THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 FOKAYS 
 
 AMONG 
 
 SALMON AND DEER

 
 FORAYS 
 
 AMONG 
 
 SALMON AND DEER 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES CONWAY 
 
 NEW EDITION 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO. 
 GLASGOW; THOMAS D. MOBISON
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 OUR bonnie isle at least considerably more 
 than the southern half of it is now so crossed 
 and recrossed by the many intersecting lines of 
 " rail " which have of late sprung into being, 
 and which are still multiplying, that the map of 
 England in " Bradshaw " is beginning to bear a 
 strong resemblance to the web which we might 
 imagine constructed by some eccentric old spider, 
 who, defying all the rules of goemetry, sacrifices 
 symmetry to utility, content if only his meshes 
 are strong enough to secure for him occasionally 
 a goodly blue-bottle. Along these lines, which 
 form, as it were, the veins and arteries of the 
 country, the glowing blood of England courses 
 and recourses vigorously, in constantly renewed 
 pulsations, between her heart of hearts, the 
 Metropolis, and her distant extremities. Thus 
 it conies to pass that many, taking advantage of 
 the comparative proximity into which even the 
 Highlands of Scotland are now brought, and 
 
 908650
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 yielding to that roaming propensity, so charac- 
 teristic of the Englishman, leave behind them 
 for a while the ledger or the loom, and seek 
 relief from the sedentary occupations of a town 
 life, in the bracing climate and invigorating 
 recreations to be found in the " land of the 
 mountain and the flood." It is for such as 
 these the following pages are chiefly intended. 
 The author, himself a mere tyro in the branches 
 of sport therein treated of, would give to brother- 
 beginners some idea of the enjoyment which is 
 attainable by all who may be possessed of 
 ordinary activity and perseverance. With this 
 object in view, he has endeavoured to give a 
 faithful narrative of his own experiences; and 
 while, for the advantage and warning of the 
 novice, he has not left unrecorded his own 
 errors, he would humbly deprecate severe criti- 
 cism at the hands of the more experienced 
 veteran.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER L, ... 13 
 
 Northward Ho ! Donald the Gillie, and his Capa- 
 bilities. The River Redburn. My First Rise. 
 Poissonnerie v. Native Element. Fish Hooked. The 
 Struggle. The Victory. The Kettle of Fish. 
 
 CHAPTER II., - - 24 
 
 To the Forest. The Fox Hunter. Stag Sighted. 
 Tactics. Roebuck Missed. Success. Thunder-storm. 
 Cohr an Dhu. Herd of Deer. Disappointment. 
 Our First Stag. 
 
 CHAPTER IIL, ------ 37 
 
 Second Day in the Forest. False Stalk. Mountain 
 Pass. Deer visible. Death of Stag. The Eagle's 
 Habits. Anecdotes. 
 
 CHAPTER IV., - .... 51 
 
 Guillemot's Eggs. Curious fact. Sea-Fishing. Cud- 
 dies and Lithe. A Hard Pull. Haddock. Legend. 
 River Frothay. Hard Fight. Wounded Fish.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER V., - 63 
 
 "Creag an Eoghlevagh." Ancient Gael. Highland 
 Shieling. Fight with Stag. Stag of Rhynie. Long 
 Stalk. The Poacher's Religion. The Stag concluded. 
 
 CHAPTER VI., - 76 
 
 Excursion to the River Scaurdale. Scenery on the 
 Way. The Merlin. Anecdote of Porpoise. The 
 River Chruim. The " Butcher " Fly. Our Quarters. 
 The Scaurdale. Good Sport. 
 
 CHAPTER VII., 91 
 
 The River Redburn. Ambition Dangerous. Salmon 
 Leaps. Loch Fishing. Poit Bhruich. Hazardous 
 Leap. What makes an Angler. Curious Capture. 
 Eagle and Salmon. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII., 102 
 
 The Locality. Costume. Waterproofs. Shooting 
 with Punt Gun. Wild-Pigeons. Rabbits. Hernery. 
 Herons and their Habits. 
 
 CHAPTER IX., 114 
 
 Expedition to the Forest. Evening Stroll. Storm and 
 Wind. Deer Sighted. The Stalk and its difficulties. 
 Failure. Night in the Mountain Cottage. Rainy 
 Day. Anecdotes. The Highlander's Opportunities. 
 Curious Head.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER X., - 135 
 
 Operations resumed. Reconnoitring. Deer dis- 
 covered. The Stalk. Failure. Second Stalk. Stag 
 wounded. The Pursuit. Fresh Deer found. Success- 
 ful Stalk. Second Death. School for Generalship. 
 Return Home. 
 
 CHAPTER XL, - 151 
 
 Fishing Excursion. Mountain Loch. Salt Loch. 
 The Otter. Highland Wedding. Benefits of Clan- 
 ship. Omne solum patria. Highland Dances. 
 Rorie "the Post." Curious Custom. Night Scenes 
 and Meditations. 
 
 CHAPTER XII., - - 169 
 
 Odd Nomenclature. Sport Promiscuous. Antiquities. 
 Nature in Miniature. Mergansers. Excursion to 
 the Hills. Princes of the Air. Anecdotes. Contest 
 with Stag. Death-blow and Remorse. Habits of Deer. 
 Stalking resumed. Unsuccessful Shot. Further 
 Disappointment. Final Shot. Farewell to Scotland. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII., - 194 
 
 Expedition to the Hills. Scanning the Ground. Dead 
 Deer. Search continued. Game found. Awkward 
 Position. "Gone away." The Pass, The Shot. 
 Instinct at Fault. Anecdote of Flamingoes. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV., .... 206 
 
 Hector, our new Guide. Sighting the Deer. The 
 Approach. Stalk interrupted. Fresh Game afoot. 
 Council of War. Driving the Deer. Ambush and 
 Shot. A Clue. Fresh Deer wounded. -r-Double Chase. 
 Disappointment. Pursuit continued. Death. Stag 
 at Bay. Fallen Nobility.
 
 10 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGF, 
 
 CHAPTER XV., 222 
 
 Fishing. Provisions for the Day. The Route. Eagle 
 Shot. The First Salmon. Great Run of Fish. Hani 
 Fight. Variation in the Sport. Deer Slain. More 
 Fish. Our Quarters for the Night. Journey Home. 
 Thunder-storm. Seal Shooting. Dredging for Shells. 
 Another Seal. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI., 240 
 
 Excursion to the Forest. Deer alarmed by over-haste. 
 Watching the Game. Provoking Interruption. 
 Further Delay. Anecdote : Perilous Adventure : 
 Glissade. Disappointments. Hind Slaughtered. 
 Second Death. Anecdotes of Rats.
 
 FORAYS 
 
 AMONG 
 
 SALMON AND DEER 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Northward Ho ! Donald, the Gillie, and his Capabilities. The River 
 Redburn. My First Rise. Poissonnerie v. Native Element. 
 Fish Hooked. The Struggle. The Victory. The Kettle of Fish. 
 
 MY last adieus being waved to a friend, as he stood on 
 the platform of a London terminus, and watched the 
 departure of the train which was to transport me some 
 400 miles on my way to the Highlands, I sank back 
 into my seat, and in a spirit of genuine commiseration 
 began to compare the respective occupations awaiting 
 us for the next few weeks. 
 
 On the one hand arose visions of legs wreathed fan- 
 tastically round the lanky supporters of an official stool ; 
 on the other hand the pleasing contrast of those same 
 members briskly bearing me over the moors or climb- 
 ing the mountain side. Here eyes were poring labori- 
 ously over columns of s. d. ; there carefully searching 
 the dim distance for antlers rising indistinctly from the 
 heather. 
 
 Behind me was the grey canopy, which, like a huge 
 umbrella, though without its advantages, hung sus-
 
 14 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 pended over the metropolis, shutting out from its busy 
 myriads alike the fresh air and pure light of heaven ; 
 while before me were anticipations of an atmosphere, 
 proverbial indeed for its mists, yet at least untainted 
 by the smoke of city, often too of marvellous clearness 
 to the sight, bracing to the nerves, and rennovating to 
 the health. And as I thought of all this, I resolved not 
 to forget the pledge just made to my friend, that I 
 would do my best, by a periodically transmitted record 
 of my doings, to enliven the dull monotony of an exist- 
 ence, which, in serio-comic strain, he described as fre- 
 quently occupied " on 'change" yet knowing no variety ; 
 and in which the noblest energies and greatest activity 
 were spent " on the stocks." 
 
 Hence, gentle reader, originated the following ema- 
 nations from my feeble pen. Feeble, did I say 1 'tis a 
 quill plucked by friend Donald from the kingly pinion 
 of the eagle, worthy indeed of a chieftain's bonnet, and 
 has soared full oft, I ween, beyond the ken of man 
 higher far, I fear, than any flight it is destined again to 
 take, at least in my fingers. 
 
 But to begin, without stopping to dwell upon the 
 journey, the scenery through which we pass, or the 
 petty hindrances and annoyances we experienced 
 such as the loss of Walter's " wide-awake," which ap- 
 parently preferring a lively flight through the pure air 
 of heaven to the drowsy atmosphere of the railway- 
 carriage, suddenly took its departure through the win- 
 dow ; or, again, my anxiety about a certain box con- 
 taining all my fishing-tackle, which would most pro- 
 vokingly stay behind, and for which we had eventually 
 to interrupt our journey by a delay of two days in 
 " auld Reekie," the box having booked itself to some 
 place nobody knew where I must now beg you, reader, 
 to transport yourself in imagination at least, if not in
 
 DONALD THE GILLIE. 15 
 
 proprid persond, to one of the wildest " straths " in the 
 Highlands, while I " take a header " in medias res. 
 
 On the first morning after our arrival at the hospit- 
 able abode of our friends we sallied forth, fishing-rod 
 in hand, Donald Mackay and the landing-net in atten- 
 dance, intent on attacking a salmon as a beginning. 
 
 But, before proceeding further, I must give you a 
 description of the said Donald, for whom I have con- 
 ceived a great admiration ; and would that I could do 
 him justice I Picture to yourself, then, a lad who has 
 seen but sixteen summers, yet not a hair's breadth 
 short of six foot, and broad and well-built withal. He 
 wore a short jacket of black and white check, which 
 showed off" his proportions to advantage, his " trewes " 
 and plaid being of the same material, made from the 
 wool of the sheep that roam on his native hills, and 
 wrought in his own Highland home. From beneath a 
 small bonnet his long flaxen hair streamed down in 
 thick clusters ; his manly countenance ruddy with the 
 fresh bloom of health, which in Scotland imparts a 
 peculiar richness to the complexion ; while his eye 
 beamed with intelligence, and his whole frame displayed 
 a union of strength and agility rarely to be found. A 
 glance told that he was capable of, and accustomed to, 
 great bodily exertion ; and, indeed, though his years 
 are yet so few, many is the adventure in which Donald 
 has taken his share. In climbing his dangerous way 
 to the eagle's eyrie, ever perched on some almost if not 
 completely inaccessible crag, and often some hundreds 
 of feet above any safe footing, in saving the life of 
 the sheep, which, tempted by the sweetness of the grass 
 in such localities, often tread their way along the 
 narrow ledges of the rocks, until at length they find 
 themselves unable to turn round, and, having no idea 
 of retrograde motion, become terrified, and either throw
 
 16 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER, 
 
 themselves headlong down the face of the cliff or 
 quietly await a death of starvation, unless rescued by 
 a cool intrepidity worthy of the greatest hero, or 
 again in following up a wounded stag, with such skill 
 and perseverance that it is said he would in time over- 
 take one, even though only wounded in the foot, and 
 indeed in all trials of strength, patience, and nerve, he 
 is without a rival. Add to this a considerable supply 
 of natural shrewdness, together with an education far 
 above the average, at least among our English peasan- 
 try (for he can read his newspaper with a relish, and 
 discuss many general topics of conversation, besides a 
 smattering of Latin, which he acquired as a foster child 
 at the laird's house), and you have, as near as I can 
 give it, a description of my juvenile fidus Achates. 
 
 But to return. Donald led the way ; and we found 
 it no easy task to keep pace with him, as he strode 
 along, or rather sprang, from one " moss hagg " to 
 another, by which name you must understand the 
 tufted lumps of dry earth which rise from the bogs, 
 and, like so many islets, or, as we call them here, 
 " inches," in a sea of peat, often afford the only safe 
 footing to be had in such localities ; the spaces between 
 being a black deposit, frequently of so great a depth 
 and so soft and moist, that one false step may involve 
 an immersion to the neck. After some four miles of 
 such travelling, we were not sorry, as you may suppose, 
 to arrive at our destination for the day, the river Red- 
 bum. In consequence of recent rain in the hill whence 
 the river takes its rise, we found a tolerable body of 
 water, and so far matters were in our favour ; but the 
 Redburn is a sluggish stream, and requires a brisk wind 
 to produce a ripple on its surface, or the fish will look 
 with indifference on the most brilliant fly the angler 
 can produce ; and to-day the river would, most pro-
 
 THE FIRST RISE. 17 
 
 vokiogly, continue calm and smooth as a polished 
 mirror, the only breeze being athwart the river, which 
 it was prevented from ruffling by the height of the 
 banks. Our only chance, therefore, was to follow the 
 course of the stream, in the .hopes that among .its 
 various windings some corner might be found where 
 there was the much wished-for ripple. Accordingly, 
 displaying our fly-books to the experienced eye of 
 Donald, we each put our rods together, took the fly his 
 judgment selected, and began our attempts on the 
 finny tenants of the water. 
 
 " Long did we strive the obdurate foe to gain ; " 
 
 but long, long also we " strove in vain." At length, 
 however, our patience was rewarded ; the wind 
 chopped round, so as to blow directly up the stream, 
 and cheered our flagging spirits with a most enchanting 
 little ripple. 
 
 The part of the river which we were to fish consisted 
 of a succession of deep dark pools, worn into the peat 
 soil ; and Donald assured us that after very heavy rains 
 there was a " graund " current, and that, consequently, 
 at such times there " wasna bonnier feeing in a' 
 Scautland ; " but the late rains had not been heavy 
 enough to produce that much-desired state, and the 
 nearest approach to the appearance of a current was a 
 slight runnel at the head of each pool. Walter took 
 the lowest pool, while I was to proceed upwards, pro- 
 mising to keep within a short distance, that Donald 
 might be available to assist either of us. 
 
 Scarcely had we separated, when Walter rose a fine 
 " fesh." Donald and I were too late to see anything 
 but the curl on the waiter, caused by his unsuccessful 
 lunge after the fly. The " fesh," however, was not 
 pricked, and we left Walter in a state of nervous hope 
 that he would return to the charge.
 
 18 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Now, possibly, ivadrr, you m;iy be disposed to smile 
 at the bare idea of nerves beiug affected by such a 
 trifling cause as the rise of a fish ; but you have not 
 tried it, or you would not be guilty of such an egregi- 
 ous error. Your only acquaintance, as yet, with the 
 " genus Salmo " has beeu as he lay on the marble slab 
 at your fishmonger's, or transformed as he lay on the 
 table ; and, therefore, I can excuse your misconception. 
 But, suppose yourself for the moment a sportsman, or 
 rather which was Walter's case a Londoner begin- 
 ning his first season in the Highlands. You have 
 journeyed many miles to catch your first salmon, never 
 having as yet caught anything beyond a trout of a 
 pound's weight, or a jack of five or six ; you reach the 
 bank of your river ; you throw the fly, selected with so 
 much care, at first timidly and anxiously, but gradually 
 with more and more confidence, and eventually even 
 carelessly ; at length you reach the extreme pitch of 
 negligence ; your eyes dilate as you yield to reverie ; 
 your thoughts become scattered, as you whip the 
 waters mechanically; when suddenly a slight curl 
 appears on the surface ; a sob-like sound for a moment 
 reaches your ear, as though some troubled water-sprite 
 had just sunk beneath the wave, and instantly an elec- 
 tric shock passes quickly up your line and down your 
 rod, which at once dispels all your " castles in the air," 
 and awakens you to the reality that you have just lost 
 your first salmon. 
 
 Leaving Walter to try for better luck, we again 
 started to proceed up the stream, passing two or three 
 likely pools, whose merits however I did not test, 
 Donald's advice being that I should at once direct my 
 steps to the best spot in the river, some little distance 
 further up. After sundry frantic leaps over tributary 
 burns, whose black peaty bottoms suggestive of the
 
 ANOTHER RISE. 19 
 
 idea of a " sinking fund" in addition to Donald's testi- 
 mony to their swallowing capacities, founded, as he said, 
 on the experience of various involuntary immersions 
 deterred us from attempting to wade them, we reached 
 the wished-for spot. And a likely spot it was ; a large 
 oval-shaped pool, evidently of great depth, and capable 
 of harbouring any amount of fish ; and, as the breeze 
 shifted about, leaving calm patches on its surface, we 
 could distinctly perceive, far down in its dark but trans- 
 parent waters, huge masses of peat-soil which the floods 
 of winter had torn from the banks, and affording splen- 
 did retreats for shy fish. Above, the channel grew 
 narrower, and the current, in consequence, more lively ; 
 the tangled arms of a huge root, the sole survivor of 
 some giant of those primeval^forests which now covered 
 these now treeless regions, stood boldly out in the 
 middle of this narrowed channel, and, strengthened by 
 a mass of debris borne down from the moors above, 
 checked the stream in its course, and produced two 
 pretty runnels at the head of the pool, which, uniting a 
 few yards below, became gradually lost in the stiller 
 depths and wider expanse of the pool itself. " Noo, 
 sir," said Donald, " noo, sir, a'm thenking, if there be a 
 saulmon in a' the river, 'twill just be here ;" and I quite 
 agreed with him. " Cast below the auld root, and let 
 her float doon, 'tis a bonny current noo." I did so ; but 
 the cast proved a blank. However, patientia est virtus 
 said a voice from " auld lang syne," when as a school- 
 boy I first began my accidence ; and so I repeated the 
 dose, and once more my fly reached the tail of the 
 runnel unassailed ; but, just as I began to raise my rod 
 for another cast, the water curled round it ; I heard a 
 sullen, lunging kind of noise ; and, whir-r-r, 1 had 
 hooked my salmon. " Ay, but 'twill be a braw fesh 
 thaat, sir ! " ejaculated Donald, and so it was ; but, un-
 
 20 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 fortunately, it was not yet landed, nor did it seem at all 
 disposed to be tractable. At first he rushed madly 
 down the middle of the pool, ploughing a deep furi'ow 
 as he went, and then sprang wildly into the air, trying 
 the strength and elasticity of my tackle to the utmost. 
 This, however, was scarcely the most critical part of 
 the struggle ; for sullenly retiring under the base of 
 one of the above-mentioned masses of peat, bent ap- 
 parently on wearing out my patience, he remained 
 immovable, in spite of all efforts to dislodge him. My 
 tackle was not strong enough to drag him out by main 
 force ; and, though it was scarcely probable that he 
 would be able to rid himself of a double hook, yet 
 there was a great danger of his fretting the line against 
 some stone or root until it should give way. Donald 
 seemed to think that my only chance was to get him 
 out of his retreat as quickly as possible, and accord- 
 ingly began to throw stones at him. 
 
 At this moment our attention was attracted by a 
 shout from Walter ; and, on looking towards him, we 
 saw at once that he also was in deadly struggle with 
 some unseen antagonist ; and, judging by the hyper- 
 bolic shape and the peculiar quivering motion of his 
 rod, it was no contemptible contest in which he was 
 engaged. I could not however, at present at least, 
 dispense with Donald, and so, very selfishly, left Walter 
 to shift for himself. My fi: c h now was once more 
 induced to leave his retreat and resume the contest, 
 which every moment threatened the rupture of my 
 tackle. His varied evolutions, dives, and flights 
 through the air, as they thoroughly baffled my skill in 
 dealing with them at the time, so they now completely 
 beggar description. Gradually, however, he began to 
 put out signals of distress ; his evolutions became more 
 confined, his struggles less severe ; and at length, to
 
 THE VICTORY. 21 
 
 my inexpressible delight, he suffered himself to be 
 drawn slowly alongside, and Donald, cautiously getting 
 the landing-net beneath him, lifted him ashore and 
 laid him at my feet, declaring that he did not weigh an 
 ounce under " sexteen punds." 
 
 My fish at length secure, I found how very precarious 
 had been my hold upon him. One of the hooks of my 
 fly had broken out of his flesh, and the other was re- 
 tained by a mere thread, so very slender that it seemed 
 a perfect marvel that some of his last short but desper- 
 ate struggles had not released him. Had his strength 
 held out but a little longer, he must have escaped. 
 However, all chance for him was now gone ; there he 
 lay conquered and gasping; and Donald, taking up a 
 stone, by one knock on the forehead for ever terminated 
 his existence. 
 
 Thus reader, was my patience rewarded, and my first 
 salmon killed. I was now an initiated brother of the 
 gentle craft ; and, though you may not be able to enter 
 into the feelings of that moment, I can assure you the 
 sense of exultation was very great. A salmon, in his 
 own element, is indeed no despicable antagonist ; for, 
 from his activity, he may baffle the skill of the most 
 expert, while his strength is sufficient to weary the 
 stoutest arm ; and it is only by patience and care that 
 victory can be won. 
 
 But I must not suffer myself to dwell too long upon 
 my own emotions, while Walter is still struggling with 
 his fish. Now that there could be no longer any doubt 
 that my own fish was hors de combat, we set off at once 
 to his assistance, and found him also " wi' a graund 
 fesh," as Donald said, at the end of his line, still 
 resisting bravely, and judging from appearances, in- 
 tending to resist for some time to come. My own fight 
 had lasted twenty minutes; but this promised appa-
 
 22 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 rently to be much longer. Immediately after our 
 arrival the fish retreated under the opposite bank, and 
 I began to expect a repetition of the tactics I had 
 myself so recently dealt with. For some minutes we 
 endeavoured to dislodge him by throwing stones, while 
 Walter tried to irritate him by constantly jerking the 
 line ; but all proved unavailing. At length, however, 
 as a last resource, we sent Donald to ford some shallow 
 part of the river, and get round to the opposite side of 
 the pool, that he might drive out the fish if possible. 
 On reaching the spot, and looking down from the top 
 of the bank, Donald reported some huge roots visible 
 below him, into which the fish must have retreated. 
 He then made several attempts to dislodge the enemy, 
 by thrusting down the shaft of the landing-net ; but it 
 seemed as though nothing could move him. At length, 
 however, by dint of stirring and poking, the opposition 
 sensibly lessened, and by degrees the line came away, 
 with a heavy weight attached to it, which proved to be 
 a dead root, to which the salmon had succeeded in 
 transferring the hook from his own jaws, and con- 
 sequently had effected his escape. 
 
 Such was the mortifying termination of our worthy 
 friend's first essay. There remained, however, nothing 
 for it but to hope for better success with the next. 
 We had, while standing here, observed more than one 
 good rise at the head of the pool ; and Walter pro- 
 ceeded to try his luck again, while I returned once 
 more to the upper pool, Donald remaining to assist 
 with the head as well as the arm, should circumstances 
 require it. 
 
 But quid multa ? Not to make my letter tedious, I 
 will content myself with these two specimens of our 
 sport, and give you the result at the close of this our 
 first day as briefly as possible. Suffice it then to say,
 
 TO THE FOREST. 23 
 
 that between us we succeeded in producing, in the 
 graphic words of Donald, " no' a bad kettle o' fesh." 
 My share of the plunder was four salmon, and cleaner 
 fish I should never wish to see ; their weights respec- 
 tively 7 lb., 9 lb., 11 lb., and 15 Ib. Walter surpassed 
 me in numbers, though not in weight, killing three 
 salmon weighing between 8 lb. and 10 lb. each, and 
 three sea trout, their weights 3 lb., 3 lb., and 4 lb., 
 making about 38 lb. to my 42 lb. 
 
 On reaching the ford where the road (such as it is) 
 crosses the river, we were agreeably surprised to find a 
 carriage waiting at the shepherd's shieling close by to 
 convey us home, where we arrived in high good-humour 
 with ourselves, our first day's sport, and the kind atten- 
 tion of our hospitable friends.
 
 24 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 To the Forest. The Fox Hunter. Stag Sighted. Tactics. Roebuck 
 Missed. Success. Thunder-storm. Cohr an Dhu. Herd of 
 Deer. Disappointment. Our First Stag. 
 
 I HAD long looked forward to deer-stalking as the acme 
 of British sport ; and though in this our first essay we 
 did not meet with the success we had anticipated, for 
 skill is not to he acquired in a day yet we gained an 
 insight such as nothing but experience can give, and 
 the pleasure of the sport itself was heightened by 
 the character of the scenery. To stand on some hill's 
 ban-en brow, with nothing of human cultivation visible, 
 nothing but the boundless heavens above, mountain 
 looming beyond mountain in one direction, and the 
 broad expanse of the Atlantic sleeping far beneath in 
 the other, with no vegetation but the heather, the bil- 
 berry, and the juniper straggling up the mountain-sides^ 
 until all becomes bare rock, blasted and shattered by 
 the storms of ages, what more calculated to impress 
 one with one's own littleness, and the majesty and gran- 
 deur of that Being who was the Maker of the everlast- 
 ing hills, and who stilleth the raging of the seas ? 
 
 On Monday we set off (Walter and I), attended by 
 two gillies (Sandy and Donald), driving, as far as the 
 road lay in our direction, in a dog-cart, which gave us 
 a lift of some five miles. A short pull up a steep " brae "" 
 brought us to the cottage of a dignitary yclept " the 
 fox-hunter" a most useful though nondescript char- 
 acter on a Highland farm whose occupation of keep- 
 ing down the number of vermin (such as martens, foxes,, 
 otters, eagles, et id genus omnc) is agreeably varied, 
 when occasion requires an extra hand, by the duties of
 
 THE FIRST STAG SIGHTED. 25 
 
 either keeper or shepherd. We had no sooner reached 
 his door, than we were assailed and completely hemmed 
 in by a large and most unpleasantly clamorous pack of 
 the so-called fox-hounds, composed of smooth terriers, 
 Skyes, and English hounds, with crosses and mongrels 
 ad infinitum. The clamour of the hounds and our own 
 consequent alarm somewhat abated, we learnt that 
 though Gillespie himself (the fox-hunter) was away on 
 a distant part of the farm, he had left instructions for 
 us with his wife ; and she accordingly entered into a 
 long colloquy with Donald, not one word of which 
 could Walter or I comprehend, being entirely Gaelic ; 
 but the substance of it, as he afterwards informed us, 
 was to the effect that a fine stag had been seen lately, 
 more than once, in a hollow in Ben Fuoghlin, not more 
 than three miles distant from the cottage, and that 
 there were several roe-deer in some birch woods in 
 Strathmohr, about five miles off, and nearly in the same 
 direction ; so that the two places might be visited in 
 the same day, before fairly entering the distant and 
 more unfrequented parts of the forest. 
 
 Accordingly, sending Sandy forward with a large 
 bag of provisions which we had brought with us, com- 
 posed of barley bannocks, mutton ham, and usque- 
 baugh, to the hut where we purposed passing the night, 
 and possibly, if sport should prove good, two or three 
 nights, we retained Donald to carry our arms, consist- 
 ing of my rifle and gun and Walter's " dooble-barrel," 
 which carried ball very well, and set our faces to mount 
 Ben Fuoghlin. An hour's good climbing brought us in 
 eight of the hollow frequented by the stag. We had 
 before made several pauses to reconnoitre with our 
 glasses, as we mounted from one steppe to another, 
 during one of which Walter brought down a very fine 
 hawk, which Donald pronounced to be a young gled,
 
 26 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 its wings measuring at least five feet from tip to tip. 
 Now, however, we made a more lengthened pause, and 
 scanned every foot of ground before us, but all to no 
 purpose. " 'Twill no be here the day," was Donald's 
 remark as he stowed his glass away, and strode silently 
 off; and we entered the hollow. Nothing occurred to 
 stop us ; so, moistening our lips at a most delicious little 
 fount, which bubbled up in the centre of the dell, and 
 then stole quietly away among moss and juniper, we 
 once more faced the brae, Donald informing us that, 
 after a little climbing, we should have a kind of plateau 
 to traverse rather more than a mile in length, and could 
 then descend direct into the woods where the roe were 
 to be found. 
 
 Just as we reached the brow of this hill, and were 
 rather distressed for want of that all-requisite article, 
 breath, our attention was suddenly attracted by Donald, 
 who muttered something between his teeth which 
 sounded very much like a Gaelic imprecation, and then 
 dropped on his knees. The cause of this sudden 
 movement was immediately visible to us, for over 
 Donald's shoulder we descried a fine stag trotting away 
 from us at a brisk pace, and distant about a quarter of 
 a mile. We watched the noble animal receding, in 
 the hope that it might take to some secluded spot, near 
 at hand, where we might yet have a shot ; but no such 
 good fortune. " 'Twill just be ganging straight for 
 the forest," said Donald with a look of disgust, as the 
 stag disappeared from our sight. We were quite 
 puzzled as to how the deer could have been disturbed, 
 for the wind was fair for us, and he could not possibly 
 have seen us. But while we were standing in doubt, 
 the question was solved by the appearance of a shep- 
 herd with his collie, who told us that he had started 
 the stag from a burn on the other side of the hill.
 
 PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 27 
 
 This was very provoking ; but as it had been through 
 no fault of ours, we were the less annoyed. Walter and 
 I were for following up the game ; but we yielded to 
 the better judgment of Donald, who assured us that 
 we should see no more of it that day. Our only chance, 
 therefore, was among the roe. 
 
 Having now, however, but one gilly with us, and two 
 at least being necessary to beat the woods, we easily 
 induced the shepherd to accompany us, and set off at 
 once in quest of fresh game. Our path lay for some 
 distance along the plateau which I mentioned before, 
 the Gaelic name of which (though I forget it at this 
 moment) means the hog's back. We were now on 
 elevated ground about 2,500 feet above the sea and 
 the view was fine in the extreme, the air being wonder- 
 fully clear, so that we could see to a great distance in 
 every direction. Before us were hills rising above 
 hills, in every variety of contour, from the barrow- 
 shaped, well-rounded summits of the " old red sand- 
 stone " to the precipitous peaks and rugged outlines of 
 the more primitive formations, here and there some 
 grand patriarch rearing his bald forehead above the 
 lesser groups around him, while numerous mountain 
 lochs were scattered about the hollows, some glittering 
 in the sunshine, and others almost lost in shade beneath 
 the overhanging crags. On either side ran two parallel 
 straths or vales, named respectively " Strath Mohr " 
 and " Strathsbeallog " (the " great vale " and the " vale 
 of the hunter "), down the centres of which ran two 
 slightly winding rivers, presenting an appearance some- 
 what like one of those huge skeletons which a geolo- 
 gist loves to contemplate as he finds its outline in the 
 solid rock the central river representing the backbone 
 slightly distorted, and the numerous tributary burns its
 
 28 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 several ribs. Behind us lay the broad bosom of the 
 ocean, calm and smooth, iuterlapping with the land in 
 many a bay and estuary, and dotted with the red sails 
 of the herring-boats, which formed a bead-like chain, 
 running in festoons along the line of coast. 
 
 With such a panorama laid out betore us, we had 
 reached, before we were aware of it, the point at which 
 we were to descend at once into the birch woods. 
 Here we paused, that Donald might explain to us the 
 tactics we should adopt. There were two woods, 
 separated by a glade about fifty yards in breadth, down 
 which leapt a mountain torrent, its banks too precipi- 
 tous and wide apart for even a deer to leap, save at one 
 spot marked by a huge boulder-stone. Here, there- 
 fore, the deer would be sure to cross, if driven out in 
 that direction ; there was also a pass at the other end 
 of the wood, by which they were in the habit of taking 
 their departure if forced that way, though they natu- 
 rally avoided the open, and took to the second wood, if 
 possible. The plan therefore was, that while the two 
 gillies were beating the cover, we should occupy these 
 two spots with our guns. Withdrawing our balls, we 
 loaded with buckshot, as more suited to the game ; 
 and, as Walter did not purpose joining me in this par- 
 ticular branch of sport after the present occasion, I 
 gave him the choice of stations ; and he accordingly 
 took his stand at the boulder-stone, while I took the 
 pass at the further end. 
 
 At the time agreed upon, when we were all supposed 
 to have had sufficient time to reach our several posi- 
 tions, the beating commenced. For some time nothing 
 was heard ; and then a loud shout proclaimed the game 
 afoot. My heart now began to beat audibly ; for, of 
 course, I did not know which way the game might be 
 making, and in a moment it might shoot past and
 
 SUCCESS. 29 
 
 escape, if I were not vigilant. My ears, therefore, 
 were strained to the utmost to catch any sounds of 
 approach ; but in vain. Just, however, as I quite 
 accidentally cast a look upwards, I caught sight of a 
 roebuck standing on a crag some eighty yards distant, 
 and looking down in an attitude of the most profound 
 attention upon me ; his head slightly on one side, his 
 neck stretched forward, and one fore-foot a little raised, 
 ready to give one stamp of warning, and then bound 
 away. In an instant my gun was to my shoulder, and 
 I fired ; but the buck had sprung from the rock almost 
 before I touched the trigger, and I heard my shot 
 flatten on the rock. 
 
 Raising a shout of warning, I re-loaded, and resumed 
 my watch. One of the beaters now approached, and at 
 the same instant three roe emerged from the wood, and 
 again retreated before I had time to fire. I could bear 
 this no longer ; so, running up to the spot at which 
 they had disappeared, I entered the wood, determined 
 to follow, as quietly as possible, in the hopes that I 
 might fall in with them again. 
 
 I had not made much progress among the irregular 
 blocks of stone and the tissue of roots growing or de- 
 caying, when I caught sight of the white rump of a 
 roe just visible above the fern ; but it was impossible 
 to get a shot. Roe have a peculiar mode of running, 
 with their heads stretched out and in a stooping posture, 
 so that amongst fern of a moderate height, nothing is 
 visible but occasionally the white rump ; and this was 
 the case now. However, this occasional glimpse en- 
 couraged me, and I crept on as noiselessly as possible, 
 though I was certain that the animal was aware of my 
 vicinity, and was fleeing from me ; and yet I was sur- 
 prised that his flight was not more accelerated. But 
 the distance between us now began to increase, and 
 
 3
 
 30 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 presently I lost all sight of him ; when suddenly I was 
 startled by the sharp report of a gun, and running for- 
 ward found that the deer had emerged close by the 
 boulder-stone, and fallen to Walter's shot. 
 
 I found my friend in a mood curiously made up of 
 anger and delight Though delighted that he had 
 killed, and been the first to kill, yet he was very much 
 provoked with himself for having previously lost a 
 magnificent opportunity. Three roe-deer had unex- 
 pectedly crossed his path abreast of each other; and in 
 the hurry and flurry of the moment, while trying to 
 single out one, he had allowed the whole to disappear 
 without a shot. However, the sight of the one at his 
 feet speedily restored him to good humour. We now 
 waited for the beaters, and then took measures for 
 trying the second wood the details of which I w T ill not 
 give, as they would prove little more than a repetition 
 of what I have just written. We found the three roe 
 again, and I put a charge of buckshot into one, which 
 made him lick the dust. But, though we saw single 
 heads more than once, we could not get near them ; 
 and, as it grew dusk, we left the shepherd in charge of 
 the two slain, with directions to get them conveyed to 
 the laird's, his own cottage, and half-a-dozen able 
 sons ready to aid in the task, being hard at hand ; and 
 ourselves, with Donald, started for a brisk walk of 
 some five miles to the cottage where we were to pass 
 the night, and where Sandy was to have some hot toddy 
 and eatables ready for our arrival. 
 
 Tired though we were, our walk was a most enjoy- 
 able one. The evening was most lovely; though 
 intensely hot in the low-ground, an agreeable breeze 
 played about the uplands. As the sun set, however, a 
 few clouds made their appearance, gradually increasing 
 and thickening ; the whole heavens were covered with
 
 THUNDER STORM. 31 
 
 the richest variety of sunset hues. The west was in a 
 perfect blaze, and everything assumed a ruddy tinge. 
 Presently, however, we saw that the clouds grew darker 
 and more threatening, and a most extraordinary lurid 
 glare was cast on everything. The whole effect was 
 such as I had never before witnessed, and grand in the 
 extreme. It was now evident that a fearful storm was 
 impending, and the thunder, at first distant and indis- 
 tinct, rapidly drew nearer; and, as it rolled from hill 
 to hill, and was echoed from side to side in each 
 valley and ravine, the roar was completely overwhelm- 
 ing, and utterly beyond the power of language to 
 depict. 
 
 We reached the cottage just as the first heavy drops 
 were falling ; and now succeeded one of the most fear- 
 ful storms I ever beheld. The flashes of lightning, as 
 they played about the mountain-sides, lit up each gully 
 and ravine, and seemed to disclose each fissure in the 
 face of every crag, while ever and anon deafening roars 
 pealed forth, as though some huge mountain had fallen, 
 rent and shivered by the storm. The pelting of the 
 rain outside made us thankful that we were comfortably 
 sheltered within ; and when the storm gradually sub- 
 sided, and a sweeping wind succeeded, Donald was in 
 perfect raptures, for that wind, he said, would drive 
 the deer like sheep into some deep corrie, which he 
 mentioned as near at hand, and sport would be certain 
 on the morrow. With this cheering prospect therefore 
 before us, we sat down to our supper ; and, plain as 
 were the viands, so much had our day's work sharpened 
 our appetites, that had they been the choicest delicacies 
 we would scarcely have enjoyed them more. We retired 
 to rest, or rather lay down on a straw and heather 
 pallet, in the same room, with the wind still howling, 
 having given directions to a shepherd, whose shieling
 
 32 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Btood at the end of our hut, that he should call us at 
 the first appearance of dawn ; for the corrie, and 
 indeed every "neuk" and corner in the neighbourhood, 
 having been very much disturbed of late, by the 
 shepherds collecting their sheep, Donald was afraid 
 that the deer would take an early departure from the 
 sheltered ground, and make for the highest fastnesses 
 in the hills. 
 
 Rorie, the shepherd, was true to his word, and 
 roused us from our lowly beds (which, by the bye, we 
 had found as comfortable as the best goose-down) just 
 as the first faint streak of light appeared in the east. 
 It was a chill morning ; and, though we wrapped our 
 plaids closely round us, the wind seemed to pierce us 
 through and through. We loaded our two guns and a 
 rifle with ball five barrels in all and set off, Rorie 
 taking the lead, as being the best acquainted with the 
 ground, direct for the corrie. The pace was fearful ; 
 for to the Highland shepherd, inured as he is from his 
 very infancy to fatigue and hardship, accustomed to 
 climb the steepest hills as you or I, reader, might 
 walk the Strand come too of a hardy race, and him- 
 self naturally strong (for, as a Cumberland man once 
 observed, " t' weak uns all die ") a walk across the 
 hills, at a rate truly inconceivable by those who have 
 not witnessed it, is an almost daily occurrence. 
 
 A most fatiguing march of three-quarters of an hour 
 brought us to the edge of a cliff, from whence we looked 
 down into the corrie (Gaelice, Cohr an Dhu, Anglicd, 
 the black corrie). It was not yet light enough to 
 enable us to distinguish anything beyond the general 
 features of the ground ; so we sat down, wrapped in 
 our plaids, and held a council of war. Beneath us lay 
 Cohr an Dhu, with Loch an Dhu sleeping in its centre. 
 Running round three sides of the loch was a broad
 
 A HERD FOUND. 33 
 
 border of green turf, and from this border the sides of 
 the corrie rose, in some parts gradually, in others pre- 
 cipitously. To the right was a gradually - sloping 
 ascent leading to a pass, between two rocky summits, 
 called " Bealloch Mohr," or the large pass; to the left, 
 a pass, or deer-track, winding up through places 
 apparently inaccessible, led to " Bealloch Beg," or the 
 little pass. The wind was blowing straight from Beal- 
 loch Mohr into the corrie, so that the deer would be 
 certain to wind us if we waited for them in that pass ; 
 whereas if we waited for them in Bealloch Beg, they 
 would not wind us till they had passed our hiding-place. 
 Rorie, however, was quite certain that the herd were 
 in the constant habit both of entering the corrie at 
 evening and leaving it in the morning by the unfavour- 
 able route Bealloch Mohr, and that if we waited the 
 whole day we should see nothing of them in Bealloch 
 Beg. We were thus thrown into a dilemma, whether 
 on the one hand to risk our being winded by the deer, 
 and to await their retiring by their accustomed route, 
 or to have the wind in our favour, and run, as Rorie 
 assured us, a very great chance of seeing no deer at 
 all. The only other possible course was to stalk them 
 while in the corrie. This, however, we shortly saw to 
 be impracticable; for, as it became lighter, and we 
 gradually began to distinguish moving objects, we 
 discovered several deer feeding about the shores of the 
 loch, but in so exposed a position that we were sure 
 we could never near them unperceived ; and after a 
 time we saw that they were slowly making towards 
 Bealloch Mohr. Donald declared we could do nothing 
 with them to-day. Rorie, the shepherd, was for going 
 at once to the Big pass, in spite of the wind, and there 
 running our chance, in which view Walter and I coin- 
 cided. Numbers, therefore, carried the day, and it
 
 34 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 was decided that we should do so ; adopting, however, 
 a suggestion of Donald's, that Rorie should go down 
 into the corrie and show himself, so as to drive the 
 herd, if possible, through our pass. Rorie therefore 
 hurried off in one direction and we in another. A few 
 minutes' climbing brought us to our position, behind a 
 mass of rocks which had fallen from some cliffs above, 
 and lying in the very centre of the pass, from whence 
 we had a view straight down into the corrie. Here, 
 carefully ensconced, we quietly awaited the event. We 
 had not, however, watched long, when we saw Rorie 
 coming towards the corrie, but on the further side of 
 it, directly in the track leading to the other pass, so 
 that the deer must take our pass or face him. In a 
 few moments, Donald said, he would have reached a 
 very narrow rent in the rocks, where he could show 
 himself to the whole herd, and effectually stop their 
 retreating in that direction, except over his body. 
 While, however, Donald was telling this, we suddenly 
 caught sight of the deer collecting together, evidently 
 in alarm, about half a mile below us. " Am thenking 
 they've e'en winded us," said Donald, and a moment's 
 watching assured us that he was not mistaken ; for, 
 quickly forming into a compact mass, they trotted 
 downhill back to the loch, which they speedily skirted, 
 and then made for the narrow rent in the rocks, which 
 they gained shortly before Rorie. We saw them 
 emerge on the other side on an open moor, and then, 
 making a slight detour as they met the shepherd, when 
 not more than fifty yards from the chasm, they rushed 
 pell-mell across the moor, and were soon lost to us, as 
 they made for Bealloch Beg. Such was the provoking 
 conclusion of our first attempt, owing entirely to our 
 yielding to the advice of the shepherd and our own 
 inexperienced ideas.
 
 OUR FIRST STAG. 35 
 
 Donald and Walter began to soothe their disappointed 
 feelings with that everlasting resource, a pipe, while I 
 mused over our misadventure, or noted the striking 
 points of the scenery before us. Donald informed us 
 that the chasm in the rocks, to which I have more than 
 once alluded, was named in Gaelic after a spectre- 
 hunter, whose favourite position it had been. He used 
 to take his stand in the chasm in a kind of niche in the 
 rock, and, as the deer jostled and drove each other 
 past him, he would select the best, and, stabbing him 
 with a long hunting-knife, extract the heart, that being 
 his daily food, and leave the carcase for the wolf or 
 eagle. Donald added that, though he could not say 
 how far there was truth in the tradition, he knew 
 people whose fathers had themselves seen many a fine 
 hart lying dead in the pass, slain by the spectre- 
 hunter's knife. 
 
 The story was scarcely finished, the relation of which 
 was much more impressive, from the language and 
 looks of Donald, than I can make it, and I was just in 
 the act of rising to stretch myself, when I was very 
 roughly dragged down by Donald, who at the same 
 moment whispered in a low mysterious tone, " Bide a 
 wee, Sir ; bide a wee ! " and, indeed, I was only too 
 willing to take the hint, for within three hundred yards 
 of us was a noble stag coming gaily up the brae, in 
 perfect innocence of our vicinity. How he came there 
 we could not conceive, but there he was ; and, the 
 wind having chopped round in the last few minutes, 
 there was little danger of his winding us till he was at 
 least within shot. 
 
 It was a most beautiful sight to see him throw up 
 his head and snuff the air, and then scratch his side 
 with his antlers, or crop the grass as he leisurely 
 approached. My pulse began to beat quickly, and I
 
 36 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 saw that Walter too could ill disguise his nervousness. 
 But we felt it our only chance to-day, and we resolved 
 to follow Donald's advice, to " be steady, and take him 
 cannily." When within about two hundred yards, 
 something behind him (which afterwards proved to be 
 Rorie coming to join us) seemed to alarm his cervine 
 majesty, and he began to trot, while Donald whispered 
 to us not to fire till he was close. Onward he came, 
 ever and anon looking back, and regardless of what 
 was before him, till, when within about sixty yards, he 
 suddenly winded us, and checked himself abruptly, as 
 though puzzled what to make of the enemy visible 
 behind and the new scent in front. In an instant my 
 gun was raised, I aimed before the shoulder-blade, and 
 fired. The stag sprang high in the air, paused an 
 instant, and then tore down the brae at a mad pace. 
 Walter as yet had not fired, thinking my ball was 
 enough ; but on Donald's energetically bidding him to 
 fire, he sent two almost random balls after the stag, 
 one of which broke a fore leg, and the noble beast fell 
 over, never to rise again. My ball had passed (as we 
 afterwards found) through the fleshy part of his heart, 
 and thus, though not instantly, caused his death. He 
 was indeed a noble beast six points on one antler, 
 five on the other and proud we were of our success, 
 though it had come so late. Walter and I struck 
 across the hills at once for the cottage to take our 
 breakfast, leaving the three men to follow at their 
 leisure with the stag. 
 
 Thus, though our inexperience led to an egregious 
 blunder, which spoiled our sport, yet we learnt a lesson 
 that would deter us from committing it again ; and 
 increased experience should lead to proportionate 
 success.
 
 SECOND DAY IN THE FOREST. 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Second Day in the Forest. False Stalk. Mountain Pass. Deer 
 visible. Death of Stag. The Eagle's Habits. Anecdotes. 
 
 MY last brought us up to the death of my first stag ; 
 mine, I say, for mine was the shot which really proved 
 fatal, though Walter actually laid him low. But, un- 
 satisfactory as it was that we could neither of us 
 entirely claim the glory as his own, the emotions of 
 the moment of victory were a sufficient reward for all 
 our toil. 
 
 On reaching the cottage we found a breakfast, pre- 
 pared by the cleanly wife of the shepherd. The Scotch 
 poor as a body are, I admit, anything but particular as 
 regards cleanliness ; but in the most remote Highland 
 regions they are frequently cleanly, unassuming, and 
 moral; and a better specimen it would be difficult to 
 find than Rorie's wife. Having made the most of the 
 opportunity for replenishing the " inner man," we lay 
 down once more on our couch of heather and straw, to 
 make up for the scanty allowance of sleep we had 
 enjoyed during the past night, and in imagination were 
 soon dreaming of the deer, and re-enacting our late 
 performance. 
 
 After about four hours' repose we were roused by 
 the arrival of our two gillies and the shepherd with 
 the carcase of the stag. We found ourselves so much 
 refreshed, that we were anxious to lose no time in 
 setting out and searching for any straggling deer which 
 might be lying about the neighbourhood. The main 
 herd, Donald assured us, had betaken themselves to 
 their usual place of retreat during the day some 
 almost inaccessible heights about five miles from the
 
 38 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 cottage ; and therefore there was no chance of our 
 seeing them at present, unless it might be as they 
 returned to the come in the evening. The air, how- 
 ever, was so mild and still, that there seemed little 
 probability of their descending from the heights ; and 
 our only hope of sport, therefore, depended upon any 
 solitary deer which might be lying about. Tired as 
 they were, the gillies were ready and anxious to join 
 us, and show the way ; but this we would not hear of. 
 Accordingly, getting all the information we could from 
 them, and giving them express orders to take some 
 repose in our absence, Walter and I set out to try our 
 skill and fortune alone. I had my rifle, he his " dooble- 
 barrel;" and, from the little experience we had already 
 gained, we determined that nothing should induce us 
 again to walk with the wind, or lose a second oppor- 
 tunity like the one described in my last chapter. 
 Though it was by no means a fine day, being rather 
 misty and damp, yet at the cottage we had left it very 
 warm ; but as we mounted to the higher ground, we 
 found the breeze increasing in strength, until it even- 
 tually became a most cutting wind. We each had our 
 glass, and resolved to lose nothing by carelessness. 
 As we reached the head of each brae, we scanned every 
 inch of ground in sight, with a perseverance that soon 
 made oar eyes ache to a most unpleasant degree. 
 This operation was repeated again and again, but 
 without success. At last, however, my eye fell upon 
 a red-coloured object, apparently lying beneath a ledge 
 of rocks. Walter also succeeded in bringing his glass 
 to bear upon it ; but at so great a distance was it that 
 we could do no more than make out that it certainly 
 moved. 
 
 While straining our aching optics upon this object, 
 until fancy caused it to dilate and assume forms
 
 A FALSE STALK. 39 
 
 innumerable, it suddenly disappeared behind a rock 
 beneath which it had been previously lying, and we 
 saw it no more. There was no time now to be wasted. 
 Whatever it might be, we could lose but little by fol- 
 lowing it up ; and, should it prove to be a deer, we 
 might yet be fully rewarded. Accordingly, we set off 
 at a brisk pace, keeping a most careful look-out, but 
 arrived within a couple of hundred yards of the rock 
 without seeing anything more. We now began to pro- 
 ceed very cautiously, at times even creeping on our 
 knees ; and at length we reached the rock itself, crept 
 round the end of it and still nothing was visible. 
 After a moment's survey, Walter detected the red 
 object again, lying down as before, but still in so indis- 
 tinct a position that nothing could we make of it. 
 Again, therefore, we began cautiously to creep on our 
 hands and knees ; when suddenly I was startled by a 
 loud hearty laugh proceeding from Walter, and on 
 looking before me, instead of a deer, saw a fine red fox 
 bounding away over the heather bearing off a grouse in 
 his jaws. 
 
 Walter fired, but Reynard's life seemed charmed, 
 and the ball flattened on a rock close by him. I then 
 brought my rifle to my shoulder, and, taking a very 
 deliberate aim, by good fortune doubled him up. We 
 were tempted to slay him, not only in revenge for the 
 disappointment he had caused us, but from the accounts 
 Donald had given us of his destructiveness. Scotch 
 foxes are longer in the leg, and altogether stronger, 
 than most of their brethren south of the Tweed, though 
 1 believe Welsh foxes are very similar; and in the 
 severe weather they are very daring in their attacks on 
 the sheep ; so that, besides avenging ourselves for the 
 trick played upon us by our vulpine enemy, we had 
 also done no slight service to the shepherd.
 
