shores, especially in the even- 
 ing, without seeing sometimes seven or eight together. 
 
 Ducks and widgeon generally keep the lee-shores ; this, 
 however, need not disconcert the stalker, if he only does 
 not let them hear him. I have constantly observed that 
 they wind you best in calm weather. In high wind never 
 fear their noses, even should it blow direct from you to 
 them. My brother has a gunning-punt upon Loch 
 Lomond, and it was well ascertained, and constantly 
 affirmed, by the boatmen, that the approach with the 
 wind was far " shurer " than when working against it. 
 They always, therefore, tried to advance upon fowl with 
 a favouring gale. From the smallness of the flocks, in 
 comparison with those on the sea-coast, and also from the 
 places where they sheLered being often inaccessible to 
 the punt, it has always been considered a failure on our 
 loch. 
 
 On looking down upon divers with your head on a level 
 with the ground, take care that you do not fancy them 
 
 very severe. This last winter, 1851, brought plenty rain, a full loch, and 
 scarcely any water-fowl. It is useless to attempt wild sport on the 
 Highland lochs in the open winters, and I never do so. 
 
THE PEAT ISLE. 253 
 
 within range of your duck gun from the nearest point on 
 the shore, when they are a long way beyond it. I have 
 several times, under these circumstances, selected my 
 pair, made my run down the bank to the beach, and found 
 that the distance had been much foreshortened by my con- 
 strained view from above. When I got to the level ground, 
 they were quite out of shot. 
 
 A wild-fowl gun for Highland lochs should not be very 
 weighty, as a ponderous weapon is so uncomfortable to 
 stalk with. It should be light enough to take smart 
 rights and lefts. The largest charge of mine is one ounce 
 and three-quarters of shot, and I can pull down snipe and 
 woodcocks with it quite readily. Most people, however, 
 prefer a duck gun that will carry at least two ounces of 
 shot. 
 
 
HAWKING 
 
 As I think it not altogether becoming in us moderns to 
 forget the days of yore, .allow me now a word or two about 
 the recreations of our fathers, when they sallied forth, 
 falcon on fist, with a gallant troop of retainers. 
 
 The aristocratic sport of falconry, though now banished 
 by our deadly guns, has in it something so exhilarating and 
 so gay, that any one who has witnessed it on ever so small 
 a scale cannot wonder that it was once the pastime of the 
 high and mighty of the land. 
 
 There are several kinds of falcons and hawks found in 
 Scotland, all of which are capable of being trained; but 
 the former are greatly superior, and always preferred. 
 The largest is the gos-hawk,* the young males of which 
 are called falcon-gentils, and were once thought a dis- 
 tinct species. Next in size is the jer-falcon, rather less 
 than the gentil. These are rare in Scotland, although 
 they occasionally build in some parts, particularly in the 
 Northern Islands. All of them can knock down a heron 
 
 * The gos-hawk is short-winged, and not properly a falcon. 
 
HAWKING. 255 
 
 and the largest game, including hares; but the most 
 esteemed and active on wing is the jer-falcon, distinguished 
 above the rest for its ferocity. Of the smaller kinds there 
 is the peregrine, which yearly builds in many of our 
 secluded glens and remote precipices. It is of this species 
 that I have most to say. An old blackcock or pheasant is 
 too strong for them, but they are able to bring down grouse 
 or young black-game. Of the hawk tribe there is the hen- 
 harrier, the male of which is blue, and the female, called 
 the ring-tail, brown the hobby,* the sparrow-hawk, and 
 the kestril ; the last-mentioned very numerous in some 
 of the islands of Loch Lomond. Nor must I omit the 
 smallest of the tribe, the merlin, not much larger than a 
 thrush, inferior to none in boldness and activity. We have 
 occasionally shot it in Dumbartonshire, and admired the 
 elegance of its diminutive form, which seemed, accord- 
 ing to its small proportions, a model of agility and 
 strength. 
 
 As none of these hawks, when trained, are much worth 
 for game, one would think their depredations could not be 
 very formidable ; but, on the contrary, when at large, and 
 allowed their full sweep of hill and dale, they do much 
 mischief. I once put up a flock of teal which flew out 
 upon the loch ; a sparrow-hawk pursued, struck one scarcely 
 a foot from the surface, and, though hardly able to bear its 
 
 * The hobby and merlin are entitled to be called falcons. They are 
 long-winged, and have all the attributes of courage and speed. The former 
 is only a summer visitant to the south of England ; the latter is resident, 
 and hatches yearly on our moors. 
 
256 HAWKING. 
 
 burden, flew with it a considerable way to the shore. I 
 marked the place, and recovered the teal, with half of its 
 head eaten, otherwise uninjured. Last summer, a wild- 
 duck reared its young brood in a bay of Loch Lomond. 
 They were reduced to a few by a small hawk. My brother 
 saw it pick one up as neatly as possible, and another day 
 the old duck was seen flapping its wings on the surface of 
 the water, and endeavouring to drive off the hawk. The 
 ducklings had all dived, but the first that popped up its 
 head was instantly seized and carried off. The best 
 powers, however, of these little poachers being only exerted 
 on their own behalf, and the nests of the larger falcons 
 being seldom found, the main stay of the falconer is the 
 peregrine. 
 
 There is a gamekeeper in Dumbartonshine, who, when 
 a boy, had received some lessons from the late John 
 Anderson, of hawking memory, and, having also a natural 
 turn that way, has perhaps as good a knowledge of the art 
 as any one now alive. In a steep crag at the head of 
 Glen-Douglas, a pair of peregrines build every year. The 
 young are always taken by this man to be trained, and the 
 old ones never molested. If great trouble and pains be 
 taken, the young falcons may be fit for flying the first 
 season, and I shall now describe a day's hawking with this 
 keeper, which is a very novel spectacle to any one who has 
 not seen it before, and is always, like coursing, most 
 enjoyed by those ignorant of field-sports. 
 
 Early one morning, about the beginning of October, the 
 keeper was on the stubble-field with a couple of peregrines 
 
HAWKING. 257 
 
 on his fist, and followed by his son, a young lad, with a 
 third bird, and a brace of old steady dogs. The hawks 
 were all hooded, and with bells at their feet ; the ground 
 was hunted with great caution, and soon the dogs came to 
 a point. The keeper immediately took off the hood from 
 one of the hawks, and threw it into the air. The bird 
 kept flying round in circles, the bells jingling at its feet. 
 The keeper then advanced rapidly towards the dog, and a 
 covey of partridges rose ; the hawk instantly stooped down, 
 and for many hundred yards there was a race, the par- 
 tridges doing their utmost to outstrip the hawk, and the 
 hawk making every exertion to overtake the partridges. 
 At last he began to gain upon them, and when he drew 
 near, made a sudden dash at one, which he seized in his 
 claws, and flew to the ground. The keeper now walked 
 up and secured the falcon, the partridge not being in any 
 way torn or spoilt. Several points were afterwards got, 
 and three more partridges killed ; sometimes the partridges 
 escaped, especially if they rose at a distance, and latterly, 
 when the hawks became tired, they were no longer able to 
 overtake them. When the hawk did not kill the bird, 
 there was more difficulty in recovering it ; but the keeper 
 said he never lost one. He had a lure, which was a small 
 board, about a foot long and half a foot broad, with some 
 red cloth nailed upon it, on which he usually fed them ; he 
 threw this lure into the air, hallooing at the same time, and 
 the falcons coming to it, were secured and hooded. When 
 flown at snipe, the most beautiful aerial evolutions may 
 often be seen, each endeavouring to out-soar the other, 
 
258 HAWKING. 
 
 until both are nearly lost in the clouds ; but a woodcock, if 
 the ground is clear, makes the best sport of all. 
 
 The gamekeeper at Kossdhu harried this same pere- 
 grine's nest two years ago, and trained them for a different 
 but very useful purpose. He flew them at carrion-crows, 
 magpies, &c., which they drove into trees, and prevented 
 from leaving until he advanced with his gun and shot 
 them. 
 
 So much time and trouble, however, are required both 
 in keeping and training hawks, that it is most likely the 
 days of falconry are for ever gone by. 
 
THE BASS EOCK 
 
 THIS singular cliff of the sea has been the subject of many 
 pages and many prints ; but no description can lessen the 
 amazement felt on beholding it for the first time. I had 
 been familiar with much of our sternest coast scenery, had 
 shot sea-fowl on the Clet of Caithness, and stalked seals 
 under the savage and perpendicular rocks of Morayshire ; 
 but there is a grandeur about this solitary giant of the 
 deep which is different from any of the wildest scenes I 
 had gazed upon before. 
 
 When nearing the Bass, the ochre-coloured lichen which 
 covers many of the rocks, contrasted with the white guano 
 of the sea-fowl, and the white feathers of the solands, has 
 what painters call a " fine pictorial effect." But when 
 the boatmen pull slowly under the beetling cliff, studded 
 from top to bottom with rank upon rank of living fowl, 
 one is rather paralysed than impressed with the stupendous 
 scene. 
 
 At the time I was there, a raven's nest was fixed near 
 the top of the western side. Three of the young, in 
 
260 THE BASS ROCK. 
 
 appearance no bigger than blackbirds, were peering over 
 the side. I could scarcely believe they were not jackdaws. 
 The Peregrine falcon had also built outside the tower, and 
 was wheeling aloft in company with the geese. I pointed 
 him out as a sparrow-hawk, and was equally astonished 
 when assured by the old boatman that he was " the blue 
 hunting hawk." His nest was afterwards harried by a 
 boat's crew from North Berwick, who came for the purpose 
 in the night. Well did I know the peregrine, and had 
 often admired his graceful bearing among his native hills. 
 The sable tenant of desolation was an equally familiar 
 acquaintance ; and that I should have so strangely mis- 
 taken both, was sufficient proof of the vast height to which 
 I looked. 
 
 Intending to shoot some specimens, I had brought my 
 duck gun, and, at the first shot, killed a puffin or sea 
 parrot, called a Tommy Norie by the old sailor in com- 
 mand of our craft. These pretty birds are very shy, 
 although a good many haunt the landing bay. They 
 always lay their one egg out of sight, and never upon the 
 ledges of the rock. One or two were hatching in the 
 holes of the prison where our fearless Reformer was con- 
 fined ; when peeping out with their quaint bills, they 
 had an ancient look that reminded one of sturdy John, 
 with his slouched hat, looking out of his loophole 
 window. 
 
 The razor-bills are now scarce on the rock ; they are 
 more retired in their habits, and apt to conceal themselves 
 in the clefts. I was fortunate in getting a chance at a very 
 
THE BASS BOCK. 261 
 
 fine one flying past, and knocked him over. There are 
 none of the small black guillemot on the Bass, although 
 they sometimes hatch on the Island of May. The common 
 kind, called by our boatmen " marrats," are very nume- 
 rous. They are ranged along the cliffs like companies of 
 soldiers ; and half-a-dozen might often be strung at a shot. 
 The kittiwakes are always perched at a good height upon 
 a narrow ledge. I shot at one discharge a couple of these 
 beautiful little gulls, which toppled almost into the boat. 
 A few knots were flitting from rock to rock at the base ; 
 I also slew a couple of them. 
 
 There is a long narrow cavern right through the island, 
 which every year harbours a pair of small green cormo- 
 rants or shags; but the great cormorant only frequents 
 the Bass in winter. We rowed into this cave, and hallooed 
 several times. Just when we had got to the point where 
 a sulky rock barred our further progress, and given up 
 hope, out she flew over our heads, and within ten yards' 
 distance. I stumbled, from the looming swell, in rising 
 to fire, or I could easily have shot her. I did not 
 want a specimen, so it was just as well the poor bird 
 escaped. 
 
 We now landed at Tommy Norie Bay, and ascended 
 the rock. Babbits had been introduced by the present 
 tenant some years ago, and have increased to a great 
 extent. They were popping in and out of Blackadder's 
 cell; a most wretched hole, with a small aperture for a 
 window. We were told, however, that when removed 
 there, from one much more comfortable, his health had 
 
262 THE BASS ROCK. 
 
 wonderfully recruited ; a circumstance I could nowise 
 attribute to any salubrity in the abode, but to the merciful 
 care of God over his faithful servants. 
 
 The rabbits seemed also to have taken a great fancy to 
 the old chapel. Several were dotting about inside among 
 the nettles, and had no means of exit, as we stood at the 
 door. Their only enemies here are the raven and the 
 peregrine. We saw the bones of a guillemot, which the 
 latter had lately picked. On the top was a colony of 
 gulls. There were two pairs of the greater black-backed 
 or giant gull, and several pairs of the herring-gull. We 
 were fortunate in spying one of the nests of the giant with 
 two eggs. The boatman assured us they were fresh, as 
 three was the usual number. Shortly after, we detected a 
 herring-gull's with the full complement. The old tar was 
 more doubtful of them. We therefore took the whole lot 
 to what they call " the Spring," (though one accustomed 
 to the pure springs of the Highlands is loath to allow it 
 the name;) and old Jack was right, for the large gull's 
 eggs sank like stones ; while the herring-gull's rose up on 
 end, but did not come to the top. We thus saw that they 
 had been sat upon for some time, but not long enough 
 to prevent them from being blown. There are one or two 
 more of these wells, from half a foot to three feet deep, 
 with soft oozy bottoms. They afford drink to a few sheep 
 pastured upon the rock. At the fall of the year, there 
 were ten white-faced seven-month-old lambs put on ; 
 but the half died. Had they been the black-faced, and a 
 little older, they would have thriven apace, as the grass is 
 
THE BASS ROCK. 263 
 
 very nutritious, and there is fine shelter in the clefts from 
 every winter storm, whatever its drift. 
 
 If the look-up was astounding, the look-down was 
 appalling. I certainly felt little inclined to covet the 
 esteemed post of cliffman ; which office, the old sailor told 
 me with no small pride, his father had held for thirty 
 years. He had succeeded him for a few years ; but gave it 
 up, as he was too weak to throw the young solands clear 
 of the rock into the sea beneath. To do this effectually 
 requires a very powerful arm. Many years ago, an aspir- 
 ing blacksmith, trusting to his ponderous strength, offered 
 to descend the Bass Hock. The ropes were adjusted, and 
 he was lowered over the first shelf, As soon as he caught 
 sight of the blue sea, and the abyss between, he went raving 
 mad, and would not move. The people in the boat below 
 perceived his state, and made signs to let him down, which 
 was done by main force. It took several men to hold him 
 in the boat ; but, in about a month, he regained his 
 faculties. He is now an old man ; but to this day has 
 never spoken slightingly of a cliffman's duties, or volun- 
 teered his unsolicited services. 
 
 About sixty years ago, when Canty Bay was much 
 infested by smugglers, there lived below Tantallan a 
 family of the name of Kelly. They were men of great 
 resolution and herculean strength. The old tar said he 
 had seen one of them take a pipe of smuggled wine upon 
 his knee and drink out of the " bunghole." He was not 
 at all pleased to see me smile at the relation of this feat. 
 The grandson of this family had the reputation of being 
 
264 THE BASS ROCK. 
 
 the best cliffraan that ever descended the Bass. Upon one 
 occasion he was searching above, and one of his uncles in 
 the boat below ; a very small pebble was dislodged near 
 the top, and struck the uncle upon his thick sea-hat. It 
 cut through the hat, stuck into his skull, and, before they 
 could row ashore, he had nearly bled to death. The geese 
 are sometimes maimed in the same way. 
 
 Ada'ms, the renter of the Bass, is very dexterous in the 
 management of the ropes above ; which considerably 
 lessens the risk of descent. There are regular periods in 
 the year for this perilous work. The first search takes 
 place at the beginning of summer, to gath'er the eggs of 
 the guillemots, kittiwakes, &c. ; and another in August, to 
 collect the young gannets, which are stripped of their 
 down, and then sold in the Edinburgh and other markets 
 for sixpence apiece. The eggs of the gulls and kittiwakes 
 are excellent ; but those of the guillemots, razor-bills, and 
 puffins, are rank-tasted. 
 
 I was amused to see the high mark they set upon the 
 "purple geese," or those which have speckled backs, in 
 consequence of not having quite shed the brown feathers. 
 They are about three years old, and the beauty of the bird 
 is in exact ratio to the brown spots on its back. For my 
 part, I thought the pure white much handsomer. To 
 please the old boatman, I shot a " purple," as well as a 
 snowy specimen to stuff, and another pure white bird for 
 his feathers, to dress sea-flies. They are superior for this 
 purpose even to those of a swan. 
 
 Numbers of gannets flitted past with billfuls of decayed 
 
THE BASS ROCK. 265 
 
 sea-weed for building their nests. They were formed 
 entirely of this material, as we ascertained from examining 
 the habitations of the two colonies which have been obliged 
 to nidify on the top of the rock, all the shelves and ledges 
 on the face being forestalled. They were so tame at these 
 two places as often to refuse to move until kicked off the 
 nest. They then stood chattering with open bill, and if 
 you attempted to touch them would inflict a severe bite. 
 Their threatening attitudes were ludicrously pompous. 
 
 One year the whole west side of the rock was depopu- 
 lated, from fishermen and others having shot them, when 
 they wandered up the firth in August, after an unusually 
 long-continued sht>al of herrings. The manner of the 
 soland's attack upon these shoals is very curious. From a 
 height of fifty or sixty feet, he conies down into the deep 
 head foremost, with the solidity of a stone. I have watched 
 a dozen follow each other in regular succession keeping 
 as true time as the ticking of a clock. When they emerge, 
 they don't repeat the operation for some time, and fly out 
 of the water with a lazy lagging flap. 
 
 Gentlemen often practise rifle-shooting at the geese. 
 The site of some of their exploits was pointed out. One 
 inviting snip of rock juts out upon a line with the walls of 
 the fortress, where the riflemen take their station. They 
 have seldom long to wait ere a gannet settles upon this 
 point. It was called " Baird's shot," from some steady- 
 handed Baird having frequently perforated his goose. 
 Upon looking steadily at the distance, I could not reckon 
 it more than seventy or eighty yards. Taking everything 
 
266 THE BASS ROCK. 
 
 into consideration, the cool post of the shooter, and the fair 
 position of his mark, a first-rate rifleman ought seldom to 
 miss. 
 
 The only small birds I saw on the Bass were a couple of 
 rock pipits, feeding among the withered sea-ware close to 
 the landing bay. Their nest no doubt was near, and they 
 had chosen a place to build it upon, which did not belie 
 their name. Those inheritors of dilapidation and decay, 
 the jackdaws, sum up the zoology I noticed on the Bass 
 Eock. The old rampart walls and chapel had most likely 
 tempted them over the sea from Tantallan Castle. 
 
 Having satisfied my curiosity, and procured all the 
 specimens I wanted, we hoisted our sail and steered for 
 Canty Bay. Numbers of the common gull were flitting 
 about us on our passage, although I saw none on the 
 Bass. 
 
 When stripping the soland of his best fly feathers, old 
 Jack remarked that the wing-pinions were excellent for 
 writing-quills. He had often commissions from the village 
 teachers in the neighbourhood for a supply. There was a 
 good deal of oil about them, which the schoolmasters 
 extract by cutting off the end of the quills and soaking 
 them in warm water. I took out my penknife and made 
 one or two into toothpicks ; upon which Jack assured me 
 that I would find them " far praeferable to a prin" (pin). 
 
 There can scarcely be a more inviting resting-place than 
 Canty Bay ; a cheerful sunny beach of smoothest sand, 
 enclosed by rising hillocks covered with wild flowers ; the 
 bold ocean-waves rolling before, and the bolder ocean-rock 
 
THE BASS ROCK. 2C7 
 
 in full view. I now joined our party there, who had been 
 busily giving books, &c., among the few cottages which lie 
 in one sheltered corner. A poor man, whom reason had 
 left, lay basking on the grass with a number of children 
 playing all round him. He seemed gentle and kind to 
 them, though no others dared to interfere. Sorrow had 
 left its deepest traces on his poor old mother's face. 
 Suffering of many kinds met our eyes ; and we were 
 painfully impressed with the contrast between the outer 
 forms of nature and these poor wrecks of human kind. 
 
ON EAGLES 
 
 FEW sportsmen, who have been much in the wilds of 
 Scotland, have not occasionally seen an eagle ; but, 
 except at the hatching season, it is extremely difficult 
 to get a shot at one. Even then it is no easy task, for 
 the nest is often in the face of some precipice which few 
 dare to scale. 
 
 The golden-eagle is not nearly so great a foe to the 
 farmer as to the sportsman ; for although a pair, having 
 young ones, will occasionally pounce upon very young and 
 unprotected lambs, and continue their depredations until 
 scared away, their more usual prey consists of hares, black- 
 game, and grouse a fact sufficiently proved by the feathers 
 and bones found in their eyries. A pair used to build every 
 year in Balquhidder, another in Glen Ogle, and a third in 
 Glenartney. The shepherds seldom molested the old ones; 
 but by means of ladders, at considerable risk, took the 
 young and sold them. One of these brought to Callander, 
 not long ago, when scarcely full-fledged, would seize a live 
 cat thrown to it for food, and, bearing it away with the 
 
ON EAGLES. 269 
 
 greatest ease, tear it to pieces, the cat unable to offer any 
 resistance, and uttering the most horrid yells. From the 
 havoc they made among the game, especially when they 
 had young, the keepers in the neighbourhood have been 
 very diligent of late years in searching out the eyries, and 
 trapping the old birds ; so that now, in this part of Perth- 
 shire, there is not one for three nests that there were 
 formerly. 
 
 I recollect, some time ago, an eyrie in Glen-Luss, where 
 a pair hatched yearly ; but since the female was shot, no 
 others have frequented the place. The shooting of this 
 eagle was a service of great danger, and the man who 
 undertook it a most hardy and determined fellow. The cliff 
 was nearly perpendicular, and the only way of access was 
 over the top, where a single false step would have sent 
 him headlong into the gulf below. After creeping down a 
 considerable way, he saw the eagle sitting on her eggs, a 
 long shot off; but his gun was loaded with swanshot, so, 
 taking a deliberate aim, he fired ; she gave one shrill 
 scream, extended her wings, and died on her nest. His 
 greatest difficulty now was, how to avail himself of his 
 success. He was not, however, the man to be balked ; so, 
 at the most imminent risk, he managed to get to the eyrie, 
 tumbled the eagle over the cliff, and pocketed the two 
 eggs. They were set under a hen, but did not hatch. 
 I afterwards broke one of the shells, and was quite 
 astonished at its thickness. 
 
 A fair shot may sometimes be got at the male when 
 there are young ones in the nest, as he will often stoop 
 
270 ON EAGLES. 
 
 down in their defence : at any other time, he is the most 
 shy and wild of birds. I only know of one instance to the 
 contrary, and that was in the depth of a very severe 
 winter, when the creature was rendered desperate by 
 hunger. 
 
 When two eagles are in pursuit of a hare, they show 
 great tact it is exactly as if two well-matched greyhounds 
 were turning a hare as one rises, the other descends, until 
 poor puss is tired out : when one of them succeeds in 
 catching her, it fixes a claw in her back, and holds by the 
 ground with the other, striking all the time with its beak. 
 I have several times seen eagles coursed in the same way 
 by carrion-crows and ravens, whose territories they had 
 invaded : the eagle generally seems to have enough to do 
 in keeping clear of his sable foes, and every now and then 
 gives a loud whistle or scream. If the eagle is at all 
 alarmed when in pursuit of his prey, he instantly bears it 
 off alive. Where alpine hares are plentiful, it is no unfre- 
 quent occurrence, when the sportsman starts one, for an 
 eagle to swoop down and carry it off, struggling, with 
 the greatest ease : in this case, he always allows the 
 hare to run a long way out of shot before he strikes, 
 and is apt to miss altogether. When no enemy is 
 near, he generally adopts the more sure way of tiring out 
 his game. 
 
 The method of the golden eagle in destroying red-deer 
 calves is exactly akin to the reflection of the royston and 
 carrion-crows, when breaking the shells of mussels. After 
 pouncing upon the deer calf, and finding the impossibility 
 
ON EAGLES. 27l 
 
 of bearing it away to a distance, the eagle makes as short 
 work as possible by climbing to a great height in the air, 
 when its victim is dropped, and killed by a dash against 
 the rocky ground. Instantly descending, it feeds vora- 
 ciously, and never leaves off until either completely gorged 
 or driven away. Next day it is pretty certain, about the 
 dawn, to return for the remainder, 
 
 I once witnessed a touching instance of the attachment 
 of an eagle to her young, which, like the child of some 
 bloodthirsty chief, alone had the power to touch the single 
 chord of tenderness and love in the heart of its cruel parent. 
 I had wounded her mortally as she flew from her eyrie, 
 quite unconscious of her having hatched an eaglet. Next 
 day she returned to the foot of the rock, although not able 
 to reach her nest the feelings of a mother being stronger 
 in her savage breast than either the sense of present pain 
 or the dread of further danger. 
 
 There is often only one egg in the nest, but when 
 there are two, one is generally addled. It is a curious 
 fact that, in the year 1847, when there was a dreadful 
 hurricane about the end of April, no eggs were laid in 
 either the sea or golden eagles' eyries of the Black 
 Mount Forest. 
 
 The enormous nests of the golden and sea eagles are 
 pretty much alike ; the outer rim being composed of thick 
 boughs, and the whole not unlike the shape of a large-sized 
 round table. The golden-eagle always has its eyrie among 
 rocks, while the erne chooses an old tree for inland incu- 
 bation. On the bold rocky coast, where suitable trees are 
 
272 ON EAGLES. 
 
 scarce, it follows the example of the mountaineer, and 
 generally builds in the cliffs. 
 
 The colour of the golden-eagle differs very much ; some 
 are so dark as almost to justify the name of " the black 
 eagle," which they are often called in the Highlands ; in 
 others, the golden tint is very bright ; and many are of an 
 even muddy-brown. I do not think that the age of the 
 bird has anything to do with this, as I have seen young 
 and old equally variable. The sure mark of a young one 
 is the degree of white on the tail : the first year the upper 
 half is pure, which gradually becomes less so .by streaks of 
 brown ; about the third or fourth year no white is to 
 be seen, 
 
 THE SEA-EAGLE 
 
 The sea-eagle is rather larger than the golden, and of a 
 lighter brown. The bill, which is longer and broader, but 
 not so hooked as the other, is of a dull yellowish white. 
 The whole of the tail-feathers of the young ones are brown, 
 when they gradually change to white, which is complete 
 about the fourth year the very reverse of the golden- 
 eagle. The tail is also shorter, and the legs are not 
 feathered to the toes, like the other ; but quite enough to 
 show that the bird was not intended to subsist by fishing, 
 like the osprey, whose legs are bare to the thighs, which 
 have only a thin covering of short feathers. 
 
