Skip to main content

Full text of "The Art of Deer-stalking: Illustrated by a Narrative of a Few Days' Sport in ..."

See other formats 


This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project 
to make the world's books discoverable online. 

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject 
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. 

Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 
publisher to a library and finally to you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. 

We also ask that you: 

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for 
personal, non-commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web 



at |http : //books . google . com/ 



|fev j' .''^V'* 







•> • • '^ 






w^m 



• i.*N.^ 



#.^ 






i^. 



y.^^gii^::-^ 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE 



ART OF DEER-STALKING. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Printed by A. SrosnfwooBi, 
New.StreeuSquara. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by 



Google 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



P .,'■' '•TJ 



f, "(J "T- 



i -^ y :l .ly .1:1 i! :i \. ^ j , -. / V. f I 7 , L 










f**"^^J 



y j,,2N"-- 



. LK .-:;; J f I K :,' m m .-, !< .w , a r i^. v. vta ;'. l k st h f k r 



-^ \ : ^\ Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE 

ART OF DEER-STALKING; 

ILLUgTRATJED BT 
A ]rAB.&ATXyX OF A FKW DATS* StOKT ZX 

THE FOREST OF ATHOLL, 

WITH aOMM ACCOUlfT OF 

THE NATURE AND HABITS OF RED DEER, 

AK9 A SHORT DUCMFTIOir OF 

THE SCOTTISH FORESTS; 

LEGENDS; SUPERSTITIONS; STORIES OF POACHERS AND 
FREEBOOTERS, ftcfte. 



WILLIAM SCROPE, ESQ., F.L.S. 

'I 

AlTD Wimm OF THE ACASXICT OF SAN* LUCA, EOKX. 



' Tw sidas numtliuii, et rotdda oeipitum, et labrica TaUium."— . Sin. 



ILLUSTRATKD BT 

ENORAYINGS AND LITHOGRAPHS, 

AFTER FAINTINOB BY EDWIN AND CHARLES LAND8BSR, ESQRS.f 
AND BY THE AUTHOR. 

A NEW EDITION. 

LONDON: 
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, 



MDCCCXXXIX. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 






<* My heart *8 in the Highlands, my heart is not here^ 
My heart's in the Highlands a hunting the deer; 
A chasing the wild deer, and following the roe, 
Vf heart 's in the Highlands wherever I go.** 

OUSonp. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



^n 



TO 

HER GRACE 

THE DUCHESS OF ATHOLL. 



Mt dear DuCHE5S» 

I VENTURE to inscribe the following 
pages to Your Grace, however lightly they may 
be written. 

Years have passed over the exciting amuse- 
ment which they treat of, but the glories of the 
Highland landscape, though faded from my 
view, are dear to my remembrance, and I look 
back, as from out of a cheerless glen, upon 
these distant and sunny scenes of my life.-— 
Yes, the pleasures of my mountain sport are 
indeed at an end; but my deep gratitude 
towards those, through whose kindness and 

A 3 



ivir?0181 

Digitized by VjOOQIC 



VI DEDICATION. 

hospitality I enjoyed both that sport, and the 
delightful society by which it was varied, has 
not passed away with the fleeting hours, but ha* 
rather been strengthened by time and circum- 
stances. 

Happy still in the enjoyment of that steady 
friendship you have condescended to bestow 
upon me, 

I have the honour to remain, 

With great respect and regard. 
Your Grace's most obliged 
and obedient Servant, 

THE AUTHOR. 



13. Belgrave Square, 
J^Af, 1839. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PREFACE. 



*< Shall a poaching, hunting, hawking 'squire presume 
to trespass on the fields of literature ? ** These words, 
or others of similar import, I remember to have encoun- 
tered in one of our most distinguished reviews. They 
ring still in my ears, and fill me with apprehensions as 
it is ; but they would alarm me much more if I had 
attempted to put my foot within the sacred enclosures 
alluded to. These are too full of spring traps for my 
ambition, and I see '^ this is to give notice '' written in 
very legible characters, and take warning accordingly. 

Literature ? — far from it, I have no such presumption ; 
I have merely attempted to describe a very interesting 
pursuit as nearly as possible in the style and spirit in 
which I have always seen it carried on. Ten years* 
successful practice in the forest of Atholl have enabled 
me to enter into all the details that are connected with 
deer-stalking. That it is a chase which throvirs all our 
other field-sports far in the back-ground, and, indeed, 
makes them appear wholly insignificant, no one, who 
has been initiated in it, will attempt to deny. The 
beautiful motions of the deer, his picturesque and noble 
appearance, his sagacity, and the skilful generalship 

A 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



VIU PREFACE. 

which can alone ensure success m the pursuit of him, 
keep the mind in a constant state of pleasurable ex- 
citement* 

Those arts which are the most successful for killing 
the stag will apply to almost all other wild quadrupeds 
of the nobler sort ; and a correct acquaintance with 
them might possibly be the means of saving many an 
adventurer's life, whose actual sustenance, and that of 
his companions, depended on his skill in hunting. In 
exploring unknown regions lor the advancement of sci- 
ence, or east, as men may be, on a desolate shore, how 
necessary, how indispensable^ is a knowledge of the 
huntsman's craft for theactual preservation of existence ! 
And yet, in such travels as I have read, I have never seen 
this craft fitUy explained, the adventurer having been 
under the guidance of the natives, and for the most part 
a novice in the business* 

In my narrative of a few days' deer-stalking in the 
forest of AthoU, I have not, except in one instance, 
noted my best success -— far from it. My aim has been 
to confine myself to such events as I thought best caki>- 
lated to illustrate a diversion, which all sportsmen, who 
have the means in their power, are now pursuing with 
unabating ardour* 

I have thought it desirable to describe the motions of 
the red deer under every variety of pursuit and danger 
to them ; to set forth their great sagacity and sel&possesh 
sion; their courage and noUe bearing; the bay; the 
method in which they are prepared for being taken 
home ; and many particulars relating to their natural 
history and habits* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PBETACB* IX 

I haTe ttttanpted also to illiistrate all the essentkl 
points that oecur in staUdng deer, both in skw and 
quick time^ and to describe all the yarious turns and 
accidents of the chase drawn from actual experience. 
This, I thought, oouM be best done by the recital of 
moderate sport, since a long catalogue of deer, killed 
in succession on the same day, unaocompanied by some 
striking or unusual inekient, would only be a tedious 
repetition of events similar to each other. In practieev 
howerer, I did my best, as fine renison was alwaj^ in 
request. If my success was occasionally very consider- 
ahle, it must be recollected that the deer were numerous, 
and that I was assisted by clever scouts. The being my 
own stalker, also, was an advantage that long practice 
enabled me to profit from : no one, I think, can make the 
best of events when his movements are controlled by 
others, and are a mystery to himself. 

When the Duke of AthoU left off shootii^ for the 
season, I generally took out Peter Fraser with me, who 
was then at liberty. He is a very clever fellow in bis 
way, possessing great strength and good wind ; and I 
have particularly chosen to describe the sport of those 
days on which he accompanied me, because my fi*]end 
Peter has a good deal of character about him, and is in 
a regular descent of servitude to the bouse of Atholl, 
and an inhabitant of the country. But usually Thomas 
Jamieson and Peter Maclaren, both very active men, 
zealous and skilful in the ways of the deer, were my head 
men ; Jamieson attending on me whilst Maclaren was 
manoeuvring. Charlie Crerar at that time presided over 
the grouse moors : he is now the head forester in Atholl, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



X PREFACE. 

and well deserves to be so. * Charlie and myself, how- 
ever, have had some good days together in bygone times. 

To the courtesy of the noblemen and gentlemen pro- 
prietors of the various magnificent deer forests in Scot- 
land, I am indebted for the short descriptions I have 
given of them, and they are inserted nearly as I re- 
ceived them, with a due and lasting sense of the honour 
and obligation that has been conferred upon me ; the 
account of the forest of Atholl alone has been put to- 
gether wholly by myself; with that I am pretty con- 
versant, but not with the others. Whilst I am on this 
subject, I cannot avoid expressing a regret that the 
communications sent to me have not done sufficient 
justice to the scenery they treat o^ which in its wild 
effect, and peculiar determination of character, is ad- 
mirably suited to the disposition and pursuits of its brave 
and romantic inhabitants. 

It will be seen how much I am indebted to Mr. Mac- 
neill, of Colonsay, for his very interesting account of 
the original Scotch greyhound, and for his picturiesque 
description of the novel amusement of deer coursing. 
I am myself unacquainted with the distinguishing cha^ 
racteristics of the ancient Scotch and Irish greyhound ; 
but there are still many magnificent dogs in the pos- 
session of Scotch gentlemen and chiefs, however they 
may be descended; and a late celebrated sale will prove 
how highly some of the present breed are esteemed by 
the public. 

I have to boast of two poetical contributions, firom the 
Hon. Henry T. Liddell, which appear to me to be ex- 

* Since the above was written, Charles Crerar has removed into 
the service of the Duke of Buccleuch. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PREFACE. XI 

qnisitely beautifiil. Mr. lyisraeli likewise has orna- 
mented my pages with some beautiful lines, paraphrased 
from a translation from the Gaelic, most obligingly sent 
to me by the Marquis of Bredalbane. 

To my accomplished friend Mr. Skene, of Rubislaw, 
I am under very great obligations, not only for some 
valuable communicaUons from himself, but also for 
other intelligence which I have obtained by his means, 
and through his influence. 

The Duchess Countess of Sutherland has condescend- 
ingly procured for me a full account of her magnificent 
possessions in the North, which has been most ably put 
together by Mr. Taylor, to whose skill and diligence I 
am greatly indebted. I wish my limits had permitted 
me to publish the whole of his interesting document; 
but I have inserted the most essential parts of it, in de- 
tached places, where I thought they would be most ef- 
fective^ and I beg to offer my best thanks for them. 

To my old friend Mr. John Crerar*, the king of 

* Mr. John Crerar entered the Duke of Atboll's service in 1776. 
He was an honest, faithful, and most attached adherent, of as- 
tonishingij active powers, and possessed of admirable skill in 
stalking and shooting the deer ; always selecting the finest harts. 
He was also a composer of music, and many a dance have the 
lads and lasses had to the sound of my old friend's violin. He is 
universally beloved, and now resides on his pension at Pulney 
Lochside. The members of the Curling Club of Dunkeld lately 
presented him with a silver quaich upon the occasion of his at- 
taining his ninetieth year, and as a token of their affection for him, 
and their admiration of the skill and ardour which he so long dis- 
played in all manly games. Robert Crerar, one of his sons, is a wine- 
merchant in Swallow-street, and his cellars r^oice in the best Scotch 
whiskey. Charlie Crerar, another of his sons, is now head forester 
in Atbell. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Xll PRKFACE. 

spartsmen and good feIlow% I owe a Iocig«Mmding debt 
of gratitude^ not onlj for past instruetions in the art of 
deer-8talking> and the yariaus nice points and subtleties 
it embraces, but also for other obecrvations whidi he 
has lately communicated to me r^arding the habits of 
the deer, and sundry matters, whi^h I wished to au* 
thenticate from the best authority. 

A word or two I should add about the language I 
have put into the mouths of the hULaaen. It is neither 
the Highland nor Lowland dialect, but such I believe as 
is spoken 'm Perthshire* The English^ which the natives 
of this country have^ is daily improving by their inter- 
course with sportsmen and their followers firom the South, 
and they now intermix their sentences with .many words 
spoken as correctly as they are in any part of England. 

The superstitions and traditions which form some 
portion of the following pages> being current in the 
country, have probably found their way into other pub- 
lications ; of this I know nothing — it may or may 
not be so — I can only say that I had them from the 
best authorities, and from the fountain-head. It has 
come however to my knowledge, since I have sent these 
pages to the press, that the trial of Duncan Terig has 
been mentioned in Sir W. Scott's Demonology. Had I 
known this before^ I should not perhaps have dwelt so 
long upon the story, interesting as it is. 

As to the graphic illustrations of the sport, I am 
happy to say that I have had the benefit of the talents 
of three most eminent gentlemen of the same family ; 
the frontispiece and vignette are from the celebrated 
hand of Mr. Edwin Landseer ; and have been engraved 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PRSFACE. XlU 

by hiB brother, Mr. Thomas Landseer, with that mas* 
tery which has made his name so eminent The figures 
and animals in the lithographs are, with one exception 
only, drawn by Mr. Charles Landseer, author of ^* The 
Parting Benediction," and other well-known splendid 
works. The exception is the plate which represents the 
^ Looking for a Wounded Deer/' and points to page 88., 
for the whole of which, as well as for the landscape part, 
in every subject introduced, the author alone is responsi- 
ble. The small vignette likewise, engraved on wood, and 
the view ^ East from Blur Castle," the one from a sketch, 
and the other from an oil painting, originate entirely 
from the same source. These two subjects are as close 
in point of resemblance as he could make them. The 
others are not correct views, but only general recollec- 
tions of the forest scenery. None of the figures are 
intended for portraits. 

All these illustrations have been lithographed by 
Mr. Harding, with a felicity and vigour of execution 
which have materially assisted the general effect ; the 
aerial perspective of the plates has also been considerably 
heightened by the novel introduction of a blue tint, an 
invention originating entirely with Mr. Harding him- 
self, and carried into execution for the first time in this 
work. This process, I think, has brought the art itself 
an important step in advance. I trust the ability that 
both he and Mr. Charles Landseer have displayed will be 
appreciated by the public as highly as it is by mjrself. 



In preparing this new Edition, I have made but very 
slight alterations in the text Something new, how- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



XIV PREFACE. 

ever, has been added regarding the various species of the 
Cervus Elaphu8j to which*subject my attention was called 
by that eminent naturalist Mr. Yarrell ; and I have in- 
serted an engraving of some stag's horns, to render my 
meaning more obvious. 

Soine improvement has been made in the Frontis- 
piece, and in the Lithographs, which latter have been 
re-touched by Mr. Harding. 

I have now ' only to o£fer my best thanks for the 
very generous and indulgent manner in which tliis 
work has been received by the Press, and by the 
public. 



Belgraoe Square, London, 
Jufy, 1839. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 



Descriptive character of the red deer. — Royal hart8« — Shedding and 
renewal of the horns. — Weight of deer. — Donald Mac Slay's deer- 
trap. — Rutting season. — Combats of stags. — Deer stalked while 
fitting. — Calving of hinds. — Shyness and defensive instincts of 
deer. — The bay. — Traditional longevity. — Red deer venison^ — 
Sir W. Scott's letter. — Singular instance of a stag's ferocity. — 
Deer-drive in Atholl in 1563. — Hunting the stag. — Deer-stalki^ 
ing Page 1 

CHAP. II. 

Start from Blair Castle. — Bruar Lodge. — A comrade joins. — 
Ascent of Ben Daiig. — Ptarmigans. — Forest scenery. — Spirit- 
stirring interest. — A hart discovered. — Manoeuvring. — Wading 
a bum. — Oetting a quiet shot.-* Dogs slipped. — The bay in a 
mountain cataract. — Dogs in periL — Death and gralloching of 
the deer. — Cruel death of a deer-hound. — Origin and antiseptic 
property of peat bogs. — Ascent of Ben-y-venie. — A herd dis- 
covered. — ^Plan and manceuvring. — ^Alarm and movements of the 
deer. — An injudicious shot. — A successful one. — A deer-hound 
slipped. — Bay. — Strange adventure.— -A wild huntsman. — En- 
counter with a bear. — Loss of a huge salmon. — The Gown-cromb 
of Badenochy and his story ....:.. 44 

CHAP. UL 

Forests of Badenochy their rights^ and divisions. — Legend of Prince 
Charles. — Cluny Macpherson. — Adventure with a wolf, — ^Bliac- 
pherson of Bradully. — Children lost on a moor. — Sportsmen 
benighted. — Witchcraft. — Uncomfortable position. — Fraser^s 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



XVI CONTENTS. 

cairn. — Boundaries of Qawick. — Fate of Walter Gumming. — 
Wrath of a fairy. — Destructive avalanche. — Convivial resolution. 
— Arrival at Bruar Lodge during the nkht-storm - Page 106 

CHAP. IV. 

Necessary qualifieations for a <leer-6talker. — Curious attitudes re- 
quired. — Sleq> almost superfluous. — Advantages of baldness. — 
Self-possession indispensable. — Abstinence from drinking^ and 
restrictions in food. — Gonnandixer's pastime. — Royal diversion. 
— Sportman's philosophy. — George Ritchie, the fiddler. — Crafty 
movements. — Currents of air. — Passing difficult ground. — 
Range of the rifle. — Firing at the target. — Tempestuous winds. 
— A tyro*s distress. — Overwhelming kindness.— Of speed and 
wind. — JohnSelwyn. — Wilson, the historian. — Glengany 125 

CHAP. V. 

A Scotch mist. — Visions of auld lang syne. — Retrospect.-^The 
mist clears. — How to carry the spare rifles. — Storm in the moun- 
tains. — Sportsmen struck by a thunderboltd — Willie Robertson's 
lament. — Macintyre's death. — Deer seen on the move. — Vamped- 
up courage. — Bdaking a dash.— Unexpected success. — Doge 
fighting 160 

CHAP. VI. 

The forest of AthoU. — Probable number of deer, and their size. — 
Cumyn*8 cairn. — Hijghland vengeance. — Fatal accident — Prin- 
cipal glens. — Glen Tilt. — Marble quarries. •» Roe deer. — Lakes 
and lodges. — Merry foresters. — Forest song. — Cuim-Mamick, 
Last execution at Blair. — Arrest of a murderer. — Royal feasting 
and hunting.— "Palace in the forest, and Highland cheer. — 
Burning of the Palace. — Kilmavonaig beer.— Cummipg's death. — 
Belief in witchcraft. — M. G. Lewis's legendary tale of the Witch 
ofBen-y-gloe 167 

CHAP. VIL 

Deer drive to Glen Tilt. — Anticipated sport. — The deer-stalker's 
rhymes- — The start fi'om Bruar Lodge. — Combat of stags. — 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CONTENTS. XVlt 

Cautious exploring. — Stalking the great Braemar hart — The 
shot and bay. — Preparation for driTing the deer. — Dalnacardoc 
chamois. — A French sportsman. — The ambuscade, skirmish, 
and slaughter. — Shot at the black deer. — The party assembled. 

— The last hart brought to bay. — The bay broken.— The death- 
shot. ^> A carpet knight.— ^Condoling with a victim. — The Count's 
adventure. — Chase and capture of a poacher. — A quiet shot,-^ 
Granting a favour. — Termination of the day's sport - Page UOS 

CHAP. VIII. 

Forest contracts. — Wandering poachers. — English vagabonds. — 
Adventure at Felaar. — Highland vampire. — Peter Breck's back- 
sliding. — Trap baited with whiskey. — The Gaig pet stolen. — 
Poacher's adventure. — Desolate situation. — A Highland witch. — 
Chisholm's cave. — Freebooter's life. — John More. — Sutherland 
monster. — A priest in jeopardy. — Highland Robin Hood. — Our- 
na-kelig. — The widow's hospitality. — Rival poachers in Atholl. 
— Adventure in Glen Tilt. — RobDoun. — Curious trial for murder. 

— A polyglot ghost. — Ghost no lawyer - - * 240 

CHAP. IX. 

Broad awake. — Arrangements for the day. — A ticklish point. — 
Serpentine movements. -^ Disappointment. — White kid gloves. •-* 
Contest of skill. — Escape of the deer. — Good sport. — Close 
combat. — A ride on a stag. — Remarkable prowess. — Contest 
with a phoca. — The drive begins. -^ Shots akid untoward acci- 
dent. — Corrie's sagacity and night watch. — The coupd 'essai.— 
Past deeds. — Eagles killed by a boy. — Driving the herd. — Le- 
gend of Fraser's Cairn. — The Lord of Lovat's Raid. — Strong 
taint of deer. 7— Nervous excitement. — Ambuscade at the wood. 
— Noble sport — The old Blair pony. — Return to the castle 275 

CHAP. X. 

Original Scotch greyhound. — Fingal and his retinue. — Bran and 
Phorp. — Their death. — The lurcher. — Glengarry's dogs. — Of 
blooding deer-hounds. — Four-footed Hannibal. — Sir William 

StOair'sdogs 311 

a 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



XVUl CONTKNT8. 



CHAP. XI. 

Occupation of Forest Lodge. — Autumnal blasts. — Sullen fuel. — 
The sport begins. — Deer-stalker distressed. — A sharp walk. — 
Ljdng in ambush. — The fatal spot reached. — Herd in jeopardy. 

— Peter Eraser's humanity. — His penmanship. — The lament.-^ 
The moors ........ Page 323 

CHAP. xn. 

Dogs of ancient Britain. — Irish dogs sent to Rome. — Early Scot- 
tish dogs. — Sculptured stones at Meigle. — The Miol-chu. — The 
mastiff and greyhound. — Recreation of Queen Elizabeth. — Dogs 
of Epirus. — Irish wolf-dog. — Proportions of a deer-hound. — 
Failure of crosses in breeding. — Deer dogs of Colonsay, and 
dimensions of Buskar. — Expedition from Colonsay. — Cavern 
scene. — Wild scenery in Jura. — Stag discovered. — Stalking him. 

— The start and course. — His death. — Speed and bottom of 
deer-hounds. •» Decay of the ancient race ... 340 



FORESTS OF SCOTLAND. 

The Sutherland Forests, — Dirrie-Chatt and its boundaries. — Forest 
of Dirrie-more, its character and limits. — Number of deer. — 
Deer dykes. — Wolves in Sutherland. — Death of the last wolf. — 
Traditions of Fingal. — Slaughter of a wild boar. — Dermid and 
Grana. — Angus BaiUie. — The humble garron ... 367 

Forests and Deer^haunts in J^oM-fAtr^. •» Gairloch. — Balnagown 
Forest. — Easter Ross, Calrossie, and Coigach. — Isles of Harris 
and Lewis 386 

Account of Cotd. — Uncouth fire-arms - - - - 391 

Forest of Applecross, — The Laird's sport .... 394 

Forest of Glengarry, — Sagacity of a blood-hound. — Wild woric 396 

2%<? Duke of Gordon*s Deer Forests. — Glenfeshie. — Gawick. — 
Glenfiddich. — Glenmore, &c. ..... 399 

Forest of Invercauld, fonnerly royal. — Weight of deer, &c, - 402 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CONTENTS* XIX 

Forest of Man. — Wild boar and rein-deer — Battue of the olden 
time ..... . Page 407 

Forest of Corrich^ah. — Number and condition of deer. — Mode of 
killing them. — Translations from the Gaelic poetry of Duncan 
Madntyre. — Spring in Bendouran. — Lament for the dell of 
mist ....... 412 

Forest of Glenartnetf, — Boundaries. *- Weight of deer, &c, - 42 1 

The Forest of Jura, — Description of Tarbet. — Deer crossing to 
Islay, &c. ... - . . 424 

The Isle of Skye, and North Uish. — Number of deer.— Method of 
killing them, &c. • - - . • • 427 

Loch Etive, and Dalness, — Tradition concerning a white hind — 
adventure and disastrous death of a poacher* &c. - - 428 



APPENDIX. 

Highest hills in the Forest of AthoU - - - 431 

Evidence relating to the trial of Duncan Terig, alias Clerk, and 
Alexander Bain Macdonald, for the murder of Sergeant Da- 
vies 435 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LIST OF PLATES. 



I. Frontispiece. — Tighting Harts. — A Forest Joust. • 
By Edwin Lanosexr . . - 

C. Title- Vignette. — Group of Dogs. — Buscar, a 
Highland Deer-hound, of the original breed, be- 
longing to Mr. Mac Neill : a Fox-hound, Blood- 
hound, and Greyhound — from crosses of 
which the modem deer-hound is obtained — 
and a Terrier. By Edwin Landseer - . 

3w The Stags' Horns ... * To face page 

4. Getting a Quiet Shot ---...- 

5. Deer at Bay in a Torrent .... 

6. Looking for a Wounded Deer ..... 

7. Left behind in a Dubious Position ... 

8. LifUng the Deerout of a Burn - . - . - 

9. The WitchofBen-y-gloe - . - - 

10. East from Blau- Castle 

11. Coming in for a Shot ..... 

12. Shots from Caim-cherie ...... 

13. Preparing the Deer for being left on the Moor 



To precede 
» the printed 
TUle. 



4 

61 

66 

92 

144 

166 

194 

206 

216 

286 

334 



Digitized by 



Google 



THE 

ART OF DEER-STALKING. 



CHAPTER I. 

OP THE KATURE AND HABITS OF THE RED DEER. 

I sm a hart by Greekes sumamed ao. 
Because my head doth with their tearmea agree ; 
For stately shape few such on earth do goe. 
So that by right they have so termed me. 
For king^s delight it seems I was ordayned. 
Whose huntsmen yet pursue me day by day, 
In forrest, chace, and parke, I am constrained 
Before their hounds to wander many a way. 
Wherefore who lyst to leame the perfect trade 
Of yenerie, and therewith all would know 
What properties and yirtues nature made 
In me poor hart (O harmlesse hart I) to grow^ 
Let him give ear to skilfull Trystram*s lore 
To Phoebus, Fowyllouz, and many more.^ 

" CervVS Elaphusj comibiu ramosis, tereiibu&^ recwrvatis?* 
— Linn. Eight cutting teeth in the upper jaw, and 
none in the lower. 

This species of Deer is met with throughout the 
greater part of Europe; and following the authority of 
Shaw, and other writers on natural history, 1 had men- 
tioned, in the first edition of this work, that they are 

• The noble Art of Venerie (translated from the French), p. 39. 
B 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



2 DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTER 

found also in Asia and America; but this assertion I 
have reason to think is founded in error ; neither can I 
admit that the stag of Barbary is of the same species with 
ours. Having examined the deer in the Zoological Qar- 
dens, I submit the following reasons for my dissent : — 

The Wapiti or American deer is of too vast a mag- 
nitude to make the point doubtful : we know that the 
hind in the Zoological Gardens, which was killed by the 
stag, weighed, in a degenerate state, and with its head 
off, 34 stone ; and it is probable that the male, under 
the same disadvantage of confinement, weighs at least 
50 stone. 

The Sambur deer of India is also very large, and 
cannot be mistaken for the same species as our red 
deer. The horns of this animal are rather upright ; it 
has short brow antlers only; and at three years old, 
two points at the extremities of each beam, but never 
the second or third antler at any period of its life. Its 
eyes are very prominent, the ears approaching to a 
circular form, the tail longer, and the arm more mus- 
cular than in our northern stags; when old, the hair 
immediately next to tlie jaw is longer than that in any 
other part of the neck. The ranking him with the 
European species is entirely out of the question. 

Neither, I think, can we class the Himalaya deer 
(Cervus ElaphoHdes) with those of North Britain, though 
it approaches nearer to them than those above men- 
tioned ; it has one short brow antler alone, never more : 
two or three points at the extremity of each beam, and 
possibly sometimes more ; its ears are large, and its eyes 
less prominent than is usual with the race. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OF RED DEER. 



The Barbary or African deer also {Cervus Mauris 
tanicus) is still more at variance with our stags than the 
hart of Asia : be has large ears, very muscular arms, 
and is altogether shorter in the 1^ ; and although the 
sweep of the beam partakes somewhat of the graceful 
curve of the red deer, yet he never at any age has the 
second antler growing in the place usual with ours, but 
only a brow one, and another issuing from the position 
where the tray antler grows in the Scottish deer. He 
has two, or perhaps occasionally more, points at the 
extremity of each horn. He casts his horns much 
earlier than the red-deer ; the one at present exhibited 
in Regent's Park having shed them on the 29th of 
January, whereas our stags begin to lose them about the 
commencement of April. 

As to gradation of size ; the red deer is the smallest ; 
next comes the Barbary deer ; then that of the Himalaya 
mountains, and the Sambur deer of India ; lastly the 
wapiti, which is incomparably larger than the others, 
and indeed immense. 

The colour of our Scotch deer varies slightly, but 
when in season is usually of a reddish brown, nearly 
black about the face, mingled with grey; a dark list 
down the hind part of the neck and between the 
shoulders, and a light sort of buff colour between the 
haunches and underneath. 

The horns vary in size and number of their branches ; 
partly owing to the age of the animal, and partly from 
other causes ; and it must be remarked, that deer with 
few points to their horns are sometimes larger and fatter 
than those with many branches. In the forest of Atholl 

B 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



4 DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTER 

we had no technical names for harts* of different ages ; 
but they are thus distinguished by park-keepers, and by 
those gentlemen who keep stag-hounds in England : — 

Before deer are one year old they are called (male 
and female) Calves-^; after one year old the male is termed 
a Brocket; at three, a Spire ; at four, a Staggart; at five, 
a Stag ; and at six a warrantable Stag. He may after- 
wards be called a Hart The female, after one year 
old, is termed a Hearst; and at three years old a young 
Hind. 

The female does not cohabit with the male till three 
years old. She has never more than one calf at a time, 
though the contrary opinion has been entertained. 

The stag's brow J bay and tray antlers are termed his 
Rights ; the upright points on the top of his horns are 
called Crockets; the horn itself the Beam; the width 
the Span ; the rough part of the base the Pearls. § 

A Brocket has only knobbers, and small brow antlers ; 

* The term hart is probably taken from the Dutch appellation 
Hert, or the Danish one, Hiort. In Swedish it is Kron^hiort, and in 
German Hirsch. 

f Some limit the term of calf to six months only. 

X The second antler^ being shorter than the brow one^ is of little 
or no service in the bay. The terms are probably corrupted from 
bit, and trois, 

$ I am aware that these terms do not exactly correspond with 
those mentioned in all the old authorities, neither do the latter always 
accord with each other. I have taken my nomenclature from the 
Devonshire Hunt, as the best authority. It has been founded con- 
siderably above a century. Wriothesly, second Duke of Bedford, is 
the first person to whom it can be traced : he died at Tavistock, in 
1711. There are about 313 deer in all the covers. Seventy were 
killed by the late Lord Graves in two seasons. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OF RED DEER. 5 

a Spire^ brow and uprights ; a Staggarty brow, tray, and 
uprights ; a five-year old, brow, bay, and tray ; two on 
top, that is, a crocket on one horn, and an upright on the 
pther. A warrantable Stag has brow, bay, and tray, and 
two points on the top of both horns. After this age 
their heads vary very much in appearance. 

If the impression of a deer's foot measures full two 
inches at the heel, he is warrantable; if three inches, 
and the hoofi mark deeply in the ground, allowing for 
its nature, he is a large, heavy, old deer. Such bring 
up their hind feet to the impression made by their fore 
ones. 

The tread of a hind is much narrower and longer 
than that of the male, particularly at the toe, whilst the 
hart's is broad and round at that point, instead of being 
narrow. 

** Then, if he ask, what slot or view I found, 
I say the slot or view was long on ground ; 
The toes were great, the joynt bones round and short/ ' 
The shinne bones large, the dew-claws close in port : 
Short joynted was he, hollow-footed eke, 
An hart to hunt as any man can seeke." — Art of Venerie, 

The mark of a deer's tread is called his slot; his 
haunt is termed his lair ; where he lies down, his har- 
bour or bed; where he rolls himself, his sailing pool; his 
breaking place over a hedge, his rack ; when he goes to 
water it is called going to soil; if headed back, it is 
called blanched; if he stops in a river, or lies down in a 
pool, during the chase, it is called sinking himself. 

Harts that are crowned with three points at the upper 
extremity of each horn are termed royal. 

B 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



6 ROYAL HARTS. 

We read, also, of the hart royal prodaimed. Manwood 
mentions a fact, which he found on record in the Castle 
of Nottingham : it is dated in the time of Richard I., 
who, having roused a hart in the forest of Sherwood, 
pursued him as far as Barnsdale in Yorkshire, where 
the animal foiled and escaped his hounds. The king, in 
gratitude for the diversion he had received, ordered him 
to be immediately proclaimed at Tickill, and at all the 
neighbouring towns, the purport of which was to forbid 
any one to molest him, that he might have free liberty 
to return to his forest. 

" Some gentlemen, in the time of Henry III., having 
destroyed a white hart, which had given the king much 
diversion (and which had probably been proclaimed), his 
majesty laid a heavy fine upon their lands, an acknow- 
ledgment of which was paid into the exchequer so late 
as the reign of Queen Elizabeth."* 

Hutchins, in his History of Dorsetshire, says, " It is 
paid to this day." f 

Deer cast their horns annually; and, if we are to 
believe BufiPon, these horns are nothing but a redundant 
and superfluous organic nourishment, which could not 
be exhausted in expanding and supporting the animal 
body : the oldest harts shed them first, about the begin- 
ning of April ; the younger ones follow in succession, 
according to their age and condition. The shedding of 
the horns continues till the begimiing of June ; but 
deer of a year old will carry them till August or Sep- 
tember. The new horns attain their full growth in 
three months, and appear about ten days after the old 
» Cam. Brit. p. 59. f Vol. ii. p. 49«. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SHEDDING OF HORNS. 7 

ones are shecL Thus the stag carries his horns about 
as long as the hind carries her fawn, which is eight 
months. It is not very long since a hart fell under the 
dose observance of a forester, whilst in the act of shed- 
ding his horns, in a forest in Sutherland. Whilst he 
was browsing, one of his antlers was seen to incline 
leisurely to one side, and immediately to fall down to 
the ground : the stag tossed up his head, as if in sur- 
prise, and began to shake it pretty violently, when the 
remaining antler was discarded also, and fell some 
little distance from him« Relieved from this weight, he 
expressed his sense of buoyancy by bounding high from 
the ground, as if in sport, and then, tossing his bare head, 
dashed right away in a confused and rapid manner. 

Both horns are not always shed at the same time, 
but one of them occasionally drops a day or two after 
the other. I myself have seldom found any other than 
single horns in the mosses of the forest. It is a remark- 
able fact, however, that the number which are picked 
up in any forest bears no proportion to those which are 
shed ; and this cannot arise from their being overlooked, 
for they are a valuable perquisite to the keepers, and 
there is no part of the forest that is not traversed by 
them in the course of the season. 

What, then, becomes of them ? Hinds have been 
seen to eat them : one will consume a part, and, when 
she drops it, it will be taken up and gnawed by the 
others. The late Duke of Atholl, indeed, once found a 
dead hind which had been choked by a part of the horn, 
that remained sticking in its throat. It is not, however, 
credible that all those which are missing are disposed of 

B 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



d RENEWAL OF HORNS. 

in this way ; they rather seem to be thus eaten from 
wantonness and caprice, — and I am not able to account 
satisfactorily for their disappearance. 

The new horns, which deer acquire annually, are 
covered with a thick sort of leaden-coloured skin, which 
remains on them till the deer are in good condition : it 
then begins to fell off, and, for a short space, hangs in 
shreds, ragged and broken ; but they remove it as quickly 
as they can, by raking their antlers in the roots of the 
heather, or in such branches of shrubs as they can find 
adapted to the purpose. When they have shaken off 
this skin, which is called the velvet, and which disap- 
pears in the months of August and September, they are 
said to have clean horns ; and, as these deer are in the 
best condition, they are the particular object of the 
sportsman. The new horns are very sensitive, and the 
harts at this time avoid bringing them into collision 
with any substance. When they fight, they rear them- 
selves upon their hind legs, and spar with their fore 
feet, keeping back their heads. 

If the well-known operation for making an animal fat 
be performed on a fawn or calf, he will never have 
horns ; if it be performed when he is five or six years 
old, after he has attained his fiill growth, he will never 
drop them; and if performed when he has dropped 
them, they will never be renewed. This is asserted by 
Buffon, and has been confirmed to me by John Crerar, 
who has been sixty years in the forest of Atholl. But I 
have seen a stag in the possession of Mr. Herring, dealer 
in animals, which underwent this operation, and not 
only lost his horns subsequent to it, but was supplied 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FOSSIL HORNS. )3 

"With Others of a ragged form and very diminished size ; 
it is probable that in this instance the essential vessels 
were not completely removed, and that the operation 
was consequently imperfect. I once killed a very large 
fat hart on the top of Ben Dairg, in the month of 
September, which had not been cut, and still had no 
boms at all. 

I myself have often observed, that if a hart has one 
of his horns ill grown, and inferior to the other, he will, 
upon examination, be found to have a gun-shot, or some 
other bad wound, on the side where the horn is faulty. 

Many horns of the Cervus Elaphus have been found in 
peat bogs and shell marl ; and, as these have the os frontis 
attached to them, they could not have been cast in the 
ordinary way ; but must either have belonged to deer 
that died of old age or disease, or to such as might have 
been mired in endeavouring to land, where the bottom 
was soft and quaggy. Many, probably, have perished 
in this way, as the horns are generally found in an 
upright position. A vast quantity of these horns, and, 
indeed, whole skeletons of deer, have been found, within 
this last century, in the small lakes of Forfarshire.* 
Indeed, antlers and skeletons of full grown stags are 
amongst the most common remains of animals in peat. 
Horns so found are infinitely larger than any which I 
have ever seen on living animals of the same species. 

It must be inferred, therefore, that the animals them- 
selves were likewise of very superior dimensions. At first 
sight this seems difficult to account for ; but when we 
take into consideration the altered circumstances of the 
* Vide Lyell's Geology, voLii. p. 259. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



10 DEGENERACY OF HIGHLAND DEER. 

country, — that inunense tracts of wood have given place 
to barren bogs, in the manner explained by Mr. Lyell, 
and mentioned in the course of these pages, and that the 
deer have thus been limited in food and shelter, -7- we can 
no longer be at a loss to account for this degeneracy. 