 40 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Such was our first independent "stalk." Reader, 
 you may, as no doubt you will, enjoy a good laugh at 
 our "gullibility;" but we do not yet profess to be more 
 than tyros, and we must, like other learners, be dealt 
 with leniently in our early blunders, or you will crush 
 our communicativeness in the bud, and hear no more 
 from the "Land o' Cakes." Bear with me therefore 
 patiently, while I promise you something better is 
 coming. 
 
 On turning over the carcase of our fox, and robbing 
 him of his brush, which we purposed carrying off as a 
 trophy in memory of our first unaided attempt at 
 deer-stalking, we began to examine the bearings of the 
 compass, and make out our position. From what we 
 recollected of the general features of the ground from 
 the view we had had in the morning, we came to the 
 conclusion that we could not be very far from the pass 
 through which the herd of deer took their way after 
 leaving Cohr an Dhu, and so we at once set off in 
 what we judged to be the right direction. Our opinion 
 was soon confirmed ; for, on passing over some soft 
 ground, we found the marks of deer almost as thick as 
 though a flock of sheep had gone by ; and, from the 
 way in which the earth was torn up, it was evident that 
 they must have been going at a rapid pace. 
 
 These tracks therefore we followed, and presently 
 we found ourselves in a pass between two mountain 
 summits, leading into a hollow, on the far side of which 
 was, we imagined, the favourite retreat spoken of by 
 Donald. Here the wind was most violent, sweeping 
 up the brae and whistling round us, as though it would 
 tear the very plaids from our shoulders. No deer were 
 visible ; but clinging to the hope that the gale might 
 again bring them to seek shelter in the corrie, we 
 seated ourselves behind a rock in the very centre of
 
 THE PASS. 41 
 
 the pass, resolved to watch for a time at least. 
 Evening was drawing on apace, and if they came at 
 all they would come soon. The wind now gradually 
 increased in violence, so that when we occasionally 
 stepped from the shelter of the rock, and exposed 
 ourselves to its force, we found it almost more than we 
 could do to stand against it. This, however, we 
 reasonably regarded as in our favour, for we were quite 
 sure that no deer could wind us with that breeze in 
 our teeth. For near an hour we remained in this 
 position, Walter brooding over his pipe, and snugly 
 enveloped in his plaid, while I kept constantly casting 
 an eye down the brae, until my aching sight forced me 
 to desist. At length it began to grow dark, and we to 
 despair ; but, while peering down into the dim shades 
 of the glen below, I fancied I saw something move. I 
 looked again, and again I thought it must be so. I 
 called Walter, who suggested something about another 
 fox. But in spite of his doubts, he too came to look, 
 and confirmed my hopes, there certainly was a moving 
 object, and what was more, moving towards us ; but, 
 though behind us, the sun was still above the horizon, 
 the shade cast over the glen by the mountain to our 
 right was too deep to be pierced, and our patience had 
 yet to be tried a little longer. 
 
 Presently, however, to our delight, we distinctly saw 
 a deer. We scarcely dared to trust our sight; but 
 there it undeniably was, and, as it slowly mounted the 
 brae, we made out, one by one, seven-and-twenty 
 others, following in the wake of their leader, a sight 
 which effectually restored our flagging spirits. 
 
 Our position was a most admirable one. The whole 
 width of the pass was not more than 200 yards, and 
 the rock behind which we were stationed rose up in 
 the very centre of the narrowest part, commanding a
 
 42 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 view far down into the glen before us, and over the 
 whole of the sloping side of the hill, except a space of 
 perhaps a hundred yards, which was hidden by a ledge 
 of rock running across the brae like a bar. Step by 
 step we watched the whole herd ascend. There were 
 three stags, with good heads, which mingled with the 
 rest ; but one majestic hart kept ever a pace ahead of 
 all, as though " the monarch of the glen " deigned not 
 to mix among the common herd. The rest were either 
 "yeld hinds" ("those who this season have borne no 
 calf), or hinds followed by their calves, which, "skipped 
 like young goats " as they sprang from rock to rock. 
 
 Our object was to remain concealed, if possible, 
 until their noble leader had passed us, and then to 
 shoot him ; or at least, not to fire at him until he had 
 advanced too far to be able to retreat down the brae 
 again, in which case, our shot being unheard amid 
 the howling and whistling of the gale, the rest would 
 follow unsuspecting, and we might then each single 
 out a head for ourselves. 
 
 The deer were now disappearing one by one beneath 
 the above-mentioned ledge of rock which barred the 
 brae, and we expected each moment the appearance of 
 their chief; but after watching most anxiously for 
 some time, and nothing coming in view, the whole 
 herd being now lost beneath the bar of rock, we grew 
 uneasy lest they .might have evaded us by some unseen 
 path, and foolishly, most foolishly, left our position, 
 admirable as it was, to creep forward to the rocky bar, 
 and catch a glimpse of what was going on below. 
 Between us and the bar was an open grassy sward, 
 traversed by a small burn, down the course of which 
 we began to creep very cautiously, the banks not being 
 high enough to conceal us. It was but a short distance 
 not more than fifty yards at the most but it took
 
 THE DEATH. 43 
 
 some time to get over it in the crouching position we 
 were obliged to assume. Before we had passed more 
 than half the space Walter and I were side by side, 
 stealing along as best we might on all fours, when 
 some object flashed suddenly across the corner of my 
 eye; and, turning my head, I beheld the "monarch of 
 the glen " within sixty yards of me. At the same 
 instant he either winded us or caught sight of us, I 
 know not which ; but, with a snort and a kind of plunge, 
 he struck his hoofs into the soil, drew himself up, and 
 gazed proudly around, as though to make out his 
 enemy. At this instant, whispering to Walter not to 
 move an injunction which he fortunately seemed at 
 once to comprehend I raised my rifle, rested my 
 elbow on Walter's shoulder, aimed just behind the 
 shoulder-blade direct for the heart, and fired. Turning 
 round, the deer plunged, or rather staggered, for a few 
 paces down the brae, and then, apparently recovering, 
 went away at a rnad pace through the whole herd, 
 which at first stood puzzled at the sudden flight of 
 their leader (for the discharge of a gun is quite lost 
 among the rocks if there be a pretty strong breeze), 
 and then gradually collected and followed him, until 
 all were lost in the "shades below." Walter ran 
 forward to get a shot, but did not succeed, every head 
 of deer being far down and out of reach before we 
 could gain the bar. And now how much we repented 
 having left our first position ! By impatiently coming 
 forward and exposing ourselves we had got one shot, 
 it is true ; but we had lost all the others, which might, 
 and in all probability would, have offered themselves ; 
 and, what was still worse, we had driven away the 
 whole herd as they were returning to the corrie, and 
 so destroyed all prospect of sport on the morrow. How- 
 ever, we were quite certain that the stag was severely
 
 44 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 wounded ; and, having reloaded, we set off down the 
 brae, hoping that we might find him somewhere 
 exhausted and stationary, and, if so, decide his fate by 
 another bullet. We saw traces the whole way of the 
 frantic leaps and mad plunges of the affrighted herd ; 
 and when about half a mile down we both suddenly 
 paused, Walter threw up his cap (which, by-the-by, 
 he found some difficulty in recovering, the wind having 
 carried it over a somewhat rapid burn, with glassy 
 slippery banks), and I gave a most vociferous cheer, for 
 before us lay the noble stag, " magnificent in death ; " 
 weakened by the loss of blood, blinded by pain and 
 approaching death, till he had become unable to 
 check himself or guide his failing steps, he had fallen 
 over a rock, and, gashing his shoulder with a long 
 deep wound, had sunk upon his head and died with 
 his horns buried in the turf. And at last, single- 
 handed, I had killed my deer. Being without our 
 gillies, it was of course out of the question to carry the 
 stag to the cottage ; so, leaving it as we found it, we 
 set off in high spirits, and with a high wind to our 
 backs, and the elation of success to buoy us up, we 
 soon climbed the brae, and the rest of the way lying 
 chiefly downhill, an hour and a halfs brisk walking 
 brought us to our quarters for the night. Donald 
 during our absence had caught a dish of beautiful 
 trout from the stream running from Loch an Dhu, 
 which passed near the cottage; and these, with a small 
 steak taken from the deer slain in the morning, proved 
 a most pleasing variety to our repast. After informing 
 them of our success, we arranged that the gillies and 
 the shepherd should set off early the next morning to 
 bring in the slaughtered deer which we had left, and 
 that we should then leave the forest for the present, 
 and shoot our way home to the Laird's, only making a
 
 THE KING OF BIRDS. 45 
 
 slight detour to give Walter one more chance of finding 
 a deer in a lone glen which we had not yet disturbed, 
 and to which they occasionally resorted when driven 
 from their more frequented haunts. Having thus 
 settled the proceedings of the morrow, and disposed of 
 our parting tumblers of usquebaugh, we severally 
 sought our pillows. When we again awoke to con- 
 sciousness, the "rosy-fingered morn " had long ushered 
 in the day; and a lovely day it was. The sun was 
 rising high in the heavens, not a speck or cloud visible 
 in the whole sky, the swollen burns of the previous day 
 had nearly returned to their ordinary dimensions, pre- 
 senting a lace-like appearance as they spread their 
 diminished waters over the cliff, where but yesterday 
 were broad sheets of foam stretching down the moun- 
 tain-sides wherever a channel could be found. We 
 left the cottage shortly before noon, and, giving the 
 rifle to Donald, betook ourselves across the moors, gun 
 in hand, for Glen-nam-haidh (the heavenly valley), 
 where Donald thought there was a possibility of finding 
 a deer for Walter. On the way we brought down 4^ 
 brace of grouse, 2^ falling to Walter's gun, and 2 to 
 mine. As we were descending a brae I saw some 
 dark-looking object swiftly stealing over the ground 
 beneath us, which I could not distinctly make out. It 
 soon came nearer, when Donald announced it to be a 
 golden eagle. As it sailed steadily along, our vicinity 
 seemed to cause no alarm ; but at length, when within 
 perhaps 100 yards, it rose rapidly in the air, wheeled 
 majestically round and round as it soared higher and 
 higher, until at last, when almost lost to view, we saw 
 it joined by its mate, and then both struck off in a 
 straight line towards some mountain summits in the 
 distance. 
 
 This was my first introduction to the king of birds 
 
 4
 
 46 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 in his native regions ; and delighted I was to have 
 seen what will soon, I fear, be numbered among " the 
 things that were." Though in general but little more 
 destructive than many of the larger classes of hawks, 
 a war of extermination is being waged against this 
 noble bird. In many instances the reward of a guinea 
 is offered for every eagle brought dead or alive to the 
 keepers ; and this, with the large price which may be 
 obtained from the bird-stuffers for either the bird itself 
 or its eggs, proves a great incentive to all who can 
 climb a cliff or bear a gun ; from which combined 
 causes the number of these birds is fast diminishing. 
 I have said the eagle is not generally more destructive 
 than the larger hawks. This as a rule is true ; but he 
 has greater powers than they, and occasionally he 
 exerts them. In general, perched on some rocky 
 height, or soaring high in the clouds, he beholds with 
 kingly indifference the petty scenes of earth. Capable 
 of passing through the whole length and breadth of 
 the country in a few short hours, the disturbances and 
 changes of any one particular region have no effect 
 upon him. Contented, in general, with making his 
 meal on the mountain-hare or the ptarmigan of his 
 native height, he but seldom disturbs man ; and man, 
 in turn, were it not for the temptation of gold, need 
 seldom disturb him. If he do occasionally vary the 
 monotony of his life of royal solitude by a foray on the 
 sheepfold or elsewhere, might it not be overlooked for 
 the sake of preserving one of the greatest ornaments 
 associated with these mountainous regions ? 
 
 Donald has several stories of the eagle, which he 
 has related to us as we were wandering among the 
 hills together. On one occasion an eagle was seen 
 struggling violently with some other animal on the 
 surface of a pool. Donald's father chanced to be near
 
 ANECDOTES. 47 
 
 with a gun, and, thinking that he might possibly get a 
 salmon for his supper, he shot the eagle, and at the 
 same time, to his surprise, killed a large otter; the 
 eagle's talons being so deeply imbedded in its back 
 that the two could not be separated. Now and then a 
 lamb is carried off; but this is a cqmparatively rare 
 occurrence the fox being a much more deadly enemy. 
 Within the last fortnight, however, an eagle has done 
 very serious damage in a neighbouring strath. 
 Pouncing suddenly on a foal, while roaming on the 
 hillside with its mother, the bird plunged its talons 
 into the eyes of the poor creature, which in its terror 
 rushed headlong over a precipice, and was at once 
 killed by the fall. Such displays of his power, how- 
 ever, as these are exceedingly few and far between. 
 While, therefore, it might be advisable to prevent their 
 frequent occurrence, by keeping down the number of 
 eagles below certain limits, it seems cruel and unjust 
 to extirpate or banish from our islands so noble a relic 
 of its ancient state of savage wildness. To me the 
 Highlands will lose much of their grandeur and charms 
 when the eagle exists only in their legends and remini- 
 scences. 
 
 At length we reached our destination, Glen-nam- 
 haidh ; and a spot more worthy of its name was seldom 
 trodden by the foot of man. In shape resembling a 
 horseshoe rather elongated, the valley forms a kind of 
 amphitheatre ; the sides, running up to the height of 
 1800 feet, and at the curved end rising very abruptly, 
 are lined with birch copses. Above the glen, on the 
 very top of the hill, is a mountain loch, called in Gaelic 
 " the frozen loch ; " and from this issues a stream, the 
 waters of which glide down a deep fissure in the face 
 of a huge black rock, forming a waterfall about 70 feet 
 high, and then tumble and dance over a series of
 
 48 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 cascades far into the depths of the dell. In the centre 
 of the last cascade, with the waters leaping on either 
 side of it, stands a jet-black stone, in its form some- 
 what resembling a rude cross, to which the legends of 
 the glen have attached the sobriquet of " Uaigh-na- 
 sithchean," or, "the tomb of the fairies." And, 
 certainly, though our common notions of those crea- 
 tures would assign to them the gift of immortality; 
 yet, if they must, like frail humanity, also pay their 
 debt to nature, this is a most suitable spot wherein to 
 lay their elfin bones, a rock, blackened by the spray 
 of ages, fringed round by the fox-glove and the fern, 
 while above wave the long drooping branches of a 
 weeping birch, bending over the rude cross and fretting 
 with the stream that murmurs by. 
 
 Such is but a meagre description of the lovely spot 
 to which we had directed our steps in search of more 
 deer. Our, search, however, proved futile. Stationing 
 ourselves at the head of the waterfall, just where the 
 burn issues from Loch-an-reodhadh, we carefully 
 examined every glade where a deer was likely to 
 be, but nothing was visible. The copses themselves, 
 though thoroughly adapted for roe, seemed too dense 
 for the red-deer ; and Donald assured us that, though 
 he had seen many a fine buck in the open glades, he 
 had never found one within the coverts. We thought 
 it best, therefore, to be content with the achievements 
 we had already performed ; and accordingly, having 
 sauntered through the prettiest part of the glen, and 
 moistened our lips with a draught of pure "mountain 
 dew," we proceeded homewards, following, as far as it 
 lay in our road, the course of the burn ; for Scotch 
 streams are dainty creatures, generally picking out the 
 prettiest bits of scenery, and Alt-na-airgst (the silver 
 burn) is no exception to the rule. At first our course
 
 ALT-NA-AIRGST. 49 
 
 wound about among birch-trees, meeting over the 
 stream, and spreading some little way up the brae on 
 either side ; interspersed with juniper bushes (the 
 berry of which, by-the-by, I was surprised to find not 
 at all unpalatable) and a thick layer of ferns below, 
 capable of covering any amount of black game, which, 
 by Donald's account, are numerous there ; but, having 
 no dog with us, we only saw one cock, which Walter 
 brought down at full eighty yards. While he was 
 reloading, we were provoked at seeing a roe-buck steal 
 away in alarm at the shot, but at a distance sufficiently 
 great to secure him from our guns. We watched him 
 springing lightly from rock to rock as he mounted the 
 hillside, until he disappeared in a gully; and then, 
 resuming our route, we presently passed beneath the 
 finest crag I ever beheld, a huge mountain mass of 
 rock rising perpendicularly to the height of 1100 feet, 
 its face almost as flat as a wall, save where immense 
 blocks, some of them as large as a three-storied house, 
 had been loosened by the thaws of spring, and fallen 
 to the ground below. The bottom of the glen was 
 strewed with these huge fragments, some half buried 
 in the soil, others shivered or cracked by the fall. 
 Donald took us to one spot, where an assemblage of 
 these, piled hap-hazard together as they had fallen, 
 had formed a large cavern, within which a flock of 
 sheep might safely find shelter. The name of this 
 cliff is Oreag-an-islar, or the crag of the eagle, from 
 the fact of an eagle having, from time immemorial, 
 had its eyrie in a large cleft near the top. As we 
 passed the foot, numbers of hawks were wheeling 
 about its face, and a constant clamour was kept up as 
 they came in hostile contact. The scenery now 
 became gradually of a more tame character ; and an 
 hour's stiff walking brought us once more to the
 
 50 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Laird's where we found a hearty welcome and kind 
 inquiries as to our success. 
 
 On the whole, then, though we had been guilty of 
 many blunders, our first bag was a very creditable one, 
 2 red-deer, remarkably fine heads, 2 roe, 4^ brace of 
 grouse, a black-cock, and last, though not the least 
 important, a fox and a gled ; which, I think my reader 
 will admit, was very fair as a first essay.
 
 THE LABOURS OF REPOSE. 51 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Guillemot's Eggs. Curious fact. Sea-Fishing. Cuddies and Lithe. 
 A Hard Pull. Haddock. Legend. River Frothay. Hard 
 Fight. Wounded Fish. 
 
 AFTER the expedition recorded in the last chapter, our 
 limbs, and above all our feet, unaccustomed as they 
 had been to such exertion, needed repose ; and for two 
 or three days we curbed our roaming propensities, and 
 amused ourselves within the immediate neighbourhood 
 of the Laird's house. 
 
 An arm of the sea running some miles inland was 
 within half a mile of us, affording at times very good 
 salt-water fishing, as well as being frequented by many 
 varieties of wild-fowl, which build their nests and rear 
 their young in the neighbouring cliffs. It is, however, 
 only in the winter that they resort thither in any great 
 numbers, for the sake of shelter from the storms that 
 rage in that season almost incessantly without the bay, 
 in consequence of the conflicting nature of the currents 
 off these northern coasts. 
 
 At such times almost every variety of sea-bird may 
 be found, and occasionally large shoals of whales may 
 be seen ploughing the stiller water of the loch, and 
 playing their fountains in every direction. Porpoises 
 and seals too are numerous; but the coast is so 
 dangerous, from the height of the cliffs and the 
 hidden rocks, which crowd the shore, that boats 
 seldom venture out in quest of sport unless in a 
 perfect calm. 
 
 Our friend the Laird had a large collection of eggs, 
 some of them very rare, gathered chiefly by Donald, at
 
 52 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 the risk of life and neck, from the rocks and caves on 
 the coast. A curious circumstance, which however 
 seems well authenticated, is, that many birds, by a 
 wonderful provision of nature, can produce their eggs 
 of a colour corresponding to that of the place in which 
 they are deposited. A guillemot, for instance, will lay 
 eggs on a chalk cliff, white speckled with black ; but if 
 her nest be on the seaweeds, the eggs will be green 
 with black spots, varying in shade according to cir- 
 cumstance; and thus she is the more able to baffle 
 the quick sight of those numerous enemies to whom 
 her eggs are daintiest fare. 
 
 The second day of our rest proving a very fine one, 
 and our limbs being still too stiff and our feet too sore 
 to admit of walking to any great extent, we were 
 induced by the glowing accounts of Donald to try the 
 ralt-water fishing. Accompanying him, therefore, down 
 to a small group of buildings close to the beach, 
 amongst which (there being two or three cottages of 
 dependants) we found a species of storehouse, wherein 
 were oars, sails, anchors, and everything requisite for 
 boating, the boats themselves lying on the beach ready 
 for use, we selected one of a moderate size, suited for 
 four oars; and enlisting in our service a lad with a 
 very knowing look, who lived in one of the cottages 
 hard by, we speedily launched our vessel ; and when 
 Donald had brought down the requisite tackle, we 
 stepped on board from a pier of nature's own making, 
 and each taking his oar, began our voyage. Our 
 destination was a rocky promontory, jutting out into 
 the sea, on the far side of the loch, and about four 
 miles distant. The water there, Donald said, was 
 deep, and at the flowing tide fish were "unco* 
 many." 
 
 The weapons of our warfare were somewhat curious:
 
 SEA-FISHING. 53 
 
 a rod consisting of two very stiff pieces of hazel, spliced 
 so as to make a whole about six feet long; and a line 
 about eight feet in length, made of horsehair, clumsily 
 twisted together, but sufficiently thick to be very 
 strong. On this line, at intervals of about a foot, were 
 fastened by trebled gut large white fly-hooks, three or 
 four in number. The mode of fishing was also new to 
 us. The rod was thrust into the water, close beside 
 the boat, in a vertical position, head downwards, so as 
 to cause the flies to float about a couple of feet below 
 the surface, and held in that position while the boat 
 continued its motion. An hour's steady pulling 
 brought us to our point, without any occurrence worthy 
 of mention, except that (having also brought our guns) 
 we stopped occasionally to fire at a chance sea-fowl, 
 as he floated unconcernedly by with only one ex- 
 ception, however, unsuccessfully. ! We found it most 
 difficult to kill, from the quickness with which such 
 birds can dive beneath the surface, as well as from the 
 amount of shot they will carry. We saw the feathers 
 fly from more than one as we fired, but quicker than 
 thought they had disappeared under water, and 
 presently rose a few yards further from us, apparently 
 uninjured. One or two others fell, after flying some 
 distance, but too far off for us to follow. An oyster- 
 catcher was the only bird we secured, Walter bring- 
 ing it down as it passed over us in fancied 
 security. 
 
 Arrived at the promontory, Walter and I armed 
 ourselves with the tackle above described, and, leaving 
 Donald and his coadjutor Angus to row slowly forward, 
 we took our seats on the opposite sides of the boat, 
 thrust our rods down in the approved manner, and 
 anxiously waited the event. We found it more difficult 
 than we had anticipated to hold our rods vertically
 
 54 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 against the force of the current, and our arms soon 
 began to ache rather unpleasantly ; and, as we tried 
 patiently for some time without success, we began to 
 fear that either we had misunderstood Donald, or that 
 he had been making a wrong use of English in his 
 descriptions of the sport to be expected. But just as 
 Walter had begun to hint his suspicions to this effect, 
 he was agreeably surprised by a jerk at his rod, and 
 he quickly pulled into the boat a very lively fish, about 
 a foot long, which Donald pronounced " a cuddy." At 
 the same instant I felt one on my line, and, before I 
 could get him into the boat, a second had hooked 
 himself. For a quarter of an hour or more we were 
 both occupied in constantly pulling these little fellows 
 wriggling into the boat, frequently two at a time. 
 At first we found it amusing, but the interest subsided 
 as they became so numerous; and, when we had 
 caught nearly two score between us, Walter handed 
 his rod over to Angus, and himself took ail oar. I was 
 about to follow his example, and exchange occupations 
 with Donald, when a most vehement tug at my rod, 
 which had nearly carried it bodily away, once more 
 aroused my energies. Whether it were a whale or a 
 porpoise, or what, I could not tell ; but he was hooked 
 securely, and fought most savagely. It was like having 
 a salmon on one's hook, with no winch or line to let 
 out ; and had not the tackle been very good indeed, it 
 must of necessity have given way. Rowing was now 
 suspended, and Walter rose from his oar to watch 
 the progress of the contest. After diving, plunging, 
 pulling obstinately, and trying every device for nearly 
 ten minutes, my fish gradually gave in, suffered 
 himself to be drawn alongside, and Donald lifted him 
 exultingly into the boat. He proved to be what is 
 here called " a lithe," though what his proper name
 
 CUDDIES AND LITHE. 55 
 
 may be I do not know. His length was a little under 
 a yard ; and Donald said he would weigh eight pounds. 
 Walter now returned to his rod, in the hopes of 
 catching a fish of the same sort and size as mine ; and, 
 as we had during the struggle imperceptibly drifted 
 away with the tide, we at once pulled back to the spot 
 where I had hooked him. Donald was sure that where 
 there had been one there would be more, and so it 
 proved ; for we had scarcely passed the place, when at 
 the same instant both the rods were tried to the utmost 
 by a repetition of the same plunging, diving, and 
 obstinate pulling. We kept up the fight for some time, 
 as before ; and most exciting sport it was. Walter, 
 however, had secured his fish, and laid him gasping in 
 the bottom of the boat, while mine was still resisting as 
 obstinately and showing as much play as ever. Indeed, 
 we began to think that I should never gain the mastery, 
 while each moment threatened the rupture of my 
 tackle. But at length, by dint of patient perseverance 
 and cautious dealing, which called forth the expression 
 of praise from Donald, " 'Deed, sir, but I didna' ken 
 ye could angle the like o' that," I drew in my anta- 
 gonist, and found to my astonishment that, instead of 
 one lithe, there were two, each fully as large as my 
 first. The obstinacy of the struggle now no longer sur- 
 prised us ; the only wonder was that the tackle had held 
 good. Walter's fish was scarcely so large as my first. 
 We continued this for about an hour longer, and then, 
 as the tide turned, we gave it up. We had each caught 
 another lithe ; and, on counting our fish, we found that 
 we had twenty-six cuddies and five lithe, weighing, by 
 Donald's calculation, altogether not far short of lOOlb. 
 On the whole, then, we were very much pleased with 
 the day's sport, which had more than satisfied our 
 greatest expectations. The lithe, especially, were a
 
 56 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEEE. 
 
 most agreeable surprise ; and I think, with a good rod 
 and fine tackle, they would afford sport equal to that 
 of any salmon. Few anglers, therefore, need be with- 
 out enjoyment; the sea is open to every one, and I am 
 told that there are plenty of these fish on all the rocky 
 parts of the coast ; so that those who are debarred from 
 salmon-fishing need only turn to the lithe, and find 
 amusement equally good. We now set our faces 
 towards home, or rather our backs, for we began to 
 pull manfully against the ebb of the tide. We had 
 occupied about an hour in coming ; but, in returning, 
 we found the current much stronger, and, in conse- 
 quence, for some time made but little way, when 
 suddenly our stroke (Donald) snapped his oar, and we 
 were left with only three remaining to make our way 
 across the loch, not far short of four miles, with a 
 strong current against us. This was but a gloomy 
 prospect for us, unequal as we had been, even at start- 
 ing, to any great exertions; and, to make matters 
 worse, the sky was clouding over, a slight breeze had 
 sprung up, which promised to be greater, and we could 
 see that the centre of the loch was much more turbid 
 than when we crossed it in the morning. There was 
 nothing for it, however, but to make the attempt and 
 do our best. 
 
 Donald now went to the stern, and by working his 
 oar there helped to propel the boat, while Walter and I 
 took the remaining pair of oars, each of us being 
 occasionally relieved by Angus. In this manner we 
 kept steadily on our course ; and though in the middle 
 of the loch we seemed for some time to be making np 
 way at all, we succeeded, after a hard pull of nearly two 
 houre, in regaining the pier from whence we had put 
 out in the morning. The clouds had been meanwhile 
 gathering; and though our passage had been latterly
 
 A CURIOUS LEGEND. 57 
 
 smooth enough, for, after tacking across the loch, we 
 had coasted the last two miles, yet in the open part 
 of the loch we saw that it was becoming sufficiently 
 turbid to make us thankful that we had crossed so 
 soon. As we neared the pier some heavy raindrops 
 fell ; and, these increasing, we were drenched to the 
 skin before we reached the hospitable roof of our host. 
 Our creel of fish were, after due inspection, speedily 
 transferred to the kitchen, and the next morning we 
 had the pleasure of seeing them all suspended in rows 
 along a wall in the back yard, split open, salted, and 
 left to dry in the sun. Cured in this manner they 
 form a staple article of food among the poorer classes ; 
 and few cottages are to be seen without some dried 
 haddocks, herrings, or cuddies hanging on their wall 
 beneath the eaves of the roof. The chief of these is 
 the haddock, a fish which varies greatly in size, being 
 sometimes taken as large as a good cod, though of- 
 tener about the size of a mackerel. There is a curious 
 legend connected with this fish. At a little distance 
 behind the gills it has two dark blotches, not unlike in 
 shape to the flaps of a saddle slightly elongated, and 
 extending, one on either side, from the ridge of the 
 back, where they meet, to about halfway down the 
 shoulders. In explanation of this phenomenon it is 
 said that the fish in whose mouth Peter discovered the 
 tribute money was a haddock ; that in extricating the 
 coin, he grasped the fish so roughly as to bruise it, and 
 that since the day of that miracle every haddock has, 
 in these two blotches, borne the marks of the apostolic 
 finger and thumb. The rain continued during the 
 whole of the following day ; and we were confined to 
 the house, except for about an hour in the evening, 
 during a bright gleam, when we shot three hares and 
 two brace and a half of teal.
 
 58 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 The third morning being tolerably fine, though 
 varied by an occasional shower, we drove to a river 
 called the Frothay, to fish for salmon. This river is 
 only about a mile in length, running from a fresh-water 
 loch down into the sea. It would be a most excellent 
 salmon river, were it not for the fishermen at the 
 mouth, who net it so indefatigably that scarcely a fish 
 can ascend the stream except during a flood. At such 
 times, if there be a great body of water, they come up 
 in great numbers, and the very best sport may be had. 
 Throughout its whole extent it is one continued 
 succession of rapids and falls; the stream bowling its 
 way along a rocky bed, huge boulders constantly 
 impeding its course, and high cliffs rising abruptly on 
 either side ; so abruptly indeed, and so close to the 
 water's edge, that the angler can in some places only 
 make his way very cautiously by steps cut in the rock. 
 Altogether, from the bold character of the scenery, as 
 well as from the rapidity and turbulence of its waters, 
 the Frothay forms the beau iddal of a Highland stream, 
 and I am acquainted with no river along whose course 
 I could ramble with greater enjoyment. 
 
 After putting up our cattle, a pair of Highland 
 ponies, with the dogcart, at a shepherd's shieling hard 
 by, we put our tackle together, and hastened at once 
 to try our fortune. We found the stream swollen, and 
 were quickly assured of its containing fish, for we saw 
 the fresh-run salmon leaping in every direction. This, 
 however, was no agreeable sight, for when salmon are 
 in the leaping mood they are seldom disposed to take 
 the fly. The water was also rather too much dis- 
 coloured, but this we remedied in some degree by 
 putting on a brighter fly. Donald selected for me 
 one out of a number which he carried hooked into his 
 bonnet ; it was rather large in size, with a yellow
 
 A HARD FIGHT. 59 
 
 body, ribbed with gilt, the wings of bright blue and 
 orange. 
 
 Leaving Walter, with Sandy in attendance, Donald 
 and I proceeded a little further down the stream, to a 
 spot where we were to find both fish and sport, if they 
 were to be had at all. But the spot deserves a descrip- 
 tion. There were three consecutive falls. Beneath 
 each fall there was a pool ; the uppermost and lowest 
 being of great depth, the middle one but shallow. 
 
 Just as we arrived at the first pool, two salmon 
 sprang up the fall, in their upward course, having 
 already surmounted the two lower falls. One of the 
 two failed, and, falling back again into the pool, dis- 
 appeared in the dark abyss into which the roaring 
 torrent was pouring itself. I threw my fly across the 
 boiling current and at my first cast a broad tail flapped 
 on the surface, and sullenly disappeared. By Donald's 
 advice I then cast in another direction, so as to allow 
 the fish I had just raised to recover itself ; then, after 
 a delay of two or three casts, I renewed the challenge, 
 and before a minute had elapsed I had hooked my 
 fish. 
 
 It had now begun to rain, and that very heavily, but 
 I had an exciting contest before me and I could not 
 shrink from it. At first the fish rushed, as though in 
 amazement at the little fly which stung so sharply, 
 down to the very bottom of the pool ; but his enemy 
 was not to be shaken off so easily. He then rose in 
 the very centre of the boiling whirlpool beneath the 
 fall, and attempted to dash up the fall itself, but fell 
 back into the pool again. Still, however, the fly stuck 
 closely to him, and, after pausing a moment in the still 
 water, he made a savage rush down the stream towards 
 the second fall. 
 
 " Ye'll lose him the noo ; ye'll just be losing him ! "
 
 60 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 cried Donald, in despair ; but there was no help for it ; 
 I could not resist more strenuously, or my tackle must 
 give way, and therefore I was fain to let him go 
 gradually down,. trusting to the chapter of accidents to 
 save my credit. The rain was now coming down 
 heavily ; in vain I had drawn my plaid tighter around 
 me ; I was quickly wetted to the skin, and now each 
 drop seemed to pierce through my clothes, and to make 
 itself felt. The rocks, too, sloping upwards from the 
 bed of the stream, at all times hard to stand upon, were 
 now wet and slippery, and I found it most difficult to 
 keep my footing. 
 
 Just as the fish disappeared over the second fall, and 
 I sprang forward to keep up the battle, my feet slipped 
 from under me ; I rolled over backwards, falling with 
 one shoulder and an arm in the stream, and my rod 
 flew out of my grasp into the river. 
 
 In an instant Donald came to the rescue, and while 
 he recovered the rod I regained my feet ; and having 
 no time to think about bruises or the additional wetting, 
 I resumed my rod, and hurried forward, though some- 
 what more carefully. There was but small hope that 
 my fish had not yet escaped, for several yards of the 
 line had run out while my rod was in the stream, and 
 it was now quite slack. When I had scrambled down 
 to the foot of the fall, I began to wind up the line as 
 fast as I could, but felt nothing of my fish. At length 
 I had nearly taken in the whole line, when, to my 
 amazement and delight, a sudden rush and the conse- 
 quent whizzing of the winch apprised me that he was 
 still secure. And now succeeded a second combat, 
 more severe by far than anything I had yet witnessed* 
 The plunges of the fish were terrific, and his flights 
 through the air perfectly wonderful, causing me con- 
 tinually to tremble for my tackle, especially as he
 
 A WOUNDED FISH. 61 
 
 seemed to be making for the third and last fall. 
 Donald now stole up to me, and, as though he were 
 afraid of his own voice at such a crisis, in a low tone, 
 approaching almost to a whisper, entreated me to hold 
 him up the stream, and prevent his " ganging ow're the 
 fa' that gait," advice which I would only too gladly 
 have followed, had it rested with myself. But a fresh- 
 run salmon is not so easily guided, especially if he has 
 the start. 
 
 I now, however, thought I saw symptoms of distress 
 in the fish, and began to cherish hopes of a successful 
 issue, when a sudden rush up the stream snapped the 
 top of my rod into two pieces. I heard Donald groan 
 as he said, "'Deed, sir, but ye're unco misfortunate 
 the day." However, in spite of this additional dis- 
 advantage, I persevered, and now the fish was evidently 
 relaxing his efforts. But still, slowly and certainly, he 
 was n earing the fall, and each short struggle lessened 
 the distance. Could I but hold him up the stream a 
 few minutes longer he would be mine ; but when he was 
 almost exhausted, and could have held out a very little 
 longer, I had the mortification to see him, by a kind of 
 tack in his course, work his way into the middle of the 
 current, just at its most rapid part, where it narrowed 
 before the cliff, taking a clear leap of twenty feet over 
 the cliff which barred its passage. Nothing I could do 
 could now secure him. My tackle was not stout enough 
 to resist the strength of the current, and there seemed 
 nothing for it but to give up all as lost. 
 
 Just, however, at this juncture, Donald's presence 
 of mind and experience befriended me. Springing 
 forward, he took his stand on a rock projecting some 
 little way over the fall, and coolly balancing himself in 
 that dizzy position, put out the landing-net, and 
 catching my fish in the very act of descending, brought 
 
 5
 
 62 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 and laid him in triumph at my feet. And so terminated 
 the severest struggle I myself had experienced, and of 
 which even Donald said, " I dinna mind a graunder 
 fight." The fish had several sea-lice upon his head, 
 thus proving that he was just fresh from the sea : his 
 weight was afterwards found to be rather under fourteen 
 pounds. 
 
 After tendering my thanks to Donald for his timely 
 aid, I sat down and watched him splice the top of my 
 rod. The rain had ceased, and warm as I was from 
 the excitement of the struggle, I did not feel the wet 
 state of my clothes ; and indeed the wind, which had 
 sprung up as the rain ceased, soon blew me, com- 
 paratively speaking, dry again. 
 
 We continued the fishing for two or three hours 
 longer, and returned home with five salmon and a sea- 
 trout ; my share of the spoil being three salmon, 
 weighing altogether twenty-six pounds. Walter took 
 two very good fish, weighing about seven pounds each, 
 and the sea-trout of five pounds. All the fish were 
 fresh from the sea ; one of mine had a large slice taken 
 out of his shoulder, having been bitten, as Donald said, 
 by a seal. He must, therefore, have had a narrow 
 escape. The Redburn, we are told, is in splendid 
 order for fishing, and in my next chapter I hope to 
 record of our success there.
 
 AN OLD GAEL. 63 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " Creagan Eoghlevagh." Ancient Gael. Highland Shieling. Fight 
 with Stag. Stag of Rhynie. Long Stalk. The Poacher's Reli- 
 gion. The Stag concluded. 
 
 So heavy a rain followed the events related in my 
 last, that on visiting the Redburn we found it, as 
 Donald had predicted, of a colour and composition very 
 closely resembling those of the fag-end of the coffee-pot 
 which has been " well shaken before taken." Fishing, 
 therefore, was out of the question ; and accordingly we 
 proceeded, at the suggestion of Donald, to wile away 
 the morning by a visit to an odd character, whose 
 dwelling was at no great distance, beneath a huge cliff 
 called " Creag an Eoghlevagh." In former times a 
 forester in the service of a princely nobleman, whose 
 vast estates have long since been brought to the 
 hammer and passed to other hands, he had known the 
 hills, now tenanted only by sheep, in those days 
 occupied by nothing but the red deer, the roe, the fox, 
 and other wild game. He " minded weel " the day 
 when seven fine stags were shot on one morning, just 
 beneath the present position of his cottage, though 
 nowadays they are seldom seen within six or seven 
 miles of it. Since the dispersion of the property, and 
 his own consequent dismissal from office, he had led an 
 irregular and almost lawless life. There were rumours 
 that he had been connected with the "smuggling 
 interest," and he was known to have been an extensive 
 poacher ; but he had been openly detected or convicted 
 of neither. Within the last few years, however, as the 
 natural burdens of an age now bordering closely on a
 
 64 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 century became heavy upon him, he had given up his 
 questionable occupation, and kept to his home, like an 
 honest man. 
 
 Crammed to the muzzle with old recollections, 
 legends, and experiences, to those who could listen and 
 comprehend, his recitals of bygone scenes and days 
 were full of interest ; but, unfortunately for us, he 
 prided himself on his Gaelic ; and possessed of a 
 melancholy presentiment that the day was not far 
 distant when the tongue of the Southron was to 
 supersede it altogether, Rob treasured the language of 
 his Celtic forefathers with so jealous a watchfulness, 
 that he would not himself give utterance to a syllable 
 of English if he could avoid it, that at least his own 
 conscience might be clear from the guilt of having cast 
 off an old and valuable friend, and having lent a hand 
 towards blotting out one from the Babel-born family of 
 tongues. We had been told by our friend the Laird 
 that to hear Rob recite an adventure in his native 
 language was to listen to a recital in both the language 
 and the spirit of Ossian, but that this we should in a 
 great measure lose in the English interpretation. 
 
 Donald, however, gave us to understand that, under 
 the influence of a modest amount of whiskey, the spirit 
 of this aged Gael might be induced to lay aside its 
 jealousy of the Sassenach, and indulge us in English as 
 good as that our " ainsels " could use, a hint which 
 we resolved to profit by. 
 
 On reaching the shieling where Rob abode, which 
 was a long low hut, with thick heather thatch, and a 
 chimney built of sods, the whole erection looking 
 more like a stack of peat than a human habitation, we 
 entered, and were introduced by Donald. Rob rose 
 from his seat, bade us a Gaelic welcome, and invited us 
 to sit down, pointing to a long clumsily-made trunk-box^
 
 A HIGHLAND SHIELING. 65 
 
 over which he threw an antique plaid. We took the 
 seat allotted to us ; and while Donald and our host were 
 conversing in a jargon incomprehensible to us, I had 
 leisure to look about me. 
 
 The interior of the cottage, like Highland shielings 
 in general, was walled round with rude rafters of pine, 
 well seasoned by peat smoke, with which same smoke 
 the atmosphere of the apartment was unpleasantly 
 overcharged. One side of the room was composed 
 almost entirely of doors, the centre ones being, I 
 suppose, the folding doors of the bedroom or closet 
 where the occupant slept ; the others opening into 
 cupboards and omnium gatherum whatnots. A huge 
 fireplace Gaelic*}, tein-tein occupied nearly the whole 
 of one end of the apartment, the peat lying smouldering 
 on the hearth in the true primitive fashion ; and above 
 the rough-hewn stone mantlepiece was suspended an 
 old flint gun, towards which the eyes of Donald were 
 ever and anon directed with a look of devout reverence. 
 The third side was occupied with the door and one 
 small window, through the glass of which, though 
 sufficiently transparent to admit the light in scant 
 measure, no objects could possibly be distinguished. 
 The remaining side was overhung with the drapery 
 (still in character) of sundry time-hallowed coats, 
 weather-worn plaids, faded bonnets, and huge boots. 
 
 Our host himself was a man of middle height, now 
 much bent by years ; his countenance, however, not- 
 withstanding the many deep furrows graven by the 
 hand of time, had an appearance much younger than 
 accorded with his actual age, from the ruddy hue which 
 still mantled the cheek, and the bright glitter which 
 still flashed from the eye. His locks, white as the 
 driven snow, straggled at random over his shoulders, 
 and his long grey whiskers joined in the same stream.
 
 66 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 His huge bony hands and broad shoulders still bore 
 testimony to the strength he had once possessed ; and 
 as he drew himself up stiffly to his full height, his whole 
 appearance was striking and even imposing. 
 As he moved about the shed, I observed that he 
 slightly halted on one leg ; and on inquiring of Donald 
 the cause, I was informed that he had been injured in 
 poaching a deer ; but that if we would produce our 
 whiskey flasks and " bide our time," we might have the 
 account of it from his own lips. Our usquebagh there- 
 fore produced, we drank to each other ; and while 
 Walter and Donald each added a pipe to their draught, 
 Rob offered to me his snuff-box. Snuff-taking has 
 been a habit in the Highlands for many generations, 
 and though with the rising one smoking has become so 
 general, as almost to supplant the more ancient fashion, 
 yet many of the most primitive in these unfrequented 
 districts, still cling tenaciously to " the old paths." 
 Rob's snuffbox was itself a curiosity, as an article of 
 home manufacture, a deer's hoof forming the box, while 
 the lid was composed of a strip of hart's horn. For 
 some time all communications were carried on in 
 Gaelic, Donald acting as interpreter ; but in vino veritas 
 is an adage old and well tested withal, and as the 
 whiskey warmed the cockles of that aged heart, aud 
 thawed the frigid exterior, it evoked the powers of 
 speech, not yet asserted ; and at length the Gaelic 
 oracle, throwing aside his reserve, poured forth his 
 responses in fluent English. " What for was he lame ? 
 'Twas just naething more than a fulish fall owre a crag 
 wi' a stag he had wounded." And then he proceeded 
 to tell us how, when on a poaching venture, he had 
 watched the beast grazing in security above a high 
 crag ; how he had stalked it, wounded it mortally, and 
 brought it to the ground ; how, in his haste lest any of
 
 SEEKING A SABBATH DINNER. 67 
 
 the keepers should unpleasantly interrupt him, he had 
 then run in upon the deer to " gralloch," or stab it 
 to the heart, thinking it to be at its last gasp ; and 
 how he was unpleasantly surprised, on grasping an 
 antler, to find the beast sufficiently vigorous to spring 
 blindly forward; and how, before there was time to 
 extricate himself, both he and the deer, the slayer and 
 the slain, had rolled over the precipice together, and 
 after a most marvellous but unpleasant succession of 
 falls, thumps, struggles, and bruises, both lay breath- 
 less at the foot of the crag. The deer, having fortu- 
 nately fallen undermost, had broken the force of the 
 shock to him, which however had been so severe as to 
 fracture his leg. " But," said he, " I sune drew his 
 life's blood; and there," he added, "is his head," 
 pointing to a deer's mask on the wall, " which I hae 
 keepit, and shall aye keep to my dying day." We 
 examined the head, which, however, was not remark- 
 able for its size ; though, no doubt, for old association's 
 sake, it was worth more to him than " siller or gowd." 
 ' But, Hob," asked Donald, " winna ye just tell the 
 gentleman about the big stag ye were three days in the 
 killing?" 
 
 " 'Deed, will I," was the gracious reply. But here, 
 Reader, you must allow me to . give the story in my 
 own words. To recall those of Rob would be too 
 serious a task; and therefore, though I know that half 
 the charm will thereby be lost, I must e'en leave it to 
 your own fertile imagination to put in the finishing 
 strokes and effective touches of the master, while I 
 barely lay down the crude outline. Allow us one 
 moment for a preliminary pull at the flask and a pinch 
 of snuff not at all adulterated ; oh no ! and we 
 begin at once our narrative of the big stag of Ben 
 Rhynie.
 
 68 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a famous hart known to 
 frequent the fastnesses of Ben Rhyuie, the head of 
 which was for a long while an object of ambition 
 among all the foresters, sportsmen, and poachers, who 
 shot per fas aut nefas in the neighbourhood. But he 
 seemed to bear a charmed life, not even a bullet of 
 silver, it was said, could harm him ; and he continued, 
 in spite of their patience and perseverance, to baffle 
 them all. 
 
 On one occasion, however, Rob had been out with 
 his gun, tempted as well by the want of something to 
 do, as by a great desire for a venison steak for his next 
 day's (Sabbath) dinner. He had searched various 
 woods for roe, but without success, and was wending 
 his way homeward, his gun slung carelessly over his 
 shoulder, and <c whistling to keep his courage up," 
 when, just as he was mounting a little knoll in the 
 midst of an open moor, he suddenly was aware of a 
 hart standing within a hundred yards, and staring him 
 full in the face. Instinctively he put his gun to his 
 shoulder, but as quickly withdrew it, on recollecting 
 that it was only loaded with slugs, which he knew 
 would be of little avail against such large game. 
 Small, however, as was the chance of success, there 
 was nothing else for it ; so, without more waste of time, 
 he took aim and fired, but apparently without any 
 effect. At this instant, to his further amazement and 
 annoyance, his gun being now unloaded, two deer, 
 before unseen, uprose from the heather, alarmed by the 
 report, and joining their companion bounded away 
 across the moor at a rapid pace. One of them was a 
 magnificent stag ; and, from his huge proportions, Rob 
 at once recognised the famous stag of Ben Rhynie. All 
 this took place in a much shorter time than my descrip- 
 tion has occupied ; and Rob had no leisure for reflection.
 
 A LONG STALK. 69 
 
 It was now, however, evident that they were making 
 for their inaccessible retreats in the mountain, and 
 unless something was done, and that without delay, the 
 opportunity was lost. Rob was not the man to let slip 
 an occasion, if it could be used in any way ; and of the 
 present he determined to make the best, for the 
 circumstances. Of bullets, which were almost indis- 
 pensable, he had none, save at home; and to fetch 
 them was out of the question. Slugs were of no use, 
 unless he could get very near the game. But as there 
 was no remedy for it, he was fain to make a trial. 
 Accordingly he set off by a circuitous route, through 
 paths best known to himself, hoping that the deer 
 might slacken their pace, and he might yet intercept 
 them before they were lost in the mountain. 
 
 After a forced march of some three miles he gained 
 a spot whence, with the wind in his favour, he could 
 command a view of them as they approached, if they 
 had not already passed; and as he could detect no 
 fresh tracts, he concluded that he was beforehand with 
 them. Here, therefore, he took his stand, and, located 
 behind a large grey rock, waited anxiously for their 
 approach. 
 
 Presently they were in view, the big stag leading the 
 way, and gradually came nearer, all unsuspicious of the 
 hidden danger ; at length the much-coveted prize was 
 within range. With a bullet the practised eye of the 
 poacher could have made sure of him ; but with the 
 means he had at hand Rob doubted his powers. 
 
 Still, however, Hope, "heaven-born maid," whispered 
 encouragement; and now the animal was within fifty 
 yards, he began to snuff the air suspiciously, and no 
 time was to be lost. A keen eye glanced down the 
 barrel cautiously projected over the edge of the rock, a 
 steady ringer pulled the trigger, a sharp report awoke
 
 70 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 the echoes of the rocks around, and the stag fell ; while 
 the remaining two took to flight, and scoured across 
 the moor. Having no second barrel in reserve, there 
 was nothing for it but to rush in, and if possible termi- 
 nate the matter with the knife. Scarcely, however, 
 had he approached within ten paces of the prostrate 
 deer, when it suddenly sprang to its feet, charged Rob, 
 and overthrew, though without seriously hurting him, 
 and then made off at a surprising rate for the hill. 
 Ruefully rose the poacher from the ground, shook him- 
 self, and gazed disconsolately after the receding beauty. 
 He saw distinctly that the animal's movements were 
 made with difficulty, and that he must soon come to a 
 stop. Once more, therefore, he loaded with slugs, and 
 followed, as fast as his shaken limbs, the rough nature 
 of the ground, and the waning light of day would 
 allow. But he gradually lost all sight and trace of the 
 deer; and as it grew dark he was compelled reluctantly 
 to give up the search. On the morrow he felt sure he 
 should find the stag stiff and feeble, and then a bullet 
 brought from his stock at home would speedily decide the 
 event. But then came the unpleasant recollection that 
 the morrow was the Sabbath ; and Rob, like many more 
 of his countrymen, had his scruples, almost amounting 
 to superstition, regarding the observance of this day. 
 On six days in the week he could, and constantly did, 
 shoot his deer or other game, in spite of law ; but that 
 same law he could not prevail on himself to break by 
 the open desecration of the Sabbath. Though he would 
 drink whisky to any extent within doors, he would not 
 violate the law without. 
 
 The morrow came. The whole morning passed and 
 Rob had not crossed his threshold, though his whole 
 thoughts were engrossed by the unsatisfactory events 
 of yesterday.
 