 As this bird does not complete its mature plumage till 
 the fourth season, there was much confusion regarding it 
 
ON EAGLES. 273 
 
 even among scientific naturalists some making out two, 
 and others three distinct species. It has also been con- 
 founded with the bald-eagle of America, to which it bears 
 a close resemblance when both are young that is, before 
 the American is dignified with a grey head, and the erne 
 with a white train. These mistakes have been long ago 
 cleared up, and the bird distinctly traced through all its 
 maturing stages. 
 
 The habits of the sea-eagle differ materially from those 
 of the golden. While the latter has its sole and grand 
 resort in the, Scottish mountains, the former has a very 
 discursive range. It is a constant winter visitant to the 
 Lowlands, and even as far as the south of England. I 
 lately saw a young one shot on the banks of the Thames, 
 and preserved by a bird-stuffer in Henley. 
 
 In the islands and wilder sea-coasts of Scotland, the 
 erne may be met with the whole year, and is much less 
 rare than the national bird. It is also more shy, which 
 may perhaps be accounted for by its oftener coming in 
 contact with man, its most hated foe. 
 
 A cursory glance will show how much more vulture- 
 shaped both the bill and body of the sea-eagle are than 
 those of the mountain one. She also partakes of the nature 
 of the vulture, in having a less dainty palate than the 
 golden-eagle, and, being not near so quick a game- 
 destroyer, is more apt to devour what she does not strike 
 down. Even carrion does not come amiss, especially in 
 winter. Young sea-fowl and flappers are a favourite 
 summer food, and when she builds inland, no more 
 
 s 
 
274 ON EAGLES. 
 
 frequent prey is found in her eyrie than a young wild-duck 
 before it is able to fly. We can thus trace her partiality 
 for the moor-lochan or the sea-coast when choosing a habi- 
 tation for her young it is that she may feed them with 
 the flappers and wild-fowl nestlings so plentifully scattered 
 around, and so easily secured. When this supply fails, 
 she is often fain to content herself with carcasses left upon 
 the inland swamp, or cast up by the tide on the sea-shore. 
 Most likely to prey upon them is the great motive for her 
 winter wanderings when food grows scarce in the wilds. 
 
 THE OSPREY 
 
 The osprey, or water-eagle, frequents many of the High- 
 land lochs ; a pair had their eyrie for many years on the 
 top of an old castle in a small island on Loch Lomond. 
 I am sorry to say I was the means of their leaving that 
 ruin, which they had occupied for generations. 
 
 It was their custom, when a boat approached the island, 
 to come out and meet it, always keeping at a most respect- 
 ful distance, flying round in very wide circles until the 
 boat left the place, when, having escorted it a considerable 
 way, they would return and settle on the castle. Aware of 
 their habit, I went, when a very young sportsman, with a 
 gamekeeper, and, having concealed myself behind the 
 stump of an old tree, desired him to pull away the boat. 
 The ospreys, after following him the usual distance, 
 returned, and, gradually narrowing their circles, the female 
 
THE OSPREY 
 
 at last came within fair distance ; I fired, and shot her. 
 Not content with this, the gamekeeper and I ascended 
 the ruin, and, finding nothing in the nest but a large 
 sea-trout, half-eaten, we set it in a trap, and returning, 
 after two or three hours, found the male caught by 
 the legs. They were a beautiful pair : the female, as in 
 most birds of prey, being considerably the largest; the 
 woodcut is a most correct likeness. The eggs of these 
 ospreys had been regularly taken every year, and yet 
 they never forsook their eyrie. It was a beautiful sight 
 to see them sail into our bay on a calm summer night, 
 
276 ON EAGLES. 
 
 and, flying round it several times, swoop down upon a 
 good-sized pike, and bear it away as if it had been a 
 minnow. 
 
 I have been told, but cannot vouch for the truth of it, 
 that they have another method of taking their prey in 
 warm weather, when fish bask near the shore. They fix 
 one claw in a weed or bush, and strike the other into the 
 fish; but I never saw them attempt any other mode of 
 " leistering" than that I have mentioned: when they see 
 a fish, they immediately settle in the air lower their 
 flight, and settle again then strike down like a dart. 
 They always seize prey with their claws, the outer toes of 
 which turn round a considerable way, which gives them a 
 larger and firmer grasp. Owls have also this power, to 
 enable them with greater certainty to secure their almost 
 equally agile victims ; while the fern-owl has the toe 
 turned round like a parrot, to assist it in the difficult task 
 of catching insects in the air. But if this were the case 
 with the others, although it might be an advantage in the 
 first instance, it would very considerably weaken their 
 hold when prey was struck. 
 
 I remember seeing another pair of ospreys on Loch 
 Menteith that had their eyrie on the gnarled branch of an 
 old tree. They became so accustomed to the man who 
 let boats there that the female never even left her nest 
 when he landed on the island, unless a stranger was with 
 him. Once, when he returned home after a short absence, 
 he saw one of them sitting on the tree, making a kind of 
 wailing cry : suspecting all was not right, he rowed to the 
 
ON EAGLES. 277 
 
 island, and found the female was missing, and the nest 
 harried. They have never hatched there since : the male 
 has been frequently seen, but he has never found another 
 mate. When they had young, they did not confine their 
 depredations to Loch Menteith, but used to go, in quest of 
 prey, to the other lochs in the neighbourhood ; and, in the 
 evening, would fly down the glen, carrying a fish a foot 
 long in their claws. 
 
 The nest of the osprey is lined with coarse water- 
 plants and grasses: the outside fenced with thick sticks, 
 some of them four inches round, and three feet and a half 
 long proof enough of the strength of its legs and wings. 
 The eggs are as large as a hen's, with reddish-brown spots. 
 The osprey is about the size of the herring-gull; the 
 breast nearly white, spotted with brown ; back and wings 
 dull brown; the thighs very muscular; legs and claws, 
 which are of a bluish flesh-colour, equally so. 
 
THE KITE 
 
 ALTHOUGH abounding in the mountainous regions of 
 Scotland, the kite is not confined to them ; I have fre- 
 quently met with it in the Lowlands, and it is common 
 in Wales. To look at the elegance of its form and the 
 grace of its movements, the keenness of its eye, the 
 strength of its wings, and the aptitude of its claws for 
 seizing prey, one would suppose the kite to be a very 
 mischievous bird ; but none of the hawk tribe are less 
 so : even the buzzard, albeit no great adept, is much its 
 superior in the art of destruction. The kite has no 
 quickness of flight, yet is admirably fitted for his mode 
 of life. Subsisting in a great measure on carrion and 
 reptiles, his keen eye and unwearied wing are of the 
 greatest service in discovering his food. Fish, when 
 he can get it, he considers a dainty morsel, and he may 
 be most successfully trapped with this bait. I found 
 out his weak point by noticing the avidity with which 
 he would devour the refuse of the net the day after 
 a draught. I have watched him, with delight, sailing 
 
THE KITE. 279 
 
 aloft with such perfect ease that the only perceptible 
 motion was that of his tail, piloting him like a helm 
 in his aerial circles scrutinising, with his telescopic 
 eye, every field and valley where he might hope to find 
 a prey ; and then, suddenly lowering his flight and less- 
 ening his circles, gradually alight upon some object, so 
 small that it seemed scarcely possible he could have seen 
 it from such a height. 
 
 Indeed, were the sight of the blue falcon and hen- 
 harrier equal to that of the kite, their havoc upon our 
 moors would be much greater than it now is ; but their 
 manner of seeking food is quite a contrast to his. In 
 beating the ground for prey, they, especially the latter, 
 seldom rise higher than twenty yards ; but, when once it 
 is sprung, their activity in pursuit is unrivalled. Per- 
 haps I may here be excused for digressing so far as 
 to mention an anecdote of the blue or peregrine falcon, 
 showing that it will beat game out of the heather, and 
 destroy it on the ground : many, I know, suppose it 
 never strikes but on wing. When out breaking a young 
 dog upon the Perthshire moors, I put up a grouse, which, 
 after flying some distance, was pursued by a blue falcon. 
 The poor grouse, seeing it had no chance, dropped down 
 in the heather ; but it was too late, the hawk was directly 
 above. It immediately alighted, searched the heather for 
 a minute, and presently the grouse fluttered out before it. 
 I saw the chase for about ten yards, when they ran behind 
 a hillock, and on my going up to the place, the falcon 
 rose, and there lay the grouse decapitated. 
 
280 THE KITE. 
 
 But, to return to the kite he is the shyest of birds; 
 not even at the time of incubation can you often get a 
 shot at him. I have frequently found the nests : they 
 are much like the carrion-crow's, only larger and more 
 impervious. They are lined with whatever the birds can 
 pick up such as old stockings, worsted gloves, wool, or 
 indeed anything soft and warm. There are seldom more 
 than three eggs, often only a couple. Kites generally 
 build in the pine forests on the hills, and select a tree, with 
 a thin bare stem, often very difficult to climb. I once 
 concealed myself at the foot of a tree where a kite was 
 sitting, in order to shoot it on its return to the nest for 
 they generally fly off at the most distant approach of an 
 enemy. I was perfectly hid; and, after waiting nearly 
 an hour, had an opportunity of witnessing the tact and 
 cunning of the bird. The sun was shining warm upon 
 the nest, or it would, most likely, not have kept me so 
 long ; at last I saw it flying round in very wide circles, 
 which gradually narrowed : it then lighted upon a distant 
 tree, and peering round in every direction, chose a nearer ; 
 and so on, until it came within three or four trees of the 
 nest. It was now within shot ; but I had unfortunately so 
 placed myself as only to command the nest-tree, never 
 doubting that it would light on this before it settled upon 
 the nest. But I was out in my reckoning ; as soon as 
 it had tolerably reassured itself, it rose perpendicularly 
 in the air, and came down upon its nest like a stone. 
 The manner in which I was concealed prevented my 
 getting a flying shot ; so nothing remained but to fire 
 
THE KITE. 281 
 
 through the nest, which proved a sufficient defence, 
 as the kite flew away, and never returned. A few 
 days after, I climbed the tree with some difficulty, 
 and took two eggs, about the size of a hen's, with dusky- 
 red spots. 
 
OWLS 
 
 THE " hoolet" is generally regarded by the common people 
 with a sort of superstitious awe ; and, indeed, there is that 
 in its nature and habits which is apt to call forth feelings 
 of pleasure or aversion, according to the temper and cir- 
 cumstances of the observer. For my own part, I have 
 always regarded these secluded birds with peculiar favour, 
 whether watching them flitting past in the twilight, with 
 silky spectre-like flight, or reverently listening after night- 
 fall to their melancholy oft-repeated cry. Even the harsh 
 screech of the white owl is not without its charm j it 
 appears to belong to the stillness of the night. 
 
 There are four species of owls which are emphatically 
 British. For although the Snowy Owl has been occasion- 
 ally seen and shot in the Shetland Isles, and the Great 
 Eagle Owl is sometimes met with in the hilly dis- 
 tricts of the North of England, yet they are so rare as 
 scarcely to deserve the name of British birds. At all 
 events, I know nothing of them except from report, and 
 make it my rule never to run the risk of misleading by 
 
OWLS. 283 
 
 borrowed information. The Little Owl, I have been told, 
 occasionally builds near Oxford, but this Lilliputian is quite 
 as scarce as his Brobdignag kin. By our British owls, 
 then, I mean the Tawny or Ivy Owl, the White or Barn 
 Owl, the Long-eared and Short-eared Owls. 
 
 Ever since the old tower of my ancestors has been in 
 ruins, a pair of tawny owls have made their habitation 
 there. When a boy, I never failed to search out their 
 nest, and sometimes tamed one of the young, which was 
 pretty sure to be decoyed away by the parents as soon as 
 it was able to fly. I often saw both father and mother 
 come to their young one in the dusk, sometimes with food 
 in their talons. These young owls were not at all parti- 
 cular what they ate, and devoured greedily raw meat of 
 any kind, as well as fish ; bat I never saw them drink, and 
 when offered water, they showed as much dislike to it as a 
 cat. All day the young owl sat moping, with closed eyes, 
 hissing and snapping his bill if disturbed ; but, about 
 nightfall, his visage became full and staring, and so quick 
 was his sight, that I have only been made aware, by the 
 animation of his solemn face, that the indistinct shadow, 
 barely perceptible, was one of the old ones. 
 
 A pair of white owls were equally constant to a small 
 cave among the precipitous rocks of Inch Tavannach, the 
 most picturesque of the thirty-three islands on Loch 
 Lomond. I have often climbed to this nest by no means 
 an easy task to watch the growth of the young. There 
 were sometimes four or five, whereas the brown owl had 
 seldom more than two or three. Every fine evening the 
 
284 OWLS. 
 
 industrious white owl was to be seen skirting, with noise- 
 less wing, the lawns and fields about Eossdhu, though 
 nearly a mile from the island. I have often admired its 
 expertness. Whenever it saw or heard a mouse, it settled 
 in the air, like the osprey, and then, with its legs hanging 
 down, ready to seize the moment it came to the ground, 
 appeared rapidly to alight on its prey. The ways of the 
 brown owl are different. It does not appear to hunt on 
 the wing, but, perched on the top of the highest tree, hears 
 the slightest rustling among the grass, and instantly 
 descends upon its prey. The grotesquely large head of 
 this bird, which also implies large eyes and ears, are no 
 doubt wise provisions to enable it to see and hear acutely 
 in the darkness from such a height. An instance of the 
 very quick ear of the buzzard once came under my own 
 notice, and is probably still more remarkable in the owl. 
 This buzzard, scarcely full-fledged, was standing, erect as 
 a drill-sergeant, in the midst of a noisy group, all distract- 
 ing his attention, when a field-mouse was let out of a trap 
 among the grass behind him. He listened, wheeled to the 
 right about, instantly detected the little fugitive, and 
 fastened his claw in its back. 
 
 I have been a good deal puzzled by the observations 
 of an ingenious naturalist, which certainly are in direct 
 opposition to my own. This gentleman resolved to see 
 whether some young white owls, in his barn, could remain 
 without food during the long summer day. He watched 
 for about twelve hours, and avers that in that time 
 the old birds fed them a hundred and fifty times. For my 
 
OWLS. 285 
 
 own part, I never saw the white owl hunting in the day- 
 time, and I know a case in point regarding the tawny owl 
 of quite contrary evidence. A pair had reared their brood 
 in a magpie's nest, near the top of a thick pine-tree. I 
 used often to go to look at the young, and thus drove 
 the old ones from their dwelling. They were instantly 
 pursued by a host of small birds, principally thrushes and 
 blackbirds ; and so surely did this happen, that the noise 
 of their chattering was always a signal to me that the 
 owls' nest was disturbed ; whereas, if these owls had 
 hunted for prey in the daylight to anything like the extent 
 above mentioned, the uproar among the little birds would 
 have been almost incessant. A gamekeeper told me that 
 once, when he climbed the tree, one of the old owls darted 
 down upon his head, and scratched him with its claws. I 
 could scarcely give credit to this, as I always saw both 
 birds on the watch when I invaded their castle, but they 
 never attempted any defence. 
 
 When the hen bird was sitting upon her eggs, the male 
 did not take up his quarters so near, for I have frequently 
 seen him in the dusk fly across the bay from the opposite 
 oak wood, and settle upon an aged plane-tree, uttering a 
 low tremulous hoot. This was immediately answered by 
 a sharp scream from his mate, who then left her nest and 
 joined him on the tree. 
 
 Owls hoot all the year, except in the dead of winter ; 
 and even then, should the weather be calm and clear, they 
 continue to mourn through the darkness of the night. 
 During the severe winter of 1831, a fine old fellow, the 
 
286 OWLS. 
 
 very Tamburini of owls, haunted a clump of beeches, and, 
 from one of the bare gnarled branches, I seldom missed 
 hearing his fine tenor voice when I returned late from 
 shooting. It struck me that he would make a first-rate 
 specimen for my collection. As I passed one night with 
 my duck-gun, T heard him in all his glory, so, creeping 
 under the clump, I at last ascertained from which tree the 
 sound proceeded; but to catch sight of the owl seemed 
 impossible. Although he continued his. cry at proper inter- 
 vals, I strained my eyes for ten minutes, until I perceived, 
 upon the very topmost branch, a little knob, I was slowly 
 raising my gun, on the chance of this being my object, 
 when it glided off, plainly showing that I was far more 
 visible to him than he to me. He immediately settled 
 upon another tree, and began to hoot. I was, however, 
 more successful this time, for, upon getting under the tree, 
 I detected him, perched as before, near the top. Taking 
 very deliberate aim, I fired, and the poor owl fell half-way 
 down the tree ; but, being only wounded, he managed to 
 seize a twig with his claws. I threw a few stones to dis- 
 lodge him, but as he was not hit in the wings, he flew a 
 little way and dropped. The night was so dark that I 
 could not find him ; but next morning I went to the spot, 
 and, hearing a great clamour of jays and other birds, I 
 guessed what was the matter, and soon detected my victim 
 lying, persecuted and insulted, at the foot of his tree. He 
 was, of course, at that season, in the finest feather; his 
 back red-brown, like an autumn leaf. I have shot some 
 both early -and late in the season, whose plumage was 
 
OWLS. 287 
 
 quite brown, without any tawny tint. These, I rather 
 think, are the young males and females, but not a distinct 
 species. 
 
 If there is no ruin near, these owls will rear their young 
 in a thick ivy-tree, or take possession of a magpie's nest, 
 provided it is in some dark old fir-tree or cedar. They 
 never construct one for themselves, but lay their eggs in a 
 hole of the wall in ruins or outbuildings, only scraping a 
 little sand or lime upon the stones. I have twice known 
 the tawny owl hatch in the nest of a magpie, but never in 
 any other bird's. The reason probably is, that the nests 
 of crows, rooks, hawks, &c., are all roofless. Once or 
 twice in summer, I have heard the tawny owl hoot in the 
 day-time, but they never continue to do so above two or 
 three times. It has then a most unnatural sound, and is, 
 of course, not nearly so audible or imposing as during the 
 stillness of night. I recollect once, when standing under a 
 tree where an owl was hooting, being struck with the dif- 
 ference of the note from its sound at a distance. Far off, 
 one wonders that so small a bird can emit such a volume 
 of sound. The nearer you come, however, the less the 
 sound appears; but what it loses in strength it gains in 
 clearness and melody, which I suppose is the reason we 
 hear it at such a distance. I have noticed this also in the 
 sounds of other night-birds,* especially the nightingale's 
 
 * The landrail, in the summer nights, is an exception to this rule. The 
 nearer you approach, the more harsh and grating is the vibration of its 
 crake. Not so the cuckoo, as any one will find who has the hap to be 
 under the tree where he is calling, in the dusk of a still summer eve. 
 
288 OWLS. 
 
 song, and the chur of the fern-owl, or night-jar. This last 
 interesting compound of the swallow, the cuckoo, and the 
 owl ? is one of our latest spring arrivals. Its food consists 
 of the larger night-insects ; therefore, unless perched upon 
 a rotten stump, engaged in its sleepy song, it is mostly on 
 wing in pursuit of its prey. Wayward and capricious its 
 movements certainly appear to the solitary dreamer in the 
 gloaming, who sometimes wonders what the bird can mean 
 by its eccentric wheels not considering that it has to 
 follow the fickle multitude of moths and beetles. 
 
 I have often put up the night-jar, when grouse-shooting, 
 and once discovered its pair of unfledged young close to 
 the place it rose from. It frequents rough waste ground, 
 on the borders of cultivation, and is very fond of slopes of 
 bracken hence the name of fern-owl. If found in the 
 heather, there are always copses or woods near, no doubt 
 for the supply of large night-insects they afford. When 
 routed, by daylight, from a ferny dingle or a heathery 
 brae, its flight is more like a leaf driven by the wind, than 
 the spontaneous movements of a bird. Very different is 
 its bearing in the dewy twilight of a cloudless day. It 
 will then fly round the intruder, with a threatening atti- 
 tude, often so near as almost to touch him sometimes 
 settling on the path, within a few yards of his feet. If 
 traced, by its monotonous note, to a favourite perch, upon 
 the branch of a decayed tree, it snaps its wings in taking 
 flight, like a smiter pigeon, uttering a weak plaintive 
 squeak. One that I winged, by opening its capacious 
 mouth, and hissing like a cat, had a most formidable 
 
OWLS. 289 
 
 appearance; but it had no power to hurt even a child. 
 The toes are toothed inside, to enable it to catch moths, 
 cock-chafers, &c., as it seizes prey, like owls, with its feet. 
 If the winter nights are fine, and no moon, ivy owls may 
 often be heard in full chorus at the grey of morning, 
 which is sometimes continued till break of day. They 
 take their station upon a few chosen perches, hooting some 
 time upon each, and return night after night to the same 
 places, whether a favourite tree, ruin, or outbuilding of 
 any kind. Five years ago, I had a pair of tame tawny 
 owls that lived in a tool-house in the garden. They hooted 
 every fine spring and winter night. One was so tame 
 that it always flew against my legs when I brought its 
 food at nightfall. Sometimes it was so dark that I could 
 not see it, but only heard a plaintive wail, and then felt a 
 rush at my feet. If I was later than usual it perched on 
 the balcony, uttering its weak cry. When I placed a bit 
 of meat upon the table, it flew into the room, seized the 
 meat, and, flitting into the darkness again, was no more 
 seen that night. Both of these owls were very fond of 
 earth-worms, and devoured great numbers at a time. If 
 given too much liver, they hid the overplus under a bush, 
 or in a box border, but never covered it up like a fox or 
 dog. Both came every evening at dusk to drink at their 
 water dish, which operation was performed after the man- 
 ner of hens. I have seen them continue sipping at intervals 
 tor ten minutes at a time. After a fall of snow in early 
 spring, I watched both rolling upon it, occasionally taking 
 a small peck, which perhaps served instead of water. I 
 
290 OWLS. 
 
 rather think the tool-house, from being closely shut up, 
 with only two small holes for air, was too hot for birds of 
 such warm plumage hence their thirst. These owls were 
 not of the same brood ; one (the male) was a bright tawny, 
 the other sober brown. After remaining eight months at 
 large, these most interesting pets took their departure 
 about the time of incubation. Their hooting was occa- 
 sionally heard some distance off, but they never returned 
 to their former abode. 
 
 I have now supplied their place by another pair of white 
 or barn owls. They are, however, kept close prisoners by 
 a wire door, which admits plenty of air into the tool-house. 
 The habits of these owls are less nocturnal than those of 
 the ivy ones. They frequently feed in the day-time, but 
 I have never seen them drink, although supplied with 
 water. They do hoot, but very rarely. I heard one six 
 times in succession, and then it ceased. Their music is a 
 little different from the brown owl's. It is only one pro- 
 longed cadence, lower and not so mournful as the first hoot 
 of the tawny fellow. They never utter the second juggling 
 whoop of that owl, at least that I have heard. In fact, 
 the habits of the white owl are to be so constantly on wing, 
 beating hedgerows and fields for mice, that he seldom 
 allows himself time for any nocturnal melody, except what 
 he can utter during his silky flight. This is a most harsh 
 scream, and has rightly dubbed him the screech owl. My 
 tame ones very often give a sort of complaining squeak 
 like a very young pig. This is repeated sometimes for 
 hours. It may be that they are dissatisfied at not being 
 
OWLS. 291 
 
 allowed the free use of their wings. In the day-time they 
 sometimes snore as loud as a plethoric gentleman of the 
 olden time. Some naturalists say that this snoring is the 
 complaint of the young in the nest for food. How conies 
 it, then, that my two old ones, which have as much 
 food as they can consume, are guilty of these nursery 
 manners ? 
 
 I have before noticed that the white owl comes out 
 earlier than the brown, and may frequently be seen hunting 
 for prey whenever the sun's glare is a little mellowed by 
 the first shade of evening. Their eyes, not being so large 
 as the ivy owl's, may collect fewer rays in the darkness, 
 but this is made up by a clearer vision in light. They are 
 evidently more expert mousers than the brown, which may 
 in part account for the latter's destructiveness among 
 young game. I recollect nearly all the young pigeons in 
 my father's dove-cot being harried by a pair of brown owls. 
 It was some months before the robbers were discovered. 
 
 The wings of the ivy owl are not so long in proportion 
 to its body and tail as those of the white ; neither is its 
 flight so buoyant, although equally soft and spectre-like. 
 It is thus less formed for beating a large extent of country 
 for mice, and must often content itself with promiscuous 
 feeding. Mice, on the contrary, seem to be almost the 
 exclusive food of the barn owl ; and he is a lucky farmer 
 whose barn is tenanted by them. Some aver that the 
 young will die unless they have a constant supply of mice. 
 1 have two living proofs against this assertion, which were 
 brought up principally upon raw meat. 
 
292 OWLS. 
 
 A tame white owl supersedes the necessity of a cat. 
 My little boy had one a few years ago kept in the kitchen. 
 Its dexterity in catching mice was the wonder of all who 
 saw it. Once, when a mouse had been troublesome in the 
 night, he darkened the window next morning, and brought 
 up his owl. In a very short time there was a crash, a faint 
 squeak, and the mouse was never heard again. It used 
 sometimes to startle strangers, by coming down upon their 
 shoulders with the noiseless spirit-like flight which enabled 
 it to surprise the mice ; when they looked round they 
 encountered a sage face peering inquisitively into theirs. 
 The top of the wings of white owls are beautifully pen- 
 cilled, and make the best artificial white moths. 
 
 The habits of the long-eared owl are pretty much like 
 those of the white, only it is oftener met with in wild 
 unfrequented places, and is also more apt to perch and 
 rest for awhile, when seeking prey. I have shot them in 
 mistake for woodcocks, flying between me and the sky 
 after nightfall. They skim copses and hedgerows exactly 
 like the white owl, but do not come out so early. I have 
 sometimes put them up in open daylight, out of the 
 heather, where there were neither trees nor rocks. But 
 they are more often flushed from some thick fir-tree, which 
 seems a favourite retreat, especially if surrounded by heath 
 or brushwood. A very fine specimen of this bird was 
 brought me one summer. It had been entangled in a net 
 placed over some seeds, to protect them from the small 
 birds. The mice were also feeding on these seeds, and 
 they of course attracted the owl. It was a beautiful little 
 
OWLS. 293 
 
 creature, with its bright eyes of yellowish red, and small 
 face animated by fear. The cry of this owl is neither so 
 loud nor harsh as that of the white. 
 