The red deer is not a very hardy animal : he does 
not by choice subsist on coarse food, but eats close, like 
a sheep. With his body weakened and wasted during 
the rutting season in the autumn, exposed to constant 
anxiety and irritation, and engaged in continual combats, 
he feels all the rigours of winter approaching before he 
has time to recruit his strength : — the snow storm comes 
on, and the bitter blast drives him from the mountains. 
Subdued by hunger, he wanders to the solitary sheelings 
of the shepherds ; and will sometimes follow them through 
the snow with irresolute steps, as they are carrying the 
provender to the sheep. He falls, perhaps, into moss 
pits and mountain tarns, whilst in quest of decayed 
water plants, where he perishes prematurely from utter 
inability to extricate himself. Many, again, who escape 
starvation, feed too greedily on coarse herbage at the 
first approach of open weather, which produces a mur- 
rain amongst them, not unlike the rot in sheep, of which 
they frequently die* Thus, natural causes, inseparable 
from the condition of deer in a northern climate, and 
on a churlish soil unsheltered by woods, conspire to 
reduce these animals to so feeble a state, that the short 
summer which follows is wholly insufficient to bring 
them to the size they are capable of attaining under 
better management. 

If we look at the difference in size and weight of 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WOOD DEER HEAVIER. 11 

two three-year-old beasts, the one belonging to a good, 
and the other to a bad fanner, we shall find that di£Per- 
ence to amount to nearly double. The first animal is well 
fed for the sake of the calf, botli in winter and summer; 
and the last, from insufficient keep, loses in winter what 
it has gained in summer, and requires double the food 
in the succeeding season to restore it to what it was at the 
commencement of winter. Thus it is with the deer. 

As a proof of this position, I may mention, that such 
stags as have, for the most part, abandoned the Scotch 
mountains, and pastured in the large woods in the low 
country, have been found considerably to exceed the hill 
stags in size and condition. The late Duke of Atholl 
killed a hart that had been feeding for four seasons in 
the woods of Dunkeld, where he remained, with twelve 
others, during nine months of the year. He weighed 
thirty stone six pounds imperial as he stood. His horns 
weighed thirteen pounds two ounces; but they were 
still inferior to such as liave been found buried in peat 
mosses. The fat on his haunches was four inches and 
one eighth thick, though he was killed in July, much too 
early in the season to have arrived at his full condition. 

In the year 1836, an outlying stag was killed at 
Wobiurn, which weighed thirty-four stone imperial as he 
stood. These are much higher weights than are to be 
found in the forest of Atholl. 

In the forest of Glengarry, where the snow never lies 
long, where there is much rich pasture in the low grounds, 
sweet grass on the hill-tops, and large woods for shelter, 
the late Glengarry killed a hart which weighed twenty- 
six stone after the gralloch or of&l was taken out ; now. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



12 WEIGHT OF DEER. 

allowing six stone six pounds for the gralloch (comput- 
ing it at about one fourth of the entire weight), this 
noble animal must have been thirty-two stone six pounds 
as he stood. 

From the accounts that have been sent to me from the 
various forests in Scotland, I am inclined to think that 
the average weight of the best deer in Sutherland is 
superior to that of the other forests. It reaches about 
fifteen stone^ Dutch, sinking the oiial; and stags are 
occasionally killed of seventeen stone ; and, in the forest 
of Ben Hope, of a somewhat larger size. Now Dutch 
weight reckons sixteen pounds to the stone, and seventeen 
ounces and a half to the pound ; so that adding the oiial, 
and reducing the whole to imperial weight, a stag of 
fifteen stone Dutch would be about twenty-five stone 
imperial as he stands. 

In corroboration of what has been advanced above, as 
to the starving condition of the Highland deer in severe 
weather, I shall mention a fact that happened about the 
end of the last century. 

One Donald M^Kay, a fiirmer, who lived in a remote 
glen on the estate of Reay, in Sutherland, received so 
much injury from the depredations of the forest deer, 
which made continual inroads upon his crops, invading 
him from the west and from the north, that he at length 
marched ofiP to Tongue, the residence of his landlord and 
chief, to endeavour to procure some redress. Having 
obtained an audience, Lord Reay, who probably gave 
little credit to his tale, told him to go back and pound 
the deer whenever they trespassed in future. Donald 
did not presume to say aught against his reception, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DONALD McKay's deer-trap. 13 

though he was bitterly vexed at having walked forty 
mortal miles for nothing. 

On his arrival at his little &rm, he set his wits to work 
to devise some plan for making use of the permission 
which had been conceded to him. Donald was a shrewd 
fellow ; but it was not particularly easy to pound the 
denizens of the mountains. He was pretty secure for 
the present, as he had built a large bam, and kept 
his crop on rafters, out of the reach of all depredators ; 
when the winter came on, he put part of this crop very 
carefully into one end of his barn, and barred it in with 
sticks and fir roots, in such a manner that no beast or 
person could get at it. 

About the end of November a very heavy fall of snow 
came on, and the ground was wholly covered with it. 
The second or third night after the storm fell the wind 
was from the west ; and Donald spread the sheaves on 
the rafters, the bam door giving eastward: he then 
threw the door wide open, and tied a long rope of hait 
to it, the end of which he took in at the only window 
that was behind the dwelling-house. Well did he know 
that the storm would drive the deer to his house in the 
still hour of night, to search for the least particle of such 
fodder as might be dropped betwixt the bam and the byre 
in feeding the bestial. He therefore took his station 
within the window, with the end of the tether in his 
hand ' He had not been long in this situation before he 
saw the gaunt and starving animals approaching. They 
came forward slowly and cautiously, stopping at intervals, 
and examining every object : at length the cravings of 
nature prevailed, and two hinds walked into the barn, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



14 BUTONG 8EABOK. 

and began eating the corn. The stags soon followed } 
and some of them had great difficulty in getting their 
antlers through the narrow doon 

As soon as ten deer had fairly entered, Donald pulled 
the tether, and made the door secure. More blithe ^ 
than before, he set off a second time for Tongue, travel- 
ling as fast as his legs could carry him* On his arrival, 
he craved an .audience of Lord Reay, and told him in 
Gaelic that he had followed his advice, and pounded ten 
of his deer, " I might," said he, " as well have had a 
hundred as ten ; but I could not affi>rd to given them straw 
whilst I came to report the afiair to your lordship/' 

Not a little incredulous. Lord Reay dispatched two 
men to ascertain the truth of the matter. The deer 
were found imprisoned as related, and were liberated. 
Donald M*Kay then came to terms with his chief, who 
very handsomely gave him his little farm rent-free for 
his life, upon condition that he would not pound his deer 
for the future. 

It is remarkable for how short a time deer continue 
in season in the cold climate of the north, owing to the 
backward vegetation, and the causes already alluded to. 
In warmer climates they come in sooner ; and we are 
informed by Aristotle that, in Greece, the rutting season 
commenced in the beginning of August, and terminated 
about the end of September. 

But, if a long continuance of fine weather, and con* 
sequent abundance of food, brings on this period at so 
early a season in warm climates, a sudden pinch of cold 
on the bleak hills of the north, singular as it may appear, 
has also a similar effect; so that if the nights turn severe 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



COMBATS OF STAGS. l5 

and frosty at the commencement of the autumn, the 
harts are brought forward much earlier than would have 
been the case had the weather remained temperate and 
genial. 

About the end of September, and the first week in 
October, the harts swell in their necks, have a ruff of 
long wiry hair about them, and are drawn up in their 
bodies like greyhounds. They now roll restlessly in the 
peat pools till they become almost black with mire, and 
feed chiefly on a light coloured moss that grows on the 
round tops of the hills, so that they do not differ so 
entirely from the rein*deer in their food as some natu-* 
ralists have imagined. 

In this state of rutting they are rank, and wholly 
unfit for the table. Such deer a good sportsman never 
fires at; but many may be found at this time, not so 
forward, but perfectly good ; and they are, of course, 
easily distinguished. This is a very wild and picturesque 
season. The harts are heard roaring all over the forest, 
and are engaged in savage conflicts with each other, ' 
which sometimes terminate fatally. When a master 
hart has collected a number of hinds, another will en- 
deavour to take them from him : they fight, till one of 
them, feeling himself worsted, vrill run in circles round 
the hinds, being unwilling to leave them: the other 
pursues; and, when he touches the fugitive with the 
points of his horns, the animal, thus gored, either bounds 
suddenly on one side, and then turns and faces him, or 
will dash off to the right or the left, and at once give 
up the contest The conflict, however, generally con- 
tinues a considerable time; and nothing can be more 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



16 DEER STALKED WHILE FIGHTING. 

entertaining than to witness, as I have often done, the 
varied success and address of the combatants. It is a 
sort of wild joust, in the presence of the dames who, as of 
old, bestowed their favours on the most valiant Some* 
times it is a combat a Poutrance, but it often terminates 
with the effect of the horn of Astolfo. 

In solitary encounters, there being no hinds to take the 
alarm, the harts are so occupied, and possessed with such 
fury, that they may be occasionally approached in a man^ 
ner that it would be vain to attempt at any other time« 
From the summit of a mountain, in Atholl forest, I once 
saw two harts in fierce contention, in a mossy part lower 
down the hill. I came into sight at once, not expecting to 
see deer in the situation in which these happened to be. 
I could neither advance straight forward, nor retreat, 
without danger of giving the alarm. One possibility 
alone was open to me ; this was to get Into the glen to 
their right, when I should be entirely hidden from their 
view, and then come up, concealed by the hill, as nearly 
opposite to them as possible. I was certainly a very 
considerable distance to the north of them, but my 
position was so bad that I looked upon my chance as a 
mere nothing. I lay down, however, flat on my back, 
amongst the rugged and loose stones of Caim-marnac, 
with a rifle in my hand ; Thomas Jamieson, with the 
other rifles, placed himself behind me in the same 
uncomfortable position. We had a full view of the deer 
for some time, so that with their ordinary vigilance they 
would undoubtedly have seen us ; the stones, however, 
formed an uneven outline, which was in our favour, and 
thus we did not absolutely attract their notice. Whilst;, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



RUTTING OP HARTS. 17 

the Stags were fiercely engaged, we worked our way 
down on our backs, looking askance: when they rested 
for a space, and sometimes they would do so on their 
knees, from mere exhaustion, we moved not a limb; 
and in this manner we wormed ourselves gitulually into 
the glen, not without certain uncomfortable bruises. 
Then, being out of sight, we sprang up, and made the 
best of our way to the point immediately below them ; 
and moving cautiously up the hill, which was sufficiently 
steep for our purpose, we came all at once in full view 
of one of the combatants, who was then alone : he sprang 
off at full speed, but all too late for his escape, for my 
ball struck him dead on the spot. His antagonist, I 
imagine, had been beaten off. I expected to have killed 
them both. 

A conflict of this savage nature, which happened in 
one of the Duke of Gordon's forests, was fatal to both of 
the combatants. Two large harts, after a furious and 
deadly thrust, had entangled their horns so firmly 
together that they were inextricable, and the victor 
remained with the vanquished. In this situation they 
were discovered by the forester, who killed the survivor, 
whilst he was yet struggling to release himself from his 
dead antagonist The horns remain at Gordon Castle, 
still locked together as they were found. Mezentius 
himself never attached the dead body to the living one 
in a firmer manner. 

A hart will rut for about a week, after which period 
he becomes weak and exhausted, and seeks some solitary 
spot where he may recruit himself in peace : no wonder, 
indeed, since during this week he is constantly with a large 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



18 PERIOD OF OKSTATION. 

herd of hinds, at times fitting, and always in a state of 
the highest irritation ; for, at the darkening, another and 
another hart will come in, and take some of the hinds 
from him : he then gives chase furiously, but is obliged 
to return, after a short space, for fear of losing the 
remainder. At length, the old harts that have rutted 
collect, and go off together in large parcels, and the 
younger ones succeed to the hinds* During the winter 
they liave long wiry coats of a lighter cast of colour, and 
are wholly without fat, and in every respect unfit for the 
table. The winter coat begins to come off when they 
drop their horns, and the new coat appears about the 
middle of June. 

Neither Mr. John Crerar, who has followed deer in 
the forest of Atholl for sixty years, nor any other indivi- 
dual there, has ever seen a hart cover a hind, though I 
do not deny that others may have done so. 

The period of gestation in a hind is eight months. 
She drops her fawn in high heather, where she leaves it 
concealed the whole of the day, and returns to it late in 
the evening, when she apprehends no disturbance. She 
makes it lie down by a pressure of her nose ; and it will 
never stir or lift up its head the whole of the day, unless 
you come right upon it, as I have oflen done. It lies 
like a dog, with its nose to its tail. The hind, however, 
although she separates herself from the young &wn, 
does not lose sight of its welfare, but remains at a 
distance to the windward, and goes to its succour in 
case of an attack of the wild cat or fox, or any other 
powerful vermin. I have heard Mr. John Crerar say, 
and it is doubtless true, that if you find a young fitwn 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CALVING OV HINDS. 19 

that has never followed its dam, and take it up, and rub 
its back, and put your fingers in its mouth, it will follow 
you home for several miles; but if it has once followed 
iu dam, for ever so small a space before you foimd it, 
it will never follow human being. When once caught, 
these fawns or calves are easily made tame ; and there 
were generally a few brought up every year by the dairy* 
maid at Blair. I speak of hinds only ; stags generally 
turn vicious and unmanageable. When the calf is old 
enough to keep up with a herd of deer, and to take 
pretty good care of itself, its mother takes it off, and 
leads it into ground that can be travelled without diffi- 
culty, avoiding precipitous and rocky places. 

Hinds that have calves have no fat whatever upon 
them ; and are fit only for soup, or perhaps for stewing. 
A good sportsman will never fire at them : indeed, it is 
reckoned a disgrace to do so ; and a most wanton act of 
cruelty it certainly is. The best shots, however, will 
occasionally kill them accidentally ; for they come up so 
nqpidly before the hart you are aiming at, that they 
often, like Polonins, get that which was meant for their 
betters. Those hinds, however, that have not bred for 
the season, are lawful game : they are killed late in the 
year, and their venison is fiit, and more delicate than that 
of the harts. They are called Yell or Yeld Hinds ; these 
terms signifying barren. They are known by their sleek 
and compact make; but it requires a very experienced 
eye to distinguish .them at a distance with certainty ; and 
I must confess I have sometimes been egregiously de- 
ceived. They come into season when the harts go out. 

Deer, except in certain embarrassed situations, always 
c 2 . 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



20 HABITS OF RED DEER. 

run up wind ; and so strongly is this instinct implanted 
in them, that if you catch a calf, be it ever so young, 
and turn it down wind, it will immediately face round, 
and go in the opposite direction. Thus they go forward 
over hill-tops and unexplored ground in perfect securi^, 
for they can smell the taint in the air at an almost incre- 
dible distance. On this account they are fond of lying 
in open corries, where the swells of winds come occasion- 
ally from all quarters. 

I have said that deer go up wind ; but by clever man- 
agement, and employing men to give them their wind, 
(those men being concealed from their view,) they may 
be driven down it ; and in certain cases they may easily 
be sent, by a side wind, towards that part of the forest 
which they consider as their sanctuary. 

It is to be noted that, on the hill-side, the largest 
harts lie at the bottom of the parcel, and the smaller 
ones above: indeed these fine fellows seem to think 
themselves privileged to enjoy their ease, and impose 
the duty of keeping guard upon the hinds and upon 
their juniors. In the performance of this task the hinds 
are the most vigilant, and when deer are driven they 
almost alwajTs take the lead. When, however, the herd 
is strongly beset on all sides, and great boldness and de^ 
cision are required, you shall see the master hart come 
forward courageously, like a great leader as he is, and, 
with his confiding band, force his way through all ob- 
stacles. In ordinary cases, however, he is of a most un- 
gallant and selfish disposition ; for, when he apprehends 
danger from the rifle, he will rake away the hinds with 
hjs horns, and get in the midst of them, keeping his 
antlers as low as possible. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TBE BAT. 21 

lliere U no animal more shy or solitary by nature 
than the red deer. He takes the note of alarm from 
every living thing on the moor, — all seem to be his 
sentinels. The sudden start of any animal > the spring- 
ing of a moor-fowl, the complaining note of a plover, or 
of the smallest bird in distress, will set him off in an 
instant He is always most timid when he does not see 
his adversary, for then he suspects an ambush. If, on 
the contrary, he has him full in view, he is as cool and 
circumspect as possible: he then watches him most 
acutely, endeavours to discover his intention, and takes 
the best possible method to defeat it In this case he is 
never in a hurry or confused, but repeatedly stops and 
watches his disturber's motions ; and when, at length, he 
does take his measure, it is a most decisive one : a whole 
herd will sometimes force their way at the very point 
where the drivers are the most numerous, and where 
there are no rifles; so that I have seen the hill-men 
fling their sticks at them, while they Save raced away, 
without a shot being fired. 

When a stag is closely pursued by dogs, and feels that 
he cannot escape from them, he flies to the best position 
he can, and defends himself to the last extremity. This 
IS called going to bay. If he is badly wounded, or very 
much over-matched in speed, he has little choice of 
ground ; but if he finds himself stout in the chase, and 
is pursued in his native mountains, he will select the 
most defensible spot he has it in his power to reach ; and 
woe be unto the dog that approaches him rashly. His 
instinct always leads him to the rivers, where his long 
legs give him a great advantage over the deer-hounds. 

c 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



22 WOUNDED STAG. 

Firmly he holds his position, whilst they swim powerless 
about him ; and would die from cold and fatigue before 
they could make the least impression on him. Some- 
times he will stand upon a rock in the midst of the river, 
making a most majestic appearance ; and in this case it 
will always be found that the spot on which he stands is 
not approachable on his rear. In this situation he takes 
such a sweep with his antlers, that he could exterminate 
a whole pack of the most powerful lurchers that were 
pressing too closely upon him in front. He is secure 
from all but man; and the rifle»shot must end him. 
Superior dogs may pull him down when running, but 
not when he stands at bay. 

It is worthy of remark, that when a cold hart (mean- 
ing one that has not been wounded) takes the bay, and 
it is broken afterwards by an unskilful approach, or 
by any other means, the same dog or dogs which out«r 
ran it at first seldom succeed in bringing it to bay a 
second time. The d(^ exhaust themselres with their 
clamour and exertions, whilst the hart is in a comparative 
state of rest, and recovers his wind. 

I have often heard that when a hart is wounded his 
companions will not permit him to join them, but drive 
him basely from the herd. In all my practice in the 
Scotch mountains, I myself never saw an instance of 
such a cruel expulsion, nor did I ever hear su<ih a thing 
named, or alluded to in any way, by the hillnnen or 
stalkers, in AthoU or any other forest On the contrary, 
it is a common occurrence to see, by means of your 
glass, the hinds licking the wound of the stag ; and I 
shall be borne out by all deer-stalkers when I say, that 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



tUQAClTY OF DEBR. 23 

one of the most mortifying circumstances in the chase is 
the utter impossibility of retrieving your wounded deer 
so long as he has power to run in the centre of the 
herd) which in such case he will inevitably dO) with the 
full consent of his companions* Happy indeed would 
it be for the stalker, if the stricken deer were expelled 
from the herd, for in such case no wounded animal 
could escape with a good dog at his traces. Nor should 
we see the sportsman's countenance, joyous as it was in 
the morning, set in gloom at the close of day, even at the 
convivial hour, and the pleasant fellow under the pressure 
of such an occurrence converted into the dullest mortal 
that ever sighed — a sort of Master Stephen — gentle- 
manlike and melancholy. 

Hitherto, therefore, I have regarded the expulsion of 
a wounded deer, alluded to above, as equally fabulous 
with that tale which describes the big tears coursing 
each other down a deer^s cheeks when in distress. Mr* 
Jesse, however, the well-known author of some de- 
lightful and instructive works on natural history, has 
informed me, that when a red deer is singled out for 
capture in Richmond Park, for the purpose of being 
hunted by her Majesty's hounds, the herd will not permit 
him to join them, but will attack and drive him from 
their company. In this royal park it is customary for 
certain men to ride at the herd till they disperse them, 
and th^i to single out their victim. Thus the deer, 
with their natural sagacity, and in a situation sufficiently 
confined for them to witness what is going on, soon dis- 
cover the object of the park-keepers. They see the riders 
and the hounds pressing on the traces of the devoted 

c 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



24 LONGEVITY OF DEER. 

animdy and that where he runs thither will the enemy 
follow : thus a sense of self-preservation makes the herd 
turn upon him, and deliver him up to the pursuer. 
Not so in the wild and rugged regions of the north ; 
there, man has no means of hot pursuit, for his horse 
would sink and founder amongst the rocks and morasses. 
The deer-hound — the last resource — is unable to se- 
parate a dense mass of animals, and single out one from 
their centre ; and thus the herd are unconscious of the 
particular object of pursuit, and, not being closely pressed 
upon, have no occasion for any demand upon their sa- 
gacity, and do not naturally reject a comrade in distress. 

lliere is an opinion amongst many, founded upon 
tradition, that the deer attains to a vejy extraordinary 
old age, amounting to some hundreds of years: ** Idmga 
et cervina senectusy* saith Juvenal. The ground and 
authority of this conceit, according to Sir Thomas 
Browne, ^^ was first hieroglyphical, the Egyptians ex- 
pressing longevity by this animal ; but they often erected 
such emblems upon uncertainties, and convincible falsi- 
ties ; for Aristotle first, and Pliny long after, declared, 
that the Egyptians could make but weak observations 
on this matter; for although it was said that ^neas 
feasted his followers with venison, yet Aristotle affirms 
that neither deer or boar were to be found |n Africa : 
and how &r they misconstrued the lives and duration 
of animals is evident, from their conceit of the crow, 
which they presume to live for five hundred years ; and 
the lives of hawks, which, according to ^ian, the 
Eg3rptians reckoned at no less than seven hundred.'^ 

Setting aside the absurd story of the stag taken by 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LONGEVITY OF DEER. 25 

Charles the Sixth, let us see if there be any modern 
proof that may throw light upon this subject. 

In the year 1826, the late Glengarry, accompanied 
by Lord Fincastle, now Earl of Dunmore, was hunting 
in the Garth of Glengarry. The beaters had been sent 
into a wood, called Tor-na-carry : a fine stag soon broke 
forth, and was going straight to Lord Fincastle, but, 
owing to a slight swell or change of the current of air, 
he turned towards Glengarry, who fired at and killed 
him. 

On going up to him a mark was discovered on his 
left ear. The first man who arrived was asked what 
mark it was. He replied that it was the mark of 
Ewen-mac-Jan Og. Five others gave the same an- 
swer ; and, after consulting together, all agreed that 
Ewen-mac-Jan Og had been dead 150 years, and for 
thirty years before his death had marked all the calves 
he could catch with this particular mark; so that this 
deer (allowing the mark to have been authentic) must 
have been 150 years old, and might have been 180. 
The horns, which are preserved by the present Glen- 
garry, are not particularly large, but have a very wide 
spread. 

Now this circumstance is clearly and honourably at- 
tested : it was communicated to me both by the late and 
present Glengarry : we must, therefore, either subscribe 
at once to this longevity, or we must imagine (what, in- 
deed, seems to be most probable) that, as the old forester's 
mark was evidently known to the hill-men, some of his 
successors might have imitated it, without the sanction 
or knowledge of their chie£ 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



26 LONGEVITY OF DEER. 

However this may be» it is notorious that no super-> 
stition is more prevalent, amongst certain classes in the 
Highlands, than that which regards the longevity of 
deer. Hence the following adage : — 

" Tri hy\B coin, avis eich ; 
Tii kvis eich, avis duine ; 
Tri aviB duine, avis feidh; 
Tri fivis feidh, avis firean ; 
Tri Mb firean, kvis craobh dharaich.* 

Thus it stands in English : — 

Thrice the age of a dog is that of a horse; 
Thrice the age of a horse is that of a man ; 
Thrice the age of a man is that of a deer ; 
Thrice the age of a deer is that of an eagle ; 
Thrice the age of an eagle is that of an oak tree. 

Setting aside the extravagance of this adage, I ven- 
ture to mention that, according to tradition. Captain 
Macdonald, of TuUoch, in Lochaber *, who died in 
1776, at the age of eighty-six, knew the white hind of 
Lochtreig for the last fifty years of his life ; his &ther 
knew her an equal length of time before him ; and his 
grandfather knew her for sixty years of his own time ; 
and she preceded his days. These three gentlemen 
were all keen deer-stalkers. Many of the Lochaber 
and Brae Rannoch men knew her also. She was purely 
white, without spot or blemish — was never seen alone— 
and tradition furnishes no instance of any shot having 
been fired at the herd with which she associated 

A' very large stag was known for 200 years in the 
Mona-lia, a range of mountains lying between Bade- 
nach and Inverness. He was always seen alone, keeping 

* Clommunicated by Mr. Macgregor. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LONGEVITY OF i>££R. 27 

the o{)eD plains, so that he was unapproachable! He 
was easily distinguished from all others by his inunense 
proportions. 

About the year 1777, Angus Maedonald, after stalking 
for five hours, got within shot of Damh-mor-a-Vonalia, 
as he was called (that is, the large stag of Mona*lia) : he 
fired, and saw distinctly with his glass that the ball had 
entered his left shoulder-blade. He fell to the shot, but, 
not being severely injured, recovered, and got away. 

Macdonald soon made known that he had wounded 
the Damh-mor, but there was some scepticism on the 
subject. In 1807, thirty years after this occurrence, the 
Damh-mor was shot four miles to the westward of the inn 
at Grarviemore, at the head of Badenoch. Thus it was :-— 

John Macdonald (innkeeper there, and brother to An- 
gus, who wounded the deer as above), having heard that 
the hart was seen in his country, went in quest of him ; 
and, after stalking nearly a whole day in August, got 
within distance, and brought him down. After a minute 
examination, the ball of 1777 was found in the left 
shoulder, an inch under the skin, which still retained the 
mark of an old-standing perforation. The horns were 
by no means remarkable in point of size ; but that on 
the left, being the side on which the deer was wounded, 
ill-shaped and defective. 

The belief in the extraordinary longevity of the red 
deer is not peculiar to the Highlands. I have been in-* 
formed by a gentleman, who has frequently attended the 
Duke of Saxe Coburg's deer-hunts, that he has very 
lately seen, in the mountains of Thuringia, a stag of stu- 
poidous. height and dimensions, whose great age is quite 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



28 ARISTOTLE*S OPINION ON 

a tradition, having been handed down from father to 
son in the village, from a very remote and untraceable 
period of time, though he still appears in full vigour. 
He has long enjoyed an indemnity : the duke having 
restricted every one from firing at him. The woods are 
of oak ; and the acorns, no doubt, are one great cause of 
the large growth of the German deer. 
. William Twici, or Twety, grand huntsman to King 
Edward the Second, in his Treatise upon Hunting, 
mentions, amongst other beasts of the chase of the first 
class, the buck, the doe, the bear, the reindeer, the elk, 
and the spytard ; which latter, he himself informs us, is 
a hart of one hundred years old : these he calls ^^ beasts 
of sweet flight." 

On the other hand, ^^ Aristotle, drawing an argument 
from the increment and gestation of deer, (I quote fit>m 
Sir Thomas Browne,) comes to the conclusion, that they 
are not such as afiPord an argument of long life : and 
these (saith Scaliger, his translator) are good mediums, 
conjunctively taken-— that is, not one without the other : 
for of animals viviparous, such as live long go long 
with young, and attain but slowly to their maturity and 
stature : so the horse, that liveth above thirty, arriveth 
at his stature in about six years, and remaineth above 
ten months in the womb ; so the camel, that livetli unto 
fifty, goeth with young no less than ten months, and 
ceaseth not to grow before seven ; and so the elephant, 
that liveth an hundred, beareth its young above a year, 
and arriveth unto perfection at twenty. On the contrary^ 
the sheep and goat, which live but eight or ten years, go 
but five months, and attain to their perfection at two 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE LONOEYITT OF DEER. 29 

yean: and the like proportion is observable in cats, 
haresy and conies. And so the deer, that endureth the 
womb but eight months, and is complete at six years, 
from the course of nature, we cannot expect to live a 
hundred years, nor, in any proportional allowance, to 
much more than thir^. 

^' Moreover, the state and declination of all animals 
are proportionally set out by nature ; and, naturally pro* 
ceeding, admit of inference from each other. When 
long life is natural, the marks of age are late ; and, where 
they appear, the journey unto death cannot be long. 
Now the age of deer is best conjectured by view of the 
horns and teeth. From the horns there is a particular 
and annual account unto six years, — they arising first 
plain and so successively branching; after which the 
judgment of their years by particular marks becomes 
uncertain; but, when they grow old, they grow less 
branched, and first do lose their propugnacula or brow 
antlers ; which Aristotle says the youngest use in fight, 
and the old, as needless, have them not at all. The same 
may be also collected from the loss of their teeth, whereof 
in old age they have few, or none before, in either jaw. 
Now these are infallible marks of age ; and when they 
appear we must confess a declination, which, notwith- 
standing, will happen, as we are informed, between 
. twen^ and thirty." 

I myself may add, that the great excitement and ex* 
haustion during the rutting season, as well as the effort 
nature makes in renewing the horns annually, is an 
argument against longevity ; and, notwithstanding the 
extreme respect I bear to marvellous traditions, (always. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



30 BEER FORESEE STORMS. 

I think, better attested in proportion as they are mar- 
Tellous,) I judge it incumbent on me to say, that the 
accounts I have received from park-keepers in England, 
where there are red deer, entirely contradict their 
supposed longevity. 

The longest lived deer they remember in Richmond 
Park was the Naphill stag, turned out there by oommand 
of his Majesty George the Third. Every care was 
taken of him, but he lived no longer than twenty years ; 
and the present keeper, who communicated this infor- 
mation to me, asserted, at the same time, that the red 
deer in that park rarely exceed the age of eighteen years, 
and that their horns decrease in size after the age of 
twelve. The largest antlers he has met with there, 
with the skull part attached, weigh about twelve pounds. 
I consider this authority, however, good only as &r as 
it goes, and not as determining the longevity of deer 
in a wilder state, and under more general circum- 
stances. 

The deer, like many other animals, seem to foresee 
every change of weather : at the approach of a storm they 
leave the higher hills, and descend to the low grounds, 
sometimes even two days before the change takes place. 
Again, at the approach of a thaw, they leave the low 
grounds and go to the mountains by a similar anticipation 
of change. They never perish in snow-drifts, like sheep, 
since they do not shelter themselves in hollows, but keep 
the bare ground, and eat the tops of the heather. 

One would imagine that in a severe storm many would 
perish by avalanches. But, during the long period of 
sixty years, Mr. John Crerar remembers but two ac- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DSER-6TALKING TACTICS. 31 

ddents of this nature. These were in Gkn Mark: 
eleven were killed by one fall, and twenty-one by an- 
other : the snow in its descent carried the deer along 
with it) into the glen and across the burn, and rolled up 
a little way on the opposite brae, where the animals were 
smothered. 

Harts are excellent swimmers; and will pass from 
island to island in quest of hinds, or change of food. It 
is asserted that the rear hart in swimming rests his head 
on the croup of the one before him ; and that all follow 
in the same manner. 

When a herd of deer are driven, they follow each 
other in a line ; so that when they cross the stalker it is 
customary for him to lie quiet, and suffer the leaders to 
pass before he raises his rifle ; if he were to fire at the 
first that appeared, he would probably turn the whole of 
them back ; or if he were to run forward injudiciously, 
after a few had passed, the remainder, instead of fol- 
lowing the others in a direct line, would not cross him, 
except under particular circumstances and dispositions of 
ground, but would bear off an end, and join the others 
afterwards. It must be remarked, however, that when 
deer are hard pressed by a dog they run in a compact 
mass, the tail ones endeavouring to wedge themselves 
into it. They will also run in this manner when pressed 
by drivers on the open moor ; but they are sensible that 
they could not pass the narrow oblique paths that are 
trodden out by them in the precipitous and stony parts 
of the mountain, or encounter the many obstructions of 
rock, river, and precipice that rugged nature is contin- 
ually opposing to them, in any other manner than in 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



32 CONSTRUCTION OF FEET OF DEER. 

rank and file* If they did they must separate, and Idse 
the wind, which is not their system. 

They do not run well up hill when fat, but they will 
beat any dog in such oblique paths as I have mentioned^ 
The hardness and sharp edges of their hoofs give them 
great tenacity, and prevent their suffering from the 
stones ; whilst a dog, having no fence against injury, is 
obliged to slacken his pace. 

The bone of a deer's foot is small and particularly 
hard ; it is this peculiar construction which renders the 
animal as strong as he is fleet. The support and strength 
of the joints of the feet of all animal bodies, according 
to Sir £. Home, depend less upon their own ligaments 
than upon the action of the muscles whose tendons pass 
over them. " This fact," he says, " was strongly im- 
pressed on my mind, in the early part of my medical 
education, by seeing a deer which leaped over the 
highest fences, and the joints of whose feet, when ex- 
amined, were as rigid in every other direction, but that 
of their motion, as the bone itself; but when the tendo 
Achilles which passed over the joint was divided, with 
a view to keep the animal from running away, the foot 
could readily be moved in any direction, the joint no- 
longer having the smallest firmness.*' 

Some old authorities attribute various medicinal vir- 
tues to certain parts of the hart; and, amongst the rest, 
the author of the Treatise on Venerie very gravely 
asserts, "That his marrow or grease is good for the 
gout proceeding from a cold cause, — melting it, and 
rubbing the place where the pain is therewith. Also 
the hart first taught us to find the herb called Die- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FLESH OF THE RED DEER. 33 

tamos ; for when he is stricken with an arrow or dart, 
he seeketh out that herb, and eateth thereof; the which 
maketh the dart or arrow to fall out, and healeth him 
immediately/' 

Almost every part of the deer is excellent for the 
table : the liver, the heart, the tripe, the feet, and the 
white puddings, should not be neglected. The skin 
itself is manufactured into a soft yellow-coloured leather, 
which is useful for numerous purposes. 

I have heard the excellence of the venison disputed 
by sportsmen, and others who have tasted it in the 
North ; but I attribute this entirely to the age and con- 
dition of the sort of creature it was their lot to taste, or 
to the time of year in which it was killed. A hart, like 
most other animals, has little fat when he is growing; 
and if sportsmen do not distinguish, or have not the 
means of selection, the haunches will cut but a sorry 
Bgure at the table. But in the estimation of all the 
numerous guests it has been my good fortnne to meet 
in the hospitable halls of Blair, the red deer has been 
infinitely preferred to the fallow ; and I could name 
many such guests, whose judgment would be pronounced 
paramount in such matters. On the contrary, the 
haunch of the fallow deer, when brought to table at 
Blair, although perfect in its kind, was always ne- 
glected. There must, however, be a wide difference 
between the quality of the red deer which are fed in 
English parks, and such as wander freely over the moun- 
tains, and browse on the sweet grass and heather. 

I have now lying before me a letter from Sir Walter 
Scott, to whom I was in the habit of sending Highland 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



84 DEFENSIVE POWERS 

venison (and who was no mean judge of the merits of 
a plat de resistance)^ attesting its exceUence. Thus 1 
quote from it, word for word : — 

** Thanks, dear Sir, for your venison, for finer or fatter 
Never roam*d in a forest, or smoked in a platter." 

" Your superb haunch arrived in excellent time to 

feast a new married couple, the Douglasses, of M ^ 

and was pronounced by far the finest that could by 
possibility have been seen in Teviotdale since Chevy 
Chase. I did not venture on the carving, being warned 
both by your hints, and the example of old Robert 
Sinclair, who used to say that he had thirty friends 
during a fortnight's residence at Harrowgate, and lost 
them all in the carving of one haunch of venison; so 
I put Lockhart on the duty, and, as the haunch was too 
large to require strict economy, he hacked and hewed 
it well enough." 

Stags, although they have frequent and ferocious 
combats amongst their own species during the rutting 
season, have been seldom known to attack men, in any 
other way than in self-defence. No instance of the sort 
ever occurred to me, nor to Mr. John Crerar, who shot 
sixty years in the forest of AthoL Once indeed he in- 
curred a sort of rebuff, by his own imprudence ; being 
a very powerful man, he got behind a stag, which was 
at bay in Glenmore, and, being also a judicious person, 
thought it advisable to take hold of his hind leg, and en- 
deavour to throw him over ; but when about to do so, the 
animal saluted him with both his hind legs, and with such 
effect, that one of his hoofs broke his watch, and the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



' OF THE RED DEER. S5 

Other struck him in the mouth, knocked out one of 
his teeth, and sent him sprawling on his back to the 
edge of the water. The only instance I ever heard of in 
that forest, of an offensive assault on man, was re- 
counted to me by the late Duke of AthoIL His Grace 
had wounded a hart, and one of the deer-hounds flew at 
him and seized hold of his ear; when the duke came up, 
the hart sprung forward with his head down (the dog 
still hanging to his ear), and was rushing to the attack, 
but his Grace escaped the danger by sending a ball 
through his forehead. This, as I have said, is the only 
instance I ever heard of an offensive attack upon man 
by deer upon the wild mountains; and it must be 
observed, that the animal here in question was rendered 
furious by the dog, and by the pain of his wound. It is 
however at all times dangerous to approach a wounded 
deer too nearly, for in self-defence he would not 
hesitate to kill any living thing that came within reach 
of his pointed antlers. An instance is recorded of a 
red deer having beat off a tiger, which was set loose 
upon it in an enclosed arena, at the instance of William 
Duke of Cumberland. But if stags in such wild regions 
fitand in awe of man, they have not always the same 
respect when they become more familiar with him. 