 THE STALK RESUMED. 71 
 
 Towards afternoon, however, he reasoned with him- 
 self that there could be no serious wrong in taking a 
 quiet walk among the hills without his gun. Possibly 
 he might see the stag and mark him for the next day, 
 when poaching would again, in his estimation, become 
 legitimate. 
 
 This was no sooner thought of than put into execu- 
 tion. Arming himself with a stout stick and his knife, 
 Rob set out on his Sabbath day's journey. Directing 
 his steps towards the fastnesses which the stag was 
 especially supposed to frequent, he mounted the ridge 
 at its lowest end, and, as he slowly ascended to the 
 higher regions of the mountain, he carefully surveyed 
 the hollows lying below. For some time he employed 
 himself in this way, and his sight had begun to ache 
 from the operation, when his attention was arrested by 
 a dark-brown object, very closely resembling a deer, 
 lying in the heather at some distance. He looked again. 
 Surely it must be so; or was his aching sight deceiving 
 him? Again he looked, and now he no longer had a 
 doubt. 
 
 All scruples were in a moment cast to the wind, and, 
 having noted the ground, he determined to make the 
 best approach, and began his descent of the mountain- 
 side by the course of a burn which wound its way 
 through the glen below, and passed within a few yards 
 of the reposing deer, the position of which, as well as 
 its apparent size, almost convinced him that it must 
 be the special object of his search. Matters were so 
 far in his favour; and now he almost regretted his 
 scruples as to bringing his gun. Armed as he was, he 
 could do little against the antlered monarch of the 
 forest ; but, at all events, he was resolved to get as 
 near as possible, and make out whether it really were 
 the wounded animal or not. On he went along the
 
 72 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 burn, ever keeping out of sight and in a stooping 
 posture, and moving more slowly and cautiously as he 
 gained the vicinity of the game, lest he should create 
 an alarm even by turning a stone noisily. He had 
 crept, according to his own calculations, to within a 
 hundred yards of the spot, when he ventured to look 
 cautiously over the bank, but nothing could he see. 
 He advanced a few yards further, and then, on again 
 peering through the heather, what a sight greeted his 
 eyes 1 There before him lay the big stag, to all 
 appearance lifeless; but, as it might be only asleep, 
 he still moved silently. Again therefore creeping on, 
 under shelter of the bank, he once more looked up, and 
 found himself within twenty yards of the deer, still 
 lying motionless and undisturbed. He watched for 
 some moments, transfixed to the spot. He could not 
 approach nearer under cover, as the burn now took a 
 turn and receded ; but still he was in doubts whether 
 to step up to the animal at once, or to leave him till the 
 morrow, when he might return with his gun. While, 
 however, he was halting between two opinions, the stag 
 slowly raised his head, drove some tiresome flies from 
 his flank with his horn, and then lay down again at full 
 length on the heather. Rob saw at a glance by the 
 listless movement of the stag, that he was ailing in 
 health, and, drawing his hunting knife from his pocket, 
 he crept up the bank, suddenly sprang to his legs, and, 
 rushed in upon the animal, before it had time to 
 comprehend what was going on, seized hold of one 
 hind leg, and hamstrung it. The stag now wheeled 
 quickly round on its remaining leg, as on a pivot, and 
 threw Rob to the ground with some force ; but, pre- 
 pared for such an attack, he speedily rolled aside and 
 escaped unhurt. For a long while they stood eyeing 
 each other, the deer angrily shaking his head and
 
 THE THIRD DAY'S SEARCH. 73 
 
 uttering an occasional snort or a moan of pain, and 
 Rob watching for an opportunity to close with his 
 antagonist. Night overtook the two parties still in 
 this position. But, though the glassy eye of the deer 
 and his look of anguish and exhaustion moved the 
 poacher's commiseration, and increased his wish to 
 terminate the scene, yet his recollection of yesterday's 
 defeat, and the testimony his own bones bore to the 
 rough treatment he had then received, prevented him 
 from exposing himself to a repetition of the penalty 
 paid for approaching too near the wounded animal. At 
 length therefore, as darkness closed in upon him, he 
 was compelled to postpone further operations to the 
 morning, sure of then finding the deer, disabled as he 
 was, near the same spot. 
 
 As the third day dawned Rob set out, his gun care- 
 fully cleaned and loaded with ball. He soon reached 
 the place where he had left the deer on the previous 
 night ; and though he could not perceive the animal 
 itself, he soon detected traces of it. These he care- 
 fully followed, until they led to a burn ; but, here, though 
 he followed the banks for some distance both up and 
 down the stream, not a vestige could he discover. 
 The stag must have continued its course over some 
 hard stones, thus leaving no clue to its movements. 
 Rob was completely puzzled ; the only chance seemed 
 to be in roaming about the ground, and examining 
 carefully in every direction. But, conscious of the 
 unlawfulness of his proceedings, he could not do this 
 in open daylight with the cool attention he wished. 
 His conscience troubled him. Having escaped detec- 
 tion two days, he thought the chances were against 
 equal good fortune on the third. Fancy made him 
 start again and again, at the imaginary voices and 
 appearance of foresters. Each tuft of heather that
 
 74 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 fluttered in the wind seemed a forester's bonnet ; each 
 waving fern a forester's plaid. And so the day wore 
 on - ; evening approached, and Rob began to despair. 
 He now sat down on a knoll, rising from the bank of a 
 burn that fretted and chafed its winding way to the 
 loch below, and here he racked his brain to think what 
 could have become of the prize so nearly won, so 
 strangely lost. 
 
 Occupied with these reflections, he was somewhat 
 startled on detecting a something moving in the burn 
 about two hundred yards below him. The oft-reviving 
 image of the forester at once recurred to his mind. 
 Can he be watched? Has he been the object of 
 observation the whole morning through ? No, " it is 
 the stag, 'mile diabholan ! ' 'tis the stag," slaking his 
 feverish thirst, and easing his burning tongue in the 
 cool waters of the burn. An exclamation of delight 
 burst from his lips, and in a moment Rob is flat on the 
 heather, and sliding down the side of the knoll. Cau- 
 tiously approaching, he gradually shortens the distance 
 between them, and succeeds in creeping close up to 
 the animal unobserved. And now, anxious, if possible, 
 to avoid the noise of a shot, he watches his opportunity: 
 and at length, leaping into the burn in the rear of the 
 beast, before it can turn round upon him, almost help- 
 less as it is from loss of blood and the disabled limb 
 behind, as well as harassed and impeded by the loose 
 stones in the burn, and agitated by the suddenness of 
 the attack, he springs upon its back, and, plunging his 
 knife deep into its breast, thus terminates the existence 
 of the famed stag of Ben Rhynie. 
 
 Such, was one of many " olden memories " of the 
 grey-haired poacher. Other stories were related in 
 the course of our somewhat lengthy morning call ; but 
 I must postpone them till I have more leisure, lest I
 
 CLOSE OF SALMON SEASON. 75 
 
 glut my reader's interest by too abundant a supply at 
 first. 
 
 The salmon-season is fast drawing to a close. I 
 hope we shall be able to make the most of the few 
 days that remain, and that my next chapter may report 
 successful sport.
 
 76 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Excursion to the River Scaurdale. Scenery on the Way. The Merlin. 
 Anecdote of Porpoise. The River Chruim. The "Butcher" 
 Fly. Our Quarters. The Scaurdale. Good Sport. 
 
 AFTER the events recorded in the last chapter, I deter- 
 mined, as the season for salmon-fishing was now draw- 
 ing fast to a close, to devote the few remaining days of 
 it to the rivers, leaving the deer and the forest for a 
 time at least unmolested. 
 
 This determination was further confirmed by the very 
 opportune arrival of the Laird's eldest son Alister, an 
 enthusiastic lover of sports of all kinds, for a visit of a 
 few days. Having obtained permission from a neigh- 
 bouring proprietor for himself and a friend to fish for a 
 couple of days in an excellent river, the Scaurdale, dis- 
 tant about forty miles, he kindly invited me to accom- 
 pany him; and, as the accounts he brought of the pros- 
 pect of sport were sufficiently promising, you may well 
 imagine I was by no means loth to accept the invite. 
 Though our own neighbourhood had for some time en- 
 joyed a full share of rain, the river we were about to 
 visit, he informed me, had not been so favoured, having 
 for several weeks been very low. The rains, however, 
 of the last few days having produced a considerable 
 " speyet," the salmon, which for want of water had long 
 been collecting and lingering about the mouth, were 
 at length able to make their way up the stream, and 
 were now doing so in great numbers. 
 
 Alister being an experienced hand, the needful 
 preparations were left to his discretion ; and the first 
 beam of the morning saw us seated in a trap behind a
 
 TO THE SCAUKDALE. 77 
 
 stout Highland pony, and starting for the scene of sport 
 in prospectu. It was a lovely morning, somewhat chill, 
 but with a sky cloudless, save where a small speck here 
 and there dotted the welkin, and from its rich roseate 
 fringe foretold the -coming of the yet invisible "lamp 
 of day." Such mornings however are frequently, 
 indeed generally, succeeded by a rainy day ; and we 
 began to fear dirty weather, and an increased " speyet." 
 The rivers were already sufficiently high ; and, as an 
 additional flood would not improve the fishing, the 
 prospect was not cheering ; but we hoped for the best. 
 
 Of our route, pretty as it was, and characteristic of 
 the Highlands, I will endeavour to give the best 
 description I can. 
 
 For the first half-dozen miles there was nothing very 
 striking ; but we then began to wind our way through 
 a birchen forest, the trees lining the road on either 
 side, almost meeting over our heads, completely shut- 
 ting us in, and imparting an air of seclusion, which, 
 with the deathlike silence that reigned around, un- 
 broken save by the clinking of the pony and the 
 rumble of the wheels, seemed to communicate itself to 
 our feelings and to cast a spell on our tongues. Occa- 
 sionally, as we got a glimpse along some glade in the 
 forest, we saw the black-cock stealing off to the shelter 
 of the ferns, or the roe in security straining its pretty 
 neck to reach the tenderest shoots on the birchen 
 bough. Altogether, it was such a morning as I never 
 saw before, and in all likelihood never shall see again ; 
 indeed a second such would not produce a similar 
 effect. There was something so new to me, a Southron, 
 in the combination of perfect peace and calm, the 
 thorough security of the frequenters of the wood, the 
 wildness of the district around, and yet the Devonshire- 
 like character of the lane we were following, that I felt 
 
 6
 
 78 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER 
 
 quite spell bound. My compaiiion, too, though no 
 stranger to the scene, was not thoroughly proof against 
 its influence ; and for some distance we drove on in 
 silence, till a sudden turn brought us unexpectedly on 
 a small herd of roe quietly grazing in the road. 
 Though not more than a hundred yards away, they 
 exhibited no signs of alarm, but merely springing 
 gracefully to the top of the bank, one by one took a 
 steady survey of us as we approached, and then dis- 
 appeared within the covert. 
 
 Shortly after this the nature of the scenery changed. 
 Our road lay along the banks of an inland frith or arm 
 of the sea, running up the country some twenty miles. 
 In some parts the shore rose quickly to an elevation of 
 fifteen hundred feet, in others receding into open moors 
 stretching far away to our left. Where the rise was 
 abrupt the road was blasted and cut in the solid rock, 
 at a height of about one hundred and fifty feet above 
 the water. The rocks were covered with the mountain- 
 ash, dwarf oaks, and stunted birch, whose roots found 
 a scanty hold and meagre subsistence among their 
 fissures and interstices; while about them were congre- 
 gated, like so many satellites, tufts of various kinds of 
 ferns and lichens ; the ivy and the stagshorn moss 
 hanging down in graceful festoons, or the foxglove 
 ringing its many bells, glistening with the morning 
 dew. Here and there a giant pine reared his tall head 
 high above all the rest, the wood-pigeon still roosting 
 or cooing among the clusters of fir-apples. Many a 
 tiny burn tinkled its way from stone to stone, and, 
 creeping quietly across our course, fell over the preci- 
 pice, and was lost on the beach below.- Occasionally 
 a larger stream, swollen into a torrent, dashed from 
 rock to rock down towards the road, and then, when 
 within a yard of our wheels, suddenly disappeared
 
 SCENERY ON THE WAY. 79 
 
 through a stone- built tunnel beneath us ; while up its 
 course might be seen a few solitary wild roses still 
 lingering in the shade, as though loath to withdraw 
 their charms from these lovely " neuks ; " and some- 
 times, above all, a slight rainbow hung suspended in 
 steaming spray. 
 
 When we came to the open moor, we saw the cock 
 grouse stationed here and there, like a solitary sentinel 
 on some hillock, watching our approach with jealous 
 eye ; while now and then we detected a brood of young 
 birds crouching beneath some whin-bush. Presently, 
 we caught sight of a small bird skimming across the 
 muir in pursuit of a larger one, which, as they winged 
 their way nearer to us, proved to be a merlin and a 
 grouse. In vain the latter strained himself to the 
 utmost, and endeavoured to elude his ruthless pursuer. 
 They both crossed the road a few yards in advance of 
 us; and almost immediately afterwards the merlin 
 struck his prey to the ground. The courage of this 
 email species of hawk is very great. I am told that 
 they not unfrequently hover about the sportsman while 
 he is shooting on the moor; and a single merlin has 
 been known to strike down a wounded grouse consider- 
 ably larger than himself, within range of gun, and 
 without compunction or delay quietly commence tear- 
 ing up the prey. 
 
 As we drove along, the lapwing was wheeling round 
 in the air, and broke the stillness of the solitude by her 
 mournful note ; occasionally joined by the whistle of 
 the curlew, as he hurried to his feeding-ground on 
 some lone marsh. Presently our road brought us once 
 more to the shore of the frith, which stretched, smooth 
 as glass, far as the eye could distinguish in one 
 direction, being there belted by a thin streak of white, 
 the breakers of the ocean ; while in the opposite
 
 80 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 direction it wound along for some miles, gradually 
 narrowing until it became lost among the hills in the 
 blue distance. 
 
 Here and there might be seen a solitary heron 
 dreaming on one leg, while others were picking their 
 way over the shingle, or standing motionless, knee- 
 deep in water, as they watched for the fish that swam 
 heedlessly by, and in a moment were transported from 
 their proper element to the bowels of their greedy 
 devourers. 
 
 Further out, the great northern diver, or other 
 smaller water-fowl, were dimpling the surface of the 
 frith, as they washed their plumage and disported 
 beneath the morning sun; while now and then a heavy 
 splash marked the course of the salmon, who hugged 
 the shore on his way to the higher waters of some river. 
 I looked in vain for any signs of a seal. Though not 
 at all uncommon in this arm of the sea, indeed, much 
 more numerous than the fishermen would have them, 
 not a head of them was visible this morning. But 
 more than half-way across the water, two or three 
 porpoises were ploughing the deep, and following 
 doubtless the course of some shoal of herrings, in their 
 peculiar rolling fashion. 
 
 I had an anecdote related to -me lately by a High- 
 land gentleman, which illustrates the sagacity and skill 
 of these fish in the pursuit of their prey. He was 
 standing on a small rocky promontory jutting out into 
 a salt-water loch, in front of the hotel at which he was 
 staying. His attention was attracted by some objects 
 in the distance, which, as they came nearer, proved to 
 be five porpoises. They were making straight for the 
 part of the cliff where he was stationed ; and as it was 
 a most beautiful day, and the water perfectly clear, as 
 well as deep up to the very cliff itself, he determined
 
 A SCOTCH BREAKFAST. 81 
 
 to watch their movements. On came the porpoises, all 
 five abreast; and as they approached, he distinctly saw 
 a whole shoal of herrings, their silvery coats twinkling 
 in the sunshine, as they dashed through the water 
 before their pursuers. The porpoises played their 
 parts with as much skill as so many trained shepherd- 
 dogs driving a flock to the fold. As they neared, they 
 formed into a crescent, so as to shut in as much 
 as possible the tiny crowd before them ; and at 
 length, when arrived immediately beneath the posi- 
 tion of my informant, the herrings being crowded 
 thickly together by the cliff in front, and the circling 
 enemy behind, the porpoises simultaneously plunged 
 into the jostling terrified mass; and the gentleman 
 assured me he could literally see numbers of the 
 twinkling crowd engulphed by the open jaws of the 
 porpoises a bourn from which, doubtless, none would 
 ever return. 
 
 After a drive of some twenty-five miles we reached 
 a small wayside inn, where we put up our pony for a 
 bait of two or three hours; and, having discussed a 
 Scotch breakfast, consisting of fish cooked in three or 
 four different forms, oatcakes, bannocks, and marma- 
 lade, preceded by a " nip " of bitters as a provocative 
 of the appetite (very unnecessary, by-the-by, on the 
 present occasion, when the morning air and the long 
 drive had generated a sufficient degree of voracity), we 
 unpacked our fishing-tackle, and, there being a small 
 river near at hand, belonging to the same proprietor 
 as the water we were invited to fish, and which after a 
 speyet not unfrequently afforded very fair sport, we 
 proceeded to spend the remaining two hours of our 
 bait in trying its merit. The Chruim is but a small 
 stream, save when swollen by rain, the effects of which, 
 however, seldom last beyond a few hours. At this time
 
 82 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 we found it of very fair dimensions, and the salmon 
 were evidently making the most of the short oppor- 
 tunity, for we saw them constantly springing out of 
 the water on their upward course. 
 
 After following the course of the stream about a 
 quarter of a mile, we came to the only pool on the 
 river Poul Glas, or the Grey Pool, so called from the 
 colour of the rocks around it. Here the salmon con- 
 gregate before ascending the fall just above ; and here 
 we commenced operations. I took the part of the pool 
 nearest to the fall, being separated from it by a rapid, 
 which plunged through some huge fragments of rock 
 almost meeting overhead, and reminding one of the 
 "blue Symplegades," famed in ancient story for closing 
 on the ill-fated vessels that passed between their rocky 
 jaws. On one of these fragments I took my stand, 
 and, casting my fly on the dark water boiling just 
 below, I soon raised a fish, but did not succeed in hook- 
 ing him. After a slight delay I cast again, and again ; 
 but, after repeated trials and no success, as there was 
 no other likely spot except that occupied by my com- 
 panion, I went up to the fall and watched the waters 
 tumbling down from ledge to ledge, from stone to 
 stone. While standing by I observed more than one 
 salmon attempt to scale the height, but without 
 success. 
 
 After a few minutes spent in this way I descended, 
 and, having again tried my part of the pool, and caught 
 nothing, though I raised more than one good fish, I 
 threw down my rod and turned to watch Allister, who 
 was fishing within a few yards of me, at the lower end 
 of the pool. He had hooked a good fish while I was 
 up at the falls, and was just about to land it as I joined 
 him. A grizzly old keeper or " water-bailie," who had 
 accompanied us, was rendering assistance with his gaff,
 
 THE "BUTCHER FLY." 83 
 
 and speedily laid the fish gasping on the shingle. 
 Alister now cast his fly at the head of a runnel just as 
 it left the pool, bidding me watch the event, as he had 
 marked a good fish rise a moment before in that spot. 
 The third cast proved successful ; and in ten minutes 
 there were a couple of fine fish lying on the shingle, 
 and a third, hooked in the same spot, fighting despe- 
 rately for his life. Alister offered his rod to me, which 
 of course I took with pleasure, and after a careful and 
 patient struggle I landed my fish. I then took a cast 
 with Alister's rod, a few yards into the pool, and the 
 " butcher fly," which had already proved itself worthy 
 of its name, still maintained its character, by quickly 
 hooking a fourth fish, which succumbed after a ten 
 minutes' struggle. 
 
 We had now taken our full complement from the 
 Poul Glas four salmon landed on the same spot 
 and it was scarcely likely that any more would be 
 taken, after the disturbance we had already made. I 
 therefore now returned Alister his rod, and, leaving him 
 to whip the pool a little longer, I took my way down 
 the stream towards the inn, casting my fly occasionally 
 as I passed a promising runnel. Twice or thrice a 
 salmon rose, but only timidly in the shallow water, and 
 I did not succeed in hooking any. Before leaving the 
 stream, however, I had secured three sea-trout, one of 
 which afforded excellent sport, fighting most valiantly, 
 and defying my utmost efforts for full ten minutes. 
 
 Arrived at the inn, I was presently joined by Alister, 
 with five fish, another having been caught after my 
 departure, making in all five salmon; which, with the 
 addition of my three sea-trout, formed a goodly com- 
 pany, at least as the production of one pool. The 
 salmon weighed between seven and nine pounds each,
 
 84 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 and the trout two pounds, three pounds and a half, and 
 four pounds respectively. 
 
 Our booty was now stowed carefully away in the 
 bottom of the dogcart, wrapped in moist rushes ; and 
 our Highland pony being re-yoked, who started off as 
 gaily as though only now leaving the stable for the first 
 time, we speedily left Glen Chruim in the rear. 
 
 Our route still continued along the shore of the 
 frith, which was now rapidly narrowing and assuming 
 more and more the character of a river, as it wound 
 round the bases of the hills and uplands that rose from 
 its tortuous bed. 
 
 We passed several fishermen mending their nets, 
 the season for netting salmon being now passed ; their 
 boats were lying at intervals of from fifty to two hun- 
 dred yards along the bank. It is, indeed, a marvel 
 how the salmon in their ascent succeed in escaping 
 enemies so numerous and indefatigable. Not only 
 have they to elude the seal and the otter, the latter of 
 which proves a constant foe, up to the very highest 
 parts of the river; but the nets of the fishermen, 
 dovetailing together as they do from the opposite banks, 
 and employed as they are almost unremittingly, take 
 the fish in very great numbers. At one place through 
 which we passed, where there was a small collection of 
 fishermen's huts, we were told that three hundred had 
 lately been taken in one day. And yet, in spite of 
 these disadvantages, there are three rivers at the head of 
 this frith, and dependent on its waters for their supply 
 of fish, which nevertheless afford sport almost equal to 
 the best in Scotland. 
 
 As we approached the head of the frith, the clouds, 
 which had been gathering for some time, began to shed 
 a scanty rain. This, however, did not last long ; a 
 breeze springing up dispersed the dampness, and every-
 
 THE ROUTE CONTINUED. 85 
 
 thing looked promising and bright. The scenery now 
 grew less varied, being chiefly moorland, gently undu- 
 lating ; though in the distance on either hand there 
 were lofty and bold hills bounding the horizon. A 
 three hours' drive brought us to Scaurdale Bridge, 
 whence we had a view of the quarters we were to 
 occupy, a secluded inn, lately rebuilt in a pretty style, 
 being a one-storied house, forming three sides of a 
 square. We paused on the bridge to look at the river 
 rushing beneath us, the merits of which we proposed 
 soon to test. There were some picturesque little 
 Highland bairns playing happily on its bank, a tame 
 roe-fawn joining fearlessly in their sport, and gam- 
 bolling gracefully around, as they stood to inspect the 
 strangers. At two o'clock we drew up in " the square," 
 before the hotel door ; saw our pony properly cared 
 for, having brought corn along with us (a precaution, 
 by-the-by, always to be commended, as it is frequently 
 in these parts an utter impossibility to procure such a 
 commodity, people preferring to convert their oats into 
 meal and cakes for themselves, rather than keep it " on 
 spec " for an occasional horse) ; and having committed 
 one of our sea-trout to the tender care of the landlady, 
 with the injunction that she should cook it for us at 
 once, we employed the interval in preparing our tackle 
 for the coming campaign, looking over our fly-hooks, 
 and discussing the merits of the sundry gaudy-looking 
 formations therein. The culinary department was not 
 of the highest order, and we found the need of a good 
 appetite to make our meal palatable. 
 
 By five o'clock we were down by the bridge, each 
 with an attendant. The extent of water to be fished 
 was not much more than a quarter of a mile, but all of 
 it good, and almost evenly divided by the bridge on
 
 86 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 which we stood. Alister, therefore, took the upper 
 part, while the lower fell to my share. 
 
 The river was rather too much flooded and the water 
 too dark for good sport ; and though it was a most 
 beautiful stream, and the salmon were leaping in all 
 directions, they were not disposed to take the fly. 
 Occasionally a huge tail flapped on the water, and 
 reminded ono of the existence of the fly, but numbers 
 passed unheedingly by. 
 
 Towards evening, however, as the sun went down, 
 matters began to improve. I had changed my fly, by 
 the advice of my attendant, Murdoch ; and, stationed 
 on a rock jutting far into the stream, I threw to the 
 opposite bank, and then drew my fly gradually across 
 a likely-looking eddy just below a rapid, to which he 
 had directed my attention. The very first time it 
 danced across the water, I saw six or seven fish rush 
 at it ; but, in their eagerness hindering each other, 
 they all failed to secure the little attractive insect above 
 them. I repeated the attempt, and again there was 
 the same general rush, but not the same result. A fish 
 was hooked ; but how long he would continue so was a 
 matter of great uncertainty, should his present wild 
 proceedings continue. For ten minutes he fought des- 
 perately, rushing fiercely backwards and forwards 
 across the stream, in a manner that bade fair each 
 moment to break my line across some of the many big 
 stones that studded the river's bed. This first burst of 
 the storm, however, once weathered, I perceived a 
 sensible change in his behaviour; each struggle 
 became less prolonged, and my line was gradually 
 coming home to me. 
 
 But the difficulty was how to bring him within range 
 of old Murdoch's landing-net. I was still standing on 
 the stone from which I had hooked the fish, and, as it
 
 THE SCAURDALE. 87 
 
 required no little agility to reach it, his aged limbs 
 were unable to follow me, and the boiling waters pre- 
 cluded the possibility of wading. My only plan, there- 
 fore, was to return to the bank; but this was not easily 
 done. To retrace a step once taken is often difficult, 
 and in the present instance I should have to perform a 
 succession of leaps from one slippery stony point to 
 another, with a strong salmon pulling at me the while, 
 and the certainty that if I slackened my line a moment, 
 or made one false step, he would escape me. In this 
 dilemma, however, Murdoch's experience and ingenuity 
 came to my relief. He pointed out to me a stone, 
 which I could gain without any very great difficulty, 
 and where he could throw me the handle of the land- 
 ing-net, with which I might feel my way and balance 
 myself steadily until I regained terra firma. 
 
 This plan, carried out coolly and deliberately, as my 
 only chance, answered thoroughly; and I presently 
 found myself by Murdoch's side, safe myself, and the 
 salmon still feebly struggling on the hook. 
 
 The danger now over, I drew him gradually to the 
 bank, and Murdoch lifted him lovingly out of the water, 
 when, to our astonishment, we found that he was only 
 hooked externally, the fly having caught in his gill in 
 the general rush. So terminated my sport for to-day ; 
 for, on looking up, I saw Alister on the bridge waiting 
 for me. As it was growing dusk, and the river not 
 yet in first-rate order, he thought we had better post- 
 pone operations till the morrow, when, if no more rain 
 fell, the water would be clearer and the fish in a more 
 taking mood. So we gave up, and started for the inn. 
 Alister had himself caught a couple of good fish one 
 nearly ten pounds in weight, the other about two 
 pounds less. Our creel, thus far, therefore, was eleven 
 fish eight salmon and three sea-trout.
 
 88 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 After again attacking the cold salmon and vinegar, 
 oat-cake, and a most disagreeably-flavoured cheese, 
 forming the second and last course, I enjoyed a most 
 delightful ramble by moonlight, and we then sought 
 our pillows. So unprepossessing, however, was the 
 whole appearance of our pallets, and so overstocked 
 were they with a very active as well as biting kind of 
 little creature, that I preferred rolling myself up in my 
 rug and plaid, and sleeping on the outside an example 
 which my companion was glad to follow after an hour's 
 experience of the inside. But so much had the sleep- 
 ing hours of the previous night been curtailed by our 
 early drive, that, once stretched there, we found no 
 difficulty in getting to sleep ; and the sun was high in 
 the heavens next morning before we were aroused by 
 a jesting message from the impatient gillies, Murdoch 
 and Hector, that the salmon would be all up the falls 
 and caught in the traps above, unless we were at them 
 speedily. 
 
 The breakfast not being much more tempting than 
 the beds was quickly discussed, and we then sallied 
 forth. This time we both commenced fishing at the 
 falls, within a few yards of each other, but on opposite 
 sides of the river, and working down-stream. The fish 
 were as thick as possible, and quite jostled each other 
 as they rushed in crowds at the fly ; and scarcely a 
 moment passed without one or two, sometimes four or 
 five, being visible, as they dashed up the runnels in 
 sport, or sprang lustily into the air. 
 
 I rose numbers, and pricked several, before I suc- 
 ceeded in hooking one. But eventually I did hook one 
 in a very narrow part of the river, where it was rushing 
 fiercely through a huge cleft in the rocks. At first he 
 took down the stream at a fearful pace, and I thought 
 he was fairly off to the sea, and that my line must go
 
 THE CONTENTS OF OUR CREEL. 89 
 
 with him ; but my gilly contrived to head him, and by 
 throwing stones as he reached some calmer water, 
 drove him up the stream again. This, however, was 
 no improvement. One of the most critical stages of a 
 salmon's struggles is when he turns back and rushes 
 towards the fishermen. It is next to impossible to 
 wind up the line fast enough if the fish is darting as 
 rapidly as he generally does ; and the danger then is 
 that the tackle, catching on some stone or other 
 obstacle, may be suddenly snapped, or that, if it be- 
 comes slack, the fish may, as he can in a moment 
 suck it out of his flesh and escape. On the present 
 occasion I wound up my line as fast as I possibly 
 could, but it would not do ; and I was obliged to run 
 backwards to keep my line taut, at the risk of tumbling 
 over the stones and breaking my rod, line, and shins 
 together. However, as the fish fortunately did not 
 escape, this rush up the stream told considerably upon 
 him, and gave me a material advantage, for he now 
 had not only me but the force of the current to con- 
 tend with, a coalition which soon proved too much 
 for him. He weighed, according to Murdoch's calcu- 
 lation, about seven pounds ; and there were several 
 sea-lice still upon him, thus proving that he was just 
 fresh from the sea. I caught, in the course of the next 
 three hours, four more salmon of about the same 
 weight, and most of them still carrying sea-lice ; one 
 was wounded in the shoulder, having evidently had a 
 narrow escape with his life from some seal. I was now 
 joined by Alister, in a bad humour for having, like 
 myself, missed so many fish ; however, he had no 
 great cause of complaint, being accompanied by Hector 
 bearing six very nice salmon, none weighing less than 
 seven pounds. And now, having so many miles be- 
 tween us and our head-quarters, we packed up our
 
 90 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 traps, and, the little Highlander once more yoked to 
 the dogcart, we started for home highly delighted with 
 .our success. In about seven hours, putting the sepa- 
 rate times together, we had taken in all twenty-two 
 fish, nineteen salmon and three sea-trout. I doubt if 
 I shall ever enjoy better sport, or be more gratified 
 altogether. Had we been able to fish the whole of the 
 two days, we should in all probability have taken not 
 far short of a score each ; but we had done sufficiently 
 well to satisfy the most fastidious and ardent votary of 
 the angle.
 
 THE REDBURK 91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The River Redburn. Ambition dangerous. Salmon leaps. Loch 
 Fishing. Poit Bhruich. Hazardous Leap. What makes an 
 Angler. Curious Capture. Eagle and Salmon. 
 
 ON Wednesday, we, i.e., one of the Laird's sons and 
 myself, went to the Redburn for the last time this 
 season. Passing by the pools which we had fished on 
 former occasions, as being at present too placid and 
 sleepy, we followed the river's course, up to some higher 
 places, which I had not yet visited, but which in Donald's 
 opinion were more likely to have fish than the lower 
 parts, since the late flood. 
 
 For some distance the river, having been diverted 
 from its original winding course, passed through a 
 straight cut of recent construction; and here there was 
 no angling to be had, the stream being too uniform and 
 shallow ; but in due time we arrived at the upper pools 
 and commenced operations. 
 
 The salmon were leaping about in a most tantalising 
 fashion; great fellows springing out of the water, 
 sometimes two or three feet into the air, and coming 
 down with a splash like that of a man. Now and then 
 they swam up to the fly, and passed it without taking 
 the least notice, or, with a lazy flap of the tail, turned 
 round and darted back into the black depths below. 
 The sight alone for some time kept up the interest, 
 and I fished on, though without success. At length, 
 however, having tried the sailor's plan, of whistling to 
 coax a wind, again and again, but to no purpose, and 
 despairing of sport, I gave it up as a bad job. I had, 
 indeed, succeeded in hooking one fish, a small one of
 
 92 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 four or five pounds' weight, who got himself caught 
 by mistake ; but after teasing me for a couple of 
 minutes, he had quietly slipt off, and I saw no more of 
 him. 
 
 My companion, as I found on joining him, had 
 secured one fish, which he had hooked, by dropping 
 the fly cleverly under his gills, and then, by a sudden 
 jerk, fixing it in his jaws. It proved a pretty good 
 one, weighing about seven pounds. We now, as a last 
 resource, struck across the moor, for a mountain loch, 
 famous for a large kind of trout, commonly called the 
 " bull-trout ; " some, it was said, having been taken 
 there up to ten pounds in weight. 
 
 On our way thither, as we were leaping from stone 
 to stone up the rugged course of a mountain burn, 
 which had lately been considerably swollen by the 
 rain, though it was now almost dry, we came upon a 
 sea-trout of about four pounds weight, lying on the 
 shingle dead, but quite fresh. As there were no marks 
 of violence about him, he had not been conveyed 
 thither by an otter, or any other enemy, but had 
 evidently become the victim of his own rashness ; his 
 natural instinct having led him to follow the course of 
 the burn too far. He had ascended at least three 
 hundred feet above the level of the river we had just 
 left ; but though the ascent had been easy, as well as 
 natural, at the time he made it, on the burn's sub- 
 sequently sinking to its ordinary dimensions, he had 
 been left there a monument of the folly and danger, 
 even in the brute creation, of aspiring too high, and of 
 the truth of the doctrine that the most elevated 
 stations are not necessarily the most happy or secure. 
 
 " Often to our comfort shall we find 
 The sharded beetle in a safer hole, 
 Than is the full- winged eagle."
 
 SALMON LEAP. 93 
 
 Tis the highest trees are shaken most. ; the highest 
 hills are most exposed to the levin-flash. And had 
 that trout but observed the " modus in rebus" and 
 stayed quietly in his river, he might have lived to pro- 
 pagate a numerous and respectable progeny, or at the 
 least haye served the laudable end of gratifying the 
 angler. 
 
 And here, while on this subject, I may conveniently 
 reply to a question, which I have had put to me, anent 
 the capacity of salmon for overcoming the difficulties 
 which they must frequently meet with on their way to 
 the spawning bed. It is quite possible that I may 
 have at times overstated the height of different falls, 
 for nothing is more easy than to be deceived in such a 
 matter ; and a rough guess, made from recollection, 
 never can ensure perfect accuracy ; nevertheless, these 
 fish do possess a marvellous power of overcoming such 
 difficulties. Though a salmon cannot leap sheer out 
 of the water more than six, or perhaps eight feet, this 
 has nothing to do with the height of a fall he may 
 surmount. In the latter case he is still in his own 
 element ; he, as it were, runs up the water, generally 
 in a direction slanting across the fall, and it would be 
 difficult to say exactly how high he could ascend in 
 this manner. 
 
 Nets and wicker baskets are frequently put at the 
 head of falls twenty feet high, to catch the fish as they 
 ascend. There is a river, the name of which however 
 I do not recollect, where the fish are caught by holes 
 made in the rocks at the falls, in which the fish drop, 
 having overshot the mark in their ascent. And there 
 is a tradition connected with the falls of Kilmhorach, 
 to the effect that a salmon was once boiled alive there; 
 the fish having rushed up the fall, and thrown itself by
 
 94 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 mistake into a caldron of boiling water placed pur- 
 posely on the ledge above. 
 
 Traps of the above description are, I believe, common 
 enough throughout the Highlands ; and at some hotels 
 tourists are constantly regaled on fish caught in this 
 way. Of course if a salmon can rush up a fall twenty 
 feet in sheer perpendicular height, he can surmount a 
 cascade, or series of falls, considerably higher, where the 
 inequalities of the surface would aid him materially in 
 the ascent. 
 
 But to return. After a walk of about a mile we 
 arrived at the loch. Embosomed in the hills, it lay 
 before us unruffled by the gentlest breath of wind. 
 A high cliff, rising abruptly from one bank, cast its 
 shadow nearly across the loch, whose waters seemed 
 almost inky-black from their great depth, though its 
 whole extent was not more than a quarter of a mile 
 square. At one end there were a few weeds, and less 
 depth of water. Thither therefore we bent our steps, 
 hoping to find some of the smaller fish feeding ; as 
 there seemed no probability, in the present calm, of 
 the larger bull-trout being drawn from their haunts 
 below. Three wild-duck rose from the shelter of the 
 weeds, as we were putting on our flies, and with a 
 quack of alarm, winged their way to the highest 
 reaches of the Redburn. After wading some way into 
 the waters, so as to cast beyond the weeds, we caught 
 five or six trout, none of them more than half a pound 
 in weight ; and then walking round the shore, we tried 
 the deeper water, but still as before the calm was 
 against us, and though our flies were continually 
 changed, we caught nothing more. Once indeed I 
 raised a good fish with a large black fly, but as he had 
 unfortunately felt the hook, nothing could induce him 
 to make a second essay. In the best weather angling
 
 LOCH FISHING. 95 
 
 for these larger fish is very uncertain work, as they 
 are of course fewer in number than the small fry, and 
 also more dainty, and their haunts more difficult of 
 access. This difficulty of course is enhanced if the 
 angler is compelled, from want of a boat, to content 
 himself with casting from the shore. 
 
 Finding therefore that we were not likely to make 
 much of it to-day, we put up our tackle and started for 
 home; Donald leading us by a route which we had not 
 yet traversed, in order to show us a curious waterfall 
 on the hill-side. A mountain torrent shooting over a 
 precipice, spreading like a sheet down its glassy 
 surface, and again contracting to a narrow neck at the 
 bottom, dashes into a deep black chasm in the moor, 
 and disappears underground, emerging again into light 
 at a distance of about three hundred yards. 
 As we stood looking up towards the fall itself, we 
 could distinctly hear the rush of the waters, as they 
 dashed along their unseen channel, beneath the rocky 
 spot on which we were standing, though they must 
 have been several feet below us. Before reaching 
 home we passed by the base of a very high and wild- 
 looking crag, which rose perpendicularly to the height 
 of several hundred feet ; its face seamed with huge 
 cracks, and studded here and there with the hardy 
 mountain ash, or occasionally a wild holly. In a niche 
 near the summit of a kind of projecting buttress was 
 the nest of a raven. At one time the eyrie of a pair of 
 eagles, it had been abandoned by its former kingly 
 inhabitants on the approach of civilisation, and tor 
 many years had been tenanted by the less noble raven. 
 Though apparently inaccessible to humanity, Donald 
 told me that he had once climbed his way to it, an 
 experiment however which he did not seem disposed 
 to repeat.
 
 96 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 From their mischievous and destructive habits, the 
 
 birds had become obnoxious, and Donald had recently 
 
 exterminated the whole family, parents and brood, by 
 
 firing at them from below. We could distinguish with 
 
 our glasses where the rock had been shivered by his 
 
 bullets, and his quick eye detected the feathers of the 
 
 fast rotting mass, consisting of parents and young 
 
 piled together on the rock. We presently reached the 
 
 banks of the Redburn, which we had to cross on our 
 
 way home. But being still somewhat swollen, the 
 
 water did not look at all tempting, and we paused on 
 
 the brink, doubtful whether to venture into the current 
 
 or not. While however we were demurring, Donald 
 
 came to our relief, by promising that if we would 
 
 follow his guidance we should pass over dryfoot, a 
 
 proposal which we were only too glad to accept. 
 
 Accordingly, preceded by him, we took a short cut 
 
 across the muir, leaving the stream for awhile, though 
 
 only that we might return to it further down. A walk 
 
 of a few minutes brought us to a creek into which the 
 
 river discharged itself ; and as we stood on an elevated 
 
 rock overlooking it, our guide pointed out the spot at 
 
 which he assured us we might cross with safety. Two 
 
 huge rocky buttresses jutted out on either side the 
 
 stream, and from our present position seemed to meet 
 
 within a few inches ; but on descending and coming to 
 
 the spot, we found that they were about six feet apart ; 
 
 and through this narrow passage dashed the whole 
 
 pent-up force of the river, with a roar of thunder, as it 
 
 plunged into an oblong basin below, called the "Poit 
 
 bhruich," or boiling pot. 
 
 Across this chasm Donald leaped backwards and 
 forwards more than once to convince me of the practi- 
 cability of the feat ; but when I came to stand on the 
 edge of the rock, the roaring of the waters as they
 
 A HAZARDOUS LEAP. 97 
 
 dashed furiously beneath me, wrought up into one 
 mass of creamy foam, made my brain reel rather 
 unpleasantly, and I began to repent that we had not 
 taken the ford in preference to the leap ; nor was I 
 much assured when told, for my comfort, that no living 
 creature had ever been known to survive an immersion 
 in the waters of the Poit bhruich, which could not be 
 less than forty feet deep. 
 
 While I stood silently watching the stream, as it 
 plunged wildly along, until fairly lost in the brine of 
 the ocean, Donald seemed to derive a malicious amuse- 
 ment from telling me that not only had sundry sheep 
 there found a watery grave, but that more than one 
 unlucky human being had, by a single false step, been 
 hurled into the foaming " pot," there to boil and roll 
 through its inmost caverns to the end of time. With 
 such consoling thoughts, wherefrom to gather encou- 
 ragement, I determined to put the best face on the 
 matter, and, whatever might be my real sensations, to 
 afford my companions no excuse for cavilling at the 
 courage of an Englishman. " Fortes fortuna adjuvat." 
 Grasping therefore my rod firmly in my hand, without 
 further delay, I sprang over the chasm, which in 
 reality, when viewed apart from all the other enhancing 
 considerations, was an obstacle of but trifling moment. 
 I am told that at the high tides, when the sea almost 
 reaches this narrow throat, the salmon may be seen in 
 numbers, passing by one leap from the salt to the 
 fresh water, though they will not often take the fly so 
 near the sea. On the present occasion, my tackle 
 being packed I did not make the attempt, but rny 
 companion cast carelessly three or four times into the 
 " Pot," while I proceeded on our homeward route. 
 Scarcely however had I advanced ten yards, when I 
 was arrested by a shout, and on looking round saw
 
 98 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 his rod almost bent double by some huge fish, which 
 at once plunged into the lowest depths of the pool, and 
 quickly ran out several yards of line. For a moment 
 there was a sullen pause, and we all stood in intense 
 anxiety and suspense, for the fish was evidently a 
 monster ; when a sudden dash once more renewed the 
 strain on rod and line ; and in another moment, strong 
 and well-tried as it was, the latter snapped, and all 
 was over. The fish had doubtless sawn it asunder on 
 the sharp edge of some rock, and had gone away with 
 the fly and some twenty yards of horsehair. 
 
 Such was the provoking termination of our inter- 
 course with the " genus Salmo " for this year an 
 intercourse from which, beginning though it did at a 
 late period in the season, I had derived great enjoy- 
 ment and advantage; having been, on the whole, 
 fortunate beyond my greatest expectations, and having, 
 in spite of inexperience and clumsy skill, met with 
 more than average sport. What Horace says of the 
 poet is also, to a certain extent, true of the fisherman 
 Nascitur, non Jit." And yet the reverse also is 
 true to a degree. For though he must have an inborn 
 taste for the pursuit, yet it must also be a work of time 
 to acquire the amount of skill requisite to ensure 
 success and enjoyment. If, born and bred within the 
 sound of Bow bells, he suddenly finds himself trans- 
 planted, rod in hand, to the banks of a salmon river in 
 the Highlands, he is not " ipso facto " at once con- 
 verted into a skilful disciple of the gentle craft. Nor 
 will any amount of preparation, in the shape of book- 
 lore, " crammed " for the occasion, enable him to 
 acquit himself creditably, until he has added thereto 
 personal experience and careful application. 'Twas 
 no fool, be assured, that wrote the ancient but no less 
 true proverb, irae^nara naefaaTo. ; so certain is it that
 
 WHAT MAKES AN ANGLER. 99 
 
 defeat teaches us wisdom, and successive failures add 
 so many fresh wrinkles. Skill, even ordinary skill, is 
 only acquired at the cost of frequent disappointment ; 
 and he who would be successful among the salmon, 
 must be content to lose many a fly, if nothing worse. 
 Moreover he might as well be a rod without a line, as 
 an angler without patience. The struggle which has 
 been cautiously carried on for an hour, may be lost by 
 the hastiness of a moment. Every movement of the 
 fish must be studied, and acted upon with discretion. 
 The state of the weather, the wind and the water, must 
 each come under consideration, and receive their due 
 attention. A rash ignoramus might fish the very best 
 stream, and one day never have a rise, while the next 
 day, with rises innumerable, he might never hook a 
 fish. He must be prepared, as well against the 
 prolonged struggle of the sullen, as against the short- 
 lived but not less trying plunges of the desperate 
 fish. 
 
 I lately heard the confessions of a shepherd, within 
 whose shieling I had accidentally discovered, carefully 
 concealed beneath the heather thatch, a home-made 
 but serviceable salmon-rod. He owned he had a great 
 fondness for the sport, having been born and grown up 
 in those halcyon days when every poor man was free 
 to feed wife and bairns on the salmon from the stream 
 that bowled by his door ; and he still had, he admitted, 
 an occasional harmless cast, which I, for my part, 
 could not grudge him. 
 
 The fiercest struggle with a fish he " minded," was 
 one which continued through a whole night. Having 
 in the evening hooked a very large salmon, and his 
 line being but short, he was forced " to bow to the 
 blast," as he expressed himself, in the hopes that he 
 might eventually weary the creature out. At first he
 
 100 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 had fairly to fling his rod into the water, which the 
 fish, rushing up the stream, dragged after it. He 
 then, by wading, recovered his rod, and for a time 
 offered a slight resistance, when on a sudden rush he 
 had again to relinquish his hold. In this way the 
 fight went on, by fits and starts. And at length, after 
 repeatedly wading the river to follow his rod, and 
 renew the resistance, he resolved, seeing that the hook 
 was so securely fixed, to go home, and leave the fish 
 to weary itself, which he accordingly did. Returning 
 next morning, he was at first disappointed on finding 
 no trace of either rod or fish, but presently he dis- 
 covered the former some hundred yards further up the 
 stream; and on grasping it, found the salmon still 
 attached to it, and considerably humbled by the night 
 of anxiety and restlessness. The stream, being a 
 rapid one, had always kept the rod alive, and the fish 
 therefore ill at ease, and a few moments' fighting 
 brought him to terms ; " and a bonnier fish I ne'er 
 saw," said Andrew, " and mony a day the gude wife 
 and the wee anes dined on him." 
 
 Gillespie the foxhunter, though no fisherman, has 
 several stories of adventures connected with the sal- 
 mon. On one occasion he killed an otter and a salmon 
 by the same shot, while they were struggling together. 
 The otter was so intent on securing his prey, that he 
 did not observe the approach of the third party, and 
 Gillespie, standing motionless on the bank of the pool, 
 awaited his opportunity; and as the unsuspecting otter 
 drew the fish towards the bank, close beneath the fox- 
 hunter, a well-directed shot passed through his brain, 
 and at the same moment entered the shoulder of the 
 salmon, at once terminating the existence of both. On 
 another occasion, while wandering along the seashore, 
 he performed the still more remarkable feat of killing a
 
 EAGLE AND SALMON. 101 
 
 seal and cod in the same manner. A curious incident 
 was related to me a few days ago by a Highland 
 gentleman. He was sauntering along the seashore 
 with his gun, when he saw an eagle suddenly pounce 
 upon some object in the water, in all probability a 
 salmon. A fierce fight ensued, in which it seemed 
 doubtful on which side would be the victory. The 
 talons of the eagle were so deeply imbedded in the 
 back of the fish, that he could not extricate himself; 
 while the fish, on his part, was not strong enough to 
 drag his assailant under water. In this state they con- 
 tinued for some time ; the tenant of the deep rushing 
 wildly about, and ploughing up the still waters of the 
 bay; while the monarch of the air, for once fairly 
 matched, was compelled to ride his finny courser, nolens 
 volens, occasionally declaring his majesty's reluctance 
 by a not very dignified flapping of his kingly pinions. 
 Thus engaged, my informant watched the struggle 
 with considerable interest, until the combatants gradu- 
 ally drifted out to sea, and were presently lost to view. 
 How the matter terminated witness deponeth not. 
 
 Gillespie once found an eagle and a skate lying dead 
 upon the shore, having doubtless both perished in a 
 similar struggle.
 
 102 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Locality. Costume. Waterproofs. Shooting with Punt Gun. 
 Wild- Pigeons. Rabbits. Hernery. Herons and their Habits. 
 
 HAYING as yet confined my accounts chiefly to our 
 campaigns among the salmon and the deer, I purpose 
 in this chapter to give you, by way of variety, a few 
 extracts from my diary for last month on other kinds 
 of sport. 
 
 My first shall be a day's duck-shooting ; not indeed 
 as being remarkable for any great luck, for the sport 
 was rather under than above the average; but because 
 I am not likely, as I had hoped, to have an opportunity 
 of recurring to that particular branch of shooting, and 
 therefore I wish to give what has been my own experi- 
 ence in it. 
 
 Alister, Walter, and myself were the parties engaged ; 
 a gillie and retriever forming a by no means unimpor- 
 tant addition to the party. The scene of operations 
 was a loch or meer, lying in a low marshy locality ; 
 being, even at the time we visited it, of considerable 
 extent, though I am told that it is much larger through 
 the winter and spring, of no great depth, and abound- 
 ing in sedge and water-plants of many different kinds. 
 There were two or three small islands, distinguishable 
 from the surrounding mass of weeds by the group of 
 willows crowded together upon each of them, and af- 
 fording convenient and safe retreats whereon the water- 
 fowl might dry their plumage beneath the sun, or trim 
 their feathers after the performance of their ablutions. 
 Amid the long, dank grass, too, which grew like a tiny 
 prairie over their limited surface, many a coot and
 
 WILD FOWL SHOOTING. 103 
 
 mallard built her nest; finding a security there not 
 always to be had among the reeds and sedge, where 
 the rise of the water, consequent on rainy weather, or 
 the fall of it, which succeeded a drought, where alike 
 detrimental to the safety of the eggs. Notwithstand- 
 ing this risk, however, not a few still placed their frail 
 " lares " among the reeds ; and though, no doubt, the 
 fond hopes of many a mother if waterfowl may be 
 supposed to have hopes ebbed lower and lower as the 
 waters rose, and rose again as the waters fell; and 
 though not unfrequently the nest and the hopes were 
 damped together, yet broods sufficiently numerous sur- 
 vived the intrigues of the elements to keep the loch 
 and the neighbourhood fairly stocked with waterfowl. 
 