 Last summer, I noticed a pair of young long-eared owls 
 at a bird-fancier's in Edinburgh. Thinking that they 
 would be hospitably received and well treated by the 
 possessors of the tool-house, I bought and ceremoniously 
 introduced them to each other. Next morning I perceived 
 the long-ears cowering at the farthest end of the house, and 
 directing timid glances to their host and hostess. Still fancy- 
 ing they would become better friends, I paid no attention, 
 although I saw some brown feathers ominously scattered 
 about. Two nights after, the white ones pecked them both 
 to death ! Such barbarity would have been quite in keep- 
 ing with the unkindly disposition of the hawk ; but one was 
 quite unprepared for it in the sedate and sagacious owl. 
 
 From the small hawk head of the short-eared owl, it 
 most likely hunts on the wing, though I have never seen 
 it search for prey. I have several times started it in the 
 daytime, during autumn and winter, from tangled heathery 
 dells where there are fir or yew trees. Pennant says they 
 arrive in this country in October. My brother-in-law shot 
 one on the Arroquhar Moors shortly after the twelfth of 
 August. It rose out of the heather, and, I believe, was 
 pointed by one of his dogs. I had this bird stuifed. I 
 once pursued another from tree to tree, on Inch Conna- 
 chan, about the beginning of September. It appeared 
 more timid than any of the other owls, and would not let me 
 come within a hundred yards. Mice seemed to have been 
 
294 OWLS. 
 
 its attraction to the island, for I remember that, after it 
 had been planted to some extent, so much injury was done 
 by the mice that a boat-load of cats were imported on pur- 
 pose to destroy them ! There are a few fine old Scotch 
 firs on the island, and out of one of these flew the owl, 
 always winging his way straight to another, quite heed- 
 less of the glaring sun. 
 
 I never heard of the short-eared owl's nest being found 
 in the West Highlands, so conclude it must be a bird of 
 passage there. 
 
 The long-eared owl sometimes rears its young in the 
 Castle Kock of Edinburgh ; one was shot last autumn 
 close to Portobello. The barn owl also hatches every year 
 in Craigmillar Castle, about a mile from the city. The 
 male takes up his quarters during the day in a niche of the 
 old dining-hall. When the curious stranger enters, he turns 
 a sleepy face, and then quietly takes himself off by the 
 hole where a window was. My tame ones always show the 
 same dislike of intrusion during their nap. If I move my 
 head from side to side at their wire door, they at once 
 imitate me most absurdly, and continue to make a pen- 
 dulum of their heads so long as I set them the example. 
 
 On taking possession of my present residence, Sonachan 
 House, Loch- Awe-side, I was much annoyed to find that a 
 colony of ivy owls (whose long abode in the roof might 
 surely have entitled them to nine points of the law) had 
 been shot as vermin by a surly gamekeeper, as a blind for 
 laziness. Had they fallen into my hands, they should 
 certainly have been sacred birds. 
 
WILD PIGEONS 
 
 THERE are four kinds of dove found in a wild state in this 
 country, the largest of which is the ring-dove or cushat, 
 common all over the kingdom. This bird, called also the 
 wood-pigeon, is thought to migrate by many, but, if so, 
 multitudes stay behind. Perhaps one reason for the 
 supposition may be, that numbers congregate in the 
 autumn and beginning of winter, under beech-trees, to 
 feed upon the mast, and when this is all devoured they 
 separate in search of other food. The first signal for the 
 flocking of wood-pigeons is the yellowing of the grain 
 they then choose the ripest part of the field, if possible 
 near the centre, as being least accessible, and generally 
 keep to the same place. When the acorns and beech-nuts 
 fall, they greedily feed upon them, and I have sometimes 
 taken about a dozen large acorns out of the crop of one 
 bird. The flock are certain to return morning and 
 evening to feed under any clump of old beeches in the 
 neighbourhood of their haunts. First one alights, 
 cautiously looking all round then another, and so on, 
 
29(5 WILD PIGEONS. 
 
 until they drop down half-a-dozen at a time. There are 
 often two hundred in one flock. 
 
 By building a wigwam constructed of twigs, and not 
 disturbing the doves afterwards for a week, they will 
 become quite fearless, and feed close to it : my anxiety 
 to shoot a pure white one which made its appearance 
 among the rest suggested this plan to me. Many people 
 saw this rarity and fancied it a tame pigeon. I, however, 
 examined it with my telescope, and plainly saw that it 
 was a white ring-dove. Its size and shape of tail clearly 
 showed this, but the most certain mark was a blue ring 
 instead of the white one. Notwithstanding my efforts, 
 I could not succeed in killing this bird, and only got one 
 random shot, about eighty yards off. 
 
 The sleeping place of this flock was a small belt of tall 
 trees, half a mile from their feeding ground. I constantly 
 saw the white dove perched near the top of one of the 
 highest trees, (another undeniable proof of its wood origin,) 
 and manoeuvred to obtain a shot, but was completely 
 baffled by the wary bird. Should, however, the night 
 resting-place of ring-doves be known, a few may easily 
 be killed by keeping one side of the plantation and sending 
 some one to make a little noise on the other. They will 
 continue flying overhead, quite within distance, until the 
 reports of your gun have driven them all from their 
 retreat. Many a one have I bagged in this way, as I 
 generally gave the pigeon woods a trial when returning 
 home in the evening. A bad shot may have good sport by 
 waiting for them at dusk under these roosting trees. The 
 
WILD PIGEONS. 207 
 
 only caution necessary is, not to move your gun until the 
 birds have assured themselves that the coast is clear and 
 no enemy lurking near. As they drop in singly, each 
 dove peers round in all directions before settling ; whereas, 
 at feed, the first few that alight act as spies to the bevy, 
 the rest heedlessly following. If one should chance to fly 
 up, the whole instantly take wing with a noise like distant 
 thunder. 
 
 When frost and snow set in, the last resource of the 
 ring-dove is the turnip-field. Even in deep snow the 
 turnip-tops are not beyond reach, and are generally its 
 staple food in winter. I rather think these doves never 
 devour the turnip itself, although wild-geese do, and even 
 ducks when pinched with hunger. In a country where 
 there are few turnip-fields, ring-doves are seldom seen 
 in large flocks after the beech-mast is consumed. But 
 in the lowland counties, they continue to resort to them 
 in multitudes until they pair in spring. I could never 
 see any diminution in their numbers, nor signs of migra- 
 tion. When they begin to feed on the turnip-tops, their 
 flesh is bitter and ill-flavoured, but the beech-mast and 
 acorns improve it much. 
 
 Early in February, should the weather be fine and 
 sunny, the ring-dove begins to coo. At first there are 
 only a few low notes in the morning and evening, but 
 very soon this soothing sound is to be heard with greater 
 power from every corner of the coppice. The doves may 
 also be seen rising in the air to a considerable height, and 
 then allowing themselves to fall with outstretched wings, 
 
298 WILD PIGEONS. 
 
 repeating this motion several times, as if in exquisite 
 enjoyment of the genial season. The coo of the ring-dove 
 continues in a less degree during the summer, but chiefly 
 in the morning and evening. They build very early the 
 nests being generally about half-way up the evergreen 
 trees, and composed of a few twigs so loosely put together 
 that you may see through them. Many have two broods 
 in the year, but I should imagine not all at least if we 
 may judge from the decrease of those that coo and soar in 
 summer and autumn. Numbers of branchers scarcely able 
 to fly are to be met with in August and September. I 
 have also found their nests with young in June but most 
 likely these were birds that have had their spring hatching 
 destroyed. The nest of this bird is easily discovered, and 
 most people who have lived in the neighbourhood of 
 hanging woods are familiar with its sudden crash through 
 the branches, when startled from its eggs. 
 
 Five years ago I had some fancy pigeons of various 
 kinds, croppers, tumblers, fan-tails, and carriers. It was 
 a pleasure to feed them every morning after breakfast. 
 One day a ring-dove most unexpectedly appeared, and 
 claimed a share of the barley. At first he was rather shy, 
 but in a week or so became the boldest of the company. 
 For two months, " the stranger," as he was still called, 
 was never once absent at morning feed. He always flew 
 over the wall into the garden where the dovecot was 
 placed. Sometimes, after filling his crop, he lingered with 
 the other pigeons nearly the whole day, but never stayed 
 over night. I had the curiosity to watch him in the 
 
WILD PIGEONS. 299 
 
 twilight, in order to find out his sleeping quarters. After 
 several " doubles," he at last roosted on an old apple 
 pollard in a neighbouring garden, returning every night 
 to the same branch of the same tree. At last he became 
 tame enough to pick grain out of my hand. As he was 
 evidently a bird of the year, I rather think he must have 
 been taken from the nest, and kept in a cage, but, having 
 made his escape, hunger may have forced him to beg a 
 meal. Poor fellow ! His departure was as sudden and 
 mysterious as his advent. We missed him one morning, 
 and he was never seen again. 
 
 The next in size to the ring-dove is the wild pigeon, 
 or stock-dove. Considerable mistakes seem to have arisen 
 about this bird, some fancying it altogether migratory, 
 and others confounding it with the rock-dove, and tracing 
 it as the origin of the domestic pigeon. The habits of the 
 stock-dove are very different from those of the latter. 
 They are always in summer met with in pairs, perching 
 upon old trees, and building their nests in the decayed 
 hollows. I found two myself in the grounds of Park-place 
 in Berkshire, where a few stock-doves flock and roost with 
 the ring-doves every winter. I had several times seen one 
 of the pairs before the hatching time. They were very 
 wild, and flew more rapidly than ring-doves. About a 
 month after, I stumbled upon the nest in the fork of an 
 aged tree. It was only about ten feet from the ground ; 
 and I might have shot the female at any time flying off 
 the other nest was near the top of an ivy-girt birch. 
 These birds, as well as most of the pigeon tribe, lay two 
 
800 WILD PIGEONS. 
 
 eggs, generally a male and a female. Hence the Scotch 
 phrase, when there are only a son and daughter of a 
 family, " a doo's nest." 
 
 The stock-dove is gregarious in winter, like the ring- 
 dove, and feeds on beech-mast, &c., in the same way. 
 They are not found farther north than the midland coun- 
 ties of England. They are beautifully shaped, a blueish 
 grey colour, the males having a fine golden neck. Unlike 
 the other wild pigeons, their voice is a failure, being only 
 a sort of grumbling sound. 
 
 The rock-dove (the true wild pigeon) is smaller than the 
 preceding, and has a white spot above the tail. I have 
 often met with them among the rocky caverns of the coast. 
 They fly with great rapidity, which may account for the 
 name " blue rocks," applied by the admirers of that cruel 
 sport, pigeon -shooting, to their fleetest birds. Both in the 
 Caithness and Morayshire cliffs, I noticed some brown and 
 light-coloured ; these, most likely, had joined their wild 
 associates from some pigeon-house, although there were 
 none within the distance of several miles. This is the 
 more likely, as the habits of the rock-doves are exactly 
 those of the domestic species. Their nests are never fixed 
 in trees, and, when tame pigeons leave the dovecot, they 
 always build in similar places viz., old ruins, and shel- 
 tered rocks and caverns. In fact, I have little doubt they 
 are the same bird in a wild and tame state. 
 
 One word for the turtle, that fairest of doves, and most 
 welcome harbinger of spring. There is a plaintive mur- 
 mur in its coo, connected as it is with the idea of constancy 
 
WILD PIGEONS. 301 
 
 and truth, that has made it in all ages, par excellence^ the 
 bird of love and song. One peculiarity of this gentle 
 creature is its concealing itself among the most imper- 
 vious places of the wood, so that it is not easily seen. It 
 generally builds near the top of thick evergreen trees, and, 
 as it does not come to this country till the end of April, 
 and returns in September, it only rears one brood, taking 
 its journey as soon as the young ones are able to travel. 
 
 On first arriving here, they often frequent the green 
 corn-fields in pairs; at the time of incubation, however, 
 they keep more to the woods, where nothing but the coo 
 betrays their retreat. In some parts of England, I am 
 told, they are gregarious after they have reared their 
 young, and frequent the corn and pea-fields like other 
 doves. But I have never seen above four or five in com- 
 pany. I once traced out one by its coo, and had the satis- 
 faction of seeing him perched on the topmost branch of an 
 old oak, lowering his head at intervals, and pouring forth 
 his tender notes. When partridge-shooting in Suffolk, a 
 pair of turtles rose off the stubble, and settled upon one of 
 the top branches of a high tree. I continued my range in 
 their direction, and killed both at a shot. Neither had 
 the patch on the side of the neck, so were most likely 
 hatched that year. 
 
 Turtles are often met with in the northern counties of 
 England, and are not unfrequently found in Scotland. 
 My brother shot one in Dumbartonshire a few years ago. 
 It was evidently very young. 
 
BOCK AND EIVEE OUSELS 
 
 ALTHOUGH the rock ousel, as his name imports, is fond of 
 rocks and precipices, and commonly builds among them, 
 yet a pair may often be met with haunting ferny brakes 
 with only a few scattered stones, upon which they delight 
 to perch. When disturbed, they fly from stone to stone, 
 uttering a very grating chirp, which seems to be a note of 
 defiance. This summer (1842) a good number of them 
 came down from the hills to the garden at Lennie, and 
 did much damage to the fruit, especially the currants. 
 The gardener shot several, which he brought to me. The 
 ring of the males was very dusky, and in some there were 
 brown feathers interspersed. The females had no white 
 ring at all. They were timid birds much more so than 
 the thrushes and blackbirds, their fellow-depredators and 
 it required some caution to get a shot at them. 
 
 A nest was found in the spring, near the foot of a thick 
 bush, on the bank of a rocky brook. They reared their 
 young ones undisturbed. I think it not unlikely that the 
 greater number of those that frequented the garden in 
 
ROCK AND RIVER OUSELS. 303 
 
 summer were birds of that year, although the crescent of 
 one shot by the gardener, evidently an old male, was far 
 less pure than in spring, and certainly not so fully pro- 
 nounced. A pair had their nest on the crags of Arthur's 
 Seat, a few summers ago, and I often watched them 
 with interest. The crescent in both, particularly the 
 male, was silvery as the moon's, and the birds were not 
 wild. Their song is pleasing, though melancholy. This 
 bird has always been a great favourite with me, most 
 likely from association, for it loves " the unplanted places." 
 
 The little Dipper, or river ousel, is no less attractive. 
 There is a look of loneliness about this little inhabitant of the 
 flood like the solitudes it frequents. Often, in the deepest 
 and most tangled recess of the mountain-burn, or perched 
 upon some gaunt stone by the side of the muirland loch, 
 the water ousel, when disturbed by some chance explorer of 
 nature, will fly cheerily forward, and, re-settling upon the 
 clear water, seems, by the buoyancy of its little movements, 
 to try to impart its happiness to the thoughtful visitant. 
 
 The food of this bird consists of water insects, the 
 roe of fish, &c.; but its bill does not seem formed for 
 seizing the small fry, as the kingfisher does. It is also 
 incapable of feeding at any great depth, from the want of 
 web feet, on which account it generally chooses the shal- 
 lows where the salmon and trout roe is deposited. I have 
 twice seen it feed upon some very minute substance about 
 a foot from the surface, but whether animalculse or not, it 
 was impossible to ascertain. The first time, when after 
 wild-ducks on the river Tay, I saw a motion in a clear 
 
304 ROCK AND RIVER OUSELS. 
 
 still creek, and, when I cautiously peeped over the bank, 
 I discovered the little bird under water, rowing itself 
 both with wings and legs, at the same time pecking at 
 something, apparently with as much ease as a barn-door 
 fowl would devour a handful of grain. It was so intent 
 on its food that I was not perceived for a few seconds; 
 but, on looking up to see if the coast was clear, it saw 
 me at once through the water, rose to the surface and 
 flew away, as with one and the same motion. Another 
 winter, my notice was attracted by just such a ripple in 
 Lennie Water, and again I detected the ousel at his secret 
 meal. The water in both cases was very bright, but, with- 
 out a miscroscope, it could not be discovered whether the 
 delicacies on which it regaled were vegetable substances 
 or some minute water insects. 
 
 In spring and summer these birds generally are found 
 singly or in pairs, but in winter they often congregate in 
 some favoured river, and may then be seen in great num- 
 bers. They do not always select the places where fish are 
 most abundant, as we should imagine from their living so 
 much on the roe. I stumbled upon a newly-flown nest of 
 these birds, when fishing the brook that separates Loch 
 Katrine from Achray, and could easily have caught some 
 of them ; but I rather amused myself by watching their 
 unformed bows and curtseys copied, no doubt, from the 
 parents, who were flitting up and down in great alarm. 
 
 The water ousel is a hardy bird, especially for one that 
 does not migrate in summer; and it is a novelty, when 
 land and water are bound by an iron frost, and, 
 
EOCK AND RIVER OUSELS. 305 
 
 "seized from shore to shore, 
 The whole imprisoned river growls below," 
 
 to hear this little bird, perched upon the frozen mass, 
 strike up its cheerful song. Not another note is then to 
 be heard, which gives it the more imposing effect, like 
 the nightingale at midnight, making dreariness more 
 dreary by contrast. The pipe of this river-minstrel is not 
 unlike the first attempts of the thrush in early spring, when 
 a cold wind a little checks its power. 
 
 A friend of mine had the good hap to shoot a white 
 ousel on the banks of the Clyde. I narrowly inspected it, 
 and could not detect a single dark feather. Legs, beak, 
 and all had exactly the same cream-coloured shade. 
 
 I have several times been fairly cheated by the water 
 ousel, and had a fruitless stalk for ducks through its 
 means. Seated at a distance, upon a small stone, it is 
 often difficult, even with one's glass, not to mistake it for 
 the head, and the stone for the body of a duck. If the 
 ousel does not fly, his motions appear exactly like the duck 
 moving its head. His restless disposition, however, seldom 
 allows him to remain long enough on the stone to keep 
 up the deception, and, generally before commencing ope- 
 rations, you see the duck's head fly off. I have noticed 
 this bird with a large worm in its beak, which it had 
 picked out of the banks of a mossy brook, high among 
 the hills, its summer residence. During the severity 
 of winter, it always prefers larger streams, its favourite 
 food being the spawn of fish, and minute water-insects. 
 
THE SPIKIT OF GLENCBOE 
 
 WHO has not heard of the Pass of Glencroe ? The hills 
 rising perpendicularly on both sides, grey to the top with 
 immense masses of rock, that look as if an infant's touch 
 would roll them from their insecure basis. It was my hap 
 to live for a summer close to this savage gorge. When 
 the weather was dull and rainy, and the clouds hung low 
 upon the mountain-tops, the frowning grandeur of the 
 scene could scarcely fail to depress the most buoyant 
 spirits ; and even when the day was fine and clear, a feel- 
 ing of awe at least was inspired. 
 
 When I first came to the neighbourhood of Glencroe it 
 was in early summer, and, of course, the Scotch mists 
 were thick and frequent ; but, overlooking the greater 
 angling attractions of Loch Lomond and its neighbouring 
 streams, I generally took advantage of the fine days to 
 wander, fishing-rod in hand, up this lonely and favourite 
 strath, to the little moor-loch at its head. 
 
 The " Loch an Rest," so called from being close to the 
 top of the glen, where a stone is set up with the well- 
 
THE SPIRIT OF GLENCROE. 307 
 
 known inscription, reminding the weary wayfarer to " rest 
 and be thankful," does not hold out many inducements for 
 fishing. The trout, although well fed, and of a very 
 uncommon colour, are not large ; and it is most probable 
 that the " lochan," but for its situation, would have been 
 seldom visited by me. After loitering up the glen, where 
 was nothing to relieve the dreariness of the scene but the 
 plaided shepherd, accompanied by his uncouth half wild- 
 looking dog, I generally spent an hour or two in filling 
 my creel, and then slowly retraced my steps. The lochan 
 was immediately under one of the most stupendous preci- 
 pices in the pass, round the base of which the angler must 
 try his casts. 
 
 In desolate regions like this, where the silence is only 
 interrupted by the hoarse croak of the raven, or some 
 qther equally wild inhabitant of the mountains, the slightest 
 sound, which otherwise might pass unheeded, will often 
 arrest the attention. Such was the case with me on my 
 first excursion to Lochan Rest. While screwing together 
 my fishing-rod, I heard a low and peculiar whistle from 
 the precipice above. Fancying it might be some shepherd, 
 I took little notice ; but as the same strange call was 
 repeated at intervals during the whole time I was fishing, 
 my curiosity was somewhat excited ; I strained my eyes 
 along the crags in every direction, but nothing was to be seen. 
 
 A few days after, I again slung my fishing-basket on 
 my shoulder for Lochan Best, and I must confess that the 
 invisible tenant of the cliff had some share in attracting 
 me back so soon. Scarcely had I wet my line, when I 
 
308 THE SPIRIT OP GLENCROE. 
 
 heard the mysterious whistle, which continued as before 
 until I left the loch. I tried to ascertain the exact spot 
 from whence the sound proceeded, but was only the more 
 baffled, as I had no doubt it was from a perpendicular and 
 totally inaccessible rock. At last I became so accustomed 
 to it, that I should as soon have expected to miss the trout 
 from the loch as this wild note from the hill, 
 
 Summer was now advancing, and several engagements 
 prevented my returning to the lochan during my resi- 
 dence in the neighbourhood ; but about the same season, 
 two years after, when showing a friend some of our 
 Highland scenery, amongst other places I took him to 
 Glencroe, and, in walking past the little loch, I almost 
 started when I heard the well-remembered whistle ! I 
 had before given up hope of finding out the cause, and it 
 had even occurred to me that it might possibly be some 
 echo occasioned by the wind among the rocks. With this 
 absurd solution I was fain to rest satisfied; and it was 
 some years after, when passing a steep and craggy hill in 
 Perthshire, that the true one was discovered. A small 
 bird flew out before me, and, perching on a detached piece 
 of rock, struck up its wild peculiar note. It was the 
 Spirit of Glencroe! With cautious steps I wound round 
 the crag to get a nearer view of the bird, when I caught 
 sight of its white breast, and, immediately detecting the 
 rock-ousel^ felt sorry that my charm was dissolved. 
 
 I had once or twice in spring met with this bird 
 on the moors, but had never heard it make any call 
 beyond a harsh grating chirp. 
 
THE SPIRIT OF GLENCROE. 309 
 
 The little incident mentioned above gave rise to the 
 following stanzas, which I may be excused for inserting : 
 
 THE heather-bell was blooming fair, 
 
 And gaily waved the yellow broom, 
 And many a wild-flower bright and rare 
 
 Lent to the breeze its choice perfume. 
 
 But lonely, lonely was the scene, 
 
 Grim rose the heights of dark Glencroe, 
 
 And, though the sunbeam smiled between, 
 They scarce returned a kindlier glow. 
 
 Above me frowned the jutting rock, 
 
 The wimpling burn beside me played ; 
 Around me stared the mountain flock, 
 
 And asked " Who dared their rights invade ?" 
 
 A whistle strikes my startled ear ! 
 
 A pipe of shrillest, wildest tone ; 
 But human footstep, far or near, 
 
 None could I see I stood alone ! 
 
 Still and anon, with every breeze, 
 
 I caught that sound so strangely wild ; 
 And who may tell what visions please 
 
 The wayward mood of Fancy's child ! 
 
 Oft I returned, when skies were fair, 
 
 To ply my fisher's task below, 
 And long the viewless tenant there 
 
 I named the Spirit of Glencroe ! 
 
310 THE SPIRIT OF GLENCROE. 
 
 Once more this thrilling call I heard, 
 
 As far I climbed the misty hill ; 
 Then past me flew a little bird, 
 
 With that same note, so wild and shrill ! 
 
 Spirit I deemed it long, and still, 
 With its white breast and airy form, 
 
 It sat like spirit of the hill, 
 
 Above the cloud, and mist, and storm ! 
 
 There is a stone which marks Glencroe, 
 To weary travellers known the best ; 
 
 It bids them, ere they farther go, 
 Tarry a-while by Lochan Rest. 
 
 Hast thou no message, herald lone, 
 
 Perched on thy lofty turret brow 1 
 " Rest and be thankful," says the stone, 
 Bird of the rocks ! what sayest thou ? 
 
 " Rest to the weary rest for men 
 
 Through earth's dark pass worn wand'rers they- 
 Rest is the Spirit of our Glen, 
 But ah ! that rest lies far away ! 
 
 " 'Tis far away, 'tis far away ! 
 
 Above my watch-tower lift your eyes ; 
 Rest, weary wand'rers, rest ye may, 
 But rest not till you reach the skies ! 
 
LENNIE BUEN 
 
 How many recollections does the name of Lennie Burn 
 arouse ! None that have ever trod those pleasant paths, 
 or threaded the devious track of that enchanting glen, 
 will wonder that memory lingers there with fond delight. 
 The ivied rocks, the fragrant woodbine, and countless 
 varieties of wild flowers, combined with the rare exotics 
 which the hand of art had scattered there, above all, the 
 symphony of the brook gurgling within its rocky bed, and 
 ending with a fall, which, if not so wild as Bracklinn, 
 surpasses it both in height and beauty. Many a sultry 
 summer day have I wandered among these shady walks, 
 listening to the sleepy burn, or watching the little trout 
 suck down an occasional insect from among the myriads 
 flickering about the surface. " The pool," a sort of 
 reservoir, and head-quarters of the burn-trout, always 
 particularly engaged my attention. I soon learned to 
 distinguish every inmate, not only from its size and hue, 
 but also its temper and disposition. Some were shy; 
 others, greedy and tyrannical ; and these several qualities 
 
312 LENNIE BURN. 
 
 were often exhibited so plainly, that we. might learn a 
 lesson even from a fish. 
 
 There was a small pond, formed by an old course of the 
 burn, which, from time to time, was another source of 
 speculation and amusement. It had a constant supply 
 of fresh water from a spring, and although the inhabitants 
 of this little basin were completely imprisoned, yet they 
 were in no want of sustenance, from the bottom being soft 
 and muddy, covered with leaves and decomposed vegetable 
 matter. The place was surrounded by trees, which rained 
 down abundance of flies, caterpillars, &c., for two or 
 three trout, which, no one knows how, had found their 
 way in. 
 