" Some years ago," says Gilpin, " a stag in the New 
Forest, pressed by the hunters, and just entering a 
thicket, was opposed by a peasant, who foolishly, with his 
arms extended, attempted to turn him. The stag held 
his course, and darting one of his antlers into the 
man, carried him off some paces, sticking upon his horn : 
the man was immediately conveyed to Lymington, 

D 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



W FURIOUS ATTACK 

where he lay dangerously ill for some time, Imt at length 
recovered." I have heard also that when the Duke of Bed- 
ford was lord-^warden of the forest,' his huntsman had a 
horse killed under him by a stag, which he crossed in the 
same imprudent manner. ^* We read" (saith the editor 
of the Noble Art of Venerie) " of an emperor named 
Batels, who had done great deedes of chivalrie in his 
country, and yet was nevertheless slayne with a hart in 
breaking of a bay." 

But a recent instance occurred in October, 1836, of 
the ferocity of a red deer when confined in a park, which, 
from the courtesy of the gentleman to whom it happened, 
I am enabled to give circumstantially. 

The Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Fox Maule had left Tay- 
mouth with the intention of proceeding towards Dalguise, 
and in driving through that part of the grounds where 
the red deer were kept, they suddenly, at a turn of the 
road, came upon the lord of the demesne, standing in 
the centre of the passage, as if prepared to dispute it 
against all comers. 

Mr. Maule being aware that it might be dangerous to 
trifle with him, or to endeavour to drive him away (for 
it was the rutting season), cautioned the postillion to go 
slowly, and give the animal an opportunity of moving 
off. 

This was done, and the stag retired to a small hollow 
by the side of the road : on the carriage passing, how- 
ever, he took offence at its too near approach, and 
emerged at a slow and stately pace, till he arrived 
nearly parallel with it ; Mr. Maule then desired the lad 
to increase his pace, being apprehensive of a charge on 
the broadside. 



Digitized by VjOOQ IC 



BT A RED DEER. 87 

' The deer, however, had other intentions ; for as soon 
as the carriage moved quicker, he increased his pace 
also, and canie on the road about twelve yards ahead of 
it, for the purpose of crossing, as it was thought, to a 
lower range of the park ; but to the astonishnient and 
no little alarm of the occupants of the carriage^ he 
charged the off-side horse, plunging his long bi*ow 
antler into his chest, and otherwise cutting him. 

The horse that was wounded made two violent kicks, 
and is supposed to have struck the stag, and then the 
pair instantly ran off the road ; and it was owing solely 
to the admirable presence of mind and nerve of the 
postillion, that the carriage was not precipitated over the 
neighbouring bank. The horses were not allowed to 
stop till they reached the gate, although the blood was 
pouring from the wounded animal in a stream as thick 
as a man's finger. He was then taken out of the car- 
riage, and only siurvived two or three hours. The stag 
was shortly afterwards killed. 

Of the various modes practised for pursuing and kill- 
ing the deer in different ages and countries, I do not 
profess to treat In thinly-peopled districts, like the 
wilds of North America, whose inhabitants subsist by 
the chase, artificial fences, stretching over vast distances, 
are employed to aid in driving the deer to the spots, 
where the pit-&ll, the net, the spear, arrow, or rifle, 
are employed for their destruction. 

On the Continent, deer-driving on the grandest scale 
is still occasionally practised, the game of a whole pro- 
vince being surrounded by the marshalled peasantry of 
a prince or noble, and forced by the gradual narrowing 

D 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



38 DEER-HUNTINO 

of the circle to some central spot for promiscuous slaugh- 
ter. Similar princely battues were formerly common, 
when the game was more plentiful, and cultivation rarer, 
both in England and Scotland. As one instance, among 
many of these, which we find recorded in the old 
chroniclers, and as a proof of the determined resolution 
of the stag when pushed to extremity, I may be per- 
mitted to quote the following account* 

Spottiswood mentions, in his History, " That Queen 
Mary took the sport of hunting the deer in the forest of 
Mar and AthoU, in the year 1563," of which Barclay, 
in his Defence of Monarchical Government, gives the 
following particulars : — 

" The Earl of AthoU prepared for her Majesty*^ re- 
ception by sending out about two thousand Highlanders 
to gather the deer from Mar, Badenoch, MuiTay, and 
AthoU, to the district he had previously appointed It 
occupied tlie Highlanders for several weeks in driving 
the deer, to the amount of two thousand, besides roes, 
does, and other game. 

^^ The Queen, with her numerous attendants and a 
great concourse of the nobUity, gentry, and people, were 
assembled at the appointed glen, and the spectacle much 
delighted her Majesty, particularly as she observed that 
such a numerous herd of deer seemed to be directed in 
all their motions by one stately animal among them; 
they all walked, stopped, or turned as he did, — they 
all followed him. The Queen was delighted to see all 
the deer so attentive to their leader, and upon her point- 
ing it out to the Biarl of AthoU, who knew the nature of 
the animal well, having been accustomed to it from his 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OF QUEEN MARY. 39 

youth, he told her that they might all come to be fright- 
ened enough by that beautiful beast. ^ For,' said he, 
' should that stag in the front, which your Majesty 
justly admires so much, be seized with any fit of fury or 
of fear, and rush down from the side of the hill, where 
you see him stand, to this plain, then would it be neces- 
sary for every one of us to provide for the safety of your 
Majesty, and for our own : all the rest of those deer 
would in&llibly come with him as thick as possibly they 
could, and make their way over our bodies to the moun- 
tain that is behind us.' 

^^ This information occasioned the Queen some alarm ; 
and what happened afterwards proved it not to be alto- 
gether without cause ; for her Majesty having ordered a 
large fierce dog to be let loose on a wolf that appeared, 
the leading deer, as we may call him, was terrified at 
the sight of the dog, turned his back, and began to fly 
thither whence they had come ; all the other deer in- 
stantly followed. 

** They were surrounded on that side by a line ot 
Highlanders; but well did they know the power of this 
dose phalanx of deer, and at speed ; and therefore they 
yielded, and opposed no resistance ; and the only means 
left of saving their lives, was to fall flat on the heath in 
the best posture they could, and allow the deer to run 
over them. This method they followed ; but it did not 
save them from being wounded ; and it was announced 
to the Queen that two or three men had been trampled 
to death. 

** In this manner the deer would have all escaped, had 
not the huntsmen, accustomed to such events, gone after 

D 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



40 DESTRUCTION OF DEER. 

them, and with great dexterity headed and turned a 
detachment in the rear ; against these the Queen's stag- 
hounds and those of the nobility were loosed, and a 
successful chase ensued. Three hundred and sixty deer 
were killed, five wolves, and some roes ; and the Queen 
and her party returned to Blair delighted with the 
sport." 

If this account by Barclay is matter of feet through- 
out (which I very much doubt), it would be curious to 
know in what manner these 2,000 men proceeded, and 
how they consumed several weeks in bringing down 2,000 
head of deer. Such a force of men, well and equally 
distributed, would cover an immense tract of ground ; 
but the wind must be changing upon them continually, 
and it must have required the strictest order, and per- 
haps fires throughout the line, to keep the deer in during 
the dark nights, at which time they will go in any 
direction, either up or down wind. Even in the day- 
time, a cross wind might be fatal to the drive, if it were 
not for the enormous extent of ground that a force of 
2,000 men could cover. A hundred men a mile would 
give less than twenty yards of interval between each 
man, and constitute a line of twenty miles in length. 
But how did all these rough-footed Highlanders subsist 
for two months on the barren mountains ? A few days, 
one would think, would have been quite sufficient for 
their purpose. As for the number of deer that were 
killed, if a hundred couple of fierce and swift; dogs were 
let loose, which we are told was not unusual, they must 
have pulled down a great many hinds and calves, though 
probably but few harts. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



INTRODUCTION OF FIRE-ARMS. 41 

When the country was partially covered with wood, 
the forests were driven, and the sportsmen occapied 
passes where they took their chance of sport; and this 
method is still occasionally resorted to in the forest of 
Glengarry and in other places. But, generally speaking, 
the system has given way to the more exciting amuse- 
ment of deer-stalking. * 

The destruction of the woods, and the substitution of 
the gtm for the bow and arrow and hagbute, formed 
quite an epoch in the habits and size of the deer, as well 
as in the mode of killing them. 

In Sutherland, fire-arms were unknown until about 
the latter end of the sixteenth century, when a large 
awkward kind of blunderbuss, named by the country- 
people Glasnabkean (meaning the mountain match-lock 
gun), was obtained by Angus Baillie of Uppat, one of 
the most noted of the Sutherland foresters of whom we 
have any correct account; and it was used by him with 
great effect in some of the conflicts and skirmishes that 
were of frequent occurrence in those days. 

This memorable appearance of Glasnabhean* took 
place in the year 1589 ; and I think it very probable 
that it was a gun taken from the wreck of a vessel 
belonging to the Spanish Armada, which was cast on 
the Scotch shores in the year 1584. Early in the fol- 
lowing century, more serviceable, but still very rude 
guns, having the barrel attached to the stock by iron 
hoops, were introduced generally into Sutherland* 

* Sir Robert Gordon ascribes the name of Glatnabhean to John 
Beaton, the person who had charge of the gun, and used it in the 
Skirmishes m company with Angus Baillie. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



42 MODERN METHODS 

These did not, however, entirely supplant the bow and 
arrow until after the middle of the seventeenth century. 
The spear was used at a more remote period against the 
boar and the wolf, and also in killing wounded deer. 

The bow had one advantage over the gun, namely^ 
that of being noiseless ; so that, if the stalker were well 
concealed, he might repeat his ^hots without giving 
much alarm. 

The sport afforded by the deer to the lovers of the 
chase with hound and horn (by which I mean hunting 
on scent, without the aid of rifles), has always ranked 
high amongst the amusements of the upper ranks of 
civilised nations. In Germany, France, and England^ 
up to a comparatively recent period, a pack of stag* 
hounds formed part of the establishment of every sove- 
reign prince and. wealthy noble; and this branch of the 
**Arte of Venerie" was reduced by rule and method 
almost to a science, and pursued in a stately and magni- 
ficent manner, according to recognised principles, which 
are treated of at length in many works of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries. But this is a field into which I 
have no intention of entering. 

In this country, I believe, the stag is now hunted in hia 
wild state only in Devonshire, and in the New Forest, and 
even there the animal is daily becoming scarcer. Stag^ 
hunting was never probably practised in the same way in 
the Highlands of Scotland, the nature of the country offer- 
ing great obstacles to this mode of pursuit on horseback. 
It is mentioned in a letter printed by the late Lord 
Graves, who hunted the wild deer in Devonshire, that 
these animals, when they find themselves pursued by 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OF DEER-HUNTINO. 43 

scent generally run down wind; and the same thing 
has been asserted to me by others : this, if true, for I 
confess I have my doubts, is an extraordinary instance 
of sagacity, as their natural instinct leads them to the 
opposite direction, it being a most difficult thuig for 
men alone to drive them down wind 

In the following pages I confine myself to a descrip- 
tion of the mode of killing deer now in use in the 
Highlands, which may be considered limited to the two 
methods of driving and stalking : the former of these 
offers more room for the companionship and friendly 
rivalry, which confers its main zest on sport of every 
description ; but the latter, if it has the disadvantage of 
being pursued in a more solitary guise, yet gives so 
much scope to skill and manoeuvring, and exhibits the 
motions and the defensive instincts of th^ stag in such a 
beautiful manner, tried as he is under every variety of 
incident, that I have always considered it as creating 
a deeper and more absorbing interest. Those sports- 
men, therefore, who agree with me, will not be sur- 
prised at my dwelling on it with the natural preference 
of a fond lover of the spirit-stirring craft 

I should add, however, that the method I generally 
pursued, of stalking in quick time with the assistance of 
skilful hill-men placed at immense distances on my 
flanks, ought seldom to be practised in small forests, as 
too frequent a disturbance, so comprehensive as this,' 
would make the deer forsake the ground. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



44 



CHAP. II. 

*< As he came down by Merr!e]iia% 
And in the benty line, 
There has he espied a deer lying 
Aneath a bush of ling.'* 

MiMtMay of the Bwdtr. 

<^ It^s just the skreek o'day, yer honour, and time ye 
war out o* bed" 

<^ Rather &rther on, I'm thmking, Peter ; so take 
away the rifies,,ball8 and all, get the men together, and 
make good speed over the moor : I see by the course of 
the clouds, which I have been watching from my bed, 
that the wind is in the right airt, and as the weather is 
warm, the deer will be fiir out on the tops of the hills ; 
so we will leave Blair as soon as possible, breakfitst at 
the lodge as usual, and go round the north of Ben 
Derig, that we may take all the ground, and not lose a 
chance. I expect to find a friend at Bruar lodges who 
was to come across the moors from the Badenoch 
country; and he slept there last night, if he did not miss 
the track, which you know is but a wild one. So order 
the pony to the door at four o'clock, and take care I do 
not pass you at Auld Heclan, as I did the day we killed 
the great deer ; and I say, Peter, do not forget the 
whiskey. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER-BTALKERS' START. 45 

** Na, na, I aye tak tent o* that Did ye ever knaw 
me lave it ahent ?" 

^^ N09 faith) to do you justice, your memory never 
&il8 you there ; and you take care to refresh it pretty 
often. So oiF with you, my good fellow, and keep that 
laugh to enliven you on your way, for it is a long and 
dreary one." 

It may be thought that Tortoise said this in a half 
intelligible drowsy tone — not a bit of it. An eager 
sportsman never sleeps or slumbers ; or if he does so by 
way of variety, he starts into life at once, and springs up 
from his bed as if the deer were actually before him : 
neither does he say, ^^ Sandy, bring me the balls ; " or, 
** Charlie, bring me my powder flask, or my jacket^ or 
my shoe^ or any thing else of the sort ; for he has very 
methodically laid out all these things on his dressing- 
table over night with his own proper luuids. To be de- 
pendent on others in these matters is exceedingly youth- 
ful : no» he trusts to no man's vigilance, but relies upon 
his own, and this is his system, not only in the camp, 
but in the field. 

Mounted on his horse, Tortoise soon lefi: the silent 
castle, and away he went, winding his rugged bourse 
through the forest of pines, some standing stately and 
dark in their verdure, others riven and blasted by the 
storm, their bare bones laying across his path, or driven 
crashing into the torrent below, where the waters of the 
Banavie come struggling through their rude barriers. 
The morn broke silvery and bright over the mountain 
top, just moving with her refreshing breath the light 
leaves of the birch and mountain ash, which were scat- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



46 MORNING RIDE. 

tered about in nature's careless haste, hanging in grace* 
ful forms, and glittering with the falling dewdrop. 

Npw and then a roe sprang up from the bracken, in 
the secret glades of the wood, and vanished instantly with 
a bound among the gloom of the thickets, as the feet of 
the good galloway clattered over the stones. To say that 
the rider " recked not of the scene so fair,*" were to dd 
him injustice. No sudden gleam of light shot vividly 
across the moor, — no cataract leaped and dashed down 
the rocky chasms, — no wreaths of mist rose sluggishly 
to the mountain tops, with their light trains flickering 
behind, the eiFect of which did not excite his mind power- 
fully, and awaken it to the most pleasurable sensations. 

** These are thy glorious works. Parent of good I ** 

So mused he thankful. At length, freed from the 
gloom of the pine woods, his pony, dashed forward to 
the open moor, and the light spread broad furound him ; 
4iot a cloud is to be seen to indicate the course of the 
wind ; a moment he checks his horse on the summit of 
the first hill, and scatters a few shreds of tow ; away 
they Ail to the north. The wind then continued favour- 
able ; burn after bum is left behind him ; but still he sees 
the long cart-track winding into the distance ; and, in the 
remote sky-line, a few specks, which surely are his men, 
now near Bruar Lodge. At length the last hill is gained, 
and from its summit he descries the smoke issuing from the 
little chimneys ; joyfully he sees it, and the complacent 
thoughts of breakfast come like balm over his soul. 

There are some classes of men, alas, who know too well 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



BRUAR LODGE. 47 

what hunger is (would they were fewer!). Were I 
palled upon off-hand to name a few individuals particu-- 
kriy tortured by famine, why then I should say Franklin, 
Richardson, Ross, and the deer^stalker, who has ridden^ 
over moor and mountain, from Blair to Bruar Lodge, 
before sunrise, conscientiously putting the deer-stalker 
decidedly first. Still let him beware of indulging his 
appetite too liberally. Something we shall say on this 
subject when we touch upon the necessary qualities and 
conduct of a deer-stalker. But, after all, what is the 
use of preaching up abstinence to a craving, ravenous 
mortal ? Eat he inevitably will, to an imprudent extent^ 
and with zeal well worthy of a better cause, notwithstand-> 
ing we tell him he may as well swallow coals of fire, 
like Portia. 

About eight reputed miles north of Blair AthoU, which 
distance would be numbered ten in a country of mile- 
stones, you descend into a glen, which is of a wild and 
desolate character. The heather being old, is rather of a 
brown than a purple colour ; but there is some relief of 
greensward near the lodge, and more in various patches 
near the winding course of the Bruar< Huge, lofty, and 
in the district of AthoU second only in magnitude to 
Ben-y*gloe, Ben Dairg, or the red mountain^ stands 
dominant. At the right entrance of the pass, the little 
white and lonely dwelling, called Bruar Lodge, lies a 
mere speck beneath it. It consists of two small tene- 
ments, facing each other, encompassed by^ wall, so as to 
form a small court between them : one of these buildings 
serves for the master, and the other for his servants. 
There is, besides, a lodging-place for the hill men, rathev* 

*D 8 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



48 BRUAR LODGE, 

frail in structurei and a dog-kennel of the same pictn-> 
resque character. Close by stands a black stack of peats. 
Down winds the river Bruar through the glen, sotne^ 
times creeping silently through the mossy stones, and at 
others raving, maddening, and bearing all before it, so 
that neither man nor beast may withstand its violence. 
Nearly in front of the little lodge is a wooden foot 
bridge, raised high above the water, so as to give it a 
free passage. When Tortoise flourished, this bridge, 
shot away by the floods, used to make an annual excur- 
sion of some^ miles towards the Garry, and was regu« 
larly brought back again piecemeal by a train of carts 
every summer. Like the boat-bridge on the Rhine, it 
might be termed a pant volant. Some distance up the 
glen, towai*ds the east, a lofty cataract falls from the 
mountain side, whose waters And their way into the 
Bruar ; and the head of the pass is obstructed by a chain 
of mountains, so that it forms a sort of ctd^*sac. 

On these hills grouse are most abundant ; and when 
they are not shrouded in mist, there cannot be a more 
delightful range for a sportsman. Tortoise, therefore, 
used to relax a little on them, after the severer exercise 
of deer-stalking, when venison was plenty, and grouse 
scarce at the castle, or when the wind was unfavourable 
for the pursuit of the nobler game. By the &vour of 
the lord of the forest, Bruar Lodge * was his occasional 

* The noble proprietor of Bruar Lodge would have spared no 
trouble or expense in making it as comfortable as possible for the 
writer of these pages ; and this was repeatedly and kindly pressed 
upon him at Blair ; but, as almost all his time during the shooting 
season was spent at the castle, he felt and expressed that every 
thing at the lodge was precisely as he could wish ; and really, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A COMRADE JOINS. 49 

domicile. With all its apertures he Joved it dearly ; 
and it may be doubted whether any monarch ever en* 
tered a palace, or any lady a ball-room, with more ab- 
solute delight than he was wont to enter this lonely 
abode. What though the winds would revel freely in it, 
and heave up the little carpet with an unceasing undu- 
lation, still the table cloth was tolerably tranquil, for the 
weight of the meal made it retain its station t What, 
though the parlour bell in the passage would ring in- 
cessantly during the night, even when the doors were 
dosed, stimulated by the gentle violence of the wind ; it 
was an .Sk>lian harp to him I What, though a deluge of 
continuous rain, like the bursting of a water-spout, 
would sometimes plunge down, and darken the narrow 
glen, recalling the days of Deucalion and Pyrrha, still 
there was a to-morrow, and then the mist would climb 
the mountain tops, and the sun break forth anew in all 
its refulgence t 

Heaven be praised for these transient checks, they 
add new vigour to our mind, and fresh zest to our 
sport. 

But away with these reflections ; for here comes my 
friend, safely arrived over the dubious tracts of the 
Badenoch mountains, fresh and eager for the sport. 

" Well, Harry, I am delighted to see you arrived 
and to welcome you to my cabin ; how do you like our 



during a violent north wind and a raging tempest (the particular 
time alluded to), it did not come within the scope of a carpenter 
or mason's craft to ward off the inroad of the elements. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



60 MOUNTAIN APPKTITES. 

country ; and how did you and your Sheltie g^et across 
it?" 

^^ Country I why it is a vast chaos of mountains, 
rocks, and torrents; I hit the track by a mere miracle, — 
you know that well enough. I have been made aware 
that the descendants of the Picts dwell to the north, but 
without this previous instruction, I should be inclined to 
say, * Nunc terminus BritannuB patet ; — nulla jam ultra 
ffenSf nihil nisifliLctm et saxa;* so utterly desolate seems 
all around me. I dare say we shall see Galgacus in the 
course of the day. But pray let us go in ; the break- 
fast is prepared and has a most inviting appearance* 
Your men descried you on the last hill-top with their 
glasses, and all is ready. I never was more happy to 
see any one in my life ; for besides other considerations, 
^ the air bites shrewdly ; ' and I am hungry past endur* 
ance. What a rascally hill that is at the head of the 
pass ; my pony slid down it on his hocks, carrying for- 
ward with him a rattling mass of stones and rubbish, 
that now forms a talus, which, under ordinary circum- 
stances, ought to have been the work of ages. 

What was dispatched at breakfast we may not say ; it 
becomes us not when in our own cabin, to record how 
often empty plates were exchanged for full ones, or to 
say whether the pasty was still a venison pasty, or only 
a simple unpretending dish of earthenware ; let those 
who have felt the mountain breeze, and all the freshness 
and salubrity it imparts, form their own conclusions ; 
and we really can assure them that, all things considered 
we are not voracious, that is, not particularly so, — on 
the contrary, we always feel inclined to inculcate the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ASCENT OF BEN DAIRG. 51 

doctrine of abslineDce ; but then we cannot very de- 
cently do this to Our own guests, so you must excuse us 
for the present 

** Now, Harry, are you ready ? " 

'^ In one moment, — just let me take another egg ; 
and with your permission I will put this broiled grouse 
in my pocket, and a roll or two, and so forth. Now 
then for this wonderful work." 

" Do you still hold your intention of taking no rifle?" 

For to-day, yes, most decidedly ; I will keep cool, 
and see the nature of the thing first. That is my firm 
resolve." 

** Well, I shall have three rifles with me, and you can 
use mine whenever you feel inclined to do so. I will ex- 
plain the abstruse science to you, and all the meaning 
of our operations as clearly as I can, and I hope they 
will awaken your interest. The men are ready, and 
the dogs are in the leash, so let us sally forth. See, we, 
must ascend this mountain; it is called Ben Dairg, 
which means the red hill ; and, when we are near its 
summit, we shall be at the head of our cast." 

'^ That will not take us long, I think, though it seems 
pretty steep ; but the top is not far off." 

** You cannot see the top firom hence ; but when we 
arrive at the point, which you mistake for it, which is a 
mere brae, the ascent is somewhat steeper, till you come 
to a naked point of rock, and sundry large uncomfort- 
able stones." 

" Well, thank heaven, there it ends at last." 

** Wait a moment Having reached this rock, a 
litde cairn serves as a mark for our course, and guides 

£ 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



52 THE DEER HOUNDS. 

US to the bare thin soil ; and when we are at that spot, 
why then we shall see the top of the mountain. In fact, 
you must have seen it yourself yesterday, if it was clear, 
which I should doubt.'* 

^* I certainly did see a great mountain all the way 
before me, which blocked out the hills to the north, and 
grew bigger and bigger as I advanced, like a giant in a 
dream. A thick mist clung around its summit, and I 
pitied the poor eagles that were wheeling in the vapour. 
It made me dream of precipices and vultures all night 
long. You don't mean to say that we are to go there 
without a balloon. Why, Chimborazo is a mole-hill to 
it?" 

" No, we shall not go to the very summit; but you 
are walking so stoutly, that I am sure you will not be 
the last of the party ; and, to say truth, the mist that 
sits on the peak makes it look higher than it really is." 

" Well, Davy, I see you have got CoiTie and Tarff, 
and you are right, for that eager devil Ossian pulled so 
hard yesterday in the couples, that he must be quite 
unfit to go out to-day. It was worse for him than run- 
ning ten chases ; why, you could scarcely hold him." 

** I dinna ken what sort of work it war to him, but I 
ken weel enough what it war to me, for he pulled me 
heels over head twice in rinning down Ben-y-gloe, to 
turn the deer, him and anither, that's Oscar." 

" To try to turn them, you mean, Davy, but they 
were over wilful, and gang'd their own way in spite of 
you." 

The party were now breasting the mountain, and 
soon overcan^e the first ascent; when, turning to the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PTARMIGANS. 53 

left, they kept the northern side of Ben Dairg, and bore 
off towards the east, till they arrived under that huge 
mass of large gneiss and granite blocks which forms the 
summit of the mountain. The gi'ound here was strewed 
over with the bones of calves (fawns), lambs, and moor- 
fowl, which had fallen a prey to the fox, wild cat, or 
eagle; and it was settled that traps should be set for the 
depredators. 

" What ! have you rabbits here ? I thought I saw 
one run under the rocks." 

^^ It must have been a white hare, which is nearly the 
colour of a rabbit in summer, and occasionally burrows 
like him. There are no rabbits here." 

Lightfoot now suddenly seized the arm of his friend 
with an earnest look and panting heart, and making a 
signal for silence, pointed to a particular spot amidst 
the chaos of granite blocks. There was a sort of "air of 
success about him," that seemed to say he had made a 
capital hit ; and, in truth, his excitement appeared to be 
excessive: judge then of his surprise and disappointment, 
when the only answer he got was, — " Ay, those are 
ptarmigans; you can have a day at them when you have 
nothing better to do. They are not worth our notice at 
present, — guarda, e passa." 

They now turned up the hill to the south-east, and 
proceeded till they came to an immense block of granite 
which stood upon the sky line of the hill : and then the 
gillies sat down on the heather ; — he with the dogs in 
the leash, a little apart from the rest. 

" Is this the forest ? why, there is not a single tree or 
bush within ten miles of us." 

£ 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



54 WILD SCENERY OF THE FOREST. 

" You are nearly right there, Harry ; it is a forest 
only in the sense of the chase : wild as this immense 
tract is, however, every rock, corrie, cairn, and moun- 
tain is distinguished by some particular name, < nul- 
lum sine nomine saxum ; ' and there are numerous sub- 
divisions which indicate every precise spot, so that the 
men appointed to bring home the dead deer, being thus 
told where they lie, never fail to find them." 

" And now what do you think of this wild region ? 
Do you not almost feel as if you were wandering in a 
new world ? Here, everything bears the original im- 
press of nature untouched by the hand of man since its 
creation. That vast moor spread out below you ; this 
mass of huge mountains heaving up their crests around 
you ; and those peaks in the distance, faint almost as the 
sky itself, — give the appearance of an extent boundless 
and sublime as the ocean. In such a place as this, 
the wild Indian might fancy himself on his own hunting 
grounds. Traverse all this desolate tract, and you shall 
find no dwelling, nor sheep, nor cow, nor horse, nor 
any thing that can remind you of domestic life; you 
shall hear no sound but the rushing of the torrent, or 
the notes of the wild animals, the natural inhabitants ; 
you shall see only the moor-fowl and the plover flying 
before you from hillock to hillock, or the eagle soaring 
aloft with his eye to the sun, or his wings wet with 
mist 

^< Nothing more shall you see, except the dun tenants 
of the waste, which we are in search of, and these I hope to 
fall in with long before we reach Blair. You have hitherto 
seen nothing but our tame deer, with their palmated 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



EXCITEMENT PECULIAR TO DEEJl-STALKINO. 65 

branches, cooped up in ornamental parks ; and such are 
picturesque enough; but when I show you a herd of these 
magnificent animals, with their pointed and wide-spread- 
ing antlers, ranging over this vast tract, free as the winds 
of heaven, I think you will agree with me that there 
does not exist a more splendid or beautiful animal ; for 
whether he is picking hb scant food on the mountain 
tops, or wandering in solitude through the birch groves, 
or cooling himself in the streams, he gives grace, cha- 
racter, and unity to every thing around him. How 
you feel I know not ; but when I first trod these glorious 
hills, and breathed this pure air, I almost seemed to be 
entering upon a new state of existence. I felt an ardour 
and a sense of fireedom that made me look back with 
something like contempt upon the tame and hedge- 
bound country of the South. Perhaps it is impolitic 
thus to raise your expectations as to the chase; and, 
indeed, it is impossible for me to describe the enthu- 
siasm I felt when I first began my career. In the pursuit, 
the stag's motions are so noble, and his reasoning so 
acute, that believe me, I had rather follow one hart 
firom morning till night with the expectation of getting 
a shot (in which I might be probably defeated), than 
have the best day's sport with moor fowl that the hills 
could afford me. All your powers of body and mind 
are called into action, and if they are not properly exer- 
cised, the clever creature will inevitably defeat you : it 
is quite an affiur of generalship ; and if you have any 
thoughts of the army, I would advise you to scan all our 
motions, that you may gain a knowledge of ground and 

£ 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



56 SPIRfT STIRRING INTEREST. 

skirmishing.* You will find that almost every step we 
take has a meaning in it ; we shall creep along crafly 
paths, between clefts and recesses, and make rapid and 
continuous runs, according to the various motions of the 
quarry ; so that when the deer are afoot, the interest 
and excitement will never flag for one single moment. 
See what a boundless field for action is here, and what 
a sense of power these rifles give you, which are fatal at 
such an immense distance? When you are in good 
training, and feel that you can command the deer, your 
bodily powers being equal to take every possible chance, 
the delight of this chase is excessive, as I trust you will 
ere long experience; — and here ends my eulogy." 

" Well, I have listened to you with great interest, for 
I see your heart goes along with your words; and I 
burn with impatience to see a sport which every indi- 
vidual I have met on this side of the Tay seems to be 
perfectly wild about. Why, what a primitive country is 
this ; are there any buffalos here ? " 

« Not exactly." 

" Nor wolves ? " 

" Not at present ; but sit you down quietly where 
you are, whilst we look for the deer : you may amuse 
yourself by eating the provender you put in your pocket 
at starting." 

" No bad hint that ; will you have a little ? You 
won't; — oh, very well." 

* It 18 a fact, that one of our most gallant and celebrated generals 
(why should I forbear to mention Lord Lynedoch ?) declared that 
he got his knowledge of ground in this forest. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A HART DISCOVERED. 57 

Tortoise and Peter Fraser now laid down their rifles 
on the heather, put their caps in their pocket, and crept 
forward on their hands and knees to a large granite 
block ; then, cautiously peering over its summit, they 
began to examine the ground with their telescopes stea* 
dily poised upon it.-^" Well, Peter, I can see nothing 
but those eternal hinds on the Mealowr, and not a good 
hart amongst them : the ground is quite bare; so jump 
up, and let us get round the east of the Elrich, and see 
if there is any thing in the corrie. — Maclaren, what 
are you glowring at ? " 

'^ Why, as sure as deid, I had a blink of a hart lying 
in the bog by the burn under the Mealowr. But my 
prospect is foul ; he is lying beyond that great black 
place in the bog, joost in a line wi' thae hinds wha are 
on the scalp of the hill aboon/' 

" And a noble fellow he is, Maclaren ; I can just see 
his horns and the point of his shoulders. It is a glorious 
chance ; for once in the burn, we can get within a hun- 
dred yards of him, and that is near enough in all con- 
science. — Here, Lightfoot, look at the fine fellow: 
pull o£Fyour cap, and rest the glass on the stone.*' 

" Not the semblance of a deer can I see; but I'll 
take your word for it : I dare say he is there, since you 
say so. And now explain to me how you mean to get 
at him : communicate, my good fellow ; for it seems, 
by all your caution, that even at this distance you dare 
not show a hair of your head." 

^ Creep back, then, behind the hill, whilst I mark the 
very spot m the bum which is opposite his lair. — Well, 
now I will tell you : 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



68 MANCBUVRING TO APPROACH. 

*^ We must go all round by the east behind yon hill, 
and then come up at the notch between yon two hills, 
which will bring us into the bog ; we can then come 
forward up the burn under cover of its banks, and pass 
from thence into the bog again by a side wind, when we 
may take his broadside^ and thus have at him. So let 
us make the best of our way. It would be quite easy to 
get at the hart if it were not for the hinds on the top oi 
the hill ; but if we start them, and they go on belling^ 
the hart will follow them, whether he sees us or noU 
Get your wind he cannot. 

'^ Well, Lightfoot, you have come on capitally ; and 
have hitherto been able to walk like a man, with your 
&ce erect towards heaven. But now we are below the 
hill we must imitate quadrupeds or even eels, for an 
hour or so. You have promised most fiuthfully to 
comply with my instructions ; so pray walk and creep 
behind me, and carry yourself precisely as I do. Be 
like unto the dotterel, who, according to the worthy, 
and veracious Camden stretches out a wing when the 
fowler extends his arm^ and advances his 1^ when the 
said fowler puts forth his corresponding limb. Above 
all be as silent as the grave ; and when you step upon 
stones, tread as lightly as a ghosts If your back aches 
insupportably, you may lie down and die ; but do not 
raise yourself an inch to save your life, precious as it 
is. I assure you I am in earnest when I press all this 
on your attention, for it is absolutely necessary. Now 
let us put our caps in our pockets. Bless me ! do not 
raise up your hair with your fingers in that manner. I 
assure you, my good fellow, that just at present it would 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WIMMNG THROUGH A BOG. 59 

be much more becoming to be bald, or to wear your 
hair like King Otho. 

<^ Maclaren, you will remain here, and watch the deer 
when I have fired. Sandy, follow you at a proper dis- 
tance with the dogs; and come you along with us, 
Peter, and take the rifles. And now, my lads, be 
canny.'* 

The party then advanced, sometimes on their hands 
and knees, through the deep seams of the bog, and again 
right up the middle of the bum, winding their cautious 
course according to the inequalities of the ground. Oc- 
casionally the seams led in an adverse direction, and 
then they were obliged to retrace their steps. This 
• stealthy progress continued some time, till at length they 
came to some green sward, where the ground was not 
so &vourable. Here was a great difficulty : it seemed 
barely possible to pass this small piece of ground without 
discovery. Fraser, aware of this, crept back and ex- 
plored the bog 'in a parallel direction, working his way 
like a mole, whilst the others remained prostrate. Re- 
turning all wet and bemired, his long serious face indi- 
cated a fiiilure. This dangerous passage then was to be 
attempted, since there was no better means of approach. 
Tortoise, in low whispers, again entreated the strictest 
caution. 

^ Raise not a foot nor a hand ; let not a hair of your 
head be seen ; but, as you value sport, imitate my mo- 
tions precisely: every thing depends upon this movement. 
This spot once passed successfully, we are. safe from the 
hinds." 

He then made a signal for Sandy to lie down with the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



60 WADING A BURN. 

dogs ; and, placing himself flat on his stomach, began to 
worm his way close under the low ridge of the bog ; 
imitated most correctly and beautifully by the rest of 
the party. The burn now came sheer up to intercept 
the passage, and formed a pool under the bank, 
running deep and drumly. The leader then turned 
his head round slightly, and passed his hand along the 
grass as a sign for Lightfoot to wreath himself along- 
side of him. 

" Now, my good fellow, no remedy. If you do not 
like a ducking, stay here ; but if you do remain, pray 
lie like a flounder till the shot is fired. Have no cu* 
riosity I beg and beseech you ; and speak, as I do, in 
a low whisper." 

" Pshaw, I can follow wherever you go, and in the 
same position too." 

" Bravo ! — here goes then. But if you love sport 
do not make a splash and noise in the water ; but go in 
as quiet as a fish, and keep under the high'bank, although 
it is deeper there. There is a great nicety in going in 
properly ; that is the difficult point. I believe it must be 
head foremost ; but we must take care to keep our heels 
down as we slide in, and not to wet the rifles. — - Hist, 
Peter : here lay the rifles on the bank and give them to 
me when I am in the burn." 

Tortoise then worked half his body over the bank, 
and, stooping low, brought his hands up on a large 
granite stone in the burn, with his breast to the water^ 
and drew the.rest of his body after him as straight as he 
possibly could. He was then half immersed, and getting 
close under the bank, took the rifles. The rest followed 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



p 



•••• ••••• 



4. 




i 5 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



GETTING A QUIET SHOT. 61 

admirably. In fact the water was not so deep as it ap- 
peared to be, being scarcely over the hips. They pro- 
ceeded in this manner about twenty, yards, when, the 
ground being more &vourable, they were enabled to get 
on dry land. 

« Do you think it will do ?" 