 Such was the locality. A few words should also be 
 devoted to the nature of our dress. For myself, I was 
 clad in Crimean waterproof boots, reaching nearly to 
 the thigh ; a most serviceable protection against damp 
 to any one who is constantly in the water, and who 
 does not wade beyond a certain depth ; but at all times 
 awkward, as when once wetted they become so very 
 heavy as to prevent any quick motion on dry land, and 
 if the wearer once wade deep enough to admit the 
 water at the top of his boots, he will regret that he ever 
 put them on at all. What is proof against wet is also 
 necessarily proof to retain it when once admitted, and 
 in such a case a leaky pair of worn-out laced boots is 
 far preferable to the best patent waterproofs ever made. 
 This I soon learned by unpleasant experience : my two 
 companions, on the other hand, were too well ac- 
 quainted with the place to which we were going, as well 
 as with the merits of such attire, to follow my example. 
 Their dress on the occasion was of the ordinary kind, 
 and that the oldest and least valuable they possessed. 
 
 Arrived on the spot, an event which was accom-
 
 104 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 plished by the agency of pony and dogcart, our first 
 step was to try some marshy-looking ground for snipe. 
 We soon put up a small wisp, and Walter and Alister 
 each brought down his bird. A second and third lot 
 rose as we shot, and alighted again at no great 
 distance ; but as we were proceeding to follow them, 
 about a score of ducks arose from the loch, alarmed at 
 our firing, and took their departure seawards. Re- 
 solving to profit by the hint, we at once abandoned the 
 search for snipe, and took our way to the loch itself, 
 bent on larger game ; before however we had reached 
 the bank, several more ducks had risen, and were 
 following in the wake of the first flock. We now 
 gained the margin of the loch, and cautiously ap- 
 proaching the only open piece of water in its whole 
 extent, saw several broods of young ducks, still at that 
 age when they go by the significant name of " flappers," 
 scuttling off, followed by their loquacious mothers, and 
 seeking the shelter of the weeds, which growing to the 
 height of full two feet above the surface of the water, 
 afforded them an excellent cover. 
 
 Just as we stepped up to the very edge, two teal 
 which had previously lain snugly ensconced under the 
 bank, darted forth from their retreat, alarmed by our 
 approach ; every step shaking the spongy soil to the 
 distance of three or four feet around us, and thus 
 telegraphing the coming danger. We watched them 
 dive and skim along the bottom, the depth of water not 
 being more than two feet at the most ; and then waiting 
 our opportunity, as they rose to take breath, Alister 
 killed his bird, and I winged mine, which after two or 
 three dives was secured by the dog. 
 
 We then took a circuit round to the farther side of 
 the loch, where the weeds were tallest and thickest, and 
 commenced wading. And now began the tug of war.
 
 THE LOCH. 105 
 
 On first stepping into the water we found ourselves 
 immersed to the knees, the reeds reaching almost to 
 our breasts ; and so stout were they and thickly packed 
 that we found it very difficult to make head against 
 them. What the equestrian would call " lofty action " 
 was indispensable, as well as great endurance. More- 
 over rest, or pausing to recover wind, was out of the 
 question ; for no sooner did it become stationary, than 
 I discovered the treacherous nature of what I had 
 fondly imagined the bottom of the loch. Whether it 
 were really a bottomless pit or not, would be difficult 
 to prove ; for the substance upon which I walked was 
 composed of an endless tissue of reeds aud dead weeds, 
 the deposit and growth of ages ; forming a kind of 
 platform, which supported me while in motion, but the 
 instant that I came to dwell upon any one spot, I 
 became aware that I was gradually sinking through 
 this floating carpet ; though instead of arriving at a 
 firm bottom beneath, the deeper I pierced through it, 
 the softer it seemed to become. Not wishing, therefore, 
 to disappear altogether from the stage of this world's 
 scenes, I saw that there was nothing for it but to keep 
 constantly in motion, though not encouraged to rash 
 haste by Alister's informing me that when he had 
 visited the loch on a former occasion, a friend who 
 accompanied him, in his anxiety to secure a duck 
 which he had winged, rushed forward too rashly, and 
 suddenly losing the support of the sedge carpet 
 beneath, was precipitated into a hole so deep that he 
 entirely disappeared, with the exception of his coat 
 tails and the stock of his gun ; and that, on emerging, 
 after floundering about in a very lively fashion, he 
 declared that though upwards of six feet in height, he 
 had discovered no bottom. 
 
 Cautiously therefore I advanced and steadily, not
 
 106 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 allowing myself to penetrate too far into the layer of 
 vegetable network, and yet feeling my way as I put 
 forward each foot. Soon, however, I considerably 
 recovered my confidence, and was thrown off my guard 
 when a small flock of ducks rose from the reeds a few 
 yards in advance. We all fired right and left, bringing 
 down four ; Alister his couple, and Walter and myself 
 each a single bird. Several more were put up by the 
 shots ; some of which left for the sea, flying over our 
 heads at a great height, while others dropped again at 
 the further end of the loch. We quickly secured three 
 of the fallen birds, but the fourth which was only 
 winged, being Alister's second, and a long shot, baffled 
 us for some time. Indeed we had lost it altogether, 
 when the gillie came upon it quite accidentally, and 
 seized it before it had time, impeded as it was by the 
 weeds, to dive and get away again. 
 
 We now walked on for some distance without finding 
 any more ; but at last put up another flock, out of 
 which Alister and I bagged each our bird; Walter 
 wounding one, a very long shot, which eventually fell at 
 the further end, where several more of the flock, 
 evidently young though of a fair size, also alighted 
 again ; while the old birds kept wheeling round in the 
 air above us, or went away altogether. It was now 
 clear that most of the full-grown birds had left the loch, 
 and that they were chiefly young ones which had 
 collected at the far end ; thither therefore we at once 
 determined to make our way as well as we could. 
 Having marked carefully the spot at which Walter's 
 wounded bird had dropped, I proceeded thither to 
 secure it if possible, the gillie and retriever ac- 
 companying me at intervals of a few yards. A solitary 
 drake getting up in our front, fell to my gun and was 
 soon secured ; we then reached the spot where I had
 
 DUCK SHOOTING. 107 
 
 previously marked the young bird down ; but for some 
 
 time our search was in vain. At length, however, when 
 
 the gillie and dog had wandered some distance away 
 
 from me, the former wading, the latter swimming, 
 
 I suddenly came upon the object of our search, sitting 
 
 in an open space almost free from weeds, a few yards in 
 
 advance of me ; and approaching very cautiously, while 
 
 the bird was looking at me with a stupid fascinating 
 
 gaze, I made a sudden spring forward and seized him, 
 
 but at the same instant found myself in much deeper 
 
 water, and I could scarce stifle a sob as my boots were 
 
 speedily filled. But it was not till I gained the dry 
 
 land that I realized fully the discomfort of waterproofs : 
 
 for then though my companions were shaking off the 
 
 wet, or losing it through the convenient cracks in their 
 
 boots, my superior outfit retained it all ; and since to 
 
 remove them, nearly amounted to pulling my legs 
 
 from their sockets, I was compelled to throw myself 
 
 on the ground on my back, and by putting up my 
 
 legs in a somewhat novel and picturesque position, 
 
 let the water turn out the same way by which it had 
 
 entered. This operation, however, did not much mend 
 
 matters ; for most of the water, finding its way up my 
 
 trousers, then ran very unpleasantly along my backbone, 
 
 making me, if possible, more wet and uncomfortable 
 
 than I had been before. 
 
 But to return : we were soon at the part of the loch 
 where the remnant of the ducks had congregated ; and 
 here we found them tolerably thick. Driven as it were 
 to their last stronghold, they seemed reluctant to quit 
 it, and rose, one by one, in straggling disorder. I 
 secured three more, making in all seven to my own 
 gun ; my companions counting one or two more. We 
 then returned to the marshy ground, shot a snipe 
 or two, and started for home with a fair bag ;
 
 108 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 though taking into consideration the number of birds 
 that went away, we had not killed as many as we might 
 have expected, or as had frequently, Alister assured 
 me, been killed on former occasions. Winter, however, 
 is a more favourable season for duck-shooting ; these 
 birds (as well as geese, and occasionally a few swans) 
 then lining the shores of the inlets and firths in vast 
 numbers, and a clever shot may then have excellent 
 sport. I was lately told by a gentleman that he had 
 known as many as forty-three wild geese killed at one 
 shot with a punt gun. But such wholesale butchery, 
 however advantageous in a mercenary view, does not 
 recommend itself to our admiration ; nor does it afford 
 that pleasing variety of incident which is the chief 
 inducement to the amateur sportsman, and which 
 may be best obtained with the common gun. 
 
 My next is the narrative of a day's shooting along the 
 cliffs, occurring about the same time as the preceding. 
 
 Having enjoyed some good and exciting sport on a 
 seal-shooting excursion a few years ago, though in a 
 different neighbourhood, I was very anxious to try my 
 luck again, having heard that a seal or two were 
 occasionally seen in the bay hard by. 
 
 Alister offered to accompany me, and as the cliffs 
 were well stocked with rabbits and numbers of wild 
 rock-pigeons, which latter frequented the caves worn 
 in the rock by some volcanic agency operating untold 
 ages ago, while further on was a small heronry, we 
 armed ourselves with ammunition adapted to these 
 several varieties of game, and taking boat started in 
 quest of adventure. 
 
 The morning was fine and sunny, the sea unruffled 
 by one breath of wind. For some time we drifted 
 about with the tide, or were propelled by two sturdy 
 Highlanders along the shore, ever and anon threading
 
 WILD PIGEON SHOOTING. 109 
 
 our course about the rocks, which rose like so many 
 pinnacles from the ocean's bed, Nature here, as ever, 
 pointing heavenwards, but not a seal was to be seen, 
 and we were fain to content ourselves with the winged 
 inhabitants of the shore, or the rabbits which were 
 visible, hopping among the rocks, and feeding fearlessly 
 where there seemed barely footing for an insect, 
 or room for a spider to hang his web. Occasionally 
 the boatman pointed out to us a part of the cliff where 
 some unlucky wight had lost his life, or some projecting 
 rock whereon whilom a venturous boat had been dashed, 
 when vainly battling with the violence of the storm ; 
 at the same time pleasantly assuring us, that, though 
 all around was now calm enough to satisfy the most 
 fastidious, yet nothing could be more treacherous than 
 those waves, and that it was quite within the bounds 
 of possibility that a few moments might see them 
 lashed into fury, and ourselves : but I forbear ; no 
 waterwraith crossed our bows, nothing that the most 
 superstitious could construe into an evil omen, cast a 
 shadow on our spirits, or marred the beauty and serenity 
 of the scene. We reached the first of a series of caves, 
 and passing before its mouth, one of the boatmen 
 threw in a stone. We heard the sound as it bounded 
 from rock to rock, and then pitched musically into the 
 still water below. Immediately there followed a con- 
 fused sound of the flapping of many wings within the 
 dusky chamber, and then issued forth a flock of 
 pigeons, their blue and mottled feathers sparkling like 
 a myriad of jewels as they emerged into the sunshine. 
 And now as they darted off in every direction, jostling 
 each other in their fright, we shot at random among 
 them, and brought down three at once, a fourth falling 
 at a little distance. This process was repeated at each 
 successive cave ; though the birds which we had 
 
 8
 
 110 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 previously alarmed, many of them passed on, and took 
 shelter in the caves ahead of us, thus rousing many 
 others before our approach ; and as we moved on we 
 found them more on the alert, and prepared to antici- 
 pate us by flight. 
 
 Having enjoyed considerable amusement in this way, 
 we passed on to a part of the shore where the cliff was 
 clothed with short turf almost down to the water's 
 edge, and scattered over with blocks of stone of various 
 shapes and dimensions. Here we saw the rabbits feed- 
 ing, and gamboling about in numbers ; many at too 
 great a height to be within range, while others were 
 sufficiently low to offer a shot, had they not sought 
 shelter behind the blocks of stone as we approached. 
 We had therefore to " bide our time," and take an 
 occasional " pop-shot " whenever one, more venture- 
 some than the rest, left his position and exposed him- 
 self to view. Many a shot was thus fired in vain, and 
 eventually, after lauding and attempting, at the 
 imminent peril of our shins and necks, to drive them 
 from their places of security, we once more betook our- 
 selves to the water, with not more than five or six of 
 them as the guerdon of our pains. 
 
 Our next point was the hernery, which we found at 
 a short distance further along the shore ; and I could 
 not but admire the skill with which these birds had 
 chosen the locale of their colony. The position was 
 of this character, a diminutive bay or cove, above 
 which the butting cliff, scooped out into' a semicircular 
 form, rose perpendicularly from the beach to a height 
 of between three and four hundred feet, its face clad 
 with a huge forest of ivy, hanging in massy folds oi 
 luxuriant drapery, and springing from two or three 
 stems, thick as the boll of an ordinary oak. The spot 
 was indeed a miniature model of that quiet little cove
 
 THE HERNERY. Ill 
 
 within which ^Eneas and his " defessi ^Eneade " once 
 sought shelter and repose from the rude tossings of the 
 deep, with more than one brave comrade missing. 
 
 " Hinc atque hinc vastae rupes, geminique minantur 
 In ccelum scopuli." 
 
 While thus fortified on either hand by nature, and 
 rendered completely inaccessible by land, the rough- 
 ness of the sea, which generally lashed itself into foam 
 on the opposing rocks, formed so strong a barrier on 
 the only side from which approach was possible, that it 
 was only in the calmest weather that a boat ventured 
 to make the attempt. Here, then, in a retirement 
 seldom disturbed, the heron could peaceably hatch and 
 rear her young, looking on with sovereign indifference 
 as the waves chafed harmlessly below, and laughing as 
 they strove in vain rivalry to reach her elevated throne. 
 And here, should she ever have to forage at a distance, 
 though the beach at hand could generally supply her 
 with food, she could leave her tender brood with a 
 feeling of security seldom disappointed, save when 
 haply some winged marauder bore off one of her 
 darlings to feed his own gaping young in the summits 
 of the neighbouring mountain. 
 
 The nests, some twenty or thirty in number, built in 
 the ivy, looked like so many huge bundles of sticks and 
 rubbish ; but the most curious sight was to see the 
 birds rise at our approach. The heron, as he flies 
 slowly through 'the air, has usually a somewhat stately 
 bearing; but on the present occasion, as they rose 
 affrighted at the unusual apparition of our boat, the 
 appearance they presented, with head, legs, and wings 
 all stretched to the utmost in opposite directions, was 
 most undignified and ludicrous. The flesh of the 
 heron, though not considered a delicacy, is by no
 
 112 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 means unpalatable, and may be cooked in the form of a 
 pie, which is very savoury. The fat, too, which is 
 found on the breast of this bird is very rich, and useful 
 when rubbed on a fishing-rod as you lay it by for the 
 winter, serving as a preservative alike against damp 
 and dryness. Herons feed chiefly, though not entirely, 
 by moonlight ; consequently they are fattest soon after 
 the full moon, and lose flesh as it wanes. 
 
 I remember on one occasion, at the time -of the 
 harvest moon, when the nights are lightest, as we were 
 following the course of a mountain stream, we put up a 
 heron occupied in fishing a snug little pool ; and 
 passing again the following day, we found him in the 
 same spot, lying dead by the waterside ; having been 
 killed probably by some large hawk. His breast was 
 ript open, and the layer of fat exposed to view was 
 fully an inch and a half in thickness. 
 
 But to return to my narrative. On our reaching the 
 hernery, the birds rose one and all from their nests, 
 and after standing for a moment, balancing themselves 
 in the most awkward manner possible, each on his or 
 her own bundle of sticks, they rose into the air with a 
 scream; and then, wheeling about over our heads for a 
 few moments, gradually flew off to a more secure 
 distance. Partly for the sake of their flesh, partly for 
 their feathers, and partly for their fat, we shot three ; 
 and one of the boatmen detecting two or three tall 
 necks stretching upwards from one of the nests, I 
 attempted to clamber up the ivy, in the hopes of 
 securing a young one. The undertaking, however, I 
 found more difficult than I had anticipated; and though 
 I succeeded in ascending a considerable height, I was 
 eventually compelled to give up the attempt, after more 
 than once narrowly escaping a fall. One of the boat- 
 men now made the essay ; and though in appearance
 
 A YOUNG HERON. 113 
 
 a large-boned, broad-shouldered, heavy fellow, with no 
 signs of agility about him, yet he steadily persevered, 
 until at length, in spite of crashing ivy and crumbling 
 rock, he descended, and laid a young heron at my feet. 
 The bird was almost fully fledged, and capable of 
 feeding itself, and we determined to carry it home as a 
 pet for some of the ladies, though I may as well add 
 that, after having put us to no slight trouble to supply 
 it daily with small fish, which it would only eat when 
 quite fresh, before a week was gone the pet had taken 
 to itself wings and disappeared.
 
 114 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Expedition to the Forest. Evening Stroll. Storm and Wind. Deer 
 Sighted. The Stalk and its difficulties. Failure. Night in the 
 Mountain Cottage. Rainy Day. Anecdotes. The Highlander's 
 Opportunities. Curious Head. 
 
 ONCE more I returned to the antlered denizen of the 
 forest. On Monday we started for another residence 
 of two or three days in the little cottage among the 
 hills, which serves as a shooting-box whenever the 
 sport proposed is deer-stalking ; the forest being at too 
 great a distance to allow of our returning to head- 
 quarters every night. 
 
 We set off about noon, proposing to reach the cottage 
 shortly before nightfall, that we might be ready to 
 commence operations next morning at sunrise. A car, 
 drawn by a pair of high-spirited Highland ponies, con- 
 veyed us over the first six miles of the road, when, the 
 rest of our route lying across the "muir and the 
 mountain," we were fain to commit ourselves to our 
 legs. Gillespie, the fox-hunter, and Murdoch attended 
 as gillies, to carry our provisions ; while Walter and I 
 ourselves took charge of the arms and ammunition. 
 
 Thus heavily accoutred, we found the ascent of Ben 
 Fuoghlin no slight task. The sun was pouring down 
 his rays, unchilled by a breath of air, unbroken or 
 tempered by a passing cloud, while we toiled up the 
 steep. As I looked, with a longing eye and parched 
 throat, at the many little springs and burns we passed, 
 gushing merrily and tunefully on their way, I fancied I 
 could almost realise to myself the feelings of the 
 traveller who, in crossing the deserts of Arabia, is lured
 
 TO THE DEER FOREST. 115 
 
 further and further from his way by the spectral river, 
 which either continues ever at the same distance, 
 receding as he advances, or melts into nothingness just 
 as he fondly thinks he is about to be refreshed. For 
 though here there was water enough and to spare, I had 
 learnt by unpleasant experience that in climbing among 
 the mountains it is the worst thing in the world to 
 gratify one's thirst by constantly taking a draught, 
 however small; and the utmost I dare allow myself 
 was to moisten my lips, and occasionally to rinse out 
 my mouth. But to everything there is an end, and two 
 hours' hard climbing brought us to the brow of the hill. 
 Here we paused, to drink in eagerly the refreshing 
 breeze that crept up from the strath beyond, and com- 
 mencing the descent, three quarters of an hour's tumbling 
 and scrambling brought us to the cottage. 
 
 Our load of provisions deposited, there being yet two 
 hours before sunset, we took out our telescopes, and 
 subjected the opposite side of the strath to a most 
 careful scrutiny, but in vain ; after running our eyes 
 up every ravine and gully, and slowly traversing each 
 open stretch of moorland, we each returned our glass 
 to its case, and proceeded to take a stroll along the 
 banks of the river which wound through the bottom 
 of the valley. 
 
 'Twas a lovely evening, and the sun sank to the 
 horizon, tipping the summits of the hills with gold, and 
 tiugeing the cliffs around to a copper hue, here and 
 there, when a ray still shot down some gorge, the rocks 
 looked like one stream of burning lava, while the light 
 and shade, everywhere thrown out in bold relief, pro- 
 duced a very striking effect. The flies, which were 
 floating sleepily in small nebulae over the surface of the 
 water, were occasionally roused into quicker motion by 
 the lazy flap of a salmon's tail, as he engulphed two or
 
 116 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 three of them together. Anon the water-ousel shot out 
 from his perch under the bank, and scudding down the 
 stream, sought his meal in the shallows. A slight 
 whizzing noise overhead told of the woodcock taking 
 his recreation in the cool of the evening ; or his note, 
 something like the coo of the dove, remindedus that even 
 he forgot not his vesper hymn. 
 
 As we were retracing our steps a light breeze sprang 
 up, a few clouds floated over the tops of the nearest 
 hill, and in a few moments a slight sprinkling of rain 
 caused us to accelerate our steps. We reached the 
 cottage, to find a meal prepared for us by the shepherd's 
 wife, consisting of boiled venison ham, to which, as 
 well as the next course of porridge and delicious cream, 
 we did ample justice. 
 
 During the night there was a goodly fall of rain, the 
 wind increasing almost to a hurricane ; and when we 
 rose in the morning, though the air was again clear, 
 and the sky nearly cloudless, Gillespie expressed his 
 doubts as to whether we could make anything of it to- 
 day from the violence of the wind. However, as any- 
 thing was preferable to a day spent within doors, with 
 no resources to fly to for amusement, we decided on 
 sallying forth, and making the best of it. We took our 
 way, therefore, with the foxhunter as our guide, along 
 the bottom of a deep glen, thinking that there at 
 least, we should meet with less wind than in the more 
 exposed regions above ; but we soon found that there 
 was no escaping it. Such a wind I certainly never 
 before experienced. Each successive blast seemed to 
 pierce through one's dress, searching and chilling to the 
 very bones and marrow. Now and then, as it whirled 
 violently round the angles of some huge rock, a sharp 
 report was produced, like the crack of a hunting-whip ; 
 so that the approach of a blast might be learnt while
 
 STORM AND WIND. 117 
 
 yet at a distance, the sounds increasing in loudness as 
 the distance diminished; while far above us, in the 
 clefts of the high cliff which shot up almost perpen- 
 dicularly to a height of 1500 feet, there was a continual 
 roar, loud as that of the ocean in the fiercest storm. 
 
 As we passed along the shores of a secluded loch, the 
 sheltered waters of which are generally smooth and 
 unruffled as a mirror, the effect produced was curious 
 in the extreme. The blasts sometimes poured down 
 from all quarters of the compass at once, and meeting 
 in fierce collision, drove the surface into large waves, 
 and lashing the water up bodily into the air, carried it 
 along like a drenching rain ; then separating, they 
 ploughed up the loch in opposite directions ; or chasing 
 each other across its bosom, left their wake marked by 
 a line of foam. On looking up the mountain-side, I 
 could almost have fancied myself in a most densely 
 populated country, where the hearths of some thou- 
 sands of families' the cottages themselves invisible, 
 were sending up their smoke in so many thin white 
 columns curling heavenwards, an appearance which 
 was produced by the fierce currents of air catching up 
 the waters of many a little burn as they swept athwart 
 its rocky channel. 
 
 After a walk of some five miles, without seeing any- 
 thing in the shape of game, we reached a deep corrie, 
 the usual resort of deer in rough weather ; but though 
 we seated ourselves under shelter of a rock, and 
 scanned every foot of ground before us, we could 
 make out nothing. However, the lowest depths of 
 the place had not yet been penetrated by the sun's 
 rays, and it was possible that something might still be 
 lying in the shade; we therefore descended, and 
 traversed the shores of the loch lying below, keeping 
 a careful look-out as we advanced ; but again we were
 
 118 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 doomed to disappointment, the deer having evidently 
 sought shelter elsewhere. 
 
 We now wound our way up a rocky ravine, at one 
 time the wind blowing from behind, and almost 
 carrying us up the steep without any exertion of our 
 own ; at another time meeting us with such force, 
 that we could make no head against it ; and when it 
 suddenly lulled, we almost fell on our faces, as though 
 some great support had just been withdrawn. Scarcely, 
 perhaps, had we recovered ourselves, when a blast 
 would tear down the pass with such fearful violence, 
 as required all our strength to prevent our being 
 carried bodily down the hill, for a moment actually 
 depriving us of the power of breathing, and producing 
 a choking sensation, akin to that which the swimmer 
 experiences when, as he is tossing among the breakers, 
 he suddenly gets a mouthful of brine, or takes too long 
 a dive in the depths below. 
 
 In the face of such difficulties the ascent was a 
 matter of time and patience, and it was with no 
 feeling of reluctance that, on reaching the top of the 
 ravine, I threw myself on the heather to recover breath, 
 while the fox-hunter, without any signs of distress, 
 quietly seated himself beside me, and began to take 
 his observations. I watched his countenance, as his 
 glass was turned from brae to brae, from gully to gully ; 
 but his stolid expression, so characteristic of the Scot, 
 furnished no clue to the workings of the mind within. 
 I fancied, however, after a time, that his eye seemed 
 to linger, and turn more especially to one spot, but 
 nothing like a smile of satisfaction was to be detected. 
 At length, on my putting the question to him, he 
 replied that he " was seeing the deer," but that they 
 were " unco " hard to get at, and that no calculation 
 as to wind could possibly be made with any certainty
 
 THE DEER IN SIGHT. 119 
 
 while it was blowing in such fitful and fickle gusts. 
 There was no help for it, therefore, but to look to the 
 general scud of the wind, and to act accordingly, 
 leaving the issue to the chapter of accidents. The 
 deer were feeding at the distance of nearly two miles, 
 separated from us by a deep glen, and at an elevation 
 slightly higher than our own ; but as they were 
 working upwards, before we could get over the ground 
 they would doubtless be considerably higher. Our 
 plan therefore was to take a wide circuit, and make 
 for the shelter of some cliffs a few hundred feet above 
 them, in the hopes that they would gradually feed up, 
 and pass near our position. 
 
 Having strengthened ourselves with a " nip " of 
 usquebagh, away we went in a silent string, now 
 running recklessly " over bank, bush, and scaur," now 
 stooping, and even creeping, as we passed an exposed 
 spot : and ever and anon pausing, while Gillespie took 
 a cautious survey, lest we should disturb anything in 
 our course, and perhaps through heedlessness lose a 
 better chance than the one on which we were now 
 bent 
 
 After mounting a steep brae, we suddenly came 
 upon a stag and two hinds lying in a sheltered hollow. 
 They had winded us, however, and rose from their beds 
 in the tall heather just as we came over the crest 
 of the ascent; and before we could get a shot had 
 disappeared over a precipice, down the difficult 
 face of which they wound their way in safety ; and 
 when we came to look over the edge of it, they 
 were trotting along several hundred feet below. As 
 we turned away from watching them, we caught sight 
 of a herd of about forty in a contrary direction, just 
 vanishing over a distant hill, having winded us and 
 taken alarm. Shortly after this we reached the rocky
 
 120 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 pass, where we had expected to fall in with our three 
 deer. Before however taking up our position, we 
 proceeded to reconnoitre the ground in the direction 
 by which they must come ; but the most careful 
 examination could discover no trace of them. There 
 were indeed " numberous " slots, or footprints, which 
 Gillespie pointed out to us in the very pass itself, but 
 none which seemed fresh ; and our conclusion therefore 
 was, that the game must have taken some unexpected 
 turn, and gone away by a different route. 
 
 We now made for a rocky kind of headland, which 
 projected into the air, commanding a good view over 
 some likely ground ; and here we once more brought 
 our glasses into play. But so piercingly cold was the 
 wind, and so unfavourable from its changeableness, 
 that in despair we were almost inclined to give up 
 further attempts for to-day, and, as we sickened of the 
 work, became also proportionably careless. 
 
 A sudden gust of wind now carried my hat away, 
 bursting a very strong elastic band, which passed 
 under my chin, and at the same moment, a large loose 
 " poncho " of Walter's was torn from his shoulders, 
 and carried high into the air, spinning round, as it 
 ascended, in corkscrew fashion. The coat was re- 
 covered by Gillespie at once ; but the hat, though I 
 myself lost sight of it altogether, was recovered by 
 Murdoch at the distance of a quarter of a mile. 
 Taking this as a seasonable warning of the treatment 
 we might ourselves expect, should we any longer tempt 
 the elements, we commenced the descent at once, 
 purposing to make our way back to the cottage as 
 fast and as safely as we could. We had not, however, 
 made much progress, following each other in a careless 
 line, with feelings somewhat akin to disgust, when, on 
 turning the angle of a huge rock, Gillespie, who led
 
 FOLLOWING THE GAME WITHOUT SUCCESS. 121 
 
 the line, suddenly came to a halt ; my ears were 
 greeted with a grunt and something suspiciously like a 
 Gaelic oath, and following the direction of his eyes, 
 I immediately saw the cause of his discomposure. 
 There, at the distance of two hundred yards, were the 
 three deer for which we had been looking, leisurely 
 trotting away from us. They paused on reaching the 
 crest of the ravine down which they were about to 
 plunge, turned round for one moment to look at us, and 
 then, flinging a parting challenge to us, as they spurred 
 up the ground with their hoofs, disappeared in an 
 instant from our sight. They were a noble hart, a 
 young stag, and a hiud ; and as they stood on the 
 horizon, thrown out in bold relief into the sky, a more 
 beautiful group it would be difficult to conceive. 
 
 As we followed slowly in their track, picking our 
 way carefully down the almost precipitous descent, we 
 observed a stag and two hinds feeding on the opposite 
 side of the valley, in a position apparently very 
 difficult to approach, without attracting their attention. 
 We lingered for some time, hoping that they might 
 feed their way into more favourable ground; but 
 presently the three ; which we had so lately disturbed, 
 were seen winding their way up to them, having crossed 
 the valley below ; and the whole six, shortly joining 
 company, went off together. 
 
 Thus terminated the series of this day's disappoint- 
 ments. The shades of evening were coming on apace ; 
 the ground was too rugged to be either safe or 
 pleasant for a night march ; and as we were still 
 distant some seven miles from the cottage, no time 
 was to be lost. Glad then were we, after nearly two 
 hours of hard climbing, toiling, and running, to hear 
 our welcome from the cheerful housewife, to divest 
 ourselves of our wet toggery, and to seat ourselves
 
 122 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 before a large peat fire, blazing on the hearth, with 
 walls three feet thick to shut out the wind, and a well- 
 loaded board wherefrom to console the inner man. 
 
 After doing justice to the cold grouse, venison cutlet, 
 porridge, and cream, as they only can whose limbs 
 have been braced, whose spirits have been exhilarated, 
 and whose appetites have been sharpened by mountain 
 air and mountain exercise, we turned our feet to the 
 hearth ; and there, over a. glass of fine old mountain 
 dew, theorised over the events of the day; discovering 
 with singular acuteness, now that it was too late to 
 remedy them, the point where each blunder had been 
 committed, and the exact cause of each failure ; 
 forgetting forsooth, in our self-complacency, as too 
 many other wisacres had done before us, that it is a 
 far easier matter to criticise than to originate ; that the 
 veriest blockhead may see where another has erred, but. 
 set him to act himself, and it is ten to one he will not 
 mend the matter. At an early hour we threw ourselves 
 on our couch, hoping to rise in the morning with more 
 propitious weather. But it was in vain, for some 
 time at least, that we sought repose. The wind had 
 increased to a perfect tempest, and though our eyelids 
 weighed heavily, the uproar without would not suffer 
 us to slumber. Indeed each moment threatened a 
 catastrophe, and kept us on the alert. The approach 
 of every consecutive blast could be distinctly traced 
 by the ear, as we lay listening on our heather pallet. 
 First, there was a low sound, a kind of suppressed 
 roar, as the wind soughed and eddied its way along 
 the face of a huge cliff, distant about a mile, and 
 rising perpendicularly to the height of nearly fifteen 
 hundred feet. Then followed a steady rushing noise, 
 as it swept furiously across the loch, and over the open 
 moor below, with nothing to check its progress. This
 
 NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAIN COTTAGE. 123 
 
 was in turn succeeded by a variety of sounds, as the 
 blast drew nearer, and whistled or cracked among the 
 rocks or banks in the vicinity of the cottage. And 
 lastly, came a furious rush, as it careered madly past 
 our little cabin, catching up the gravel and stones, 
 which rattled violently against the door and window, 
 threatening to tear away the roof over our heads, and 
 making the very walls themselves vibrate around us, 
 though they were fully three feet in thickness. How 
 stones and mortar could hold together, under so 
 fearful and incessant a cannonade, 'twere hard to tell ; 
 but though sorely tried, our stout little castle did 
 nevertheless succeed in keeping its own; and one 
 after another the consecutive blasts slunk away with 
 a sullen murmur of disappointment, after venting their 
 fury, and discharging their artillery upon its walls in 
 vain. 
 
 At length, shortly after midnight, we fancied that the 
 uproar was slightly abated ; presently there was a 
 sensible diminution ; and while we were waiting, and 
 hoping for its total subsidence, sleep with downy pinion 
 brooded over us, and we became unconscious. 
 
 ***** 
 
 While, wrapt in slumber, we were dreaming of the 
 forest and its antlered occupants, a great change was 
 taking place around us. The wind fell, and, as is 
 frequently the case, was succeeded by rain ; not indeed 
 a gentle shower, nor yet a short but brisk one, but a 
 steady regular downfall, heavy enough to saturate 
 almost anything. The roof of the cottage, at no time 
 of the best, had not been bettered by the storm of the 
 last few hours ; and I was first brought to a conscious- 
 ness of what was going on around me, by a something 
 pattering on my head at short intervals, and trickling 
 slowly and chillingly down my neck. This was the
 
 124 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 rain oozing through the roof; and on looking about I 
 perceived several little pools, forming from the same 
 cause, in different parts of the room. In one corner a 
 series of drops were quietly following each other down 
 the barrel of a rifle to the improvement of the powder. 
 In another place they were collecting inside one of my 
 boots. Here they were diluting the cream on the 
 shelf; there they were reducing the lump-sugar to a 
 pulp. Indeed almost the only dry place of any size 
 was that under shelter of the table. 
 
 This was, in sooth, a cheering prospect ! and as I 
 sprang out of bed, and anxiously opened the door, the 
 sight which greeted my eyes was not calculated to 
 console for the distress within. On all sides the rain 
 was coming straight down, and seemed likely to con- 
 tinue ; not a break was there in the clouds, to fan the 
 faintest hope into life. Down the face of the big cliff, 
 Creag-na-sturm, when between times I could see so 
 far, what had been yesterday but a tiny jet of spray, 
 stretching like a white thread from top to bottom, was 
 now one broad sheet of foam, pouring furiously over its 
 surface, and taking the whole distance in three or four 
 tremendous leaps ; while countless minor streams 
 spread and crossed in every direction, like a veil of fine 
 lace covering the features of a dark beauty. Though 
 fully a mile distant, their combined voices seemed to 
 reach my ear above the sound of the rain. In other 
 quarters too I could distinguish similar changes ; burns 
 had grown into rivers, and the river itself was swollen 
 in proportion. While I was marking all this, in mood 
 disconsolate, the shepherd emerged from his cottage 
 with the remark, sympathetic, but not consolatory, 
 " 'Deed, sir, but the day's no that promising." " I am 
 afraid, Eorie, it promises only disappointment ; " was 
 the only rejoinder I could make.
 
 STRANGE TRADITION. 125 
 
 We were now all speedily aroused, and a cquucil of 
 war held. We decided that the first step must be to 
 break our fast ; the second, to examine our arsenal, 
 clean what needed it ; and then, should the day be still 
 unfavourable, to amuse ourselves as best we might, by 
 listening to the fox-hunter's tales of adventure, of 
 which I was assured he had a goodly store. 
 
 The guns on inspection proved to be very foul ; 
 being all loaded with ball, and having on the previous 
 evening been left just as we had brought them home ; 
 but though then quite clean and fit for immediate use, 
 the rain of the night had rusted them very much, 
 besides damping the powder. The process of cleaning, 
 and our breakfast occupied an hour or more ; and 
 then, the prospect being still gloomy as it could well be, 
 we called upon the fox-hunter to draw from the 
 treasures of his memory "things new and old." 
 
 Behold us, then, as the curtain rises : Walter and 
 myself stretched lazily on the couch ; Gillespie and 
 the shepherd perched on broken chairs. The lips of 
 the former are unsealed by a dram taken " neat," fol- 
 lowed by the usual preliminary, a pinch of " snee-shin." 
 Our first story relates to the length of a deer's life. 
 
 There is a tradition, said by our informant to be 
 preserved in the family of the Mackenzies of Brahan 
 Castle, to the following effect. 
 
 Many generations ago, the male calf of a red deer 
 was reared as a pet in the family. Though a great 
 favourite while young and harmless, its popularity 
 gradually declined as its age increased, and its play 
 became rough and even dangerous. Allowed to roam 
 at large, bearing a silver collar about its neck, as the 
 badge of servitude, it eventually broke away from this 
 easy thraldom and returned to its native hills. Still, 
 however, less timid than its brethren, it continued 
 
 9
 
 126 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 occasionally to be seen, as it crossed the path of the 
 huntsman ; but the silver charm about its neck pur- 
 chased for it a comparative immunity from danger ; 
 the rifle was never directed, nor the deerhound slipt 
 against the former favourite of the castle. But these 
 chance meetings became less and less frequent, until at 
 length they ceased altogether ; and the deer was either 
 not seen or not recognised any longer. 
 
 Some years ago, a stag was killed in the forest of 
 Brahan ; and the flesher in cutting open the skin of the 
 throat, felt his knife strike against some hard substance 
 which would not yield to his blade. An investigation 
 laid bare a silver collar, deeply imbedded in the flesh, 
 and bearing an inscription to the effect that the deer 
 had been reared by the Mackenzies of Brahan upwards 
 of a hundred years before. 
 
 Of the merits of this story I leave others to judge. 
 Naturalists have, I believe, assigned forty years as the 
 ordinary term of a deer's life. This animal, therefore, 
 if the tradition be true, out-nestored Nestor. 
 
 Our next is the narrative of an event in which, 
 judging by the zest with which he related it, I should 
 suspect the narrator himself to have had a share, 
 though to have insinuated my suspicions would have 
 been to beard the lion, and bring the " skene dhu " 
 from its sheath. 
 
 The scene is a natural cavern in the wild side of Ben 
 Fionan, to which has been assigned the title of " the 
 King's Cave," or Uaigh nam Riogh, from a tradi- 
 tionary belief, still prevalent in the neighbourhood, 
 that it served as a place of rest for some Scandinavian 
 prince on his hunting excursions, in an age long since 
 passed away ; a purpose which it has doubtless served 
 on many an occasion of later date, to the benighted
 
 FORESTER AND POACHERS. 127 
 
 poacher, who, with perhaps less right, but equal skill 
 and ardour, has sought his pastime in the forest. 
 
 The following are the particulars. On a dark and 
 howling night, within the damp and lichen-covered 
 walls of the King's Cave, were congregated a band of 
 poachers, who had long levied their " black mail " on 
 the forest, in the form of fat bucks, stately stags, and 
 yeld hinds, and whose sagacity had baffled the utmost 
 skill and vigilance of the keepers and foresters of the 
 district. Thus, inured to danger, their highland spirits, 
 naturally bold and energetic, had acquired a degree of 
 reckless daring which rendered it hazardous to interfere 
 with them ; and though liberal rewards were held out 
 to the keepers who should detect and bring the 
 offenders to justice, those officials were sufficiently 
 acquainted with the numbers and the character of the 
 men they had to deal with, to shrink from bringing 
 matters to a crisis ; and preferring to connive at what 
 their own interest and safety deterred them from 
 preventing, so long as depredations were not too 
 flagrant, they studiously avoided any collision with the 
 marauders. 
 
 On the occasion in question, the party assembled 
 was composed of some of the most notorious and daring 
 individuals in the neighbourhood. The storms of the 
 previous day had driven the deer in large numbers to 
 the shelter of the corrie below the cave; and the object 
 of the band was to await the dawn, and then, inter 
 cepting the herd as they took their departure by a 
 favourite pass to the more secluded heights above, 
 to single out the finest for their own use. 
 
 It so chanced that one of the foresters, by name 
 Donald Oag, or the younger Donald, was returning 
 from his rounds on the mountain. The storm had 
 detained him to a later hour than usual in some
 
 128 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 sheltered cranny ; and the shades of evening had been 
 succeeded by the gloom of night, ere his homeward 
 route brought him by the foot of Ben Fionan. Passing 
 within a few yards of the King's Cave, he was sur- 
 prised on seeing rays of light issuing forth in a long 
 stream from the cheerful blaze of a fire within its 
 gloomy penetralia ; and on scrambling some little dis- 
 tance up the rugged path leading to the entrance, his 
 astonishmemt was increased by the scene which 
 revealed itself. In the centre of the cavern was a 
 huge fire, composed of the dry heather which had formed 
 the pallet of some former occupant; and around it were 
 seated some ten or twelve Highlanders. Seldom was 
 seen a group more worthy of the painter's brush, from 
 the glitter of the fire-arms and the picturesque attitudes 
 of the company; the effect of their stalwart limbs and 
 swarthy complexions being heightened by the deep 
 gloom in the background, while the fitful glare of the 
 fire gave an additional interest to their countenances, 
 already sufficiently animated from the effects of the 
 whisky, which was passing freely round. 
 
 For some moments Donald looked on in astonish- 
 ment. The men were not unknown to him, and he had 
 little doubt as to the object of their visit to such a spot. 
 But while thus watching, he gathered from their 
 vehement gestures and loud tones, that a conversation 
 was going on in which all seemed more than usually 
 interested. Incited by curiosity, he silently drew 
 nearer, in order if possible, to overhear what was said ; 
 and now he stood within the entrance of the cave 
 itself, but hidden from its inmates in the gloom. At 
 this very moment, what was his amazement and alarm, 
 on hearing his own name mentioned. At first it 
 occurred to him that his presence was known, and he 
 was just about to take to flight, when, on second
 
 FORESTER AND POACHERS. 129 
 
 thoughts he determined to hear further, and satisfy his 
 increasing curiosity. He now learnt that the party were 
 discussing the possibility of being discovered ; one out 
 of the number suggesting that the fire's light might 
 attract the attention of some of the keepers, should any 
 be abroad. " And what if Donald Oag should, himself, 
 walk in ? " said one, with a loud laugh. " What ! " 
 replied the deep voice of another. "What! why, 
 before ever that blaze lit up his cowardly een, I would 
 just give him this ounce of lead in his black heart ; " 
 and suiting the action of the word, the stout High- 
 lander sprang to his feet, put his piece to his shoulder, 
 and glanced fiercely down the barrel, exactly in the 
 direction of the spot where the keeper was standing 
 concealed. Though this sentiment was not greeted 
 with applause by his companions, who, bad as they 
 might be, were yet not prepared for such an extreme, 
 the determined tone in which it was uttered, and the 
 sudden action of the speaker, quite overcame the 
 keeper. Assured from previous knowledge of the man, 
 that he was one who would execute his threat as readily 
 as he had given utterance to it, Donald remained, as it 
 were, spell-bound, though his limbs tottered beneath 
 him, and the heart in his bosom palpitated almost 
 audibly. For some moments he stood thus rooted to 
 the spot ; and then, the conversation taking another 
 turn, he slowly and silently withdrew from his dangerous 
 position ; and once fairly out of sight and hearing, took 
 to his heels and never even paused until his own door, 
 doubly bolted and barred, intervened between himself 
 and the forest. 
 
 That night the slumbers of Donald Oag were 
 troubled and feverish. Again he trembled beneath the 
 fierce eye of the poacher glaring upon him ; again his 
 ears rang with those angry tones and the threat they
 
 130 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 conveyed. His anxious spouse at length drew from 
 him a reluctant recital of the cause of his uneasiness ; 
 and it is said, that such was the effect of her bitter 
 taunts, and the contempt with which she upbraided him 
 for the want of spirit he had exhibited, that convinced 
 of his previous shortcomings, he became thenceforward 
 a totally altered being. 
 
 " What ! " cried she, " shall ilka stane i' the forest be 
 red wi' the bluid o' deer ? An' will ye bring us a' till 
 poverty an' shame, forby yer ain cowardly heart 
 daresna' do its duty ? " 
 
 That day proved the turning point in Donald's 
 career. Henceforth it became the object of his life to 
 suppress the lawless proceedings at which he had 
 hitherto connived ; and while no one was a more 
 determined foe to the poacher, not only did he rise in 
 the estimation of his employers, but even his enemies 
 could not but respect him for his conscientious dis- 
 charge of duty. Such eventually was the effect of his 
 firm and judicious administration, that poaching 
 gradually ceased, until over those hills which had so 
 lately been infested by these human vermin, the deer 
 at length roamed in security. 
 
 Such are two of the stories with which we were 
 entertained by the fox-hunter, while the weather 
 without was still unpropitious as ever ; and within, but 
 for the warming effects of the toddy, it would not have 
 been much better. Other stories did he recite, but 
 though interesting when told in all the poetry of 
 Gaelic, they would suffer materially by the loss of 
 pathos and expression which a translation fails ade- 
 quately to reproduce. Bnt I could not help thinking 
 how the naturalist must envy the opportunities for 
 observation enjoyed by such an one as the man before 
 me; whose daily occupation requires that his life
 
 THE FOX-HUNTER'S LIFE. 131 
 
 should be spent chiefly in the open air, by the loch or 
 the mountain, sometimes for days together with no 
 roof above his head, save the vaulted sky, and with no 
 companionship but that of his faithful dogs. 
 
 At one time, it may be, he is laying siege to the den 
 of some vixen, and patiently watching for the appear- 
 ance of the mother and her cubs. There he sits for 
 one, two, or even, as he himself assured me, three days 
 without sleep, and with no nourishment beyond that 
 afforded by the juniper-berries which grow close at 
 hand, and the small flask of whisky in his " sporran ; " 
 and soothed by that " little tube of mighty power," 
 " rest to the weary, to the hungry food," his pipe ; 
 until, eventually overcome by the pangs of hunger, one 
 by one the animals are forced to capitulate, and 
 emerging from their retreat, far down in the cleft of 
 some rock, fall victims to his unerring aim. On such 
 occasions he is frequently accompanied by another man, 
 and then the two relieve each other, watching and 
 resting by turns, by which plan the fatigue is very 
 much lessened. Gillespie however assured us that he 
 far preferred having all the fatigue to himself; for that 
 if he took his turn of repose, he could never rest, from 
 his anxiety lest the other party, less interested than 
 himself, should slumber at his post, and so suffer the 
 game to escape. Indeed, he remembered on one 
 occasion having a wild Irishman to assist him, who 
 having slept the greater part of the first two days, then 
 agreed to take his turn at watching ; but scarcely had 
 Gillespie rolled himself in his plaid, when he was 
 aroused by the report of a gun close by, and springing 
 to his feet, saw to his dismay the whole family of foxes 
 scampering across the moor, and his companion gazing 
 after them in mute amazement. The stupid fellow had 
 gone off to quench his thirst at the burn hard by, and
 
 132 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 the cunning animals seizing the opportunity, had 
 escaped with only a random shot as he returned to his 
 post. " Faith," said Pat, " but they would n't wait for 
 me ;" a remark, however, which brought no consolation 
 to the fox-hunter, who after nearly two days of sleep- 
 less watching found his labour thus provokingly un- 
 done, and his reward snatched from his grasp. 
 
 Such is one of the duties of this most necessary 
 appendage to a Highland farm, a duty calculated, as 
 I have said, to afford him abundance of time for the 
 study of nature. 
 
 There are other vermin also which he has to hunt 
 down in the mountains, assisted by his hardy pack of 
 curs. The chief of these perhaps is the marten, whose 
 abode is in the rock, and who is as great a foe to the 
 game as the fox to the sheep. And often does the 
 rocky glen ring with the music of his hounds as they 
 chase the marten to his stronghold. 
 
 Many a day, too, he spends in the forest, tracking the 
 deer, watching their movements for hours, in order 
 to stalk them successfully ; or possibly sitting the long 
 day through beside the carcase of some slaughtered 
 monarch of the forest, till his comrades can arrive to 
 help in bearing the body homewards. 
 
 Thus is the Highlander brought to witness the 
 grandest effects and combinations of nature and the 
 elements. He is on the shores of the loch when the 
 curtains of mist roll aside, and bare its bosom to the 
 morning sun. He is there when the dews of evening 
 sparkle on the heather bell, and the misty drapery once 
 more descends as a veil on the waters. He hears the 
 thunder-clap echoed through the mountain with the 
 crash of a ruined world ; or the roar of the wind as it 
 sweeps through the forest like " a giant refreshed with 
 wine." As he sits by the mossy marge of the burn,
 
 A CURIOUS HEAD. 1?3 
 
 the shadowy form of the water-wraith flits across his 
 bewildered een, or he hears the moan of some restless 
 spirit in the soughing of the summer breeze. The 
 howl of the wild-cat, the cry of the heron, disturbed at 
 his moonlight meal, the curlew's plaintive note, and 
 many another sound of life, to him have each their tale 
 to tell. The phantom fire that twinkles on the bog, 
 the varying shadows thrown by the moon across the 
 moor, betoken to him the presence of beings of another 
 mould. 
 
 With such opportunities then for observation, such 
 seasons for thought, such ample scope for fancy, and 
 such scenery withal, to afford inspiration, 'twould 
 indeed be no wonder were the language of the Gael 
 instinct with the power of poesy; while each untutored 
 child of the mist and the mountain, with no other book 
 to read but that lying open on his native hills, might 
 cherish the spirit as well as the speech of an Ossian. 
 
 P.S. I subjoin a curious anecdote, recently related 
 to me by Alister, as he received it from the mouth of 
 the person concerned, a keeper employed in the adjoin- 
 ing forest. 
 
 " I was ordered to get a good stag for his Lordship, 
 just about the beginning of the rutting season. Soon 
 after entering the forest, and near the top of Corr-an- 
 Finnoch, I noticed a very large beast lying by itself ; 
 which, on an examination through the glass, puzzled 
 me very much, as it was evidently of the largest stag 
 size, and yet had no antlers, but apparently the head of 
 a hind. I stalked it to within about seventy yards, and 
 sat down to await the time when it should rise for its 
 afternoon feed, that I might then ascertain surely what 
 it was. The day however being rather stormy, a puff 
 of wind wheeled my scent round to him, and of course 
 he was on his feet in a moment, and another moment
 
 134 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 had carried him over a slight eminence, that concealed 
 him from my eight for more than a hundred yards. 
 
 " But before he had gone far, he fell in with a few 
 small stags, who were bellowing amongst a lot of hinds. 
 These he charged, and having vanquished them all, 
 once more lay quietly down. I now knew that I had 
 before me one of the largest deer I had ever seen ; and 
 after a little trouble, I was again within shot, and sent 
 a ball through his heart. He never got on his legs 
 again. My astonishment may be conceived, when I 
 examined his head, five and three quarter inches 
 between the eyes; his body was the biggest and 
 heaviest I ever saw in the forest." 
 