 During the latter end of autumn, and the whole of 
 winter, no sign of life is to be seen in this retired standing 
 pool 5 but about the middle of February, if the weather 
 is mild and the sun warm, a slight shaking noise lets me 
 know that the frogs have awaked from their winter sleep. 
 By peeping cautiously over the bank, screening myself 
 behind the trees, I discover one or two heads above the 
 surface, which, sometimes singly, and then in chorus, 
 emit the tremulous croak which had excited my attention. 
 Should the weather still continue warm, every day adds 
 to the number of heads, and the spawn rapidly accumulates 
 in a shallow corner of the well. The croaking is now so 
 loud as to be heard at some distance, not merely from the 
 increase of voices, but that each note acquires double force, 
 the more warm and genial the day. When the cold 
 returns, as in our springs it is so apt to do, many of the 
 
LENNIE BURN. 313 
 
 frogs seek their winter covering, and the croak of those 
 that remain dwindles into a faint treble, instead of their 
 full diapason. A touch of frost will cause all the frogs to 
 disappear, and make the top of the spawn as white as an 
 oyster. But the first warm sun and mild air brings them 
 to the surface again, and restores the spawn to its original 
 colour. It is then most curious to observe their gam- 
 bols, jumping and tumbling about like boys at leap-frog 
 and no doubt the origin of this favourite game of the 
 play-ground. After a time the frogs all leave the pool, 
 and little black eggs are formed in the spawn, which 
 gradually increase in size until little tadpoles emerge. 
 
 But now a more interesting visitor may sometimes be 
 seen. The first burst of spring has brought into life 
 the earlier insects, and with them the subtle active 
 trout. In this little pond I have counted three; two 
 of them very small, the other about six inches long. 
 My attention was first directed to them one fine July 
 evening, when I saw what appeared to be fish rising. 
 I crept forward, and soon perceived the larger trout 
 amidst a crowd of summer insects, some buzzing about the 
 surface, and others settling upon it. He was sucking 
 them down lazily and at intervals, like a finished gour- 
 mand at a satisfactory dinner. But here the resemblance 
 ends; for, upon my stepping forward, he darted to the 
 other side of the tank, with a celerity very unlike 
 the respected gentleman aforesaid when leaving his 
 ample board. In my evening walks I seldom omitted to 
 take a peep at the little pond, and soon discovered that 
 
314 LENNIE BURN. 
 
 my spotted friend was not solitary ; and one or other of 
 them was almost always to be seen during the season. 
 
 Spring came round again, and I resolved to watch the 
 first appearance of these trout. Accordingly, as soon as 
 I noticed fish rising in the streams, I went to the pond 
 several times a-day. It was not, however, till the begin- 
 ning of April that I perceived the largest trout looking 
 very heavy and dull, but making no attempt to feed. I 
 watched it for a quarter of an hour, when, contrary to its 
 usual custom of darting among the bushes at the opposite 
 side for a hiding place, it sunk down among the leaves and 
 mud, head foremost, like an eel. The manner of its passing 
 the winter was now evident, and as the evening was chilly, 
 it had again sought the warmth of its muddy quarters. 
 
 A third inmate of this little pool excited my curiosity 
 and interest more than either of the others. During the 
 warm summer nights several large eels were constantly 
 disporting among the soft mud, particularly after rain. 
 Each had its corner of the pond, and they seldom invaded 
 the other's territories. They were five in number; two 
 rather larger than the others, one of them a yellowish 
 green, the other a dark brown ; indeed they were all of 
 different hues, and the shade of their colour was my first 
 distinguishing mark. This leads me to suppose that fish 
 do not always take their colour from that of the water, or 
 from the quality of the bottom. I know it is often the 
 case, especially with trout, and I have seen fish caught on 
 a mossy soil, nearly black, while those taken on a clear 
 golden sand were bright yellow, though in the same loch. 
 
LENNIE BURN. 315 
 
 But to return to my friends, the eels. It was nothing 
 uncommon to see several of them peeping out of a 
 separate retreat in their own premises. The head of 
 one perhaps from behind a decayed leaf, the whole body 
 of another laid alongside a piece of stick, which it so 
 nearly resembled as to be scarcely distinguishable. 
 Indeed it required some practice to perceive them at 
 all, and I have been nearly a minute before discovering 
 one, though several were in sight. Having _ some 
 curiosity to find out whether any more eels would get into 
 this place should the original occupants be taken away, 
 I, by means of a hook and strong gut-line, at different 
 times pulled out the whole five. They took the bait 
 readily, but it was rather difficult to hook them, as they 
 held it for some time across their mouth without swallow- 
 ing, after the manner of pflke. I observed that these eels 
 were more shy than those I had taken in lochs and rivers, 
 but in excellent condition. They were never replaced, how- 
 ever, during the time that I had opportunity of watching. 
 The trout remained unmolested, and seemed also to thrive. 
 
 During sultry weather, the eels often rested the lower 
 part of their bodies on the mud, and raised their noses 
 to the top of the water ; when in this position they had 
 a very serpent-like appearance, and might have been 
 easily mistaken for snakes. I never saw this done by- 
 eels before, but, if noticed in the like attitude by a Loch- 
 Lomond sage, it might, perhaps, account for one of the 
 three wonders ascribed to that water, viz. : Fish without 
 fins, waves without wind, and a floating island. 
 
THE MOUNTAIN- FOX 
 
 OCCASIONALLY, while ranging for roes, the hounds come 
 on the track of a hill-fox ; they will then show even more 
 than their usual keenness, and open with greater ardour. 
 As the same passes often serve for both, the roe-hunter has 
 sometimes an opportunity of shooting this wily destroyer. 
 Such a chance only occurs when prey is scarce on the 
 mountains, and he leaves them to seek it in the woods 
 below ; I therefore do not recommend having a charge of 
 smaller shot in one barrel a plan adopted by some. 
 
 Any one who sees the hill-fox bounding along within 
 fair distance, will immediately be struck with the difference 
 of his appearance from that of the small cur, which never 
 leaves the low grounds. The mountain-fox is a splendid- 
 looking fellow : even the sneaking gait of the enemy of 
 the poultry-yard has, in a great measure, left him; he 
 seems to feel that he breathes a freer air, and lives by more 
 noble plunder. He is extremely destructive to all game 
 within his range, and the havoc he makes among the hill- 
 lambs is a serious loss to the farmer. He will also not 
 
THE MOUNTAIN -FOX. 317 
 
 unfrequently attack and destroy full-grown sheep. To 
 prevent the increase of these freebooters, a man is appointed 
 for each district of the Highlands, called " the fox-hun- 
 ter," whose business it is to search out and destroy the 
 young litters, in which he is ably seconded by the farmers 
 and shepherds. 
 
 The place selected by the mountain-fox for rearing its 
 young is widely different from that of his pigmy relation 
 of the Lowlands. Unlike the latter, who chooses an old 
 badger-earth or drain, in the midst, perhaps, of a pheasant 
 preserve, the hill-fox prefers some wild and craggy ravine 
 on the top or side of a mountain, far removed from the 
 haunts of men. In spring, these places are all narrowly 
 searched by the shepherds, and the den (for you cannot 
 call the clefts of the rock an earth) often detected by the 
 quantities of wool, feathers of grouse, &c., scattered about 
 the entrance. These are the remains of prey brought to 
 the young ; for as soon as they are able to eat flesh, the 
 old ones leave them during the day, bringing them food 
 morning and evening. 
 
 When the litter is discovered, " the fox-hunter" is 
 brought into requisition (who often at this time has more 
 calls than he can answer) ; his terriers are sent into the 
 den, and the young massacred; a watch is then set to 
 command a view all round, in order, if possible, to shoot 
 the old ones when they return. I have been told by 
 people thus employed, that they had no idea of the prover- 
 bial cunning of the fox until they saw it shown upon such 
 occasions. Although the place has been perfectly bare, 
 
318 THE MOUNTAIN-FOX. 
 
 the old ones have come unperceived within ten yards of 
 the party, and were at last only discovered by the straining 
 of the <}ogs on the leash. I have often heard the watchers 
 say, that the ease with which " the tod" avoids their 
 faces, and skulks behind their backs, is most surprising. 
 If the foxes escape the guns, as they commonly do, " the 
 streakers"* are slipped upon them, and, if not then run 
 down, nothing remains to be done but again to set the 
 watch. So long as the old ones are prevented from enter- 
 ing, they will return morning and evening for several 
 days ; but, should either of them get access, and miss the 
 young, they come back no more. At those times of the 
 year when there are no litters, the usual way of hunting 
 is to place a man, with a streaker or greyhound ready to 
 slip, upon the tops of the neighbouring hills ; the fox-hun- 
 ter then draws all the correis, crags, &c., where they 
 prowl. Should Reynard be started, he is almost sure to 
 take a course over the top of one of the hills where the 
 men are posted. He comes up all blown, and, if observed, 
 (which, I must say, is seldom the case,) has a fresh streaker 
 slipped upon him, which ought to run him down. 
 
 I may here give an account of a hunt I had with one of 
 my brothers, after as fine a mountain-fox as ever prowled 
 upon the wild moor. We had gone on a roe-hunting 
 expedition to a high and steep hill in Dumbartonshire, the 
 lower part of which was a larch and oak copse, the centre 
 a large pine-wood, and the top covered with long heather. 
 
 * A breed between the largest size of greyhound and foxhound. Some 
 of them are swift, very savage, and admirably adapted for the purpose. 
 
THE MOUNTAIN-FOX. 319 
 
 After choosing our passes between the pinewood and 
 copse, we sent a first-rate old hound to draw the latter ; 
 scarcely had it been in the cover ten minutes, when it 
 opened upon a cold scent, and continued puzzling for a 
 considerable time. As this was not its wont when upon a 
 roe, we half suspected a fox : presently the scent warmed, 
 and in a short time the hound opened gaily. Our hopes 
 were high, as it came straight in the direction of our 
 passes. In a moment I heard my brother fire : and the 
 baying of the hound ceasing shortly after, I concluded the 
 shot had taken effect, and walked off to see what he had 
 killed. When I had gone a little distance, I met him 
 running and calling to me to get into my pass again, as he 
 had shot at an enormous fox in the thickest part of the 
 cover ; and as it had doubled back, which had occasioned 
 the check, it would most likely try my pass next. I 
 wheeled about at full speed, and arrived just too late for a 
 deadly shot. When within seventy yards of the pass, the 
 fox was bounding over the stone wall that divides the 
 copse from the pine-wood, and presenting his broadside, a 
 very distant but clear and open shot. I discharged both 
 barrels, and watched narrowly to see if he was hit ; the 
 ground was level for a short way, and no abatement of his 
 speed was perceptible ; but as soon as he began to climb 
 the hill, a labouring motion at once told that one of us had 
 wounded him. Without stopping to load, I ran to see if 
 there was blood upon the grass, and when thus engaged, 
 the hound, which had recovered the track, came up full 
 cry. I had no choice left but to breast the hill, and, if 
 
320 THE MOUNTAIN-FOX. 
 
 possible, keep within sound of the dog. Panting and 
 breathless, I could hear the bay more and more distant, 
 and was just beginning to fear that the fox's object was 
 the savage ravines of Glen-Douglas, when it ceased on a 
 sudden. Encouraged by the hope that he might be run 
 down, I redoubled my exertions, and after scrambling a 
 mile and a half from where I fired, saw the hound at check, 
 at the top of the pine- wood where it joins the heather. I 
 made several unsuccessful casts above ; and then, thinking 
 that, unable to climb the hill, he had returned to the 
 shelter of the wood, I was making a circle below, when he 
 sprang out of the heather, not thirty yards off, and ran 
 straight down the hill, his lagging and staggering gait 
 showing that he had got his death-wound. I would now 
 have given a good deal had my gun been loaded ; but not 
 a moment was to be lost, as the hound viewed the fox, and 
 was again full cry. I dashed over stock and stone, but 
 it was not long before there was another pause in mid 
 career. When I came up, the ground was perfectly bare, 
 not a furze-bush to cover a rat, and the hound completely 
 at fault. I had just taken out my powder-flask to load, 
 when, from no other concealment than the bare stem of a 
 fallen fir-tree, the fox a second time burst out, as fair a 
 shot as I could wish. The hound was close to his brush, 
 so back went my powder-flask into my pocket, and I 
 rushed down the steep with reckless desperation. The bay 
 became fainter and fainter ; my head grew dizzy ; I had 
 run a distance of three miles on one of the steepest hills in 
 Scotland, and had just given up hope of another check, 
 
THE MOUNTAIN -FOX. 321 
 
 when I heard a woodman's axe. More by signs than by 
 words, I made him comprehend that he must follow the. 
 dog as long as he was able ; sat down to rest for a moment, 
 and then loaded my gun. No sound was now to be 
 heard ; the whole wood seemed as if it had never been dis- 
 turbed, I shouldered my gun, and was proceeding, as I 
 thought, in the direction of the chase, when I met my 
 brother, who had from the first taken a different route, in 
 order to intercept the fox at another point. We proceeded 
 together in search of hound and woodman, but for a long 
 time unsuccessfully. At last we thought of returning to 
 the place where I first found him at work. Our delight 
 may be imagined, when we saw the hound tied up, the 
 woodman smoking his pipe, and the fox lifeless on the 
 ground, a perfect monster. The man's account was, that 
 after following a considerable way, and being nearly dis- 
 tanced, there was a sudden check ; when he came up, he 
 found the fox dead, the hound standing over him, without 
 having touched a hair he had run till his heart was 
 broken. We sent this magnificent fox \o be stuffed at 
 the College Museum, Glasgow. Those who had charge of 
 it told us they had never seen one nearly so large, and 
 many who came on purpose to see it were equally asto- 
 nished at its size. It is now in my possession; and the 
 woodcut shows most correctly the difference between it 
 and a very fine specimen of the poultry-fox, shot in my 
 brother's preserves. The brush of the larger fox is not 
 longer than that of the smaller, and less white on the 
 tip, but it is uncommonly thick and bushy. He slands 
 
322 THE MOUNTAIN-FOX. 
 
 very high upon his legs, which are exceedingly muscular ; 
 his head is very broad, and his nose not nearly so peaked 
 as the other's; his coat is also much more shaggy, and 
 mixed with white hairs an invariable mark of the hill-fox, 
 and which makes his colour lighter and a less decided red 
 than the fox of the Lowlands. 
 
THE WILD-CAT 
 
 THE wild-cat is now rare in this country. Although I 
 have spent a great part of my life in the most mountainous 
 districts of Scotland, where killing vermin formed the 
 gamekeeper's principal business, and often my own recrea- 
 tion, I have never seen more than five or six genuine wild- 
 cats. Many, on reading this, will perhaps wonder at my 
 statement, and even give it a flat contradiction, by alleg- 
 ing the numbers that have come under their own notice. 
 Nay, I was even gravely told by a gentleman from the 
 south of England, -a keen observer and fond of natural 
 history, that there were wild-cats there,* and the skin of a 
 cat killed in one of the southern counties was sent to me as 
 a proof; this, I need hardly say, was the large and sleek 
 coat of an overgrown Tom, whose ancestors, no doubt, had 
 purred upon the hearth-rug. 
 
 * I have been frequently assured that wild-cats have been killed on the 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland hills ; but, never having seen any speci- 
 mens, I cannot speak from my own knowledge. There is no doubt that 
 martens exist in some of the most hilly and wooded districts of England. 
 
324 THE WILD -CAT. 
 
 I am far from meaning that there are no cats running 
 wild in England ; of course, wherever there are tame cats, 
 some of them, especially the very old ones, will forsake 
 their homes, and live by plunder in the woods. These 
 may also breed ; but their progeny, though undomesti- 
 cated, will always be widely different in habits, in appear- 
 ance, in strength, and in ferocity, from the true cat of the 
 mountains. I have seen no less than thirty of these 
 naturalised wild-cats trapped in a year in a single pre- 
 serve in the Highlands ; * some of them might have been 
 mistaken for the genuine breed. The colour in both was 
 pretty much alike, but there were other points which 
 clearly showed their domestic origin. They were, in fact, 
 a cross between the wild and tame cat. I have seen many 
 of this kind stuffed in museums and collections, as fine 
 specimens of the wild-cat, and believed to be so even by 
 those who might have known better. 
 
 The unerring marks of the thorough-bred species are, 
 first the great size, next, the colour, which does not vary 
 
 * The mischief done to game even by the house-cat, especially if half- 
 starved in the cottages of the poor, may be shown from the admission of a 
 witness whose evidence will not be doubted. A friend of mine had shot a 
 large cat in a covert adjoining the cottage of an old woman, and, being 
 rather pleased at ridding the preserve of such an enemy, was carrying it 
 too ostentatiously past her door. She banged out in a fury, demanding 
 " how he daur'd to kill the best cat in a' the country T He replied that 
 " wandering cats were never of much use for mice." " Mice ! Wha's 
 speakin o' mice, or rats aither 1 There was scarcely a day she didna 
 bring in a young hare or a rabbit or a patrick. Use ! It wad be some- 
 thin' to be prood o', if thae ill-faured brutes o' dogs o' yours were half as 
 usefu 1 ! ! " 
 

THE WILD -CAT. 825 
 
 as in the domestic animal, but is always a dusky grey, 
 brindled on the belly and flanks with dingy brown 
 hair long and rough, the head exceedingly broad, 
 ears short, tusks extremely large. Another very distin- 
 guishing point is the great length and power of the limbs. 
 It stands as high as a good-sized dog. But perhaps the 
 most unfailing mark of all is the tail, which is so long and 
 bushy as to strike the most careless observer. In the 
 males it is generally much shorter than in the females, but 
 even more remarkable, being almost as thick as a fox's brush. 
 The woodcut is taken from the largest female that has 
 ever been killed in Dumbartonshire, and most correctly 
 shows the difference of its size from that of a full-grown 
 house-cat. It was trapped on the banks of Loch Lomond 
 in the depth of winter, having come down to the low 
 ground in quest of prey. The bait was half a hare, hung 
 on a tree, the trap being set immediately under. The 
 person who went to inspect it thought, when at a little 
 distance, that a yearling lamb was caught. As he came 
 near, the cat sprang up two or three feet from the ground, 
 carrying the large heavy trap as if scarcely feeling its 
 weight. He would have had great difficulty in killing it, 
 had he not dodged round the tree when aiming a blow. I 
 have seen two males bearing the same proportion to this 
 specimen, both in size and fierceness of aspect, as an old 
 half-wild Tom to a chimney-nook mother Tabby. One of 
 these was shot by a gamekeeper, when on a grouse- 
 shooting expedition, in a very remote range; the other 
 was trapped near the top of a high mountain. 
 
326 THE WILD -CAT. 
 
 Except in the depth of a very severe winter, the wild- 
 cat seldom leaves its lone retreat. Nothing comes amiss 
 to it in the shape of prey ; lambs, grouse, hares, are all 
 seized with equal avidity. The female fears nothing 
 when in defence of her young, and will attack even man 
 himself. She generally rears them in rocky clefts and 
 precipices. I saw a couple of young ones that were 
 killed in one of the mountain cairns ; they were nearly 
 as large as a house-cat, although not many weeks old. 
 It was curious to see their short tails, and helpless, 
 unformed kitten look, contrasted with their size. Several 
 attempts were made to shoot the old one, but she was 
 never seen ; probably, upon missing her young, she for- 
 sook the rocks. 
 
 The wild-cat has seldom more than three or four young 
 ones at a time often only two. 
 
 A sad and rather romantic story in connection with the 
 wild-cat occurred about seven years ago, in the neighbour- 
 hood of my residence at that time. The farmer of Ben 
 Ledi had detected some young wild-cats among the massy 
 precipices near the top of that sublime mountain. One 
 morning, after desiring his family to tell his brother (who 
 was expected from Edinburgh on a visit) that he would be 
 back in the afternoon, he left his home and wound his way 
 up to the rocks of the wild-cats' den. Not appearing at 
 nightfall, they became much alarmed, and arranged a party 
 to search the mountain at break of day. As he had said 
 something about destroying the^ wild-cats, they determined 
 first to seek him there. Within a short distance of the 
 
THE WILD -CAT. 327 
 
 precipice they at once saw him seated on a rock quite 
 dead ! His shepherd's staffj with his gully-knife tied on 
 the end of it, was lying by his side, and a full pinch of 
 snuff between his fingers. They traced a stream of blood 
 to the wild-cats' rock, and upon looking at the knife it was 
 dyed red also. The whole was soon apparent. The farmer, 
 in endeavouring to stab the cats with his spear-knife, had 
 stnmbled upon it, and divided the femoral artery. His 
 first natural impulse was to run home ; but immediately 
 getting faint, he had attempted to refresh himself with a 
 pinch, when his hand fell powerless for ever. The man's 
 face was familiar to me : I had often exchanged with him 
 the friendly greeting when rowing up Loch Lubnaig for a 
 few hours' fly-fishing ; and I could hardly realise that he 
 whom I had seen working at his peats a few days before, 
 in full health and vigour, was now stiff and cold as the 
 rocks of his mountain. The lesson was strange and start- 
 ling, that he who had prepared the weapon of death, should 
 so suddenly have perished by it himself. Full of life's 
 hopes and cares, with an eye undimmed and his natural 
 force unabated, he had gained the ridge of the Hill of 
 God,* there all unwarned and unattended to die. 
 
 * Ben Ledi signifies in English " the hill of God ; " and, I believe, 
 takes its name from the old tradition of pilgrims crossing the mountain 
 to sacrifice on the other side. 
 
THE MAETEN 
 
 THIS beautiful connecting link between the fowmarte* and 
 the cat is not a native of this country. It was imported, I 
 believe, from America, and is pretty generally dispersed 
 over the wild and wooded districts of Scotland. It has 
 none of the offensive odour of the fowmarte, and even more 
 alertness and activity than the cat. Kunning at a little 
 distance, it looks exactly like a giant weasel. In some the 
 breast is nearly white, whilst in others it is a bright orange, 
 which has given occasion to the supposition that they are 
 varieties of the species ; but I have no doubt they are the 
 same. Of the many I have seen trapped or shot, I always 
 remarked that the male was darker in the colour, and his 
 breast almost white ; that of the female was orange, and 
 the fur lighter brown. I had a male and female stuffed 
 that were trapped together at the same bait, exactly 
 answering to this description. 
 
 When pursued, the marten, although its legs are so short, 
 can run faster than a cat ; this it does by a succession of 
 
 * A conniption from the Teutonic ful, fetid, and merder, a marten. 
 
THE MARTEN. 329 
 
 springs, for which its long body gives it a great advantage. 
 As a last resource, it will climb trees, and spring from one 
 to another like a squirrel. I once, with two or three 
 companions, had a curious hunt of this kind. The marten 
 had been driven by a very swift terrier into a clump of 
 pines, which it so nearly resembled in colour that we had 
 great difficulty in keeping sight of it. At last we thought 
 of cutting off its retreat by climbing all the adjacent 
 trees : the creature showed great coolness when thus 
 driven to extremities, awaiting the approach of its 
 enemy, perched on the pinnacle of the tallest pine; and 
 it was only when one of our party got quite close, that it 
 sprang from the top to the bottom of the tree, rebounding 
 nearly a yard from the hard turf, just where I was stand- 
 ing, and, not a whit disconcerted, darted off at full speed, 
 gained a precipice, and made good its escape. 
 
 Unless hard pressed, however, the marten is more apt to 
 go to earth, or take refuge in the clefts of the rocks, than 
 upon trees. When run to ground by a fox-hound, there is 
 no creature more easily smoked out it will bolt almost 
 immediately ; and numbers are killed in this manner, 
 although, from the quickness and uncertainty of its exit, 
 it is anything but an easy shot. 
 
 When in quest of prey, it is daring as well as mis- 
 chievous ; not so apt to leave its secure fastness in the day- 
 time, but under cover of darkness it will travel many miles, 
 committing great devastation in preserves; and unless 
 trapped or shot, will return night after night to the poultry- 
 yard, killing many more fowls than it devours. One of 
 
330 THE MARTEN, 
 
 these pilferers had nearly made a clear sweep of my 
 father's poultry : it kept peering over the perch with the 
 greatest impudence, and could scarcely be driven thence 
 by the dairymaid: no sooner was she out of sight than it 
 would return. The farm-overseer at last procured a trap, 
 and having set it without art or covering, the loud screams 
 of the robber presently made known his capture. 
 
 The marten generally selects a magpie's nest in the 
 thickest pine-tree, and there rears its young ; hence it has 
 obtained the name of pine-weasel. One, however, in the 
 Black Mount, had the impudence to select royal quarters for 
 its progeny, and to take possession of the eagle's castle. 
 The forester having reason to think that the bird was sitting 
 hard, peeped over the cliff into the eyrie. To his amaze- 
 ment, a marten was suckling her kittens in comfortable occu- 
 pancy. As he had a fair look down, he watched them for 
 some time, intending to return in a few days with his gun. 
 When he did so, the martens, old and young, had left the nest, 
 and no trace of them was to be found. Another was brought 
 me that had its litter in the thatch of an old barn ; it was 
 detected by a dog, driven out, and shot. The young were 
 rather smaller than kittens, and quite as sweet and clean. 
 
 If seized by the breast, the marten, like the cat, is 
 easily killed by a good dog; but the skull is so hard 
 that I have seen one, when released from a trap with all 
 its legs broken, roll away upon the ground, after receiving 
 half-a-dozen hard blows on the head from the keeper's 
 cudgel. This animal, being easily trapped or run down, 
 is not nearly so numerous now as it was some years ago. 
 
THE OTTER 
 
 THIS eccentric creature is so much hidden from notice, 
 partly owing to its resources for concealment lying both 
 in land and water, that its habits are not much observed, 
 although it is so generally distributed throughout the three 
 kingdoms. It excites greater attention on the rocky 
 coasts from being occasionally hunted there. In the 
 west Highlands, especially, many of the resident pro- 
 prietors pique themselves on the excellence of their 
 otter-terriers. Some few keep hounds for the purpose, 
 but the terrier is a very good substitute in these wild 
 districts, and of course far more easily procured. 
 
 A good otter-hunt is a very curious sight, and from 
 being able for the most part to see the dogs, and keep up 
 with them, the interest seldom flags. In the Lowlands 
 and Border counties of England, where otters are not so 
 numerous, the fowmarte is often hunted instead with 
 otter-hounds. I was told by a subscriber to a Cumber- 
 land otter-pack, that they had once run a polecat twelve 
 miles from the place where they found his cold drag, and 
 
332 THE OTTER. 
 
 that a six or seven miles' chase is nothing uncommon. 
 It must have taken the fowmarte nearly the whole night 
 to have travelled this distance, and he is generally snug 
 in his retreat many hours before the hounds are even laid 
 on his track. A true otter-hound will, however, catch the 
 scent immediately, if his game has been on the ground 
 or in the river the previous night. The real breed, sup- 
 posed to be a cross between the old English hound and 
 a rough terrier, is very rare. They have shaggy coats 
 of coarse wiry hair, but smooth heads and ears ; in 
 fact, a hound's head with a rough coat fit for the water. 
 Most that we see now are either altogether rough or 
 smooth. There is no dog more takes my fancy than 
 one of these ancient thorough-bred otter-hounds. His 
 weird look of hoar antiquity always associates him with 
 " grisly eld ; " and his characteristic method of working 
 his amphibious quarry adds to the interest his appearance 
 creates. 
 