" Hush ! hush ! — he has not seen us yet ; and yonder 
is my mark. The deer lies opposite it to the south : he 
is almost within gunshot even now." 

A sign was given to Peter Fraser to come alongside, 
for they were arrived at the spot from which it was ne- 
cessary to diverge into the moss. In breathless expect- 
ation they now turned to the eastward, and crept forward 
through the bog, to enable them to come in upon the 
flank of the hart, who was lying with his head up wind, 
and would thus present his broadside to the rifle when 
he started ; whereas, if they had gone in straight behind 
him, his haunches would have been the only mark, and 
the shot would have been a disgraceful one. Now came 
the anxious moment Every thing hitherto had suc- 
ceeded; much valuable time had been spent; they had 
gone forward in every possible position ; their hands and 
knees buried in bogs, wreathing on their stomachs 
through the mire, or wading up the bums ; and all this 
one brief moment might render futUe, either by means of 
a single throb of the pulse in the act of firing, or a sudden 
rush of the deer, which would take him instantly out of 
sight Tortoise raised his head slowly, slowly, but saw 
not the quarry. By degrees he looked an inch higher, 
when Peter plucked him suddenly by the arm, and 
pointed. The tops of his horns alone were to be seen 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



62 DOGS SLIPPED AT A WOUNDED DEER. 

above the hole in the bog ; no more. Eraser looked 
anipoiis, for well he knew that the first spring would 
take the deer out of sight A moment's pause, when 
the sportsman held up his rifle steadily above the posi- 
tion of the hart's body ; then, making a slight ticking 
noise, up sprang the deer ; as instantly the shot was 
fired, and ci'ack went the ball right against his ribs, as 
he was making his rush. Sandy now ran forward with 
the dogs, but still as well concealed by the ground as he 
could manage. 

^^ By heavens he is off, and you have missed him ; and 
here am I, wet, tarred, and feathered, and all for nothing; 
and I suppose you call this sport If you had killed that 
magnificent animal, I should have rejoiced in my plight; 
but to miss such a great beast as that ! — Here, Peter, 
come and squeeze my clothes, and lay me oat in the sun 
to dry. I never saw so base a shot." 

" Hush, hush I -—keep down. Why the deer's safe 
enough, Harry." 

^^ By Jove, I think he is, for I see him going through 
the moss as comfortably as possible." 

" We must louse a doeg, sir, or he will gang forrat to 
thehUl." 

^^ Let go both of them; it will be a fine chance for the 
young dog ; but get on a little first, and put him on the 
scent; the deer is so low in the bog that he cannot see 
him." 

Fraser now went on with the hounds in the leash, 
sinking, and recovering himself, and springing from the 
moss-hags, till the dogs caught sight of the hart, and 
they were slipped ; but the fine fellow was soon out of 



Digitiz-ed by VjOOQIC 



DEER AT BAY IN A MOUNTAIN CATARACT. 63 

the bog, and went over the top of the Mealowr. All 
went forward their best pace, plunging in and out of the 
black mire^ till they came to the foot of the hill, and then 
with slackened pace went panting up its steep acclivity. 

" Now, Sandy, run forward to the right, if you have 
a run in you, and get a view with the glass all down the 
bum of auld Heclan, and then come forwards towards 
Glen Deery if you do not see the bay there. Come 
along, Harry, the deer is shot through the body I tell 
you.'* 

^< Sangue di Diana ! what makes him run so, then?" 

" Hark I I thought I heard the bay under the hill. — 
No ; 'twas the eagle ; it may be he is watching for his 
prey. Hark again : do you hear them, Peter ?" 

^' I didna hear naething but the plevar ; sure he canna 
win farther forrat than auld Heclan ; he was sair don- 
nered at first, but he skelped it brawly afterwards : we 
shall see them at the downcome." 

True enough they did; for when they passed over the 
hill to the south, the voice of the hounds broke full upon 
them, and they saw the magnificent creature standing 
on a narrow projecting ledge of rock within the cleft, 
and in the mid course of a mountain cataract ; the upper 
fall plunged down behind him, and the water, coursing 
through his legs, dashed the spray and mist around 
him, and then at one leap went plumb down to the abyss 
below ; the rocks closed in upon his flanks, and there he 
stood, bidding defiance in his own mountain hold. 

Just at the edge of the precipice, and as it seemed on 
the very brink of eternity, the dogs were baying him 
fiiriously ; one rush of the stag would have sent them 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



64 P£RILOi;S SITUATION. 

down into the chasm ; and in their fiiry they seemed 
wholly unconscious of their datager. All drew in their 
breath, and shuddered at the fatal chance that seemed 
momentarily about to take place. 

Fortunately the stag (sensible perhaps of the extreme 
peril of his own situation) showed less fight than wounded 
deer are apt to do; still the suspense was painfully 
exciting, for the dogs were wholly at his mercy, and, as 
he menaced with his antlers, they retreated backwards 
within an inch of instant dissolution. 

" For heaven's sake, Lightfoot, stay quietly behind 
this knoll, whilst I creep in and finish him. A moment's 
delay may be fatal ; I must make sure work, for if he is 
not killed outright, deer, dogs, and all, will ineyitably 
roll over the horrid precipice together. Ah, my poor, 
gallant Derig ! " 

*^ May your hand be steady, and your aim true, for 
my nerves are on the rack, and yet I must own that it is 
the most magnificent sight I ever beheld ; bayed by two 
furious animals, and with the death-shot in his fair body, 
the noble — the mighty hearted animal still bears up 
undaunted.'' 

Tortoise listened not, — waited not for these remarks, 
but crept round cannily, cannily, towards the fatal spot, 
looking with extreme agitation at every motion of the 
dogs and deer ; still he dared not hurry, though the 
moments were so precious. 

Of the two dogs that were at bay, Derig was the 
most fierce and persevering ; the younger one had seen 
but little sport, and waited at first upon the motions of 
the older, nay, the better soldier; but his spirit being 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DANGEROUS POSITION OF THE DOGS. 65 

at length thoroughly roused, he fought at last fearlessly 
and independently. Whenever the deer turned his ant«- 
lers aside to gore Tarff, Derig seized the moment to fly 
at his throat, bnt the motions of th^ hart were so rapid 
that the hound was ever compelled to draw back, which 
retrograde motion brought him frequently to the very 
verge of the precipice, and it was probable, that as he 
always fronted the enemy, he knew not, or, in the heat 
of the combat, had forgotten ^ the danger of his situation. 

The stag at length being maddened with these vexa- 
tious attacks, made a desperate stab at Derig, and, in 
avoiding it, the poor dog at length lost his footing, — 
his hind legs passed over the ledge of rock, and it now 
seemed impossible for him to recover himself. 

His life hung in the balance^ and the fatal scale ap- 
peared to preponderate. Still his fore legs bore upon 
the ledge, and he scraped and strove with them to the 
utmost; but as he had little or no support behind, he 
was in the position of a drowning man, who attempts to 
get into a boat, and, being also like him, exhausted, the 
chances were considerably against him. In struggling 
with his fore legs he appeared to advance a little, and 
then to slip back again, gasping painfully in the exer- 
tion ; at fength he probably found some slight bearing 
for the claws of his hind feet, and, to the inexpressible re- 
lief of every one, he once more recovered his footings 
and sprang forward at the deer as rash and wrathful as 
ever. 

Tortoise had at length gained the proper spot, — the 
rifle was then raised, — but when all hearts were beating 
high in sudden and nervous expectation of a happy issue^ 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



66 THE DEATH. 

the dogs were unfortunately in such a position that a shot 
could not be fired from above without risk to one of them, 
and the danger was fearful as ever. 

Three times was the aim thus taken and abandoned. 
At length an opening : the crack of the gun was heard 
faintly in the din of the waterfall ; — the ball passed 
through the back of the deer's head, and down he dropped 
on the spot without a struggle. 

** Cadde, come corpo morto cade." 

The dogs now rushed forward, and seized him by the 
throat ; — so firm and savage was their grasp, that they 
were with difficulty choked off. The men came cau- 
tiously on the ledge of the rock, and began to take out 
the huge creature, two at his fore legs, and two at his 
hind quarters, and thus they lifted him out from the 
course of the torrent, and laid his dun length upon the 
moss. 

" Ou, what a bowkit beast ! Fende his haunches, 
and see sic a bouny head ! " 

" Ah, this is the best deer we have killed this year, 
Peter. I have not seen the like of him since the great 
monster I felled on the EIrich, when you put two charges 
of powder and two balls in my rifle ; and the man who 
cuts up the deer so beautifully, at Blair, said he had a 
bole in his shoulder large enough to put his fist in." 

" Will ye never forget that, then ? But yer honour 
never held better, and sure oughten'd a big deer to hae 
a big load ? " 

" Admirably reasoned ; I had forgotten that, Peter. 
Now, Lightfoot, what think you of deer-stalking ? " 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




i»Efci- atbav in a torrent 

: : :: : : Digitized t)vV;3UU vie 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



COMPENSATION FOR TOIL. 67 

" Why, now we have got the deer, I must own it is 
most glorious sport ; from the time we began imitating 
all the reptiles on the face of the earth, and bowing like 
the Persian, my heart was throbbing with excitement* 
It appeared as if all our craft and caution was to lead to 
some great end — an end not easily attained ; which, 
you know, heightens the pleasure of success : and then 
the bay was sublime — positively awful I To be plain 
with you, however, I did not much relish gliding up the 
bum, trout fashion, not being gifted with fins. And 
now I am more than ever averse from Demaillet's theory, 
who conceived the globe to have been covered with 
water for many thousand years, and that, when the 
waters retreated, the inhabitants of the sea became ter- 
restrial animals, and that man himself began his career 
as a fish." 

" Well, we will have a good round of whiskey, 
and a health to the lord of the forest, who will smile 
when he sees this fine fellow. You got on most ca- 
pitally." 

*' Why, yes, yes, pretty well over the moss^hags ; but 
that confounded hill distressed me exceedingly ; — that, 
and rather a liberal breakfast, drew hard upon my wind, 
and I should not have been sorry to have gone all 
fours again. But I rallied capitally, did not I ? " 

^' Rallied t why I never saw you beat ; and, to say the 
truth, these mountains are not so formidable as they 
appear to be. I have been more oppressed in walking 
over flats, mashing turnips with my feet, after those 
little birds called partridges, where the action of the 

F 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



68 GRALLOCHING AND LAYING OUT. 

muscles never changes, than I have ever been on this 
varied ground, where the air is so refreshing and elastic* 

" Well, now you shall see the last offices paid." 

" Ah, that plunging of your man's long knife into 
his chest, which is followed by such a stream of blood, 
is a very kind one indeed." 

The deer, after having been thus bled, was opened 
and gralloched. 

" Eh, look to the white-puddings, sir, and see till 
the fat in his brisket and inside, and just pass your 
hand over his haunches. Lord, what a deer I " 

Lightfoot felt his haunches as desired, and asserted 
that they were enormously &t, with as much confidence 
as Parson Trulliber would have done, though his con- 
science told him he knew nothing at all about the 
matter. 

*^ Sandy, man, tak the bag and white-puddins^ and 
wash them weel at the fall, and bring the bag full of 
water, and we will rince out his inside, and mak clean 
work wi' him." 

This being performed, they turned his head back on 
his shoulder and covered it with peats, then shook over 
him a little gunpowder, and tied a black flag to his 
horns, to scare away the ravens. A few peats were 
heaped up in a conspicuous place at a little distance, as 
a mark to show where he was lying. 

^^ A fair beginning; now for another round of whiskey, 
and then back to the head of our cast. As you com- 
plained of being blown in going up the Mealowr, I 
must tell you that there are some tracts of ground that 
are believed to be so much under the power of enchant- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CRUEL DEATH OF A DEER-HOUND. 69 

ment, that he who passes over any one of them would 
infidlibly fiunt if he did not use something for the sup- 
port of nature; it is therefore customary to carry a 
piece of bread in one's pocket, to be eaten when one 
comes to what is called ^ hungry ground.* You ate 
enough, to be sure^ but it was at the wrong place." 

" What a narrow escape Derighad ! It reminds me of 
an event which happened in Sutherland in the Dirrie- 
niore Forest. 

'* A high-CG^raged dog was slipped after a deer among 
the cliffs and crags on the eastern side of Klibreck. In 
the heat and recklessness of pursuit, he fell down a 
sloping but very steep precipice, and alighted on a nar- 
row shelf formed by a projecting piece of rock ; in fact, 
precisely in such a situation as my dogs were in, with 
the exception, that these could be approached on one 
side, whereas this poor creature could neither ascend the 
steep bank from which he tumbled down, nor find any 
practicable passage by which he could escape from his 
terrible position. The rocks opposed an insuperable 
obstruction from above, and the precipice menaced cer- 
tain death below. There was no relief — no means of 
rescue ; the spot could not be approached by man ; and 
the poor animal, expecting that assistance from his master 
which it was impossible for him to afford, kept up a con- 
tinual howling for succour during day and night He 
continued to linger in his frightful prison for several 
days, and the sounds of his voice grew feebler and feebler, 
until they ended in a sharp kind of whistle, interrupted 
by vain efforts to break out into a bark. Every kind of 
project was considered, but no means could be devised 

F 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



70 ORIGIN OF PEAT BOGS. 

to save him, for the ground was of such a nature that no 
one could be lowered and pulled up by means of a rope:-^ 
at length the faint sounds ceased — his flesh was carried 
away by eagles — and his bones are still whitening on 
the rock. 

'^ Now, Lightfoot, you are once more a free agent, and 
may get forward in the attitude most convenient to you ; 
and pray talk as much as you please : ^ minus via hedat* 
We have no chance of seeing deer for some time, all this 
ground being disturbed." * 

^^ What ! are we to go through that confounded peat 
bog again?** 

^^ Do not disparage it, for it abounds in grouse ; and 
you see how useful its black channels proved in conceal- 
ing us. I think its present state better for a sportsman 
than its original one; for, doubtless, it was formerly 
covered with trees ; and the change hcus been brought 
about by their fall, and the. stagnation of water caused 
by their trunks and branches obstructing the free drain- 
age of the atmospheric waters^ and thus giving rise, as 
you see, to a marsh : this, Mr. Lyell has asserted of peat 
mosses generally ; and he mentions also, particularly, 
* that in Mar Forest, large trunks of Scotch fir, which 
had fallen from age and decay, were soon immured in 
peat, formed partly out of their perishing leaves and 
branches, and in part from the growtli of other plants.' 
In the forest of Atholl, we find every where in these 
bogs, roots of trees fixed to the subsoil, so that no doubt 
can exist of their having grown on the spot. My men 
dig some of them up annually, and they make excellent 
firewood, burning with great brilliancy, owing to the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



MIRED IN A BOG. 71 

quantity of turpentine they contain. The eminent 
author I have quoted says, also, ^ It is curious to reflect 
that considerable tracts have by these accidents been 
permanently sterilised, and that during a period when 
civilisation has been making a great progress, large areas 
of Europe have been rendered less capable of adminis- 
tering to the wants of man.' " 

^' I cannot quite assent to this latter remark of your 
eminent geologist, since I opine that venison and moor 
fowl, which the moss now nourishes, are incomparably 
better than oat cake and mutton, and that one of your 
fine, straight-limbed, sinewy Highlanders here are worth 
a thousand of such lazy fellows as Tityrus, and all that 
class of piping milksops :—- ay, and Sir Walter Scott 
would have made them more poetical too, or, at least, 
more interesting. Hallo I by Jove I 'm in for it." 

^^ What rashness I you should never put your foot in 
such a place as that, particularly when you are detracting 
from the Mantuan bard. Never mind, we will get you 
out presently. Here, Sandy, take you the right arm, 
whilst I lay hold of the other ; now then — once — twice 
— thrice — and out you come, rather blacker to be sure, 
but quite as well as ever. Sandy, give Peter the dogs, 
and just scrape off the black dirt from Mr.Lightfoot 
with your deer knife, unless he wishes to enact the Moor 
of Venice." 

{Peter Fratert touching his hat.) "There's no such 
moor here awa', yer honour." 

" These things will happen, but custom will make you 
better acquainted with such traps : let the ground look 

F 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



72 ANTISEPTIC PROPERTY OF PEAT. 

ever so bad, however, you may tread in perfect safety 
whenever you see stones lying about it«" 

^^ Much obliged for your posthumous advice ; but if I 
had been alone and had sunk in. this bottomless bog, I 
should have been buried alive, and advertised for as 
missing." 

" Something of tliat nature might probably have oc- 
curred; but I must tell you for your solace, in case of 
any future accident, that peat has wonderful antiseptic 
properties, and that you would have remained, though 
dead, in perfect preservation. Many instances are re- 
corded of bodies so buried having been found fresh and 
unimpaired after a long lapse of years ; and particularly 
the body of a woman was found six feet deep in the Isle 
of Anxholme in Lincolnshire : the antique sandals on 
her feet afforded evidence of her having been buried 
there for many ages ; yet her hair, nails, and skin are 
described as having shown scarcely any marks of decay.* 
Thus you might have been exhumed after a few centu- 
ries, and put in a niche for the admiration of posterity, 
like the dried bodies at Monreale in Sicily, which are 
by no means alarmingly ugly, as I can testify." 

^^ Highly alluring, certainly ; I am glad, however, I 
was taken out for all that." 

^^ Well, we shall now go along by the burn side, where 
the ground is firm, and then up that mountain which 
heaves its narrow back so high in the air. You have 
now seen what is termed a quiet shot ; and I hope to 
show you sport of another description before we reach 

* LyelVs 6eo]o{^. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ASCENT OF BEN-Y-VENIE. 73 

Blair, for all our best ground is to come. See, we are 
to go up this bill whicb leads to Cairn-Cherie ; it will 
conduct us to tbe top of yonder grey summit, called 
Ben-y-venie, and there we shall have a fine command 
oyer all tbe deer that may chance to be within miles 
of it.*' 

" Upon my word you try me hard, and, I believe, 
really wish to prove your peat's antiseptic qualities upon 
my frail body. The aerial perspective of that mountain's 
crest is exceedingly alarming ; your soil is culpably am- 
bitious and aspiring — 



Superas evadere ad Auras, 



Hoc opus, hie labor est. 

I thought myself as good as any of you at first, but that 
struggle up the Meal-ower (I think you call it) unde- 
ceived me. A hundred yards of such a steep is, as 
Falstaff says, ' three score and ten miles to me.' But 
by Jove 1 11 have a pull for it ; andiamo dunque, andiamo 
pure, and now beat me again, if you can." 

The party proceeded obliquely up the hill eastwards, 
the files covering eacli other, and all masking themselves 
as much as possible behind knolls and blocks of gneiss 
or granite, under cover of which they repeatedly exa- 
mined the country with their glasses. Had the fate of 
a whole army been dependant upon discovering and cir- 
cumventing an ambuscade, no better tact or caution 
could have been observed. And now they had just 
gained such an ascendency of the mountain, as would 
enable them to examine Glen Mark and the hill side 
beyond it, called Sroin-a-chro. This was an anxious time, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



74 A HEBD DISCOVERED. 

for the ground was so precipitous, or, in other words, so 
favourable for the sport, and Tortoise was so intimately 
acquainted with it, that good success might be expected 
if there was no lack of deer. The little party took care 
to keep below the sky lines ; and all lay down in the 
heather except Tortoise and Fraser, who crept forward 
on their hands and knees without their caps, and then 
extended themselves on the ground, resting their glasses 
on the little eminence in front of them: these they 
moved slowly and steadily to all the favourite spots. 

" Nae thing can I see forebye a few hinds on the 
Craggan-breach. Surely the glen can no want for 
harts?" 

" Fortune forbid, Peter ; but I fear it does, unless 
they are lying further on. There is a great deal of 
ground which we cannot see from hence, you know." 

Fraser now looked intently for a long while at the 
same spot, and would pay no heed to any thing that 
was said to him. But when at length he turned back 
his head, there was such a relaxing smile on his face, ai^ 
made it perfectly beautiful to a sportsmaa These, in- 
deed, were Peter's handsome moments, — illuminations 
that shot across his countenance like the sun-gleam on 
the moor. 

" Now, where are they, Peter ? for I see you have 
found them at last Your eyes are ever the best." 

" Creep back, — low, low. TThey are lying in yon 
corrie, rather high up. Hey, what fine harts! Ane^ 
twa, three, four; there are eight a'-the-gither; twa of 
them are royal, and twa mair there are wi' wide heads 
and few branches, and these, I ken, are the fattest and 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



MACLAREN*S PERPLEXJ'IY. 75 

bonniest of the lot : baud weel to tbero, Sir, if you have 
a chance.'* 

" Never fear. Ah, now I see them. You said nothing 
about the binds, whereof there are several; and one 
nasty, lop-eared imp there is, some way to the south, 
before the rest ; and if we are foiled, as I fear we shall 
be, this beast will do it, for she was bom for mischie£ 

" Hist, hist, Maclaren, come you here. Take the 
glass and examine the deer well, and most particularly 
that sentinel to the south, for she is the beast you must 
dress to when you start the deer. Take care and be 
well forward when you show above her, but so that the 
harts in the rear of the parcel do not get your wind. 
But it is useless to give you any instructions, for you know 
what to do as well as I can tell you ; only take care 
they do not go tailing down the glen, and break off over 
Aukmark-moor. The wind, you ken, is full south, and 
a di£5cult job it will be to make them cross.'' 

Maclaren looked long and intently at the deer, and 
not only ascertained their exact position, but examined 
all the rest of the ground, to see if there were any other 
deer that were likely to join them. He then sat down 
with a thoughtful countenance, every now and then 
plucking little pieces of grass, biting them, and flinging 
them away, like one in perplexity. 

<* I 'm thinking it 'ill be no that aisy to get them ow'r 
Ben-y-venie; but I shall try to pit them intill your 
ground at ony gait. That beast will be unco kittle to 
dale with. Ye '11 be patient, Sir, and gie me time." 

'^ K they do not come it will not be for lack of skill, 
or good will on your part, Mac ; for a more clever, or 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



76 THE Gael's providence. 

willing man never trod the hills, — in sight and out of it,' 
alike to be depended upon*'' 

" Now, Davy, a word with you. What is that sticking 
out in the right pocket of your jacket ? " 

" That 's joost the whiskey." 

" And what is that great lump in your left pocket?" 

"That's in my left I Why then that's joost the 
ither whiskey." 

" But you seem to have something pretty considerable 
in the right pocket of your trowsers ; what may that be, 
Davy?" 

" That 's the wee bit pewter whiskey flask, yer ho- 
nour." 

" Then that protuberance opposite, on the left ? " 

" Why sure isn't that the ither pewter flask?" 

" Well, Davy, thou art most judiciously balanced, 
and thy providence is much to be commended; just 
take out one of the large bottles, and let us see what it 
is like. Now for the pewter cups, and fill round to 
every one, that they may drink good success to our 
manoeuvres. You are a perfect walking cellar, Davy ; 
how many bins of whiskey you have about you I cannot 
precisely say ; but we will have compassion on you, for 
at any rate you are heavily laden. Just give one of the 
flasks to Peter Maclaren ; — nay, give it man, and leave 
a black bottle with Sandy; and now to your posts. Sandy, 
set you off for Ben-y-chait" 

" Upon my word, Mr. General Tortoise, you. are a 
very mysterious person ; I have listened very attentively 
to all you have said, and silent I have been, as not pre- 
suming to interrupt the jargon of so consummate a 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



HILL-MAN SEKT ROUND. 77 

general. As for the deer, I do not see them, though I 
have been looking through the glass this long while ; 
but it seems you are going to put some manoeuvre in 
practice, and I will thank you to tell me what your ex- 
quisite plan may be« You don't mean to say that you 
can get near deer in such an open country as this ? " 

'^ That is €UB it may be : we shall have to wait here 
about forty minutes, when I will disclose and illustrt^te ; 
but I must first start Peter Maclaren. Now take your 
whiskey, and away with you, Peter." 

Away went the clean-limbed hill-man down the 
mountain, skipping over the hillocks, diving, vanishing, 
and re-appearing with a bound upon the moss-hags, like 
a stone hurled downwards in pure pastime. Arrived in 
the glen, he kept twisting and lurching in the darkest 
coloured ground, and, by making a circuit, managed to 
cross the stream out of sight of the game. Here we will 
leave him for the present, full of the importance of his 
embassy, and sensible that all his movements would be 
seen and canvassed. 

Whilst the sportsmen were lying down in the heather 
awaiting the event of Maclaren's mission. Tortoise 
pointed out the various features and nature of the wild 
tract of country that lay around them. 

" We are now," says he^ " on Ben-y-venie, which 
means the middle hill, or if you delight more in its 
other appellation, on Beinn-a-Wheadhounedh. That 
bulky round-headed mountain to the right is Ben-y- 
chait, from which we are separated by Glen Dirie. The 
mountain tract to the left consists of Craggau-breach, 
Sroin-a-chro, and Cairn-marnach. And this deep glen 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



78 PLAN FOR PUTTING OVEE THE DEER. 

to the east is Glen Mark. You see by the indistinctness 
of the objects, how deep it lies beneath us ; the river 
that runs through it in beautiful curves, as if loth to 
leave the solitary pass, is called the Mark : listen atten-* 
tively, and you will hear a &int, hollow noise coming 
up the glen from afar ; this is the sound of its waters 
falling into the Tilt. Some few miles away to the south, 
it forces its passage through a gloomy channel between 
the mountain crags, then dives through groves of birch- 
wood ; after which begins its ceaseless toil, — it rushes 
headlong into the Tilt, — for ever doomed to struggle 
with still more turbulent waters. 

*^ Beyond these glens and mountains, many a mile 
and many a hill top lie between us and the end of 
our cast, and the whole is terminated by large pine 
woods. 

" So much for our ground. You will soon see what 
we are attempting to do with those deer. In sportsman's 
language we have the command of this mountain, as 
well as of the glens and hill sides on each hand of us, 
or at least we shall have it, when the men are arrived at 
their posts ; for one of them will be on Ben^y-chait, on 
our right, and the other on Sroin-a-chro, on our left : 
we shall remain on this hill in the centre, and they will 
endeavour to put the deer on our hill. This, it is 
evident from the wild and open nature of the country, 
cannot be done by actual driving, but depends entirely 
upon skilful manoeuvring, which I do not endeavour to 
explain at present, because you are about to see it put 
in execution. 

" Do you see Maclaren, Peter Fraser ? " 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PATIENCE IK REQUEST. 79 

** He has louped the barn, and is in the moss forenent 
the crags." 

'< Now, as I was saying, Harry, I have not much 
hope that we shall get at these harts, but I make it a rule 
to try every possible chance. If we get them on our 
ground once, it shall go hard but we will keep them 
there the whole of the day* I think you will find this 
stalking in double quick time &r more beautiful and 
eliciting than the getting a quiet shot." 

« Is Maclaren behind the hill, Peter ? " 

^^ No, no, he canna be that far as yet. You ken that 
yoursel/* 

^' That getting a quiet shot, Harry, has its charms, 
I must confess : the threading of the winding passages 
through bogs, up watercourses, and secret places in 
every possible attitude^ except that adapted to the 
nature of a two-legged animal, is certainly picturesque 
and exciting. But then it is a sort of assassination ; 
and you never get the intellect of the animal to bear 
against you, or see his motions, but steal upon him like 
a thief.*' 

** For mercy's sake, my good friend, do not prose 
any longer, but tell me at once how the deuce we who 
are sitting here have any chance of getting a shot at 
those deer which are fifty miles beyond us. I long to 
be in action/' 

** Adagio, Adagio, you shall see. Do not be impa- 
tient, my good fellow ; I will not be chary of instruc- 
tion when time shall serve. — Why, Peter, what the 
deuce is Maclaren about ? will he never get behind the 
hill ? are we to be kept here all day ? " 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



80 hill-man's manceuyues. 

" Why sure ye '11 no be expectin' be 11 be there the 
noo : he canna win that &r in twanty minutes." 

" Well, well ; the time seemed longer." 

^* So, as I was saying, Lightfoot, you must not in this 
case be impatient, but rather imitate the discreet Fabius* 
He would have been a capital hand at a quiet shot." 

^^ Ay, and a capital proser too. But will you not give 
me leave to imitate you, my incomprehensible master^ 
who have been fidgetting about, looking at your watch, 
taking up your rifles, and putting them down again a 
hundred times, and are as restless as a hyaena in a 
cage ? A pretty sort of Fabius you are yourself." 

^' No, no, never mind me ; its only a way I have : 
or perhaps I consider patience as King Charles did mo* 
rality : he loved it, he said, though he did not practise 

it But I would advise you to By the powers ! 

I see him now ; he is sitting down above the deer, and 
examining them with his glass. What a capital fellow ! 
he has not been more than half an hour. Now he is 
looking at us for a signal : open your waistcoat, and show 
your shirt, Peter. — He sees it : now he is going forward 
behind the hill, and will soon start them.** 

^^ Lightfoot, come you here, and observe the beautiful 
motions of these animals, which to me are as entertaining 
as any part of the sport ; but should the deer come near 
us, pray be mute as a fish, and as quiet ss the most 
magnanimous mouse ; keeping your hair smoothed down 
like unto those fair nymphs at Portsmouth — beloved of 
the sailors — who comb it straight in front, and cut it to 
the pattern of a bowl-dish." 

" Now take my glass ; one of Dollond's best it is — 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE HERD TAKE ALARM. 81 

fttay, I will direct it to the proper spot: look intently a 
little more to the right — keep the glass as steady as 
possible — and when the deer are in motion, and group 
together, you will be sure to distinguish them, though 
they are not so easily seen at present'' 

^^Now, indeed, I do actually see them: what beautiful 
creatures ! They are all standing up, and gazing at the 
summit of the hill. How stately the stags look with 
their jutting necks and towering antlers I Are you sure 
they are not elks? — Oad, I think they are. Now they 
are moving forward to the hind in advance, which you 
seemed to have such an antipathy to. What in the world 
makes them shift their quarters ? " 

'^ Why Maclaren is nearly opposite to them, but at a 
great distance above, behind the swell of the hill, and, 
doubtless, has just shown them the top of his bonnet over 
the sky-line; but they are all going wrong, and do not 
seem inclined to accomodate us." 

" They are not much alarmed, I think, for now they 
are standing still, and the hind has walked back a few 
paces, and is gazing up the hill again ; the others seem 
to watch her motions, and to be guided by her judgment . 
whilst the harts appear to give themselves very little 
trouble about the matter." 

" No, the lazy rascals I butwe mayrouse them yet. Yes, 
they are alarmed, or, more properly speaking, suspicious. 
They have that sort of discretion which makes them run 
away in cases of danger ; but you can never frighten 
them out of their wits with so small a force as ours. 
They are deliberately trying to make out what is going 
on, before they decide upon the direction of their retreat. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



83 ALL GOING RIGHT. 

and are too proud to fly without evident cause. But 
just keep your eye upon them : Maclaren will not let 
them off thus ; he will make a push for it at any rate." 

And so it seems he did ; for in a few minutes they 
turned aside, and came a little way down the hill, gazing 
in a fresh direction more towards the south. 

" By Jove, they are turning ! — capital ! well done, 
Maclaren ! " 

^^ Why how the deuce now did he manage that ; and 
what has made them alter their course ? Why your men 
are almost as clever as the deer. Upon my life this is 
very entertaining, especially now the herd are coming 
towards us : I feel my heart rioting and beating against 
the heather." 

^^ Doubtless, when he saw the deer going southwards, 
he slipped back cannily behind the bill, ran like an an- 
telope, and then came in again over the sky-line, and 
showed himself partially more in front of them. Faith, 
I see him now with my glass sitting very composedly on 
that crag that hangs over the glen ; his legs seem to be 
dangling in mid air. — That is right, Maclaren ; let 
well alone. The deer cannot see you, I know, my man, 
though we can. One point at least is now gained ; for 
I am happy to tell you they will never resume their 
first direction ; for the slight dubious glimpse they had 
of the hill-man's bonnet makes them suspect an ambush 
in that quarter; but when they descend into this glen, 
which, as you see, lies some three thousand feet below 
us, they may go straight forward to the south, which 
will be equally bad, avoid our hill entirely, and extricate 
themselves from the Caudine Forks without a shot But 
I hope Maclaren may match them yet 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



MOVEMENTS OF THE DEER. 88 

*< You will think this is slow work, and so, indeed, it 
is just at present ; but if things go favourably, take my 
word for it, you will have no reason to complain on that 
score. We shall try your wind again, my good fellow, 
I promise you. But, at any rate, it is no little matter 
to see the graceful motions of the deer, and mark their 
intelligence and sagacity. See, now they stop, and 
examine all the glen before they venture rashly into it : 
they scan every part of the ground, and gaze so intently 
that no object can escape them that lies within the limit 
of their vision. 

<* I may as well tell you, that if the hill-man had come 
down right upon them in the first or second instance, 
and endeavoured to drive them as one drives sheep, they 
would immediately have raced away straight south, right 
up the wind, and have soon been out of our cast. When 
they see their enemy they easily discover his drift, and 
take pretty good care to defeat it. See how carefully 
they mardi, like a retreating army, with their front and 
rear guard." 

^' Beautiful I and with such measured steps: so stately, 
winding down that horrid rocky precipice, which I should 
have thought impassable by living beast. — What are our 
firmest resolves ? I shall take one of the rifles, if they 
come near enough, notwithstanding my previous deter** 
roination ; for this day I mean to immortalise myself. " 

" I am rejoiced to hear you say so ; and now we must 
crawl farther forward, for the deer are fast sinking below 
out of our sight : already they are at the bottom of the 
glen on the banks of the Mark ; and now, Peter, after 
all this trouble, I fear our chance is gone ; for they are 

G 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



84 DECIDED COURSE TAKEN. 

all going straight down the glen, and will not cross to 
us." 

Here Peter pressed the master's arm, and pointed. 

" Did you no see yon parcel of hinds, then, towards 
the shank of our hill? they canna choose but join them, 
and they will come ; but it will be low doon." 

And now the skilful missionary, who had a clear and 
commanding view of all these things, began to set to 
work in a more determined manner : he pressed forward 
rapidly, still out of sight of both parcels of deer ; till at 
length, when became sufficientlyforward, he dashed down 
the hill in full view, shouting, hallooing, and hurling 
stones down the mountain with all his might, — going to 
and fro as the deer shifted, — slipping, clambering, and 
tumbling, in such perilous places as would have endan- 
gered the life of a mountain-goat. Greatly to be feared 
he was, as Polyphemus, when he hurled the rock at the 
Sicilian lovers ; but not Maclaren, or Polypheme him- 
self, could have put these reasoning animals into any 
state of confusion ; for, being too distant from the tumult 
to be under any apprehension of immediate danger, they 
continued to be perfectly deliberate in all their move- 
ments : it was like calm dignity opposed to passion. 

The hinds last mentioned, which were opposite them, 
on Ben-y-venie, collected and wheeled about, much 
admiring what all these strange noises might portend. 
Now had the decisive moment arrived when the thing 
must terminate either one way or the other. 

But let us see what the rifle-men are about. When 
they saw the hill- man storming, and heard the stones 
coursing each other down the crags, they were aware 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DISAPPOINTMENT. 85 

that no time was to be lost. Tortoise pressed his friend's 
arm: — 

" Now, then, or never ! Creep back quickly, and 
prepare for Action ; for, by Heme the hunter ! they are 
coining — low, low, for your life ! We must get onto that 
large stone, and they will all come into our very mouths. 
Now, then, forward ! Take this rifle, and hold well at the 
best antlers when time shall serve : be steady, and fire 
well forward, taking care not to drop the gun when you 
pull the trigger. By Jove ! I see the points of their 
horns. Run low, — low, for heaven's sake I this is not 
our time. Hark, I hear them in the crags." 

The faint clatter of their hoofs was indeed heard by 
all, as they were picking their way obliquely along the 
rocky ridge ; and the stones that they put in motion 
coursed each other down the steep, and gave forth a 
sound which, becoming fainter and fainter, died gradu- 
ally away, as they rolled into the depth below. 

But how uncertain are all the chances of the chase ! 
How Fortune loves to baffle us ! and how wise the 
Romans were to worship her as a deity, and erect a 
temple to her honour ! 

The goddess sulked unpropitious, and her frowns 
were met by Tortoise with the following eloquent excla- 
mations, uttered, was as meet, sotto voce: — 

" Death and destruction ! they are turning away. Oh ! 
what a fine chance lost : they were coming up so beau- 
tifully 1 Confound ye all, ye regular set of misbegotten 
imps, don't you know your own minds ? But you shall 
have a run for it yet : — Gtiai a voi, anime prave ! 

" Come alpng your best pace, Harry, for the hinds 
G 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



86 CHANGE OF TACTICS. 

are started, and our parcel is racing up to them : keep 
you above me, which will save you ground ; and, Peter, 
do you stalk the deer, and I will stalk you, which will 
give me a pull also. We will make a push for it yet." 

In pursuance of this arrangement, Fraser peered down 
at the deers' horns, over the ribs of the hill side, ducking, 
skipping, and running, so as to keep out of their sight, 
and nearly along side of them, — the rifle-men above 
keeping parallel to him, and dressing according to his 
motions. The deer, however, were steady to their tac- 
tics ; for they were resolved not to come over the steep 
part of the hill, where, by losing the wind, they might 
come unawares on an enemy : thus they were rapidly 
advancing towards the foot of the hill, where the slope 
was so open and gradual that they could see a long way 
in advance, and, consequently, could not be suddenly 
surprised. 