 Alister has the skull now in his possession; he 
 prizes it very highly, and has had it fitted up as a 
 drin king-cup.
 
 THE EXPEDITION CONTINUED. 135 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Operations resumed. Reconnoitring. Deer discovered. The Stalk. 
 Failure. Second Stalk. Stag wounded. The Pursuit. Fresh 
 Deer found. Successful Stalk. Second Death. School for 
 Generalship. Return Home. 
 
 I RESUME the account of our expedition to the hills, at 
 the point up to which the last chapter carried us. 
 
 The approach of evening brought an improvement in 
 the weather ; the rain gradually ceased, and the sun 
 at length, burst through his cloudy veil, giving promise 
 of a fine sunset, and consequently better hopes for the 
 morrow. It was too late, however, to attempt any- 
 thing to-day, except in the immediate vicinity; and 
 accordingly we sallied forth, armed, myself with rifle, 
 and Walter with gun, to enjoy the two remaining 
 hours of daylight, that, if nothing more could be 
 gained, we might at least acquire an appetite for our 
 dinner. 
 
 On the opposite bank of the river, running at the 
 bottom of the strath, the hills rose very precipitously, 
 their sides here and there intersected by a deep ravine, 
 worn by the rains of many a storm, within the shelter 
 of which, in the most severe weather, the deer were not 
 unfrequently driven from the more exposed heights 
 above. There was also a strath running off at right 
 angles to that which we were traversing, having at its 
 further end a deep basin-shaped hollow, or come, 
 perfectly sheltered from the wind, excepting in one 
 direction, hemmed in as it was on three sides by rocks 
 of a great height, their bald summits unclad by a blade 
 of vegetation. Though for some unaccountable reason
 
 136 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 this was a locality little frequented by deer, still stray 
 ones, often the finest, were occasionally compelled 
 thither, as to a harbour of refuge from the angry 
 elements. 
 
 To these ravines, therefore, and to this corrie we 
 determined to confine ourselves for the brief remaining 
 portion of the day. But the river had first to be 
 crossed, and on reaching its bank we found it so 
 swollen from the rain, that, hesitating to cross, we 
 proceeded to follow its course, hoping that at some one 
 of its many turns we might find a ford where the 
 passage would be less dangerous. It was not, how- 
 ever till we had Avalked more than a mile, that a place 
 was found which the fox-hunter volunteered to ford, 
 that we might learn the depth of the water. Plunging 
 in, he succeeded, by his intimate knowledge of the bed, 
 in gaming the further bank in safety ; but with such 
 difficulty, that we at once declined to follow. We 
 therefore sent him alone across a low stretch of moor- 
 land to inspect the corrie, and then report to us if any 
 game were to be seen; while we ourselves, sitting down 
 by a solitary rock, took out our "Dollonds," and 
 proceeded to scrutinise the opposite ravines. 
 
 In this way some time was spent, but nothing dis- 
 covered. And now we began to look anxiously for 
 Gillespie's return. We had watched him gain an 
 elevated " knowe," commanding a view into the depths 
 of the corrie ; but he had now left it, and disappeared 
 altogether. We sat for some time waiting, but still he 
 did not appear ; and now the shades of evening were 
 coming on apace, and our view each moment more 
 contracted. At length, tired out, and certain that even 
 had he found any game, it was now too late to attempt 
 a stalk, we plowly turned our steps homewards, still 
 anxious lest the man should be overtaken by the dark,
 
 RECONNOITRING. 137 
 
 and crossing the river in the gloaming, uncertain of his 
 way, should be canied down by its waters. But never 
 was anxiety thrown away on a subject less needing it. 
 In the forest he knew almost every stone, and on the 
 river he was acquainted with each ford, rapid, and pool. 
 On approaching the cottage we were agreeably sur- 
 prised to see the cause of our uneasiness himself 
 advancing to meet us. He had examined not only the 
 corrie, but the ravines ; and recollecting that there was 
 a more favourable spot for crossing the river higher up, 
 he had gone thither, and so taken a shorter route home 
 than the winding course we had pursued. He had 
 found no traces of deer, but that, he concluded, was so 
 much the more in favour of our finding them elsewhere 
 on the morrow. It was, therefore, with spirits consider- 
 ably revived that we again entered our cabin, the roof 
 of which the shepherd had, during our brief absence, 
 been patching up, while his wife had arranged the 
 interior in a more comfortable fashion. 
 
 Thursday. The small hours of the morning were 
 already passed, and the sun high in the heavens, when 
 a colloquy carried on outside our door between Gillespie 
 and the shepherd roused us from our slumbers. The 
 god of the morning was pouring a rich flood of golden 
 rays through the small dingy lattice of our cabin ; and 
 when we stepped forth, everything around savoured of 
 health and freshness. The balmy air, the invigorating 
 breeze, the scent of the heather-bloom, freshened by 
 yesterday's rain, all fell gratefully on the senses, and 
 confirmed our hopes of success. 
 
 No sooner was breakfast over, than without further 
 delay our guns were carefully examined, and we set 
 out. Three-quarters of an hour brought us to a 
 heather-clad " kuowe," whence we had a viewinto Cohr- 
 an-dhu. Here, lying at full length, we took out our
 
 138 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 glasses, and examined the bottom and sides of the 
 corrie. For some time nothing -was to be seen ; but at 
 length three deer were detected feeding their way up 
 the brae towards the Bealloch Mohr. Unfortunately 
 they were approaching " the march ; " consequently it 
 was of little use to follow him, until we should see 
 whether they crossed it or not. At length the matter 
 was decided, as one by one they rose above the horizon 
 stood out distinctly into the sky, and then passing the 
 boundary, placed themselves for to-day at least, beyond 
 the reach of our bullets. 
 
 We now struck off to the left across a stretch of 
 moorland, for a glen buried among huge rocks and 
 crags, where Gillespie told us the deer frequently 
 rested between their morning and midday feeds. After 
 a pause of some minutes at the head of the glen, for 
 the purpose of reconnoitring, Gillespie descried a large 
 stag, but at so great a distance, that not even with the 
 aid of my telescope could I make him out distinctly. 
 His position, however, was so very unfavourable for 
 stalking, that the fox-hunter suggested, as our only 
 chance, that we should ^take a wide circuit, so as to 
 come in upon the animal, by the course of a burn, 
 taking advantage of several masses of rock conveniently 
 scattered about the ground as to hide our approach. 
 Accordingly, as this seemed the only plan likely to 
 succeed, we proceeded without further loss of time to 
 put it into execution. But the circuit we had to take 
 proved much longer than we had anticipated ; and after 
 three miles of incessant climbing and running, we were 
 scarcely nearer our object than at first. Soon however 
 we had the wind in our teeth, and then altering our 
 course began the approach in good earnest. As we 
 were out of eight for some distance there was no need 
 of caution, but presently we had to move with the
 
 THE STALK. 139 
 
 greatest circumspection and vigilance ; pausing con- 
 tinually, to see exactly where to go next, and watching 
 lest the deer, having changed his position, should sud- 
 denly come in sight and discover us. 
 
 Whilst occupied in this way, and running forward 
 across an open bit of ground, a sudden movement of 
 Gillespie's brought us all to our knees ; and slowly 
 raising our heads, we beheld three deer, a calf, a hind, 
 and a stag, feeding leisurely and unsuspiciously, 
 rather less than a quarter of a mile to our front. 
 
 We now paused to recover breath, and make sure 
 that the deer were not alarmed. After sitting for a 
 few moments, we again looked up, and still they were 
 evidently unsuspicious of our vicinity. Their heads 
 were all turned away, and the stag's wide antlers were 
 visible projecting beyond his haunches on either side, 
 as he slowly grazed along. Deer generally feed down 
 the wind, an arrangement by which they can scent 
 everything in the rear, while their acute vision detects 
 everything to the front. On the present occasion, 
 however, this order was reversed, and the deer com- 
 pletely off their guard, which gave us a great advantage. 
 The stag having a fine head, we cast to the winds all 
 thoughts of the previous object of our manoeuvres, and 
 proceeded to stalk the game before us. 
 
 The ground being too open to admit of an easy 
 approach, we commenced operations by creeping 
 slowly forward on our hands and knees. But our 
 progress, though slow, was sure; and we found our- 
 selves gaining ground without detection. At length 
 when almost within shot, and with our guns cocked, 
 prepared for immediate action, Gillespie, who was 
 creeping just in advance of me, suddenly paused, and 
 touching me on the shoulder, pointed significantly to 
 the right; there to our utter confusion and disappoint-
 
 140 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 ment, was a fine stag within eighty yards of us, 
 standing on a projecting rock, and staring at us iu 
 astonishment ; but before a gun could be brought to 
 bear upon him, he had disappeared behind the rock 
 and was safe. Of course the three deer which we 
 were stalking, instantly took the alarm, and made off 
 uninjured. We now ran forward to see what we 
 could of the vanished game ; and on mounting the 
 rock behind which the stag had disappeared, we saw a 
 large herd, going away at full gallop. They were 
 joined, just after we caught sight of them, by a large 
 stag and some young deer coming up from the lower 
 ground in front. The large stag Grillespie immediately 
 pronounced to be the one which we had previously 
 seen lying alone, and which we were about to stalk 
 when we came in view of those feeding together. 
 
 This was provoking enough. It was evident that 
 the whole herd were now thoroughly alarmed, and no 
 prospect of our coming near them again to-day. 
 However, there was no help for it ; and disappointed 
 and dispirited though we were, we lost no time in 
 making the best we could of a bad case. Having, 
 therefore, watched the fast-receding herd until they 
 became lost in the dim distance, and Gillespie with 
 his telescope had made out the ground for which they 
 were aiming, we started, at his suggestion, to examine 
 a fresh region, where there was a likelihood of finding 
 game which had not yet been disturbed. 
 
 After walking for upwards of an hour, we reached a 
 sheltered hollow, overhung by a range of cliffs of 
 moderate height. Abounding in tall heather, which 
 afforded a warm lair for the deer, and intersected by a 
 small rocky stream, it was altogether a very likely 
 spot ; and Gillespie made his dispositions accordingly. 
 I was to be located at a pass by which the deer usually
 
 STAG WOUNDED. 141 
 
 took their departure ; Walter was to creep down to a 
 projecting rock, whence he might secure a shot, should 
 there be anything lying under the cliff; while Gillespie 
 was to survey the glen from a third position. Every- 
 thing being thus settled, we started for our several 
 posts. 
 
 Having reached the pass, which I found not more 
 than fifty yards wide, so that, should the deer come 
 that way, I could not fail to have a good chance of 
 success, I ensconced myself quietly behind a rock, and 
 waited the result. Having continued here for some 
 time without anything occurring, I began to fear that 
 we were once more disappointed, when my ear suddenly 
 caught the sharp crack of Walter's rifle, followed, after 
 a moment's pause, by a second. 
 
 It was now evident that some game had been found; 
 but whether I was to share in the sport, or not, 
 remained to be seen. At once, however, cocking my 
 gun, I strained my ears, expecting each moment to 
 catch the first sounds of the retreating deer, as they 
 galloped up the steep ascent ; but they came not. At 
 length, satisfied that they must have taken a different 
 route, I left my position, and started with all speed to 
 rejoin Walter. 
 
 Breathless with excitement and exertion, I presently 
 joined my friend, just as he had reloaded his two 
 barrels ; and following with my eye the direction indi- 
 cated by his digit, I perceived four deer two hinds 
 and a stag cantering up the further end of the glen, 
 followed at a considerable interval by a large stag, 
 evidently much disabled, though making immense 
 efforts to keep within sight of his companions. 
 
 Gillespie had surveyed the valley from a point 
 whence he could see all the ground below, except the 
 part lying immediately at the base of the cliff. Dis-
 
 142 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 covering nothing, he then returned to Walter ; and both 
 of them creeping forward, looked cautiously over the 
 very brink of the cliff. Gillespie was taking his ob- 
 servations with all the care of a " canny Scot," slowly 
 advancing his head, inch by inch, over the edge of the 
 rock, when he became aware of a fine pair of antlers, 
 rising from the base of the cliff immediately beneath 
 his position. Without exposing himself any further, 
 he slowly withdrew, and Walter took his place. 
 Scarcely, however, had the latter caught sight of the 
 tips of the horns below, when an old hind stepped for- 
 ward and snuffed the air suspiciously. She was 
 immediately joined by a second hind and two stags ; 
 and now all four stood together, evidently on the alert 
 and uneasy. 
 
 Walter remained perfectly motionless, lest by the 
 least movement he should discover himself to the wary 
 animals. Presently the hinds began to move off ; and 
 as Gillespie said the stags would speedily follow, there 
 seemed to be nothing for it but to fire ; though there- 
 fore the shot would be a long one, and it is always un- 
 certain work to fire down from higher ground, Walter 
 reluctantly took aim and pulled trigger. 
 
 From the sound of the shot, Gillespie was of opinion 
 that one of the stags was wounded ; but neither of 
 them evinced any signs of distress ; Walter therefore 
 again stepped forward, and delivered his second barrel. 
 The deer, though at first puzzled, now seemed to have 
 discovered in which quarter lay the danger, and 
 without further delay made off ; when it was very soon 
 clear that the shots had told, for one of them, dropping 
 behind, was speedily left in the lurch by his uncom- 
 miserating friends. 
 
 It was at this juncture in affairs that I arrived. 
 Walter's two barrels were reloaded ; and, at the
 
 FOLLOWING THE WOUNDED. 143 
 
 imminent peril of our necks, we both scrambled 
 recklessly down the face of the cliff, trusting to the 
 frail support of decaying roots or dry tufts of heather 
 and grass ; until, rather by luck than management, we 
 once more stood on terra firma. Gillespie remained 
 behind, stationed on a high crag, whence he might 
 watch the movements of the deer and signalize to us 
 below. 
 
 At the very instant we sprang forward from the foot 
 of the cliff, the wounded stag disappeared in the burn ; 
 and we hastened forward, hoping to surprise him 
 while still cooling his burning tongue ; but he soon 
 emerged ; and, refreshed by his bath, pursued his 
 course up the brae at so brisk a pace as quickly to 
 leave us far behind, and shortly afterwards turning the 
 angle of a plateau of rock, was lost to view. Still 
 however we hastened on, hoping that he would again 
 grow faint from loss of blood, the traces of which we 
 discovered here and there as we followed in his track. 
 
 On looking round for Gillespie, we saw him 
 descending the face of the cliff, with the speed and 
 agility of a cat ; and presently he overtook us, with 
 the tidings that he had seen the stag lie down, 
 apparently exhausted ; and he undertook to lead us 
 directly to the spot, which he had carefully marked 
 before leaving his post. This was indeed good news. 
 Night was coming on, and we had feared another 
 unsuccessful day ; but now there seemed a good 
 prospect of a fortunate termination to our labours, 
 and under the guidance of our veteran leader we once 
 more pressed eagerly forward. 
 
 Having clambered as silently and expeditiously as 
 possible up the rocky bed of the burn, Gillespie 
 paused for a few minutes to reconnoitre, as we were 
 DOW close upon the spot where the wounded animal
 
 144 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 had lain down. Cautiously lifting his head, he peered 
 through the heather; but nothing was visible. 
 Concluding, therefore, that the deer was lying in a 
 hollow, we cocked our guns, and rose simultaneously 
 above the bank ; but what was our disappointment, on 
 finding that the game had decamped. There remained 
 indeed in the peat soil before us the impression of his 
 body, but that was all ; nor could we discover further 
 traces. A few steps in one direction brought us to 
 the hard rock, in another to deep heather, neither of 
 which afforded us any clue to his movements. As a 
 last resource, we separated, in the hopes that by 
 wandering in different directions, one or other of us 
 might be so fortunate as to cross his path. But no 
 such luck ; the mystery remained unsolved. 
 
 After roaming for some minutes, anxiously searching 
 each hollow and scanning every brae, we were suddenly 
 summoned by a shrill whistle from our guide. On 
 joining him, we received the agreeable tidings that he 
 had discovered four deer, feeding in very favourable 
 ground ; and though reluctant to abandon the pursuit 
 of the wounded deer, to die of its wounds, as it probably 
 would before morning, we gladly agreed to follow 
 Gillespie's suggestion, and again try our fortune. It 
 was now so dusk, that none but the most experienced 
 eye could detect the game, which could not be much 
 less than hah a mile distant. No time was therefore 
 to be lost ; and putting ourselves completely into the 
 hands of the fox-hunter, we commenced what we knew 
 must be the final stalk of the day. 
 
 Gillespie seemed very confident of success, provided 
 only we would implicitly obey his directions, a stipu- 
 lation to which we were only too willing to accede. 
 Promising therefore to imitate his movements, and not
 
 FRESH DEER FOUND. 145 
 
 expose ourselves to view, more than was absolutely 
 necessary, we started. 
 
 For some time we hurried along one behind another 
 in a line ; now running, now creeping on all fours, and 
 occasionally pausing to recover breath, while our guide 
 took an observation from the shelter of a rock or bank. 
 Not a word was spoken ; and we therefore moved for- 
 ward, perfectly uncertain what a moment might bring 
 forth. In this way we had blindly followed our guide 
 for some time, when at length we made a long pause, 
 while he looked cautiously over the cliff in front. 
 From the business-like air with which he performed 
 the operation, I suspected that we must be getting near 
 the game, but was scarcely prepared for his inter- 
 rupting me, as I was just about to speak, with the 
 words, " An ye speak they'll be hearing ye." I very 
 quickly however sprang to my feet, and then he 
 whispered to me that the deer were within shot. It 
 was now arranged that I should creep forward to have 
 the first chance, Walter being close behind, to put in 
 mVfire immediately after. Creeping therefore gently 
 along the rock, I slowly advanced my gun over its 
 edge, and then myself cautiously peered into the hollow 
 below. What a sight greeted my eye ! Within sixty 
 yards were two stags and a couple of hinds, feeding fear- 
 lessly, in total ignorance of our vicinity. It seemed 
 cruel to mar the happiness of such a scene, and yet the 
 opportunity was not to be lost. I aimed at the largest 
 stag, and fired. The effect produced was curious. 
 Confused by the echoes, which rebounded from the 
 rocks in eveiy direction, and utterly uncertain in what 
 quarter the enemy was situated, the four animals 
 rushed together, and stood as though in deep consul- 
 tation, forming a most beautiful group, and still within 
 an easy shot. My ball did not appear to have taken
 
 146 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 effect; aiming therefore a second time at the same 
 animal, and with more care than before, I again fired, 
 and this time the shot told effectually. The poor 
 creature staggered a few paces forward, and then fell to 
 the ground. There was no time however for exul- 
 tation; the other three were still in confusion and 
 dismay, uncertain which way to run: and Walter, 
 stepping forward, fired at the remaining stag. The 
 first barrel wounded ; the second was a failure ; and 
 the stag began to make off at a slow pace, preceded at 
 a short distance by the hinds. 
 
 Meanwhile my gun was reloaded, and leaving Walter 
 to " gralloch " the prostrate animal, I sprang forward 
 in pursuit of the wounded fugitive. 
 
 Elated by success, and animated by hopes of further 
 slaughter, I scarce heeded where I was going. On 
 however I went, in hot pursuit, at one time plunging 
 into a bog, the bottom of which I never reached ; at 
 another, leaping recklessly down the face of a crag ; 
 and more than once wonderfully escaping the fracture 
 of some of my limbs ; until at length, when well-nigh 
 exhausted, and pausing for an instant to recover breath, 
 I found myself approaching a small mountain " tarn," 
 the stag still about two hundred yards ahead. On reach- 
 ing the bank, he took to the water without a pause and 
 swam out, while I stopped to recover myself and 
 watch his movements. The loch was of no great size, 
 and I purposed, having once made out where he was 
 likely to land, to hasten round and meet him. But I 
 was saved further exertion ; for, exhausted by loss of 
 blood, and the prolonged ' struggle, after swimming 
 about one hundred yards into the loch, the poor animal 
 was forced to relinquish his attempt, and return to the 
 shore. Concealing myself therefore behind a rock, I 
 awaited his approach, ready to put an end to his
 
 THE SECOND DEATH. 147 
 
 sufferings, when he should reach the shore. Presently, 
 however, finding himself within his depth, the creature 
 stopped, and though I waited for some time, he did not 
 appear disposed to advance any further ; wearied there- 
 fore of waiting, I put my gun to my shoulder, and 
 resting it steadily on the rock, aimed close to his ear 
 and fired. The ball entered the animal's brain, and 
 falling gently over without a struggle, he floated on his 
 side, a lifeless corpse. 
 
 Thus, in a few moments I had slain one stag, and 
 given the finishing blow to a second. The sun had 
 now sunk below the horizon, the moon was shining 
 brightly over head, and a sharp frost was crisping the 
 heather and grass, while my own clothes were becoming 
 unpleasantly stiff and cold. Reluctant therefore to 
 plunge into the chilly waters of the loch, I left the 
 carcase to float for awhile, and sat myself down, until 
 Walter and Gillespie should arrive. Presently I heard 
 their voices, as they came down the hill, and in a few 
 moments they were at my side, have " gralloched " 
 my stag, and deposited him safely in a snug cleft of the 
 rock, until further assistance in removing it could be 
 procured on the morrow. 
 
 On seeing the second animal dead and floating in the 
 loch, Gillespie gave vent to his "feelings in sundry 
 rapturous expressions and animated gesticulations; 
 then stepping into the water, regardless alike of wet 
 and cold, he quickly brought the body ashore. To drag 
 it to the shelter of a neighbouring cliff, and there cover 
 it with stones and heather, was but the work of a few 
 moments. Then taking a " nip " of whisky all round, 
 we started for the cottage in high spirits and at a brisk 
 pace. Though the day had been long and tiring, and 
 we had yet fully seven miles before us, the walk proved 
 most enjoyable. The night was very beautiful, and the
 
 148 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 whole scene impressive in the extreme. As I passed 
 along, and marked the moonbeams, now dancing in the 
 spray of some mountain torrent, or anon piercing the 
 mist, which rolled like drapery over the loch, I could 
 well understand how the vivid imagination of the Gael, 
 as he lingered in pensive moments among such scenes, 
 had peopled his native hills with a shadowy world ; 
 how the water-wraith, the kelpie, and the fairy had 
 sprung Minerva-like from his brain, and become almost 
 inseparably entwined with his creed. 
 
 We reached the cottage, just as Murdoch, whom we 
 had sent off in the morning to bring a fresh supply of 
 provisions from the Laird's, had arrived. He brought 
 sufficient for the demands of the night and following 
 morning, but no more ; being the bearer of a message, 
 to the effect that our presence was requested at home 
 on the morrow evening, when our host expected his 
 nearest neighbours (who by-the-bye lived sixteen miles 
 off, a short distance in the Highlands) to partake of his 
 hospitality. 
 
 After making a most vigorous onslaught upon this 
 fresh contribution to our larder, we proceeded over a 
 glass of usquebagh golden coloured from its age in 
 the cask to discuss the merits of our day's perform- 
 ance. It was impossible not to admire the unpre- 
 tending yet skilful manner in which the fox-hunter had 
 done his work in the last stalk ; how he had calculated 
 the scud of the wind, the nature of the ground, and all 
 the many other pros and cons which bore upon the 
 issue. 
 
 I believe it has been said by some great military 
 captain, that he owed all his skill in the ready dispo- 
 sition of his forces, and in quickly seizing upon the 
 advantages of any locality, to the days he had spent 
 among the hills in pursuit of their noblest game. And
 
 SCHOOL FOR GENERALSHIP. 149 
 
 where indeed could he find a better school, wherein to 
 acquire, not in theory only, but in practice, the art and 
 highest requirements of generalship ? Nowhere is 
 sagacity more requisite ; nowhere does promptitude in 
 action tell more forcibly on the result, or fertility of 
 resource more constantly bring its reward. To scan at 
 a glance the several features of the ground before him, 
 to mark the windings of each burn, the sweep of every 
 brae, or the bearings of every undulation, and so to 
 form his plans, without previous opportunity for con- 
 sideration, so, as it were, to play the cards he holds as 
 will best tell upon the result, this is the deer-stalker's 
 constant occupation ; this the exercise to which he 
 devotes his deepest thoughts and highest energies. 
 
 Friday^ a fine day, though rather too windy, 
 Murdoch is despatched home, to procure additional 
 hands, to assist in the conveyance of the slaughtered 
 deer. We are in a district too hilly to admit of the use 
 of either vehicle or cattle, and accordingly the only 
 mode of transporting the game to the larder, when once 
 slaughtered, is across the brawny shoulders of a High- 
 lander. Now, a good-sized stag is no slight burden ; I 
 speak by conjecture, but I should imagine that the 
 weight of either of the two killed yesterday, could not 
 have been less than fifteen or sixteen stone. It is there- 
 fore beyond the powers of any one ordinary man to 
 carry such a load some thirteen or fourteen miles, over 
 ground too rugged to be traversed at any time by any 
 but the powerful and athletic. 
 
 Murdoch then is dismissed on his errand ; while 
 Gillespie, Walter, and I start immediately after an 
 early breakfast, to search for the wounded stag, which 
 disappeared so mysteriously yesterday. 
 
 For two hours we pursued our way without incident. 
 At length a mountain hare crossed our path, having
 
 150 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 already partially acquired its winter coat of white ; and 
 as the agile animal bounded up the hill-side to our 
 right, springing from rock to rock, it more resembled a 
 tiny flake of snow, rising to the clouds which capped 
 the summits above, than a living thing of earth. 
 
 Gillespie shrewdly remarked that the creature " wad 
 na ha been ganging that gait," unless something else 
 had been on the move to alarm it ; and accordingly we 
 soon discovered two hinds and a stag going away to our 
 left. Had we been even commonly vigilant, we 
 might have had a very fair opportunity for stalking ; 
 but the deer seldom frequenting that part of the ground 
 we had crossed it carelessly, and exposed ourselves to 
 view, when concealment would have cost us little more 
 trouble. We now soon reached the scene of yesterday's 
 adventure ; but though we left not a glen or hollow 
 unexplored, though we followed the course of every 
 burn, and visited every spot where the animal could 
 have sought shelter, not a trace of him could we dis- 
 cover. In this manner the morning slipped away. 
 The ground had been so thoroughly disturbed yester- 
 day that not a deer was to be seen ; and it was not till 
 two o'clock that we discovered three feeding, but at so 
 great a distance and in such difficult ground, that it 
 would require two hours to stalk them ; and as we had 
 a walk of not less than fourteen or fifteen miles 
 between us and home, that was out of the question. 
 Accordingly, seeing that further sport for to-day at 
 least, was not to be had, we started for the Laird's, 
 where, after a smart walk of four hours, over ground 
 that would try to the utmost most southron nerves, we 
 arrived in time for a hearty welcome, a hospitable 
 meal, and pleasant company.
 
 FISHING EXCURSION. 151 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Fishing Excursion. Mountain Loch. Salt Loch. The Otter. High- 
 land Wedding. Benefits of Clanship. Omne solum patria. 
 Highland Dances. Rorie "the Post." Curious Custom. Night 
 Scenes and Meditations. 
 
 A FEW days subsequent to the events recorded in the 
 last chapter, we went on a fishing expedition, to a loch 
 situated at a considerable height among the hills, 
 where the trout were said to be both remarkably fine in 
 size and choice in flavour. As it was late in the season 
 very good sport was not to be expected, but as a small 
 boat had been conveyed to the loch at no slight trouble, 
 we thought it best to seize the opportunity for a little 
 pleasing variety in our amusements. The oft-men- 
 tioned trap, with a pair of Highland ponies, served us 
 in good stead over the first six miles of our journey. 
 There we put up our cattle at the melancholy skeleton of 
 what had once been a small wayside inn, rejoicing in 
 the name of " The Argyle Arms," and which as a jolly 
 public had held out its sign, glorying in all the 
 glitter of heraldry, ere the increased demand for deer- 
 forests and grouse-preserves or extensive sheep-walks 
 had depopulated this along with many another district 
 once teeming with inhabitants, and transplanted happy 
 hearts and loyal spirits to pine in distant and ungenial 
 climes. Though many was the gallon of usquebagh 
 which had been drunk by its social hearth ; though its 
 walls had often echoed to the drone of the piper, and 
 its floors to the stamp of the Highland fling, no hostess 
 now welcomed us at the door, and as we stood in the 
 deserted rooms, no glass in the windows sheltered us
 
 152 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 from the passing gust. Though there were two small 
 hovels near at hand, still tenanted, a wren twittering in 
 the half fallen chimney was the sole lingering inhab- 
 itant of the house itself, and our ponies only fed on 
 the corn we had ourselves brought for them. 
 
 Leaving, however, this melancholy scene and its sad 
 associations behind us, we soon forgot them, as we 
 climbed the mountain-side, and drank in the invigo- 
 rating breeze, which played about the rocky pass 
 leading to the loch, which was to be the scene of the 
 day's amusement. An hour's labour brought us to 
 the spot, where the boat lay buried in heather, to 
 shield it from the rays of the sun. With the aid of 
 Donald, who had accompanied us, to carry provisions 
 and make himself generally useful, the little skiff was 
 soon launched upon the curling waters, and we began 
 operations. 
 
 Walter and Donald took the boat, and pulling across 
 the loch, proceeded to let out a long line, having 
 attached to it, at intervals of three or four yards, a 
 number of hooks baited with worm. Meanwhile I 
 wandered round the shore with a light rod, and tried 
 my luck with the red hackle and a black gnat. The 
 sun was however too powerful ; and though occasion- 
 ally a good fish cautiously drew near and inspected my 
 fly, only two or three small ones were tempted to try 
 its merits, and they shortly found their way into my 
 creel. At length the line, now fully baited and let out, 
 was left suspended from sundry floats, made of small 
 bundles of sedge ; and entering the boat, I proceeded 
 to try the eflect of the fly in the deep water, further 
 from the shore. Still, however, only small fish were to 
 be had ; and after patiently lashing the loch for upwards 
 of an hour, I again landed, and as an amusement,
 
 SKETCHING. 153 
 
 commenced a sketch of the spot, which was very 
 picturesque. 
 
 Meanwhile Walter and Donald took up the baited 
 line; and, judging by the noise they made over the 
 occupation, the enjoyment must have been rare indeed. 
 Rowing slowly along the line, wherever they found a 
 fish hooked, it was transferred to the boat, and the 
 hook baited afresh. Occasionally as they approached 
 a victim, of size rather larger than ordinary, there was 
 a great commotion and splashing ; and more than once 
 as the two, in their hurry to seize the prize, rushed to 
 the same side of the boat, the little vessel was within 
 an inch of being capsized, crew, cargo, and all ; where- 
 upon there arose a peal of laughter, waking the echoes 
 of the hills around, and rousing the grouse in their 
 heathery beds. 
 
 While sitting occupied on my sketch, or watching 
 the party in the boat, my attention was attracted by a 
 sound somewhat resembling the bark of a dog, which 
 seemed gradually approaching from behind. I looked 
 round, expecting to see some shepherd making his 
 appearance over the rising ground to my rear ; but 
 nothing presented itself. In another moment the same 
 sound was heard again, this time immediately overhead 
 and on looking up I at once recognised the author of 
 it, in a noble eagle, sailing majestically along, almost 
 within shot, the very picture of proud indifference and 
 kingly dignity. I watched the stately bird, as he winged 
 his way towards his throne, in the storm-battered 
 heights of a mountain, five or six miles distant ; and 
 then packing up my sketching materials, proceeded to 
 join my companions, who were now making for the 
 shore, bent on discussing the viands which Donald had 
 brought for our consumption. 
 
 Though the season was far advanced, the air was
 
 154 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 still mild ; and indeed in the sheltered spot which we 
 selected, a bosky " neuk," at the head of a tiny inlet, 
 lying on my back, beneath a sun pouring down his rays 
 through a cloudless sky, I could have fancied it still 
 the height of summer. 
 
 In this manner a pleasant hour or more was passed ; 
 and then as the sun began to decline in the west, 
 observing that the fish were dimpling the surface of the 
 loch, apparently in considerable numbers, I once more 
 resumed my rod, and this time with more success. 
 Taking my stand on the extreme point of a little rocky 
 promontory, jutting out into the deeper water, I cast 
 my flies out as far as possible ; and now the chief 
 difficulty arose, not from the scarcity of the fish but 
 from their numbers, as they quite jostled each other 
 about the hook in jealous rivalry. In this way several 
 were pricked, or being imperfectly hooked made their 
 escape ; not a few of them, however, were secured. I 
 seemed indeed, from the number of rises, to have fallen 
 in with a large shoal, and for upwards of an hour the 
 sport was excellent. At the expiration of that time, as 
 the sun was now set, and we had some distance to 
 journey, and moreover the fish were becoming wary 
 and difficult to catch, I put up my tackle, and pouring 
 the contents of my creel on the ground, counted thirty- 
 two fish, most of them, as I conjectured, above half a 
 pound, three between two and three pounds, and one, 
 a fine fellow, who could not weigh much under four 
 pounds. 
 
 On joining Walter, -I found that the line had pro- 
 duced about the same number as the rod ; his fish how- 
 ever averaging a greater size than mine, though none 
 of them quite equalled my best. 
 
 By the time our tackle, etc., were stowed away, and 
 the boat drawn up and once more shrouded in heather,
 
 THE SALT LOCH. 155 
 
 night had thrown her sable mantle over the moun- 
 tains, and we found travelling over the rugged ground 
 difficult, and the somewhat steep descent to the inn 
 attended even with some danger. Twice I narrowly- 
 escaped being precipitated down a fall of several feet, 
 and before we gained the * Argyle Arms,' had fathomed 
 the miry depths of more than one peat-bog. We 
 reached home however without further incident, having 
 had a very pleasant day, and though not sport of the 
 highest order, yet good as the season of the year could 
 warrant us in expecting. 
 
 Of two expeditions in quest of sport among the roe- 
 deer, which came off shortly after the above, I shall 
 not pause to speak, as they were attended by no 
 success. 
 
 The following is the description of an excursion to a 
 low-lying loch, into which the sea found its way at the 
 highest tides, thus making the water almost as salt as 
 that of the sea itself; and bringing a periodical im- 
 portation of sea-trout as well as herrings ; the former 
 of which sometimes afforded excellent sport, while the 
 latter served chiefly as food to the merganser, and 
 other varieties of waterfowl. 
 
 Here, having no boat, we were forced to fish from 
 the shore, and the exuberant crop of weeds which ex- 
 tended round the loch proved a great hindrance to 
 sport. No sooner was a fish hooked, than, darting 
 down into the tangled forest below, he left the hook 
 clinging to some stubborn water-plant, from which it 
 was with difficulty extricated. Though therefore we 
 wandered round the shore, occasionally catching a 
 small fish, all the larger ones made their escape, 
 frequently causing the loss of the fly. And soon tiring 
 of such tame amusement, we put up our tackle and were 
 about to start for home, when Donald discovered,
 
 156 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 carefully concealed beneath the heather, a well-known 
 contrivance for fishing, belonging no doubt, to some of 
 the shepherds, and yclept, from its deadly effects, the 
 otter." 
 
 As my reader is doubtless unacquainted with this, 
 one of the most effective weapons of the Highlander for 
 securing his daily meal, I will devote a few lines to a 
 description of it. It consists of a small board, fastened 
 to a string, in the same manner and on the same 
 principle as that of the common kite, with which we 
 entertained our boyhood, so that when the string is 
 pulled by a person walking along the shore, the board, 
 being previously thrown into the water, darts out to the 
 furthest distance allowed by the string ; and as the 
 walker advances along the shore, the " otter " traces out 
 a parallel path through the water. To this board we 
 attached a number of hooks, baited with fly or worm, 
 according to the day, the fish, or the locality ; and to 
 this simple contrivance, there being no fisherman 
 visible to create alarm, the best and most wary fish 
 frequently become victims. 
 
 The otter then, thus opportunely discovered, was 
 soon armed with its full complement of hooks, and 
 a place being selected where the weeds least obstructed 
 the passage, it was thrown out, and once beyond the 
 range of the weeds, started steadily on its experimental 
 voyage. 
 
 We had not watched its progress long, when a 
 sudden dash, followed by no slight commotion in the 
 water, told that a fair-sized fish had been hooked. 
 Nothing deterred however by the warning thus afforded 
 them, others speedily followed the example, and ere 
 long almost every hook carried its fish. When, taking 
 advantage of the first opening in the weeds, we drew the 
 otter ashore, and along with it ten fish of various sizes
 
 HIGHLAND WEDDING. 157 
 
 and weights, from four or five ounces up to a couple of 
 pounds. This process repeated thrice, we started for 
 home, with rather more than thirty fish, as the joint 
 production of rod and otter. 
 
 The incident I now purpose recording, though not in 
 any way associated with sport, is nevertheless of no 
 small interest from its peculiar character, being an 
 example of the mode in which a wedding and its 
 festivities are commonly celebrated in the Highlands. 
 The parties concerned were, as might be presumed, of 
 a humble rank in life, the bride being the daughter of 
 a shepherd on the Laird's farm, and the bridegroom 
 himself another member of the same corps. 
 
 There being no minister or kirk within sixteen 
 miles, a species of compromise was made between the 
 two parties, that dignitary undertaking to meet the 
 wedding couple and their friends halfway, and to 
 perform the ceremony in a cottage conveniently situated 
 by the roadside. 
 
 On occasions of this kind open house is kept, 
 frequently for several days, and the capacities of every 
 cottage in the immediate vicinity are tested to the 
 utmost, the invitations being, by traditionary custom, 
 general, and the number of guests, unlimited. 
 
 The company having collected at an early hour, set 
 out on their walk of eight miles, to the number of about 
 a score, and having met their minister at the appointed 
 place, had the important rite performed, and then, 
 in the most business-like manner, turned their faces 
 homewards. Halfway back however a ferry had to be 
 crossed ; and as the ferryman, an old friend, could not 
 leave his post to join in the festivities at home, what 
 more neighbourly than to stay and dance with him 
 there ? At once therefore forming into couples, they 
 ranged themselves on the deck of the ferry-barge, and 
 
 ii
 
 158 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 while two or three of the men took it by turns to chant, 
 thus with their mouths alone performing the functions 
 of both pipe and piper, the rest commenced the dance 
 in the most determined manner. Highland flings were 
 succeeded by reels, and reels in turn made way for the 
 strathspey, until between the warmth of a blazing sun, 
 and the effect of their own exertions, they had had 
 enough of it. Whereupon the journey home was 
 resumed, after the dancing had been kept up with 
 conscientious regularity and unflagging spirit for two 
 good hours. 
 
 Arrived at home, their numbers being now increased 
 by the accession of new comers, the whole party 
 partook of the shepherd's hospitality ; and after but a 
 few moments' rest, the dancing recommenced with 
 renewed spirit, to be kept up almost without interrup- 
 tion till the morrow's dawn. Such were the proceed- 
 ings of the day as related to me by others; those 
 of the evening and night I for the most part witnessed 
 myself, and, as I witnessed, shall relate them. 
 
 The bride's mother having formerly been an old and 
 valued servant in the Laird's establishment, her son 
 Sandy was sent up to request, as a special favour, that 
 we would attend the party in the evening, that the 
 Southrons might witness the manner in which a High- 
 land wedding was conducted, an opportunity of which 
 I was by no means loth to take advantage. The 
 invitation therefore was accepted, and we promised to 
 vouchsafe our august presence. 
 
 Arriving about eight o'clock, we were ushered into 
 what passed on the occassion for the banquet-room, 
 a small apartment opened to the smoke-blackened 
 rafters of the roof, and occupied by one large four-post 
 bed. Two tables were so placed so as to form one long 
 festive-board, extending down the middle of the room ;
 
 HIGHLAND WEDDING. 159 
 
 long planks placed on rough blocks of stone, forming 
 the seats. The housewife, a pleasant exception to the 
 generality of her class in Scotland, being of a very 
 neat and cleanly appearance, welcomed us with smiles, 
 prophetic of the best cheer her house could afford, and 
 I was placed in the post of honour, at the head of the 
 table. 
 
 Everything about us partook of the cleanliness of the 
 presiding genius of the place, and the whole arrange- 
 ment appeared most appropriate. We were first in- 
 vited to "a wee drop o' whisky," which we took "neat," 
 in small glasses. Tea was then brought in by a comely 
 sister of the bride, and the most select of the guests 
 invited to join us. To a description of these I must 
 devote a few lines. 
 
 First came the bride herself. Though not remark- 
 able for any great beauty, her downcast countenance 
 and diffident manner showed a painful consciousness 
 that she was, for the time being, the cynosure of 
 all eyes, a distinction to which she was evidently 
 quite unaccustomed. I was subsequently however in- 
 formed, that on such occasions generally it is deemed 
 unbecoming in a bride to raise her eyes from the 
 ground, or her head from her breast. 
 
 The next who entered was the son of a respectable 
 merchant from the neighbouring village (distant sixteen 
 miles) ; he was described to me as a " cannie laddie," 
 who might have turned his hand to anything, but 
 for an unfortunate tendency to roaming habits, which 
 led him to attend all the weddings in the country-side, 
 and militated against application to any regular calling. 
 His conversation certainly surprised me, exhibiting a 
 degree of taste and development of the understanding 
 which 1 have never met with in one of the same rank 
 on our side the border.
 
 160 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 The third individual whom I shall mention, as 
 bearing upon a circumstance almost peculiar to Scot- 
 land and the Scotch, was a man of a fine open 
 countenance, beaming with intelligence as well as good- 
 nature. Though himself only a shepherd, his father 
 had been a worthy minister of the established Church, 
 who, dying at an early age, had left his children totally 
 unprovided for, and they accordingly, forced to shift 
 for themselves as best they could, were content with 
 such vocations as were honest and respectable, though 
 not elevated. 
 
 It seems one of the peculiar features of the Scotch 
 as a nation, that you constantly meet even in the 
 lowest ranks, with persons whose relatives, and fre- 
 quently near relatives, are or have been in a con- 
 siderably higher walk in life. The causes of this are 
 not difficult to trace. The old feelings of clanship, 
 though now for the most part quite in abeyance, have 
 not only stamped their impression on the face of 
 society, but wormed their way deep into its innermost 
 workings. High and low have always been closely 
 knit together. The lowest retainer once called his 
 chief his kinsman ; and not unfrequently the future 
 chieftain was brought up as foster-brother with the son 
 of one of the humblest among his father's followers. 
 Thus it came to pass that there did not exist that im- 
 measurable distance, that insuperable barrier, between 
 those of gentle blood and the low-born which obtains 
 in England. Thrown together in their daily sports 
 and occupations, taught by constant warfare mutually 
 to value each other's goodwill and services, the highest 
 and the lowest might be seen mixing freely together, 
 and even bound by the strongest ties of friendship and 
 affection. Now all this could not be without its effect ; 
 and, though as English manners and English feelings
 
 BENEFITS OF CLANSHIP. 161 
 
 gain ground, a gradual change will come over the 
 features of the picture, yet this will |,be one of the last 
 points to fade in the dissolving view. Nor indeed 
 is the change one to be desired, for from this constant 
 and unconstrained intercourse of the different ranks 
 has arisen an inborn propriety of manner, and an easy 
 self-possession in the presence of his superiors, still 
 conspicuous in the Highlander, and which gives him a 
 decided advantage over the clownish shyness of the 
 peasantry of England. 
 
 I remember remarking this particularly on a late 
 occasion, when in a small town in the Highlands, I 
 witnessed the population, high and low, mingling in 
 their games (which they did almost every evening) on a 
 piece of ground thrown open to them by one of the 
 first noblemen in the country, who himself joined, 
 heart and soul, in the diversions of his dependants. 
 Though no respect was wanting as he moved among 
 them, yet there was none of that open-mouthed gazing 
 or that awe-stricken awkwardness which would have 
 shown itself in an English crowd under similar circum- 
 stances. All was natural, easy, and unconstrained, 
 and never did I witness anything which realised to my 
 mind so completely the state of things in former days, 
 when the chieftain was not only the ruler, but the 
 friend and protector of all in his clan. 
 
 Such was the school in which those habits and 
 feelings were formed which the Highlander of the 
 present day still inherits. And this inborn self-pos- 
 session tends greatly to the advantage of the people 
 who are so constituted. Hence it is that a Scotchman, 
 put him where you will, almost invariably " falls on his 
 legs." Does adversity overtake him? in the hour of 
 need he can look around him with composure, and, 
 influenced by no feelings of caste, can calmly mould
 
 162 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 himself to circumstances, turn to any calling which 
 may seem to him best, and, provided it be an honest 
 one, he loses nothing in his own eyes or those of 
 others. The son of a minister may keep sheep upon 
 the hills, and though his flock come of a different race 
 from that of his father, he need not feel out of his 
 element. And scarcely is there a part of the globe 
 where this does not find corroboration. " From sun- 
 burnt south to icy north," the sons of Caledonia are to 
 be found carving out their fortunes, making themselves 
 at home in the midst of difficulties, feathering their 
 nests in the face of hardship, and withal playing no 
 unimportant part in the great game of life. 
 
 " Ccelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currant," 
 
 was a true saying of Flaccus ; and go where you will, 
 you will find it verified in the Scot, ever conspicuous 
 for the same composed and cautious, yet sagacious, 
 bold, and enterprising nature. 
 
 Sandy Macintosh, the minister's son, had his parallel 
 in the bride herself, whose mother was the niece of 
 a quondam captain in the Navy. 
 
 But I must now once more to my story, which 
 has been interrupted too long by this digression. 
 
 Our tea over, which had been attended by oniy 
 a few, we were ushered into the ball-room, if that name 
 can appropriately be assigned to a chamber smaller than 
 the one already described, and lit up by two or three 
 farthing dips. Here the scene was amusing, and to me 
 quite new. Huddled up in one corner of the room 
 were all the ladies, the gentlemen standing in the door- 
 way, or on the fireless hearth, their heads halfway up 
 the capacious and projecting chimney, or sitting on a 
 large box by the wall. As we entered, a reel was 
 about to begin ; but though there were upwards of
 
 HIGHLAND DANCING. 163 
 
 thirty people assembled, no more than four could find 
 room to dance comfortably at once. At weddings 
 generally a piper is engaged, and as all present are 
 expected to contribute towards paying him, he not 
 unfrequently makes a good day's work of it. Here 
 however no piper could be had, the district not sup- 
 porting one, and his place was therefore filled by a 
 self-taught youthful fiddler, whose physiognomy, most 
 expressive of musical taste, was not belied by the skill 
 with which he drew the tones from his crazy in- 
 strument. No sooner did Willy commence scraping at 
 his chords than there was a general rush towards 
 the ladies ; all however by tacit consent fell back save 
 two, who were allowed to draw their partners from the 
 assembled fair. And the four taking their stand in the 
 ceutre of the room, music struck up and dancing 
 began. The exact uniformity of time kept by all was 
 most remarkable. Though going through their various 
 steps with the most scrupulous care, all seemed to 
 move with perfect ease, and yet so good and true were 
 their ears, that their every motion, to the very clinking 
 of their heels, corresponded with the exactness of clock-' 
 work. 
 
 The two men who first stood up were fine specimens 
 of the Highlander. Though in years but striplings, 
 they were both above six feet in height, with shoulders 
 broad and stalwart in proportion ; and when they 
 warmed with the excitement, and each wildly tossed 
 one arm in the air, while with the other he whirled 
 round a winsome lassie, they presented a picture worthy 
 the canvass of a master. On the music ceasing, the 
 reel terminated, and there was a general call for Rorie. 
 Who Rorie was I of course was ignorant ; but I was 
 not destined to remain long in the dark; for very 
 speedily a small dingy object rolled himself out of a
 
 164 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 corner dingy as himself, and to my surprise and 
 no small annoyance, I recognised in the quaint little 
 being before me none other than our postman, who 
 should have been several miles further on his road 
 with our letters, to meet the southward mail. Unable, 
 however, miscreant that he was, to resist the temptation 
 of the wedding festivities, he had laid aside for the 
 nonce the character of postman, and left the letter-bags 
 to shift for themselves, utterly regardless of the fact 
 that they would now be too late for the present mail, 
 and consequently delayed three days longer, to await 
 the departure of the next. Rorie's misdeeds however 
 had long been dealt with too leniently ; and though he 
 rather quailed in our presence, he seemed resolved 
 to put the best face on the matter, and brave it out. 
 His travelling costume being somewhat of the coarsest, 
 he had tried to improve his personal appearance by 
 discarding for the evening a huge weather-proof pilot- 
 coat, originally intended for a person of a much larger 
 mould, with boots to match, and now he stood forth in 
 blue shirt-sleeves, and stockings whose primary hue 
 was lost amid the many-coloured patches with which 
 he had striven to make them last their time. Though 
 once, as he assured us, a fine-looking youth and a 
 private in the gallant 93rd, he was now considerably 
 under five feet, and being upwards of sixty, his grizzled 
 head and scanty attire contrasted forcibly with the 
 merry countenance, lit up as it was by a broad grin 
 extending nearly from ear to ear. His appearance was 
 greeted with applause and laughter. For a moment, 
 as he stood in the centre of the floor, the very picture 
 of decrepit old age, I wondered how such a one could be 
 expected to dance; but as the music struck up, his 
 little figure became instantly endowed with a wonderful 
 agility and animation. He tossed his arms energetically
 
 FESTIVITIES CONTINUED. 165 
 
 about, crossed his legs, and then threw them out in 
 opposite directions, shuffled and shook, clashed his 
 heels together, sprang up into the air, and with 
 marvellous rapidity threw himself into every con- 
 ceivable attitude, without once pausing for breath, and 
 all the while keeping most accurate time with the 
 music. This continued for some moments, during 
 which the company was convulsed with laughter, 
 though Rorie himself appeared lost to all around him, 
 carried back possibly to the happy days of his youth, 
 now passed away for ever. 
 
 But at length, when his flushed countenance and 
 loud breathing plainly declared that the old man 
 was becoming exhausted, the music ceased, and the 
 little fellow making his bow to the assembled company, 
 withdrew once more to his dingy corner, and there 
 squatting down, lit up his pipe, to look on with 
 complacency as others stepped forward. On went the 
 dance, sometimes four, sometimes six, or even eight 
 huddled together, where there was scarce space for 
 them to turn round; and the company instead of 
 flagging as the hours passed by, only waxed the more 
 eager and impetuous, until the contagion fairly spread 
 to myself, and roused into emulation by the universal 
 example before me, I ventured to exhibit my powers in 
 a " Reel o' Tulloch." Finding myself however fairly 
 eclipsed, for an English ballroom is no place to 
 acquire Scotch dances, I was not sorry to lead my 
 partner back to the bevy in the corner, and did not 
 repeat the experiment, though Walter danced in a 
 most meritorious fashion whenever time or space could 
 be found. 
 