 Terriers are best in rocky cavernous places, and seldom 
 fail to make the otter bolt if they can get near him. 
 From the abundance of prey, these sea-haunting otters 
 grow to a great size ; inland ones frequenting heavy 
 dead water, where fish abound, are often large also. A 
 remarkably fine specimen of a fresh-water otter was 
 trapped a few winters ago on the Thames, above Henley, 
 by a keeper who sold him to me for a trifle. About as 
 large a dog-otter, though not in such sleek order, was run 
 down by the Duke of Atholl's otter-hounds last summer. 
 The difference of condition in these otters, no doubt, arose 
 
THE OTTER. 333 
 
 from the sluggish Thames being better suited to their 
 nature than the rapid Tay. But both these river-poachers 
 were completely thrown into the shade by a pirate from 
 the rocks of Skye. This splendid creature was shot last 
 spring by an English gamekeeper on the coast of that 
 island. At first sight, I fancied it one of the monsters 
 from the American lakes. 
 
 Otters are always pretty plentiful on Loch Lomond, 
 and some heathery rocks full of treacherous hollows, close 
 to the water, on Inch Connachan, are called " the otter 
 rocks," from the otters rearing their young among them 
 every year. One of the island game-watchers, a few 
 summers ago, saw an old female, followed by two young 
 cubs, swim from these rocks to Inch Fad, a distance of 
 two miles. The day was very calm, and the dam swam 
 slowly to accommodate her young. In an old chan- 
 nel of the Finlass Burn, a pair were often to be seen 
 in summer disporting in the pool, nearly tepid from 
 the heat of the sun. They seemed to be enjoying a 
 warm bath. 
 
 The otters seldom frequented Rossdhu Bay till the autumn 
 floods, when their sputtering blow was heard in the moon- 
 shine. Thomas A'thing, from marks of his own discovery, 
 always knew when they were there, and the odds were 
 that he secured them and sold their jackets before the week 
 was out. I recollect a very large one that carried his trap 
 into the deep for Thomas, like a knowing otter-trapper, 
 never fastened it. A heavy rain all that night, and next 
 day, raised the loch, and prevented him from looking for 
 
334 THE OTTER. 
 
 it. When the weather cleared he found his trap gone, 
 and no float in the water to mark where it was. Phleg- 
 matic Thomas immediately knew that the string was 
 too short, from the loch being so high, so he u con- 
 sulted his raison, "" settled where the trap should be, 
 kept his secret till the loch grew less, then returned and 
 found the float within ten yards of the spot he had 
 calculated, and the otter fast in the trap at the bottom of 
 course drowned. 
 
 One day in July, when going to fish, I perceived an 
 otter perfectly still on the top of the water in Loch Ven- 
 nacher. It was a good way from the shore, and just 
 opposite some steep rocks, where the black deep water 
 was much frequented by salmon. It seemed on the watch 
 like a cat, and it occurred to me that possibly it might be 
 looking out for the rise of a fish, after the manner of seals. 
 The renter of a stake-net fishery told me, that once, when 
 watching the gambols of a large salmon, a seal put up its 
 head at the distance of a mile, swam up in an incredibly short 
 time, and caught the salmon. The seal has this advantage 
 over the otter, that it can seize fish with its paws, and also 
 break nets with them. 
 
 Great numbers of otters resort to the lochs of Lubnaig 
 and Vennacher, and come down in hard weather to the 
 streams that flow out of them. I used to be much annoyed 
 in the winter mornings, when ranging Lennie and Garwhin- 
 nie waters for ducks, by people getting down before me 
 to secure the salmon which the otter had " ta'en oot." Of 
 course they put up all the wild-fowl. After a powdering 
 
THE OTTER. 335 
 
 of snow, the mark of a hobnailed shoe was sure to turn my 
 course from these rivers to Loch Vennacher, as I knew full 
 well that the enormous foot would plod down Lennie water, 
 and up Garwhinnie to the very loch, without leaving a nook 
 undisturbed, if it only had a quarter of an hour's start of 
 me. I had therefore t<3 be at the river by break of 
 day, and was rewarded by many a famous chance at the 
 fowl, as well as frequent insight into the operations of 
 the otter. 
 
 Many a fine fish have I seen lying on the shingle with 
 only a few bites out of its neck ; and, if undiscovered by 
 the otter's scavengers, it was seldom honoured by a second 
 visit from its captor. In snow, I generally saw where the 
 otter had landed to dry himself, but he never strayed far 
 from the river's bank ; and indeed it would have been 
 difficult walking, as he always left the mark of his belly 
 ploughing the snow, if there was only two inches on the 
 ground. 
 
 In my early shooting days, when after wild-fowl, my 
 water-dog brought me a half-grown otter which he had 
 seized in a drain. I could not, at first, make out what 
 extraordinary mouthful he had picked up. When I saw 
 it was a young otter, I brought it home alive in my game- 
 bag, intending to tame it. But the dog had broken its 
 back, so we were obliged to have it killed. A few years 
 after, I shot a fine male one near the same place. My 
 terriers came on its track in a brook. It immediately took 
 the land a long way ahead of the dogs, and by a short cut 
 made for the loch. I got my eye upon it slowly cantering 
 
336 THE OTTER. 
 
 along, intercepted and rolled it over not thirty yards from 
 the shore. 
 
 A friend of mine one autumn was wandering along the 
 banks of the Tweed, and seeing the dead water of a deep 
 pool a little agitated, he peeped cautiously over. An old 
 otter and several young ones were paddling about in perfect 
 security and comfort. He made a slight noise, and all 
 disappeared as if by magic where and how he could not 
 discover. After remaining quiet for a short time, they were 
 upon the surface again in the same sleight of foot way. 
 He described it as a beautiful and interesting sight, and 
 slipped back without a second time disturbing them. He 
 told me he had heard that Lord John Scott's otter- 
 hounds came to the pool shortly after, on purpose to 
 hunt them, but never discovered either the dam or her 
 young. 
 
 The ears of the otter, buried in its fur, like those of most 
 water animals, give it something of a reptile appearance. 
 But short ears are not always the characteristic of creatures 
 that feed in and about water. There is an aquatic mouse, 
 about the size and colour of a half-grown Norway rat, 
 which has very large round transparent ears. I have often 
 met with it when fishing the more sluggish waters of the 
 Lowlands. It is fully as expert a diver as the common water- 
 rat. When angling a shallow gravelly channel of the Ale 
 in Selkirkshire, I saw one dive a distance of at least a 
 dozen yards, and watched it swimming very swiftly under 
 water all the time. From its light fawn colour, it is far 
 more easily seen than the water-rat. Its legs are also longer, 
 
V 
 
 THE OTTER. 337 
 
 and its motions more light and springy. I have never 
 observed it in any part of the Highlands. 
 
 The common Mus aquations is an ugly creature, and his 
 disgusting look is increased by the apparent deficiency of 
 ears. I remember three being taken alive, by a water-dog, 
 on the Thames, of a rich cream colour. They all kept to 
 the same bend of the river, and were constantly noticed 
 gamboling among the reeds before they were captured. I 
 never saw more savage little creatures; they seemed to 
 surpass even an imprisoned weasel in ferocity. 
 
 I have often noticed that loathsome creatures prey upon 
 loathsome food ; a favourite morsel of the water-rat is a 
 bloated toad,* while a nest of earwigs are the choice tit-bits 
 of the latter. As many as forty have been taken out 'of a 
 toad's maw. Sheridan's remark to a poor starved man 
 eating shrimps is equally appropriate here " You're very 
 like your meat." 
 
 The otter, like all animals that depend on the waters for 
 prey, loses much of his address and cunning when cut off 
 from his native element. Bewildered on land, he seems to 
 feel that he has no fair play, and sometimes refuses to take 
 advantage even of the resources within his reach. In the 
 river or loch, on the contrary, he has always his wits about 
 him, and will try every ruse ere he yields up his life. 
 
 * I have frequently offered my brown owls a toad, but they always re- 
 fused it. They, however, greedily devoured frogs ; and once, when the 
 old male had just swallowed one, we cheated him with a toad. As soon 
 as he detected the nauseous mouthful, he threw it from him with every 
 symptom of disgust, although, in his hunger, he had half bolted it. Even 
 the voracious pike rejects a toad as bait. 
 
 Y 
 
338 THE OTTER, 
 
 When hunted, and want of air forces him to the surface, he 
 either takes advantage of a water leaf to cover the tip of his 
 nose, all the rest of him being immersed, or comes up 
 under some rotten stump precisely his own muddy colour. 
 Flapper shooters may notice the same instinct, when they 
 surprise a brood of ducklings, though in a far less degree. 
 At the signal of the mother they all dive, but come to the 
 top again so stealthily some under a screen of weeds, 
 wrapped round them like a green veil, and others hidden by 
 a hollow bank or root that, although several are within a 
 few yards, none may be detected until they are winded by 
 the sagacious retriever. 
 
THE HILL POACHER 
 
 AN English poacher is generally to be found among the 
 very dregs of the people a hardened unscrupulous 
 blackguard, who would shoot the gamekeeper with 
 greater pleasure than he would a pheasant, who fears 
 nothing but detection, and whose conscience would never 
 sting him till on his death-bed. Scotch poachers are a 
 different class of men. To be thieves, drunkards, and, if 
 need be, murderers, is not a necessary part of their calling. 
 And, although they are in general not the most reputable 
 part of society, yet many, especially in the Highlands, 
 stand pretty fair with their neighbours. The cause of 
 this difference is easily traced. In England the ground 
 is far more easily preserved, and the keepers much better 
 trained ; therefore no man need attempt the destruction 
 of game, unless he is prepared to run all risks of a deadly 
 skirmish with the watchers. Indeed there would be few 
 poachers in England, were it not for the great abundance 
 of what may be termed tame game. But the temptations 
 to netting, snaring, ginning pheasants at perch, or 
 
340 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 smoking them by means of brimstone, are so great, that 
 the poachers traffic with the game-shops to an enormous 
 extent. 
 
 To be a good shot, or understand anything of sporting, 
 is not of much consequence to the English poacher, his 
 method of securing game being a good deal like robbing a 
 hen-roost or rabbit-warren. These men generally poach in 
 company, the numbers being regulated by the party of 
 watchers they expect on the out-look. The gang, often 
 half-drunk, sally forth from some low beer-shop whenever 
 the night is clear and starry. If there are many hares or 
 rabbits in the preserve, they take some mute curs to drive 
 them about, after having set the snares. The fowling- 
 piece, though always carried, in case of an encounter, is 
 seldom used upon game ; except, perhaps, with a quarter 
 of a charge, to knock down pheasants at roost, within 
 pistol-shot. This makes little noise, but, of course, they 
 prefer making none. It is well known, when they do 
 resort to this method, that, by beginning at the lowest 
 bough, they may nearly clear the tree. But, should they 
 stupidly shoot the top bird first, the others are very apt to 
 fly off when it comes rustling past them. They have 
 various other methods of quietly destroying game, some of 
 which are practised even in broad daylight. It is seldom, 
 however, that love of sport can be urged in their defence, 
 as these depredations are exactly akin to gipsy thefts, 
 and have little of the excitement caused by love of 
 hunting, so natural to man. It is easy to see that none 
 but desperate characters would engage in such a life. By 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 341 
 
 constantly herding and drinking together, they corrupt 
 each other more 5 and, by living in continual apprehension, 
 and determining to brave the worst, they learn to set 
 no value on human life, especially that of a gamekeeper. 
 
 Scotch poachers may be divided into Highland and 
 Lowland. The latter class more nearly approximate to 
 their brethren in England, especially those in the neigh- 
 bourhood of large towns ; viz., poach in company, have 
 no pleasure in the sport, and care only for the profit. The 
 deer on the islands of Loch Lomond were sometimes 
 killed by printers from the Leven works, who, coming 
 in boats, took their booty away with them to sell to the 
 Glasgow poulterers. The foresters had not unfrequently 
 to fire on the boats to keep them off. On one occasion, a 
 party effected a landing upon the Duke of Montrose's deer 
 island, and, having slain one animal and wounded another, 
 were surprised by the forester and his friends. They all, 
 except one, managed to get back to their boat, leaving the 
 deer behind. - When the unfortunate printer saw his 
 friends row off, he managed to hide himself, and could not 
 be discovered. The forester (a gallant Graeme) took 
 measures to prevent his escape by immediately securing his 
 own boat, and shotting his rifles. A perfect hurricane of 
 wind most opportunely set in for several days, and pre- 
 vented the gang, without imminent risk of life, from 
 returning at night. During the day, the forester took his 
 station on a point that commanded a view of the whole 
 island, and, when a .boat's crew appeared, ran down to 
 meet them. The printers often attempted to land, but, 
 
342 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 as soon as they approached the shore, he fired ball at 
 them, and manfully kept them at bay for three days. 
 On the fourth morning, the half-starved wretch came to 
 the lodge, and delivered himself up. 
 
 In remote situations, however, the Lowland poacher 
 often engages in the pursuit of game with the same zest 
 as a gentleman, piques himself upon the excellence of 
 some half-bred cur of a dog, and astonishes his acquain- 
 tance by bouncing anecdotes of his wonderful gun. In 
 such out-of-the-way places an amateur like this has often 
 considerable opportunity for indulging his love of sport. 
 Scotch gamekeepers (unlike gardeners) are not to be com- 
 pared to those of England. A great proportion of them 
 have been poachers themselves, and turning them into 
 gamekeepers is not a sovereign specific against their old 
 propensities. Many know literally nothing of their busi- 
 ness but how to shoot in a bungling manner ; and, 
 provided the master is not much of a sportsman himself, 
 and sees game now and then upon his table, he makes few 
 inquiries about the dogs, vermin, poachers, &c. The 
 consequence is, that the single game-7^7/er, not keeper, 
 troubles himself as little about these unimportant parti- 
 culars, and goes lounging about with his badge of dignity 
 (i. e. his gun,) summer and winter, occasionally bringing 
 home some game ; while the sly poacher, and slyer vermin, 
 are welcome to the overplus for anything he cares ! The 
 poacher, therefore, not only has the free run of the 
 shooting-ground by night, but makes it his business to 
 find out when the gamekeeper is despatched upon an 
 
THE HILL POACHER, 843 
 
 errand, and takes a snug rap at the partridges or pheasants 
 by day. At night, he sets snares for hares, and I am 
 sorry to say that the English method of doing this in the 
 middle of the fields has come into general use. He also 
 shoots the pheasants at roost during moonlight, and, if the 
 single Argus of the night should happen to be sound asleep 
 close to the scene of carnage, he makes as much despatch 
 as possible, covering the birds where killed with grass or 
 leaves, and marking the place. He then runs to his 
 cottage, the door of which has been left open, in case of 
 pursuit, and quietly picks up his game at any good oppor- 
 tunity. An old hand, when showing me the casts on the 
 Clyde, said that he had one night killed a dozen pheasants 
 
 from the public road, over the Duke of 's park-wall, 
 
 marking the wall with a piece of chalk where each bird 
 fell, and secured every one next day by jumping the 
 wall, and depositing them in a sack, which he called 
 potatoes. 
 
 When such is the common system of game-preserving 
 in Scotland, no wonder that the great proportion of our 
 Lowland shooting is not very first-rate, and that the 
 poachers do not much trouble themselves with the Eng- 
 lish methods of netting the fields, &c., which would not 
 be profitable. They are often men who have a regular 
 trade to trust to, and only engage in poaching as a recrea- 
 tion and " sma' help." 
 
 But the most sporting poacher is the Highlander.* His 
 
 * Before the gangs of smugglers were broken up, the Highland poacher 
 was a much more desperate character. All these smugglers were poachers, 
 
344 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 chief objects are grouse, black game, and deer ; and, as 
 he dare not show his face on the moors while they are 
 crowded with sportsmen, at the beginning of the season, 
 he generally waits till the gentlemen " hae had their wull 
 o't." The birds are then wild and strong, and can only 
 be killed by means of traps or the gun. Comparatively 
 few are taken by the trap, so the poacher trusts to his skill 
 in eluding the watchers, if there are any, and sallies forth 
 with his dog and gun, in full enjoyment of the sport. 
 Many of these poachers are good shots, and some even 
 can boast a fairish dog. But, generally speaking, their 
 dog is none of the best, often only a colley or terrier, taught 
 to make an apology for a point. The dog's deficiencies, 
 however, are amply made up for by his master's knowledge 
 of the habits of the birds, of the places where they are 
 likely to be found, as well as to pitch after their flight. 
 Indeed, I should have no hesitation in backing one of these 
 fellows to procure more fair shots, at this time, with his 
 single mongrel, than many of our sporting gentlemen 
 with the best couple of pointers or setters he may possess. 
 But they seldom shoot in good style, except at deer ; and 
 the best of them, though thought paragons in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and boasting that, " gie them a bottle o' whisky 
 in their pocket, they will walk and shoot against ony man 
 in the kingdom," are as inferior to good shots among 
 
 and as regardless scoundrels as could be met with. Now, however, in 
 place of little patches of barley on all the Highland crofts, good oats are 
 substituted, and not a twinkling fire, on the darkest night, is to be seen on 
 the islands of our lochs. We may thank the excise laws. 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 345 
 
 gentlemen, as they are superior in every other requisite 
 for grouse-shooting. The reason of this is plain enough. 
 The poacher refuses " crank " uncertain shots, hence he 
 seldom excels in them ; and, as the birds are always wild 
 and difficult of access when his operations begin, all his 
 ingenuity is exerted to get within easy distance, and, no 
 matter whether sitting or flying, to bag as many birds with 
 as few shots as possible. 
 
 Many a capital shot, who has left the moors for the 
 low grounds, under the idea that grouse are unapproach- 
 able, would be thoroughly astonished if he put himself 
 under the implicit guidance of one of these men. Indeed, 
 most sportsmen, however expert with the fowling-piece, 
 and however much they may pique themselves upon their 
 skill in all the details of the sport, scarcely know its first 
 principles, as they leave the moors just when the thorough 
 bass is to be begun. 
 
 The tricks of the Highland poacher are manifold and 
 ingenious. He can always form a shrewd guess to what 
 distance the report of his gun may be heard at any dreaded 
 point, and, if possible, contrives to get a hillock between, 
 in order to intercept it. Indeed, I have known them 
 shoot for days before the moors opened ; and, by such 
 management, as well as taking advantage of the wind, 
 not a report was heard by the watchers. But, should they 
 be discovered, they seldom offer other resistance than leg 
 bail, which is very often taken, as the poacher's wind and 
 knowledge of the country is, generally, at least equal to 
 that of his pursuer. 
 
346 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 A knowing hill-poacher may in this way destroy far 
 more game than the gentleman who has preceded him over 
 the same ground, although enjoying every advantage of 
 dogs, season, and opportunity: and, unless opposed by 
 skilful and determined watchers, may escape detection for 
 years. But when the head-keeper is an active, honest, 
 and clear-headed man, above all, if lie is well supported by 
 his master, it is rarely that the poacher can pursue his 
 trade long. The first thing the keeper does, upon taking 
 charge of a large Highland estate, is to make himself 
 acquainted with the names, persons, and places of abode of 
 all the noted poachers within reach ; for, although he may 
 often be troubled with others from a distance, yet those 
 on the spot do the chief mischief. He then selects his 
 watchers with great care ; if possible, men from a distance, 
 and well known to himself. These watchers are all pro- 
 vided with a telescope and pistol. They are expected, in 
 a very short time, to know the gait and manner of every 
 poacher within their own bounds. They soon become 
 wonderfully expert, with the help of their glass, and, even 
 when they have never had the opportunity of seeing the 
 poacher face to face, will distinguish him with certainty by 
 his mode of walking. Should any of the watchers turn 
 out lazy, faint-hearted, or stupid, his place is immediately 
 supplied by another. 
 
 As soon as the head-keeper has drilled his recruits into 
 a perfect knowledge of their duty, he commences opera- 
 tions in good earnest. He always has a spy to watch the 
 house of the poacher he means to entrap, and thus knows 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 347 
 
 all his movements.* Should he detect him on the ground, 
 he takes care to have one of the best-winded assistants to 
 intercept at this point, before giving chase. This is even 
 more necessary when looking after a night-poacher. The 
 watchers are as knowing as the poacher in regard to wind, 
 always keeping to leeward of their beat, and taking 
 advantage of all the hills that give them a far look-out, 
 where the report of a gun would be most apt to reach them. 
 With the advantage of a thoroughly trained head-keeper, 
 and the expense only of the day's wages of a few watchers, 
 most Highland properties might be comparatively safe from 
 poachers, who would very soon cease to molest them. 
 These men, if resolutely seized, will seldom make deter- 
 mined resistance ; for although many of them, from motives 
 of policy, think it necessary to talk big, in order to deter 
 farmers and shepherds from coming near them, yet I have 
 known many of those gallant talkers the first to show the 
 white feather. One great black hulk, of six feet two, 
 who infested my father's moors before they were strictly 
 preserved, endeavoured, very unsuccessfully, to spread the 
 terror of his name, for he was several times found out to be 
 the most arrant craven. But, indeed, the race of Highland 
 
 * A common but somewhat stale trick of the Highland poachers, is to 
 conceal the barrel of their gun down the leg of their trowsers, carrying 
 the stock either in the inside coat-pocket, or wrapping it in a plaid. The 
 watchers at once detect a man thus hampered, and always look upon him 
 with suspicion if he has his plaid round him. Many of them, therefore, 
 leave their gun at the nearest bothy to the ground. This avails them 
 little, as the watchers know well enough that when the poacher leaves 
 his house at a suspicious time, or bends his steps in a suspicious direction, 
 the instrument of death will turn up, as if by magic. 
 
348 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 poachers, be their pluck ever so good, have no wish to 
 engage in more serious offences, and, as long as the gene- 
 rality of our moors are in the neglected state they are at 
 present, have ample opportunity of making a profitable 
 thing of it without much risk. Whenever a gentleman 
 sets about protecting in good earnest, they for the most 
 part leave his estate for that of his more careless neighbour. 
 
 To hunt a steady dog with a lantern tied round its neck 
 is a most deadly way of night-netting, and the more so, as 
 dark and rough weather are no obstacles to success. 
 When the light points, two men come round with the net 
 in front, and draw it over the dog, frequently securing a 
 whole covey of partridges huddled together within a few 
 inches of his nose. Fortunately, however, this wholesale 
 destruction can only take place where the keepers are most 
 supine. When they are alert, it would be next to impos- 
 sible for poachers to hunt many fields and not be betrayed 
 by this ignis fatuus ; and when once the dodging lantern 
 is seen, no marauders could be more easily captured. 
 Neither hares nor pheasants are in any danger from this 
 mode of netting, as the former always move about at night, 
 and the latter roost in trees. 
 
 As to snaring, which is oftener practised either at night 
 or during divine service, every trained keeper, by looking 
 the runs both in the fields and fences, will easily know 
 whether snares have been fixed in them. He then comes 
 quietly at the time when he thinks they will be set, puts a 
 rabbit or hare into one of them, and places a watch. 
 Many people fancy this method of taking game the most 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 349 
 
 difficult of detection ; but, with efficient keepers, the snarer 
 is, perhaps, the most easily secured of all poachers. 
 
 A curious snaring story was told me by a gamekeeper 
 in Morayshire. He and his son perceived evident marks 
 of snares for rabbits on the open sand-downs, but all their 
 ingenuity could not detect the culprit. He watched at 
 night, and all proper times, but there was no appearance 
 of any one coming near the place. At last, one of them 
 saw a woman apparently doing some farm-work in broad 
 day. His suspicions were not much roused until he took 
 out his telescope, and, not being able to find out what she 
 was at, determined to ascertain. After a little manoeuvring, 
 they surprised her in the very fact. She had several snares 
 set, which she always took care to do in the middle of the 
 day, taking them up in the evening. No one ever sus- 
 pected her, and the keeper declared they were the neatest 
 snares he had ever seen. Some years ago I caught two 
 equally absurd poachers. Returning home from shooting 
 one evening, my dog was caught in a snare. I imme- 
 diately fixed one of the rabbits I had shot in the dog's 
 predicament, and set a watch. No one came near the snare 
 until next day, when two little fellows, about ten years old, 
 made their appearance, and, as soon as they had pounced 
 on the rabbit, were pounded themselves. 
 
 Every Highland district is infested by its own set of 
 poachers, more or less, according to circumstances. There 
 is a family likeness in most of these biped vermin, which 
 is easily accounted for by the manner in which they spend 
 their life. For the most part they have an active walk, a 
 
350 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 quick eye, and long sight all very necessary accomplish- 
 ments for a hill poacher, and much improved by constant 
 use. Their expression is generally shy and repulsive, and 
 strangely belies their free step and almost graceful bear- 
 ing. Of the many dozens I have seen and conversed with, 
 few have been distinguished by any other characteristics. 
 Two exceptions to this general rule occur to me, and both, 
 though very different from each other, were no ordinary 
 men. 
 
 When I first knew Gregor More of Callander, his poach- 
 ing days were over, for he had a mortal disease upon him, 
 from having lain out in the fields one cold night when 
 intoxicated. He still managed to saunter down the river, 
 and to give those beautiful sweeps with his line and salmon 
 fly which were the admiration of the whole clachan. He 
 engaged to show me the casts the first time I fished the 
 Teith ; and, from the character I had heard of him, I was 
 not prepared to be prepossessed by his appearance. 
 Drunkard, poacher, outlaw, (for he had been outlawed for 
 non-appearance after thrashing several fellows in some 
 broil,) I expected a mixture of cunning and ferocity, and 
 had my doubts whether he would play me fair in pointing 
 out the river. At a little distance, a tall, respectably 
 dressed man, with his plaid slung over his shoulder, and a 
 little terrier dog at his foot, seemed shaping his course 
 towards me. When he approached, he looked me full in 
 the face, took off his oil-skin cap, and made a respectful 
 bow. I had appointed Gregor to meet me a little farther 
 down, and now thought, can this possibly be the man ? 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 351 
 
 He at once put me out of doubt by remarking upon a few 
 flies round my hat, that they were too light for " oor 
 water," but one or two might do. I looked at him with 
 some curiosity : a nobler specimen of manhood I had never 
 beheld. Upwards of six feet high, of the finest herculean 
 proportions, and straight as an arrow, he seemed equally 
 formed for activity and strength. There was nothing 
 mean or sneaking about his manner. His face was open 
 and manly ; and, despite the sad discipline to which he 
 had exposed both mind and body, he had not effaced the 
 natural and sure marks of force and truth from his coun- 
 tenance. Although wan and emaciated, there was a cool- 
 ness, a will to dare, in his eye, backed by his tremendous 
 shoulders and still powerful frame, that I could not look at 
 him without thinking on the words, " majestic though 
 in ruins." 
 