When Tortoise saw how unfavourably things con- 
tinued to go, he persisted no longer in the same direc- 
tion, which would only have given the deer a fresh start, 
and hurried them ontoan impracticable distance, without 
any possible chance of his coming within shot of them. 

Thus, whilst there was yet time, he turned suddenly 
to the right, and went rapidly over the hill in a new 
direction ; for, as the herd had never seen him or any of 
his party, he judged they would remain for some time 
at least on the round swell of the hill below, which they 
were now approaching. 

This continued exertion was a severe draught upon 
the vigour of the party, deplored by all ; but by none 
more deeply than by the newly initiated sportsman : in 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DIFFICULT DESCENT. 87 

(act) be was wholly unequal to it, — his limbs Faltered, 
his knees trembled, and his breath came short and loud, 
till, quite exhausted, he lay down on the moor, a solitary 
and forsaken man, while his inhuman companions per- 
sisted in their course. His spirit, however, was un- 
broken ; for, as soon as his wind was a little recruited, 
he got up and followed in the line. 

And now Tortoise and Peter Fraser had reached the 
crags on the opposite side of the hill, towards the west. 
Here was an absolute precipice, and large angular stones 
were lying down it, with their edges uppermost. Happy 
was the foot that did not slide down upon their sharp 
ridges, and charmed was the leg that was not either 
cut or broken by them. The two practised hill-men, 
nothing dizzy, picked up their legs like cats, and went 
down pretty fast: having once begun the descent, in- 
deed, it was not very easy to stop, so headlong was the 
steep. 

And here I am sorry* to be obliged to relate a cir- 
cumstance that, for the sake of their credit, I would 
gladly have concealed, namely, that, from the time of their 
first rapid start, they never once took care of their com- 
panion; and, indeed, had as completely forgotten him as 
if he had never been of their party ; so absorbed had 
they been in stalking, and so absolutely necessary was it 
for them to act precisely as they had done, or to throw 
away a capital chance. 

The struggle now was to get under the hill, on the 
side opposite to that part which the deer were crossing, 
so as to arrive there in time to take them as they passed 
down over the boll of it, still preserving the wind. Ar- 

G 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



b8 THE CRAOS OF BEN-Y-VENIE. 

rived, at length, at this desired spot, breathless, flushed, 
and covered with perspiration, they crept forward and 
wormed themselves through the heather, till, from be- 
hind a small knoll, they saw the deer feeding forward 
very leisurely, but still restless, and with their sentinels 
looking back towards the east. And now the heat of the 
manoeuvre being ended, they began once more to think 
of Lightfoot ; and Tortoise, putting his mouth close to 
Peter Eraser's ear, as he lay on the ground beside him, 
desired him, in a low whisper, to beckon him alongside 
of them. ^^ Here is a glorious chance ! " said he, ^^ and 
I would not have him lose it on any account 

^^ And it's mair the pity he's no here to tak the chance; 
but I have been speering aboot, and canna light on 
him. Sure as deith, then, but I see him the noo I a' 
that's him, high up in the crags. Lord, Lord ! what 
shall we do ? It is an unco' fashious place for a stranger : 
he canna win forrat by himsel at ony gait." 

^^ We should have considered that before^ Peter ; but 
creep back, and send Davy after him, with a caution 
how to bring him into the ground properly. The dogs 
will be back in time ; and I trust he may yet join us 
before the deer cross. Speed, Davy, speed ! " 

Away went Davy over moss and crag, and up the 
steep, waving his bonnet to the vexed sportsman ; but 
there was no charm in Davy's signs sufficiently powerful 
to induce Lightfoot to alter that method of descent 
which he himself judged most conducive to the preserv- 
ation of his existence. In vain did the herald keep 
sawing the air with his bonnet, still advancing to the 
rescue. Our hero found his head swimming, and very 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



AN INJUDICIOUS SHOT. 89 

Wisely gave up the upright position, and made his way 
on his hands and knees, as best befitted his unhappy condi- 
tipn. At length the messenger reached and assisted him; 
and, the crags once passed, both came forward rapidly. 
Fraser, who had been peeping from time to time 
through a bunch of heather, now pressed Tortoise's arm, 
and whispered, ** Be ready — they are coming ! " Both 
were lying flat on the heather, with the rifles on the 
ground, on one of which Tortoise had his hand ; bpt, as 
yet, he did not raise it They lay still as death till some 
hinds passed within an easy shot; next came a four-year- 
old hart, which was sufiered to pass also: the better 
harts were following in the same direction, and the 
points of their horns were just coming in sight, when 
lo ! Lightfoot, who had that moment come into the 
ground, fired at the small hart which was galloping 
away gaily — and gaily did he still continue to gallop. 
This injudicious shot (which of course turned the other 
deer) struck woe and dismay into the soul of Tortoise ; 
up he sprang, and dashed forward, but it was only to 
see an antler or two vanishing out of sight under the 
swell of the ground ; still he went on, as fleetly as ever 
he ran in his life, cutting off to the point where he 
expected the deer would reappear in crossing the bot- 
tom. There he arrived just in time to get a long shot 
at the last deer that was passing. He stopt short as an 
Arab's courser, and, standing at once firm and collected, 
took a deliberate aim at him. The crack of the ball 
could not be mistaken; it was that particular smack 
which it makes, distinct from any other, when a deer is 
stricken. 



Digitized by VjOOQlC 



90 A SUCCESSFUL SHOT. 

Davy came forward with the dogs at the well* known 
sound, followed by Ligbtfoot; the whole party then lay 
quietly down m the heather, Peter Fraser being enjoined 
to examine the herd as they passed up the opposite 
heights, and keep his eye on the wounded hart. This 
is always the surest way of recovering him ; for if you 
press him, and he is not hit deadly, he will get forward 
in the middle of the herd, whilst his wound is fresh, and 
run with the other deer in such a manner as will most 
probably occasion you to lose him ; but, on the contrary, 
when he is not urged forward, and sees no one in pur- 
suit of him, his wounded part stiffens, and he seeks ease 
by slackening his pace, or, if badly wounded, by falling 
out altogether from the rest of the herd; and, if he is 
not badly wounded, you must lose him at any rate, — at 
least you will have no better chance with him than with 
his companions. 

^^ Now tell me, my wajrwom and much injured friend, 
what made you shoot at that little deer?" 

" A little deer ! a little deer I hand credo — I thought 
he was an enormous monster I " 

^^ I must reply as Master Dull, the constable, did to the 
erudite Holofemes, — * 'Twas not a haud credo^ 'twas a 
pricket.* Extremely juvenile he is, I promise you; but 
you will soon distinguish better. It would have been a 
dead loss to the forest to have slain him, for his flesh now 
is worthless \ whereas, in two years more, he will be fine 
venison. But I would have borne all the blame at the 
castle, in requital for your good temper in not scolding 
me for leaving you on the crags of Ben-y-venie. But 
hinds and harts wait for no man ; and, moreover, I 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LONDON. BOOTS V. SCOTCH BROGUES. 91 

should have given up a fair chance had I waited, with- 
out conferring any benefit upon you.*' 

*< Ay, food for eagles I might have been. All &ir, 
all fiur; — I undertook to follow you, and could not, 
that's all ; and, to do you justice, you never looked be- 
hind < You have a straight back, Hal, and care not who 
sees it.' I am convinced diat you have cloven feet, like 
Pan, or that fellow with a worse name (whom, out of 
deference to you, I forbear to mention), or you never 
could have galloped down that fearful precipice like a 
chamois. It made me giddy at once ; my head reeled, 
and I was a lost man — an absolute nonentity, wounded 
and heartp-broken." 

<^ And heartily glad am I that you are found again ; 
without bruises, you intimate, I may not say, but with- 
out broken bones at least I may, at any rate. But con- 
sole yourself: you are not to blame, but rather your 
half-boots. Get the proper material in future, — thick 
shoes with nails, or Scotch brogues — 

' The hardy brogue, a' sewed wi* whang. 
With London shoes can bide the bang, 
0*er moss and muir with them to gang.* * 

^ By the foot of Pharaoh T as Captain Bobadil says, but 

this must be amended." 

^* Peter, do you see the wounded deer amongst the 

lot which are foremost? *• 

" Na, na, he's no there; he'll be coming up ahent." 
<' Give me the glass. I see him plainly enough : he is 

shot through the body, rather far behind, and cannot go 

* Galloway's Poems. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



92 THE WOUNDED DEER. 

far. Now one of the deer is licking his wound — now 
he begins to falter — now he turns aside and sends a 
wistful look after his companions, who are fast leav- 
ing him, happy and free as the air we breathe. He 
is making another effort to regain them: — poor fellow ! 
it may not be — you shall never join them more. 
Never again shall you roam with them over the grey 
mountains, — never more brave the storm together — 
sun your red flanks in the corrie — or go panting down 
to your wonted streams : — * brief has been your dwell- 
ing on the moor.' " 

^^ And now I am resolutely determined never to fire at 
a deer again, — no, never whilst I live. It is a barba- 
rous and inhuman practice ; the act of a savage, and 
ought to be punished by branding, hanging, or at least 
by ti-ansportation for life. There (flings down his rifU) 
— lie there, thou villain ! * hie cestus artemque repanoJ " 

^' They're a ' ganging right, yer Honour, and we shall 
have them again beyond Cairn Dairg Moor." 

** By Jupiter ! so we shall, Peter. Here, give me my 
rifle, most humane of men, and I will aye make a clean 
shot in future." 

^^ And I have seen you mak* clean shots half through 
the season ; but the wee bit bal will whiles tak his ain 
course — naething mare wilfu." 

" Now, then, Peter, take Percy, and get the wounded 
hart to bay — a fine fellow he is. I need not caution 
you to pass the scent of the herd before you lay him on. 
There is no hurry. In the mean time I will load my 
rifle myself; and then, Peter (you ken what I mean), 
we shall have no more broken ramrods." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



^^ 








Digitized by 



Google 



* • • •• • • 

r***' •••• 



• • ••• 



••• • 

* •• •• 

••. • 






Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A D£ER-HOUND SLIPPED. 09 

" Did I brak a ramrod since last Tuesday?" 

" Indeed you did not, ray good fellow ; you only ren- 
dered a powder horn unfit for service; but I would 
rather have my ramrods broken daily, in the excitement 
and hurry of the moment, by a dear lover of the sport 
like you, than have my rifles loaded carefully, slowly, 
and mechanically, by a tame and lukewarm sportsman. 
Here, take a glass of whiskey, Peter.** 

** Now, Lightfoot, we will wait here till we see the 
dog laid on. I am vain, you know, of my hounds, and 
Percy is one of my best. You see what a pace Peter is 
going, with my favourite in the leash pulling him on- 
ward all the way ; — now they are dashing through the 
stream — now he breasts the hill, and has passed the 
track of the herd, and is trying to find the slot of the 
wounded deer : — he has it ! — Percy scents it too, and 
pulls down the leash, straining his nose to the ground ; 
— do look at the eager fellow ! 

** He has slipped, and has overrun the scent : see what 
a cast he makes, with the dash of a foxhound, and 
the speed of a greyhound : — beautiful ! — there — 
he has it, and the deer is before him, going down towards 
the Tilt : come along, then; and follow you, Davy, with 
the other dog." 

Off ran the sportsmen to the river Mark at their best 
enduring speed, and so on to the Tilt, where they ex^ 
pected at once to find the bay, but they were wofully 
mistaken. After having followed the wild romantic 
course of that impetuous torrent for some time, they 
overtook Peter Fraser, who seemed as much at a loss as 
themselves ; still they kept running on, and at length 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



94 THE BAY BROKEN. 

came upon the track through a birch grove. Here and 
there they found the grey stones dyed with drops of 
blood : now, all were sure they heard the baying of the 
hound; but, although they kept advancing with their 
utmost speed over rock and ridge, through bum and 
cataract, it died away, and was lost : again it was re^ 
newed ; and the sound ceased as before : — this was very 
strange ! what should make a stag so badly wounded 
break his bay in such a manner? But Percy would 
never leave him, come what might. Once more, in 
rounding a point, they heard the bay distinctly, and not 
&r distant: they gained upon it; and soon the fiital 
truth broke upon them, and filled them with astonish^ 
ment Could it have been believed that, amongst the 
lonely woods of Olen Tilt, reserved alone for ducal 
sports, — sacred as the harem ; where neither stranger 
nor traveller were permitted to put a foot unbidden ; in 
a country where the chase, and its customs, and its laws, 
were so well recognised and understood, — could it have 
been believed, I say, that a mortal could be found so 
rash as to constitute himself the lord of the chase^ setting 
aside the laws of the Medes and Persians ? Yet there 
figured such a monument of audacity. He seemed to 
be a young man : certainly he had all the vigour and 
activity of youth. He shouted with all his might, rushed 
into the water, assailed the deer with stones, and tried 
to get in upon him and fell him with a sort of bludgeon 
which he brandished. A kilted Highlander was running 
towards him, and, as it seemed, endeavouring to call 
him off: then came forth a general shout of invective 
from all the party as they ran forward. High above the 
rest rose the guttiural sounds of the iracund forester. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



STRANQE ADVENTURE. 95 

111 the midst of this tumult the hart broke bay, l^r 
boured out from the Tilt, and went heavily along through 
the birchen grove, being evidently much exhausted. 
Percy followed close upon his traces; then came the 
wild huntsman with whoop and halloo, dashing over 
knoll and rock, through bog and through bum, till he 
&irly vanished from the view. 

" Contremuit nemus, et silvae intonuere profundce.** 

** The mon's dementit But sure its na mon, ava' ; its 
joost the kelpie ; him that left the print of his fut on the 
muckle stane up bye forenent the Tilt, where he grapt 
the deer ; and the deer's fat is there, too, — ye'U ha' seen 
it yoursel, wr.*' * 

Toiling and jaded, the sportsmen followed as best 
they might, replete with wrath, and venting threats of 
vengeance from time to time as their breath permitted ; 
but not one inch could they gain on the fleet-footed 
stranger. They came up with the Highlander, however, 
and made him. go on with them as a prisoner. A word 
or two passed between him and the hill-man, who, it 
seems, knew him. 

Percy's deep tongue again echoed through the pass, 
and it was hoped that the bay would last long enough 
to allow them to come up ; if it did not, they had no 
expectation of outrunning a being whom some of the 
par^ took to be supernatural. 

At length the stag was quite exhausted, and stood 
again at bay in the midst of the rushing waters. Always 

* These impressions actually exist at present, quite perfect, in 
the pku:e alluded to. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



96 A WILD HUNTSMAN. 

foremost, superior to every obstacle, and flaming with 
ardour, in plunged the reckless sportsman, intent, as it 
seemed, on close combat Already was he making his 
approaches with uplifted club, when Tortoise, who had 
gained upon him during the bay, raised his rifle froin a 
distance, — the ball whizzed close by the assailant, and 
down floated the mighty hart, a lifeless thing ! 

The stranger splashed after him, rushed at him, and 
was the first to grip him and drag him towards the 
shore, till the hill-men came up and took the afiair into 
tlieir own hands. 

When protracted torments, however acute, terminate 
in complete success, it is astonishing how suddenly all 
preconceived anger ends with them. Considunt venti 
fuffiurUque nubes. Thus it was with Tortoise ; and when 
he saw the open, happy countenance of the Englidh 
stranger, who accosted him as if he had performed the 
most serviceable feat in the world, he could hot forbear 
laughing outright. 

" Fine sport, sir," said the wild huntsman ; — *^ glori- 
ous sport ! — but you finished it a little too soon ; I 
would you had let me come at him again, — I would 
fain have plucked the laurel." 

" I believe, sir, we are indebted to you for having 
protracted the good sport so long ; for owing to yoilr 
very valorous exertion we have pursued that noble fd- 
low some miles farther than we had calculated upon.*' 

" I am too happy, sir, to have been the means of 
affording you any assistance. I am not a regularly 
trained sportsman, whatever you may think ; but some 
encounters of this sort have happened to me before ; bo 
that, perhaps, I may say, < Sono ancK io cacciatare.* '' 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE. 97 

" You may say so, indeed, if it so pleases you/* 
All were now intent upon the deer, which was a firsts 
rate one : he had few points to his horns, being one of 
those originally marked out as the fattest; he was 
beautifully cleaned, and all the operations being care- 
fully performed, Tortoise thought it high time to satisfy 
his curiosity. He learned from the Sassenach that he 
was an artist, and travelled over the country, making 
sketches, with a light knapsack at his back; he had 
come that morning from Badenoch, and the Highlander 
before mentioned was his guide. He was a man, foetus 
ad ungueniy and a magnificent walker, Imd at once re- 
cognised by the hill-men as the painter who came to 
Blair two years before, and took Macintyre, with the 
Duke's permission, as his guide to Bremar forest Now, 
Macintyre was one of the stoutest walkers in AthoU ; 
no step was lighter or more elastic up the mountain, — 
none steadier or more iron-like when he bounded down 
the steep : to him was given strength, activity, and en- 
durance of fatigue, beyond the common lot of man ; he 
knew his superiority and was proud of showing it ; but 
intent as he was in making a grand display to astonish 
the artist, he found himself totally discomfited. ^' The 
de'il was in the mon ; he skelped awa quite aisy, with a 
wee bit knapsack and umbrella to boot ; " and although 
Mac very cannily slipped a few stones into the knapsack, 
he was beat the whole way ; and it was a laugh against 
him to his dying day; 

The artist having hinted that these sorts of encounters 
had chanced to him before, Tortoise drew from him the 
following account of one of them :— 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



as NOBWEGUN SPOET.. 

He bud walked over Norway on a sketabiog tour, 
and once joined a party of Norsemen who were rin^g 
the bear. He carried no fire^airms, be said, like the rest 
of the party, always preferring cloee combat; --^.nothing 
but his sketching stooL Tbi9> when produced, was 
fcund to be a circular piece of heavy oak timbei!, divided 
into three parts, fitting closely, so as tp unitie^ and rin 
veted together in tbe centre ; but when detached by a 
sort of twist, the extremities were spread, ^^ the lowjer 
ones forming feet, and the upper ones a seat, by hitching' 
some sort of sacking on their points. The thing is a 
sketching stool in common use,. — his only difiEered. from, 
others by being made of the most solid oak,, so. that ini 
good hands it was a very effective weapon ; and it was 
with this that he had been attacking the stag. 

^^ I was on skidor," said he^ ^^ which you know ia a 
sort of long wooden skait, which enables you to get 
over the snow at a quick pace, rather unmanageable, 
however, by a novice like myself. A young bear having 
been discovered in a cave, I begged he might be put at 
my discretion, and that we might have a combat d 
Toutrance* They talked a great deal of nonsense about 
danger, but at length the point was conceded. I roused 
the beast with a great stone, which hit him somewhere 
on the OS fronds. Out came Bruin with a growl) and I 
then belaboured him over the head, and I really believe 
I should have had the best of it, being pretty expert at 
single-stick, could I have made any impression on the 
beast ; but he only shook his head a little, as if he dis- 
sented from my conduct. He seemed much given to 
apathy — indeed I never saw a more phlegmatic animal ; 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR. 90 

nevertheless he kept advancing upon me, and at length 
in spite of my blows, which were numerous and heavy, 
reared himself on his hind legs, and fairly got me 
within his foul hug. I assure yo% upon my credit, I 
never felt more uncomfortable in my life, but the Nor- 
wegians, taking the alarm, ran in and dispatched him 
with their long knives: for this they received my for- 
giveness, though the combat was somewhat sullied, 
the rather, as I found the beast was powerful and 
resolutely inclined, though I would willingly have had 
a longer tussle with him. He is not a very terrible 
animal after all, but, on the contrary, somewhat too 
loving and close in his embraces, whereof I felt the 
e£Pects for a considerable time afterwards. 

" But really your Norwegian is always too hasty with 
bis weapons. As an instance of what I say, I must 
tell you that I went with one of these barbarous hunts- 
men in quest of a salmon. Day after day, and week 
after week, did I toil without success ; believe me, sir, 
in all that time I never saw a fin. At last the long- 
desired moment came, — I hooked a prodigious mon- 
ster; the natives were astounded at his portentous 
size, — nay, some went so far as to say that he was 
no salmon, but the great sea snake, called jormun- 
gandr, in person, whom Thor fished for with a bull's 
head ; but it proved to be a salmon after all, and not the 
great sea-snake. 

^< Soon after I hooked him he made a prodigious 

rush, which brought him in the channel in bare water ; 

the officious Norwegian immediately tucked a large iron* 

* Called in Scotland, a Click. 

H 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



100 LOSS OF A HUGE SALMON. 

hook into him, which was fastened to the end of a long 
stick, and fairly hauled him ashore. 

" Being extremely disappointed to find my sport termi- 
nate so suddenly, I obliged him to put the fish back into 
the river that I might kill him secundum artem. This 
he was at length persuaded to do, though I must say he 
performed it with a very bad gmoe. 

^'The fish, once more in his element, began to exhibit 
most astonishing power and activity, bending my rod 
like a willow wand, and making my arms quiver again ; 
his runs were so strenuous and rapid, that one of my 
fingers coming in contact with the line, was deeply cut 
by it. Afler various manoeuvres on his part (which I 
would fain hope I defeate<l with some degree of dexterity, 
he at length darted down the stream, and ran out nearly 
all my line; then he shot suddenly across the river, and 
went up under the opposite bank : I pulled strenuously, 
but my line seemed fixed to one particular spot; and 
whilst I was looking at that spot, where I conceived the 
monster to be, I just glimpsed him about twenty yards 
above lunging out of the river, lashing his huge tail, 
and towing my tackle after him. Soon after this my 
line came up quite easily, and upon examination I found 
it about fifteen yards minus of its fair proportion. As 
fbr the salmon, I never saw or heard of him again." 

Aye I In Scotland this is what we call being drowned ; 
meaning that the line is so, the action of the current and 
weight of water forming it into an immense curve, from 
which position it can with difficulty be extricated ; but 
when you next hook any thing resembling jormungandr, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A WORD OF ADVICE. 101 

you had better endeavour to take the management into 
your own hands, and not suifer the snake or salmon, as 
it mayb e, to manage you ; and if he runs out your line 
with a rush down the stream, follow, wind up, and keep 
above him ; should he then attempt to cross, keep your 
line as short as you can, hold your rod aloft, and give 
him the butt. For if you once suffer him to cross to the 
opposite bank with so long a line as you appear to have 
had, he will not become your property — never shall 
you rejoice over his tinselled sides as he lies glittering on 
the pebbles. Some water-elf (for such, I am told, there 
are in Norway) never iails to interpose a great stone or 
rock between you and your fish ; you toddle up the river 
all too late ; and your tackle, assuming Hogarth's line of 
beauty, bears against this obstruction ; the salmon pulling 
on one side against the concealed rock, and you unwit- 
tingly on the other ; so that, betwixt your united efforts, 
a fracture must inevitably take place, were your line 
even as strong as that used in trolling for the great water- 
bull of yore, when they baited with a sheep's head. My 
advice comes somewhat late, to be sure ; but it may be 
of service to you hereafter. 

" But you really came too late into the world, sir, and 
should rather have flourished in the time of the Lapi thee; 
I am convinced you would have been as wonderful as the 
best of them, at least the poets would have made you so, 
which, when a man is dead, you know, is the same thing ; 
and, indeed, had you to-day advanced much closer in the 
combat with this dun beast, you might by this time have 
been a ghost, and taken your rank amongst the shades 

H 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



102 THE GOWN-CROMB OF BAPENOCH. 

of Ossian's heroes. His horns stab fiercely, and when 
attacked, he is altc^ther very redoubtable. 

" Still I do homage to your wonderful activity, as well 
as to your gallant bearing : overtake you we could not, 
practised and trained as we are; though this may be in 
some measure accounted for from our previous exertions 
— the extent of which you will comprehend when I tell 
you that we brought this stag from yon mountain top, 
which you see melting into air in the extreme distance — 
and that from the said point to the place where we now 
stand, we have pulled up but twice, and that but for a 
brief space. We have had some sharp bursts, I promise 
you, which you have been pleased to extend : my friend, 
whom you see coming up, will bear witness to this. But 
really, now all is well over, I am much gratified at the 
pleasure you have received. We do not see such sets-to 
every day." 

The wounded stag had by this awkward encounter 
taken the deer-^talkers so &r out of their cast, that the 
day's sport was considered as ended. So the whiskey- 
bottle went round, and all were gossiping together like 
brothers. 

The Highlander was a well-known good companion, 
pretty considerably addicted to poaching, like many of 
his compeers: but in this instance he well knew that he 
could not appropriate the deer, and that the rifleman 
must be in pursuit, so that he would willingly have 
stopped the stranger, had it been in his power to over- 
take him. 

There was a great deal of merriment between the 
Atholl men and this Highlander, who was the Gown- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE GAELIC EDEN. 103 

GTomb * or blacksmith^ of some village in Badekioch. He 
was taxed, but in a merry mood, with many dexterous 
feats of poaching, and driving the duke's deer to the 
north, when the wind served, which he did not altogether 
deny. 

** Well,** said Tortoise, ** take some more whiskey, and 
a pinch of snuff from my muU ; but you must not steal 
the duke's deer, mon "— 

" Houte-toute ! Ye're a tron Sassnach, an the like 
o' ye chiels aye ca' liftin stealing, which is na joost 
Christian-like." 

" Well, what would you give for such bonny braes 
and birks and rivers as are in the forest of AthoU, if 
they could be transferred to your wild country ? '^ 

*< And are there na bonny braes and birks in Bade^ 
noch? Ye're joost as bad as our minister; but fat need 
the man say ony thing mair about the matter, fan I tell 
'im that I '11 prove^ frae his ain Bible, ony day he likes, 
that the Lios-mor, as we ca' the great garden in Gaelic, 
stood in its day joost far the muir o' Badenoch lys noo, 
an' in nae ither place aneth the sun ; is no there an 
island in the Loch Lhinne that bears the name 6* the 
Liosmor to this blessed day ; fan I tell you that, an' that 
I hae seen the island mysel, fa can doubt my word ? " 

'* But, Mac, the Bible says the garden was planted 
eastward, in Eden." 

*^ Hoot I ay ; but that disna say but the garden might 
be in Badenoch ! for Eden is a Gaelic word for a river, 
an' am shure there 's nae want o' them there ; an' as for 

* This term has reference to the stooping position of a smith — 
I have spelt it as it is pronounced, but I have seen it written Growcrom, 

H 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



104 ADAM A HIGHLANDER. 

its bein' east o'er, that is, when Adam planted the Lios- 
mor, he sat in a bonny bothan on a brae in Lochaber^ 
an nae doot lukit eastwar to Badenoch, an' saw a' thing 
sproutin' an growin' atween im an the sun fan it cam 
ripplin o'er the braes frae Athole in the braw simmer 
mornings." 

" But Mac, the Bible further says, they took fig leaves 
and made themselves aprons ; you cannot say that figs 
ever grew in Badenoch." 

" Hout-tout ! there's naebody can tell fat grew in 
Badenoch i' the days of the Liosmor ; an altho' nae figs 
grow noo, there's mony a bony ^a^ runs yet o'er the 
braes o' both Badenoch and Lochaber It was Sag's 
skins, an no fig blades thaj: they made claes o'. Fiag, I 
maun tell you, is Lochaber Gaelic for a deer to this 
day ; a fan the auld gudeman was getting his repreef for 
takin' an apple frae the guidwife, a' the beasties in Lios- 
mor cam roon them, an among the rest twa bonny raes; 
an fan the gudeman said, ^ See how miserable we twa 
are left : there stands a' the bonnie beasties weel clade 
in their ain hair, an' here we stand shame^&ced and 
nakit — aweel, fan the two raes heard that, they lap 
oute o' their skins, for very love to their sufFerin maister, 
as any true clansman wad do to this day. Fan the 
gudeman saw this, he drew ae flag's skin on her nainsel,' 
an the tither o'er the gudewife : noo, let me tell ye,thae 
ware the first kilts in the world." 

*^ By this account, Mac, our first parents spoke 
Gaelic." 

" An' fat ither had they to spake, tell me ? Our 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PROOFS AS STRONG AS HOLT WRIT. 105 

minister says they spoke Hebrew; and fat's Hebrew but 
Gaelic, the warst o' Craelic, let alane Welsh Gaelic." 
" Well done, Mac ; success to you and your Gaelic." 
" Success to me an my Gaelic I I tell ye that the 
Hieland Society, or Gaelic Society, or a' the societies in 
the world, canna ca' again my Gaelic I nor the name or 
origin o' the first dress worn by man, for — 

' Ere the laird cardit, or the lady span. 
In fiagfl^ skins their hale race ran.' * 

" We would require proof for this, Mac." 
" Proof, mon I disna your Bible say, * cursed is the 
ground for Adam's sake,' an that curse lies on Badenoch 
an Lochaber to this day ; for if there be in all Scotland 
a mair blastit poverty-stricken part than 'ither o' the 
twa, may Themus Mac-na-Toishach's auld een never see 
it ! an for the truth o' fat I 'm saying, its joost as true as 
any story of the kind that's been tauld this mony a day : 
let them caniradic me fa aau" 

Thus thcL Gown-cromb's wit at length fairly got the 
better of his patriotism. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



106 



CHAPTER III. 

The sun went down behind the hillf 

The moor grew dim and stem ; 
And soon an utter darkness fell 

O'er mountain, rock, and imm. 

The party now separated, the artist being bonnd for 
Blair. Tortoise and his friend struck across the hilk 
towards Bruar Lodge, from which they were about eight 
or nine miles distant. 

" Not bad, that supposition of our friend the artist," 
said Tortoise, " that he had hooked the great sea-snake ; 
but one does hook strange things sometimes ; as for 
instance, Mr. James Rose, a friend of Mr. Skene of 
Rubislaw, was fishing on his property in the river Dee, 
it was snowing very thickly, and he had on his line a 
large fly, full four inches long, called there the black dog. 
In a short time he hooked what he conceived to be a fine 
strong salmon, who, however, worked as salmon never 
worked before, dragging the fisherman down the stream 
at the top of his speed, and making his arms quiver 
again ; at length, to his great surprise, the animal began 
to give tongue, and he found that he had hooked an 
otter by the muzzle. This increased his ardour, and 
he dashed along, at some risk, through the water, and 
over great blocks of stone, till at length a high projecting 
rock impeded his progress. Mr. Rose, however, was 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FORESTS OF BADENOCH. 107 

determined enough to throw himself into the Dee, and 
swim for some distance, rod in hand, after the otter : 
but unfortunately, his tackle failed, and the brute at 
length got off. Probably, however, he was killed after- 
wards ; for a tenant of Mr, Skene, whose home was close 
to the water, was awakened one dear frosty night by 
screams and extraordinary sounds issuing from the 
river : he arose quickly under an impression that some 
one had fallen into the Dee ; when to his relief he de- 
scried two otters upon a large mass of floating ice, 
fighting for a salmon, which they had dragged upon it. 
They were screeching and yelling in fierce combat. 
The man loaded his gun and fired at them with suc- 
cess ; for when he arrived with his boat, he found one 
of the otters killed, and a beautiful salmon of twenty 
pounds beside him, with a piece only bit out of his 
throat ; he got a good price for the otter's skin^ and fed 
his family with the salmon. 

" And now, as we are journeying on," said Tortoise, 
'* I will endeavour to lighten the way by giving you a 
true description of the Badenoch country. I am putting 
together a short account of the principal forests in 
Scotland, and I meant to have reserved Badenoch for 
your perusal with the rest ; but as you have just passed 
through a large tract of it, — and as the Gown-cromb 
rather libelled his own country, and, moreover, gave 
you but an apocryphal version of its history, I will 
take this opportunity of telling mine. 

^ The account I am about to relate, as well as I can 
fix)m memory, was most obligingly given to me by 
Cluny Macpherson, chief of Clanchattan, a very ce- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



108 ITS DIVISIONS. 

lebrated and accomplished sportsman. Thus then it 
runs : — 

" The Earls of Huntley possessed in former times by 
far the most extensive range of hills and deer forests in 
Great Britain ; they commenced at Benavon, in Banff- 
shire, and terminated at Ben-nivis, near Fort William, 
a distance of about seventy miles without a break, with 
the exception of the small estate of Rothiemurcus, which 
is scarcely two miles in breadth where it intersects the 
forest. 

" This immense tract of land was divided into seven 
distinct portions, each of which was given in charge to 
the most influential gentlemen in its neighbourhood. 
The names of the divisions or forests were, — firstly, 
Benavon, in Banffshire ; secondly, Glenmore, including 
Cairngorm ; thirdly* Brae-feshie ; fourthly, Gaick ♦ ; 
fifthly, Drumnachder ; sixthly, Benalder, including 
Farrow; and, lastly, Lochtreig, which extended from 
the Badenoch march to Ben-nivis: these are all in 
Inverness-shire. 

" These divisions are very extensive ; Benavon com- 
prehends about twenty square miles, Glenmore the same 
quantity, Brae-feshie about fifteen, Craick about thirty, 
Drumnachder twenty-five, Benalder fifty, and Lochtreig 
sixty; in all about two hundred and twenty squai'e 
miles. 

" The whole of this vast track was not solely appro- 
priated for breeding deer, for tenants were allowed to 
erect shielings on the confines of the forest, and their 
cattle were permitted to pasture as far as they chose 

* Spelt also Gawickf and Gaig, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER IN BADENOCH. 109 

during the day, but they were bound to bring them back 
to the shielings in the evenings ; and such as were left 
in the forest over night were liable to be poinded. 

** These regulations answered very well between Hunt- 
ley and his tenants, but they made an opening for small 
proprietors, who held in fee from the Gordon family, to 
make encroachments, and in course of time to acquire 
a property to whiqh they had not the smallest legal 
title. 

** In other respects, rights were more rigidly adhered 
to ; for the old forest laws, which were exceedingly se- 
vere, were enforced to the utmost in this district ; muti- 
lation, and even death were resorted to. It is upon re- 
cord, that Donald of Keppoch hanged one of his own 
clan, in order to appease Cluny Macpherson for depre- 
dations committed in the forest of Benalder ; and it is a 
known fact, that another person, called John Our (John 
the swarthy), had an eye put out, and his right arm 
amputated, for a similar offence; and it is also said, 
that he killed deer afterwards, in that mutilated con- 
dition. 

^^ No alteration took place in these forests till after the 
Rebellion of 1745, when the whole was let for grazing, 
with the exception of Gaick, which the Duke of Gordon 
continued as a deer forest until about the year 1788, 
when it was let as a sheep walk, and continued so until 
1816, when the late Duke of Gordon (then Marquis of 
Huntley) re-established it; and it is now rented by Sir 
Joseph Radcliffe. But in consequence of cattle being 
admitted to summer grazing, the present number of 
deer, as I am informed, is not great; probably not more 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



110 LEGENDS OF PRINCE CHARLES. 

than between two and three hundred. The deer in this 
forest are smally and chiefly hinda; but, in all the other 
named forests, it was not uncommon to kill harts that 
weighed twenty-four stone, and even up to twenty-seven, 
imperial weight. 

^^.The forest of Benalder is now rented by the Marquis 
of Abercorn, from Cluny Macpherson, chief of Clan- 
ohattan; but as the sheep were only turned off in 1836, 
there are not many deer in it as yet : still, as the Mar- 
quis of Bredalbane's forest is not far distant, they will, 
no doubt, accumulate rapidly under such excellent ma- 
nagement. 

" This forest lies on the north-west side of Loch Er- 
roch, and contains an area of from thirty to thirty-five 
square miles : the position is in a south-west direction; 
the boundary on that side is the small river Alder; 
on the north-west it is limited by Beallach-na-dhu (tlie 
dark vale), and the river Coolroth (which signifies a 
narrow and rapid stream) ; and on the east it is bounded 
by Loch Pallag and the hill of Farrow. 

" The mountains are lofty, probably near 4000 feet 
above the level of the sea, and many of them of pictu- 
resque character and majestic appearance. I must not 
omit, that there is a lake of two miles in circumference, 
at an elevation of at least 2500 feet called Loch Beal- 
lach-«-Bhea (the Loch of the Birchin Gap). So much 
for the boundaries, extent, and character of this cele- 
brated domain. 

" Tlie legends connected with this forest are numerous 
and interesting. In Benalder is the cave which gave 
shelter to Prince Charles Stuart for about three months 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CLUNY BIACPnERSON. Ill 

after he made his escape from the Islands, where he so 
imprudently entangled himself. When he came to Ben- 
alder he was in a most deplorable state-— covered with 
rags and veroiin; but there he was treated with kindness 
and hospitality ; and during the period of his stay, he 
made considerable progress in the Gaelic language., 
Guny Ma<:pherson and Lochiel, fiuthful, high-minded, 
and loyal, were his constant companions; and they were 
attended by a few trusty Highlanders, who carried to 
him every necessary, and many of the luxuries of life. 

" Cluny had generally the charge of this forest in oMen 
times. On one occasion, a nephew of his, a young man, 
met a party of the Macgregors of Rannoch, who were 
upon a hunting excursion : there were six of them ; but 
Macpherson, who had still a stronger party, demanded 
their arms: to this the Macgregor leader consented with 
the exception of his own arms, which he declared should 
not be given up to any but to Cluny in person. Mac- 
pherson, however, persisted in disarming the whole, and 
in the attempt to seize Macgregor, was shot dead 
upon the spot. The Macgregors immediately fled, 
and effected their escape ; one alone sufiered, who was 
wounded in the leg, and died from loss of blood. 