 About midnight the select few were requested to 
 partake of a supper in the adjoining apartment. We 
 from the Laird's, as the most distinguished, sat at the
 
 166 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 head of the board ; I, as a stranger taking the post of 
 honour. We were shortly joined by .the bride on one 
 side of the table, and the bridegroom on the other, and 
 then followed as many of the " profanum vulgus " as 
 could be accommodated with seats. Occupying the 
 position I did, I was informed that it was expected I 
 should toast the bridal pair, a duty which, not being 
 able to express myself in appropriate Gaelic, I per- 
 formed briefly in English, wishing them " a long life 
 and happiness, plenty of chicks, and a warm roost." 
 We then partook of bridecake, which, with the usual 
 ring and sixpence, afforded abundance of merriment. 
 Other toasts followed, interspersed by songs in Gaelic 
 or English, everything being conducted with a pro- 
 priety which would throw into the shade many a similar 
 festivity in polite society. Indeed, save perhaps one 
 or two objectionable expressions let fall by the roud 
 retired " military " Rorie, not a coarse word nor a rude 
 remark was heard to mar the decorum of the evening. 
 
 Toddy having been discussed, no one taking beyond 
 a second glass, and those only small ones, we returned 
 to the ballroom, while others in turn were regaling 
 themselves. For that purpose the musician now 
 absented himself, one or two of the men acting as his 
 substitutes, by " chanting " reels for the others to dance 
 to, preserving the measure and cadence of the bagpipe 
 in a wonderful manner. 
 
 For some time I looked on, entertained by the 
 demure modesty of the maidens, the agility and anima- 
 tion of the men, and the curious musical exhibition. 
 How men could keep up an imitation of the incessant 
 drone of the pipe without any perceptible pause, was 
 a marvel; yet they did so, though the perspiration 
 seemed to ooze through every pore from the exertion, 
 and their countenances became almost livid. Presently,
 
 A CURIOUS CUSTOM. 167 
 
 growing tired of an amusement into which I could not 
 myself fully enter, and hearing that it was not likely to 
 cease till daylight, I quietly took my departure for the 
 Laird's. Subsequently, however, I learnt that by so 
 doing, I had missed the most interesting ceremony of 
 the occasion, a ceremony which, like the Gaelic 
 language itself, from its very nature, appears to bespeak 
 an Eastern origin. 
 
 At a late hour the bride retires to her chamber (on 
 the present occasion a peat-built shed at the end of the 
 cottage), attended by her maidens; and a sufficient 
 time having been allowed her to disrobe, the bride- 
 groom then follows accompanied by his men, who as 
 they assist him in removing his attire, toss into the 
 air each consecutive article of dress, as he casts it off; 
 and all present vie with each other in striving to catch 
 it, success in this being deemed a good omen of 
 peculiar potency. A glass of whiskey is passed round 
 to each of the guests, who then return to the ballroom, 
 and the dancing recommences, to be kept up with the 
 increased spirit till daylight. 
 
 These wedding festivities not unfrequently extend 
 over three or four days in succession; their length 
 indeed depends upon the day of the week on which the 
 marriage takes place, for they are usually continued 
 till the following Sunday, when the newly-married pair 
 attend the kirk together for the first time as man and 
 wife ; and notwithstanding the proverbial propensity 
 for drink among the Scotch generally, in this neigh- 
 bourhood I am told it is seldom that a case of drunken- 
 ness occurs, many of the best dancers and singers, 
 being disciples of Father Mathew. 
 
 Scarcely had I left the scene of merriment, vainly 
 flattering myself that my escape had been unobserved, 
 when I found myself joined by the bride's father, who
 
 168 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 with the well-bred politeness which, so far as my own 
 experience goes, seems to be habitual to the High- 
 lander, offered to attend me home. And though I 
 remonstrated at the proffered attention, he still persisted 
 in accompanying me some distance on the way. 
 
 Though the season was far advanced the air was 
 still so mild, that the shepherd walked by my side 
 without any covering on his head. My road lay along 
 the shores of an arm of the sea. The northern lights 
 were darting through the heavens, and every ray being 
 vividly reflected in the bay sleeping beneath, the effect 
 was singular and impressive. At times it was difficult 
 to distinguish " the march " between sky and water, 
 both elements being in appearance equally irradiated. 
 
 The distance between the cottage and the Laird's 
 was under two miles ; I soon therefore parted from my 
 companion, and reached home, having enjoyed the 
 evening very much. 
 
 The novelty of the thing had afforded entertainment, 
 and I was much pleased with the picture of Highland 
 life and manners which it presented. The primitive 
 simplicity, and yet the absence of all boorish coarse- 
 ness, the innate good-breeding and propriety of 
 manner, were to me a matter of agreeable surprise. 
 The occasional bursts of animation, and wild gestures 
 of the young men, only displayed to me glimpses of 
 that spirit, which has made the Scotch nation what it 
 is, and swollen the page of Britain's history with the 
 deeds of her northern sons.
 
 PRIMITIVE NOMENCLATURE. 169 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Odd Nomenclature. Sport Promiscuous. Antiquities. Nature in 
 Miniature. Mergansers. Excursion to the Hills. Princes of the 
 Air. Anecdotes. Contest with Stag. Death-blow and Remorse. 
 Habits of Deer. Stalking resumed. Unsuccessful Shot. 
 Further Disappointment. Final Shot. Farewell to Scotland. 
 
 THERE is an odd custom prevalent in these primitive 
 regions, anent the names of individuals. Supposing a 
 man to be called by his Christian name, his surname 
 is gradually lost sight of, while his children receive his 
 Christian name as their own surname. Whether this 
 extends so far as the parish-register, I am unable to 
 say ; but it certainly is so in common parlance, and 
 everyday intercourse. For instance, a lad who some- 
 times attends me in my rambles, as a gilly, is the son 
 of Lachlan Ross. Lachlan himself however has long 
 since lost every name but his Christian one, abbre- 
 viated into Lacky; and his son, instead of being 
 Johnny Ross, is Johnny Lacky. Our friend the fox- 
 hunter is a similar instance. His name is Archibald 
 M'Donald; but Gillespie being the Gaelic for Archi- 
 bald, the surname is dropped, and he is always 
 addressed as Gillespie ; while his son, instead of being 
 Donald M'Donald, is Donald Gillespie. This probably 
 is a practice which has grown into use from the diffi- 
 culty of distinguishing individuals where, as used 
 formerly to be the case almost universally, and as is so 
 still in some localities, the same name belongs in 
 common to many different persons, often not connected 
 at all, or only by such remote links as would puzzle 
 any but a Scot to discover.
 
 170 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Since the last accounts, there had been a decided 
 change in the weather, which suddenly became much 
 colder, and gave every promise of an early and 
 severe winter. Even on the low and sheltered ground 
 there was a thin sprinkling of snow lying for the space 
 of a day ; and the exposed heights, within sight from 
 the windows, are still covered with a thin fleecy cap. 
 
 Thus warned that the open season was drawing to its 
 close, we resolved to have one more expedition to the 
 forest, before Walter and I should terminate our 
 campaign and depart for the South. But the day 
 appointed proved too wet, and we were forced to defer 
 the expedition till a favourable change should take 
 place. 
 
 Three days of rain and storm were succeeded by the 
 wished-for improvement; and the weather clearing up 
 in the forenoon, I sallied forth with my gun, attended 
 by the above-named Johnny, to ramble along the rocky 
 shores of the bay. As I reached the beach, a flock of 
 wild-ducks were drifting about like so many tiny boats 
 at anchor, but unfortunately just out of reach. A little 
 further on, a saucy grebe kept diving and sporting on 
 the water, apparently quite indifferent to my presence, 
 though within an easy distance for the gun. Provoked 
 at the cool nonchalance of the little creature, I deter- 
 mined to punish his temerity by a few shot-corns ; but 
 the very instant my gun flashed, the bird with the 
 rapidity of lightning, disappeared beneath the surface, 
 to rise again and continue his gambols, this time at a 
 safer distance. In walking along, I came across two 
 or three more birds of the same kind, but though I 
 watched my opportunity, and aimed with the greatest 
 precision, their wonderful facility in disappearing quite 
 baffled my attempts. 
 
 Presently Johnny informed me, that by turning to
 
 SPORT PROMISCUOUS. 171 
 
 the left, and creeping over a bank, I should command 
 a view over a small salt water loch, where I might very 
 probably get a shot at some one or more of the many 
 waterfowl generally frequenting it, for the sake of the 
 herrings with which it abounded. I took the hint, and 
 slowly working my way over the bank, all the while 
 keeping a sharp look out, at length seated myself 
 behind a grey block of stone ; but not a living thing 
 was visible. I had not, however, sat a couple of 
 minutes in this position, when I was surprised on 
 observing six birds appear on the surface of the water 
 just beneath me. They had evidently been diving for 
 food, and had just emerged for breath. I cautiously 
 placed my gun upon the rock before me ; but so acute 
 was the sight of the birds, that even this slight move- 
 ment did not escape them, and all six rose in a body. 
 No time was to be lost ; in an instant I fired amongst 
 them, and one fell dead. My second barrel followed 
 immediately and a second fell wounded. As both had 
 dropped into the water, I was at a loss how to get 
 either of them, especially the wounded one. But 
 Johnny suggested, that if we sat still, the dead bird 
 would drift ashore, and we might watch the movements 
 of the other. This was soon verified ; for in ten 
 minutes the first bird was lying on the shingle, aud we 
 were watching the second, as he made his way to the 
 opposite shore. Presently he scrambled up the beach, 
 and we started on a circuit, so as to come upon him 
 unawares. Johnny proved a true guide, bringing me 
 to the exact spot ; and as the bird scuttled down to the 
 loch, at onr approach, I fired, and laid him dead just by 
 the water's edge. The two birds proved to be mergan- 
 sers, both drakes, and in most beautiful plumage. 
 Their throats, well stuffed with small herrings, proved 
 what had been their occupation.
 
 172 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 We now waited for some time, hoping that the four 
 birds which had gone away might return to look after 
 their wounded friends ; but they came not, and we 
 resumed our rambles. My attendant presently pointed 
 out to me a spot, where a nephew of the Laird's had 
 lately accomplished a feat, not much less marvellous 
 than the fabulous one of catching a weasel asleep ; for 
 seeing a cormorant standing on the beach, with his 
 head snugly hidden beneath his wing, he crept in upon 
 it without his shoes, and actually seized the bird while 
 still napping. 
 
 A little further on, I sat down among some pinnacle- 
 shaped rocks, rising like so many needles from a small 
 promontory, and amused myself by watching some 
 children fishing for their dinners; the water being 
 a good depth to the very edge of the rock. Having 
 caught upwards of a score, the little urchins took their 
 departure, and left me gazing musingly into the green 
 depths beneath. Johnny soon pointed out a dark 
 object flying towards us, which, on its nearer approach, 
 proved to be a cormorant, bent upon the same errand 
 'as the children who had just left us; the spot being a 
 favourite resort of the kind of fish called " cuddies." 
 We stood motionless, and the bird, ignorant of our 
 proximity, came on, and alighting within a short 
 distance of us, commenced diving for his meal. 
 Though within an easy shot, I could not bring myself 
 to mar its happiness so ruthlessly as to fire. But at 
 length, when within thirty or forty yards, he suddenly 
 caught sight of us, and at once rose into the air, and 
 was suffered to depart without molestation. 
 
 Beyond the promontory lay a quiet little cove, and 
 as we approached a fishing-boat lying upside down 011 
 the beach, a mountain hare,' now almost white, sprang 
 from beneath its cover, and bounded up the cliff. I
 
 SUNDRY ANTIQUITIES. 173 
 
 fired ; but the animal, though much disabled, still 
 struggled on, and, to put an end to its sufferings, we 
 scrambled up the rocks in pursuit. On reaching a 
 birchen copse above the cliff, a long shot secured my 
 hare ; aud pausing by the ruins of a deserted cottage, 
 I began to ponder upon the policy which had bartered 
 the lives of human beings for those of " the beasts that 
 perish," and desolated so many of what were once 
 happy hearths, merely to provide a greater range and 
 fuller security for the grouse, the moorfowl, the deer, 
 or the sheep. While occupied with these thoughts, I 
 remarked that the cottage had been built within what, 
 at first sight, I imagined to be one of the sacred circles 
 of the Druids ; but Johnny informed me that it was 
 one of those objects, so full of interest to the archaeo- 
 logist, as a vestige of an age and generation long since 
 passed away, the original use of which it is difficult to 
 decide, a Pictish tower. 
 
 Forming a circle, about thirty yards in diameter, its 
 wall was nearly two yards in thickness, and though 
 crumbled away all round to the same horizontal level, 
 yet, from the great unevenness of the ground, it was 
 much higher in some parts than in others. Com- 
 posed entirely of blocks of stone, roughly hewn and 
 uncemented by any mortar, on one side, where the 
 ground sloped rapidly away, it still rose to the height 
 of about twenty feet ; and here I could distinguish 
 the traces of an old doorway, a specimen of very simple 
 and unpretending masonry, being a square hole about 
 four feet high, surmounted by a huge triangular block 
 of stone, resting on side-posts roughly cut from the 
 rock. 
 
 Though the first of the kind I had myself seen, 
 Johnny informed me that there were not less than a 
 score more, in better or worse preservation, within the 
 
 12
 
 174 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 boundaries of the Laird's domains. At the distance of 
 but a few miles, he said, there were the remains of 
 one situated in the centre of a large loch; nothing, 
 however, now being left beyond the foundations, 
 and those only visible when the water was very low ; 
 though tradition averred that the tower had been 
 originally built high and dry on an island, which after- 
 wards, from some mysterious cause, had in one night 
 sunk beneath the surface of the waters, never to emerge 
 again. Another erection of the same kind is still; I 
 believe, standing, though in a very dilapidated state, 
 on a solitary rock somewhere off the western coast. 
 Though the spirit of the storm has for centuries 
 sported around it, though many a thousand times 
 embosomed in the billow's rude embrace, the old tower, 
 venerable in decay, still rears its head above the waters, 
 still flings from its crumbling sides the waves that 
 threaten destruction. 
 
 Within a couple of miles of the Laird's house, a 
 small stream falls tinkling down the depths of a bosky 
 ravine, on its way from a mountain loch to the blue 
 waters of the ocean below. The wanderer who climbs 
 his way up its rocky channel, will find more than one 
 of those calm retreats, where nature lies sleeping in 
 miniature. 
 
 Above, the birch and the mountain-ash weave their 
 tangled boughs into a canopy to temper the rays of the 
 sun, within whose grateful shade diminutive waterfalls 
 are leaping over rocks of a size proportionate, clad in 
 a velvet robe of the richest green, bound together by 
 gnarled and knotted roots, and crowned by tufts of 
 heather and foxglove. Dwarf ferns are flinging their 
 long arms athwart the sparkling stream, and with 
 grasses of different sorts are dancing to its music. In 
 one place the water has collected in a pool, its bottom
 
 NATURE IN MINIATURE. 175 
 
 paved with pebbles, and the silvery trout may be seen 
 as they glance through its transparent depths ; depths, 
 pure enough to please the most fastidious nymph that 
 ever bathed her feet by classic fountain, or surveyed 
 her lovely form, mirrored in its translucent waters. 
 In another spot, issuing from a dark-looking hole in 
 the midst of a bed of luxuriant grass, studded over 
 with yellow-flowered water-plants, and hemmed in by 
 a forest of green horsetails and snake-grass, the stream 
 is welling upwards from one of Nature's own aque- 
 ducts, hidden within the bowels of the earth. Thence 
 wending its way silently over the dank herbage, it soon 
 reaches a harder channel, and leaping over rocky 
 barriers in a series of cascades, dances along its down- 
 ward course in a thousand jets and leaps, no two of 
 which are alike. 
 
 Such are one or two of the choicest scenes which 
 Nature unfolds to the votary who seeks her in these 
 her innermost shrines. And in one of these is to be 
 found another specimen of the Pictish masonry. A 
 cleft in the rock forms the entrance into a dark, 
 subterranean passage, which opens into a large vaulted 
 chamber, circular in form, and sufficiently high for a 
 man of moderate dimensions to stand in, without en- 
 dangering his head. The walls are roughly cut, nor are 
 there visible traces of anything which could afford a clue 
 to the purpose for which the cave was intended. A few 
 bones are strewn over the damp floor of rock, but they, 
 doubtless, are the only surviving remains of animals, 
 who in their last solemn hour, have dragged their aged 
 limbs thither, actuated by an instinctive dread, common 
 to most wild animals, of having their death-struggle 
 exposed to the unholy gaze of the world. In all pro- 
 bability it was employed as a place of concealment in 
 the time of danger ; though for security, or as a strong-
 
 176 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 hold, it could never have been depended upon, since a 
 very slight amount of labour could have at any time 
 turned into it the whole waters of the burn ; and thus 
 any who had there sought refuge might have been 
 forced from their sanctuary, or drowned in the cavern. 
 A curious piece of Pictish workmanship, though dif- 
 fering somewhat from the remains already described, 
 was lately discovered quite accidentally, within half a 
 mile of the Laird's house, by some labourers employed 
 in turning up with the spade the rough surface of a 
 piece of waste ground, in order to fit it for cultivation. 
 The curiosity of one of them was aroused, when, on 
 driving his tool into the ground, he felt the soil give 
 way beneath it. He repeated the blow, and this time 
 the earth crumbling away, revealed a dark hole, 
 evidently of some depth. The rest being summoned 
 to the spot, their united labours soon laid bare a large 
 slab of rock, and on the removal of this they discovered 
 a passage about two feet in width and six deep, the 
 sides of which were built up with rough blocks of stone. 
 One of the men now descended, and throwing out with 
 his spade the earth which had fallen in, groped his way 
 along the passage, until he found himself stopped by a 
 wall, of the same rough construction as the sides. The 
 passage was slightly curved, about thirty feet long, and 
 towards the far end grew a little wider as well as 
 deeper. But it contained nothing beyond the little 
 earth which had fallen in from above. For what 
 purpose the place could have been originally destined, 
 I leave others more learned than myself in such 
 matters to decide. Possibly further remains may be 
 found on some future occasion, which will throw more 
 light upon the question; though I believe this is 
 not the only place of the kind which has been 
 discovered.
 
 TO THE FOREST AGAIN. 177 
 
 The top of a rising ground, near at hand, is con- 
 secrated as the last earthly resting-place of some hero 
 of a bygone age, whose name and deeds, unchronicled, 
 have, like himself, become forgotten. But though the 
 tomb itself, rudely constructed out of slabs of rock, 
 never touched by chisel, still remains to tell of the past, 
 the bones which it once contained have long since been 
 scattered to the winds of heaven. 
 
 But " hactenus hcec : " to return to my rambles. 
 After my attendant and I had examined the Celtic 
 tower, and carried on a learned archaeological dis- 
 cussion, in which Johnny had decidedly the best of it, 
 we turned our faces to the hill, and purposing to visit 
 a mountain loch, often frequented by ducks, com- 
 menced the ascent of a very steep brae in the eye of a 
 cutting wind. On the way we flushed five woodcocks, 
 two of which fell to my gun. Just as we reached the 
 crest of the hill, the loch now lying a little before us, a 
 small flock of ducks rose out of reach, warned doubtless 
 by my shot at the last woodcock Crossing the loch, 
 they of course communicated the alarm to every bird 
 there, and I had the mortification of seeing a couple of 
 wild geese, and some more ducks, go off in the wake of 
 the first flock. The loch being now cleared, with the 
 exception of a few gulls and coots, not worth their salt, 
 we turned our steps homewards, and arrived there just 
 as night closed in upon us. 
 
 I now extract from my Diary. 
 
 Tuesday. There was again a slight fall of snow in the 
 night, but by our breakfast-hour all traces of it had 
 disappeared, except on the highest hills ; and though 
 a few ominous clouds were still hovering about, the 
 day, on the whole, seemed fair and bright. As our 
 departure for the South could not be delayed beyond 
 the end of the week, we resolved to seize the present
 
 178 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 opportunity, and start for the hills at once. Provisions 
 had been in readiness for some days, and in less than 
 an hour after breakfast Walter and I were off with the 
 trap and ponies for the fox-hunter's cottage. 
 
 Finding him at home, we apportioned out the 
 baggage into three lots, as nearly equal as possible ; 
 and each bracing on his burden, we set off across the 
 moors for the shooting-cottage, in the forest. Our 
 burdens proving by no means light, we rather shrank 
 from facing the precipitous side of Ben-Fuoghlin, and 
 kept along the bottom of the strath, a route less 
 fatiguing though rather longer. After we had walked 
 about three miles, and had come to the foot of the 
 lofty Creag-an-Islair (the Craig of the Eagle), the sky 
 clouded over, and a heavy bank of snow came floating 
 over the top of the hill to our right, leaving a thin 
 fleecy veil on the hillside, reaching down to a certain 
 level, below which none of it descended. 
 
 It is a curious fact, which I have been told more 
 than once by the Highlanders, that those, whose life is 
 spent year after year among the mountains, have little 
 need of a thermometer, the hills around answering 
 the same purpose ; for, as a general rule, the snow 
 descends and lingers on the hills, down to a certain 
 level, in a certain temperature ; the colder the air, the 
 lower the line of snow ; and this is often observable 
 for an extent of many miles. So that an experienced 
 eye can tell, even with some degree of accuracy, the 
 degree of cold from the depth of the skirts of the 
 snowy mantle that robes the mountain-side. 
 
 But to return. As we passed beneath the Creag-an- 
 Islair, we observed an eagle soaring through the snow- 
 cloud, his course being towards the sea. Presently a 
 second was visible, wheeling majestically above the 
 summits of the craig ; and as we now mounted the hill
 
 PRINCES OF THE AIR. 179 
 
 on the opposite side of the strath, a third made his 
 appearance, both of them soon following in the line 
 taken by the first. 
 
 This, Gillespie assures us, was an omen foreboding 
 no good. It was quite clear that these " winged 
 princes of the air " anticipated something more than a 
 passing fall of snow, or why should all three have 
 unanimously betaken themselves down to the neigh- 
 bourhood of the sea, where snow never lies long, 
 unless it were that instinct had taught them that their 
 usual haunts in the mountain would shortly be 
 untenantable ? However we were not to be easily 
 intimidated ; and, thinking that it was scarcely yet late 
 enough in the season for the snow to fall in great 
 quantity, we still hoped for better things and held on 
 our way. 
 
 On reaching the top of the ridge, the scene which 
 presented itself was both novel and extremely beautiful. 
 The highest parts of all the hills around were robed in 
 a veil of snow, so dazzlingly pure that the eye sought 
 relief after dwelling upon it for a moment, and yet so 
 thin and gauze-like that the rocks were still visible 
 peeping through it in countless points. The effect pro- 
 duced altogether reminded me very much, on a large 
 scale, of those beautiful copper-coloured photographic 
 views of mountain scenery which you see gracing the 
 artists' windows in almost every town. 
 
 As we began to descend the further side of the hill, 
 a sharp shower of sleet, came pelting in our faces, and, 
 thus forced to run for it, we were not long in reaching 
 the shelter of the cottage. As we arrived, the shep- 
 herd, who lived close by, had just come in from a long 
 ramble, and he assured us that there were no deer 
 within four or five miles of the cottage. Accordingly, 
 as it was now too late in the day to admit of our going
 
 180 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 that distance, we agreed to postpone operations till the 
 morrow. 
 
 Having replenished " the inner man " with a portion 
 of the venison slaughtered when we were last at the 
 cottage, with sundry other viands, rendered savoury by 
 that optimum condimentum a good appetite, we invited 
 the fox-hunter to join us over a glass of toddy, on the 
 understanding that he should in return amuse us, as 
 he had done on a former occasion, by relating some of 
 his sporting reminiscences. 
 
 The following are a few of the scraps which my 
 imperfect knowledge of the language in which he spoke 
 enabled me to collect. 
 
 He was sitting one day in spring, on the side of Ben 
 Fuoghlin, occupied in tending a flock of sheep. The 
 lambs were gambolling round their mothers, or, divided 
 into little bands, were chasing each other across the 
 brae, the picture of security and happiness. But how 
 often is the cup dashed from the lip ! An eagle 
 suddenly darted by him, and stooping on the ter- 
 rified flock, rose again a moment after, bearing off a 
 lamb in his talons. As they mounted into the air, the 
 poor little thing bleated piteously, and struggled so 
 hard that for a time it seemed as though it must 
 escape. But the tyrant's grip was too tight; and 
 having no gun with him, wherewith to stop the 
 marauder in his career, Gillespie could only watch 
 until both captor and caught were lost in the opposite 
 heights of Creag-na-Sturm. On another occasion he 
 saw an eagle seize a lamb in the same manner, but 
 before they had travelled far, the lamb, by a sudden 
 jerk, managed to free itself ; and the eagle, on seeing 
 the fox-hunter, went off without its prey, though it was 
 killed on the spot by the fall. It is not often however 
 that this noble bird commits any depredations on the
 
 ANECDOTE. 181 
 
 flock. Indeed I have heard it argued, and I believe it 
 to be true, that the eagle is rather an advantage than 
 otherwise on a Highland farm. Though he certainly 
 is occasionally guilty of serious harm, his attacks are 
 chiefly confined to the mountain-hare, which in some 
 districts is so very numerous, and so destructive to the 
 pasture intended for the sheep, that it requires thinning; 
 and thus the eagle, instead of being a subject fit only 
 for extirpation, serves rather to remove a nuisance and 
 befriend the cause of the farmer. If he does on a 
 chance emergency make his foray on the fold, the loss 
 to the owner after all is but small, compared with the 
 numbers which become victims to the cunning of the 
 fox, or perish by falling down the rocks. And surely 
 a Highland farmer, with his fifteen thousand sheep, can 
 well afford to lose half a hundred in the year without 
 missing them. 
 
 The following is an incident which occurred to our 
 hero, in those halcyon days of sporting freebootery 
 when poaching was not dealt with as stringently as it 
 now is, and when even the most honest scrupled not to 
 take an occasional buck or fat hind from the forest. 
 
 While sitting on the side of a mountain, in .one of 
 the wildest and least frequented parts of the Highlands, 
 and occupied in carefully examining, through his 
 " Dollond," the ground about him, Gillespie discov- 
 ered an odd-looking object, enveloped in a grey plaid, 
 and sitting under a rock on the opposite side of the 
 glen. He presently made out that it was a woman, 
 occupied, as far as he could tell by the aid of his glass, 
 in knitting. As she appeared quite alone, and the spot 
 was one not frequently trod by the foot of woman, for 
 there was no human habitation within some miles, his 
 curiosity was aroused, and he resolved to watch her 
 proceedings, that he might learn, if possible, what
 
 182 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 could be her motive in seeking such a wild and 
 solitary spot ; but though he kept his eye upon her for 
 two good hours, there she still sat without having once 
 moved from her position. In this way hour after hour 
 passed, and there she still sat. It was now afternoon 
 and still she was there. But at length the mystery 
 was solved. Along the bottom of the glen a man 
 appeared, driving a pony before him ; halting as he 
 came just below the woman, he climbed up to her 
 position, and the two then commenced dragging down 
 the hill a large object, which Gillespie's instinct was 
 not long in recognizing as the carcase of a slaughtered 
 deer. It was soon strapped on the back of the pony, 
 and the worthy couple started down the glen with their 
 prize. 
 
 It is a common practice with poachers to leave their 
 booty concealed in some snug spot among the hills, 
 until they have a convenient opportunity for fetching 
 it. It is sometimes cut up, as more easy for conveyance, 
 and stowed away in different places, the concealment 
 being effected with great skill. I remember an instance 
 of this which came under my own observation. I was 
 out among the hills, attended by the foxhunter. As we 
 were passing through a glen, the sides and bottom of 
 which were thickly lined with heather, he suddenly 
 stopped, and, with a half-uttered malison, pointed to 
 the ground at his feet. I looked, but all I could per- 
 ceive wc,s that the heather seemed slightly withered ; 
 but Gillespie stooped down, and pulling up the heather, 
 which he did without any effort, laid bare the head and 
 hide of a deer, which had been left by some poachers. 
 I 'might have passed the spot again and again without 
 detecting anything peculiar, but his experienced eye at 
 once saw that there had been foul play. 
 
 Two or three adventures were related to us, which, as
 
 ADVENTURES. 183 
 
 being of a somewhat questionable character, Gillespie, 
 either from modesty or policy, attributed to another 
 person, whom he professed himself to have " kenned 
 weel " in former days, though I have little doubt that 
 I might have applied to him the language of Horace, 
 " mutato nomine de te narratur," without being guilty 
 of any very serious departure from the truth. One of 
 these shows a pious fraud commonly resorted to by 
 poachers, in order that, in case they should be caught, 
 and tried before a justice for deer-killing, each may be 
 able to swear conscientiously that, though in the 
 company of his friend, he did not see him perpetrate 
 the offence. A couple go out together, and share be- 
 tween them the sport and the danger in the following 
 manner. When a deer is discovered, one of them, ac- 
 cording to previous agreement, creeps in to have the 
 first shot, while the other averts his head or keeps out 
 of sight, that should the shot prove fatal, he may not 
 be a witness. Should the deer be only wounded, they 
 then change places, and the second takes the task in 
 hand, his friend now in' turn holding aloof and avoiding 
 the sight. 
 
 My authority said he "minded" a pair who once 
 went to commit their foray together. They came upon 
 a herd of deer, and one of them shot at a fine stag, 
 which he wounded [somewhere in the spine, in such a 
 manner, that though, while stationary, the beast was 
 apparently as well and vigorous as ever, yet as soon as 
 it attempted to move off, it proved to be so disabled 
 that it could scarcely drag its limbs over the ground. 
 Having accomplished thus much, the poacher then lay 
 down in the heather, taking care to be out of sight, 
 while his ally approached the wounded animal with 
 the intention of terminating its life. Finding that it 
 was unable to escape, he would not fire at it, but pre-
 
 184 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 ferred stepping in and settling the matter with his 
 knife. After walking several times round the poor 
 creature, which, disabled as it was, still strove to keep 
 a tormidable front, he at length succeeded in seizing 
 it by one hind leg ; but now he found his match ; for 
 though the beast was unable to escape by flight, it 
 could resist and struggle. And struggle and resist it 
 did; for when his companion rose from the heather, 
 some time after, expecting to find it all over, he saw 
 his friend and the deer still straining their very utmost, 
 the one exerting all his energies to shake off his foe, 
 while all the strength and activity of the other were 
 needed to prevent his being thrown violently to the 
 ground, in unpleasant proximity to a pair of formidable 
 antlers. Again therefore the poacher lay down, leaving 
 the two to carry on their combat unwitnessed. After 
 wheeling round more than once, and well-nigh getting 
 rid of his antagonist, the deer began to show signs of 
 distress. His open mouth and heaving flanks told 
 plainly that death was at work, and the poacher, sud- 
 denly springing forward, leaped upon his back, and 
 throwing his arms round the animal's neck, remained 
 BO immoveably fixed that by no efforts could it dis- 
 lodge him. And now the other poacher again rose, 
 expecting by this time that the struggle must have 
 terminated. But on seeing how matters were, he for- 
 got his caution, and stepped forward to aid in the con- 
 test. As he approached, the wearied animal made one 
 desperate and prolonged attempt to unseat his rider, 
 which he was just on the point of effecting when the 
 poacher, drawing his knife, by an immense effort suc- 
 ceeded in plunging it to the hilt in the animal's breast, 
 and as his comrade came up, the victor and the van- 
 quished sank down together. 
 
 Notwithstanding the extraordinary powers of sight,
 
 ADVENTURES. 185 
 
 smell, and hearing with which the deer is endowed, he 
 may occasionally be taken bysurprise, the very acuteness 
 of those organs at times serving to betray him into a 
 false feeling of security. Instance the following : A 
 shepherd, in his rambles among the hills, once came 
 upon a deer, taking his morning meal in a snug retreat 
 in the most unfrequented part of the mountain, where 
 doubtless he had many a time fed before without dis- 
 turbance. So utterly regardless of danger was the 
 animal, that the shepherd, removing his shoes, cau- 
 tiously walked in upon him from behind, and struck 
 him a hard blow on the back before his presence was 
 discovered. Had the man but carried something heavier 
 than a light staff, he might have slain or disabled the 
 deer at a blow, and earned for himself a good meal for 
 many a day to come. 
 
 The following is an account of a somewhat similar 
 incident which occurred to the foxhunter himself. 
 
 He was wending his way homewards through the 
 forest, after nightfall, attended only by a faithful hound. 
 His route led him up a very steep " bealloch," or pass, 
 lying between two lofty mountain-summits, and through 
 which the deer were in the habit of going, almost 
 nightly, on their way to a sheltered corrie beyond. 
 When about half-way up, his dog, which was a few 
 yards in advance, suddenly sprang forward with a 
 furious bay at some object hidden in the gloom ahead. 
 In a moment after, down came a large hind, followed 
 closely by the dog, and both rattling past him, tore 
 down the hill at a mad pace, amongst a loud clatter of 
 loosened stones, and were speedily lost to sight and 
 hearing in the depths of the glen below. Gillespie 
 called to his hound, but in vain, and then continued 
 his route, trusting that the truant, wearied out, or 
 losing his game in the darkness, would presently
 
 186 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 return and overtake him. He had not however 
 mounted much higher, when he again heard the bay of 
 his dog below, and from its increasing loudness, per- 
 ceived that they were ascending the brae in his direc- 
 tion. Soon they approached nearer, and the loud 
 panting of the two, audible in the profound stillness 
 of the night, as they toiled painfully up the rocky pass, 
 told plainly how severe had been the chase. Presently 
 the deer was dimly visible through the gloom, though 
 not many yards distant, the dog straining closely at 
 her flank, and striving each moment to fix his fangs in 
 the animal and bring her down. Acting on the im- 
 pulse of the moment, and without thinking what he 
 did, Gillespie concealed himself behind a moss-hagg, 
 and as the two rushed by he sprang out, and striking 
 the terrified and exhausted deer on the back of the 
 head with a stout staff he bore in his hand, by one 
 blow felled it to the ground. In a moment his trusty 
 hound had fixed his fangs firmly in the throat of the 
 prostrate animal, and the death-rattle greeted his ears. 
 But now, the deed completed, and the excitement of 
 the moment passed, he was seized with pity and 
 remorse at the thoughtlessness of which he had been 
 guilty in slaying a deer which he did not need, in 
 a place from which he could with difficulty get it 
 removed, and last, and possibly also least, in direct 
 defiance of his duty. The blood of the slaughtered 
 hind seemed to call to him from the ground ; to use his 
 own words, he " was weel nigh greeting as he saw the 
 creature lying dead at his feet," and he vowed that 
 he " wadna touch ane hair o' it." The next time he 
 passed that way, the fox, the gled, and the corbie had 
 made their meals on its flesh, and its bones were 
 bleaching in the sun. 
 
 Here are one or two interesting particulars connected
 
 HABITS OF DEER. 187 
 
 with the habits of deer. First, as regards the dis- 
 appearance of the horns which are yearly shed by the 
 stags. It has been thought extraordinary, that in a 
 district where there are perhaps several thousand deer, 
 and consequently some hundreds of stags, who annually 
 cast off a couple of horns each, not more than a few 
 score of these horns are ever found. Our informant 
 accounts for this fact in the following way. They 
 either bury their horns, or destro} T them with their 
 teeth. He says he has himself seen deer, at the 
 period of spring, when they cast their horns, trampling 
 them down in the moist soil of the peat-bogs, which 
 are so common among the hills. That they were so 
 employed he has abundant proof, for more than once, 
 after thus disturbing the deer, he has gone to the spot, 
 and discovered the remains of horns, half buried and 
 broken up, the fragments bearing the marks of teeth 
 upon them; and though it may be thought that the 
 horns are of a substance too hard for this, yet the jaw 
 of the deer is very powerful. Another consideration 
 which seems to make this the more probable is, that 
 scarcely ever are the horns of a young stag discovered, 
 being of course, from their size, more easy of destruc- 
 tion than the antlers of a full-grown stag. 
 
 Secondly, as regards the formation of a herd. A 
 hind's young do not, as in the c#se of many other 
 animals, desert their mother when they cease to suck, 
 but continue to attend her as long as she lives ; and as 
 they in their turn i.e. the females among them soon 
 rear each of them a progeny to themselves, she is often 
 accompanied by many successive generations, who con- 
 tinue to resort together to the same haunts and parts 
 of the forest for many years. Thus is a herd formed, 
 and this herd is invariably headed by some patriarchal 
 stag, whose powers, yet unimpaired, support the dignity
 
 188 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 conferred by years. The young stags put forth a pair 
 of small horns at the age of two years, at first but a 
 few inches long. The brow antlers are the first branch, 
 an extra point appearing generally every year up to 
 six, and occasionally seven, though some never acquire 
 more than four or five. After a certain age the horns 
 begin to dwindle, and grow shorter every year. But 
 no rules can be of universal application. A full- 
 grown stag is sometimes seen with no branches but 
 the brow-antlers. A head of this kind is called a 
 " cabar slaht," or rod-like antler, and, though not so 
 handsome as a royal head, is still curious and rather 
 rare. 
 
 I have now given you the substance of our High- 
 lander's remarks, so far as I have thought they would 
 prove interesting. The rest of this chapter must be 
 devoted to an account of our own proceedings in the 
 forest. 
 
 Wednesday. A fair, but cloudy and uncertain-look- 
 ing morning. Setting out soon after daybreak, we 
 made straight for the corrie, hoping to find the deer 
 still within its shelter ; but they had risen earlier than 
 ourselves, and as we came up the glen, were just dis- 
 appearing through the Bealloch Mohr. We watched 
 them as they passed the horizon by ones and twos, and 
 then knowing that it was useless to follow, as they were 
 already so far in advance, and would shortly be, beyond 
 the march, we turned our steps in the opposite dir- 
 ection. 
 
 The clouds were resting on the hill-tops, and though 
 we were not yet in a snow-storm, still all around began 
 to assume a threatening aspect. For an hour or more 
 we roamed on without seeing any game, though we 
 came across traces of some which had passed in the 
 night ; and at length, on reaching the crest of a short
 
 UNSUCCESSFUL SHOT. 189 
 
 ascent, we suddenly came upon a hind and stag lying 
 in a snug hollow. Though we dropped to the ground 
 at once, and though the wind was blowing directly in 
 our teeth, the stag was evidently uneasy, and, rising 
 slowly from his lair, stood looking anxiously around 
 him. For nearly an hour we remained motionless and 
 prostrate, Gillespie alone watching the game. The 
 stag, he said, was but a small one, out of condition, as 
 indeed they always are after the rutting season, and 
 bearing but a poor head, while the hind was a very 
 fine animal, dark-skinned, and in full flesh. After a 
 short discussion therefore we agreed that it would be 
 best to secure the latter, as the more desirable for the 
 larder; and then retiring a few paces down the hill, we 
 turned round the angle of a rock, under the leadership 
 of Gillespie, to creep in upon them by the course of a 
 burn. Scarcely had we started when a storm of hail 
 came on, at first however not very severe, and we 
 continued on our way. Presently pausing, Gillespie 
 reconnoitred round the end of a block of stone. It was 
 now hailing very severely, and just as I glanced over 
 Gillespie's shoulder, the stag was disappearing down 
 the opposite side of the hill ; and the hind, unable to 
 face the hail any longer, was in the act of rising to 
 follow. What was to be done? Ten to one if we 
 should get them again in as good a position. Accord- 
 ingly, though full a hundred and twenty yards distant, 
 I instantly adopted Gillespie's suggestion", and putting 
 gun to my shoulder, and aiming as truly as the hail 
 dashing into my face would allow, I fired at the retreat- 
 ing form of the hind. The shot however appeared to 
 have taken no effect, and the rifle I had with me having 
 but one barrel, I was obliged to watch the receding 
 animal with feelings of disappointment and chagrin, 
 which were in nowise lessened when Walter, stepping 
 
 13
 
 190 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER, 
 
 forward, delivered his two barrels with the same result, 
 and the deer, now too far off to be hit, except by acci- 
 dent, soon disappeared from sight. Then loading as 
 rapidly as possible, we all ran forward, and looked 
 down the descent by which the deer had taken their 
 departure ; but the hail was falling too thickly to admit 
 of our discerning any object beyond a few yards. 
 
 We now took shelter under a huge fragment of rock, 
 until the hail shortly afterwards abating allowed us to 
 continue our rambles. But though we came across the 
 traces of deer in many places, and once or twice saw 
 the animals themselves at a great distance, we returned 
 to the cottage in the evening without getting another 
 shot. 
 
 Thursday. Another fall of snow during the night. 
 Though the neighbourhood of the cottage is still free 
 from it, or only slightly sprinkled, the higher ground 
 on all sides is clad in white. Fearing lest we should 
 be snowed up in the hills, we resolved to go home to 
 the Laird's, only making a detour through the forest, 
 in order, if possible, to get a farewell shot. 
 
 The morning was beautifully bright and clear, and, 
 though provoked at being obliged to abandon the 
 expedition, still with everything around us wearing so 
 novel and imposing an appearance, we could not but 
 be interested, and accordingly started in high spirits. 
 But presently as we rose above the glen, the toilsome 
 exertion of walking in the snow began to tell upon us, 
 and we were compelled to make frequent pauses to 
 rest and recover breath. The labour of climbing, to 
 which a Southron is little accustomed, I had found at 
 all times severe ; and though gradually becoming 
 inured to it, and latterly equal, as I had fondly 
 imagined, to any amount of fatigue, nothing I had 
 yet experienced had approached in the least degree
 
 FURTHER DISAPPOINTMENT. 191 
 
 to the immense strain produced on the muscles in 
 ascending the steep sides of the mountain, with the 
 snow half a foot, or even in the higher regions nearly 
 a foot, in depth. The process of descending too was 
 almost equally trying, as the foot constantly stumbled 
 against, or slipped from, the stones hidden beneath the 
 snow, which more than once occasioned very awkward 
 falls. 
 
 After two hours of climbing, our perseverance was 
 rewarded, as we came in view of an immense herd, 
 numbering apparently not much fewer than a hundred 
 deer, and spreading over an open field of snow, half a 
 mile or more in extent, but at such an elevation that 
 it was vain, in the present state of things, to think of 
 getting up to them. We could only therefore pause 
 and admire, and then continue our route. Soon we 
 saw another herd, composed almost entirely of stags, 
 of which Gillespie counted not less than forty ; but 
 they were making for the highest passes in the moun- 
 tain, and as our ambition had somewhat dwindled 
 in its aspirations under the chilling influences of the 
 snow, we did not attempt to follow. Now and then, 
 as we pursued our way, we came across a solitary pair, 
 or a small family of deer; but all were on the alert, 
 and not to be approacired. And as we ourselves were 
 visible to a great distance in the snow, we began to 
 despair of uearing anything, and turned our steps to- 
 wards home. 
 
 After some time, as we crossed an open moor not 
 often frequented by them, we discovered a herd of ten 
 .occupied in scraping up the snow with their hoofs, and 
 feeding on the grass and moss which they thus laid 
 bare. The position was apparently very favourable, a 
 large ledge of rock intervening between them and our- 
 selves which would effectually screen our approach.
 
 192 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 Though already well nigh wearied out, we lost no 
 time in commencing a forced march towards them, 
 Gillespie, as usual, taking the lead. 
 
 Two stags soon started up in our front, and making 
 straight for the herd bade fair to spoil our sport ; but 
 while we were anxiously watching the result, they 
 unexpectedly turned off to the left, and disappearing 
 in a hollow, to our delight left the herd undisturbed. 
 We now resumed the stalk, and after much hard walk- 
 ing and climbing, found ourselves breathless at the 
 ledge of rock above mentioned. After standing a 
 moment to recover breath, I crept forward along the 
 rock on my hands and knees to reconnoitre the 
 position of the deer. They were all together, two or 
 three still feeding, the others lying, but all out of gun- 
 shot ; but while I was looking around to discover any 
 way of approaching nearer, an old hind, hitherto con- 
 cealed behind a bank of snow, rose to her feet within 
 eighty yards, and stood staring me in the face. I 
 remained perfectly motionless, but she evidently saw 
 me, and being a fine yeld hind, I took a deliberate aim 
 at her shoulder and fired. She at once turned round, 
 and though, as her floundering gait betrayed, severely 
 wounded, she followed the rest of the herd up the 
 steep hill-side at a mad pace. I started in pursuit, 
 but the depth of the snow soon brought me to a stand, 
 and I quietly suffered the foxhunter to go after her 
 alone. He too however turned back on reaching the 
 top of the hill ; for though he declared his full assur- 
 ance that the animal could not live, it was impossible 
 to say how far she might take us from our route. 
 Accordingly, as it was already growing dusk, our 
 homeward route was resumed in good earnest. As we 
 reached the brink of a deep ravine, along the bottom 
 of which lay our path, two objects suddenly sprang up
 
 THE FINAL SHOT. 193 
 
 in our front, and, just as we discovered them to be 
 deer, plunged into the depths of the ravine. We sent 
 all our bullets flying after them, as a parting volley to 
 the forest, but they served only to awake the echoes of 
 the cliffs around. 
 
 We had now about nine miles between us and home, 
 and, there being no moon, it was momently becoming 
 darker. The walking therefore proved most difficult 
 and fatiguing, from the roughness of the ground, and 
 the impossibility of seeing at all where we were going. 
 
 Before reaching home, we had waded seven times 
 through the Redburn, running in one or two places so 
 rapidly that we only retained our footing by all three 
 clinging to each other, and thus presenting our united 
 strength to its force. Several times we had to make 
 our way down the steep sides of cliffs, feeling with our 
 hands before every fresh footstep, where one blunder 
 might have hurled us to destruction. 
 
 On the whole therefore, the recollection of that 
 night's march will not be among the most agreeable 
 of my Highland reminiscences. We reached home 
 thoroughly done up, and uncheered by the pleasure of 
 success. Two days after, we bade adieu to the hos- 
 pitable roof of our friend the Laird, who, as well as 
 the rest of his family, had treated us with a liberality 
 and consideration which will not easily be effaced 
 from our memory, and which stamped him as a true 
 eon of the land where of old not even the poorest 
 peasant closed his door at night till he had first stood 
 before his threshold, and looked to the four quarters 
 of the heavens, if haply he might see a stranger whom 
 he could welcome to his hearth.
 
 194 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 ADDITIONAL. 
 
 BEING 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM MY DIARY OF A SUBSEQUENT SEASON, 
 WITH OTHER KINDRED MATTER. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Expedition to the Hills. Scanning the Ground. Dead Deer. Search 
 continued. Game found. Awkward Position. "Gone away," 
 The Pass. The Shot. Instinct at Fault. Anecdote of Flamingoes. 
 
 THE early dawn beheld Alister and myself with our 
 rifles seated in the dog-cart, drawn by our old friends 
 a pair of lively Highland ponies ; and a brisk drive of 
 five miles brought us to the place of rendezvous, where 
 Gillespie by appointment was to meet us. It was at 
 the foot of the wild " craig of the raven's nest," and we 
 found the forester lying beneath the shelter of a large 
 stone, snugly enveloped in the folds of his ample 
 plaid, and fast asleep ; for we were somewhat behind the 
 appointed time, and he had been waiting for us a good 
 hour. Another good hour's walking brought us into 
 the depths of a romantic glen, which terminated in 
 shady woods of the graceful birch, overhung on all 
 sides save one by masses of rock, piled high in the air, 
 riven and battered by the hurricanes of ages, and cleft 
 at the extreme end of the glen, by the rugged bed of a 
 fair sized burn, by which a loch buried in the hills 
 beyond found a vent for the superabundance of its 
 waters. Here, at the skirts of the wood, we paused to 
 scan with our telescopes the face of the hills rising to 
 our right. There were roe-deer near us among the 
 birches, but to-day we were in quest of larger game. 
 The curtain of mist was now gradually rolling away
 
 SCANNING THE GROUND. 195 
 
 from the hill, and revealing more and more of the 
 ground to our view ; and presently I saw that Gilles- 
 pie's eye was resting upon some object of interest, and 
 turning my own glass in the direction indicated by his, 
 I soon, with Alister's assistance, made out a deer, a 
 little below the brow of the hill. It proved to be a 
 yeld hind feeding alone, in a green grassy spot, evi- 
 dently in good condition, and not to be despised for 
 culinary purposes. Gillespie however expected to find 
 some good heads in the higher ground about the loch 
 above mentioned; accordingly we agreed for the 
 present at least to leave the animal before us undis- 
 turbed in her security, and resume our march in quest 
 of the former. It required more than an hour's hard 
 walking and climbing over ground rough and unpleas- 
 ant in the extreme, to bring us to the borders of Loch- 
 an-Fioghnard ; when we paused behind a huge boulder 
 stone, which, judging by the nature of its substance, 
 had once formed part of a hill at a, considerable 
 distance ; whence it could only have been transported 
 to its present position, over the intervening hollows and 
 elevations, by the agency of some floating iceberg, in 
 an age long since passed away. Here we again com- 
 menced a reconnoitre with our glasses ; and a few mo- 
 ments' examination revealed to us deer both to the right 
 and to the left, both herds gradually feeding their way 
 out of the valley for the higher ground behind the over- 
 hanging cliffs. Those to our right were already so high, 
 that two or three of the leading animals were standing 
 out distinctly into the sky, as they crossed the very crest 
 of the hill. Those on the left were considerably lower 
 and nearer; but as they were making for ground less 
 suited for stalking purposes than the opposite herd, we 
 at once started after the latter. This was an under- 
 taking of no trifling nature. The pass through which
 
 190 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 the deer had wound their way, was a steep slope, about 
 half a mile in extent from bottom to top, and covered 
 with a thick sprinkling of loose stones and craigs, which 
 the frosts and thaws of successive ages had detached 
 from the cliffs above. In some parts huge dykes, as it 
 were, of ragged rock belted the passage, in such a 
 manner that in the distance further advance seemed 
 impossible ; but a nearer approach invariably disclosed 
 some projecting shelf, or narrow fissure by which, care- 
 fully avoiding the dizzying effect of a downward glance, 
 we could still continue a perilous ascent. In one case 
 this had proved too difficult even for a deer, as we 
 gathered from the carcase of a young stag, which lay 
 rotting a little below one of these bars of rock. He had 
 evidently lost his footing in the attempt to cross, and 
 being precipitated downwards, and tossed from rock to 
 rock, had eventually broken his neck. He lay on the 
 heather, his head buried under his ribs, and a large 
 vent in his side ; originally no doubt the flesh cut by 
 some sharp stone in his descent, but subsequently .en- 
 larged by the fox or the raven. Rather more than half- 
 way up the ascent we were driven by a pelting shower 
 of rain and sleet to seek shelter under cover of one of 
 these rocky battlements ; and half an hour was here 
 agreeably spent in admiring some curious petrifactions 
 formed by the water oozing through the section of the 
 limestone, and in gathering varieties of the fern tribe 
 which had fastened their tiny roots in the almost in- 
 visible interstices on the very face of the rock. The 
 storm having passed off, we resumed our way, and at 
 length found ourselves at the very spot where we had 
 last seen the deer. In front lay an elongated table 
 land, the almost flat top of a ridge of hills running be- 
 tween two deep glens, narrowing in one direction to 
 the width of about half a mile, while in the opposite
 
 THE SEARCH CONTINUED. 197 
 
 quarter it stretched out somewhat in the form of the 
 letter T into two branching ranges of hills singularly 
 rugged and wild. On this table land, and among the 
 countless dips and irregularities that varied its surface, 
 the herd of deer of which we were in pursuit, were ac- 
 customed to spend the day, returning in the evening to 
 the lower ground of one of the two neighbouring glens. 
 Here then we paused, for the double purpose of re- 
 covering breath, and of making observations. Deer- 
 stalking is a pursuit which admits of nothing like rash 
 haste. There are indeed times when the utmost rapidity 
 of movement is necessary ; but caution and care are 
 ever indispensable, and for lack of these qualities many 
 a promising stalk has been suddenly spoilt, and many 
 an expectation disappointed. 
 