 I had now no more qualms about Gregorys sincerity 
 and well and faithfully did he repay my confidence so 
 well, that he gained the ill-will of many of the Callander 
 fishers. One ungainly little bullet of a fellow especially, 
 who gloried in a pair of fat stumps which he called " tight 
 legs," and the bust of a man double his length, was parti- 
 cularly indignant that Gregor should have shown all the 
 good casts, " which a man micht hae ta'en lang eneuch to 
 fin' oot for himsel'." Gregor told him at once that he 
 would also guide me along the opposite side, whenever it 
 was my " pleeshur to go." 
 
 But Gregor was equally knowing in the passes of the 
 red deer as the haunts of the salmon. It was alleged 
 
352 THE HILL POACHER. 
 
 against him by the foresters that he " kent" every favoured 
 track as well as themselves. He was also a first-rate 
 marksman with a ball, and generally carried off the prize 
 at the St Fillan's games. When talking to him, it was 
 impossible not to be struck with the point of what he said ; 
 and his superiority in these sports, over his fellows, no 
 doubt lay in bringing to bear upon them the full weight of 
 his original mind. 
 
 It was a constant remark in summer, that, whenever you 
 " kent whuskey on Gregor,' 1 you might be sure he had 
 taken a salmon. To eat his fish was, to say the least, 
 improvident, as bringing no supply when the fishing was 
 over and he unable to work. But to drink them ! Alas 
 for poor Gregor in the winter ! Want, of course, came 
 then, and I was apprised of his destitute circumstances. I 
 sent a man on whom I could rely to procure him food ; but 
 upon no account to give him the money to spend for Eim- 
 self. About new-year, however, when whisky is free, 
 Gregor and another man quarrelled about some flies, which 
 the former had agreed to dress. Every one said that the 
 man behaved shamefully, considering that Gregor's hands 
 were in a manner tied. He set up " an awfu' tongue,' 1 
 till at last Gregor's blood boiled, and he chased him out of 
 the house into the village. The constables apprehended 
 Gregor; he was tried, and sentenced to be transported. 
 But, poor fellow, his shattered frame pined in the confine- 
 ment of a gaol. He soon broke completely down when 
 deprived of the fresh air on the banks of his own Teith ; 
 and, before the time for his embarkation arrived, he was 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 353 
 
 summoned to take a longer voyage, and to a country from 
 which he should never return.* 
 
 Very unlike Gregor More was . Strange 
 
 to say, he had once been a " placed minister of the Kirk," 
 (answering to a beneficed clergyman,) and, although he 
 often returned late on the Saturday night, after being 
 all the week poaching the deer, his sermons were both 
 clever and popular. I met him once when traversing a 
 wild range of hills, and was impressed both with his 
 general information and the courtesy of his address. He 
 had much to say, and said it well; yet, notwithstanding 
 the blandness of his manners, you could not help feeling 
 that interest or passion were the mainsprings of all his 
 actions ; and that as for principle he would inwardly sneer 
 at the very name. He was an athletic, handsome man ; 
 but his expression, though bold and confident, was selfish 
 and wily. The following anecdotes, illustrative of his 
 character, are capital specimens of the man. 
 
 He had shot a deer in a very out-of-the-way recess 
 among the hills. While comfortably seated upon his 
 quarry, enjoying a pinch of snuff in all the luxury of 
 success, an intrusive face, followed by a gun, poked over 
 the adjoining dike.* " Leave that deer, or I'll blow 
 your harns aboot your lugs." had neglected to 
 
 * To my shame and sorrow I record it I did not see poor Gregor in 
 his prison. It was eleven miles distant, and, though I always meant to visit 
 him, I never did. The remembrance has often grieved me. May this be 
 a lesson to all who read it, " Never to put off till to-morrow what ought 
 to be done to-day." 
 
 t Stone wall without lime. 
 
 z 
 
354 THE HILL POACHER, 
 
 reload his rifle 5 so, without a moment's hesitation, he 
 shouldered it, and paced slowly up the glen. As soon 
 as he got a knoll between him and the unceremonious 
 stranger, he loaded as quickly as possible took a long 
 circuit, and came down behind the identical treacherous 
 dike. Quickly showing the same startling apparition of 
 a face and rifle, he commanded his rival instantly to 
 take himself off, but to leave his gun. The man was 
 in the act of " gralloching " * the deer, and at once 
 
 saw there was nothing for it but to obey. kept 
 
 his gun for some time, and often said, had he asked for 
 a bit of the deer as a favour, he would have been wel- 
 come to a side of the venison, as the other was all he 
 needed ; and, indeed, the stranger's assistance in conveying 
 it was of far more consequence at that time than half of 
 the deer. 
 
 The next adventure of this worthy licentiate is a 
 melancholy one. He and a friend, equally partial to a 
 bit of fat venison, had agreed upon a night expedition, 
 for the purpose of stealing a deer. They were rather 
 at a loss for a driver ; so, partly by threats and partly 
 by persuasion, they almost forced a young shepherd to 
 accompany them. Their guns were loaded with " swan 
 post," to make sure work ; and they were each placed 
 under the ridge of the hill, to command the sky line, 
 and thus have the deer between them and the light. 
 The shepherd appeared on the ridge, and, extending both 
 his arms above his head, as a signal that the deer were 
 
 * Cleaning. 
 
THE HILL POACHER. 355 
 
 coming below, was mistaken by for a stag's head 
 
 and horns, and shot dead upon the spot. Quickly per- 
 ceiving his mistake, he rushed up, and, carrying the dead 
 man upon his shoulders, he pitched him over the adjoining 
 precipice, and made his companion take an oath that 
 he would never divulge the secret. The Highlanders are 
 a quick-witted people, however, and it was whispered 
 that there was a little round hole in the shepherd's bonnet, 
 which corresponded with another in his forehead, that 
 was never made by a dash against the rocks. Some time 
 after, the quondam minister's friend let out, in his cups, 
 the above particulars. But few care to deny that the 
 " puir lad's " death was occasioned by a false step over 
 the ravine, and the night wind still howls round his 
 lonely cairn at the foot of the rocks. 
 
THOMAS A' THING 
 
 AMONG the Scottish peasantry, one very often meets with 
 what is called " a character." Traits of individuality, 
 whether personal or national, are more apt to be rubbed 
 off among the trading ranks, their outward deportment 
 and speech being so much borrowed from each other. 
 
 The Scotch peasant, feeling himself perfectly inde- 
 pendent of every one, except his laird, is not very lavish 
 of his courtesy towards strangers. Indeed, his manner 
 is often far more surly than he intends ; but whatever 
 civility he does yield is pretty sure to come from the 
 heart. Any one accustomed to speak much with these 
 people must be very unlucky if he does not often meet 
 with something original ; and the following is barely an 
 average specimen of what may be expected. 
 
 Thomas a' Thing (all things) was a native of Perth- 
 shire, and when very young came to settle upon my 
 father's estate. He had a code of honesty which, I have 
 heard it pretty broadly asserted, was a convenient one 
 for himself, as he allowed no law or licence except to 
 
THOMAS A* THING. 357 
 
 No. 1, while his uncompromising conduct to Nos. 2, 3, 
 and 4, gained him many enemies, as well as my father's 
 protection. But, after a few threats from his neighbours 
 of " pittin' the bodie i' the loch," he was left to take 
 his own course. Thomas's face is no bad index of his 
 temper a long drooping nose and peaked chin, small 
 fixed eyes, and thick heavy eyelids. In stature he is 
 much below the middle height, and his very walk, like 
 Venus's, makes known the man. It is neither fast nor 
 slow, and seems to say, " I'll no neglec' my business, 
 but for a' that there's nae thrift in a hurry.' 1 
 
 The avocations of Thomas a' Thing, as his title imports, 
 are manifold. He can turn his hand to most things, 
 without being very skilful in any. Mason, plumber, 
 painter, glazier, rat and mole catcher, vermin-killer, with 
 many other etceteras, are all alike to Thomas ; but, from 
 his love of natural history, the latter pursuits are more 
 congenial to his taste. A chat with Thomas on these 
 subjects was a sure specific against the ,spleen, and, if 
 his conclusions were often wrong, he sometimes related 
 from his own observation facts both curious and interest- 
 ing. In winter he was always employed as one of the 
 game-watchers, and, although he used openly to admit 
 he was " nae great soger," yet he often showed more 
 pluck than those who pretended they were. 
 
 Thomas returned one morning from the islands with a 
 prisoner in the stern of his boat, and his quaint grave rela- 
 tion of the particulars, in presence of his captive, was truly 
 comical. He had with his enormous telescope discovered 
 
358 THOMAS A* THING. 
 
 four Leven printers poaching flappers. They had lighted 
 a fire, and begun to cook some of their spoil. He rowed 
 to the other side of the island, and then, winding round, 
 got between them and their boat. He then cocked his 
 pistol, and, like another Robinson Crusoe, dashed, single- 
 handed, into the midst of the four. They all sprang to 
 their legs and ran different ways ; but Thomas, choosing 
 out the man who took the least direct line to their boat, 
 endeavoured to cut him off from his companions. The 
 fellow, however, had good wind, and by sundry doubles 
 managed to reach the shore where the boat was. But his 
 faithful allies, thinking it prudent to throw a sop to this 
 terrible Cerberus, had left their companion and pulled 
 away. The printer's heart now completely failed, so, 
 wading into the water, as the stag at bay, he awaited his pur- 
 suer's approach. Thomas, with his pistol still on full cock, 
 and carefully selecting the nearest point on the shore, took 
 deadly aim, and commanded him instantly to surrender. 
 The fellow, now fancying that death was staring him in 
 the face, fell down on his knees in the water, and begged 
 for mercy. This was granted him, on condition of imme- 
 diately shipping himself on board Thomas's craft. He 
 then uncocked and replaced his formidable weapon, which, 
 he afterwards told me, had never been loaded ! 
 
 But it is only in calm clear weather that trespassers 
 have anything to fear from Thomases prowess. He has a 
 perfect horror of winds and waves, and would not trust his 
 " frail bark" upon the loch in a storm for any guerdon 
 that could be offered him. We had been after wild swans 
 
THOMAS A' THING. 359 
 
 one day, when unfortunately the wind rose a little. He 
 became so paralysed with terror as to be useless at the oar, 
 so we placed him at the helm. His great object then was 
 to steer in for the shore, so that we were in continual 
 danger of being stranded on some sunken rock. We 
 ordered him peremptorily to put out a little, when he 
 answered in a perfect agony, " Gentlemen, gentlemen, 
 I'll gang up as high as ever ye like, but oh ! keep me frae 
 the water." In justice to Thomas, I must say, that I have 
 seen him in a situation on the roof of a house, which I 
 would not have exchanged with him for a good deal. 
 
 Thomas has a great opinion of his own powers of 
 reasoning. He will not succumb even to the minister, 
 certainly not to the schoolmaster ; but he has always tact 
 enough not to get beyond his depth, and, if driven to give 
 an opinion on any point where he is not quite sure, he 
 generally evades the difficulty by saying, " Weel, gentle- 
 men, ye maun jist consult yer ain raison." There is at 
 these times a grotesque assumption of dignity, as he 
 measures out his reply ; and, indeed, at all times a certain 
 air of innate pomposity, that prevents one from addressing 
 him otherwise than by his full designation, however tempted 
 by wind or distance to call out a Tom" As to his ward- 
 robe, it is certainly not very smart, with the exception of 
 an old weather-beaten tarpaulin, which is rather gaudy 
 than becoming. He always gives it a fresh coat of paint 
 to keep out the November rain, when he is painting a door 
 or rail, so that it constantly changes from yellow to pea- 
 green, and from pea-green to sky-blue. Thomas mean- 
 
360 THOMAS A' THING. 
 
 while changes little himself. He is philosopher enough to 
 be contented with his lot, thoroughly enjoying his book on 
 a winter evening; the more so if it " trates o' nateral 
 history." He continues to plod on his way; and even 
 John Sly, who has the reputation of being a wag, and is a 
 tailor to boot, whose quick grey eye looks as if winking 
 at the sun, to take the shine out of him, has ceased to 
 exchange a banter, having often found to his cost that 
 there was more point and sarcasm in Thomas's wisdom 
 than in his wit. 
 
A SPBING WEEK IN THE WEST 
 HIGHLANDS, 1848 
 
 THE lark, with his song of glee, and the lapwings, as they 
 wheeled about, tumbling and chasing each other, with their 
 vernal scream of ecstasy, had given some cheerfulness to 
 the dull sown fields of the Lothians, when a short tour was 
 recommended for the health of my youngest child. I had 
 seen enough of the lovely glen which separates the Holy 
 Loch from Loch Eck, in my shooting and fishing excur- 
 sions, to make me long to penetrate farther ; so, with the 
 hearty concurrence of my fellow travellers, it was to this 
 inlet of the West Highlands that we directed our course. 
 
 An easy steam-passage brought us to Kilmun, and next 
 morning we skirted the Echaig,* which, like a band of 
 
 * I had this salmon-stream, and the shooting of Kilmun Hills, taken 
 from Mr Campbell of Monzie, and can confidently recommend both to any 
 man who is a true admirer of wild sport. In addition to salmon and 
 grilse, the river abounds with sea-trout and whitlings : I have killed forty 
 in about six hours. Thews and sinews are required to travel the moor. 
 It is a sort of peninsula, jutting out between Loch Long and the Holy 
 Loch, on which account scarcely a bird escapes the boundary. The grouse 
 
362 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 silver, unites the two lochs. Every object here was fami- 
 liar. M'Erle's pool, famous for a stray grilse. Ouig Hill, 
 appropriately pronounced wig by the people, from its rough 
 long heather, and Rashfield shielings, with their thatched 
 roofs and smoky kipples, where the peat-fuel gives a plea- 
 sant notice to the traveller that for once he is getting out 
 of the reach of carbonic influence. With most of the 
 inmates of these poor dwellings we were also well 
 acquainted ; and among them could place on record exam- 
 ples both of worth and happiness. 
 
 At a little distance, but only far enough to keep up his 
 credit as a lone man, is the cell of the Hermit of the 
 Glen. A less interesting specimen of this genus of mor- 
 tals can scarcely be imagined. He seems to have courted 
 solitude only for its notoriety ; and, instead of the ancho- 
 rite's " crystal well," drinks freely and constantly of 
 " mountain dew" 
 
 This jovial recluse lays claim to the attention of all stran- 
 gers ; and, after repeated invitations, I once had the curio- 
 sity with some friends to visit the " wee place," as he calls 
 his hut. His methods of making us understand that guests 
 were expected to leave some donation behind them, as a 
 trifling memento of the pleasure their company had given, 
 were certainly ingenious enough $ and after gaining his 
 
 are pretty regularly distributed, and, with really good dogs, no man need 
 return dissatisfied. At the beginning of the season, when the tops of 
 the hills are the best range, the eye rests upon views singularly bold and 
 varied. For the first few weeks I generally averaged from twelve to 
 eighteen brace a day, besides hares and snipe. The wood-cock shooting is 
 the best in Cowal-side. 
 
A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 363 
 
 point, he in his turn volunteered to treat us with u The 
 Braes of Balquhidder." And really it was worth a trifle, 
 for he managed what I had supposed an impossibility 
 viz., to deprive the beautiful air and words of every vestige 
 of harmony. But his grand recipe for drawing the purse- 
 strings is practised -upon his female visitors, and consists in 
 enumerating the moneyed dames who were dying to share 
 his eight feet by six cabin, but they " never gaed near his 
 heart," placing his hand most pathetically on the spot 
 where that organ should have been ! This stale trick, I 
 am credibly informed, has maintained in full radiance his 
 salamander of a nose for the last thirty years. 
 
 Like many anticipated pleasures, the unknown half of 
 our day's journey did not come up to expectation. The 
 rugged grandeur at the lower end of the glen soon blended 
 into low hills and copses ; but the drive along Loch Fine 
 is certainly very beautiful. We slept at Inverary, and 
 next day, after admiring the waterfall in Glenara, and 
 walking up all the steep braes for the sake of the views, 
 arrived at Dalmally. 
 
 Having despatched a messenger to the Black Mount to 
 ascertain whether the sea-eagle had built in any of the 
 forest lochs, we stepped out as far as the little rustic bridge 
 to enjoy the soft pure air. A well-known twitter greeted 
 us, and there was the first swallow darting under the old 
 arch of the primitive bridge, his steel-blue back glancing in 
 the setting sun. " Two of them," shouted my eldest 
 urchin, who, for great diligence in Greek and Latin, had 
 been allowed to accompany us, u they do make a summer." 
 
364 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 A car, containing two anglers and their attendants, now 
 drove up. They had been fishing since morning at the 
 falls of the Urchay, and taken a couple of salmon one 
 nine, the other fifteen and a half pounds weight. The cap- 
 tor of the large fish was in great glee ; for the landlord told 
 me it was the " biggest" that had been caught since the 
 season began. The weather had been so dry, and our 
 time so limited, that my salmon rod and tackle had been 
 voted supernumerary. I should now have had no objection 
 to their company, especially as next day, being a festival of 
 the English church, and all the fishers Englishmen, I should 
 have had all the river to myself. 
 
 The swallows were true prophets ; next day was mild 
 and calm, with a few clouds. After breakfast I walked to 
 the cottage of one of the old fishing-guides to borrow a rod, 
 reel, and flies. " The river is so small, and the wind in so 
 bad an airt, that unless it changes you would not get a rise," 
 says old James M'Nicol. Seeing me rather incredulous, he 
 added, " I will come down at one o'clock, and should the 
 wind change we may get a fish." The wind had been in 
 the same " airt" for the last week, and well did sly James 
 know it would not change. The truth was, both he and 
 the other old guide had been hired by the Sassenachs, and 
 dared not go out, or even lend a rod or fly, as they of 
 course wished to give the river a day's rest. I was not, 
 therefore, surprised when M'Nicol made his appearance at 
 one, with the excuse that he had to tie some small flies for 
 
 Mr . Opposition only put me upon my mettle. I 
 
 borrowed an old rod from the waiter, while the landlord, 
 
A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 365 
 
 by some secret influence, procured three of the most 
 approved salmon flies, and engaged to send a post-boy who 
 knew the casts. 
 
 Being thus pretty well equipped, I started about three 
 for the falls of the Urchay. My boy no contemptible 
 bait-fisher for trout begged hard to accompany me, as he 
 had never seen a salmon killed. At the tail of the lowest 
 pool I had the good hap to hook a fish. As I was far from 
 placing implicit reliance on the waiter's tackle, it took some 
 time to tame him, and when I fairly had him under my 
 thumb, where was the gaff? The beach, however, was 
 good, and the post-boy handy, so we soon extracted a very 
 fine eleven-pound salmon. The next pool was a long 
 black whirling linn, but we fished it blank ; not a break or 
 boil from top to bottom. We now came to a dangerous 
 but very good cast. It was also deep and black, full of 
 sunk rocks ; and, should I hook a fish, it would soon show 
 what the tackle was made of. At the very spot where I 
 expected, up he came, and now was the tug of war : the 
 fish fighting for the rocks, and I doing my best to keep 
 him clear of them, knowing that if he effected his pur- 
 pose there was every chance of being cut. My tackle 
 proved excellent; I fairly foiled him, and at last wore 
 him away from the perilous rocks. The post-boy's hands 
 again acted gaff, and brought to bank a noble fifteen 
 pounder. 
 
 I was now quite satisfied, and despatched the ready- 
 handed son of the whip for our car, which was put up 
 opposite the place where I killed the first fish. At the 
 
366 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 very foot of this pool part of the stream flows near the 
 opposite bank. More for the sake of instructing my boy 
 in the mystery of throwing a long line than any sanguine 
 hopes of a rise, I swept my fly twice over this bit of water. 
 At the second throw up came a famous fellow. He turned 
 his head down stream, and dashed along, making my reel 
 ring. There was now a race different ways, my son for the 
 post-boy, and I with the fish. Jehu came puffing like a 
 grampus, ready to gripe his prey. He soon saw that his 
 services would not be required for some time, as the salmon 
 was fresh and strong, and making beautiful play. Patience 
 and caution at length brought him to the bank ; and for the 
 first time the post-boy, after having a firm hold, lost it 
 from the strength of the salmon. It was a little while 
 ere I could bring him within reach again, for the fright 
 gave him fresh vigour ; but the clutch at the root of the 
 tail was more sure next time, and we landed the finest 
 fish as yet taken in the Urchay since the season opened ; 
 sixteen pounds. I both hooked and killed every fish I rose, 
 and with the same fly. 
 
 Here let me caution gentlemen neither to be too san- 
 guine nor dispirited by the fishing-guide's prognostications 
 of success or failure from the weather. When you have 
 good sport, they are sure to say the day is all that can be 
 wished. If, on the contrary, you don't stir a fin, they 
 will as certainly console you with some flaw in the wind, 
 water, or sky, how propitious soever they all may have 
 been. Catch them telling the angler (what is more often 
 than not the true cause) that it is his own want of skill. 
 
A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 367 
 
 The greatest bungler may more easily catch a salmon than 
 one of these chaps make such a mistake. 
 
 Wild and uncouth were the exclamations and com- 
 ments from a circle of Highlanders, when the salmon were 
 paraded before the inn ; and truly absurd was the edifi- 
 cation depicted in my little fellow's features, as he stared 
 from one rugged weather-beaten face to another, severally 
 delivering themselves of their Gaelic sentiments, 
 
 The cuckoo is a bird of bad omen if heard for the first 
 time before you break your fast. So said some mountain 
 sage to my little boy, who was unfortunately in that pre- 
 dicament. You are sure to fail in whatever you under- 
 take immediately after ; in other words, have " a gowk's 
 errand." Nevertheless the unlucky gowk had brought us 
 a fragrant morning, or more likely the fine morning had 
 tempted the mal-a-propos call from the joyous bird. A 
 note from Peter Kobertson was handed to me. The sea 
 eagle had built upon the island of Loch Bah, but was shy 
 and not sitting close yet. " It is all that nasty cuckoo," 
 said my son. u Had you heard it in place of seeing the 
 swallows, you would never have hooked the salmon." 
 
 There is often more earnest in these "saws" than 
 grown people would be willing to admit. I have known 
 a deerstalker* refuse to go out, on a fine morning for the 
 
 * Like most Highland poachers, he had two strings to his bow, and 
 followed the lawful calling of a shoemaker, to conceal as much as pos- 
 sible his depredations on the hills. He told me he had killed thirteen 
 deer before breakfast- time. When after grouse, he never wasted powder 
 and shot upon ptarmigan, as they only fetched two shillings a brace then, 
 whereas grouse brought three and sixpence. The ptarmigan were so 
 
368 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 sport, if he saw a mouse on his kitchen floor at early dawn 
 and was unable to Mil it. The same man was confident 
 of success should a cat jump out of a bush before him 
 when on his way to the hill. He affirms that he never 
 saw either omen fail. This man, from the braes of Atholl, 
 is now conducting a flourishing trade in Edinburgh, a 
 clear-headed capital man of business, and quite as super- 
 stitious as when he left the glens many years ago. When 
 the victims are ready prepared, the victimisers will never 
 be wanting. There is now a woman in Morayshire who 
 sells, for a guinea, a bottle of spring water as a charm 
 against all diseases, (if her remedy got a fair trial, it 
 might do more good than she thinks or intends,) and after 
 my account of the deer-slaying cobbler, no one will be sur- 
 prised to hear that she has no lack of customers.- Respect- 
 able people, often from a great distance, pay (to her) very 
 profitable visits. She is proud of being the lineal descen- 
 dant of a race of witches, and her grandfather was the 
 acknowledged most potent wizard of the district. From 
 him she inherited the much boasted possession of "the 
 river-horse's bridle " and " the mermaid's stone," which 
 powerful spells she exhibits as proofs of her weird origin 
 and descent. 
 
 In defiance of the boding cuckoo, I ordered out our 
 vehicle for Inveroran. No votary of nature can follow the 
 windings of this lovely strath of the Urchay without deep 
 interest. The road runs parallel to the river nearly the 
 
 plentiful in the forest, that he assured me a fair shot might have bagged 
 ten brace in a few hours. 
 
A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 369 
 
 whole way, and by a little observation, one can scarcely 
 fail to catch a passing glance at many of the creatures 
 that frequent these lonely wilds. An alpine hare, now 
 of a mottled blue and gray, scuttled along the road before 
 us for a considerable distance. She fortunately did not 
 cross it that would have been a clincher to the cuckoo ! 
 A roebuck was browsing upon the shoots of the birch and 
 hazel-bushes that fringe the river, not fifty yards off. He 
 only stared at the carriage and " dandered " up the oppo- 
 site hill. And now the dark outline of Bendora rose 
 before us, whose slate-coloured crags add greatly both to 
 the gloom and grandeur of the forest. 
 
 Arrived at Inveroran, there was the characteristic sight 
 of a fine herd of the mountain deer, greedily feeding a 
 little below the crest of the near hill, upon the young 
 sweet grass which had sprung up from a long stretch of 
 burnt heather. The telescope was soon brought to bear 
 upon them, and some fine harts singled out. By the time 
 we had dined, they had fed down to the adjacent knolls. 
 
 At break of day the landlord's son and tax-cart were at 
 the door of the inn to convey us part of the way to Loch 
 Bah. Peter Robertson was all ready to jump in, when we 
 passed the handsome new forest-lodge where he has taken 
 up his abode. We halted our cart at the nearest point 
 to the loch, and cut across on foot through the heathery 
 morass. A few redshanks, like well-set-up sentries, were 
 stalking upon the mossy banks at the water's edge, and a 
 stray one occasionally took a short flight from one little 
 tarn to another, piping its desert cry, while numbers of 
 
 2 A 
 
370 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 curlews serenaded us from the clouds with their pleasing 
 mournful scream. 
 