^^ This unlucky circumstance was attended with no far- 
ther evil consequences — no lasting animosity — no se- 
cret vow of mutual extermination; but, contrary to usual 
custom, it had the effect of renewing an ancient treaty 
between the two clans, for mutual protection and sup- 
port. 

" When Cluny Macpherson resolved upon departing to 
France, on account of the share he had in the affiiir ot 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



112 ADVENTURE WITH A WOLF. 

1745, he called upon a gentleman with whom he was 
intimate, and who was a noted deer stalker (Mr. Mac- 
donald of TuUoch), and said that he wished to kill one 
more hart before quitting his native country for ever : 
the proposal was cheerfully accepted by Macdonald, and 
they proceeded to Benalder accordingly. 

^^ They soon discovered a solitary stag on the top of a 
mountain ; but just as they had stalked almost within 
shot of him, he started off at full speed, and went an end 
for about two miles; he then stood for a few minutes, as 
if considering whether he had any real cause for alarm, 
and at length deliberately walked back to the very spot 
from which he first started, and was shot dead by Cluny. 
This circumstance was considered a good omen, and the 
prosperous interpretation was not falsified by future 
events. 

*' As for the forest of Glenmore, I would advise you to 
keep clear of it, unless, like the northern champions of 
old, you delight in encounters with military spectres : 
for it is said to be haunted by a fairy knight or spirit 
called Lham-deargh, in the array of an ancient warrior, 
having a bloody hand, from which he takes his name. 
He challenges those he meets to do battle with him ; 
and as lately as 1669 he fought with three brothers one 
after another, who immediately died thereafter.* 

^^ I must now tell you of an adventure that happened 
to Mr. Macpherson of Breakaely, when he had the 
charge of the forest of Benalder. He sallied forth one 
morning, as he was wont, in quest of venison, accom- 
panied by his servant. In the course of their travel 

* Account of Strathspey, apud Macfariane*s MSS. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



MACPHERSON OF BRAEKAELY. Ilf3 

they found a wolf-den (a wolf being at that time by no 
means a rarity in the forest). Maepherson asked his 
servant whether he would prefer going into the den to 
destroy the cubs, or remain outside and guard against 
the approach of the old ones. The servant preferring 
an uncertain to a certain danger, said he would remain 
without ; but here Sandy had miscalculated/ for, to his 
great dismay, the dam came raging to the mouth of the 
cave ; which, no sooner did he see, than he took to his 
heels, incontinently, without even warning his master of 
the danger. Maepherson, however, being an active re- 
solute man, and expert at his weapons, succeeded in 
killing the old wolf as well as the cubs ; and in coming 
out of the den espied his servant about a mile off, to 
whom he beckoned : and with scarcely a remark upon 
his cowardly conduct, told him, that as it was now late, 
he intended to remain that night in a bothy at Dalen- 
luncart, a little distance off. They accordingly pro- 
ceeded to this bothy, and it was quite dark by the time 
they reached it. 

" Maepherson, on putting bis hand on the bed to pro- 
cure dry heather for lighting a pipe, discovered a dead 
body; and without taking any notice of the circam- 
stance, merely remarked, — ' I don't like this bothy ; 
we will proceed to Callaig, (about a mile off,) where we 
shall be better accommodated.' They accordingly went 
to this other bothy ; and on arriving there, Maepherson 
pretended that he had left his powder-horn in the bothy 
they had just quitted, and desired his servant to go 
after it, telling him that he would- find it upon the bed. 
The servant did as he was desired; but instead of finding 

I 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



114 CHILDREN LOST ON A MOOR* 

the powder-horn he placed his hand upon the dead 
man; which, to one of his poor nerves, was a terrible 
shock. He then hurried back in great agitation ; and, 
on reaching the other bothy, found it, to his great dis- 
may, dark and deserted, his master having set off home- 
wards so soon as he had started for the powder-horn. 
Terrified beyond measure at this second event, he pro- 
ceeded home, a distance of about twelve miles of dreary 
hill, where he arrived early in the morning ; but the 
fright had nearly cost him his life, for he fell into a 
fever, and it was many weeks before he recovered* 

^^ This Macpherson of Braekaely was commonly called 
Galium Beg, or little Malcolm ; and there is reason to 
believe that he was one of those who fought in the 
famous battle of the Inch of Perth, in the reign of Robert 
the Third. 

^^ An affecting circumstance happened in this district 
many years aga Two children of tender age wandered 
from a neighbouring shieling in search of berries and 
wild flowers, and such pastime as innocent and happy 
souls delight in : — they never returned to their lonely 
dwelling ; but after an anxious search, and a lapse of 
many days, were found dead, and locked in each other's 
arms. The place is still called Laggan-na-cloine-a- 
Caouch, or, the Hollow of the affectionate Children. 

"To recur to the deer, I must tell you, that it is con- 
fidently asserted that a white hind continued to be seen 
in Benalder for two hundred years ; and there is at this 
present time a hind which was marked twenty years 
ago ; she is well known to the shepherds, from the cir- 
cumstance of both ears being cut off, which gives her 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SPORTSMEN BENIGHTED. 115 

an appearance too remarkable to be mistaken. There 
was also a large hart, well known in the forest for a 
period of thirty years ; ^ he was said to carry eighteen 
branches. He has disappeared, however, during the 
last three years; but it has not been ascertained what has 
become of him, — whether he has been killed, died a na- 
tural death, or has changed his ground. There is now 
also a hart, which has been remarked for many years ; 
he has a very peculiar formation of antlers ; and it is 
well ascertained that he was shot through the body 
seven years ago, and is now perfectly recovered. I 
mention this chiefly to prove, from other evidence than 
my own, that a deer that has been wounded, has ever 
afterwards his horns deformed. * 

'^ My story, I fear, has been a tedious one, but happily 
for you I must now come to a stop, for all your attention 
will be required in picking your road ; we have some very 
uncomfortable ground to pass over. Had the moon kept 
clear we might have made our way tolerably well, but 
that black cloud has completely mistified us." 

In truth, it had become so impenetrably dark, that it 
was impossible to distinguish the nature of the moor, — 
whether the foot was to alight upon the top of the moss 
hag, or sink down in the bog; the burns themselves, 
which ran silently, were not discernible, — no light from 
the sky being reflected on them. Each man struggled 
on as best he might; but the hill-men supported Lightfoot 
with that kind care and hospitable attention, which is the 
characteristic of every Highlander from the highest to 
the lowest. 

* Vide p. 7. Chap. I. on the Nature and Habits of Red Deer. 
I 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



116 WITCHCRAFT. 

" Ye mun gang cannily, sir, an dinna pit yer fut doon 
rashly, for the bog is deep, it il tak ye up to the weem ; 
mony's the beast that has been lost in it. It wasna lang 
syne Sandy Macgregor, him that drives the cattle, lost 
his bonny cow, — the milk had been takken afore by 
some inveesible bond, or may be by the evil eye, and 
then the beast was gone a-the-gither. For twa days he 
lookit ower aw the green grazings, where ablins she 
might have strayed ; aweel, on the third day, he saw the 
gathering of the ravens, and the waving of the wings, 
and the wheeling aboot in the air, and heard the hoarse 
croakings ; and when he wmi to the place, there war his 
bonny beast stuck fast, stark deid, a wee bit to the wast 
of war yer honor stands the noo ; and the foul birds had 
pickit out his e'en, and eat his flesh. They say that if 
Sandy had found the cow when the hide was fresh, and 
had takken it afi^ and wrapped himsel in it, mony strange 
things would he have heard that nicht on the moor. Wha 
can say what thae birds may be, gin they were in their 
ain proper shape." 

" All this is excellent comfort, my good friend ; but 
why did you bring me here, to devote me to your bog 
kelpies, — do you wish to see another beastie lost, and 
food for the raven ? " 

^' God bless you, sir, baud up, and dinna be afeard, 
ye shall no come to harm ; tak my bond, and joost feel 
the moss a wee bit afore ye trust till it. Sandy, mon, 
gang forrat a step or twa.'* 

Sandy did as he was desired, and a loud splashing 
was almost immediately heard, like to the rising of a 
muckle salmon, when he attempts to spring up the falls 
of the Garry. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION. 117 

" Sandy, mon, Fm thinking ye're gotintillthe burn." 
** It's na burn ava', its joost a deep pool. Ye mun 
keep mair to the wast. Its fearfu' dark, ond as sure as 
deid the evil spirit is abraid, — he could no have harmed 
me in the burn, for you ken he has nae power in rinnin 
water. I am as weel acquent wi' this moss by day and 
by nicht as ony mon in AthoU, and never pool was 
there here afore." 

** In pool or ford can nane be smur'd. 
Gin kelpie be nae there — " 

To describe the toil of the party through these bogs, 
pits, and moss hags, would be only to utter a repetition 
of the same disasters. The darkness was so deep that 
the men could not distinguish each other ; and although 
their footsteps fell cautiously, yet not one of the party 
escaped continual floundering; the individual wrath 
and vexation was at first at a pretty high pitch ; but 
with the exception of a slight exclamation or so, it was 
most philosophically suppressed. And when at length 
all were found to be in similar perplexity, 'there was 
more merriment than anger. Every thing, however, 
whether sweet or bitter, has an end, and so at length 
had this their pilgrimage through the Slough of 
Despond. 

As soon as they were fiiirly through, the blank moon, 
so coy when she was courted, shone out for a brief mo- 
ment, and gave them a glimpse of a herd of deer just 
passing into the shadow. And now they came down to 
a burn, which wet as they already were, they waded 
without hesitation. Lightfoot alone was carefully carried 

I 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



118 eraser's cairn. 

over on Fraser's back, for the channel was obstructed 
here and there by large blocks of granite, which the 
constant attrition of the water makes so slippery, that 
no unpractised person can step on them with security ; 
and when he loses his footing (as lose it he must), down 
at once he goes into the deep hole that the current always 
excavates at their base. But the sinewy and well-shod 
Highlander went firmly and safely through with bis 
burthen, the legs alone dangling in the water. This 
portage was absolutely necessary, for our friend had the 
disadvantage of London shoes, which are somewhat of 
the neatest; and, as the captain of Bewcq^tle said to 
Wat Tinlin, the heels risp*, and the seams rive.f 

They now came to firmer ground, and resolved, 
though it was somewhat out of their way, to strike across 
to the firm cart track. This was so overgrown with 
heather, that it was not very distinguishable in day- 
time ; and they were now only assured of their arrival 
at it by scraping with their feet, and thus ascertaining 
that the ground was hard. 

" We are now at Eraser's cairn, and the Lord of 
Lovat's spirit may be abroad, calling for his horse. 
Are you not horribly afraid, Peter?" 

" Houte-toute ! Clish«ma-clavers, I'm o'er auld farran 
to be fleyed for bogles." 

^^ And now, Lightfoot, as our difficulties are fiiirly 
over, and you have your attention at liberty, I will finish 
my description of Badenoch, by giving you an account 
of its celebrated forest of Gawick. Should you like to 
hear it?" 

* Creak. f Tear. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



BOUHDARIES OF GAWICK. J 19 

** Very much ; it will lighten our way ; provided you 
will leave out every thing that relates to bogs, burns, 
pits, and kelpies, — * an universe of death/ " 

" Well, then, I must tell you that there are many 
very interesting circumstances connected with this 
forest ; but, though it may be somewhat dull, I will 
give you a description of its boundaries before I enter 
upon them. 

^^ Its bearing is in a south-west direction ; and it is 
bounded on the south by the hills * of the braes of Atholl,' 
on the north and east by Olentromy and Corrybran, 
and on the west by the Glentruim and Drumnachter 
hiUs. 

<< In the centre of Gawick there is a plain about eight 
miles long, and in this plain there are three lakes — 
Lochandellich, Loch Bhroddin, and Lochindoune — all 
abounding with excellent char and trout. There is also 
another species of fish, called by the natives Dormain. 
This fish is large, has a huge head, and is supposed to 
prevent salmon from ascending to the lakes : some of 
them weigh fi*om twenty to thirty pounds. The hills on 
each side of this plain are remarkably steep, with very 
little rock, and of considerable altitude. On the western 
extremity there is a hill of a very striking appearance ; 
its length is about a mile, its height about one thousand 
feet from the base of the plain ; its shape resembles that 
of a house. This hill is called the Doune, and forms 
the southern limit of the forest So much for the 
boundaries and locality ; now for a tale of other times. 

" Walter Gumming was killed by a faU from his horse 
in the forest of Gawick ; he was the son, I believe, of 

I 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



120 WALTER OF OAWICK's FATE. 

one of the Cummings of Badenoch, and certainly a very 
profligate young fellow. Tradition says that he deter- 
mined on making a number of young women shear stark 
naked in the farm of Ruthven, which was the residence 
of the Cummings in Badenoch. In the mean time he 
was called away on business in AthoU, and the day of 
his return was fixed for this infamous exhibition* When 
that day arrived, his horse galloped up to the court yard, 
stained with soil and blood, with one of his master's legs 
alone hanging in the stirrup. Search was instantly made, 
and the mangled body of Gumming was found with two 
eagles preying upon it. 

" This horrid circumstance was ascribed to witchcraft ; 
and the eagles were supposed to be the mothers of two 
of the young girls intended for the shearing exhibition. 
The place where Walter was killed is called Leim^ram- 
fian, or the Fingalian's Leap ; and a terrible break-neck 
place it is. 

" The fate of Walter is still proverbial in the High- 
lands ; and when any of the common people are exas- 
perated without the power of revenge, * May the fate 
of Walter of Gawick overtake you,' is not an uncommon 
expression. 

" The belief in * spirits of a limited power and sub- 
ordinate nature' dwelling amongst woods and mountains, 
is, as you know, common to all nations, and more par- 
ticularly to such as are of a wild and romantic character. 
The lonely man who journeys over a vast uninhabited 
space, feels himself almost unconnected with human 
society and when darkness falls upon the moor, objects 
of dubious form loom around him and disturb his 
imagination. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WRATH OF A FAIRY. 121 

^' Thus traditions of witches and fairies are numerous 
in the forest of Gawick ; one at least I will give you as 
a specimen of their character. 

'^ Murdoch, a noted deer-stalker, went at sunrise into 
the forest, and discovering some deer at a distance, he 
stalked till he came pretty near them, but not quite 
within shot. On looking over a knoll he was astonished 
at seeing a number of little neat women dressed in 
green, in the act of milking the hinds. These he knew 
at once to be fairies ; one of them had a hank of green 
yam thrown over her shoulder, and the hind she was 
milking made a grap at the yarn with her mouth and 
swallowed it The irritable little fairy struck the hind 
with the band with which she had tied its hind legs, 
saying at the same time, * May a dart from Murdoch's 
quiver pierce your side before night : ' for the fairies, 
it seems, were well apprised of Murdoch's skill in deer 
killing. In the course of the day he killed a hind, and 
in taking out the entrails he found the identical green 
hank that he saw the deer swallow in the morning. 
This hank, it is said, was preserved for a long period, 
as a testimony of the occurrence. 

" This was not our deer-stalker's only adventure ; for 
upon another occasion, in traversing the forest, he got 
within shot of a hind oh the hill called the Doune, and 
took aim; but when about to fire, it was transformed into 
a young woman ; he immediately took down his gun, 
and again it became a deer : he took aim again, and 
anon it was a woman ; but on lowering his rifle it became 
a deer a second time. At length he fired, and the 
animal fell in the actual shape of a deer. No sooner 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



122 DESTEUCTtVE AVALANCHE. 

had he killed it than he felt overpowered with sleep ; 
and having rolled himself in his plaid, he lay down 
on the heather : his repose was of short duration, for in 
a few minutes a loud cry was thundered in his ear, 
saying, ^Murdoch, Murdoch! you have this day slain 
the only maid in Doune.' Upon which Murdoch started 
up and relinquished his spoil, saying, ^^ If I have killed 
her, you may eat her:' he then immediately quitted the 
forest as fast as his legs could carry him. 

^^ This man was commonly called Munack Mach-Jan, 
or Murdoch the son of John ; his real name, however, 
was Macpherson ; he had a son who took orders, and 
obtained a living in Ireland ; and it is said that the late 
celebrated R. B. Sheridan was descended from one of 
his daughters. 

** The most extraordinary superstition prevalent was 
that of the Liannan->spell, or fairy sweethearts ; and all 
inveterate deer-stalkers, who remained for nights, and 
even weeks in the mountains, were understood to have 
formed such connexions. In these cases the natural 
wife was considered to be in great danger from the mar- 
chinations of the fairy mistress. 

** I now come to the relation of a story better vouched 
for, and of a melancholy nature, which happened in the 
year 1800. Captain John Macpherson of Ballachroan, 
with four attendants and several fine deer-hounds, was 
killed by an avalanche in Gawick. The house in which 
they slept (a strong one), was swept away from the very 
foundation, and part of the roof carried to the distance 
of a mile. This catastrophe was ascribed by some to 
supernatural agency, and a great deal of superstitious 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CONVIVIAL RESOLUTION. 123 

exaggeration was circulated, to the annoyance of Captain 
Macpherson's family and friends. 

" But a more public — a more wide-spreading cala- 
mity, has lately befallen. The gallant spirit is fled, — 
the benefactor, the father, the beloved of his people, is 
gathered to the tomb of his fathers. Mournfully has his 
lament sounded from the dun heights of Corrie-arich 
and been borne over many a mountain, and through 
many a glen, from the hospitable shores of the Spey to 
the dark pines of Rothiemurcus.* 

" Thus sadly ends my account of the possessions of 
the former Earls of Huntley : and our journey is nearly 
ended also* Yon speck of light that you see at a dis- 
tance below, about the size of a half-grown glow-worm, 
shines in Bruar Lodge. But let us mend our pace, for 
foul weather is coming on." 

" Ay, you may mend yours, but you will mar mine : 
— have at you, however. I am lighter than I was, and 
will be more frugal at breakfast another time ; it was 
that which touched my wind. I must be eating venison 
pasty and mutton chops, forsooth; catch me at that again 
in the morning. I'll match you yet. But by all the 
gods above, I will make such a dinner this night as shall 
content my inward man, and distress your menage ex- 
ceedingly." 

" Never fear, we are tolerably provided." 

And now they were before the rugged walls of old 
Bruar. Out came a servant with a lighted candle, 
twinkling, and vainly contending with the rain and wind. 
The door at the end of the little passage opened upon 

* In allusion to the late Duke of Gordon. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



124 ARRIVAL AT BRUAR LODGE. 

a blazing fire of bog-wood and peat; the table-cloth 
was invitingly spread. Each before dressing drank a 
tumbler — 

*' Di quel buon Claretto, benedetto, 
Che si spilia in Avignone." 

And here we leave our men to the performance of 
such convivial deeds as Abernethy abhorred, and Cor- 
naro was an utter stranger to. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



125 



CHAPTER IV. 

TREATING OF THE NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS FOR A 
DEER-STALKER, WITH A FEW HINTS TO HIM. 



• <* 0» this life 



Is nobler than attending for a cheek ; 
Richer than doing nothing for a bauble ; 
Prouder than rustling in unpaid-for silk.** 

CymbeUne, 

I WAS SO impatient to get on the moor, and to plunge at 
once, as it were, in medias resj that I omitted in the first 
instance to describe what sort of properties a deer-stalker 
should be decorated with. And although most of these 
might be easily divined by the practised sportsman from 
a perusal of these pages, still it may be as well to touch 
slightly upon a few others that are absolutely indispens- 
able. 

If a sporting gentleman was asked what was the best 
make for speed and endurance of fatigue^ he would pro-* 
bably describe his own figure as accurately as possible, 
and that with the greatest appearance of candour, looking 
round upon his fair or foul proportions, as it may happen. 
In this there is abundance of encouragement; and, indeed, 
I am inclined to think that men go in almost all shapes, 
excepting, perhaps, of Geo£Prey Hudson, Daniel Lambert, 
and the Irish or any other giant. One of the most active 
men I ever saw was Richmond, the black pugilist, and 
he was knock-kneed to a deformity. Set before me a man 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



126 CURIOUS ATTITUDES REQUIRED. 

that is long from his hip downward, closely ribbed up, and 
with powerful loins; take care that he be straight, and of 
the happy medium between slim and stout ; let his muscle 
be of marble, and his sinews of steel. Heavens, how the 
fellow will step out ! And what tremendous odds are half 
a foot in every step ! See with what an elastic spring he 
recovers his legs I I swear by Atalantaand Achilles, the 
swift of foot, that this is the man I would back to go right 
up the Andes without deviating an iota from the straight 
line. I must add, however, that his lungs should be pre- 
eminent, because in long runs (say six or seven miles at 
a stretch), through bogs and over mountains, wind will 
be found an article most particularly in demand. After 
all, a man should be trained in the way he should go 
as soon as he is out of petticoats ; if not, the symmetry 
of the Antinous will avail him nought I have not the 
slightest doubt, indeed, but that Pan would have caught 
Daphne much sooner than Apollo. He would have 
made a much better run, and probably a better thing 
of it altogether. 

Now this is all very well ; but your consummate deer- 
stalker should not only be able to run like an antelope, 
and breathe like the trade winds, but should also be en- 
riched with various other undeniable qualifications. As, 
for instance, he should be able to run in a stooping 
position, at a greyhound pace, with his back parallel to 
the ground, and his face within an inch of it, for miles 
together.* He should take a singular pleasure in threading 
the seams of a bog, or in gliding down a bum, ventre a 
terre^ like that insinuating animal the eel, — accomplished 
he should be in skilfully squeezing his clothes after this 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SLEEP -ALMOST SUPERFLUOUS. 127 

operation, to make all comfortable. Strong and pliant 
in the ankle, he should most indubitably be ; since in 
running swiftly down precipices, picturesquely adorned 
with sharp-edged, angular vindictive stones, his feet will 
unadvisedly get into awkward cavities, and curious posi- 
tions ; — thus, if his 1^ are devoid of the faculty of 
breaking, so much the better, — he has an evident ad- 
vantage over the fragile man. He should rejoice in 
wading through torrents, and be able to stand firmly on 
water-worn stones, unconscious of the action of the cur- 
rent ; or if by fickle fortune the waves should be too 
powerful for him, when he loses his balance, and goes 
floating away upon his back (for if he as any tact, or 
sense of the picturesque, it is presumed he will fall back- 
wards), he should raise his rifle alofi in the air, Marmion 
fashion, lest his powder should get wet, and his day's 
sport come suddenly to an end. A few weeks' practice 
in the Tilt will make him quite ad fait at this. We 
would recommend him to try the thing in a speat, during 
a refreshing north wind, which is adverse to deer stalking; 
thus no day will be lost pending his education. To swim 
he should not be able, because there would be no merit in 
saving himself by such a pal try subterfuge; neither should 
he permit himself to be drowned, because we have an af- 
fection for him, and moreover it is very cowardly to die. 
As for sleep, he should be almost a stranger to it, ac- 
tivity being the great requisite ; and if a man gets into 
the slothful habit of lying a-bed for five or six hours at a 
time^ I should be glad to know what he is fit for in any 
other situation ? Lest, however, we should be thought 
too niggardly, in this matter, we will allow him to doze 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



128 ADVANTAGES OP BALDNESS. 

occasionally from about midnight till half-past three in 
the morning. Our man is thus properly refreshed, and 
we retain our character for liberality. 

Steady^ very steady, should his hand be, and at times 
wholly without a pulse. Hyacinthine curls are a very 
graceful ornament to the head, and accordingly they have 
been poetically treated of; but we value not grace in our 
shooting jacket, and infinitely prefer seeing our man, like 
Dante's Frati, " che nan hanno coperchio piloso al capo ; " 
because the greater the distance from the eye to the ex- 
treme point of tlie head, so much the quicker will the 
deer discover their enemy, than he will discover them. 
His pinnacle or predominant, therefore, should not be 
ornamented with a high finial or tuft. Indeed the less 
hair he has upon it the better. It is lamentable to think 
that there are so few people who will take disinterested 
advice upon this or any other subject; but without 
pressing the affair disagreeably, I leave it to a deer- 
stalker's own good sense to consider whether it would 
not be infinitely better for him to shave the crown oi 
his head at once, than to run the risk of losing a single 
shot during the entire season. A man so shorn, with 
the addition of a little bog earth rubbed scientifically 
over the crown of his head, would be an absolute Ulysses 
on the moor, and {ccBteris paribus) perfectly invincible. 

Do this or not, as you please, gentlemen ; I am far 
from insisting upon it with rigour, because, to my utter 
shame and confusion be it spoken, I never did it myself. 

When Sir Francis Head fled over the Pampas, 
mounted upon wild horses, as if upon the griffin of 
Astolfo, he must have felt a sense of buoyancy and 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SELF-POSSESSION INDISPENSABLE. 129 

freedom that it would be difficult to describe. Astride 
upon the monstrous crocodile, Mr. Water ton must have 
rejoiced in his novel position and fair feats of jockey ship. 
But neither Mr. Waterton, nor he the subduer of 
the crocodile and Python, can possibly feel more secret 
exultation than the well-trained pedestrian, confident 
in his speed, secure in his aim, and unbaffled in his 
science. 

As to mental endowments, your sportsman should 
have the qualifications of an Ulysses and a Philidor 
combined. Wary and circumspect, never going rashly 
to work, but surveying all his ground accurately before 
he commences operations, and previously calculating all 
his chances both of success and of failure. Patient 
under suspense and disappointment, calm and unruffled 
in moments of intense interest, whether fortune seems 
to smile or frown on his exertions; and if his bosom 
must throb at such times, when hopes and fears by turns 
assail it, he should at all events keep such sensations 
under rigid control, not suffering them to interfere with 
his equanimity, or to disturb the coolness and self- 
possession which at such moments are more than ever 
necessary to his operations. 

And that he may preserve in all their due vigour and 
steadiness these indispensable qualities, he should add to 
them in his hours of leisure and refreshment the further 
graces of temperance and moderation. And here con- 
demn me not, ye joyous editors of Maga, if I restrict 
my stalker to moderate libations after his toil. 

Odogherty, be merciful; Christopher, put down thy 
bristles ; for lo, I will not limit him, as Sir Humphry 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



130 ABSTINENCE FROM DRINKING. 

does his fisherman, to the pbilofiopher's half, pint of 
claret; but if he exceed it, 'tis at his own peril. Win/9 
and poetry go joyously together. Bacchus and Apollo 
were aye boon companions ; but I never beard of Diana 
having attached herself to the jolly god, or of an amour 
between Hebe and Adonis. Hard work upon wine will 
parch up the body, and make. the hand rickety. Yott 
ken that yoursel, Christopher. A keen deer-stalker's 
walk will keep a horse in a pretty decent trot, and his 
run changes that trot into a gallop, a sort of Eclipse 
pace. Would you then have him Bacchi plenus ? Yes, 
I verily believe you would. Well, my good Anacreon, 
only just try that system yoursel a wee bit. During the 
first week your mouth will be drinking bog water in 
every black pool you can find ; in the next your flesh 
will vanish from your solitary bones; and in the third, 
— yes, in the third, at latest, you will die by sponta- 
neous combustion. 

The best part of a bottle of champagne may be 
allowed at dinner : this is not only venial, but salutaiy. 
A few tumblers of brandy and soda-water are greatly to 
be commended, for they are cooling. Whiskey cannot 
reasonably be objected to, for it is an absolute necessary, 
and does not come under the name of intemperance, 
but rather, as Dogberry says, or ought to say, "it cornea 
by nature." Ginger-beer I hold to be a dropsical, in- 
sufficient, and unmanly beverage ; I pray you avoid it ; 
and as for your magnums and pottle-deep potations^ 
why really at this season of the year, as Captain Bobadil 
says, " We cannot extend thus far." 

When the nerves are unsteady, the rifle in the sports- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



RE8TRICl*IONS IN FOOD. 181 

man's hand b^ins to betray a want of fixed purpose 
and resolution ; it does, as it were, vibrate consider- 
ably. Under these circumstances the balls are apt 
to take many untoward directions, such as are wholly 
unlooked for, and not fitted to maintain his reputation. 
Very wanton courses they will sometimes take, dabbing 
into a bog, or smacking against a stone ; the deer all the 
while scampering and galloping away, freedom in their 
air, and independence in their heels ! Already they have 
broken out of your cast — now they vanish over the 
hill— and by the direction they are taking, it grieves 
me to say that you are not likely to see them again this 
blessed day. 

Having thus somewhat stinted my rifleman in his 
potations, it may possibly be inferred that I allow him 
to make up fur such abstinence in tlie article of substan« 
tial food, lliis is a great mistake ; I permit him to do 
no such thing; and most particularly do I restrict him 
at breakfast. 

Should a deer-stalker eat and stuff? — should he 
pamper the inward man ? Shade of Abemethy forbid ! 
He should go forth light and shapy as a gazelle ; to re- 
Strict him entirely from the venison pasty would be a 
cruelty from which our indulgent nature is averse ; we 
wish to be liberal in these matters, especially as the con- 
cern somewhat touches ourselves ; we would therefore 
say in the words of Gay — 

•* Go, but be moderate in your food, 
A chicken too might do me good.*' — 

He may dilute with tea and possess himself of a few 

R 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



132 gormandizer's pastime. 

grapes to cool him. Peaches and nectarines may be put 
in his pocket, because, as he will be sure to sit upon 
them, they will do him no earthly harm, but rather con- 
fer a benefit by moistening the outward man. But here 
I must stop : at this point the muzzle must positively 
be put on ; for would you have me fill my man with 
Finnon haddocks and all the trashy and unprofitable 
varieties of marmalade : red, green, and orange ? What 
a proposition ! Ob, no; I say again in no manner, and 
by no means, will I permit him to exceed. After very 
slender fai'e he will bound along like a Grimaldi ; and let 
me see a hearty eater that has the least chance with him. 

Can a man replete with good things dash up Ben 
Derig? Vain hope! He would sink down gently in 
the first bog ; nought, save his head appearing above 
the surface ; and the raven would feed upon his scalp, 
as Ugolino did upon the cruel archbishop's. 

Ye who eat long like your mothers, and fast like your 
fathers — ye, believe me, had much better remain at 
home with your household gods, and cultivate decisive 
apoplexies. Every body will tell you how well you look ; 
so let out your \^aistcoats and your waistbands most 
amply, my much cherished friends, eat, drink, and be 
happy ; or if the god of sport be warm within you, if so 
great — such an inextinguishable ardour bums in your 
bosoms, arrange yourselves, I pray you, in an ample 
punt on a domestic fish-pond, with a rod, a line, and 
that admirable contrivance the float ; but let not your 
obese fingers aspire to dally with a rifle. 

Tell me now, could you hit any given acre of land at 
fifty paces ? I should rather think not As for a rifle, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ROYAL DIVERSION. 133 

then, have nothing to do with it, I beseech you, my 
good fellows, lest it should go off unadvisedly. We are 
ready to give you every possible credit for your private 
and domestic virtues;— you are good fathers, the best 
of husbands, and the most excellent of friends — in 
short, ornaments to society ; much more valuable mem- 
bers of it, indeed, than we minions of the mountains. 
What! does not this satisfy you? do you mutiny in 
your punt, and are you determined to reject our whole- 
some advice ? Well, then, we admire your spirit, which 
soars so high above your corporal capacity, and since 
you are so determined, we wiD grant you our licence to 
sport with the stag after the self-same fashion with 
Queen Elizabeth. 

Thus it was: — When the said Queen of glorious 
memory visited Lord Montacute at Cowdrey in Sussex, 
on the Monday, August 17th, 1591, her Highness took 
horse and rode into the park at eight o'clock in the 
morning, "where was a delicate bowrie prepared, under 
which were her Highnesses musicians placed; and a cross^ 
bow, by a nymph with a sweet song, was delivered into 
her hands to shoot at the deere ; about some thirty were 
put into a paddock, of which number she killed three or 
four, and the Countess of Kildare, one." • 

This is the exact thing for you, and I pray you not 
to omit the nymph with the sweet song. 

After all, we doubt not your resolution to attack 

the stag, or any other fierce animal, for we have had a 

very high opinion of the courage of a well-fed man ever 

since we heard the story that Wilkes delighted to tell of 

* NicoU's Progresses, vol. ii. 

K 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



134 sportsman's philosophy. 

Alderman Sawbridge, which, for your satisfaction, we 
will recount. 

The Alderman was induced to go a-hunting, a 
sport that was novel to him ; and having some sort of 
indistinct idea that danger was connected with it, he 
went forth in the uniform of the city train bands, to 
which he belonged. Being told that the hare was 
coming his way, he boldly laid his hand on the hilt of 
his sword, and replied, with perfect self-possession, ^< Is 
he, sir? let him come !" 

And now a word of advice to your well qualified 
sportsman — I beseech you, good sir, to bear bad weather 
and inauspicious winds with imperturbed philosophy. 
When the adverse day comes, as come it will ; when the 
dark clouds gather round your desolate cottage, and 
tlie rain comes lashing and hissing along the moor, and 
the heather is uprooted by the blast, do not give way to 
despondency; but rest your toil-worn limbs, and be 
tliankful that you have fire and shelter. Sit you down 
with your hand in your mantle (that is, your plaid), 
with the composed dignity of Aristides. 

It is totally unavailing to look sulky, and to pace 
up and down the room, exclaiming at. every step you 
take, what horrid weather ! how very provoking ? I 
never knew this sort of thing have the least effect upon 
the elements : betray not, I beseech you, the impotency 
of Xerxes, but fall back upon your resources. Read 
some amusing or instructive book, or if a book is apt to 
draw you to sleep (as it does full many a sportsman), get 
a piece of canvas nicely prepared by Mr. Browne of 
High Holborn, and paint your men and your dogs if 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



GEORGE RITCHIE, THE FIDDLER. 135 

you can; if you cannot, why then clean the locks of your 
rifles, sort your fishing tackle, and make flies ; or if you 
are of a self-complacent character, you may summon 
your hill-men, and make it out, not in direct terms (you 
know bow to manage it, I dare say), but by skilful in- 
ference, that you are, out of sight, the best shot in Great 
Britain ; pass round the whiskey, and you may be cer^ 
tain of a ready acquiescence. 

Then when the night closes in, you may call in 
George Ritchie, the fiddler and wit, if he happens to be 
in your train. Oh ! George how well I remember your 
speaking countenance -— your capacious mouth — and 
your mighty ears. You are a good fellow, George, antt 
were a most admirable deer driver to the lord of tlie 
forest, and for this I honour thee ; but thou didst play 
me many a slippery trick by neglecting orders when 
thou wert wont to carry home the dead deer ; for, in- 
stead of coming in behind ray cast as instructed, thou 
didst ever cut in before me, and disturb all the ground 
in a most unsportsmanlike manner ; and this thou didst 
transact most cannily, winding up a hollow with thy 
sheltie, that mine eye might not visit tliee ; yet I kent 
well enough what was going on, George, by the move- 
ment on the moor ; but alas ! poor George, you were 
growing old, and had a right to favour yourself a little; 
and then thou wert merry in hall, and thy quaint atti- 
tudes, and quainter countenance (whilst thou didst worry 
the strings of thy fiddle) did set the gillies in a roar; — 
for these, thy*most excellent qualities, I do recommend 
thy presence to get up a Highland reel in a stormy 
evening. 

K 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



186 CRAFTY MOVEMENTS. 

I must now revert to you few, O happy mortalsy 
*' beloved of Jupiter," and I must candidly tell you, that 
I cannot turn you loose on the mountains to go rambling 
after your own inventions. 

Enthusiasm you have, no doubt, else wherefore soar 
you to the mountain top ? But this solitary qualification 
indispensable as it is, will not set you up entirely. You 
must have extreme caution in certain situations, and at 
the same time, prompt decision and execution : boldness 
also, amounting to rashness in others ; always, indeed, 
a happy mixture of the two in the same qiovement ; — 
in short, you should be constituted something after the 
fashion of Sardus Tigellius — 

" Saepe velut qui 
Currebat, fugiens hostem, persaepe velut qui 
Junonis sacra ferret." 

I know nothing more beautiful than the running of 
a skilful deer stalker, when the harts are in quick mo- 
tion. He dashes after, or parallel to them, in order to 
come in at certain places; but never blindly, never 
straight forward, as if he could overtake them ; but 
winding, sweeping, and lurching behind the ridges and 
hillocks, or down a narrow chasm, or up the stony chan- 
nel of a burn, just keeping sight of the points of their 
horns; stooping or rising, moderating or increasing his 
pace according to circumstances, always preserving the 
wind, and taking care never to commit himself by 
coming upon such an open tract of ground as would 
fairly expose him to view; such blind rashness would 
hurry on the herd, and give them a fresh start for miles; 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CURRENTS OF AIR. 187 

for even if he should discover a solitary hillock, or block 
of granite, behind which he could find time to conceal 
himself for the moment, still he could not advance from 
this position, and he would be what is technically called 
"locked in." 

Every person, I believe, who carries a rifle, is aware 
that when deer are disturbed, they always move up wind. 
They have an astonishing faculty of smelling the taint 
in the air at an almost inconceivable distance ; being 
thus warned by instinct, they are enabled to avoid an 
enemy in front, and can go' boldly forward over rugged 
ground and high points, without being surprised by an 
ambush. It would appear, then, at the first glance, that 
one's manoeuvres, so far as relates to the wind, would be 
simple and easily conducted ; but this is by no means the 
case, — the currents of air change according to the dis- 
position of the ground ; there are corries so situated that 
the swells of wind come occasionally from various quar- 
ters, and there are burns whose general tendency is in a 
direct line, but in whose various curvatures, the wind 
comes sometimes from the north, and at others from the 
opposite quarter; for it must be noted, that it always 
blows up or down a glen, — never across it. 