 Quietly seating ourselves therefore behind a bank of 
 peat, so as not to attract any attention, should the deer 
 be near us, we began to look for them on the table 
 land in front. But not a head was to be seen. The 
 only living objects in view were a couple of ravens, 
 hastening to take their meal from the carcase of the 
 deer we had recently passed ; their hoarse croak harmo- 
 nising well with the wildness of the scene, and being 
 the only sound which broke its deathlike stillness. After 
 in vain examining all the ground within the range of 
 our glasses, we set off for a nearer inspection of some 
 of the many hollows which dimpled the plateau. It was 
 now nearly noon, the deer had gained a considerable 
 start of us, and in all probability would be feeding or 
 taking their mid-day nap in some of the many sheltered 
 localities near us. For some time we rambled on in 
 silence, Gillespie, as usual, taking the lead, and only 
 an occasional pause being made, as we rounded some 
 rock, and came in sight of fresh ground. Many such 
 rocks however were rounded, many hollows inspected,
 
 198 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 without any satisfactory results, and we were now al- 
 most lapsing into carelessness, and our hopes of sport 
 beginning to flag, when suddenly our guide dropped 
 to his knees, and a movement of his hand speedily 
 brought Alister and myself into the same position. 
 Carefully raising oar heads and looking in the direc- 
 tion indicated by Gillespie, we perceived the ears of a 
 hind just visible above the outline of a rising ground 
 three hundred yards to our right front. The creature 
 was " wide awake ; " and her ears anxiously pricked 
 forward in our direction, betokened that her suspicions 
 were aroused. In this crouching position we were 
 kept for fully the space of twenty minutes, neither 
 hand nor foot moved, lest we should increase her 
 uneasiness. But just as our limbs began to ache to an 
 almost insupportable degree from the awkwardness 
 of our attitude, the hind's head disappeared as she 
 recommenced feeding. Telescopes were now brought 
 out, and receding a few paces to the shelter of a rock, 
 we commenced observations. The hind's back was still 
 occasionally in full view, but her uneasiness seemed to 
 be removed, and though now and then throwing a 
 hasty glance towards us, she continued her browsing. 
 Presently we detected the points of some horns just 
 appearing above the intercepting ground, showing that 
 other animals were feeding in the rear of the hind. Our 
 object now was to discover whether there were any 
 good heads among them ; and as the ground in front 
 was too open to admit of a nearer approach at present, 
 it was determined that we should remain in our present 
 position, in the hopes that the deer would feed their 
 way into some more favourable locality. In this way 
 nearly an hour was passed. Once or twice horns were 
 detected, but we could not discover whether they were 
 those of large stags, or of the younger ones, called in
 
 AWKWARD POSITION. 199 
 
 Gaelic " procahs," which frequently continue in the 
 company of hinds when no good stags are in attend- 
 ance. 
 
 By degrees, however, all signs of their presence 
 disappeared ; the herd had apparently fed away to a 
 distance, and it was now for us to follow in case their 
 new position should allow a nearer approach. But to 
 make assurance doubly sure we delayed a few minutes 
 longer, that nothing might be lost through precipitation : 
 and then rising to our full height, and carefully looking 
 in every direction with our glasses, that no eyes should 
 be watching us unobserved, we started for the rising 
 ground, behind which they had just disappeared. A 
 slight hollow intervened between us and the position 
 for which we were making. This hollow was a peat 
 bog, still very wet, but owing to the recent dry 
 weather, fortunately passable. We began to cross it, 
 still anxiously looking about us, when just as we had 
 reached about the middle of it, a deer's back again 
 appeared above the horizon. Here then was an awkward 
 situation a herd of deer within two hundred yards, 
 retreat or advance impossible from the open nature 
 of the ground, and though in the middle of a bog, no 
 alternative but to fling ourselves at once upon our 
 faces, notwithstanding its unpleasant dampness. The 
 deer-stalker must be prepared for every emergency, 
 and we at once dropped to the earth, contriving with 
 difficulty to keep our powder and rifles dry. The hind 
 continued feeding, presently another became visible, 
 and another ; until at length we had seen in all more 
 than a score of deer, two of them being young stage. 
 Wet and cold, we remained motionless for the space of 
 nearly an hour, when one by one they all lay down, 
 some having their backs towards us, and most of them 
 only visible to the neck ; but one wary hind, evidently a
 
 200 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 " saga anus," and the grandmother of the herd, lay 
 most provokingly with her face turned straight towards 
 us, as though determined to keep us as long in our 
 uncomfortable position as possible. We now held a 
 consultation in low whispers, the result of which was 
 that as there seemed to be no good heads in the herd, 
 our best plan would be to endeavour to secure, each of 
 us, a good hind for the larder. 
 
 In their present position, however, a satisfactory 
 shot was not possible, and any attempt at motion on 
 our part would be almost sure to attract their attention 
 and drive them off before we had succeeded in our 
 object. We agreed, therefore, at the suggestion of our 
 great authority, Gillespie, to remain as we were a few 
 moments longer, and then to creep in, inch by inch, 
 in the hope that we might lessen the distance by a few 
 yards, and then run in upon them and take a chance 
 shot as they went off. 
 
 Silently we watched the foremost hind through our 
 glasses, as she chewed her cud, or occasionally closed 
 her eyes in a sleepy fashion ; and at length our guide's 
 hand was cautiously put forward, and following his 
 example we began to crawl in on all fours, moving 
 with the stealthiness and silence of so many cats 
 stealing upon their prey. But we had more than 
 a mouse to deal with, and before we had progressed 
 five yards the enemy's outlying piquet was on the qui 
 vive, and springing to her feet began to watch us 
 intently. Once more we became motionless as so 
 many logs, and the deer, two or three others having 
 risen and joined her, were evidently at a loss to make 
 out what we were ; for so closely did our clothes 
 resemble the colour of the ground about us, that 
 unless in motion we were scarcely distinguishable. 
 One pair of eyes however had already seen us in
 
 GONE AWAY. 201 
 
 motion, and though yet uncertain as to our nature, she 
 had seen quite enough to arouse strong suspicions, and 
 there was now little chance of our being allowed a 
 nearer approach. 
 
 At this moment Gillespie looked round in my 
 direction, intending to advise me to spring up and run 
 in upon them as my only chance ; but, ere his eye met 
 mine, the movement had been detected and the whole 
 herd were off. Forward we at once rushed to the rising 
 ground behind which they had disappeared, but it was 
 nearly two hundred yards distant, and before we had 
 gained it, they were more than a quarter of a mile away. 
 
 A provoking conclusion this to so patient and care- 
 ful a stalk, but nil desperandum. Telescopes were im- 
 mediately brought into play, and the herd was carefully 
 watched until they again paused, and gradually began 
 to feed. They had evidently not been greatly alarmed, 
 and with a change of locality would very possibly lose 
 their suspicions. Accordingly once more we were off 
 in pursuit, and the manoeuvres above described were 
 many of them reacted. 
 
 To avoid repetition, therefore, my readers must take 
 it for granted that patience and diligence were 
 displayed, limbs and lungs tested, and the herd again 
 within a short distance, when once more a pause was 
 made to form our plans. But the day was drawing to 
 its close, the hours for the mid-day nap were passed, 
 and the deer were still uneasy and restless. Though 
 feeding, they were feeding away, and ever on the alert. 
 As they retired, however, so did we advance, from bank 
 to bank, from rock to rock, as concealment was 
 possible, seldom gaining upon them, but not losing 
 ground. At length it was clear that they were, by a 
 wide circuit, making for the strath which they had left 
 in the morning ; and Gillespie, in high spirits, assured
 
 202 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 us that if we could only keep within our present dis- 
 tance of them till they should begin the descent of the 
 steep pass by which they would enter the glen, we 
 might then run forward and secure a good shot. This 
 was our only chance for to-day, and this plan we accord- 
 ingly proceeded to put into execution. The difficulty, 
 however, was, that since their direction had been altered, 
 it was impossible now to follow in their rear, without 
 our presence being detected by their noses, and we were 
 therefore obliged not only to keep pace with, but to 
 hasten on so as to outflank them. 
 
 This required no slight exertion ; but in spite of 
 panting lungs, and palpitating hearts, we succeeded in 
 accomplishing it, and as the herd reached the head of 
 the pass down which their course lay, we were within 
 two hundred yards and ready to spring forward at the 
 right time. And now came the critical moment ; on 
 the next five minutes depended the success or failure of 
 the day. By twos and threes the deer were disappear- 
 ing below the outline, of the cliffs which overhung the 
 glen. At last there were only three in sight, now only 
 two, and now the ears of the shrewd old hind who 
 brought up the rear were vanishing and in another 
 moment gone. 
 
 And now the change which came over our movements 
 would have indeed astonished a spectator not in the 
 secret ; we had been moving only with the greatest 
 caution for the last hour, we were now racing at full 
 speed, dashing through water and bounding over rocks, 
 indifferent to every obstacle, and intent only for the 
 moment upon the one sole object of each securing his 
 deer. A turret-shaped rock overhung the path down 
 which the herd were slowly winding, and we were not 
 long in reaching it, my light weight telling in my 
 favour I was first at the point, and looking over the
 
 THE SHOT. 203 
 
 edge of the rock, there I saw the deer just beneath me, 
 and within eighty yards. 
 
 Looking round with no little impatience for Alister, 
 I beckoned him to hurry forward, and then singled out 
 the best deer I could see, ready to fire, the moment he 
 should join me. In another instant he was at my side, 
 a pause followed ot some forty or fifty seconds and 
 then the rocks on all sides rang with the report of two 
 rifles, and the herd tore madly down the pass leaving 
 behind them two fine fat hinds which fell dead without 
 a struggle, and slowly rolling down the hill in the wake 
 of the fast disappearing herd, were presently stopped 
 in their course by a projecting rock where both lay 
 lifeless together. We now descended to admire our 
 booty, Gillespie expeditiously relieved the bodies of 
 their intestines, and other parts which should never be 
 suffered to remain in a deer many minutes after death, 
 and then placing them for concealment under a rock, 
 where the gillies would be able to find them, we started 
 for home, a walk of ten miles, well satisfied with the 
 conclusion of the day's sport. 
 
 The way home was enlivened by anecdotes from 
 both Alister and the fox-hunter. The latter told one 
 curious circumstance, from the hoard of his own 
 experience, which had been suggested to his memory 
 by the awkward position in which we had to-day found 
 ourselves^ when, forced to lie down in the middle of a 
 swamp, as described above. Here it is. He had gone 
 out in search of a hind for the Laird's larder, and early 
 in the day discovered a magnificent beast lying alone, 
 but in a most difficult position. She had chosen a spot 
 whence she could command, either by sight or smell, 
 the whole of the circumjacent ground ; and though an. 
 irregularity in the surface enabled him to creep up 
 within 300 yards of her front, a nearer approach was
 
 204 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 impossible without exposure of himself; and the wind 
 prevented his attempting the stalk from any other 
 quarter. Having approached therefore thus near, he 
 lay down with his head just above the bank which con- 
 cealed him, hoping that the beast would presently rise 
 and either feed towards him, or at least alter her posi- 
 tion for the better by moving off to different ground. 
 Undisturbed by his presence, she continued motionless 
 for more than an hour, quietly chewing her cud ; still 
 he patiently waited, but another hour passed slowly 
 away and yet no change ; and now losing all patience, 
 he determined in some way to arouse the creature aud, 
 if possible, drive her into other and better ground. Ac- 
 cordingly, to use his own expression, he struck the earth 
 before him a hard slap with the palm of his hand, still 
 continuing in his lying position ; on seeing this, the 
 hind, as he had anticipated, immediately sprang to her 
 feet, but instead of retreating as he expected her to do, 
 she immediately advanced two or three paces towards 
 him as though puzzled by the strange movement, and 
 inclined to investigate the cause of alarm. He repeated 
 the slap, and again female curiosity got the better of 
 discretion, and once more she advanced, still intently 
 eyeing him. In this manner he drove her on, step by 
 step, repeating the slap again and again, until the 
 animal was fairly within shot. Then, quietly glancing 
 down the barrel which lay on the heather before him, 
 he fired, and as the hind, at length, when it was too 
 late, discovering the nature of the intruder, sprang 
 round to make her escape, his ball entered her neck and 
 she instantly fell dead. She was (of course!) one of the 
 largest beasts he had ever killed. 
 
 It is not often that instinct is thus outwitted ; but I 
 have lately heard of another incident of a similar kind. 
 Some midshipmen belonging to one of Her Majesty's
 
 INSTINCT AT FAULT. 205 
 
 ships, while on a cruise off the coast of Africa, landed 
 on one of the Cape de Verde Islands for a day's 
 shooting. They spent the whole morning in vain 
 attempts to get within shot of some of the flocks of 
 flamingoes, which are found there in great numbers. 
 At length, giving it up in despair, they threw themselves 
 on the ground to discuss the provisions, which they 
 had brought with them for luncheon. They had not 
 lain long, when a whole flock of flamingoes, not recog- 
 nising in those prostrate objects kicking their heels in 
 the air, the same enemies whom when on foot they 
 had so carefully shunned, drew near, led on by a dan- 
 gerous curiosity, and ventui'ed to approach within so 
 short a distance, that the sportsmen springing to their 
 feet, and snatching up their guns, secured each his 
 bird, before their mistake could be rectified by a timely 
 retreat.
 
 206 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Hector, our new Guide. Sighting the Deer. The Approach. Stalk 
 interrupted. Fresh Game afoot. Council of War. Driving the 
 Deer. Ambush and Shot, A Clue. Fresh Deer wounded. 
 Double Chase. Disappointment. Pursuit continued. Death. 
 Stag at Bay. Fallen Nobility. 
 
 SOON after the expedition recorded in the last chapter, 
 information was brought us by a shepherd, whose 
 cottage was situated in a distant part of the ground, 
 but who paid periodical visits to the Laird's house for 
 supplies of oatmeal and sundry other commodities, 
 that a herd of deer containing some very good heads, 
 was daily to be found in some of the higher valleys 
 in his neighbourhood, and accordingly we started at 
 day-break in search of them. We were not attended, 
 as on almost every other occasion, by Gillespie. Every 
 Highlander seems by instinct to know how to stalk a 
 deer, though some may be much more skilful than 
 others, and on the present occasion we had arranged to 
 put ourselves under the guidance of the above-men- 
 tioned shepherd. Hector, of course 'well acquainted 
 with the ground in his own neighbourhood, was withal 
 a very smartly-built and agile-looking individual, and 
 though without the experience of the veteran fox- 
 hunter, he had an eye keen enough to pick up a deer 
 at any ordinary distance. He had recently disposed of 
 his gun by a raffle, open to the whole country round, 
 on the plea that he had no use for it, but it was vaguely 
 hinted that the old weapon was only parted with that 
 a better one might be purchased in its place. At an 
 early hour Alister and myself mounted each of us our
 
 SIGHTING THE DEER. 207 
 
 Highland pony, and with rifles slung across our backs, 
 started over the moors to the spot where Hector was to 
 be awaiting us; Jock being sent on in front to bring the 
 ponies home again. 
 
 We were not long in joining the shepherd, our 
 ponies having brought us to the top of the very ridge 
 of hills, at the further end of which the deer were to be 
 expected. They were supposed to be the herd which 
 we had seen on our last expedition, then feeding out of 
 the glen to our left, and which we had on that occasion 
 left unmolested. The rugged hollows at the further 
 end of this range of hills were said to be their daily 
 haunt, and by the time we had gained that part of 
 the ground, for it was still at a considerable distance, 
 Hector assured us they would be all feeding in some 
 one of the localities where he had frequently seen them 
 of late. And now, our rifles loaded, we started. After 
 two hours' hard walking over a long stretch of ground, 
 unpleasantly redundant in peat bogs, and wending our 
 way by the stony shore of many a mountain tarn, in 
 which magnificent trout of several pounds' weight may 
 be caught in the early spring, we began to approach the 
 scene of the day's operations. We paused on the 
 banks of a querulous burn, and while washing my 
 mouth with the pure water dancing past our feet, I 
 handed my telescope to the shepherd. Before I had 
 returned to his side, Hector's quick sight had dis- 
 covered the object of our search, he was "just seeing 
 the deer ; " they were on the point of entering a small 
 valley, about to rest, as he assured us, under the shadow 
 of some cliffs which overhung it at the further end. 
 We were now almost to windward of them, and our 
 plan was to make for this group of overhanging cliffs, 
 and there wait an opportunity for singling out a good 
 head. The first step, however, was to get out of the
 
 208 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 wind as speedily as possible, and take another peep at 
 them from a safer quarter, so as to make certain of 
 their destination. For some minutes, therefore, we 
 hurried along as fast as our thews and sinews could 
 bear us, being careful to keep some rising ground 
 between ourselves and the game, until we had gained 
 a position where there was no danger of their winding 
 us. Here we again paused, and creeping up the rising 
 ground on our hands and knees took a second survey. 
 The deer were still a mile or more distant, but with 
 our glasses we could distinctly make out some very 
 good heads. While still watching their movements, 
 we observed that the herd gradually divided into two 
 sections; the one, composed apparently entirely of 
 hind?, beginning to feed away from the valleys towards 
 some still higher ground, while the stags one by one 
 disappeared into the depths of the glen, whither 
 Hector had predicted that they would repair for their 
 mid-day nap. Leaving therefore the hinds to their own 
 devices, we again hastened forward. To gain the rocks 
 from which we hoped to get a shot, we had to make a 
 considerable circuit, so as to wind round two-thirds of 
 the circumference of a precipitous hill, which rose to 
 the left of the valley where the deer were situated ; 
 this involved a walk of fully three miles over very rough 
 ground, but for such contingencies the deer-stalker 
 must ever be prepared, and even learn to bear patiently 
 the disappointment, if after all the stalk prove a failure, 
 as it often does. Failure, however, we will not now 
 contemplate until it occurs, and then cheerfully set 
 about repairing it with redoubled diligence. Away we 
 go then, and in high spirits, for there is noble game 
 before us ; Hector has counted twelve good points on 
 one head, if not more, and we are resolved, that if we 
 fail, it shall not be from lack of patience or care on our
 
 THE STALK INTERRUPTED. 209 
 
 part. We dash across the low ground, three in a row, 
 leaping over the pits in the peat bog, and clearing 
 distances which would scarcely be thought possible in 
 cold blood. Now we breast the steep ascent between 
 two brother heights that crown the glen, and find that 
 in Hector we have a leader, who certainly will not 
 suffer the grass to grow under his feet. But the 
 mountain air invigorates the lungs, and with chests 
 expanded by the exercise, instead of growing fatigued, 
 we feel ourselves each moment more equal to the efforts 
 demanded. 
 
 " Yes, reader, 'tis a manly recreation this of deer- 
 stalking ! where will you woo health in a more enjoy- 
 able or nobler way ? But what, in the name of Diana 
 and Nimrod, are we about ? Hector is sprawling flat 
 on his face, and in half choked accents is bidding us 
 to "flap " as well if we would not " a' thegither " spoil 
 the sport of the day. In hurried whispers, we inquire 
 the cause of this sudden prostration ; and in whispers 
 as hurried are told that there are stags ahead of us 
 within 150 yards. "But I'm afeard, sir," added the 
 shepherd, " I'm afeard, sir, they're away." On question- 
 ing him we found, that just as we were reaching the 
 top of the pass, through which our course lay, Hector 
 had caught sight of the points of receding horns 
 receding however at so slow a pace, that he was 
 uncertain whether the game was aware of our vicinity 
 or not. If however they were, as he feared, " away," 
 they were almost certain to alarm the other deer, and 
 our best plan therefore was at once cautiously to move 
 on, and discover the route they were taking; or, if they 
 were still near, and had not heads to be taken in pre- 
 ference to those already the object of our pursuit, at 
 once to recede a few paces, and by making our circuit 
 still longer, work round to our former game leaving
 
 210 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 these still undisturbed. Again, therefore, we faced the 
 hill, and a few more cautious steps brought us into the 
 pass. No deer were visible. It was clear therefore, 
 that we had disturbed them; but in which direction 
 had they gone ? 
 
 While pausing to satisfy ourselves on this point, 
 Hector's quick sight again served us in good stead, 
 as he discovered three stags of moderate size quietly 
 walking away along the course of a burn, at a distance 
 of between three and four hundred yards. Fortune 
 therefore favoured us. Though disturbed and in full 
 view, they were making their retreat very leisurely, 
 and not in a direction calculated to interfere with our 
 operations. 
 
 And now to resume our stalk : there was a slight 
 descent of half a mile to run over, before reaching the 
 point for which we were making. A few minutes brought 
 us into a long hollow ; a hill lying on either hand, and 
 at the further end of the crags which overhung the 
 position of our game. As we traversed this hollow the 
 hinds, which had separated from the stags, were clearly 
 visible at the distance of about a mile, still feeding away 
 from us. 
 
 The wind however was now blowing in our teeth, 
 and the sun shining from directly behind us ; so that 
 in looking towards us, they would find the light too 
 strong to permit of objects being very distinctly seen, 
 and we were therefore tolerably safe of not disturbing 
 them ; and if they, on the higher ground, were not dis- 
 turbed, the stags lying below would continue unsus- 
 picious. So far, so good, and now we were at the rock, 
 below which we expected the game to be lying. Alister 
 and I sat down, while Hector crept cautiously forward 
 to reconnoitre. 
 
 After an absence of a few minutes, he rejoined us,
 
 COUNCIL OF WAR. 211 
 
 with the pleasing information that the stags, fifteen in 
 number, were all there ; but our pleasure somewhat 
 abated, when he added, that they were lying down, 
 quite out of our reach, except as a random shot, and 
 that there was no possibility of approaching nearer. 
 
 What was to be done ? I have said that we were 
 seated on a rock, at the end of a long hollow, flanked 
 by a hill on either side. As we faced the glen below, 
 in which lay the deer, there was to our left a pass, run- 
 ning out between the two peaks of the hill on that side. 
 Now if the deer could be driven up that pass, they must 
 of necessity make their exit within some 150 yards of a 
 rock a little to our left, behind which we might be 
 located, and thence secure each of us a hasty shot. To 
 drive deer, however, is anything but an easy task, par- 
 ticularly to drive them with the wind. In the present 
 instance, if disturbed, they would in all probability turn, 
 and try to make their way up wind, in the direction by 
 which they had entered the valley. Still this seemed 
 to be our only chance ; for if we waited some hours 
 until they should rise to feed, they would be equally 
 likely to feed away in that direction, and come no nearer 
 our position than they were now. 
 
 After long consultation therefore, when every pro 
 and con which could possibly be foreseen had been 
 discussed, Hector started to retrace his steps along the 
 hollow in which we were seated, and then wheeling off 
 to our left, was to work his way along the back of the 
 hills, so as to enter the glen by the pass through which 
 the herd had come two hours ago; and then if possible 
 to drive them in our direction. Meanwhile we crept off 
 to the shelter of some rocks which lay within a long- 
 shot of the pass through which, if driven as was pro- 
 posed, the deer would make their way. 
 
 Here then we seated ourselves, in such a position as
 
 212 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 would just command a view of the herd, as they lay 
 below, without exposing themselves. For a long time 
 we sat in silence, and the game continued motionless. 
 At length after a lapse of perhaps three quarters of an 
 hour an old stag rose and sniffed the air, with nose 
 pointed upwards, as though indignant at the interrup- 
 tion of his dreams ; and in another instant the remain- 
 ing fourteen with a sudden start sprang to their feet and 
 trotted to the head of a little knoll, whence they had a 
 view in the direction of the alarm. 
 
 These movements we were of course prepared for. 
 It was evident that they had just caught wind of the 
 shepherd, but whether they would be induced to take 
 our direction or not remained to be seen. At this 
 moment the two leading stags sprang forward in the 
 direction of the pass by which they had entered, and 
 at the same moment Hector came in sight. He was 
 within a few yards of the deer; but the two stags 
 boldly faced him, and notwithstanding his shouts, rushed 
 by and made their way off to the pass. The remainder, 
 however, thirteen in number, turned off, and at a wild 
 pace came rushing on in a long line towards the pass 
 within range of our rifles. 
 
 Now then was our opportunity, and we determined 
 to make the best of it. Dropping on one knee we 
 cocked our rifles and waited their approach. The 
 heads were of various sizes from the procah upwards ; 
 but two in particular were conspicuous. One of them 
 had horns of great size and width, but free from points, 
 called in Gaelic a " caber slaht ; " the other was not 
 quite so large, but with six distinct points on either 
 horn, constituting what is called in technical language 
 " a royal head." Just as the herd were passing imme- 
 diately in our front, some movement on our part caught 
 the eye of the leader, and caused a slight halt. This
 
 THE CLUE DISCOVERED. 213 
 
 however lasted but for an instant, when the report of 
 Alister's rifle dispelled all doubts as to the nature of 
 their enemy, and the " caber slaht " rolled over. It 
 was now my turn, and though the deer were holding 
 up the pass at a mad pace, I singled out the royal head 
 and fired. Not however with the same successful 
 result. The ball certainly sounded as if it had gone 
 home in the carcase of some one of the herd, but there 
 was no perceptible difference in the pace of any one of 
 them, arid all were speedily out at the top of the pass 
 and away. 
 
 Perplexed and somewhat annoyed at the failure of 
 what I knew to be a deliberate shot, I descended with 
 Alister, first to admire the fallen 'deer, and then, 
 leaving Hector to disembowel it, we proceeded to the 
 spot at which my shot had been directed, to discover, 
 if possible, whether or where the bullet had struck the 
 ground. No mark was to be found, though our search 
 was continued for several minutes; I now therefore 
 began to hope that the shot had taken effect, and in all 
 probability after the effort of mounting the steep brae 
 before us, the deer if severely wounded would have 
 required rest, and we might yet find him again and 
 secure him. 
 
 Hector, therefore, having now completed his opera- 
 tions, and the stag being laid out under a rock, to which 
 he could direct the gillies on the following day, we re- 
 loaded and started in the track of the herd. Before 
 reaching the head of the pass the shepherd's eye had 
 detected a drop of blood lying, still wet, on a small stone 
 in our path ; this raised our surmises into certainty ; 
 and we now moved forward cautiously, so as not to 
 lose an opportunity if the stag should be lying near. 
 We had just mounted the pass, and were pausing to 
 breathe at its summit, when the deer, a magnificent
 
 214 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 hart, rose from the heather at the foot of a rock, nearly 
 three hundred yards in front, and, without deigning to 
 vouchsafe us more than a hasty glance, crossed over 
 the ledge of rock under which he had been lying, and 
 was immediately lost to view 
 
 Anxious not to leave a wounded beast in all likeli- 
 hood only to die by a painful and lingering death, I 
 fired a hasty shot just as he disappeared, but the bullet 
 flattened against the rock a few feet in his rear, and 
 again he had escaped us. However he was a noble 
 beast, and we were determined, if possible, not to lose 
 him ; loading therefore with all speed, I joined Alister 
 and Hector, as they hurried forward to the spot where 
 he was last seen, in the hopes of watching him till he 
 should again lie down. As we passed the lair he had 
 just left, the blood staining the ground told of the 
 severity of his wound. And now we sat down on a 
 boulder stone, perched curiously at the very summit of 
 a craggy eminence, and began with our glasses to scan 
 the wide stretch of moorland lying before us. 
 
 From the brightness of the sun in front, it was not 
 easy to see any objects distinctly, and from the colour 
 of the ground and the many indentations, and winding 
 seams in its surface caused by the swollen burns in 
 wet weather, a hundred deer might have been within a 
 short distance, and yet have escaped our observation. 
 Hector, however, at length succeeded in discovering 
 the stag, slowly making his way to a part of the ground, 
 where several heads of crag were thrown up to a slight 
 elevation ; ledges of rock which looked as though they 
 had burst through the outer coating of peat, being 
 driven upwards, and almost tilted on end by volcanic 
 agency. There Hector was certain he would again 
 rest, and once more therefore we were off at full speed 
 to make a circuit in the rear of these rocks, and so if
 
 SECOND DEER WOUNDED. 215 
 
 possible get beyond our game. Intent upon this, we 
 were hurrying along and had almost reached the 
 ground where we expected to find him, when on turn- 
 ing the angle of a rock, we suddenly came upon a fine 
 stag and two younger ones. They were within a long 
 shot, and as they dashed away to our right, Alister 
 fired. The stag dropped to his knees wounded, but 
 immediately recovering himself, tore away at great 
 speed across the moor, followed by his younger com- 
 panions, who were shortly afterwards also joined by 
 my wounded stag. And now we had each a wounded 
 quarry to secure, and the sport increased proportion- 
 ately in interest. 
 
 For several minutes we sat watching the animals as 
 they rapidly increased the distance between us, until 
 at length when almost out of sight they entered the 
 grassy hollow, down which the sparkling course of a 
 small burn was visible ; here their pace sensibly 
 diminished, and presently they had pulled up and were 
 looking back in our direction, occasionally advancing a 
 few steps up the banks of the stream, or standing to 
 refresh themselves in its channel. We watched them 
 thus, till they slowly disappeared behind a grassy 
 knoll, and then once more resumed the chase. 
 
 Following the lead given us by the shepherd, in a 
 quarter of an hour we found ourselves past the most 
 open part of the ground, and standing on the banks of 
 the very burn above mentioned, though at a distance of 
 perhaps half a mile below where we had last seen them. 
 We now therefore began to follow its course upwards ; 
 but a pelting rain coming on, forced us to seek shelter 
 under some of the broken banks whose ruptured and 
 riven sides told of the extent and strength of the 
 waters when in speyet. In this way we were detained 
 for a considerable time ; and at length when the storm
 
 216 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 had passed off, we rose from our crouching position, 
 stiff, chill, and far from comfortable. Indeed we 
 were ourselves, in spite of the shelter we had sought, 
 well nigh wetted to the skin, and our rifles looked any- 
 thing but dry. However a nip of whiskey imparted a 
 degree of warmth to our shivering bodies, and the caps 
 of the rifles being changed, in case they might have 
 become damp, we started up the burn. 
 
 Each turn in the bank was now rounded most 
 cautiously, and every inch of ground carefully ex- 
 amined ; but nothing was visible, even though we had 
 passed some distance beyond the spot where the deer 
 were last seen. At length however, Hector pointed to 
 an object just visible above the bank, a little to our 
 left front. It was the rump of a feeding deer ; and not 
 more than 150 yards away. 
 
 Instantly we were creeping forward to shorten the dis- 
 tance and obtain a view. The shepherd advanced first, 
 and slowly raising his head, remained in that position 
 fully ten minutes, keeping our nerves during that 
 period in an unpleasant state of tension ; then, lowering 
 his head as slowly as he had raised it, he informed us 
 that there were fourteen deer feeding and two lying 
 down, one within a beautiful shot, but the other almost 
 out of reach, and the rest feeding further away every 
 instant, his head having caught the attention of a young 
 stag and made them restless. These then were the 
 twelve deer composing the herd, out of which Alister 
 had already shot one, joined by the two young procahs 
 and the two wounded stags ; the latter lying down, and 
 the one within shot being that which I had wounded. 
 It was at once therefore agreed that I should first 
 secure mine, and Alister then take a long shot at his 
 as he rose from the heather and exposed a broadside. 
 Slowly and cautiously I raised my rifle, laid it on the
 
 PURSUIT CONTINUED. 217 
 
 top of the bank, and, taking a steady aim at the neck 
 of my game, pulled the trigger ; but (Di immortales /) 
 the rain had damped the powder, and the gun missed 
 fire. The noise of the cap, however, was enough to 
 send the whole herd helter skelter up the brae ; and 
 Alister's shot, necessarily a hasty one, failed to take 
 effect, whistling over the head of the deer, and so 
 alarming them that they divided and went off in two 
 parties, each division followed by a wounded stag. 
 While Alister reloaded, I shook down some fresh 
 powder into the nipple of my rifle, replaced the cap by 
 a new one, and again we started, Hector and myself to 
 the left in pursuit of my stag, and Alister to the right 
 after his. 
 
 The day was now fast wearing away, and there was 
 no time to be lost. Hector therefore advised that I 
 should follow the stag while I could keep him in view, 
 he meanwhile running off by a short cut to a pass for 
 which the animal was sure eventually to make, there, 
 if possible, to turn him back, so as to give me another 
 opportunity. Away, therefore, we went as fast as legs 
 could carry us, each in his own direction ; and I was 
 soon left to myself, Alister and Hector being both out 
 of sight. Before me, however, at the distance of more 
 than a quarter of a mile, was the stag, still keeping out 
 of reach, but evidently labouring, the short rest having 
 only served to stiffen his limbs. 
 
 I could not but feel for the noble creature as he held 
 on his way with difficulty, but with too much courage 
 to yield. Still this only made me the more anxious to 
 put an end to his sufferings ; and, having passed the 
 crest of a moderate ascent, I increased my pace down 
 the slope which followed, but still found the distance 
 between us, in spite of my exertions, gradually increas- 
 ing. Presently I was compelled to slacken my pace,
 
 218 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 and ultimately to pause, to recover breath, still, 
 however, keeping the stag iu sight. And now we were 
 nearing the edge of a great cliff, overhanging a deep 
 valley, its face being in many parts quite perpendicular, 
 and the descent only to be accomplished in two spots, 
 one by a steep but winding path, and the other by the 
 rocky bed of a burn, the latter, however, so very rugged 
 as to be almost too much for a wounded animal to 
 undertake. The stag was making for the easier descent, 
 without any power on my part to prevent him, and if 
 he should accomplish that, I was perfectly aware that 
 he would be lost in the depths below for this day at 
 least, and probably expire before the search could be 
 resumed on the morrow. This would be a provoking 
 finale to my sport for the day; but it had all been 
 contemplated by the wary shepherd, and his plans laid 
 accordingly. Just as the stag was about to commence 
 the descent, Hector presented himself from behind a 
 ledge of rock, which by a short cut he had reached a 
 few minutes previously; and thus intercepted, the game 
 was forced to make off for the channel of the burn, to 
 which allusion has been made. Hector now joined me, 
 and we both followed the course taken by the deer 
 until the burn was reached. This descent the shepherd 
 was certain the stag could not accomplish ; and accord- 
 ingly, on cautiously looking down its course with my 
 glass, he discovered the animal standing about half-way 
 down, at a point where the rock was most precipitous, 
 evidently unwilling to venture further. 
 
 Now therefore we made a short detour so as to creep 
 in upon the deer's flank as he stood in this awkward 
 position. To perform this feet was by no means easy, 
 but, with such a prize before us, obstacles, which in 
 ordinary cases would have proved insurmountable, were 
 now overcome with marvellous rapidity, and, after sun-
 
 THE DEATH. 219 
 
 dry narrow escapes, I found myself within fifty yards 
 of the stag, his horns just visible above a tuft of 
 heather. Altering my position, therefore, so as to 
 command a view of his neck, I fired. The ball passed 
 through his wind-pipe, and he at once dropped. On 
 reaching the burn, we found that he had rolled twenty 
 or thirty yards down its course, and in the fall had 
 broken off the tip of one of his points. However, he 
 was a magnificent beast, and well repaid the exertions 
 of the day. 
 
 While the usual process of gralloching and disem- 
 boweliug was gone through, I sat down to eat a biscuit 
 and take a nip of whiskey ; and then serving out a 
 similar modicum to my companion, took out my glass 
 and began to look for Alister. Hector was sure that 
 his stag, having taken a different route, would by this 
 time be somewhere in the lower part of the glen to our 
 right ; and, just as I was about to raise my glass to look 
 for him, the distant report and white puff of a rifle 
 told of the exact spot where he was. My glass was 
 immediately directed to the place, and I at once saw 
 him standing in the open ground, his stag still going 
 away a short distance in his front. He had evidently 
 succeeded in creeping in for a long shot, but had fired 
 without success. And now Hector and I were again 
 on our legs ; this time purposing to make for a shepherd's 
 hut, whither Alister would in all probability soon direct 
 his steps, as the shades of evening were fast approach- 
 ing. For half an hour we hurried on, discussing the 
 sport of the day and other kindred topics, with which 
 a Highlander's cranium is usually well stored. 
 
 As we reached the very bottom of the glen, at the 
 distance of a good mile from the spot where Alister's 
 last shot had been fired, a most furious barking of dogs 
 was heard some little distance down the course of a
 
 220 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEEK. 
 
 fair-sized burn which took its rise at the head of the 
 glen, and traversing its whole length ultimately formed 
 the river Redburn. As we approached, the barking if 
 possible increased in ferocity, and Hector gave it as 
 his opinion that some dogs must have brought Alister's 
 deer to bay in the stream. We advanced, and such 
 turned out to be the fact. Two collies belonging to 
 the shepherd, who lived in another branch of the glen, 
 had found the wounded beast, and evidently driven him 
 to a stand-still in this position. We crept in to obtain 
 a view. There stood the stag in the middle of the 
 stream, the water reaching almost to his belly ; in his 
 rear a high rocky bank, and before him the collies, either 
 or both springing forward every instant at his throat, 
 but always repelled by his formidable horns. Now and 
 then the creature made a lunge forward upon them, 
 whereat his two foes speedily made good their retreat, 
 but as readily returned to the charge when his efforts 
 ceased. It was indeed a sorrowful sight ! so noble a 
 beast brought to such indignity. 
 
 Naturalists speak, I know not with what amount of 
 truth, of a stag's shedding tears of anguish in such 
 positions, but I should little admire the spectator who 
 could himself look on such a scene unmoved, in truth 
 a pitiable example of true nobility bereft of its native 
 power and exposed to the unfeeling insults of the low ; 
 and it was with genuine sorrow that, at the suggestion 
 of Hector, I brought my rifle to shoulder, and ter- 
 minated his sufferings by a death more worthy than 
 that which otherwise awaited him from the fangs of the 
 half-ravenous dogs. We drew his floating carcase out 
 of the water, examined his horns, which were large but 
 not so handsome as those of my stag, having in all but 
 ten points; and calling off the dogs, once more 
 started for the shepherd's cottage. There we arrived
 
 HOME AGAIN. 221 
 
 after half an hour's walking, and found Alister seated 
 before a large peat fire, and awaiting our arrival. He 
 had abandoned the chase as hopeless on the approach 
 of night, and made himself comfortable in some warm 
 and dry socks provided by the shepherd's " gudewife." 
 Having refreshed ourselves by half an hour's rest and 
 a cup of tea, of which the hospitable woman would 
 urge our acceptanco, we turned out, and an hour's 
 walking, not improved by the increasing gloom, brought 
 us to the spot where by previous appointment, the dog- 
 cart awaited us. And so we were speedily at home ; 
 and thus closed a day whose sport could rarely be sur- 
 passed for interest and enjoyment.
 
 222 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Fishing. Provisions for the Day. The Route. Eagle shot. The 
 First Salmon. Great Run of Fish. Hard Fight. Variation in 
 the Sport. Deer slain. More Fish. Our Quarters for the Night. 
 Journey Home. Thunder-storm. Seal-shooting. Dredging for 
 Shells. Another Seal. 
 
 THE following is an account, given verbatim, as Alister 
 relates it himself, of a day's sport in the river Dartion 
 in this neighbourhood : * It was the evening of the 
 5th or 6th of August that I resolved to start early next 
 morning for my favourite river, the Dartion ; it was 
 distant about fourteen miles, so I only went to it twice 
 a week ; and if sport was good I often remained over 
 night in a cave close to the river, consequently some 
 preparation was necessary. On this occasion I first 
 of all superintended the packing of a " leathern con- 
 veniency," made for the purpose, with " grub " for the 
 excursion (and allow me to advise you, if you ever 
 should require it, personally to superintend this most 
 necessary preparation for a night in a cave ; and don't 
 trust to either wife or servant, for, in their anxiety to 
 do good, they give what one does not want, and some- 
 times leave out what one does). That you may know 
 what is good to take, I shall tell you what I packed up. 
 A venison ham (salt meat is no objection by a river 
 side), a heap of oat cakes, a few hard biscuits, a home- 
 made cheese, some tea, sugar, salt, etc. ; a knife and 
 fork, and a small tin kettle, which answered as teapot 
 
 * Extracted by permission from " The Field " newspaper, of October 
 2, 1858.
 
 EARLY DAWN. 223 
 
 as well ; and, of course, a bottle of whiskey. I next 
 went to the stables and gave a boy strict injunctions to 
 have the pony and dog-cart at the door before four 
 next morning. I gave Jemmy, my constant attendant 
 on fishing expeditions, his orders. I then put my rod, 
 reel, etc., in places where I could not miss them in the 
 morning ; I filled my pocket-flask ; and ordered the 
 servant to wake me at half-past three, when she was to 
 have the coffee ready. After selecting two or three 
 good flies and testing their soundness, and damping a 
 casting line, I swallowed a tumbler of toddy, and was 
 in bed by eleven, in a state of as great comfort as any 
 man could desire to be in. I was in first-rate health, 
 sufficiently tired to insure sleep, with pleasant antici- 
 pations to brood over until it came. 
 
 Almost as a matter of course I was up next morning 
 in time to awake the servant instead of her rousing 
 me, and then the groom, and then Jemmy. After a 
 good deal of impatience and growling at their laziness 
 for it was a beautiful morning for my purpose ; it 
 had rained all night, and was now blowing a stiffish 
 breeze, and not at all decided whether or not to rain 
 again we were on the road before four, and in forty 
 minutes after at the end of our drive, and at the fox- 
 hunter's house. Here all except some terriers, and 
 one or two fowls that looked as if their minds were not 
 at ease, were still in the arms of Morpheus if he can 
 be supposed to pass the night in an atmosphere of 
 peat smoke. A few knocks inside the door (for the 
 inhabitants do not take the trouble to lock them at 
 night) brought Gillespie to the fresh air in a state of 
 deshabille ; which, however, he very soon changed for 
 his ordinary dress on learning what he was wanted for. 
 The last time I had been at the river, two days before, 
 I had seen an eagle feasting on a wedder that had got
 
 224 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 jambed between two rocks. I expected that he would 
 be in the same place again, so Gillespie got his gun 
 down, took out a couple of bullets that he had had in 
 it, and put in two charges of heavy shot, and away we 
 went just as things were beginning to be recognisable 
 at a hundred yards. I think you know my favourite 
 pass across the hill to Strath Dhu Ca Vullich the 
 top is about 2000 feet above the sea ; the ascent is, 
 however, very gradual, extending over four miles, the 
 highest three miles being about the roughest to get 
 over imaginable nothing but sharp quartz gravel. 
 An hour and a half brought us to the top (Jemmy had 
 a good load on his back), when a breeze of wind suddenly 
 met us that almost stunned me. No one who has not 
 experienced could have an idea that the wind could 
 blow so hard. You would think me exaggerating if I 
 told you half the ideas I had and have of its power. I 
 do not believe one could have heard the report of a 
 12-pounder at a distance of 20 yards against that breeze. 
 The first 300 yards of the descent is nearly perpen- 
 dicular, and entirely formed of great loose quartz rocks 
 of all shapes and sizes, and great caution is required 
 on ordinary occasions in getting down this via mala : 
 this time, however, the wind was blowing right up, and 
 I went down at a run, and felt then that I could not 
 have fallen against it. We were now in sight of the 
 river, winding like a " harmless serpent " far below ; 
 and my vis-a-vis, Ben Fionan, was looking, if possible, 
 blacker and more awful than usual. Now is the time, 
 if I had the ability to describe to you the grandeur of 
 the scenery, for I was then on a spot where I had been 
 completely spell-bound when first I visited it ; but I 
 feel it a hopeless task to give any adequate idea of the 
 sublimity of the scene it was one of the principal 
 inducements that led me so often to that river. After
 
 EAGLE SHOT. 225 
 
 descending a few hundred yards we were in compara- 
 tive calm, and close to where I had seen the eagle ; so, 
 leaving Jemmy to rest, Gillespie and I went forward 
 to stalk him, fully confident that he was there nor 
 were we disappointed. In five minutes I was within 
 forty yards of him, looking at him through a hole 
 between two stones. There he stood on the sheep, 
 lazily pulling off a mouthful of wool occasionally and 
 letting it blow away ; he would then look inquiringly 
 all round, and then have a bite at the meat. I watched 
 him perhaps for ten minutes, and do not know how 
 soon I should have tired of it had I not remembered 
 that the river was right below me, and I imagined the 
 fishes looking up at me upbraidingly for neglecting them 
 so long so I levelled the gun, and bang went the 
 contents of No. 1. As I expected, the eagle rolled off 
 the sheep ; but (as I did not expect) he got up again, 
 and, quietly spreading his immense wings, floated 
 majestically away in the eye of the wind as if nothing 
 had happened, when bang went No. 2, but with no 
 other apparent effect than causing him to start and 
 turn on edge. Away he went as straight as a line for 
 Ben Fionan, leaving me with something of the feelings 
 of Lord Ullin. But he had not gone a quarter of a 
 mile when something went wrong with him, and down 
 he went like a shot into the strath below a fall of, I 
 should say, 1000 feet. He fell on the opposite side of 
 the river. I never did anything that I regretted more 
 than shooting that beautiful, and to me harmless, bird. 
 My belief is, that even where eagles do most harm they 
 more than counterbalance it, for they destroy many 
 times more hares than lambs ; to game they do very 
 little injury, and without them, the Highlands lose half 
 their charm. 
 
 Well, I must say I have been giving rather a queer
 
 226 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 account of salmon-fishing but you may leave it unread 
 if you like, and begin here. In ten minutes after the 
 fall of the eagle I was standing beside my favourite 
 pool (Gaelice, Fowl Doule) putting up my rod and 
 looking occasionally over my shoulder at the rocks, 
 down which I had almost flown in the descent, and 
 wondering how on earth I had escaped breaking my 
 neck. During one of those looks a great splash close 
 by me brought me completely to my senses, and in 
 five minutes more (about half past seven o'clock) I was 
 straightening my line in the stream above the pool. 
 Step by step I descended cautiously (almost with a 
 feeling of nursing my anxiety), letting the fly nearer 
 and nearer the spot where I expected to see it en- 
 gulphed ; and step by step and very slowly on I went, 
 and the fly had been over the spot once, twice, yes, 
 three times, and nothing. I felt hurt, but on I went ; 
 he must rise lower down ; but at last I had fished to 
 the very tail. I turned round, stuck the rod on end, 
 wiped my brow, and would not believe it so to the 
 top again; but a second trial brought confirmation and 
 bitter disappointment. By way of relief I fell foul of 
 Jemmy (who had only just arrived) for taking so long 
 a time in getting down the hill. He got the gaff out, 
 Gillespie got his pipe out (mine was out already), and 
 they followed me as 1 almost plodded along to the next 
 pool, not a favourite one. After two or three prelimi- 
 nary casts I tried the top, a very rapid deep stream, 
 rather carelessly, and at the second cast, as the fly was 
 whirled round by the stream into an eddy, there was a 
 sudden commotion in the stream, a bright flash of 
 foam floated down amongst the brown waters, and a 
 salmon had risen. The river was slightly flooded, so 
 two minutes served to rest him. This time I took the 
 fly cautiously over the same spot, and just as it was
 
 THE FIRST SALMON. 227 
 
 whirling into the eddy again the same glorious dash 
 of foam appeared through the stream ; but this time 
 both Mr. Salmon and I were determined to succeed, 
 and we did I neither jerked nor moved the fly, and 
 in another second the top of the rod bent half way to 
 the water assured me that the salmon had his fly 
 (safely), and I had him. Whether, however, the satis- 
 faction was mutual, I doubt very much from the way in 
 which he behaved ; he flew about the pool like one 
 possessed, whilst I stood apparently calm, but in reality 
 nearly as much excited as he was. He ran so hard 
 and incessantly for ten minutes that at the end of that 
 time he gave up quite suddenly, and allowed himself 
 to be led alongside a rock, behind which Jemmy was 
 watching for him, knee deep in the water, with the 
 gaff. He was floating close to the surface, belly upper- 
 most, and showing no other sign of life than an occa- 
 sional impatient wag of his tail, when the gaff was 
 struck, and he left his native element for ever ; a sharp 
 blow on the head settled him (whenever you land a 
 salmon, kill him at once ; if he is allowed to wriggle 
 about it is sure to spoil the fish). He was a fine lOlb. 
 fish. The tail of the pool furnished a grilse of from 41b. 
 to 51b., which was deposited beside its senior under 
 some heather. 
 