 When we had picked our steps through this boggy 
 ground, Loch Bah burst upon our view, and the eyrie 
 itself was just discernible upon the birch-tree in the islet. 
 Peter's glass was fixed, and the bird soon distinguished 
 upon the nest. About half a mile from the islet, and close 
 to us, was the shallop, which we were in the act of launch- 
 ing, when a sound, something between a "squeal" and a 
 whistle, rose and died away upon the still solitude. 1 had 
 never heard anything like it before so singularly plaintive. 
 It had something of the modulated whistle of the buzzard 
 or the kite, but far more sweet, soft, and musical, so fitted 
 to the scenery and the place. It seemed to rise in a low 
 cadence from the shore, and then melt into the clear air. 
 "That's the otter," quoth Peter; " I've heerd them say 
 he gi'es a whustle sometimes." It was soon apparent that 
 he had guessed right, for the " whustle" came next time 
 from the loch, and a gentle break, followed by its circles, 
 showed where the otter had popped up its head, after 
 swimming under water from the shore. 
 
 A difficult channel we had to steer through on our way 
 to the islet ; and although we changed our land pilot into a 
 water one, and placed him in the bow to boot, our skiff 
 was frequently bumped, and once nearly lifted clear of the 
 water by the numerous sunk rocks. 
 
 All sitting birds face the wind, to prevent its ruffling 
 their feathers ; so, knowing where the eagle's head would 
 be, we attempted to come in behind her. But when we 
 
A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 871 
 
 got half way, she flew off her eyrie, and sat upon a tree, 
 her white tail shining like the silver moon. We were all 
 watching her when* the other also flew off the nest and 
 settled near his mate. This did not look well for a shot 
 the hen evidently was not sitting. When we neared the 
 islet, they both flew out to meet us, uttering their shrill 
 scream. Sometimes they floated at an immense height, 
 and then, cleaving the air in their descent, flew round their 
 eyrie, beating with their wings, which made a hoarse 
 growling noise, like (forgive the comparison) the paddles 
 of a steam-boat at a distance on a calm day. 
 
 Peter's great anxiety was to get me hid as quickly as 
 possible ; and a speedy job we made of it. I had hardly 
 time to notice the terror of some deer springing into the 
 water to paddle across to the mainland, like Eobinson 
 Crusoe's savages, before I was- ensconced under a heather 
 and bracken screen. A small aperture was made for my 
 gun-barrel, and from seven o'clock till one I was left alone 
 on the island. 
 
 Meantime my companions rowed away to the far end of 
 the loch, and having found a wild-duck's nest full of fresh 
 eggs, and kindled a fire, they soon, with the addition of 
 our basket of provisions, turned out a most comfortable 
 breakfast. The excitement of the moment quite kept 
 down my hunger. Every time I heard an uproar among 
 the small black-headed gulls, I was sure the royal pair 
 were approaching ; and soon their shadow passed over my 
 ambush. They were generally swimming slowly, at a 
 great height, and seldom came near the nest tree. Once 
 
372 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 or twice I heard the hollow rumbling, and they dashed 
 past at the distance of sixty yards ; but had I wished to 
 take this random chance, it was impossible, as I only com- 
 manded the eyrie tree* 
 
 The intervals of their visits became longer every time. 
 During one, a pert kestrel lit upon a twig not more than 
 ten yards from the mouth of my gun. Shortly after, its 
 mate perched upon the same branch, and both began to 
 preen their wings without the slightest suspicion thaf their 
 dreaded foe was closely watching all their motions. 
 
 At last the female eagle returned alone. She soon took her 
 departure, and we saw neither of them any more. Whether 
 the sun glancing upon my gun-barrel had scared them, or the 
 skiff upon the loch, we were unable to decide. There was 
 not above half a foot of the barrel visible, but the eagle is 
 of all birds the most wary, and nothing can elude its eye. 
 
 When Peter felt sure the game was up, he returned to 
 release me from my watch. I consoled myself with a 
 hearty breakfast and his assurances that we should manage 
 better next year, if we were spared, by allowing the bird 
 to sit hard before disturbing her. Had this been the case 
 now, I should certainly have had a fair shot. 
 
 I examined carefully the erne's nest. It was very deep 
 as well as round. There could not have been less than a 
 cart-load of large sticks and twigs. I had some curiosity 
 to know whether both birds built in company, or if the 
 male acted a cad" by bringing the materials while the 
 female was the architect. Swans are very gallant in this 
 particular, supplying their mates with aquatic plants and 
 
A SPUING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 373 
 
 reeds, while they sit comfortably on the nest and weave 
 its sides. The male eagle, however, would have a far 
 harder task. I once, with much interest, noticed a pair 
 of baldcoots, on Duddingstone Loch, constructing their 
 damp abode. The male dived to the bottom for the leaves 
 of the water-lily, and the female always came to the side 
 of the nest to receive his billful, laying it along in a neat 
 methodical way like a building mason. 
 
 A delicious afternoon enabled us equally to enjoy our 
 return drive down the banks of the Urchay. The gor- 
 cocks, in the full pride of their scarlet combs, strutted often 
 within pistol-shot of the carriage, and at the foot of the 
 strath, the larches which grew upon the river's bank had 
 their customary complement of black game, perched as 
 usual near the top, and busily engaged in nipping the young 
 shoots. Within a short distance of the inn at Dalmally, a 
 brace of partridges were picking up the corn just sown by 
 the landlord. The noise of our vehicle sprang them. 
 Immediately an impudent sparrow-hawk, far less than the 
 partridge, struck one down. I did not see the deed done, 
 but our driver turned round, and with great animation 
 pointed out the bush where the wounded partridge lay. 
 The little assassin was beating a retreat, but left ample 
 proof of his guilt in a shower of stolen feathers which 
 streamed from him as he flew. He would be certain to 
 return to his prey, and might easily have been trapped. 
 No greater proof of the dire havoc hawks commit among 
 game can be adduced, than the fact that they refuse every- 
 thing they don't hunt down themselves. While, on the 
 
374 A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 contrary, no birds are easier trapped, even at a stale bait, 
 than kites and buzzards. 
 
 Once, and only once, I noticed a hen-harrier devouring 
 what she had no hand, or rather foot, in killing. On Lennie 
 Moor I wounded a grouse, and marked the spot where it 
 towered and fell. The scent was bad, and my dogs could 
 not find it. Two days after I was ranging the same 
 ground, and a female hen-harrier rose out of the heather. 
 She was giving the last polishing to the bones of my 
 grouse. It is probable she might have noticed the bird 
 fall, as hawks are very quick in detecting disabled prey. 
 I have seen them single out the wounded bird from a pack, 
 and stick to it closely. . Upon one occasion a hawk made a 
 desperate charge at a grouse I had actually knocked down, 
 neglecting several others which rose at the same moment. 
 I gave him an uncomfortable salute with my second barrel. 
 
 Next day was the last of our Highland trip, and my boy 
 begged hard to be allowed to dedicate a couple of hours to 
 the pike at Kilchurn.* He had caught his bait before 
 breakfast, and borrowed a pike tackle, the waiter's old rod, 
 and a small rickety reel with ten yards of very rotten line. 
 We walked down to the castle of Kilchurn, which is sur- 
 rounded by a shallow reach of water, a sort of enclosed 
 bay from Loch Awe, full of large pike. A boat is a great 
 advantage here, where sunk banks and feeding grounds 
 abound in every direction, as in many of the shallower 
 
 * The three best places on the loch for pike are Kilchurn, at the head, 
 Port and Sherry Bay, half way down, where the pike generally run large, 
 and, best of all, " the Foord " at the foot. 
 
A SPRING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 375 
 
 Highland lochs. We soon hooked a large pike, which ran 
 out our morsel of a line, and then snapped it. He most 
 likely found as little trouble in disgorging the hooks as in 
 breaking the line, which the following fact may show, and 
 I can vouch for the truth of it. 
 
 A Thames fisherman hooked a large u jack " when spin- 
 ning at a mill-tail for trout. Not having a disgorger at 
 hand, he cut the line and threw the pike into a tub of 
 water, to keep it alive and fresh for sale the following day. 
 To his amazement next morning, the creature had managed 
 to cast up the eight-hook tackle, which was lying in the tub. 
 
 The two following instances of the pike's voracity are 
 almost incredible, but both I can also certify. In the 
 spring of 1841, two pike of twelve pounds weight were 
 cast upon Loch Vennacher shore, each with a hold of the 
 other's jaws, and quite dead. The second instance hap- 
 pened in Suffolk. A jack of only two pounds was found 
 choked in attempting to swallow another of a pound and a 
 half. The gentleman who saw them taken out, only a 
 short time before, told me the fact. 
 
 But even these instances are equalled by the solemn 
 toothless cod. A friend of mine was trolling in Loch 
 Long, and hooked a seithe. An enormous cod seized the 
 seithe, and paid the penalty by being brought into the boat 
 himself. His girth seemed unnaturally large, and, upon 
 opening him, a brown paper packet of sandwiches, enough 
 for luncheon to a pretty large party, was taken out. They 
 could not have been less injured, mustard and all, had the 
 cod's stomach been a sandwich-box. 
 
(376 A SINKING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 
 
 Our pike has led me to digress. Having no more tackle, 
 we contented ourselves, before joining the carriage which 
 was to convey us to Inverary, with a view of the old castle, 
 now very tottery and dangerous to ascend. Numerous 
 daws were rejoicing in the holes and cavities. The osprey's 
 nest formerly graced a high pinnacle, the owners having 
 an abundant supply of food wherever they chose to seek it. 
 Sea-trout of alargesize I have several times seen in the water- 
 eagle's nest ; but seldom pike, and never flesh of any kind. 
 
 A gamekeeper wantonly shot the last of these beautiful 
 birds that tenanted Kilchurn's turrets, and none have 
 replaced them. I was delighted, however, when trolling 
 Loch Awe last summer, twice to meet with a solitary 
 osprey, probably the widower of Kilchurn Castle. In case 
 he should take a second mate, I have given directions to 
 my gamekeeper to watch in the spring whether they build 
 in any of the moor lochans in the neighbourhood, where, 
 I trust, they will be permitted to rear their family in peace. 
 
 Having some arrangements to make at my summer quar- 
 ters on Loch Awe about the middle of last May, I received 
 a message from my friend Peter Kobertson of the Black 
 Mount, the purport of which was, that as the sea-eagle had 
 been sitting hard for some time, he hoped there was little 
 risk of a disappointment like my last. Next evening I 
 arrived at his house. The moon in her crescent, a little 
 shaded by dappled clouds, was casting her pale glow upon 
 the untroubled waters of the forest, tempting us to steal a 
 night-march, in order to surprise the eyrie by break of day. 
 
A SPUING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 377 
 
 The fragrant air of the mountains made the spirit rebound, 
 and a slight touch of adventure gave zest to the whole. 
 There was just sufficient light when we neared the islet to 
 distinguish the two eagles winging their way to the main- 
 land. Both lit down near the shore, and eyed our proceed- 
 ings with an indifferent bearing. It was plain enough the 
 nest had been harried. With discomfited mien, the forester 
 ascended the tree only to confirm what we felt sure of 
 before. a I ken wha has served us this trick," says Peter, 
 setting his telescope for a last look at our quarry on the 
 shore. " He has swam in at nicht, the scoondrel, and ta'en 
 the eggs or young for fear o' his lambs. Mony a time he 
 has swam Loch Kannoch in the nicht-time to see his lass" 
 Upon inquiry, I found that this daring fellow had, night 
 after night, braved the winds and waves of that stormy 
 loch, re-enacting upon the solitudes of E-annoch the far- 
 sung feat of the Hellespont. It naturally struck me, was 
 his barefooted Scotch lassie worthy of such a courtship ? 
 Does she, now a Highland dame, feel a secret pride when, 
 sitting at her cottage door on a summer evening, she catches 
 a glimpse of the serene surface of her native loch ? Or 
 when the winter storm has raised the white wave, and the 
 snowdrift has sent her stalwart shepherd to the hill, does 
 she breathe the silent prayer of a thankful heart to the 
 Preserver of his days when their love was young ? With 
 such thoughts, I scarcely felt disappointment at the termina- 
 tion of my delicious night- walk, and, when I considered the 
 many night-swims the shepherd had taken for it, felt glad 
 that he had gained his prize^ though he had lost me mine. 
 
FRAGMENTS 
 
 MANY birds, especially those whose young ones run as 
 soon as hatched, and, being thus dispersed, are more 
 likely to be stumbled on, have various arts to arrest the 
 attention of the chance wanderer, and decoy him from 
 the brood. The lapwing is always most clamorous when 
 you are furthest from the objects of her solicitude. So 
 is the curlew ; but should you approach them, the mother 
 appears quite careless and unconcerned. Grouse and 
 partridges flutter along the ground as if wounded and 
 unable to fly, the latter uttering a most discordant scream. 
 I have always thought these birds overdo their part, 
 and that the lapwing is far superior to them in the art 
 of misleading. The manoeuvres of wild-ducks are similar 
 to those of grouse, and they give notice to the duck- 
 lings when they are to dive by a loud quack, which is 
 instantly obeyed. But the most finished actress I have 
 seen was a mire-snipe, which fluttered up exactly as if 
 the tip of its wing was broken. It flew in this disabled 
 manner for about ten yards, when it fell as if exhausted, 
 
FRAGMENTS. 379 
 
 and lay struggling on its side. I walked forward to seize 
 it, muttering, " Well, if they haven't been poaching even 
 now." Up it rose again, apparently with the greatest 
 difficulty. But this time it was longer in doing the 
 tumble-down part. Suspecting the trick, I followed to 
 see how it would end. After enticing me some distance, 
 it sprang up with its easy natural motion, and triumph- 
 antly twisted out of sight. 
 
 WHEN I lived at Lennie, my children set an old pea- 
 hen, long solitary, with some bantam eggs. Five came 
 out, and she proved so careful a stepmother as to rear 
 them all. Some knowing observers declared that her 
 long legs would walk them to death. Not so, for often 
 she carried the whole five on her back ; and if any one 
 seemed weak or flagging, she invariably took it up for 
 long together, as a good nurse would spare her sickly 
 child. When they were old enough to roost, she decoyed 
 them to the large boughs of some old tree, where they 
 continued to rest even during the long cold nights of 
 our northern winter. She tended them with great care 
 after they were quite able to shift for themselves, always 
 feeding them with any pieces of bread thrown to her. 
 The little bantams showed equal attachment to their 
 kind protectress ; and it was not till spring had far 
 advanced that they left her to join the other poultry. 
 
380 FEAGMENTS. 
 
 ALL creatures which feed upon flying insects, such as 
 the swallow, the bat, &c., must follow and dart at their 
 prey ; and this circumstance gives an uncertain irregular 
 cast to their own flight. There is no more curious 
 example of these evolutions than the large greenish brown 
 autumnal dragon-fly. This fierce dragon generally appears 
 in July, and remains till the winter sets in. It has 
 a beat of its own, which it plies most regularly, and its 
 rapid darts are more like a bird of prey than an insect. 
 You see one, perhaps, at a distance ; he is close to you in 
 an instant ; at two more of his aerial bounds, he clears 
 the adjacent plane-tree, teeming with insects; down the 
 opposite side, round your head again, and all the while 
 seizing gnats in his iron pincers like magic. I once 
 caught in my hat one of these Gorgons, which gave me 
 the opportunity from its being hampered with some load. 
 To my surprise the booty was a middle-sized butterfly, 
 firmly held in its forceps, and most unwillingly released. 
 The head of the poor victim was nearly separated 
 from its body. A most daring interference with the 
 pastime of a quiet angler, staying at my house, was 
 attempted by this insect last summer. He got hold of a 
 trout in Cladich Burn, and, by too brisk a tug, jerked 
 the baited hook out of its mouth, and over his shoulder. 
 The dragon pounced down, seized the worm, and was 
 actually whirled round his head, and nearly into the 
 water, ere it relinquished its grasp. These autumn 
 dragons are very numerous upon and about my moor 
 on Loch-Awe-side, and no doubt do good service by 
 
FRAGMENTS. 381 
 
 consuming so many gnats and midges. I have sometimes 
 knocked one down with at least half-a-dozen in his raven- 
 ous maw. The strength of the wasp is even greater. 
 After holding down and biting to death a fly nearly as 
 big as himself, I have seen him fly away with his burden 
 quite easily. The mason-wasp, also, after constructing 
 its cylinder, will carry a caterpillar as large as itself, and 
 deposit it above its egg, for food to the young grub when 
 it emerges. As great a feat for an insect, as the carrying 
 off an ox for a lion or a tiger. 
 
 SOME curious and interesting anecdotes of the nightin- 
 gale and other soft-billed birds, during the nesting-time, 
 were mentioned to me in conversation, and I begged 
 the kind narrator to commit them to writing. His high 
 standing is sufficient guarantee for their authenticity. 
 
 " We never had the nightingales so near the house as 
 this year. It was about the middle of May when, from 
 hearing them sing constantly, and one of them almost 
 at the door, we were led to look about for their nest, and 
 soon found it close upon the ground, in a Virginian rasp- 
 berry bush, most skilfully fenced about by the canes. 
 It was within a very few yards of the house not more 
 than ten. At first we were very cautious, and looked 
 at it but seldom, and at a distance ; but we soon found 
 that we might be bolder, and, in fact, came to look at 
 the bird as she was sitting, as near and as often as we 
 
382 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 pleased, without any symptom of annoying her. Quite 
 at the beginning of June the young birds were hatched, 
 and all went on well till the 9th, when L. M. K., hearing 
 a loud and unusual noise from the old birds, went to 
 look how things were going on at the nest. It seemed 
 prodigiously full ; and, upon looking close, she perceived 
 that it was filled with an enormous rat, then in the act 
 of devouring what remained of a young one, while both 
 the old birds were flying and chattering over it in the 
 most violent agitation. We soon found, however, that 
 they had contrived to carry off four of the little ones 
 into a place of safety, where they watched over them with 
 most extraordinary care. For some days we could not 
 any of us stir out of the house without the old birds 
 instantly appearing close at our side, and following us 
 wherever we went about the garden in the most fearless 
 manner ; and we had a little Skye terrier very like a rat 
 at the time who had a terrible life of it, and was scolded 
 and almost pecked wherever he went. All this went on 
 for nearly a month without any apparent diminution of 
 anxiety on the part of the birds, till at last the young 
 birds grew bold, and used to come daily for crumbs at 
 the kitchen door. One of them, indeed, in the evening 
 came into the house, and was shut up all night, but, when 
 the windows were opened in the morning, flew against 
 them and killed itself. This was almost the last we saw 
 of them that year. 
 
 " Last summer, (1840,) a redstart built its nest in a 
 magnolia by the side of the garden wall at Sir Henry 
 
FRAGMENTS. 383 
 
 Bunbury's, Barton, Suffolk. The bird laid four eggs, and 
 then, without any known cause, forsook the nest. Very 
 soon afterwards a flycatcher came, and, having spread a 
 little covering over the redstart's eggs, laid one of her 
 own. Upon this one egg she began immediately to sit; 
 and while she was sitting, a Jenny-wren came and also 
 laid one egg in the same nest. She too thereupon began 
 to sit, and both birds sat together upon the same nest 
 for many days, and were seen and looked at together by 
 many persons daily. Both also hatched their young ; but 
 as the flycatcher came first, it was fledged first and flew 
 away. Almost immediately afterwards there came at 
 night a violent thunder-storm, which, as the nest of course 
 had not the wren^s usual covering, filled it with rain, and 
 the poor little one was drowned. In this state I saw it 
 next morning, August 17, lying dead and soaked upon 
 the redstart's eggs ; and the whole of this story, just as 
 I have related it, I heard two several times from Sir 
 Henry and Lady Bunbury." 
 
 I HAVE been told by old people who " wonned " on the 
 banks of Loch Lomond, when adders were plentiful, that 
 they frequently noticed these reptiles in the warm sum- 
 mer nights creep from the tangled brushwood, take the 
 water, and swim in the direction of the islands. They 
 were easily seen on their voyage, as they always kept 
 their heads above water. There is less opportunity now 
 
384 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 of observing these " fish without fins," since the banks 
 have been cleared and cultivated; but to this day Inch 
 Tavannach and Inch Connachan are much infested by 
 them, and indeed all the islands which grow copse and 
 heather. I had a narrow escape near the top of Inch 
 Tavannach rock, when after blackcocks one burning day 
 in September. I heard the creature's malignant hiss 
 close to me, and struck it on the head with the butt of 
 my gun. It appeared stupified ; and I was in the act of 
 tying a string round its neck, when I espied another 
 coiled up within a yard of my hand, but quite still. I 
 stepped back for a stick, and gave him a smart rap, which 
 appeared to have put him also beyond further mischief, 
 tied the other end of the string round his neck, and lifted 
 both into my game-bag. I had no success with the old 
 cocks, so soon rowed home. My brother was standing 
 on the quay, and bantered me about coming back with 
 an empty bag. I denied the charge, and, in proving 
 my point, out jumped the two adders quite alive among 
 our fingers. We were close together at the bag-opening, 
 but when my scaly game made its appearance, there was 
 a clear space of ten yards at two bounds. The adders 
 were between two and three feet long. 
 
 We chanced on another very large fellow, one hot July 
 day, basking on Inch Moan, just where the shore and 
 heather join. I cut him in two with a blow of my stick, 
 and he had a frog in his stomach, which he must have 
 sucked down head foremost like a boa-constrictor. I have 
 little doubt they destroy quantities of young game in the 
 
FRAGMENTS. 385 
 
 same way, as they are very numerous on our moors, 
 where I have sometimes shot them to my dog's point. 
 Many keepers declare that they destroy the eggs of 
 game; but I rather think an adder would be puzzled 
 either to break them or bolt them whole. Hedgehogs 
 both suck the eggs, and even devour the very young 
 birds. It is therefore probable that their depredations 
 are often laid to the charge of the adder. My brother's 
 gamekeeper had a pheasant's nest full of eggs consumed 
 by one hedgehog. Expecting to find the bird sitting, 
 he was surprised to count only six out of fourteen eggs. 
 Next day there were only two. He therefore set a trap 
 and caught the robber, a large hedgehog. In the High- 
 lands, however, hedgehogs are rather scarce. Not so in the 
 Lowlands. I seldom went out partridge-shooting, either in 
 Selkirkshire or East Lothian, without my dogs coming to a 
 dead point at one of those bristly balls ; and in the former 
 county I took six out of the same hibernaculum of turnip 
 leaves. Such numbers must do serious injury to the preserves. 
 
 THE Norway rat is another formidable enemy to game, 
 but does not so much frequent the fields till the grain is 
 ripe. The little patches of corn which skirt Kilmun Moor 
 are chosen resorts of these destructive creatures. The 
 indefatigable terrier may then be seen digging at a burrow 
 for half a day ; while stealthy puss, in the twilight, more 
 sure of carrying her point by guile, sits patiently watching 
 
 2B 
 
38G FRAGMENTS. 
 
 another colony of Norsemen, until one of them creeps 
 from the hole. But the rat is still more afraid of the 
 stoat ; there is no escape from him, for he can follow them 
 to the inmost recesses of their earth. Early one morning, 
 when looking after blackcocks on the stubble, I detected 
 a stoat entering a rat's hole. As he had not seen me, I 
 stood ready to shoot him, expecting his reappearance. I 
 noticed something move on the ground, a little way off, 
 which proved to be one of the largest male rats I had ever 
 seen, giving its last kick, and weltering in a pool of blood. 
 It had been seized by the crown of the head, and no other 
 wound was perceptible. Wishing to ascertain whether 
 hunger or enmity was the cause of this attack, I returned 
 after breakfast, and found the rat dragged to some distance, 
 and its neck and shoulders devoured. 
 
 At another time, in East Lothian, I witnessed a most 
 curious chase after a rabbit by a stoat. Close to the House 
 of Hopes, where I was spending the summer, there are two 
 knolls, one a low sandy one, covered with furze and broom, 
 and all catacombed by rabbit-burrows. Standing upon the 
 higher knoll, I perceived on the one beneath a rabbit 
 dotting along, with a young one, as I thought, following. 
 It was soon plain that the little creature in the rear was a 
 stoat. From my high position, I easily commanded a full 
 view of the hunt. Twice did the tiny pursuer track its 
 prey the whole round of the knoll, a distance of some 
 hundred yards, the rabbit refusing to enter any of the 
 numerous burrows, although it was sometimes so nearly 
 seized as to be obliged to vault into the air to escape. At 
 
FRAGMENTS. 387 
 
 last it got a little way ahead, and took refuge in some 
 thick brushwood. Expecting that its fate was now sealed, 
 I ran down, and in so doing alarmed the stoat, which made 
 off into a drain. To give the rabbit a chance for its life, 
 I started it also, and it cantered away in an opposite direc- 
 tion. On telling the story to a farmer there, he said that 
 these hunts were not unusual on that bank, but they were far 
 more comical when the stoat was in his white winter dress. 
 The rabbits were almost always run down, and he had trained 
 his sheep-dogs to attack the stoat ; at which they were soon 
 so expert as very rarely to miss being the rabbit's avenger. 
 The weasel, only half the size of the stoat, is more 
 than a match for either a full-grown rabbit or rat. I was 
 amused by an account of one of these combats, related to 
 me by a friend who had just witnessed it, while riding 
 along the public road, near Wargrave, in Berkshire. A 
 weasel had attacked a large Norway rat, which seemed to 
 think discretion the better part of valour. As he was 
 retreating, he always wheeled about, raising himself on his 
 hind legs when attacked in rear. As soon as the weasel 
 heard the sound of the horses' feet, he hid behind a 
 wall, but the poor rat was so completely done up as 
 to suffer himself to be seized by the tail. The English 
 peasantry assert that there are two kinds of weasel, one 
 very small, called " a cane," or " the mouse-killer." This 
 idea, I have no doubt, is erroneous, and the " mouse- 
 killers" are only the young ones of the year; numbers of 
 these half-grown weasels appearing in summer and autumn. 
 
388 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 THERE are many conjectures as to the cause of pure 
 white or pied pheasants suddenly appearing in a preserve, 
 which had only been stocked with the common coloured 
 birds. The most reasonable solution seems to be that 
 white blood, although remote, might appear after several 
 generations. I have been led to think so, from seeing a 
 whole brood of pheasants turn out milk-white, when the 
 parents were both of the ordinary kind. More often, 
 however, there are only one or two white birds of the 
 same hatch. At Kossdhu, one white hen was observed 
 the second season after pheasants were turned out. It 
 was unfortunately caught in a vermin-trap in the autumn. 
 Several years elapsed before any more were seen, when 
 one cock and two hens appeared among the other phea- 
 sants collected on the stubbles at the beginning of winter. 
 These were most probably hatched in the same nide. 
 Since then several more have been noticed at different 
 periods. Pied pheasants have never been seen there, 
 although in many places they are less uncommon than the 
 white. I killed one, very prettily marked, in Koxburgh- 
 shire, which I put up several times before getting a shot 
 at it. The tail and wing-pinions were pure white ; head, 
 neck, and back spotted with white feathers, and legs the 
 colour of a white fowl's. The spurs were exceedingly long 
 and sharp, which, together with its size and brilliancy of 
 plumage, showed it must have been very old. 
 