Thus, in particular situations, you cannot ascertain 
the exact course of the wind without consulting that of 
the clouds, to which a hill-man always looks; but in all 
doubtful points, when the sky is cloudless, and the air 
tolerably still, a little tow dropped from your hand will 
indicate its course. When a lesser glen or burn de- 
bouches into another where the deer are on foot, and 
the current of air is one point only against you, your 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



138 CHANGE OF SYSTEM POSSIBLE. 

wind will be carried down the glen you pass, into the 
other at right angles to it, so that you must let all the 
deer pass the point of connexion between the two glens 
before you cross the one in question. 

It is impossible to describe the various nice points and 
wanes of the air that may occur in the course of the 
day ; they can only be understood by long practice and 
observation; and observe, my good friend, that the 
roost extreme caution is indispensable as to this point; 
for, without meaning any disrespect to you, you have 
such a mauvaise odeur about you, that the deer fancy you 
more formidable than you are, and your taint will make 
them break out of your cast: look not after them, I be* 
seech you ; it is vanity. By the help of a good pair of 
wings you may possibly fly ; Icarus and the Ulm tailor 
did so before you ; but those deer shall you never com- 
mand on that inauspicious day. 

The hill-men who act at a distance from you must 
use the same precaution with yourself in paying attention 
to the wind, and shifting their ground in obedience to 
any change that may take place in the course of the 
day. 

There are some few cases when deer may be made 
to go contrary to their usual custom ; thus in the forest 
of Atholl, when a herd comes out of Glen Croinie (which 
is a preserve, and may be called their home), they can 
readily be got back by good management, even if the 
wind is un&vourable — especially towards the evening, 
when they seek the pastures. 

Deer may likewise be got down wind by sending 
men to take concealed positions in their front ; the taint 
in the air will then turn them. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PASSING DIFFICULT GROUND. 139 

When there is a long line of deer on foot, in ran- 
ning parallel to them you must be careful not to get too 
forward, lest the tail ones get your wind ; if, indeed, the 
deer have been pressed forward for a long distance, and 
are at all &tigued, it would not be prudent to do so at 
any rate, as in that case the iattest and heaviest harts 
always come lumbering behind. 

When you discover deer with the glass at a consider^ 
able distance, you may often approach the desired points 
without the necessity of being concealed by inequalities 
of ground. At what particular distance they will see 
you, must depend upon the state of the atmosphere and 
the nature of the ground you are traversing. If the 
point is dubious, you should always select the dark 
heather and bog to walk upon, and avoid the gi'een- 
sward, where you will be more easily descried. Be 
careful to expose as small a front as possible, walking 
rank and file, each file covering the leading one. Some- 
times it happens that there is a small space only to be 
passed, in which you will evidently be visible ; and in 
this case it is very difficult to elude the vigilance of the 
sentinels of the moor. The best way is to watch your 
opportunity when all are browsing, and then dart forward 
rapidly with your bodies bent across this dangerous 
point, one behind the other, as before described. I have 
sometimes done this successfully; but it is a ticklish 
business, and will never succeed when you are near the 
quarry. 

In all cases of approach, when it is necessary to ad- 
vance in a stooping position, or to crawl, you had better 
keep a constant eye upon the men in the rear, for, believe 
me, no man is implicitly to be trusted ; one will most 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



140 RANGE OF THE RIFLE. 

unconscionably put his head up because, forsooth, his 
back aches insupportably ; another likes to have a peep 
at the deer ; a third (and he is the most unpardonable of 
all) does not like to have the burn water enter the bosom 
of his shirt, which is very inconsiderate, as nothing tends 
to keep a man more cool and comfortable than a well* 
applied streamlet of this description. So look back 
constantly to the rear, that every gilly may do his duty, 
and observe that no man has a right to see the deer in 
approaching to get a quiet shot, except the stalker. In 
fact, after a certain distance is gained, no one but he 
and his Achates, who holds the spare rifles, should come 
forward at all. 

The most perfect shots and celebrated sportsmen 
never succeed in killing deer without practice ; indeed, 
at first, they are quite sure to miss the fairest running 
shots. This arises, I think, from their firing at distances 
to which they have been wholly unaccustomed, and is 
no reflection upon their skill. It is seldom that you 
fire at a less distance than a hundred yards, and this 
is as near as I would wish to get. The usual range 
will be between this and two hundred yards, beyond 
which, as a general rule, I never think it prudent to fire, 
lest I should hit the wrong animal — though deer may 
be killed at a much greater distance. 

Now the sportsman who has been accustomed to shot 
guns, is apt to fire with the same sort of aim that he takes 
at a grouse or any other common game ; thus, he in- 
variably fires behind the quarry; for he does not consider 
that the ball having three, four, or perhaps five times the 
distance to travel that his shot has, will not arrive at its 
destination nearly so soon; consequently, in a cross 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF DEER. I4l 

shot, he must keep his rifle more in advance. The exact 
degree (as he well knows) will depend upon the pace and 
remoteness of the object. 

Deer go much faster than they appear to do, and 
their pace is not uniform like the flying of a bird ; but 
they pitch in running, and this pitch must be calculated 
upon. 

Firing at a target is a very necessary practice in the 
first instance, partly to gain steadiness and confidence, 
but principally to ascertain the shooting of your rifles at 
all distances. You can make no use of a change of 
elevation in your sights when deer are running; the 
best way, therefore, is to have one sight alone slightly 
elevated, the less the better, and to make the variation 
depend upon your aim. Having once become a fair 
shot at the target, I would advise no one to continue the 
practice. It is apt. to make one slow and indecisive. 
One step often brings you into sight of the deer, conse- 
quently one spring makes them vanish from it, so that 
you must frequently take snap shots. Indeed, it is quite 
wonderful (as any experienced person can bear witness) 
how suddenly and unexpectedly they disappear, either 
by sinking under a hill, or running amongst the deep 
channels of a moss, or by a hundred means of conceal- 
ment that the rugged nature of the ground affords 
them. 

In firing down hill you must be very careful to keep 
your face low down to the sight, which sportsmen do 
not pay sufficient attention to; and think, therefore, 
that the ball mounts, which is a great mistake. When 
your head is too high, the line of vision does not follow 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



142 TEMPESTUOUS WINDS. 

the line of the barrel, but crosses it, and has a downward 
tendency, whilst the barrel perseveres in a more hori- 
zontal direction : and this is the doctrine of elevated 
sights. 

You vrill often have to stop suddenly, and fire in the 
midst of a sharp run ; or when you are dead blown ; 
stand as steadily as you can, and be at once collected ; 
practice alone can give you this power ; and it will give 
it, for I myself was as sure at these sort of shots as at 
any other, provided the deer were running. I found it 
more difficult to take a quiet shot while lying on my 
stomach in the heather. 

Sometimes the wind is so tempestuous that you have 
no power over the direction of your rifle. There are no 
means to counteract this, and you had better go home ; 
but if it be not too violent, you can kneel on one knee, 
and get a rest by supporting your left elbow on the 
other. 

Take care that the ramrods to your rifles be large 
and strong ; they will otherwise be broken in the hurry 
of loading. I recommend you, moreover, to make one 
of your hill-men carry a very long and stout one in bis 
hand, having a mark made in it at the length of your 
barrel, that you may ascertain the exact load. I used 
no other when this was at hand. 

As for the sport itself, that no one can have a proper 
perception of till he is chief in command, and able to 
stalk the deer himself; and this he cannot do without 
long practice, close observation, and a thorough know* 
ledge of the ground and habits of the animaL As an 
instance of this, one of the best shots in a rifle regiment 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A TYRO S DISTRESS. 143 

was appointed 6ome years ago to the office of forester in 
the Ben-Ormin Forest, in Sutherland; but being a 
stranger to the country, devoid of assistance, and without 
the means of good instruction in the craft, he was only 
able to kill oiie hart during two years of apprenticeship, 
and at length resigned his situation in despair. Novices, 
therefore, have necessarily a deer stalker allotted to them 
from the forest, who very properly keeps the devoted 
rifleman in due subjection ; he will not permit him to 
show a hair of his head above the heather on certain 
ticklish occasions, and the miserable youth is always 
totally unconscious of what is going on ; he creeps and 
meanders through the black and miry channels of a bog, 
quite ignorant of the dire necessity for such a pastime ; 
lies down to hand like a pointer, and runs till he is as 
breathless as an immerged oyster diver, he knows not 
why or wherefore. Thus the wretched felicity-hunter 
follows as best he may — 

'* O'er rocks, caves, fens, bogs, dens, and shades of death, 
A universe of death." 

One while his leg is wedged in amongst tenacious stony 
fragments, and at another he comes suddenly upon a 
deep chasm that fills his soul with unaffected appre- 
hension. Meanwhile the deer- stalker goes on at a per* 
severing killing pace, saying, " This way, this way, sir ; " 
and never looking behind him to ascertain whether his 
patient is in his ground or not; his words die away 
amongst the winds, and never reach mortal ear. Then, 
behold, when the deer come suddenly in view, he tells 
the staggering and breathless sportsman to shoot, always 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



144 OVERWHELMING KINDNESS. 

running forward himself, and placing his proper body 
(to say nothing of his flowing kilt) precisely in a mathe- 
matical straight line between the rifle and the harts, 
which he expects you to kill. Pleasant this to you; 
and, if in the excitement of the moment you obey his 
command, awkward enough for him ! In getting a quiet 
shot, things may possibly be managed belter, as to one 
part of the transaction ; for if your adjutant will place 
himself between you and the deer (as right certainly he 
will), you may pull him back by the heel ; or if you be 
not sufficiently powerful to make a good drag of him, 
you may admonish him in a friendly way, by a gentle 
insinuation of your gun-picker into the calf of his leg. 
You are not permitted to speak ; and what else can you 
do? 

You must by no means conclude, however, that your 
attendant means you anything but the most cordial 
kindness, — his zeal and fidelity in favour of those whom 
he has the charge of is his great object ; he means to 
take care of you as if you were his only son, — the re- 
maining prop of his family. Anxious to give you every 
possible chance, he creeps, runs, and wades, — unmindful 
only that he is a son of the mountains, whilst you, per- 
haps, were born in the Lincolnshire fens, — that his is 
the speed of the roe, and yours the pace of a frog; 
thus, whilst you are in such an exhausted state as to 
require the kindest and most unremitting attentions of 
the humane society, he is perfecdy convinced that you 
are enjoying the highest degree of human felicity, un- 
broken in wind, and undecayed in strength. 

In this dilemma what is to be done ? I agree with 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by 



Google 



• •• « • ••«• 



. • • • « • 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



JOHN SELWYN. 145 

you that it is a thousand pities so fine a youth should 
perish prematurely ; still I cannot allow you to speak of 
your distress ; though that, indeed, you could not con- 
veniently do, for want of breath, and if you could, you 
would only frighten the deer, without bettering your 
own condition. 

You are at your last gasp, that is evident : perhaps, 
then, you had better do as the fat knight did, when the 
hot and termagant Scot was about to pay him ^^ Scot 
and lot too," namely, to fall prostrate, and feign to be 
extinct, leaving Donald to speak a dirge over you in his 
most harmonious Gaelic. 

* Death has not slun so fat a deer to-day.'* 

Now, after all this, perhaps you will tell me that I 
have undervalued your powers. I dare say I have, there 
is not, indeed, the least doubt of it. To speak fairly, I 
think our young sportsmen from the south (I mean the 
most active of them) are fully as quick, and perhaps 
more so, than a Highlander, for a short distance; but 
when it comes to a trial of wind and endurance, your 
well'obuilt sinewy native will generally be found to be 
the best man. 

In times of yore, however, we Sassenachs have pro- 
duced huntsmen able and skilful in killing the stag. 
Not to mention the feats of Robin Hood and Little 
John, or the other unlicensed deer slayers " of merrie 
Sherwood," we are told that, " In the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, John Selwyn, under keeper at the park at 
Oatlands, in Surrey, was extremely famous for his 
strength, agility, and skill in horsemanship ; specimens 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



146 MEALIN SYLVESTER, THE WILD. 

of which he exhibited before the Queen at a grand stag 
hunt at that park ; where, attending, as was the duty of 
his office, he, in the heat of the chase, suddenly leaped 
from his horse upon the back of the stag (both running 
at the same time at their utmost speed), and not only 
kept his seat gracefully, in spite of every effi>rt of the 
afirighted beast, but drawing his sword, with it guided 
him towards the Queen, and coming near her presence, 
plunged it in his throat, so that the animal fell dead at 
her feet This was thought sufficiently wonderful to be 
chronicled on his monument, which is still to be seen in 
the chancel of the church of Walton upon Thames, in 
tne county of Surrey. He is there represented on an 
engraved brass plate, sitting on the back of a deer at 
full gallop, and at the same time stabbing him in the 
neck with his sword.* 

This feat of John Selwyn has been paralleled very 
lately by one recorded in another page of this work ; 
and in still earlier days, perhaps, was equalled in jockey- 
ship, by Merlin Sylvester, the Wild, as mentioned by 
Geoffery of Monmouth. 

^^ Merlin had fled to the forest in a state of distrac* 
tion ; and looking upon the stars one clear evening, he 
discovered, from his astrological knowledge, that his wife 
Guendolen had resolved upon the next morning to take 
another husband. As he had presaged to her that this 
would happen, and had promised her a nuptial gift 
(cautioning her, however, to keep the bridegroom out 
of his sight), he now resolved to make good his word. 

* Antiquarian Repertory. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WILSON, THE HISTORIAN. 147 

Accordingly, he collected all the stags and lesser 
game in the neighbourhood, and having seated himself 
upon a hart, drove the herd before him to the capital 
of Cumberland, where Guendolen resided ; but her 
lover's curioei^ leading him to inspect too nearly this 
extraordinary cavalcade, Merlin's rage was awakened, 
and he slew him with the stroke of an ander of the 
stag." 

Formerly, it seems, the hunters went to the chase 
armed at all points, like the redoubted Alderman Saw- 
bridge. Wilson, the historian, records an escape that 
befel him in the hazardous sport, whilst a youth and a 
follower of the Earl of Essex. 

«* Sir Peter Lee, of Lime, in Cheshire, invited my 
lord, one summer, to hunt the stagg ; and having a great 
stagg in chase, and many gendemen in pursuit, the 
stagg took Soyle; and divers, whereof I was one, 
alighted, and stood, with swords drawn, to have a cut at 
him at his coming out of the water; the stagg then 
being wonderfully fierce and dangerous, made us youths 
more eager to be at him, but he escaped us all ; and it 
was my misfortune to be hindered of my coming nere 
him (the way being sliperie) by a fall ; which gave oc- 
casion to some who did not know mee, to speak as if I 
had falne for fear; which being told mee, I left the 
stagg, and followed that gendeman, who firet spake it; 
but I found him of tliat cold temper, that it seems his 
words made an escape from him, as by his denial and 
repentance it appeared. 

<^ But this made mee more violent in pursuit of the 
stagg, to recover my reputation ; and I happened to be 

L 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



148 MOCK HEROISM. 

the only horseman in, when the dogs sett him up at 
bay, and approaching nere him on horsebacke^ hee broke 
through the dogs, and run at mee, and tore my horse's 
side with his homes, close by my thigh. Then I 
quitted my horse, and grew more cunning (for the dogs 
had set him up again); stealing behind him, with my 
sworde I cut his ham-strings, and then got upon his 
back, and cut his throat; which as I was doing the 
company came in, and blamed my rashness for running 
such a hazard."* 

Rashness ! what rashness ? Here's a fellow for yoa 
now ; armed with a long sword, and probably in the 
uniform of the city train bands, he sneaks behind a stag 
at bay with fifty hounds fighting at his front, — fifty 
hounds and an historian are fearful odds. He then cuts 
his ham-strings in a dastardly manner, and puts an end 
to the brave animal's existence without doubt, by poking 
the end of his toledo, as Master Matthew has it, into the 
point of junction between the head and neck, precisely 
in the same manner in which the Laps kill their domes- 
ticated rein deer. As for his cutting the throat, I do not 
believe a word of it; he was of too cold a temper, 
and did no such thing, depend upon it, — he dared not 
so much as to look at his throat, being too fearful of 
his own. 

This, however, was all mighty well for a young his- 
torian. We blame not his caution. We are circum- 
spect ourselves. But we object to his bragging, — most 
decidedly object to it. The whole aflair was a paltry 
one. Thy histories, great shade, I never read : — they 

* Quoted in the notes to the " Lady of the Lake.'^ 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



GLENGARRY. 149 

may live like the great pyramids^ or gQ to the tomb of 
all the Capulets, — it imports me not, — but shame on 
thy bragging of such a deed ; shame on thee, I say, 
'* thou chronicler of small beer." 

Not thus was the bearing of the stout Glengarry, 
when he confronted the stag in the rugged pass of Glen- 
dulacban. Setting at nought the red glance of his eye, 
and unt^palled by his tremendous means of defence, in 
rushed the gallant chief full at his front, and buried 
the sharp skene-dhu in his chest. 



L 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



150 



CHAPTER V. 

Stay, huntsman, stay; a lurid gloom 

Hangs threatening o'er your head ; 
llie rain comes lashing o'er the moor, 

The thunderbolt is sped. 

And mirk and mirker grows the hill. 

And fiercer sweeps the blast ; 
The heayens declare His wondrous power 

Who made the mountains ftst. 

The night had been dark and stormy, and the morning 
broke over the mountains in flames of red and amber ; 
thin wreaths of mist were ascending from the Vale of 
Tay, and went twisting and flickering up the hill sides ; 
there were no dark frowning clouds in the sky, but a 
sort of aqueous appearance about the light itself, that 
occasioned certain gloomy forebodings in the breast of 
our sportsman. True it is that he passed rapidly over 
the moor, as he was wont, and ate his usual slender meal 
with tolerable resignation. But to say that he enjoyed 
any thing like elevation of spirits would be an absolute 
perversion of the case, for the red flushing of the morn- 
ing was ominous, and, if I must speak the truth, it 
put him into that state of mind which the world 
have combined to call most abominably disagreeable. 
As he strode up Ben Derig nothing went right. — 
<^ Davy, you are always striking the dogs with the spare 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A SCOTCH MIST. 151 

ramrod. How the deuce can you be so awkward. 
There now, don't pull them along in that manner; they 
will be weary before they get half way up the mountain. 
Jamieson, I dare say you have left the water-proof rifle- 
cases at home." 

" No, I have them all with me." 

" Well, I did you wrong to suppose so, for 1 never 
knew you to forget any thing of consequence." 

<< What the de'il maks the maister so crabbed the 
day?** 

^^ Crabbed, aye, and reason eneuch. The mists are 
rising heavier and heavier in the haugh ; and though 
Ben Derig shimmers now, won't he be all mirk afore We 
can win forrat to our cast? " 

And scarcely had they gained this destined point, be- 
fore a great volume of mist came sailing over the lower 
grounds, and jostled against the huge shoulder of Ben-y- 
chait; then, breaking and spreading widely abroad, all 
around at once became dim and dubious. This was the 
beginning of the evil; but worse remained behind. 
Cloud after cloud came driving along, till the whole face 
of nature, mountain, rock, and glen, was smothered in 
the reeking vapour. 

Scarcely may you discern your neighbour sitting upon 
the dripping heather beside you. These clouds of mist 
are sure to last some hours, or may continue the whole 
morning, and finally terminate in a deluge of everlasting 
rain. Sometimes, indeed, they would clear away pretty 
suddenly, but more often would they rise gradually. 
None but those who know the joys of deer stalking can 

L 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



152 VISIONS OF AULD LAMO STNE. 

tell with what an intent gaze the rifleman's eyes were 
fixed upon the space below him. At times the heather 
there grew evidently clearer; then it was distinctly seen, 
and his hopes began to rise. The gleam was brief and 
delusive : again and again the huge volumes came 
breaking on the hill tops, and all was more sullen than 
ever. As for patient resignation, no deer-stalker knows 
what it means ; he might possibly have read of such a 
thing, as Magnus Troil had of the nightingale, but cer- 
tainly cannot put faith in its actual existence. Once 
taint him with this sort of philosophy, and you ruin him 
for life ; he is a lost man to all intents and purposes. 
An eager sportsman, I can understand ; the phrase is 
apt; but who ever heard of a patient sportsman? Such 
a fellow would take snuff when he ought to take a snap 
shot; and you would see him purgantem leniter un* 
gues^ when he should be sweeping down a precipice 
like an eagle. But of such as these discourse we no 
farther. 

Turn we now to Tortoise. Silent and abstracted he 
sat on the grey stone, and, passing his hand across his 
brows, began to brood over the scenes of his early days; 
again he roams over the rock-bound coast of Mull, and 
along the desolate shores of lona; again he chases the 
roe amongst the slaty mountains and rude wildernesses 
of the Isle of Mist; once more he traverses the heathy 
Morven, and winds his solitary way amidst the rocks 
and hoarse cataracts of Glencoe. Here, in this birth-- 
place of Ossian, rise up before him, in his visionary 
mood, the heroes of other days, the hunters of deer; and 
thus again he muses on that blood-stained pass : — * 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



RETROSPECT. 153 

Was it thy form, Finga], that on the cloud 

Strode on as the autumnal gust blew loud, 

Deepening amid these rocks and glens forlorn ? 

Was it the echo of thy distant horn ? 

Or he^rd we his wild harp who drew his breath 

In the dark pass, dark as the frown of death ? 

Where Cona *, creeping through the mossy stones, 

Along his gloomy way, forsaken moans, 

As if remembering still the mighty dead. 

Or mourning the fell deed that dyed his current red?f 

'Twas not, Fingal, the winding of t^y horn; 

'Twas not thy shade wrapt in the mists of mom ; 

'Twas not, oh Ossian I thy sad minstrelsy, 

Heard o'er the mountains as the dead passed by; 

But here, as on the scene renown'd we gaze^ 

Where strode the awful cbiefi of other days. 

Wild fancy wakes* — Sudden before our eyes. 

As to the lonely seer that dreaming lies. 

Pale shadowy maids, and phantom chiefs, arise; 

Dim floats the sombrous imagery sublime, 

Thy lone harp mingles sad its sweetest chime. 

The aged rocks seem listening to the song, 

On clouds of mist the spectre warriors throng. 

Whilst the low gale sighs o'er their mossy bed; 

Peace to the shadows of the mighty dead I % 

' * A river in the pass. 

f Massacre by the soldiers of William III. 

% The author printed these lines^ such as they are, many years 
ago ; but circumstances happened which prevented the continuance 
of the work in which they were included, and consequently their 
circulation. 



} 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



154 THE MIST CLEARS. 

Break off — break off. Oone, long since gone, is that 
beautiful day-spring of life — alas ! how fleeting — when 
for the first time we wandered along the rude wastes 
and sounding shores of the stormy Hebrides looking for- 
ward to some undefined pleasure, radiant with hope, 
and glowing with enthusiasm; — departed are those day- 
dreams of the romantic fancy; — and, the illusive veil at 
length drawn aside, nought is now before us but the 
stern realities of life. 

The everlasting still rolls on, and although slightly 
ascending at times, it gives a glimpse of the dripping 
heather, yet another and another volume drives along, 
each pressing on like the waves of a troubled sea. 
But behold a broad white light expanding in the 
heavens. It is the path of the glorious sun wading in 
the dim expanse, and struggling vrith the vapour. Now 
it fades away, and hope dies with it: dark — dark — 
dark. Oh that some blast would sweep across the moor, 
and drive these lazy volumes to the desolate shores of 
the ultima Thubl 

^* But it will clear I I see it is clearing. Mark how 
the mist is gathering together, and forming in more 
compact masses. By heavens, it rises ! How beautifully 
it climbs the silvery heights of Ben-y-venie ! See how 
it courses before the sun, and how blue it is getting to 
the leeward I 

^< Shake the dew drops from your flanks, Peter; we 
shall start in ten minutes." 

" Will you please to tak a glass of whiskey ? *' 

"Wni I? you shall see. Out with your bottle, my 
good fellow : but I do you wrong, for I see it has been 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



QUALITIES OF WHISKEY. 155 

constantly in your hands. I only hope that it has a 
hetter smack with it than the mountain dew we have 
been inhaling for the last three hours. There, pass it 
round with wishes for success, and do not ^ spill the 
good creature,' for in such a morning as this, believe 
me, it is most salubrious ; manifold indeed are its virtues. 
What trade does it not quicken? It is a good carpenter, 
a good mason, a good road->maker, and a most capital 
deer-driver, provided it be moderately and discreedy 
dealt with, just as you deal with it, gentlemen." 

** It is all this, sure eneuch; and I have often thought, 
yer honour, that the ganger who gangs intill the poor 
body's shieling, and taks awa his wee bit still, cannot be 
right at heart It is a foul raid, and he can be no Chris- 
tian. As for government whiskey, it is poor unhale- 
some stuff, and I wish the gaugers may stick to it; they 
will be sooner out of the way of honest men. But our 
home-made is a comfort the morn and the even, and a 
warm side to us o'er the moor." 

<< Thou art a perfect oracle, Peter ; and of course thou 
sayest true. But it has killed many a tall fellow for all 
that, and taken some of your best hill companions to 
their last home. So now wipe my glass — no, not the 
whiskey glass, man, but the prospect, as you call it: one 
of Dollond's best it is, but you see there's a blear on 
it And now let us start, for the glens are lit up, tlie sun 
rides high, and the day is far on. Nay, look not for 
deer on these heights, they will be all low down. It is 
useless to put off time ; so forward, my lads ^- a good 
hill-man's step, long, quick, and lasting. No better 
way of walking when time presses. And don't be 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



156 HOW TO CARRY THE SPARE RIFLES. 

drinking out of every bum. Carry the rifles with their 
muzzles to the rear, and then yoai will not drill me with 
one of my own balls, as Sandy Macintosh there was 
near doing the other day.'* 

^^ Not so near, either, for the baal did na pass within 
half a fut o' ye, and I didna pull the trigger, — so it 
was nae me that war to blame ; I joost tuk up the gun 
by the neb, as she lay on the ground ahent you, and as 
I pulled her alang, the heather caught the wee bit trig- 
ger, and somehow or anither, she banged aff; so I cou'd 
na help it.*^ 

^* Nothing can be more evident, Sandy; but only just 
keep the muzzle to the rear in future, and fight like the 
wily Parthian." 

<^ Why, the same thing chanced to Glengarry, and he 
said naething ava anent it" 

<*Very likely, Sandy; but you see I am of a more 
talkative disposition; but I must tell you, that in by- 
gone times, when a warrior came into a strange country, 
if he kept the point of his spear forward, he was sup- 
posed to come as an enemy, and was treated as such ; 
but if he kept the point behind « him, it was a token of 
friendship, and they feasted him, and gave him venison 
and whiskey." 

^' I ken that war when I was a callan, for I did n't 
hear aething anent it; but as the neb of the rifle ia 
ahent, and as there is nae venison, I must tak aff the 
Loch Rannoch without it." 

" As in duty bound; very well, Sandy, I find thee apt.** 

A considerable space of ground had now been tra- 
versed without any appearance of deer, in spite of the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



STORM iN THE MOUNTAINS. 157 

•quick and sagacious glance of the hill«man ; the air had 
turned hot and close, and the weather was brewing up 
dark and heavy. Each man raised his eyes to the south 
and to the east, but still in silence. 

** Whish — whish — down — low — I had a gH£F of 
them in the sun blink ; — hey, now the shadow is come 
owr : draw ahent a wee bit, we shall spy them again in 
the clearing ; — Ou, what a dunner I They wunna bide 
there lang." 

The clouds were now advancing in dark volumes, 
with their hard masses rent, as it were, from top to bot- 
tom : the thunder travelled sullenly amongst the distant 
chain of mountains i;^ darker and darker still grew the 
huge form of Ben-y-gloe ; slowly, determined, but still 
onward came the solemn mass; for a while it seemed to 
rest behind the heights of Caim-mamoc, whilst the sun 
cast a last grim smile on its heathery braes. 

** I am thinking we shall have a blad of weet." 

^^ I have a slight suspicion of that myself, Maclaren, 
so we may as well go to Cairn Derig Beg, where the 
hill is steep, and we shall be more in the beild." 

The rising wind came rustling on with a mournful 
sound; then, as it swelled into a raging blast, down at 
once fell the drenching torrent ; and the big drops lash>- 
ing along the moor, gave back a spray like the dashing 
of a waterfall : louder and louder the' thunder echoed 
from hill to hill, till it died far away on the rugged peak 
of Schehalien. 

^^ I ken this Beg is no fit place for Christian men in 
the fire-fiaught. The day is mischancy, and sure as 
4eith something will happen, for I heard the lament 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



158 SPORTSMEN STRUCK BT A TBUKDBRBOLT. 

sung yesterday in the gloaming, and well I ken it came 
from no living mouth.'* 

" Did you see your taishe, Peter ?" 

'^ I munna tell what I saw ; but it was that I wudna 
like to see again; and sin' I hae trod the hills, I never 
saw sic fire as this." 

The storm was indeed awful. Tortoise was sitting 
under the hill, — Peter Fraser was on his left, — « Mac- 
laren and Jamieson were close to his right and front, 
and Sandy Macintosh was with the hounds at a little 
distance* 

The thunder clouds were now vertical; no interval 
between the fire and the crash, but both instantaneous, 
like the volleying of heavy ordnance:—- another vivid 
flash, and a loud, piercing, and protracted shriek was 
heard from Fraser. The men were driven abroad, as if 
an engine of war had burst amongst them : each had 
received a violent shock — all of them in the legs ; but, 
providentially, no one had sustained a serious injury. 
When the first surprise was over, they began to try their 
powers of moving. Fraser limped like Vulcan; but 
after certain moans, and a little rubbing of their legs, 
and skipping about to try their powers, all were soon 
sensible that they were as sound as ever. 

It was evident, from their yelling, that the dogs had 
received a violent shock also. 

The hurricane now bore away, raging and driving 
onward to the west. The peals were longer, but less 
loud. Tlien came down the rear storm in one contin- 
uous sheet of water, and soon the awful voice died away 
in distant murmurs. The weather gleam began faintly 



Digitized by vJjOOQIC 



WILLIE ROBSRTSON's LAMENT. 169 

to appear behind Ben«y-gloe, growing more vivid as the 
dark mass rolled onward; at last, the sun broke forth 
once more — the winds were at rest — and all around 
looked serene and fiur as in the morning. You would 
not have known that this thing had been, but for the 
small pools, or lappies, as they are called, which now 
glittered in the sun, and the streams working their 
way rapidly through the bogs, and coursing down to the 
bums. Those bums which but a short hour ago crept 
lazily through the mossy stones, were now filled with a 
raging, turbid torrent, rolling onwards, irresistible in 
its course^ as the lava-streams of a volcano ; — all then 
is passed, and the moor is still again. 

« You're no thinking of the taishe now, Peter.** 
*^ Ou ! but I'm thinking my legs are all arred, and 
that the fire-flaught is in them still, and will no be out 
of them the nicht : and do you no ken that yon point 
from which the storm came, is Caim-na-gour, and that 
it was frae that vera tapmoet hill that Willie Robertson, 
the auld forester, him that used to kill the outlying deer 
by Gaig, sung the lament. It was foreby that Beg he 
stood, and showed John Crerar the tops ava the high 
hills, from Aberdeenshire to Inverness-shire, and ca'd 
them by name, beginning at Tarff Forest in Atholl, and 
passing on to the taps of the Argyleshire hills, and to those 
of Lochhaber, Inverness, aud Aberdeenshire, where he 
said he had spent mony a pleasant day. He turned round 
the tap of the hill, and disappeared. Crerar turned round 
a wee whilie after, and spied him nearly a mile aifon his 
way hame; he followed and o'ertook him, and found 
him sorrowfrtl, and the tears falling from his e'en. He 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



160 macintyrb's dhath^ 

said, ' I shall never see again what I hae seen the day;^ 
and troth, he never did. He died at the great age of 
ninety-two.*' 

<<Ah, poor fellow, and loth, very loth was he to 
leave his dear hills; for when Stewart, the ground officer, 
asked him if he thought himself in danger, he said that 
he knew he was dying, and that he had little chance of 
ever seeing the Duke again in this world ; but he hoped 
that when his Grace was taken away also, he would meet 
him at heaven's gate, and welcome him in. He then be- 
gan praying ; and, in the middle of his prayer, asked 
Stewart, * If it was true that his Grace was going to 
make a road up Glen Mark and Glen Dirrie.' Stewart 
told him ' that was only a joke.' William answered, 
* that making the road would be no joke.' 

<^ But he enjoyed a long and happy life, and I hope 
you will not sing your coronach at an earlier age. It 
IS a custom, I believe, which all the old forresters have 
observed. I was near hearing poor gallant Macintyre 
sing his: you xaAy remember when he was lying ill 
at Forest Lodge, and I had my quarters there, how, 
in the midst of bis fever, he would rave about the deer ; 
how his spirit was ever on the hills, whilst his body was 
lying on a sick bed; how wildly he talked of Ben-y-gloe, 
Craig-crochie, Glen Croinie, and all the glens and 
mountains that had so often echoed to the crack of his 
rifle; you may bear in mind how near he then was to 
the grave of his fathers. It chanced I did him some 
little common act of kindness, such as no one but an 
honest-hearted Highlander would have thought about for 
a moment. He wished, he said, he might get well, that 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



t>£ER SEEN ON Tl!^ MOVE/ 161 

he might have the pleasure of taking me into the deer 
— how fine he would do it ! These were the last words 
I ever heard from his mouth, and surely they were kind 
ones. Poor fellow, on that day I sent him down to 
Uair in an easy carriage, to be nearer the doctor : he 
lived but a short space afterwards. Long before this, 
however, he was aware that his life was ebbing ; for when 
Mr. Landseer painted his portrait, he looked at it sor* 
rowfttUy, and said, < An if that's like Macintyre, he's no 
long for this world.' Too truly did he prophesy,— 
peace be with him. 

^^ And now we will see if we can kill a hart in honour 
of his memory ; and we will pour over the beast libations 
of right Loch Rannoch, the fumes whereof will be 
grateful to his shade." 

Peter Frcuer {Umchinghis cap), *^ That would be shame- 
fol waste, yer honour; Macintyre himsel aye poured 
itintill his weem, and I'm thinking his ghaist would like 
to see us pit it in the same gait, and not gie it to a dead 
beastie, who will no ken whether it be lowland stuff, or 
richt Loch Rannoch." {Then laying his arm upcn Tor* 
ioise)y '* Hist, hist, sir; some fashous body has dis- 
turbit the moor. Look to yon deer; they are coming 
owr from the east by the green knows, and ganging on 
slowly to Crag Urrard. What shall we do ? we maun lie 
doon on the heather, for we are lockit in, and canna 
win forrat a fut the noo. The banks of the Banavie are 
steep, and the pass to Crag Urrard is narrow ; but we 
are owr iar awa to rin intill them at ony gait; but 
your Honor gangs wi' lang strides doon the brae, and ye 

M 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



162 WEATHW AGAIN UNPROPITIOUS. 

may mak a push for it when they are owr the hill ; but 
ye maun gang your best." 

•* They are going slowly, Peter, and I do not aIto-» 
gether despair ; it is a long run, but we have no other 
chance at any rate. The worst of it is, that this long 
heather, which appears so even, is full of large grey 
stones that lie hid in it on purpose to bi*eak honest hill* 
men's l^s, and yours are all arred with the fire*^flaught, 
you know, Peter. But we will not heed a spruned 
ankle or broken leg or two in such a cause^ though the 
chance be a wild one.'' 

Tortoise now began to measure with his eye the long 
distance to the pass, which seemed to be about a mile 
and a half, and then to consider how long the deer 
would probably be in crossing, after they had sunk 
down the hill out of sight of the stalkers ; it would be a 
race against time, and his calculation was an ]anfaTOur- 
able one. 

In the midst of this anxiety they had not observed 
that the weather was again brewing up in the south ; 
and the rain began to fall thick and heavy ; they now 
judged that the deer had not been disturbed by any 
traveller, but were slowly shifting their ground to get 
under the hill to the leeward, for they did not lookback 
to the point from which they came, or show any jealousy; 
neither were they in any hurry, but walked slowly, 
stopping occasionally to feed. During thig tedious time 
the rs^n fell heavily, and came trickling through the 
bonnets of tlie recumbents. Could they have been 
posted in concealment one short half-mile nearer, all 
this they would have borne patiently, as they had borne 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



VAMPED-UP COURAGE. 163 

it many a time and oft. But now that the chance was 
almost nothing, — cold, rheumatism, and all the ills that 
flesh is heir to^ appeared in sad and hideous array 
before Tortoise's imagination; and, as the cast was 
now nearly ended, the base thought of going home- 
ward, without waiting for the chance, came across his 
mind. 

Hear it not, O noble shade of stout Glengarry ; you 
who would lie abroad in cavern or in moss for nights 
together, the grey stone or the drifted snow your pillow ; 
you who would swim through lakes and flooded rivers, 
alike heedless of the tempest and all the barriers that 
rugged nature threw across your course — hear not, I 
beseech you, the recreant thought that came across our 
mind. Alas, had not your generous spirit departed 
prematurely ; had not the mournful sound of your co- 
ronach been borne on the hollow blast through your 
rocky glens and mountains, lamented as you were by 
many a true heart and brave clansman ; oh, had you 
still lived, buoyant in all your strength and national 
spirit, I would have sung lo Pceans to your triumphs ; 
though, after this confession, candid as it is, your heart 
never would have warmed towards me again, which 
you once told me it did, as being the descendant of a 
borderer. 