 A council of war was now held, whether up or down 
 stream was to be the order of march ; the point was 
 settled by Jemmy's saying that he had just seen a fish 
 spring out of the water, some fifty yards below, in a 
 pool which I had never tried before, and to which I 
 now proceeded. I tried the top part, which looked 
 much the besif;, but without moving a fin ; and I was 
 saying to Jemmy that we were to have a poor day's 
 sport, when a great splash half way down the pool, 
 where it is rather narrow, with a slight but very deep
 
 228 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 stream, brought me quickly to the spot. At the first 
 cast I gave, and before the fly had gone a yard through 
 the water, I daresay six fish had bolted at it ; they 
 must have jostled each other, for none touched. I 
 cast again immediately, and at it they came again ; 
 but this time I hooked one. I ran him up to the top 
 of the pool, and lauded him on a nice gravel beach, 
 and back I went. The first cast, again there were 
 three or four rises ; the second, another fish was 
 hooked and killed. They seemed so determined to 
 be taken, that Jemmy declared they were having a 
 " Bannish " (Anglice, " wedding ") an occasion on 
 which any piece of folly is pardonable in the High- 
 lands. They certainly must have been affected in 
 some extraordinary manner, for through four hours I 
 stood upon the same spot, only going to the top ol the 
 pool to land the fish, and during that time I believe I 
 never cast twice without raising a fish. At last, about 
 twelve o'clock, they ceased rising all of a sudden, and 
 I ceased trying ; so I had the flask out, took and gave 
 nips, and a bite of bread and cheese, lighted my pipe, 
 and told Jemmy to count them. He began with the 
 smallest, and down they came at my feet, 1, 2, 3, to 11. 
 He stopped, and I was remarking, " This pool has 
 done well, Jemmy," when down comes another into the 
 heap. " That's 12." Down comes another. " Halloa ! 
 how many have you ? " Down comes another, the 
 largest of all, making the lot out of that one pool 14. 
 There they were, 11 salmon and 3 grilse, and a more 
 beautiful or refreshing sight I should never care to 
 see. To say that I felt pleased is nothing 1 made 
 no demonstration of any kind ; but I have not for- 
 gotten, and never shall. After a rest of half an hour, 
 during which the fish were placed on the grass, ranked 
 according to size, and duly admired, and their weights
 
 HARD FIGHT. 229 
 
 guessed (of course, at nearly double what it was by 
 Jemmy, who, in his desire to extol my deeds, couldn't 
 help exaggerating them) I started up stream, tried the 
 pool where I had got the two fish, but without raising 
 one. Tried " Fowl Doule " again, and, after some 
 coaxing, succeeded in raising and hooking a splendid 
 fellow. He kept me half an hour in suspense without 
 having once seen him, for he continued deep in the 
 water, swimming slowly and jerking incessantly a 
 sort of feeling I particularly dislike. After having got 
 him several times into shallow water, and he had 
 rushed madly back again into the pool the only 
 rushes he did make he was obliged to give in at last, 
 and I thought he was almost dead, and certainly past 
 any great exertion, until Jemmy put the gaff into him, 
 when for a moment it was doubtful which of the two 
 was to have the gaff. He was got out safely, and was 
 well worth all the trouble we had had, for as I after- 
 wards discovered, he weighed 16 lb., and was fresh run 
 the largest fish, by- the- way, I ever caught on that 
 river. 
 
 I now began to feel quite satisfied with the day's 
 work. I had thirteen salmon and four grilse ; but as 
 I had made preparations for spending the night, and it 
 was now only two o'clock, I must continue fishing. 
 So up the river I went, fishing pool after pool where I 
 had never before missed fish, but now without seeing 
 one, until, at a small shallow pool (that could scarcely 
 be called a pool if the river had not been high, and 
 which I only tried, as it is the highest up the river, 
 and within half a mile of Loch Dartion, from which the 
 river flows), I gave a cast en passant, expecting to have 
 my fly gobbled by a large river trout. Instead of that, 
 however, it was at once seized by a grilse that flew 
 about the pool, jerking, springing, and twisting as
 
 230 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 grilse only can do, until he got my line jammed and 
 departed with my fly. I put another on, and imme- 
 diately hooked another grilse, which I killed ; then 
 another, which I lost (taking my fly along with him). 
 In that insignificant pool 1 hooked seven fish, only 
 killing two, all the others, except one, carrying away a 
 good fly of more value than the fish. I lost more flies 
 then in that pool than in the whole river besides in 
 that season. I never can understand how it happened. 
 I suspect there must have been a tree root in the 
 bottom. 
 
 The river was altogether in an odd state that day ; 
 the fish were all collected in the highest and lowest 
 pools. 
 
 The events of the day, however, were not yet ended. 
 About four o'clock I rolled up my line and walked 
 direct for Loch Dartion, where I again commenced 
 operations. Gillespie, who accompanied me all day, 
 and took very little interest in fishing, had picked up 
 the eagle ; and now, seated beside a large stone, with 
 his glass across his gun barrel, began examining the 
 side of the hill above us. All at once I noticed his 
 eye brighten ; down came the glass, which he shut with 
 a bang, as he stalked up to me, evidently full of some- 
 thing. At last out it came ; there were twelve stags 
 within a mile of us. He pointed out the spot, and I 
 could see them with the naked eye, as they rose one 
 by one from their bed of long heather, and were 
 stepping downwards slowly, eating as they advanced. 
 Gillespie pointed out a pass through which they must 
 go if disturbed from below, and tried to prevail on me 
 to go there and have a shot ; but he had no ball, so I 
 would not go, but as I wanted a deer for the larder, I 
 allowed him to go and have a try. Away he went with 
 a will, as might be seen by his jog trot, through the
 
 VARIATION IN SPORT. 231 
 
 moss, and, taking a circuit of about three miles at 
 least, appeared on the top of the pass. I then sent 
 Jemmy to start the deer, but he had scarcely moved 
 away when I hooked a large fish. Though in rather 
 a bad place, I trusted to land him by myself, and was 
 busy head and hand in rather a prolonged battle, when 
 boom went the echo, or, rather, the hundred echoes of 
 a shot. On turning in the direction, there was one of 
 the unfortunate stags bowling along over the rocks, 
 and the other eleven rushing past me. Fortunately, 
 the pass is so narrow (I have been there to examine it 
 since, and it is not above six feet wide) that he put the 
 whole charge of shot into the beast's head, and killed 
 him dead at once. 
 
 I got three fish out of the loch that evening before 
 it became a dead calm, and the midges (the only real 
 nuisance in the Highlands) forced us to our hole. 
 There, a stifling cloud of heather smoke soon made 
 them scarce. This cave or hole that I have mentioned 
 once or twice I may as well describe : it is formed by 
 a huge boulder stone, which, along with many thousand 
 others, had fallen from the rock above, and had a 
 large concavity on one side, on which side it rested 
 over some other rocks, knocking a chip out of one end 
 which serves as a doorway. Inside it is about 12 feet 
 by 8 feet, but there is only a space of about a yard 
 square in the centre where a man can stand ; at one 
 corner there is a small opening left between it and its 
 next neighbour which communicates with the air 
 above, and serves as a chimney, and wonderfully well 
 it does, to carry away the smoke. The rock above 
 (from which I said our 1 abitation had fallen) is the 
 grandest I have ever seen. I am sure I do not 
 exaggerate when I say it is 1000 feet perpendicular 
 just over the cave, and so wall-like that it is quite
 
 232 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 inaccessible to any animal except the eagle, et id genus 
 omne, which has its nest right over the cave, but so 
 near the top that it is difficult to discover without a 
 glass, and could never be detected by a stranger. Our 
 first occupation, after depositing our viands in the 
 cave and fumigating the midges, was to issue forth 
 and collect the stumps of old holly and mountain 
 ash trees that had grown and died years ago amongst 
 the fallen rocks ; with these the men soon got up a 
 fire, whilst I was splitting up a grilse at a well of the 
 purest and coolest water, gushing newly from the 
 earth, at a distance of not more than six yards from 
 the cave door. The grass and mosses around this well 
 were torn up by the hoof prints of deer that had 
 drunk there the night before. In a few minutes might 
 be heard the appetite-inspiring sound of the fish 
 hissing on a hot stone which Jemmy had prepared, 
 and very soon we each had a cut of very nicely and 
 cleanly cooked salmon on an oat-cake for a plate. I 
 have often done, and eaten salmon done in this way ; 
 and I fancy there is none better, provided one has a 
 little butter, pepper, and salt. We next had some 
 venison done in the same style, which I did not like so 
 much, so I betook myself to the cold ham, and left my 
 men to roast for themselves ; and roast they did, and 
 ate too, until I fancied Gillespie must have got two 
 deer at one shot, and had them both in the cave but 
 a hardish day's work, after a light breakfast at four in 
 the morning, gives an appetite that would astonish the 
 uninitiated. We then made some piping hot toddy in 
 our kettle ; and very refreshing it tasted, as I lay on 
 an Affghan goat-rug spread over fresh heather, with a 
 pipe filled with good " baccy " in my mouth. To wind 
 up, I had tea the best drink a tired man can have (if 
 I have any hard walking to do, as in deer-stalking, I
 
 NOT AMBROSIANA. 233 
 
 always cany cold tea, without sugar or cream, in my 
 flask, instead of anything stronger), and the men had 
 some more venison cooked. I then betook myself to 
 the heather bed for the night, about nine, and lazily 
 watched and listened to the two men as they sat on 
 stones at opposite sides of the fire smoking and 
 exchanging stories, until I fell asleep. 
 
 My repose that night scarcely deserved the name of 
 sleep. In reality it was five or six hours passed in a 
 half-conscious state of irritation, caused first by smoke, 
 secondly by cold, and thirdly by midges. The last- 
 named plague and, reader, if you don't know midges, 
 plague, I assure you, is too mild a term thoroughly 
 aroused me by five or six A.M. and forced me to 
 evacuate the cave ; for the gillies were not yet awake, 
 and by this time the tobacco and peat smoke had so 
 much dispersed as no longer to be any protection against 
 these tiresome little insects. Taking therefore my rod 
 in hand, I strolled down to the loch through which the 
 river I had been yesterday fishing runs, and though it 
 was a dead calm and the salmon were splashing about 
 in all directions, and evidently in no taking mood, I 
 sauntered along the shore giving an occasional cast, 
 that by moving about I might at least keep off some of 
 " the plague of flies." At length to my astonishment 
 a fish rose and was hooked. For two or three minutes 
 all went well, but by the end of that time I began to 
 find myself entirely at the mercy of my winged 
 enemies ; who, taking advantage of my slower move- 
 ments, now that 1 was engaged in a hard struggle, 
 began to settle in swarms on my hands and neck and 
 every part of my person open to attack. The torture 
 soon became unendurable, and my patience quite 
 exhausted, I began to haul the fish straight in, to the 
 great danger of the tackle. However, I succeeded in
 
 234 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 landing a good salmon, and then, having thrown him 
 up high among the heather, without stopping to kill 
 him, 1 rushed to the water's edge, and immersing head 
 and hands at once sacrificed a hecatomb of hungry 
 midges to appease my irritation. 
 
 And now, dealing the fish a blow on the head, 
 which terminated his life, I conveyed him to the cave, 
 and my attendants having by this time lit a good fire, 
 I lay down for a few minutes more rest while they 
 cooked some of the fish. After breakfast, as there was 
 not a breath of air, I gave up all idea of fishing to-day, 
 and started for home. 
 
 The heat of the sun's direct and reflected rays was 
 so intense among the bare quartz rocks over which 
 lay our course, that we had not gone far before we 
 were glad to seek shelter behind a large stone. 
 Presently, however, we resumed our march, and began 
 the ascent of the " bealloch," or pass, down which we 
 had yesterday travelled so rapidly ; but our pace was 
 now in the opposite extreme. We had not ascended 
 many hundred yards when I was arrested by what I 
 imagined to be the noise of an immense fragment of 
 rock rolling down the hill, but on looking round, though 
 the noise had almost equalled that of moderate thunder, 
 nothing was to be seen. I was completely puzzled to 
 account for this, but Gillespie, without at all seeming 
 to share in my amazement, at once suggested that we 
 had better hasten on. On my inquiring the reasons for 
 this advice, he replied that there would shortly be a 
 tremendous storm, and that the noise I had just heard 
 was caused by the wind in the distance. I laughed at 
 him, as it was now a dead calm ; but before we had 
 reached the top of the pass a slight breeze sprang up ; 
 by the time we were fairly on the top it was blowing 
 " a single reef " breeze, and livid clouds were floating
 
 THUNDER-STORM. 235 
 
 about Ben Fionan in our rear ; and ere we were half- 
 way down the other side of the hill, there was a com- 
 plete hurricane, accompanied by very loud thunder. On 
 reaching the foxhunter's cottage, which stood at the foot 
 of the hill, the rain was beginning to fall heavily, but the 
 cottage was of little use to us, as the wind had just 
 carried away half the thatch. As I passed the end of 
 the loch close by, the spray came flying over a small 
 hill about two hundred feet high and six hundred yards 
 across ; and before I reached home it had drenched me 
 to the skin. However, the goodly show of fish which 
 accompanied nfce more than counterbalanced any such 
 petty annoyances ; and I shall ever look back to those 
 two days and their incidents with pleasurable emo- 
 tions. 
 
 I will now close this chapter by recounting the 
 deaths of two seals. 
 
 I drove down to the Redburn, on a close muggy day, 
 near the end of the fishing season, taking with me both 
 rifle and rod, that, in case the one failed to afford 
 amusement, I might try my luck with the other. As I 
 had almost anticipated, there was no sport to be had on 
 the river : so after watching for a few minutes the 
 salmon which lazily plunged about a large pool, I 
 ordered my pony to be re-yoked, and started for home 
 by a road which runs for a considerable distance within 
 a few yards of the shore of a small arm of the sea. I 
 had not gone very far, when at the end of a low point 
 of land which juts a good distance out into the loch, 
 my eye detected the presence of something unusual. 
 Having left my trap, ordering the boy to drive home 
 if 1 did not shortly rejoin him, I crept down to get a 
 nearer view, and soon discovered two seals, lying on the 
 beach near the water's edge. By the help of sundry 
 fragments of rock, and the natural irregularities in the
 
 236 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 ground, I succeeded in still further shortening the 
 distance, and at length found myself within a hundred 
 and fifty yards, where I could distinctly make out a cub 
 seal, engrossed in the act of sucking his mother, the 
 latter being apparently of an unusually large size. My 
 reader may think it very barbarous of me to have dis- 
 turbed such a scene of blissful innocence and repose, 
 but opportunities like these are not of so frequent occur- 
 rence as to admit of such scruples in "the savage 
 breast " of one who is a thorough " protectionist " in 
 the cause of the Salmonidae. Accordingly with a fisher- 
 man's sympathy, and regarding them as mine enemies 
 who were the salmon's enemies, I took a steady aim at 
 the mother, and fired. She immediately floundered 
 into the water, the ball, as I afterwards discovered, 
 having passed through the upper part of her shoulder. 
 The youngster was so completely taken by surprise, 
 that he also dashed off into his native element, but on 
 the opposite side of the point to his mother. 
 
 I now expected to see no more of either, at least 
 within shot ; but very soon the old seal re-appeared, 
 about two hundred yards from shore, and not quite 
 opposite the point. But to my astonishment I per- 
 ceived that she at once began to make for her former 
 position. I reloaded my rifle, as she was now evidently 
 in search of her cub, and I might yet have a second 
 shot. 
 
 Twice or thrice she dived ; and during each dive I 
 ran forward, so as to be near the beach to receive her 
 warmly in case she came sufficiently near. At last, I 
 had just reached the water's edge, and was standing at 
 the very point of the promontory, when her head ap- 
 peared above water within fifteen yards of me. Before 
 she could again get under water, 1 fired, and the ball 
 entered her head between her two nostrils, and passed
 
 SEAL-SHOOTING. 337 
 
 out through the brain behind. Of course she was 
 perfectly dead ; this, however, I did not know at the 
 time, and not being a very expert swimmer, though she 
 floated on the surface, within twelve or fifteen yards of 
 me, I scarcely liked venturing into deep water, lest on 
 being touched she might partially revive, and deal me 
 an unpleasant cuff in an element where I had the 
 disadvantage. However, as she gradually began to 
 drift away with the tide, I saw there was nothing else 
 to be done, so stripping as rapidly as possible, I 
 screwed up the necessary courage and swam out ; a few 
 cautious strokes brought me alongside ; I gave the body 
 a gentle push, but no signs of life appeared ; the push 
 was repeated, this time less gently but with the same 
 result ; and now assured that there was no danger, I 
 swam towards the shore, shoving my prize before me. 
 But the body thus easily propelled while afloat, I could 
 not move a foot when once it had touched the ground ; 
 and all my efforts proving of no avail, I at once hurried 
 into my clothes, and set off at the top of my speed to 
 the nearest point where a boat was to be found ; this 
 was a distance of about two miles. However, I 
 fortunately obtained four stout men, who speedily 
 pulled me back to the promontory, where to my 
 delight the seal was still lying, the tide having only 
 altered its position by a very few feet. She was a very 
 large beast, being nearly eight feet long, and from her 
 weight our united efforts were insufficient to get the 
 body into the boat. But she was soon made fast by a 
 stout line, and in this way we towed her to the harbour 
 in triumph. In a few days her fat had become oil, and 
 her skin had been cut up into " spleuchans," the best 
 kind of pouch with which I am acquainted for pre- 
 serving tobacco. 
 
 The next day I got the same boat and crew and 
 
 16
 
 238 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 started with a nice breeze to dredge oysters and 
 anything else I might find, rifle in attendance, as 
 before. 
 
 Oysters proved very scarce ; but I obtained some 
 good specimens of other shells, which pleased me more 
 than equally well, conchology being a failing of mine. 
 Amongst others I got several specimens of the Apor- 
 rhais pes pelicani ; several Pectens ; the pretty little 
 Pecten similis, and a very good Pecten maximus ; one 
 very fine Cyprina islandica ; several of the Buccinum 
 and Fusus ; some of the Trochus, and numbers of the 
 Echinus, some of them of an immense size. I also 
 got with some difficulty for they burrow to a great 
 depth some living specimens of the Mya truncata. 
 After spending some hours very pleasantly in this way, 
 I put the boat before the wind and ran for home. In 
 passing an island in the loch, I noticed two seals close 
 to the shore at the west end. Whereupon I immedi- 
 ately changed our course, and landed at the other end 
 of the island ; and leaving the boat in charge of three 
 of the men, I started with the fourth to try for another 
 seal. After great trouble I succeeded in reaching the 
 rock near which I expected to find them. Here I lay 
 for nearly an hour watching their movements. Now 
 and then they swam past me, within ten yards of the 
 place where I lay, puffing and sometimes almost yelling, 
 as they rolled about in the water, totally unconscious of 
 my proximity. At length, as my position was not a 
 comfortable one, I became tired of watching, and took 
 aim at one, just as his head rose above the water. The 
 ball passed through both his eyes ; but he was not shot 
 dead, and at first began to dive, though he was not able 
 to remain below long. Soon, however, he sank to rise 
 no more, and I was pleased that his sufferings were 
 terminated. I dispatched my attendant to run round
 
 SECOND SEAL. 239 
 
 for the boat and the three other men. By the time 
 they arrived the wind had died away and sailing was no 
 longer possible. As we rowed over the spot at which 
 the seal had sunk, we saw him lying extended in death 
 at the bottom. With the help of the dredge we 
 managed to raise him to the surface, and then passing 
 a noose over his head we towed him home as before. 
 He was not nearly the size of the one I had shot on 
 the previous day, though much fatter, and his skin a 
 beautiful white varied by a few black spots.
 
 240 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Excursion to the Forest. Deer alarmed by over-haste.- -Watching the 
 Game. Provoking Interruption. Further Delay. Anecdote: 
 Perilous Adventure : Glissade. Disappointment. Hind slaugh- 
 tered. Second Death. Anecdotes of Rats. 
 
 ON a grey misty morning I sallied forth at day-break 
 in quest of game, with a small whisky barrel suspended 
 from one shoulder, my rifle from the other, and mounted 
 on a highland pony, which brought me to the door of 
 Gillespie's cottage just as the sun appeared above the 
 horizon. He was up and ready, and therefore without 
 more ado I dismounted ; and, as we were to be no 
 'longer in the regions of roads, we started both on foot. 
 The air was unusually still, and everything that had a 
 tongue wherewith to speak was telling its feelings to 
 the new-born day. On the left were heard the various 
 calls of the curlew, the heron, and sundry gulls, that 
 fed about the head of the loch ; the raven was hoarsely 
 croaking as he wheeled about the face ot a high cliff 
 before us ; and, as we traversed the end of a low stretch 
 of boggy moorland extending to our right, some wild 
 ducks were disturbed by our approach, and, breaking 
 off their morning ablutions in the sedgy pools that 
 dotted the strath, mounted into the air, and in shape 
 not unlike so many winged and feathered soda-water 
 bottles, sought in rapid flight the greater security 
 of the loch. But I was bent on other game. The 
 larder was getting low; some yeld-hinds in good con- 
 dition had been reported to have been seen a day or 
 two before, and they were now the object of my 
 search.
 
 DEER ALARMED. 241 
 
 The ground for which we were making I had only 
 visited once before ; but I recollected sufficiently about 
 it to know that on a day still as the one before us we 
 should find stalking very difficult. Accordingly, that 
 no overhaste of ours might disturb the game, we called 
 at the cottage of a shepherd, whose beat took him 
 frequently over the locality to which we were going, in 
 order to learn from him the likely whereabouts of the 
 deer. The shepherd himself we found just about to start 
 for a neighbouring glen, where he had a flock of sheep 
 to visit, and his course to which lay across some of the 
 scene of our intended operations ; so, having gathered 
 from him what information we could, we gave him in 
 return strict injunctions to be careful in keeping to our 
 rear, so as not to disturb any ground we might traverse; 
 and again we got under weigh. Our line lay up a very 
 steep and rugged brae, running off to the south at the 
 back of the shepherd's shieling, and fringed at its 
 summit by very precipitous crags. An hour or more 
 of stiff walking brought us to the foot of these rocks, 
 and we began winding up a narrow and difficult path, 
 which led out at the top to the high ground, lying just 
 beyond, in which we hoped to find the deer. 
 
 Just as we reached the very edge of the rock, one 
 of the shepherd's lads, who had attended us as gilly, 
 incautiously raised his head, without waiting till he 
 had scanned the foreground, and immediately warned 
 us that there were deer within a few yards. Gillespie, 
 inch by inch, advanced to obtain a view, but the boy's 
 hastiness had alarmed them, and they were already 
 out of reach of anything but a random shot, which 
 was not advisable so early in the day, when more 
 sport was yet to be hoped for. 
 
 For a few moments we watched the deer, until they 
 turned down a ravine to the right, and then resumed
 
 242 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 our progress towards the left, into ground to which they 
 would not have communicated an alarm. For some 
 time we advanced from rock to rock, from knoll to 
 knoll, creeping round each turn, with a stealthiness 
 that boded mischief, and examining every inch of 
 ground before us. At length, two deer were discovered 
 in a very exposed position ; both apparently in good 
 condition, but hard to approach. We crept on ; but, 
 after much manoeuvring, found that it was impossible 
 to come within 300 yards of them, without exposing 
 ourselves to view. Accordingly we sat down to watch 
 and wait ; hoping that they might presently feed into 
 better ground. Soon, however, one of them lay down, 
 and her example was shortly followed by the other. 
 And now we knew not what to do. They commanded 
 a full view of the ground in our front, and the little 
 wind there was would not allow of our approaching 
 from any other direction. For some moments we 
 remained quite puzzled ; doubtful whether to fire a 
 shot, with the probability of disturbing any other 
 deer, that might be near, and but small chance, from 
 the distance, of securing either of the animals before 
 us ; or whether quietly to move off, and try elsewhere, 
 leaving them undisturbed. 
 
 While weighing the arguments for and against either 
 of these plans, we were surprised by seeing the two 
 deer suddenly spring to their feet, and dashing 
 over the brow of the hill on which they had been 
 lying, speedily disappear behind it. Evidently they 
 had been alarmed by something. But what could it 
 have been ? Though they were lying with their faces 
 turned straight towards our position, yet we had 
 remained perfectly motionless, with only our eyes 
 above the rock which concealed us, and our hair waving 
 in the gentle breeze like so much dead grass. We
 
 PROVOKING INTERRUPTION. 243 
 
 were confident therefore that their alarm had arisen 
 from no blunder on our part. The difficulty however was 
 soon solved, when we observed a shepherd's dog creep- 
 ing up the side of the knoll on which they had been 
 lying, and gazing about him when he reached the 
 summit, and found the game gone. The shepherd 
 had heeded our injunctions, in being careful to keep 
 to our rear himself, but his caution had not extended 
 to his dog ; which, on coming across our track, had no 
 doubt followed in our wake to see the fun, and on 
 winding the deer, had attempted to stalk on his own 
 account. 
 
 This was provoking enough, and ruffled my temper 
 considerably ; but nothing remained but to repair the 
 failure by renewed operations, having first secured the 
 dog, to prevent further interruptions of the kind we 
 had just experienced. This latter was soon done, 
 and Roderick the gilly was sent back with the truant 
 to his master, with orders that the shepherd should 
 keep a watch on his dogs as well as sheep. And now 
 we started for another essay. 
 
 Having already disturbed deer both to the right and 
 left, we this time turned off in the direction taken by 
 those we had seen first, in the hope that they might 
 have stayed somewhere within reach. After walking 
 for some time without discovering anything, we at 
 length made out the object of our search, two hinds, 
 and three young stags, feeding along the steep side of 
 a hill, in a direction away from us. They were 
 quite unapproachable at present, but evidently working 
 their way towards a pass, through which they would 
 eventually emerge on an open piece of ground, the 
 undulations of which might enable us to get in upon 
 them. Again therefore we were forced to bide our 
 time. Sandwiches were discussed, a nip of whisky
 
 244 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 dealt out to myself and Gillespie, and the deer at last 
 reached the ground to which we had expected them to 
 come. And now we were speedily following in their 
 track, losing no time about it, until we were nearing 
 the pass at which they had disappeared ; and then our 
 movements became caution itself. We emerged from 
 the pass just in time to see the last of the deer dis- 
 appearing, as they all fed down into a gully forming 
 the banks and bed of a small burn, and which afforded 
 us a favourable opportunity of approaching them, pro- 
 vided they remained in the hollow, until we had 
 traversed the small stretch of ground which lay most 
 hazardously open between ourselves and them. Soon, 
 however, we had overcome this difficulty, and were 
 congratulating ourselves on the prospect of speedy 
 success, when one of the hinds re-appeared, and lay 
 down in such a position that it was impossible for us 
 to get within less than three hundred yards of her. 
 
 From the situation in which we found ourselves at 
 this moment, it was dangerous either to recede or 
 advance, lest the quick eye of the hind should detect 
 us ; and we were compelled to sit down behind the 
 rock concealing us, until the game should alter their 
 position. This is really the most trying part of deer- 
 stalking, both to the temper and the health ; for it is 
 frequently the case that these lengthened pauses follow 
 immediately after a forced march, and when therefore 
 the whole person is heated, and the feet generally wet, 
 severe colds, and even more serious consequences may 
 follow, unless the sportsman enjoys a rare constitu- 
 tional hardiness, which renders him proof against such 
 evils attendant on his pursuit of pleasure : but though 
 the chill which often creeps over the frame is not so 
 easily obviated, the monotony of this noonday watching 
 may be relieved by different resources, varying accord-
 
 NON SINE FISTULA. 245 
 
 ing to the taste. A pipe can soothe the spirit 
 impatient of delay ; and speculations as to the future 
 or reminiscences of the past may wile away the time 
 even pleasantly. On this occasion my attendant 
 related, for my amusement, several anecdotes drawn 
 from the hoard of his past experiences. One of them 
 I will give to my readers. 
 
 In front of the position in which we lay, and just 
 across the deep glen lying beneath us, rose a large 
 lumpy tract of high land, extending some miles north 
 and south ; beyond which again, and on the other side 
 of a second glen running parallel with the former, 
 there towered up a congregation of very rugged and 
 precipitous mountain masses, attaining to a consider- 
 able elevation and entirely destitute of vegetation. 
 There the eagle had his eyrie, and the fox his den, 
 both equally secure from human intrusion. The fox- 
 hunter had once, in the heat of the chase, been tempted 
 to follow his hounds into this desolate and dangerous 
 region ; at a time too when it was more than usually 
 dangerous, being covered with a thick coating of snow. 
 
 Thoughtless of the perils about him, he surmounted 
 one difficulty after another, until at length the clamour- 
 ing pack brought him to a ridge of frozen snow, so 
 narrow at its upper edge, that he could only advance 
 by sitting astride of it and pushing himself forward 
 with the united leverage of hands and feet. In this 
 way, however, he succeeded ia making the passage. 
 But not long afterwards his dogs lost all trace of their 
 fox, and baffled and wearied, he gave up the chase. 
 Retracing his steps, he was soon once more at the 
 ridge of snow, and now first became aware of the 
 perilous nature of the path he had chosen. On one 
 side the drift reached down to the edge of a presipice, 
 more than a thousand feet in perpendicular height ;
 
 246 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 and on the other side, in one unbroken sheet, sloped 
 down to a distance of five or six hundred feet. Now 
 it often happens that obstacles surmounted perhaps 
 with ease, under the flush of hope and excitement 
 become magnified when failure has subdued the spirits. 
 And though the ridge of snow had been passed with 
 safety but a little before, it now presented a barrier 
 before which the courage both of hunter and hounds 
 quailed with trepidation. As he looked down into the 
 depth below, on either side, he almost shuddered to 
 think that he had crossed such a place ; but the thought 
 that it still lay between himself and home was more 
 unpleasant still. Darkness, however, was coming on 
 apace, and he knew full well that if he would not pass 
 the night on those snowy heights the passage must be 
 made again. Urging his dogs forward, therefore, he 
 prepared to follow them ; but his own want of con- 
 fidence appeared to have extended to his dumb com- 
 panions, and though unable to speak or remonstrate, 
 they obeyed with instinctive reluctance. The leading 
 hound, however, had not advanced far when he lost his 
 footing, and in spite of every effort to recover himself, 
 rolled down one of the steep banks of snow before 
 mentioned. The fox-hunter watched his hound until 
 in the waning light it was almost out of sight ; but 
 then seeing that its fall was arrested by some level 
 surfaces, where it now stood, apparently without hurt, 
 he determined rather than face the danger of the 
 narrow ridge before him, in the gloom of evening, 
 to follow his hound's example ; knowing from his 
 acquaintance with the locality, that if he once gained 
 the lower ground, the greatest difficulty in his way 
 home would be past. Calling back the rest of his 
 pack, therefore, he rolled up his plaid, and seating 
 himself upon it as a cushion, began to slide down the
 
 GLISSADE. 247 
 
 snow in the direction taken by his four-footed precursor. 
 But thus to shoot a steep slope 500 or 600 feet in 
 length is no trifling performance, and not without 
 hazard. How he reached the bottom he has never 
 been able to remember from that day to this. He 
 recollected launching himself forth on the snow, then 
 followed a wild rush through the air, a choking sensa- 
 tion, and a giddy feeling of bewilderment, and his 
 next moment of consciousness was as he lay half- 
 buried in the level snow at the foot of the slope ; his 
 hounds gathering about him, and all of them like him- 
 self uninjured. The rapidity of his descent was soon 
 fully demonstrated, when on rising to search for his 
 plaid before resuming his journey homewards, not a 
 vestige of it remained. The whole, as well as a portion 
 of his coat and trousers, had evaporated into shreds 
 and ribbons in his course over the snow. 
 
 For nearly two whole hours anecdotes like this 
 served to while away the time as we waited for the 
 hind to break off her mid-day dreams and ruminations. 
 At length, when patience was well nigh exhausted, we 
 were delighted to see her rise, descend for a moment 
 into the hollow through which ran the burn, and then, 
 re-appearing on the further side with her other com- 
 panions, gently browse her way over the bank into 
 some sheltered ground beyond. And now in a moment 
 'we were rushing helter-skelter to reach the bed of the 
 burn before any new movement should interrupt our 
 operations, hoping to be in time for a shot over the 
 bank. On taking a breath then in the burn, and 
 creeping forward for a view, what was our mortifica- 
 tion to find the game again absconded, and joined 
 apparently by the two deer whom the dog had alarmed 
 earlier in the day, all walking away in a manner that 
 foreboded but ill for our chance of getting a shot. It
 
 248 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 was clear that, owing to the stillness of the day and the 
 unsteadiness of the little wind there was, they had 
 caught enough scent of us to be on the alert, though 
 not greatly alarmed ; and after watching them, and for 
 some little time following them, without succeeding in 
 getting nearer, we resolved, as the best of the day was 
 now past, and there were no signs of their again 
 becoming careless, to leave them without further delay, 
 and try some fresh ground. 
 
 After a very forced march of a mile or two we came 
 in sight of deer feeding on a slightly rising eminence 
 at some distance from us. For a few minutes we lay 
 down to consult on the plan of operations, and then 
 with recovered wind and spirits began the stalk. A 
 slight detour had to be made to keep another rising 
 ground between ourselves and the game. Every now 
 and then we paused to peer over some crag, and then 
 hurried on again under shelter of the " banks and 
 braes." Everything went on smoothly ; the deer were 
 evidently a fresh herd, which had as yet been un- 
 disturbed. Each time we paused to reconnoitre, the 
 distance between us was sensibly diminished. At 
 length, following the example of my leader, I crept ou 
 hands and knees for some distance till we reached a 
 boulder stone, over which Grillespie bade me look very 
 cautiously and on looking what did I see ? ? A fine 
 hind feeding within eighty yards, and in perfect 
 innocence of our proximity. Slowly and cautiously 
 I raised my rifle, aimed at the deer's shoulder as near 
 to the heart as her position would allow, and fired. 
 She fell without a struggle. 
 
 The shot being a single one so little alarmed the 
 rest of the herd, consisting of another good hind and 
 five or six young stags, that we remained in our place 
 of concealment, until having trotted away to a distance
 
 HIND SLAUGHTERED. 249 
 
 of not more than half a mile they paused. Here one 
 by one they began to feed, occasionally looking about 
 them as if puzzled to make out what had happened, 
 for the slain deer had been feeding apart from the rest, 
 and therefore they had not seen her fall. Roderick, 
 the gilly, who had some time before this returned from 
 taking the dog back to his father, was now left to 
 remove the intestines of the hind and prepare her 
 body for removal, while we went on to try for another. 
 
 The herd, conscious of some danger, though not 
 knowing in what quarter, had taken up a position in 
 which it was impossible to accomplish a near approach. 
 The plan, therefore, which we adopted was that I should 
 hasten forward to a crag, below which their course 
 would probably lie, if disturbed, while my attendant 
 should presently show himself, and so hasten their 
 movements, as well as render them less suspicious of 
 danger in any other direction. This we began to put 
 into execution at once, for evening was fast approaching. 
 A few minutes sufficed for me to reach my position ; 
 and I had not been ensconced there five minutes more, 
 when the herd, alarmed at the sight of Gillespie, came 
 trotting along in my direction. When however they 
 were still about three hundred yards off, they suddenly 
 seemed to wind me. and all stood still ; then changing 
 their course, they began to make for a slight break in 
 a line of cliffs below them, down which they clearly 
 intended to go. 
 
 Here then was a critical moment. This was my 
 last chance, I fully knew, for the day ; and the deer 
 would very soon be out of shot. So putting up " the 
 sight " of my rifle to 300 yards, and aiming very 
 deliberately at the hind, I watched for the moment 
 when she should pause ere commencing the descent 
 through the narrow pass, and just at that moment
 
 250 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 pulled the trigger. From the manner in which she 
 sprang forward I was quite certain that she was hit ; 
 and reloading, I hastened forward, to find her prostrate 
 at the bottom of the pass and quite dead. The ball 
 being fired from above, had entered her neck just 
 between the shoulder blades, and passing through, 
 came out in the very centre of her chest. 
 
 This was a satisfactory finale to an eventful day, and 
 we now started for home, glad that we could report so 
 important an accession to the larder. 
 
 Before closing the present chapter I shall record an 
 anecdote or two which I have lately heard on good 
 authority with regard to the habits and instincts of 
 rats, and which may not be without interest to the 
 naturalist. 
 
 We all know the saying that rats, with a prescience 
 not possessed by humanity, desert the ship which is 
 leaving port for the voyage on which she will be lost. 
 And a late officer in Her Majesty's Navy once assured 
 me that he had heard of a number not only taking 
 their own departure, but also carrying along with them 
 the body of a defunct companion, which they conveyed 
 over the ship's side, rolled up in a bit of canvas 
 purloined from the stores, and handing the corpse 
 from one to another with a care and regularity worthy 
 of creatures of a higher order. Whether this partakes 
 somewhat of the nature of a sailor's yarn, or whether 
 it be a veritable relation of facts, I leave to others 
 more capable than myself to decide. But the following 
 I can vouch for. 
 
 Between twenty and thirty years ago, the house 
 occupied by my friend, the laird, and which has now 
 made way for a commodious residence, was a row of 
 very old buildings ; and like many other old buildings, 
 these were infested with rats. As an evidence of this,
 
 ANECDOTES OF RATS. 251 
 
 the laird's eldest son remembers that when a little 
 boy, in the midst of family prayers, he was alarmed by 
 a rat falling through the roof and alighting on the top 
 of his head. At one time some spoons and forks were 
 missed from the silver-closet. No one knew who was 
 suspected ; but the closet was kept locked and carefully 
 watched. Noth withstanding all their vigilance, how- 
 ever, spoon after spoon kept disappearing, and no clue 
 to the thief was to be discovered. 
 
 At length the mystery was solved. One day a visitor, 
 being taken unwell, remained in the room while the 
 rest of the family had gone out ; when all in the house 
 was still, he heard a long continued rattling of silver in 
 the closet ; and on the return of the hostess informed 
 her of the fact. The closet was now opened ; when, 
 behold ! the soup ladle had been taken out of the tray, 
 the handle of it had disappeared through a hole in the 
 boards forming the back of the closet, but the rest was 
 too large to follow. The rats had for once been over- 
 matched. The hole was large enough for the passage 
 of ordinary spoons and forks, but when they aspired to 
 the soup ladle, the " Sacra fames" not " auri " but 
 " argenti" foiled all further depredations, by leading 
 to the discovery and explanation of the theft. On 
 removing the boards the rest of the missing silver was 
 discovered carefully hoarded together. About the time 
 of which I write, these old buildings were in part pulled 
 down to make way for the present residence. The 
 alterations began with the kitchen, the thatch of 
 which was removed, and the dilapidated walls pulled 
 down. 
 
 These measures seem to have created an immense 
 panic among the rat population at large. So great 
 indeed was the alarm that all the rats at once migrated 
 from the place ; and not a single rat has ever been
 
 252 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 
 
 seen since with the exception of seven which were 
 found on the following day, crowded together in a small 
 hole, whither they had rushed in the general alarm 
 their presence there being discovered by the protrudiug 
 tail of the last rat, for whose total concealment there 
 was not sufficient room left. It is also said that about 
 a fortnight afterwards a great number of rats arrived 
 at a place, distant from this some five-and-thirty miles ; 
 and though rats had never been seen there before, they 
 have since continued to frequent the place. 
 
 The most extraordinary instance of sagacity in a rat 
 that I am acquainted with is the following, which would 
 appear almost incredible, though it attained a very- 
 general circulation in the newspapers a short time 
 ago. 
 
 A piece of bread or something of the kind was 
 spread over with a mixture of butter and poison, and 
 placed in the way of some rats whose destruction was 
 meditated. An old rat, however, was found too cunning 
 for his enemies. He rolled himself about on the 
 bread, and thus rubbed off the poison, and then ate the 
 bread with impunity. 
 
 THE END.
 
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 run." BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 " This is a very entertaining work and written, moreover, in 
 an agreeable and modest spirit. We strongly recommend it as 
 containing much instruction and more amusement. ATHENAEUM.
 
 AND NEW EDITIONS. \\ 
 
 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES OF GLAS- 
 GOW. A Bibliographical Study. By THOMAS MASON. 
 Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. net. 
 
 A strictly Bibliographical work dealing with the subject of rare 
 and interesting works, and in that respect describing three of the 
 public and thirteen of the private libraries of Glasgow. All of 
 especial interest. 
 
 THE LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. BT 
 JOHN D. CARRICK. Fourth and cheaper edition. 
 Royal 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 The best life of the great Scottish hero. Contains much valu- 
 able and interesting matter regarding the history of that histori- 
 cally important period. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF MORAY. 
 By LACHLAN SHAW. New and Enlarged Edition, 
 3 Vols., Demy 8vo. Price 30s. Net. 
 
 The Standard History of the old geograp' *cal division termed 
 the Province of Moray, comprising the Counties of Elgin and 
 Nairn, the greater part of the County of Inverness, and a por- 
 tion of the County of Banff. Cosmo Innes pronounced this to 
 be the best local history of any part of Scotland. 
 
 HIGHLAND LEGENDS. By SIR THOMAS DICK 
 LAUDER. Crown 8vo. Price 6s. 
 
 Historical Lepends descriptive of Clan and Highland Lift 
 and Incident inj^rmer times. 
 
 TALES OF THE HIGHLANDS. By SIR THOMAS 
 DICK LAUDER. Crown 8vo. Price 6s. 
 
 Uniform with and similar in character to the preceding, 
 though entirely different tales. The tv ' are companion volumes . 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT MORAY FLOODS 
 
 IN 1829. By SIR THOMAS DICK LAUDER. Demy 
 
 8vo., with 64 Plates and Portrait. Fourth Edition. 
 
 Price 8s. 6d. 
 
 A most interesting work, containing numerous etchings by the 
 
 AutJurr. In addition to the mainfeature of the book, it contains 
 
 much historical and legendary matter relating to the district* 
 
 through which the River Spey runs.
 
 12 NEW BOOKS , , 
 
 OLD SCOTTISH CUSTOMS: Local and General. By E. 
 
 J. GUTHRIE. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. 
 Oives an interesting account of old local and general Scottish 
 customs, now rapidly being lost sight of. 
 
 A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE BELIEF IN 
 WITCHCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. By CHARLES 
 KIRKPATRICK SHARPE. Crown 8vo. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
 Gives a chronological account of Witchcraft incidents in Scot- 
 land from the earliest period, in a racy, attractive style. And 
 likewise contains an interesting Bibliography of Scottish books on 
 Witchcraft. 
 
 "Sharpe was wett qualified to gossip about these topics." 
 SATURDAY REVIEW. 
 
 "Mr. Sharpe has arranged att the striking and important 
 phenomena associated with the belief in Apparitions and Witch- 
 craft. An extensive appendix, with a list of books on Witchcraft 
 in Scotland, and a useful index, render this edition of Mr. 
 Sharpe' s work all the more valuable." GLASGOW HERALD. 
 
 TALES OF THE SCOTTISH PEASANTRY. By 
 ALEXANDER and JOHN BETHUNE. With Biography 
 of the Authors by JOHN INGRAM, F.S.A.Scot. Post 
 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 " It is the perfect propriety of taste, no less than the thorough 
 intimacy with the subjects he treats of, tJiat gives Mr. Bethune's 
 book a great charm in our eyes." ATHENJEUM. 
 
 " The pictures of rural life and character appear to us re- 
 markably true, as wett as pleasing." CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL. 
 
 The Tales are quite out of the ordinary routine of such litera- 
 ture, and are universally held in peculiarly high esteem. The 
 following may be given as a specimen of the Contents: " The 
 Deformed," "The Fate of the Fairest," "The Stranger," "The 
 Drunkard," "The Illegitimate," "The Cousins," die., &c. 
 
 A JOURNEY TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS OF 
 SCO TLA ND IN 1 773. By SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL. D. 
 Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 
 Written by Johnson himself, and not to be confounded with 
 
 BosweU's account of the same tour, Johnson said that some of 
 
 kia best writing is in this work.
 
 AND NEW EDITIONS. 13 
 
 THE HISTORY OF BURKE AND HARE AND OF 
 THE RESURRECTIONIST TIMES. A Fragment 
 from the Criminal Annals of Scotland. By GEORGE 
 MAC GREOOR, F.S.A.Scot. With Seven Illustrations, 
 Demy 8vo. Price 7s. 6d. 
 
 " Mr. MacGregor has 'produced a book which is eminently 
 readable." JOURNAL OF JURISPRUDENCE. 
 
 " The book contains a great deal of curious information." 
 SCOTSMAN. 
 
 ' He who takes up this book of an evening must be prepared 
 to tup full of horrors, yet the banquet is served with much of 
 literary grace, and garnished with a deftness and taste which 
 render it palatable to a degree." GLASGOW HERALD. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF GLASGOW: From the Earliest 
 Period to the Present Time. By GEORGE MAC GRE- 
 GOR, F.S.A.Scot. Containing 36 Illustrations. Demy 
 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. 
 
 An entirely new as well as the fullest and most complete his- 
 tory of this prosperous city. In addition it is the first written 
 in chronological order. Comprising a large handsome volume 
 in Sixty Chapters, and extensive Appendix and Index, and 
 illustrated throughout with many interesting engravings and 
 drawings. 
 
 THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF DOUGAL 
 GRAHAM, "Skellat," Bellman of Glasgow. Edited 
 with Notes, together with a Biographical and Biblio- 
 graphical Introduction, and a Sketch of the Chap 
 Literature of Scotland, by GEORGE MAC GREGOR, 
 F.S.A.Scot. Impression limited to 250 copies. 
 2 Vols., Demy 8vo. Price 21s. net. 
 With very trifling exceptions Graham was the only writer of 
 purely Scottish chap-books of a secular description, almost all 
 the others circulated being reprints of English productions. His 
 writings are exceedingly facetious and highly illustrative of the 
 social life of the period. 
 
 SCOTTISH PROVERBS. By ANDREW HENDERSON. 
 
 Crown 8vo. Cheaper edition. Price 2s. 6d. 
 A cheap edition of a book that has long held a high place in 
 Scottish Literature.
 
 14 NEW BOOKS 
 
 THE BOOK OF SCOTTISH ANECDOTE: Humor- 
 ous, Social, Legendary, and Historical. Edited by 
 ALEXANDER HISLOP. Crown 8vo., pp. 768. Cheaper 
 edition. Price 5s. 
 
 The most comprenensive collection of Scottish Anecdotes, con- 
 taining about 3,000 in number. 
 
 THE BOOK OF SCOTTISH STORY: Historical, 
 Traditional, Legendary, Imaginative, and Humorous. 
 Crown 8vo., pp. 768. Cheaper edition. Price 5s. 
 A most interesting and varied collection by Leading Scottish 
 Authors. 
 
 THE BOOK OF SCOTTISH POEMS: Ancient and 
 Modern. Edited by J. Ross. Crown 8m, pp. 768. 
 Cheaper edition. Price 5s. 
 
 Comprising a History of Scottish Poetry and Poets from the 
 earliest times. With lives of the Poets and Selections from their 
 Writings. 
 
 * * These three works are uniform. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE WESTERN ISLES OF 
 SCOTLAND, CALLED HYBR1DES. With the 
 Genealogies of the Chief Clans of the Isles. By SIR 
 DONALD MONRO, High Dean of the Isles, who 
 travelled through most of them in the year 1549. 
 Impression Jmited to 250 copies. Demy 8vo. Price 5s. 
 This is the earliest written description of the Western Islands, 
 
 and is exceedingly quaint and interesting. In this edition all the 
 
 old curious spellings are strictly retained. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE WESTERN ISLANDS 
 OF SCOTLAND CIRCA 1695. By MARTIN MARTIN. 
 Impression limited to 250 copies. Demy 8vo. Price 
 12s. 6d. 
 
 With the exception of Dean Monro's smaller work 150 years 
 previous, it is tJie earliest description of the Western Islands we 
 have, and is the only lengthy work on the subject before the era 
 of modern innovations. Martin very interestingly describes tht 
 people and their ways as he found them about 200 years ago.
 
 AND NEW EDITIONS. 15 
 
 THE SCOTTISH POETS, RECENT AND LIVIN&. 
 
 By ALEXANDER G. MURDOCH. With Portraits, Post 
 
 8vo. Price 6s. 
 
 A most interesting resume of Scottish Poetry in recent times. 
 Contains a biographical sketch, choice pieces, and portraits of 
 the recent and living Scottish Poets. 
 
 THE HUMOROVS CHAP-BOOKS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 By JOHN FRAS^R. 2 Vols., Thin Crown 8vo (all 
 
 published). Price 5s. net. 
 
 An interesting and racy description of tin-, chap-book literature 
 of Scotland, and biographical sketches of il& writers. 
 
 THE HISTOR T OF STIRLINGSHIRE. By WILLIAM 
 NIMMO. 2 Vols., Demy 8vo. 3rd Edition. Price 25s. 
 
 A new edition of this ~tandard county history, handsomely 
 printed, and with d^^ailed map giving the parish boundaries 
 and other matters of interest. 
 
 This county has been termed the battlefield of Scotland, and 
 in addition to tlte many and important military engagements 
 that have taken plaice in this district, of all which a full account 
 is given, this part rf Scotland is of especial moment in many 
 other notable respe^^s, among whfch particular reference may 
 be made to the Roman Wall, the greater part of this most 
 interesting object ben tt/ situated within the boundaries of the 
 county. 
 
 A POPULAR SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF 
 
 GLASGO W: From the Earliest Period to the Present 
 
 Time. By ANDREW WALLACE. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 The only attempt to write a History of Glasgow suitable for 
 
 popular use. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 
 AND ISLES OF SCOTLAND, from A.D. 1493 to 
 A.D. 1625. With a brief introductory sketch from 
 A.D. 80 to A.D. 1423. By DONALD GREGORY. Demy 
 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. 
 
 Incomparably the best history of the Scottish Highlands, and 
 written purely from original investigation. A Iso contains parti- 
 cularly full and lengthened Contents and Index, respectively at 
 beginning and end of the volume..
 
 16 NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS. 
 
 THE HISTOR Y OF A YRSHIRE. By JAMES PATKRSON. 
 
 5 Vols., Crown 8vo. Price 28s. net. 
 The most recent and the fullest history of this exceedingly 
 interesting county. The work is particularly rich in the de- 
 partment of Family History. 
 
 MARTYRLAND: a Historical Tale of the Covenanters. 
 
 By the Eev. ROBERT SIMPSON, D.D. Crown 8vo. 
 
 Cheaper Edition. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 A tale illustrative of the history of the Covenanters in the 
 South of Scotland. 
 
 TALES OF THE COVENANTERS. By E. J. 
 
 GTJTHRIE. Crown 8vo. Cheaper Edition. Price 2s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 A number of tales illustrative of leading incidents and char- 
 acters connected with the Covenanters. 
 
 PERSONAL AND FAMILY NAMES. A Popular 
 Monograph on the Origin and History of the Nomen- 
 clature 01 the Present and Former Times. By HARRY 
 ALFRED LONG. Demy 8vo. Price 5s. 
 Interesting investigations as to the origin, history, and meaning 
 
 of about 9,000 personal and family names. 
 
 THE SCOTTISH OALLOVID1AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA 
 
 of the Original, Antiquated, and Natural Curiosities 
 . * of the South of Scotland. Bv JOHN MACTAGOART. 
 Demy 8vo. Price raised to 25s. net. Impression 
 limited to 250 copies. 
 
 Contains a large amount of extremely interesting and curious 
 matter relating to the South of Scotland. 
 
 THE COMPLETE TALES OF THE ETTR1CK 
 
 SHEPHERD (JAMES HOGG). 2 vols., Demy 8vo. 
 An entirely new and complete edition of the tales of this 
 popular Scottish writer. 
 
 GLASGOW : THOMAS D. MORISON. 
 
 LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, 
 
 KENT & CO.
 
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