 As there are many preserves where neither pied nor 
 white pheasants have ever been heard of, I am strongly 
 of opinion that a sprinkling of white pheasants have ori- 
 
FRAGMENTS. 389 
 
 ginally been imported, which may have partially extended 
 their ramifications. Most sportsmen will have observed 
 something of the same kind when rabbit-shooting ; a black 
 fellow suddenly starting tip amidst multitudes of the com- 
 mon grey. I recollect once seeing, in the middle of a 
 populous rabbit-warren, four very young black ones, the 
 only sable inhabitants of the colony. I have often watched 
 them from a tree, and noted that they always kept close 
 together, and frequented the same hole. No doubt they 
 were of the same litter. 
 
 Quite distinct from the above is the Albino, several 
 examples of which variety I inserted in the Edinburgh 
 Evening Courant of January 15, 1849. I select the two fol- 
 lowing, as being particularly curious. " A cream-coloured 
 hart is now roaming Lord Breadalbane's celebrated forest, 
 the Black Mount. But perhaps the most interesting of 
 these l lusus ' is a beautiful roe of the purest white, which 
 haunts the tangled copses of Craig-an-James, on the banks 
 of Loch Lomond. This fairy-like creature, so harmonising 
 with the romantic district it frequents, was first observed 
 last spring, when a fawn, by the keepers of Sir James 
 Colquhoun of that Ilk, on whose property it is. Its eyes 
 are red, and, what is very remarkable, it does not vary its 
 colour according to the season. This is the more unac- 
 countable, as the roe always ehanges the chestnut red of 
 summer for the dark mouse-colour of winter. This winter 
 dress prevents the animal from being readily seen, when 
 the coverts are thin and bare and the trees stript of their 
 leaves, and is one among the thousand provisions for these 
 
FRAGMENTS. 
 
 creatures, so defenceless and so often assailed, by the Hand 
 that formed them all. The instinct, however, of the spe- 
 cies leads our white-robed dryad to suppose herself, when 
 squatted, as safe as her sober-coated companions, though 
 her colour at once betrays her. The Alpine hare, on the 
 contrary, not being an exception, but a distinct race, seems 
 fully aware of its conspicuous winter appearance, and, when 
 the snow is off the ground, always seeks to hide among 
 the light grey rocks or thick patches of heather." 
 
 I am sorry to say that this curiosity was unable to bear 
 the only few days of severe weather the following winter. 
 It was found in a dying state among the snow, which it 
 almost rivalled in purity. My brother has had it stuffed. 
 
 The summer before last, another red-deer calf appeared 
 in the Black Mount, as white as a sheep. This yearling 
 can be made out on the hill at a mile's distance, among 
 heather or rocks. 
 
 There is a pure white rook in the Edinburgh Zoological 
 Gardens, taken out of a nest at Dalkeith. The brood 
 contained several black ones besides, one of which was 
 brought away for company and by way of contrast to the 
 albino. The ivory and ebony were both in fine polish the 
 last time I saw them. 
 
 In all creatures that put on their white winter dress, 
 there is a dark spot, left as hostage for their again appear- 
 ing in summer hue ; but albinos have always the same 
 unvarying sickly white. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 391 
 
 THE hooded or Koyston crow of England must either 
 be different in its habits from that of Scotland, or natural- 
 ists of the south are much mistaken in their observations on 
 this bird, Bewick and others make a marked difference 
 between the Koyston and carrion crows, saying that the 
 " former arrive with the woodcock, and take their depar- 
 ture in spring to breed." Now, in Scotland, there appear 
 to me nearly as many hooded as carrion crows all summer, 
 and loth are called by the common people " Hoody Craws." 
 Nests are constantly found with one of both kinds ; and I 
 have noticed that the male is generally hooded, and the 
 female black. The young also are mixed. Bewick says 
 that, in more northern parts, the Eoyston crow remains 
 the whole year, subsisting on sea-worms, shell-fish, &c. 
 Now I have remarked that the black crow is nearly as 
 often to be met with on the sea-shore as the Eoyston, and 
 is equally fond of shell-fish. Those hooded crows on the 
 sea-shore are much lighter in the colour, and more apt to 
 live in pairs than the inland ones, which I don't recollect 
 ever seeing build together. I have, however, often found 
 nests where both male and female were black. The food 
 of Inland Eoyston and black carrion crows is alike ; their 
 habits are the same ; they are also found always in com- 
 pany when the young leave the nest. A gamekeeper, of 
 some experience in trapping vermin, informs me that two 
 Eoystons and two black may be hatched in the same 
 nest ; also, that sometimes the male is hooded, and some- 
 times the female. 
 
392 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 ONE morning last January, my boy, when leaving home 
 for the Edinburgh Academy, noticed what he called a 
 foreign bird with " a fine top" feeding upon the fruit of 
 the sweetbrier rose, in our garden at Portobello. As the 
 train was about to start, he was unable to warn me of 
 this rarity. At feeding time, next day, the crested 
 foreigner again took possession of his bush, and, not con- 
 tent with satisfying his own hunger, drove away all the 
 natives from their morning meal. Whenever I got my 
 eye on him, I saw that he was a male waxwing, (the 
 Bohemian chatterer,) and, of course, in fine plumage at 
 that time of year. His crest and bearing made him look 
 exactly like a miniature jay. He twisted off two or three 
 large hips, swallowed them whole, rested for a while, then 
 repeated the operation, always clearing the bush of com- 
 pany. After watching his tyrannical conduct, I took the 
 liberty of adding him to my list of stuffed specimens. It 
 was rather curious that he should have taken up his quar- 
 ters in our crescent, surrounded by houses on all sides. 
 
 IN consequence of a summons from Adams of the Bass 
 Rock, last March, I went down, by a morning train, to 
 North Berwick, where he agreed to meet me for a cruise in 
 the firth after the eider-ducks. Each year a few of these 
 Norwegians remain among the rocky islets of the Forth for 
 the purpose of incubation. On the Bass there was only one 
 nest last season ; but they are more apt to hatch on the rocks 
 
FRAGMENTS. 393 
 
 of " the Lamb " and " Fiddery," and even in the bluff head- 
 lands of the coast. Their nests are not easily found, especially 
 as the duck is so close a sitter. As the eiders had not 
 paired, I expected a good view of them swimming in 
 small companies, and perhaps a chance shot at a drake 
 from a large single gun I brought with me. The west 
 wind scarcely dimpled the sea ; so, with the exception of 
 one long shot which did not touch, no eiders would allow 
 a nearer approach than some hundred yards. The drakes 
 had a singular appearance on wing the upper half of their 
 bodies snowy white, and the lower jet black. At the dis- 
 tance they rose, the division of colour looked pretty equal. 
 I was delighted with a good sight of that beautiful creature 
 the long-tailed duck. He was diving in the harbour, 
 and is nicknamed " Col the caunle-wick" by the fishermen, 
 on account of his cry. We passed a very wild flock or 
 two of velvet-ducks, but I saw none of the common 
 scoter. Crowds of dunlins and knots, collectively named 
 " mussel-pickers " by Adams, were tripping upon many 
 of the points. The oyster-catchers (" sea-pyats ") also 
 held a meeting on the rocks of " the Lamb." I was 
 anxious to hear of the great northern diver, and one 
 of our crew told me that he had sometimes seen it, and 
 once fired a great many shots at a splendid " loon " 
 without effect. The red-throated diver now and then 
 rose near our boat, which he pointed out as " a gurl." 
 The raven had shifted its quarters from the Bass to 
 Fiddery, and, when nearing the islet, we noticed the pair 
 flying across to the opposite shore. The nest was under 
 
394 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 a screen of rock immediately overhanging a perpendicular 
 cliff. It was quite snug from the weather. Although we 
 could not see into the nest, there were most likely eggs, 
 as the raven lays so early. All winter, the great cor- 
 morant, roosts at night upon the Bass. They were now 
 in their superb breeding plumage, and, from the white 
 patch of feathers on each thigh, they have obtained the 
 flash name of " the letter-o'-mark/' The boatmen fancied 
 the birds under three years, who had not this 'mark, a 
 distinct species. We saw numbers flying backwards and 
 forwards, or sitting patient upon a rock, imparting to it 
 their own silent mournful character. Their credentials 
 were quite apparent to the naked eye. The wind was in 
 the wrong direction for landing, or I could easily have pro- 
 cured a " letter-o'-mark" flying to its perch in the evening, 
 as they had not yet abandoned their winter dormitory. 
 
 THE common buzzard is a capital mole-catcher ; and at 
 the beginning of winter, when the mole-hills appear, he 
 generally takes possession of any convenient fallow-ground. 
 Shifting from tree to tree, he watches the casting up of the 
 earths, ready to leap down upon the mole as soon as his 
 instinct assures him that it is close to the surface. Buz- 
 zards always watch prey in this manner, and jump down 
 upon it from the perch. They destroy numbers of reptiles 
 and small vermin, on which account they deserve the good- 
 will of the farmer. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TRAPPING THE TRUE AND LEGITIMATE WAY TO 
 DESTROY VERMIN 
 
 I HAVE put together the following directions for the trapping 
 of vermin, in order that gentlemen may judge of the merits 
 of their keepers in this respect ; being well aware how few 
 have anything like a perfect knowledge of this most neces- 
 sary part of their business. No moors or manors can abound 
 with game unless the vermin are killed off; and if the traps 
 are not set with much skill, and the places for planting them 
 for the different kinds of vermin selected with great judgment, 
 more harm than good is done, as few are caught, and the rest 
 put on their guard, and thus rendered more cunning and diffi- 
 cult to be trapped afterwards. 
 
 A gentleman should first ascertain if his keeper can per- 
 form the mere manual act of setting a trap. This must be done 
 by cutting a shape for it with a mole-spade in the turf, thinly 
 sprinkling the plate with earth, and then giving a top-covering 
 precisely the same as the ground : when set, it should be neither 
 higher nor lower. After having satisfied himself of the neat- 
 ness of the setting, the gentleman may spring the trap, and if it 
 closes clear of grass or leaves, he may rest satisfied that his 
 keeper knows the A B C of vermin-killing. If, on the contrary, 
 
398 TRAPPING THE TRUE AND LEGITIMATE 
 
 a quantity of the top-dressing is caught between the jaws of 
 the trap, the keeper is not fit to set for vermin, and must 
 be made thoroughly master of this first requisite before he 
 attempts to do so. 
 
 I shall now mention the different kinds of four-footed and 
 then winged vermin, giving minute instructions how each may 
 be most readily trapped. Foxes are the most cunning, and 
 consequently most difficult to be taken. The best time to set 
 for them is from the beginning of January when the males 
 follow the females till March. Their haunts may then often 
 be discovered by their wild peculiar bark. Any clear open 
 space near them, with a hollow in the middle, is the place to 
 plant traps. The hollow is necessary, as the fox always likes to 
 be out of sight when he is eating. The bait is a piece of hare, 
 rabbit, or the entrails of any animal, covered over slightly with 
 earth; and half-a-dozen traps are set round with the utmost 
 care. Fewer will not do, as the fox might escape between. The 
 bait is covered over in order to make Reynard suppose that 
 another fox or dog may have buried it there. Some drag it 
 along the ground for a considerable distance on either side, after 
 first rubbing it on the soles of their shoes, and letting fall 
 little pieces of cheese at intervals : this can do no harm, but I 
 think as little good. 
 
 The circle of twigs is also a very good way of trapping 
 foxes all the year. It should be made larger than for martens 
 or cats, in order to contain more bait this should be added to 
 without being removed when it taints, as the greater the scent 
 the better the chance. Traps set for foxes should never be made 
 fast, or they are apt to gnaw the leg off : the best plan is to tie 
 two or three together ; for if the fox can drag them, however 
 great the difficulty, he will not attempt the desperate remedy of 
 amputating Ms leg. When they have litters, the old ones may 
 be taken ; but it requires great judgment to select the spot they 
 would be most likely to walk over in going to and from their 
 young : a first-rate trapper, however, will generally secure one 
 or both. It is the more difficult, as the traps must be set at 
 
WAY TO DESTROY VERMIN. 399 
 
 some distance, or the young ones would be apt to stumble into 
 them. As only single traps are set, they should be tied to a 
 stone just large enough for the fox to drag with some trouble. 
 The keeper should always sprinkle a little water over the top 
 covering of the trap to take off the scent of his fingers. 
 
 I do not give publicity to these modes of destroying foxes, 
 with any design to their being followed in the Lowlands, where 
 the gentlemen of the " View halloo ! " would give me small 
 thanks. I only write for the preservation of the Highland 
 game and lambs ; and am sure that, if my plan was vigorously 
 followed up, we should not be infested with half so many foxes 
 as we are, " fox-hunter" and all ! This, I believe, will never 
 be ; the fun of a Highland fox-hunt being so popular among the 
 farmers as to overbalance the merits of any other system 
 requiring trouble, dexterity, and patience.* 
 
 The otter, although harmless on the moor, is sufficiently mis- 
 chievous in the loch to deserve honourable mention here. On 
 the banks of the lochs and rivers which he frequents, he has 
 always a fane to which he resorts once a day : this is either a 
 stone or root of a tree ; but if neither of these are at hand, he 
 scrapes up the sand or gravel into a small mound. It is easy 
 to know his marks, as his dung is full of fish-bones. Traps 
 should be set all round, a twenty-feet cord tied to each, with 
 a cork or piece of wood attached ; the traps never to be fastened, 
 otherwise the otter may pull out his leg, from its being so 
 smooth, thick, and short. The moment he is caught, he waddles 
 with the trap to the water, which sinks and drowns him, the 
 
 * I lately saw in the newspapers a plan for extirpating foxes in the 
 Highlands. Each hill-farmer was to keep a couple of fox-hounds, a good 
 greyhound, besides terriers. When occasion offered, they were to join 
 packs, and collect the best shots (alias, the greatest poachers) in the neigh- 
 bourhood. I can only say, without in the least impugning the motives or 
 honesty of intention of the projector, that if the Highland proprietors 
 suffer a gang of this kind to take the hill at pleasure, they will soon hardly 
 have a head of game on their estates. As to allowing farmers to keep 
 greyhounds, terriers, &c., no gentleman who sets any value on his grouse 
 or hares would ever think of it. 
 
400 TRAPPING THE TRUE AND LEGITIMATE 
 
 line and float showing where. It is also an excellent plan to 
 look for the place where he lands, and plant a trap just under 
 water. As soon as he strikes for ground, he is caught by the 
 fore-feet. This trap needs no covering but the water, and is 
 never suspected. 
 
 Cats, martens, and fowmartes are easily trapped. Plant a 
 circle of twigs about three yards round, the twigs a foot and 
 a half long and close to each other, placing the same bait as 
 for a fox in the centre, but without any covering; leave two 
 openings at opposite sides just large enough for the trap. You 
 may also set with baits hanging on the- stem of a tree a few 
 twigs placed on either side to prevent the vermin sneaking in 
 there, and so carrying off the buit. Box-traps are very good for 
 stoats or weasels; but as they are generally set in the low 
 grounds, where polecats also abound, I prefer an iron rat-trap 
 with a strong spring, having found that the fowmarte constantly 
 pushed up the lid of the other, and so escaped. The rat-trap 
 will hold a polecat, and do little or no injury to cattle or dogs. 
 The bait should be hung upon a twig immediately above, and 
 almost out of reach of the weasels. 
 
 Stoats, and especially weasels, are often seen in great abun- 
 dance in summer. They may then be very easily shot, as you 
 have only to imitate the squeak of a mouse to bring them close 
 to you. I once, when without a gun, decoyed one so far away 
 from its retreat that I killed it with my stick. Should the 
 keeper see a weasel, all he has to do is, with as much speed as 
 possible, to cut a small piece from any of his baits, drag it along 
 the ground where he last saw the weasel, and hang it on a twig 
 with his rat-trap under, as before described : if he does not let 
 too long time elapse, it is sure to be taken. The weasel, like 
 the merlin, is the maximum of strength, courage, and activity, 
 in the minimum of size. The depredations of this little crea- 
 ture would not be so formidable, if he contented himself with 
 satisfying hunger. But, on the contrary, whenever he has the 
 opportunity, he murders by wholesale like the marten, rejecting 
 everything but the most dainty morsels. One of these little 
 
WAY TO DESTROY VERMIN. 401 
 
 rascals, in pursuit of a rabbit or young hare, is the very minia- 
 ture of a wolf running down a deer ; a panic comes over the 
 victim, which prevents it from making a determined effort to 
 escape. Instead of distancing its persecutor by taking a long 
 stretch, the poor terror-stricken rabbit keeps slowly dotting 
 along, only a short way ahead, and squats down the first oppor- 
 tunity. The weasel follows on the track, and very soon the 
 rabbit, not daring to take refuge in its hole, resigns itself to 
 its fate. 
 
 I kept a weasel for some time in a wire cage, which soon 
 became tame enough to pull little pieces of meat from the 
 hand through the bars. Having a mind to try its pluck, I 
 procured from a rat-catcher an enormous male rat, at least 
 twice the size of the weasel, and in presence of several friends 
 turned it into the cage. The rat reared itself on its hind legs 
 and fought with the utmost desperation, but in less than a 
 quarter of a minute it lay gasping on its side. There is a 
 curious account of a similar fight between a large buck-ferret 
 and a rat, in Jesse's Gleanings of Natural History ; but I 
 cannot help thinking, either that the rat must have been the 
 champion of the genus mus, or the ferret the most faint-hearted 
 of his species. Once let a ferret, properly entered at rats, get 
 within a gripe of its foe, and it will seize ty scent with the 
 rapidity of lightning, and never quit its hold while life remains. 
 The pheasantry-keeper, whom I before mentioned as having 
 taught grouse, black-game, pheasants, &c., to live together in 
 harmony, tried a similar experiment with a ferret, a polecat, a 
 stoat, and a weasel. They were confined in a large box grated 
 over with iron bars ; and the result proved that a ferret stands 
 upon little ceremony with a much more fierce and active enemy 
 than a rat. The first victim was the stoat, whose place was 
 supplied by another, which soon shared the fate of its prede- 
 cessor. The ferret next attacked and killed the weasel ; and, 
 to crown all, the polecat, a large male, nearly double the size 
 of the ferret, a small female, was found dead one morning the 
 cage exhibiting the marks of a desperate struggle : the fowmarte 
 
 2c 
 
402 TRAPPING THE TRUE AND LEGITIMATE 
 
 certainly fought at disadvantage, one of its fore-legs having 
 been injured by a trap. These creatures had lived together 
 for upwards of a month, after which time the ferret commenced 
 its attacks at intervals of a few days or a week. I went out 
 daily to see them fed, when the dinner-party exhibited very 
 little kindliness or good breeding. 
 
 No traps should be set for running vermin during warm 
 weather, as the bait so soon taints ; nor in hard frost, as the 
 traps are then not apt to spring, or hold the vermin so 
 slightly that they escape. 
 
 WINGED VERMIN 
 
 The hawk tribe, seldom or never taking a bait, are the 
 most difficult to be trapped of all winged vermin. The only 
 plan with any chance of success (except at the breeding time) 
 is to place a trap on the top of a wall, or bare stump of a 
 tree, throwing a dead cat or other carrion at the foot ; the 
 hawks will often alight, to look down at it, and thus be 
 caught. A hawk, however, will always return to any bird he 
 has killed, even should scarcely anything be left but the bones. 
 In such a case, immediately procure a trap, hang the bird 
 directly above, and close to it, or the hawk may reach over 
 and take it down without touching the trap. 
 
 But when they hatch is the time thoroughly to thin them. 
 The nests should be most carefully searched out, and not dis- 
 turbed until the young are more than half fledged. Many 
 shoot the old hen flying off her eggs ; but this is not the way 
 to extirpate the race, as the males of course escape. When 
 the young are pretty strong, and able to call loudly from 
 hunger, take them out of the nest, and make two circles out 
 of sight of each other. These circles must not be artificial or 
 formed of twigs stuck in the ground, but any bushes of furze, 
 heather, or rushes, must be taken advantage of for the pur- 
 pose. Half of the young ones must be tied in the one, and 
 
WAY TO DESTROY VERMIN. 40.3 
 
 half in the other. They must have very short tethers, or they 
 will waddle into the trap. If this is well executed, you are sure 
 of both old ones next day. 
 
 Buzzards * and kites are easily trapped in autumn or winter, 
 as they readily take a bait. It is not worth while to take 
 much trouble about them, as they do little mischief to game, 
 unless a young bird that cannot fly, or small leveret, happen 
 to stumble in their way. I am loath to bring an accusation 
 against my great favourite, the ivy-owl, but truth compels me 
 to say that he is nearly as injurious to game as the buzzard 
 quite as much so as the kite. The other owls viz, the white 
 and the long and short eared may be considered harmless. 
 
 Carrion-crows and ravens, or " corbies," take them for all 
 in all, are perhaps as mischievous as hawks. The best season 
 for trapping them is in March and April ; the circle of twigs 
 is to be set in conspicuous places ; the same bait as for foxes, 
 martens, &c. will do, but the best is a dead lamb, from being 
 so readily seen ; and at that season it may be very easily 
 procured. The numbers taken in this way are astonishing. 
 When they become cunning, take down the twigs and plant 
 half-a-dozen traps round the lamb. If there is a puddle of 
 water near, the bait may be placed in the middle of it, with 
 one or two entrances, upon which traps may be set ; the 
 ravens, &c. are sure to light on these entrances before settling 
 on the lamb, and the trouble of setting so many traps as 
 would otherwise be required is thus avoided. 
 
 Magpies, jays, &c. all take a bait; but the grand recipe 
 thoroughly to destroy them is to find the nests and set the 
 young in circles. 
 
 * A curious story of the honey-buzzard was related to me by a gentle- 
 man whose name stands high as a scholar, and who takes great interest in 
 Natural History. A friend of his was passing a gravel-pit, when he per- 
 ceived what he thought was a bird without a head ; he walked silently 
 forward and seized it, and discovered that his prize was a honey-buzzard, 
 which had thrust its head into a wasp's nest, and was busily engaged in 
 devouring the larvae. The bird was kept tame for some time afterwards. 
 
404 TRAPPING THE TRUE AND LEGITIMATE 
 
 There are many other ways of killing all these vermin 
 which I have not thought it worth while to mention, as they 
 cannot stand a comparison with those I have named. Traps 
 must always be set close to paths or any other open places 
 near the haunts of the different vermin, with which it should 
 be the keeper's great endeavour to make himself thoroughly 
 acquainted. If placed according to these rules, there is not 
 much danger of either cattle or game getting into any, 
 except those set without circles for carrion-crows or foxes, which 
 of course require caution. We constantly see keepers loung- 
 ing about with their guns in pursuit of vermin ; this ought 
 not to be. Guns only tempt them to idleness, and are an 
 excellent excuse for doing nothing. In my opinion, no vermin 
 should be shot by a gamekeeper. But if his master prefer 
 securing the old hens as they fly off the nest during incuba- 
 tion, instead of waiting for the young to come out, no other 
 plan can be adopted. My reasons to the contrary have been 
 given. 
 
 I have no doubt that the truly valuable keeper, who takes 
 an interest in the duties of his situation, will approve of all 
 I have said, and endeavour to profit by it : the careless, 
 ignorant, and lazy will as certainly cavil and condemn. 
 
 TRAPS 
 
 Great care should be taken in the selection of traps : none 
 but an approved maker ought to be employed : that the springs 
 are well tempered and strong is of the utmost consequence. The 
 jaws must overlap, which is a great preventive to the legs, 
 especially of the winged vermin, being shred off. To avoid 
 this, some traps are made with weaker springs and long teeth : 
 these are not to be recommended, for, although the teeth may 
 counterbalance the weakness of the spring, yet the vermin are 
 apt to feel them when walking up to the bait, and slink back 
 without stepping on the plate. It is also much more difficult 
 
WAY TO DESTROY VERMIN. 405 
 
 to set them neatly. Traps whose springs have been weakened 
 by constant use may be reserved for flying vermin. 
 
 * 
 VEEMIN TERRIER 
 
 I had almost forgotten to say that every game keeper, in all 
 his trapping and other excursions, should be accompanied by 
 an excellent vermin terrier. The use of this dog is to chal- 
 lenge vermin in earths, clefts of rocks, &c., thus making the 
 keeper aware where to plant a trap to find out fowmartes 
 in old walls or heaps of stones, where they generally conceal 
 themselves, and to run those banes of the preserve, the semi- 
 wild, cats, into trees, where, with the assistance of his master, 
 they may easily be killed. A dog will soon become so expert 
 at this last accomplishment that few cats will be able to escape 
 him. These cats do much more mischief than real wild ones, 
 as they are impudent enough to carry their depredations into 
 the midst of the preserve, and close to the most frequented 
 places. The fowmarte, although an enemy to all game, is 
 generally more calumniated than he deserves : he is not 
 nearly so injurious as the marten or cat. I have frequently 
 found his retreat when no other signs of plunder were to be 
 seen except a few frogs half-eaten. When discovered, the 
 polecat has no activity ; and if the wall or heap of stones 
 where he has sheltered himself can be pulled down or re- 
 moved, he cannot escape. 
 
 Only one and the same terrier should be the keeper's 
 constant companion, as the dog will soon be " up to " the 
 traps, and from continual practice become first-rate at this 
 work. He must have a very good nose, and be perfectly 
 callous to game of all descriptions, but especially rabbits and 
 hares. 
 
406 ON DESTROYING VERMIN. 
 
 POISONING VERMIN 
 
 Clearing off the vermin by poison has been much in vogue of 
 late years. But, to say nothing of murdering all the dogs in 
 the neighbourhood, it seems a pity to treat the now rare and 
 interesting rovers of the desert like rats. This Turko-Spanish 
 plan of quietly putting them out of the way may find favour 
 with the man whose only pleasure in Highland sport consists in 
 butchering game. For my own part, I would rather trap one fine 
 specimen of the hill-fox, the wild-cat, or the marten, than shoot 
 one hundred brace of grouse. As to the mean pilfering Low- 
 land kinds, such as carrion-crows and magpies, there is no 
 danger of scarcity in that quarter, and no risk in poisoning 
 them, provided it is done by means of eggs. The keeper has 
 only to gum with a piece of white paper the chip in the shell 
 where the strychnine is inserted, and put two or three of 
 these poisoned eggs, a little shaded by the long grass, under 
 the trees where the magpies, &c. harbour. They will be 
 almost certain to see and devour them. 
 
 THE END 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH 
 
 

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