The thought of going to the halls of Blair, however, 
with the deer in view, was transient as it was degenerate ; 
and to do ourselves justice, never would have occurred 
to us for a moment, had not the cast been nearly finished, 
the chance almost as nothing, and had not visions of 
warm fires, hospitality, and happiness, floated invitingly 

M 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



164 MAKING A DASH. 

firound the old towers of the castle, already in view ; in 
other words, had we not at that moment been somewhat 
of a milksop. A blush came ov^ our storm-beaten 
cheeks ; we vamped up our wet courage, and were de- 
termined to await the event* 

Long, very long, did the party remain under the 
wrath of cloud-compelling Jupiter; for the pasture was 
good, and the deer were in no hurry to quit it; and, as 
the men were locked in, they could not move till the 
deer did. At length they began to draw on slowly over 
the hill ; two or three disappeared, others followed, but 
morc lagged behind. 

" Will they never go? Yes, yes, they seem to be all 
drawing on ; and now, by Jove, they are all fairly over^ 
except that jealous hind. Fix your glass steadily upon 
her, Peter, and do not speak tUl she shall be clearly out 
of sight when we are standing up; try it first on your 
knees, and raise yourself slowly." 

Fraser looked awhile, then shut up his glass rapidly,, 
saying, " Noo*s yer time, she is clean awa." 

Up they sprung, and away they went at high speed, 
steeped and drenched as they were with the rain which 
had never ceased for a moment. Sometimes they stuck 
almost knee deep in old heather, amidst large blocks of 
stone : these they sprang upon or twisted thek ankles 
between as it happened ; for such a swinging pace down 
hill precluded their arresting their steps for a moment. 
Soon they come to the great declivity, and look anx- 
iously to the opposite steeps of the Banavie. The deer 
were not going up : they had them below then ; but the 
descent was long, and they might still be baulked. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



UNEXPECTED SUCCESS. 165 

Down — down they rush behind a ridge of ground, 
stooping and peeping just to the north of the spot where 
the deer had passed. — " And now they cannot escape 
us; we must have them, for good or for evil/' 

The tops of their antlers were just in sight ; and down 
dropped the men at once, motionless, in the heather. 

The deer now advanced through the burn : Tortoise 
singled out the best harts, keeping his eye steadily upon 
them, and marking their precise course; but, as yet, 
moved not his rifle. They dashed, and splashed, and 
shifted places in such^a manner, that he judged it most 
prudent to wait till they were ascending the steep. He 
then had nearly their whole backs presented to his aim. 
When they were in this position, up at once he sprung, 
and discharged his three rifles in succession. 

At the first shot, a magnificent hart sunk down u()on 
his hind quarters, staggered, and rolled back lifeless into 
the burn: the ball of the second rifle passed down 
through the shoulders of another splendid fellow ; he 
fell forward, and was instantly dead. The last shot was 
fired too high, and only cracked against a stag's horn, 
which stunned him for a moment, but he soon recovered, 
and went oflF with the rest as well as ever. 

Nothing could surpass the joy of the party at this al- 
most unhoped-for success : they, canvassed the thing over 
and over again. It was a wonderful distance to come 
in from ; they never ran so well in all their lives ; — in 
short, they were prodigiously fond of themselves, — espe- 
cially as they had anticipated a blank day. They never 
chose to consider that the deer (who had not seen them 
till the last) were going very leisurely. 

M 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



166 DOGS FIGHTING* 

" Out now with the whiskey bottle, man, and we will 
make our promised libations in favour of the good old 
forester." 

Whilst honest Davy was extracting this desideratum 
from his pocket, one of the dogs slipped his collar, and 
seized the throat of the hart, which the men were lifting 
out from the burn, with savage ferocity ; being choked 
off when they gained the banks, he turned his wrath to- 
wards his friend in the leash, and these two blood- 
thirsty villains flew furiously at each other, and were 
parted at some risk and difficulty. This sort of conflict 
was, indeed, a very common occurrence ; it began with 
a low growl, then a grinning, and exposition of certain 
white teeth; then a setting up of bristles, a sudden 
spring, and war to the knife. 

<' Now then, all hands to work, and let us see if the 
fat of this fine fellow is bruised by the fall. No, I am 
sure it is not ; he feels quite firm and sound. Davy, 
you rogue, put the quaigh in your pocket, and gralloch 
the other deer, whilst we attend to this." 

The harts fell near the pine woods of Blair: a smart 
walk, varied with an occasional run, put in practice when 
their late feat came vividly over them, soon brought them 
to Blair. They no longer heeded the rain and the 
blast, but now rather rejoiced in it. 

** Forsan et hsc olim meminisse ju?abit." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



m., "%»»* 







Digitized by VjOOQIC 




CHAP. VI. 
FOREST OF ATHOLL. 

** There's the dae/ the rae, the hart, the hynde. 

And of a* wild beastis great plentie ; 
There's a fair castell of lyme, and stane, 

O gif it stands not pleasauntlie T' 

MinUreltjf of the Border. 

The celebrated forest of AthoU comprehends a vast 
tract of moor and mountain, extending, by hillman's 
computation, from the north^eastpoint joining Aberdeen- 
shire, to the south-west point joining Gaig Forest, about 
forty miles in length. The extreme breadth from the 
top of Skarsach, north side of Tarff, to Craig Urrard, 

M 4 



Digitized by 



Google 



168 



DESCRIPTION OF ATHOLL FOREST. 



Mr. John Crerar thinks cannot be less than eighteen 
miles, but it diminishes in breadth at the extremities. 
It measures 135,451 imperial adres* 

The following table will show how it is divided and 
appropriated. 

Contents of the AthoU Deer Forest^ Sfc. 



1 

1 


Imperial Measure. 


Foreit Ground. , Groine Groond. 


Acret^ 1 Acres. 


1. Glenfernate - - 


. 


10,720-15387 


2. Felaar and Tarff - 


10,089-46760 


11,350-65106 


3. GlentUt, Benygloe, 






andLoch Valligan 


26,484-85245 


5/)44 -73380 


4. Riechlachrie and 






Benychatt 


10,089-46760 




5. Glenbruar - -' 


5,044 •73S80 


7,567-10070 


6. Glen-Crombie and ■ 






Kyrachan - . 


. 


7,56710070 


7. AldvoulinaAdClunsj 


. 


8,828-28415 


8. Dalnacardoch and 






Wood Sheal - - | 


. 


6,936-50897 


9. Dalnaspidd and' 






Mealnaletroch - 1 


- 


18,287-16000 


10. Bohespick and 






Strathtummel - • 
Total - 


- 


7,440-98235 


51,708-52145 . 83,742-58959 



Total 



{Forest Ground 51,708*521 \ loe aki.iia ♦ 
Grouse Ground 83,742-589 J ^^^»*^* "O- 



The part of the forest which is kept for deer stalking, 
it will be remarked, is 51,708 imperial acres, and is 
bounded chiefly on the west by Craig Urrard and the 
river Bruar ; on the north by the Tarff ; on the east by 
the Felaar grouse ground; and on the south by the cul-^ 
tivated grounds and woods of Blair. Deer, however, 
are occasionally to be found beyond these limits — par- 

^ * The names of the various hill tops are given in the Appendix. 



Digitized by 



Google 



PROBABtrE NUMBER OF DEER. 169 

ticolarly hinds: in a north wind, indeed, an inexpert or 
rash deer stalker would send vast numbers out of this 
ground, and if they were still pursued and followed 
with pertinacity, they might be driven into other forests 
and remain there some time. 

AU this vast tract is reserved exclusive.y for deer, 
with a slight exception as to Glen Tilt, where sheep are 
occasionally permitted to pasture. In 1786, the sheep 
were removed from the north side of Glen Tilt, and from 
the south, or Ben-y-gloe side, about ten years afterwards. 
In the year 1776, when Mr. John Crerar went to Blair, 
the number of deer in all the forest did not probably 
exceed 100 ; though some small herds have wandered 
in it from time immemorial. The great increase took 
place in the year above-mentioned, when Forest Lodge 
was built, the sheep and cattle were removed, and the 
hills were thus kept free from disturbance. Favoured 
and protected as they now were, the increase became 
very rapid; so that of late years their numbers were 
computed at about seven thousand; but I always thought 
this an exaggerated statement ; for I once saw on the 
same day all the deer driven down from the east, and 
a second drive also from Glen Crinie ; I then fell back 
north before the deer had crossed Glen Tilt, and came 
to Blair by the western cast and the lower grounds ; so 
that, with the exception of such as happened to be on 
Ben-y-gloe, I must have then seen almost all that the 
forest comprehended, as the wind was full south; 
making all allowances, I should estimate the number at 
between five and six thousand. On this day I killed 
seven fine harts. The hinds are of course far more nu- 
merous than the harts, as none but yeld hinds are killed 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



170 SIZE OF ATHOLL DEER. 

except by accident. It must be allowed, however, that 
these accidents happen pretty often, and indeed, in almost 
every deer-drive ; for young sportsmen will fire at all 
hazards when they have rifles in their hands — aye^ and 
old ones too, sometimes. 

It is thought that the harts in AthoU Forest are 
inferior in point of size to those in other districts; 
and from the weight of stags killed elsewhere, an 
account of which has been sent to me, I am forced 
to come to the same conclusion. As the pastures 
are excellent almost everywhere, and particularly rich 
on the north brae of Ben-y-gl6e, this inferiority in point 
of size cannot be attributed to the incapacity of the 
ground to produce larger animals. It arises, I think, 
from a very obvious cause -^ Blair being in the high 
road to the north, almost every sportsman that came 
from England profited of its hospitality, and participated 
in its amusements ; thus there never was a day in the 
season when the wind was favourable, in which the deer 
were not disturbed to the utmost limit that the forest 
would admit of. Some of the best harts were killed 
oif, to the number of 100 or ISO, or perhaps more in 
each season ; and many others I imagine (and these the 
largest), found their position so unquiet, that they sought 
the forests of Gaig and Braemar, and deserted that of 
AthoU, where they were continually driven, and kept in 
a state of perpetual alarm. It is evident that no animal 
could arrive at his proper dimensions under such ha- 
rassing circumstances. 

But many people were deceived as to the actual size 
of the AthoU harts, from the custom of reckoning there 
by Dutch weight, whilst others used the imperial. Now 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



cumyn's cairn. 171 

as Dutch weight is seventeen ounces and a half to the 
pound, and sixteen pounds to the stone, the difference 
is most material. The weight, too, was given not as the 
deer stood, but after he had been gralloched. 

But if the pastures are fine, the ground also is in 
all other respects the most favourable that can be ima* 
gined for a forest. Mountains of various altitude, open 
sunny corries, deep glens and ravines, holes for solitary 
harts to hide in, and numerous rolling pools, burns also 
and rivers, and large pine woods to shelter them during 
the inclement season. 

The two highest mountains in the forest are Ben-y- 
gloe and Ben Dairg or the Red Mountain. Ben-y-gloe 
is of vast magnitude, and comprehends a little territory 
within itself, stretching its huge limbs far and wide. It 
is computed to be twenty-four Scotch miles in circum- 
ference, and it contains twenty-four corries; these cor- 
ries, though contiguous, are separated from each other by 
such high ridges, that a person standing in one of them 
could not hear a shot fired in the next. The highest 
point of the mountain is Cairn-na-gowr, or the Goat's 
Hill, which is 3725 feet above the level of the sea. On 
the eastern side of Ben-y-gloe lies Loch Loch, abounding 
in char and trout ; and near it stands Cumyn's Cairn, 
concerning which tradition has given us the following 
story: — 

About the beginning of the thirteenth century the 
authority of the district was divided between the family 
of Cumyn Earl of Badenoch, and Mcintosh of Tirinie. 
The latter had presented Cumyn's lady with a present 
of twelve cows and a bull ; but this substantial donation, 
so far from exciting the gratitude of the chief, only raised 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



172 HIGHLAND VENGEANCE. 

his envy and cupidity, and he resolved to strip his neigh*- 
hour of his opulence. He surrounded Mcintosh's castle 
of Tomafour, situated about a mile from his own castle 
of Blair Athole, and in the silence of midnight massacred 
the whole family. Near Mcintosh's seat lived an old 
man who held a piece of land of him, for which he only 
paid the rent of a bonnet yearly ; and he always got his 
master's bonnet back again. This man was the first who 
entered the castle after the murder, and casting his eyes 
round on the scene of death, fortunately discovered an 
infant sleeping in its cradle. He carried away the chQd 
to its nearest relative, Campbell of Achnabreck, in Ar- 
gyleshire, and there the boy was nurtured, unconscious 
of the melancholy story of his parents. It was judged 
prudent to conceal his birth for some time, as the Cu- 
myns were a powerful race, whom it was perilous to 
offend. The boy grew, and became an excellent bow- 
man ; his aged conductor used to go occasionally to see 
him, and perceiving his dexterity in hitting the mark, 
said one day, ^ The grey breast of the man who killed 
your father is broader than that target.' This led to a 
recital of the whole transaction. Even the young Laird 
burned for revenge ; and he succeeded in obtaining a 
select band of clansmen to share in his feelings. They 
went to Cumyn's castle, and assailed him with a shower 
of arrows. His followers were scattered, and the guilty 
chief Bed to Loch Rannoch, Glen Firnat, and thence to 
Glen Tilt, hotly pursued by his injured adversary. 
At length, as he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from 
his forehead, he was struck with an arrow, and fell by 
the side of a small lake at the foot of Ben-y-gloe, where 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FATAL ACCIDENT. 173 

a cairn was raised to perpetuate his crime and its puni^* 
ment. 

The above story is yet current in the country, and 
the remains of Mcintosh's castle may still be seen* 
There is a rock in the Tilt called Mcintosh's Chair^ 
where he held his court, his people standing round 
him ; happily he could only do so when the water was 
very low, as he hung a man every time. It is still a 
bye-word in the country that " It is not every day 
Mcintosh can hold his court*" 

A j&tal accident happened at Craigantsuidh, near PoU 
Tarf, about sixty or seventy years ago : and here follow 
the particulars, as I have received them : — 

Alexander Macgregor, a resident in Glen Tilt, was 
travelling with two companions on the face of Craigan- 
tsuidh, which is very rugged and precipitous. It was 
at that time covered with snow, and sheets of ice were 
found in various places, which frequently conducted to 
the ledge of a precipice. In an evil hour Macgregor> 
unconscious of the danger, placed his foot on one of 
these perilous spots, which conveyed his body over a 
deep precipice, and his soul to eternity. 

His two companions took his corpse into a shepherd's 
hut, where they proposed leaving it that night, until 
they procured assistance. 

The one said to the other, ^^ Will you go to Felaar 
for assistance, or remain all night with the body?" He 
replied he would go to Felaar for assistance. The 
Camerons were there at this time in the capacity of 
foresters. He was scarcely gone, ere the man, who 
remained with the body, was pelted with* stones and 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



174 PRINCIPAL OLENS OF ATHOLL FOREST. 

turf, and other missiles, till he was provoked to go ont 
and see from what direction they were thrown. On 
bis going out they ceased; but the moment he re-entered, 
they began again with such increased violence that be 
would have been stoned to death had he not left the 
houscr 

The country people attributed this attack to the 
omission of leaving the door of the hut open to give a 
free passage to the departing spirit* People will form 
their own conclusions on this and similar stories. I 
mention them as evidence of the superstitions feeling 
that still pervaded some secluded spots in the north. 

In the year 1804, one Duncan Robinson had a nar- 
row escape from the fall of an avalanche on Ben-y-gloe, 
but (more fortunate than Ma^regor) he saw the im- 
pending mass of snow tottering above him, and threw 
himself under a rock that was providentially by his side; 
the vast volume passed over him, and his life was thus 
spared ; but his dog perished. 

The principal glens in that part of the forest, which 
is set apart for deer, are the celebrated Glen Tilt, Glen 
Croinie*, Glen Mark, Glen Dirie, and Glen Brnar, — all 
bearing the names of the rivers that nm through them ; 
and all wbkh rivers (save the Tilt) run from north to 
south nearly in a parallel direction. 

The Dirie falls into the Mark ; the Mark rushes into 
the Tilt ; and the waters of the Bruar lose themselves 
in those of the Garry. The Grarry itself may also be 
considered as within the precincts of the forest. Towards 
the north is the TariF, which runs nearly from west to 
* This is usually pronounced Olen Crinie. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



^Qt£N TILT. 176 

east with a bearing towards the south; and it falls into 
the Tilt at the bead of the glen. The Croinie also falls 
into the same rirer* There is likewise a lesser stream, 
called ^^Auld Banavie,*' oa the western side of the 
forest, which runs beneath Crag Urrard ; the latter part, 
of its course is Aill of wild and picturesque character : 
it is swallowed up in the waters of the Garry. 

Salmon come up the Tilt in full waters, and are taken 
with the fly ; and all the other rivers are so full of smaU 
trout, that any one who pleases may catch as many 
dozens in a day as he can conveniently carry. These 
streams work their way in solitude throi^h dreary 
mosses^ wad come winding down the glens sometimes in 
comparative tranquillity, and at others bursting and 
rooting up every thing about them; the migh^ force 
with which they descend may be read in the vast rocks 
and fragments of wreck which they heap up as monu* 
ments of their power. 

Supjplied by such numerous forces, the Tilt becomes 
powerful in its infancy. Bom in rugged regions, it cleaves 
its way, at the base of impending mountains and rocky 
precipices^ in a dark, deep, and narrow trench. Arrived 
at the green pastures of Ben-y-^loe, its bed begins to 
expand, and the waters pass down in a freer course ; still 
however they come raeing and flashing along with over- 
whelming violence. 

A little lower its wrath is tempered with all the oms^ 
ment that art and nature can bestow. First of all a few 
straggUfig trees deds: its margin; then groups of birdi 
stand airy and light, displayii^ their glossy stems upon 
the knolls, or shelving down the sides of the great 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



176 SCENERY OF OtEN TILT. 

mountain, vivid as it here is with luxuriant pasture* 
The woods now skirt the braes in larger masses, winding 
on the hill sides and conforming themselves to the varied 
undulations of the surface. They press closely on the 
river where the valley is contracted, and their branches 
wave over it, and shed the sear leaf in the stream. Some 
of the masses are dense; others admit the sunbeam, 
striking on the scarlet berries of the mountain ash, and 
bringing out the rich autumnal tints of the brachen 
which grows beneath them. All soon uniting in mass, 
gathers into larch and pine forest, and at length mingles 
with the woods of Blair. 

The pass itself is barred in by the grim mountains 
that heave their dun backs about it and send down 
many a torrent from their riven ribs* A good road 
winds along the braes, catching and losing the waters 
as it pierces the gloom of the woods, or breaks forth 
into light and expanse. Picturesque bridges are thrown 
across the river, and everything has been done that con- 
summate judgment could effect to temper the wild scene 
with beauty and convenience; to temper, but not to 
destroy it; that indeed, if advisable, were almost be- 
yond the power of man. Stem and indomitable as the 
wrath of Achilles, the Tilt ever holds its mood, and comes 
raging on, wheeling in eddies, rushing in cataracts, or 
spreading into pools, bearing along with it at times 
huge fragments of rock that form uncouth islands in its 
channel, upon which the stricken deer stands dominant 
at bay; still ceaseless it races onward, fretting and foam- 
ing, till at length its mad career is arrested in the less 
turbulent waters of the Garry. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



MARBLE QUARRIES. 177 

After the storm this river speaks in a voice of thunder, 
and quells every noise around it ; but when the winds 
are hushed, and the weather gleam streaks the sky from 
afar, and the rain drops glitter in the sunshine, some 
sylvan sounds may occasionally be heard — the solitary 
croak of the raven's voice as he sits boding on the crags, 
the distant bellow of the hart, or the scream of the eagle 
felling faintly on the ear from the skies above. [In a 
grey day the mountains around are stern and dark, and 
there is gloom all up the glen; so that when the eye 
travels to the small opening at the distant gorge, you 
look out at the bright light of heaven as from the mouth 
of a cavern.] 

But it is in the clear day of autumn that this scene is 
most enjoyable, when the air is invigorating, and when 
the sunbeams strike down the summits, and the light 
falls on the glossy stems of the birchen grove, warms the 
grey rock and the greensward, and brings forth all the 
rich hues of decaying foliage. Yet even in the broad 
evidence of a meridian sun, whilst the light leaves trem- 
ble and sparkle in its beams, and countless objects stand 
prominent, luminous, and defined, there are vast masses 
of dark pines unrevealed and impervious to its genial 
influence, and deep flat shadows that leave much in 
mystery and obscurity. 

The whole of this glen, in a scientific point of view, is 
interesting in the highest degree ; to a geologist there is 
none more so throughout Scotland. A quarry has been 
t)pened above Marble Lodge, which contains immense 
blocks of marble, varying from grass green into one of a 
yellower cast, and intermixed with grey. The best 

N 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



178 ROE DEER. 

blocks take a good polMi ; and they sui*pa«s fti teauty all 
analogous subjects of British origin. The 'tt^atisportation 
of such a heavy material, however, is not ettsy, as tb^ Tay 
is not navigable above Perth. 

There is also ^ beautiful yellow marble to be dbtained, 
which is mottled with white; as likewise a course 9Wt<t( 
white marble polluted with grey sti^aks. 

In the forest tiiere are four 'mineral i^rings : 1 tim 
not aware that they 'have been analysed, but many fito 
incautious hill-man can attest their efficacy. Ohe of 
them issues at the side of Loch Mark, one at Doaldte, 
north from Felaar House, and tW6 at thfe top <of the 
burn, at Inverslanie. The two last are named I>uke 
James's Wellb. 

There are a great many roe deer in the forest which 
feed chiefly in the woods, or on the ftioor immediately 
adjoining them, btft are'n^er seen far out on the hills. 
They do not unite in herds, but live in separate ikmilies. 
In favourable seasons, aboiit one roe out of five ^r six 
will produce two fawns. * As a singular proof of iheir 
attachment to their young, I here transcribe an t>cciir- 
rence that has been obligingly sent me by my emineac 
friend. Sir David Brewster. 

" Near Belleville, in Inverness-shire, there is a finfely 
wooded range of rocks, containing Borlam'sf 'Cave; the 

* Various writers make the proportion of twins much greater, 
but this is Mr. John Crerar's calculation. 

f Tradition says, that, whilst this ruthless villain was in the act of 
burying a man whom he had robbed and murdered, he was dbcovered 
by a clansman, who rebuked him. Afraid of legal retribution, he 
struck the intruder down with his spade, jammed him at once into 
the earth, and buried both bodies in the same grave* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LilKE$. 170 

haunt of the laeft Highland cateran^ who was pi«oprielor 
of Belleville. In cutting a path to thk cave* one of the 
party of .Highland labourers, whocn I took with me for 
that purpose^ .asked me if I had seen the iC^ning (wean- 
ing) tree of the roe deer, and pointed out one close by 
u% whicby but for this notification, would have fallen 
under the axe. This tree was a small birch that stood 
nearly in the middle of a Tegular oval rin^ fbrjned and 
trodden down with the feet of the roe deer, who run 
round .and round the tree, followed by their young, in 
order to amuse them at the time when they are weaned. 
My informant assured me that he had seen the deer en« 
gaged in this sport, and I have myself seen and shown 
to others the footmarks of the old and young deer in 
different parts of the ring round the birch tree : at one 
end of the ring there was a small oval, giving the whole 
the appearance of the figure QO*" 

These beautiful animals, however, who for the most 
part lead such a tranquil and domestic life, are animated 
with fury like the red deer during the season of rutting. 
In the summer of 1820, two roebucks were discovered 
in a deep holloiife one above the other, moat firmly 
united in the following singular manner : — The horns 
of the uppermost one were twisted in the skin behind 
the shoulders of the one beneath, and those of the latter 
were twisted in a similar manner in the shouldei's of the 
buck above him. Both were found dead in this dreadful 
position. 

There are seven lakes in the forest — Loch Tilt, 
Loch Mark, Loch Garry, Loch Hone, Loch Dhu, Loch 

N 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



180 MERIVT roAESTERS^ 

' Maligan, and Loch Loch ; the last abounds in char^ 
and on its bank stands Cumyn's Cairn. 

There are two hunting lodges in Glen Tilt -— Forest 
Lodge, and Marble Lodge. The latter is a mere station; 
the former was built in 1776, and has lately been en- 
larged. It is constructed without afFectation of orna- 
ment, and consists of two tenements united by a stone 
screen surmounted by stag's horns, and in which ther6 
is an archway for carriages to pass.* One of these tene^ 
ments serves for the lord of the forest and his friend^ 
and the other for his retinue. Tlie foresters and gillies, 
however, are so numerous, that I have often wondered 
by what means so many human beings could be packed 
together in so close a space. So it is, however ; and 
instead of complaining of inconvenience, every man is 
as happy as if he were sole possessor of the great bed at 
Ware. As a proof of this good feeling, and the general 
spirit that pervades the hill- men, I transcribe a song 
made by Alexander, an old and faithful servant of the 
late Duke of AthoU, who lived with him eighteen years, 
and now lies buried in the cathedral at Dunkeld. This 
composition was sung every night at Forest Lodge when 
Maddy was there; and, whatever may be thought of the 
poetry, is as good an evidence of the sort of thing going 
on as I can possibly give. Here it is in its pure doggerel 
state. I have not attempted to spoil its character by the 
alteration of a single word : — 

* This part of the building, 1 am told, has been re-constructed in 
a different manner by the late tenant, the Duke of Buccleugh. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FOREST SONG. 181 



ON SEEING LORD CATHCART ARRIVE AT BLAIR 
ONE MORNING EARLY. 

O, Campbell*, man, I muckle dread 

That we shall have a tramp ; 
The Commander in Chief f so soon a stear, 

I fear we must flit our camp. 

But if to Felaar we do march off, 

As I muckle dread we may ; 
Some Athole brose before we go 

Campbell and I shall hae. 

The journey's long and rugged too. 

Some waters for to cross ; 
Some hills to climb — but worst of all — 

Is troughing through the moss. 

When at Felaar we do arrive, 

How pleasing 'tis to see 
At night the harts and birds come home 

In dozens twa or three. 

John Crerar he «pies out the harts. 

My Lord Duke does shoot them ; 
Curly t he does bring them home, 

And Campbell he does cook them. 

* Campbell was cook in the Atholl family upwards of sixty years; 
but for several years before he died acted as hill-cook onlyr 

j- Lord Cathcart was commander of the forces in Scotland at 
that time. 

X John Forbes, christened Curly by the Duke, from his hair being 
much curled, attended his Grace upwards of twenty years to the 
hill with two horses, to bring home the dead deer to Blair. This 
man knew every part of the forest, and could be directed to find 
the dead deer, though lying twenty miles distant from Blair. He 
died about fourteen years ago, aged about seventy. 

N 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



182 BEN DAIRO. 

Tho' Campbell carries nothing there 

But just a pan and brander; 
He can aoon eook a dinner rare 

For the Duke or Alexander. 

And when our kites is a' weel cram'ed 

With ilka thing that's rare, 
Then to the toddy we sit down 

Each nrmn to drink his share. 

Lang life to you, Campbell, 

To stear i^ut the toddy ; 
Of a* the friends I ever ken't 

Ye are a dainty body. 

Next to bed we do prepare 

The best way we are able ; 
There is twenty lies upon the floor 

And Maddy on the table. 

From wa' to wa' all in a row 

Like herring on a plate ; 
The man that durst our camp attack. 
' My faith be '11 no be blate. 

Such a regiment of Highland men. 

The Duke and Lord Cathcart; 
I am convinced th^r would defy 

The devil and Buona{iarte« 

Ben Dairgy or Derig^ a& it is usually pronounced^ the 
mountain next in consequence to Ben-y-gloe, is 3^550 
feet in height. It lies about ten miles north from l^ir; 
its summit is covered with immense blocks of gneiss and 
granite of a reddish colour, from whence it derives its 
name of the Red Mountain. This chaos of huge frag- 
ments is the favourite haunt of the ptarmigan and white 
hare, though the perilous den of the fox and wild cat 
is there also, and the eagle preys around it* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LAST EXECUTION AT BLAIR. 183 

The south side of this mountain forms a, vast crescent), 
^ horns lying w?sf; $ind east. 

I must not omit to mention more particularly another 
Vioumt^^^ which liesy between Glen Ma,rk and Glen 
Crpinie: it is called Cmrn-Marnicl^ : cuirn is the 
plural of cairn, and marnich of maronach : — ^^ The 
cairns of l;he Braemar people." These cairns are six- 
teen in number, and were raised by the AthoU men to 
comuQiemorate a victory they obtained over the Braemar 
people^ whom th^y here overtook and slew to the number 
of sixteen, as they were returning home with plunder 
from their country. Tradition says little about this 
foray, which, indeed^ was but vpon a small scale. It is 
a boast of the men of Atholl, that they never were beaten 
by their neighbours in open fight, such having always 
proved fatal to their adversaries ; so that the only loss 
they ever suffered wajB by stealth and stratagem. 

This they are still proud of. Alexander Gon, from 
Blair, was once in Braemar, when the company he 
was with began to banter the Atholl men for lack of 
courage. Up he started on his legs, and striking the 
table with his clenched knuckles, exclaimed in the stern 
spirit of a clansman, ^^ Remember, lads, who have 
the Cuirn Marnich." This effectually silenced the 
banterers. 

Turning from such lawless procedings I will now 
give an account of the last public judicial execution 
that took place at Blair. 

About the beginning of the sixteenth century, the 
Earl of Atholl had two foresters named Stewart and 
Macintosh : the former resided at Auchgoul, and the 

N 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



184 LAST EXECUTION AT BLAIR. 

latter at Dalnachie; both in Glen Tilt Macintosh 
bad also a bothy at Coirrerennich on Ben-y-gloe, where 
he occasionally slept. 

One day after shooting together, they resolved to 
sleep at this bothy ; they had only a gilly or servant 
with them belonging to Macintosh ; the two foresters 
slept in one bed, and the gilly in another. Whilst 
Macintosh slept, Stewart stabbed him with his skian- 
dubh ; and going to the giUy's bed, stabbed him also, 
and put him on Macintosh, that it might be supposed 
one had killed the other. He left them both for dead,' 
and made the best of his way home* 

Soon after his departure the gilly began to recover a 
little from the wound he had received, and contrived to 
crawl on his hands and knees to Dalnachie which he 
reached next morning, and gave information of the 
murder of his master. When Stewart heard that the gilly 
had escaped with life, and that the murder was dis- 
covered, he fled to Lord Reay's country in Sutherland, 
which had the privilege in those days of protecting 
criminals from justice. 

In the mean time the Earl of AthoU being informed 
of what had taken place, was determined to bring 
Stewart to justice, and sent a man named Macadie, 
who knew Stewart well, dressed as a beggar, to discover 
if he was still in Sutherland. He soon returned with 
intelligence of Stewart's being there, and the earl sent 
a strong party with Macadie (still disguised as a beggar) 
with instructions to bring back the murderer, dead or 
alive. 

On the arrival of the party at Lord Reay's country, 
hearing that Stewart was to attend a wedding on a cer- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ARREST OF A MURDERER. 185 

tain day, they agreed to surround the house where the 
ceremony was to take place, piretty late at night. Mac- 
adie was to enter, and drink Stewart's health ; and this 
was to be the signal that the person they sought for was 
within. This being settled, Macadie entered, and drank 
Stewart's health, who, finding he was discovered, bolted 
6ot of the house, and was immediately surrounded and 
secured by the party stationed without, who took him to 
Logierait, where he was confined some time, and finally 
condemned to be hung and gibbeted. The sentence was 
carried into execution at Blair; and this man was the 
last person who was hung there. 
• The motive for this foul act did not transpire ; but it 
was supposed that it was perpetrated for the sake of 
involving the murderer urith the sort of horrid conse- 
quence that was attached in those days to the most 
daring delinquents. An obelisk was placed on the spot 
where the execution took place, by Duke James, in 
1735; and the mound is still called " The Hangsman's 
Mount." 

The forest of AthoU seems to have been celebrated 
for the sports it afforded for many ages. 

King Malcolm called Cean-Mohr (great head), who 
reigned in Scotland from 1056 to 1093, frequently 
hunted in it ; and many places in the forest are named 
after him, such as the King's Qtirn, &c. 

The Lord of AthoU Forest has the privilege of huntings 
over the Lude property; and the proprietor of the latter 
is obliged to keep his ground clear of cattle and sheep 
for the space of three weeks previous to a grand hunt, if 
desired to do so. This right was kept up for a consider- 
able period, but has not been exercised of late years. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



186. PALACE: IN THIS FORE$1« 

In Pisoottie tkeFe is n cleoei^lion oCan^eat^rtajomeajiA 
givea to. rogrelty by l;be lbir4 £firl of A^Mk wUbeh» 
however weU known, k ^ em 9ptendi<il w4 w^MW&l % 
dbaraeter, ^od so dir^% ta td^Q pi|rpQ9e» tl^i I ^WiV^i^ 
I thinks onit it mitb propr^y^ 

*^ In ]5S», Kil« Ji»pi09 ibel?ifthpQ06e4 U> th^. High* 
lands to fawnt in Athole, wd te^ with Uvk hi^ «)Qth^ 
Margvet, Queen of ScoUsjakI). wdaii ^Msb^mBnior of lb^ 
pope^ who was in S^tland fox- tht^ time^ Th^ 'E^^ o.f 
Atbole hearing of the Klo^s 0Q«r>i9g' mi^e grc^t. pro^vir 
»on for him in aU tbin^ pi^r^uM^g U^ 9^ pnoce^ tbAt 
he was well served and eased witk all ihMigs neeesmr^s 
to hist estateji as he had been in. bis( owi^ pabice of £din- 
burgh. For I heard say ^. noble earl g^xk wake- 1^ 
o«irioiis palace to the Kbg^ t0 bk me^her^ and to tln^ 
ambassador, where they were sq^ bonoimbly ea^ed 9sA 
lodged, as they had been ixk £^g)and» Fiwiee, It^ oir 
Spain, concerning the tux^, and equivalieiit for tbeir 
hunting and pastime; which was builded in the iiudsl 
of a fair meadow, a«fair palace of green timber, wind(l)l 
with green hirks (2) that we^e gfeen b«tb under and 
above, which was foshioned in four quarters^ and in 
evevy quarter and nutre thereof a great, rounds ai it had 
been a, block4iouse which waa lofted mid geisted the 
space of three house-heighlQ (3) ; (be Qoor^ }ajd nfith 
green scharets (4) and spreats (6), n^warts, (d) fu^ 

» ■■ ■ I III ■ ■■■ I I ■ i ; 1 n - " '^ I ■ "1 8 'F I ■ < ■ . ' ,1 ' J II m . .1.^ T mi l ■ 

1 « Whid,'* Wound, or bound, 
g *« Birks," Birch trees. 

3 '* Three house-heights/' Three stories high. 

4 " Scharets,'* Green turft. 

5 ** 8|>ieaU," Rushes. 

e ^* Me4wiMrt8,*' Bleadpw-swe^. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



HWIfLAND ClffBBIl. IB7 

flowerS) that no man knew wkereon be zeid (7) but a& 
he had been in » garden. Further, there were tw» 
great rounds in ilk side of the gate^and a great pevfr 
cttUieB of tree AJBiog^down with the manner of a barraee 
(8), with a draw«bridge^ and a great stank of water of 
sixteen fi^t deep> and thirty feet of breadth: and also 
the palace widiin was hung with fine tapestry^ and 
arrasses of silk, and lighted with fine glass windows in 
all airths (9) ; that this palace was. as pleasantly decored 
with all necessaries pertaining to a prince, as it had 
been in his own palace^rayal at home. Further^ thia 
earl gart make such provision for the king, and bis 
mother^ and the ambassador^ that they had all manner 
oi meats, drinks^ and delicates^ that were to be gotten at 
that time in all Scotland, either in burgh or land ; that 
is to say, ail kind of drink, as ale^ beer, wine, both 
white and claret, malyaay (10), muskadel, hippocras^ 
and aquavit®. Further there, was of meats, wheat 
bread, mainbread and gingerbread; with fleshes^ beef» 
mutton, lamb> veal, venison, goose, grice (11)^ tafoot, 
coney, eran, swan, partridge, plover, duck» drake, bris-* 
set coek (12), and pawnies (13), blade cock, nuirfowU 
and capercailies. And also the stanks that were round 
about the palace were full of all delicate fish, tts sahnonds^ 
trottis, poarcbes, pikes^ eels^ and all other kinds of deli- 

7 " Zeid," Sbt. 

8 ** Barrace," Barrier, an outwork at the gate of a castle. 

9 ** Airths," Quarter of the heaven ; point of the compass. 

10 ** Malvasj/' Malmsey wine. 

1 1 " Grice, or Gyrce," A young wild boar. 

12 " Brisset Cock," Turkey. 

13 ** Pawnies," Peacock. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



188 BURNING OF THE PALACE. 

Gate fish that could be gotten in fresh water, and all 
ready for the banquet; sjrne were there proper stew- 
ards, cunning baxters (14), excellent cooks and potin- 
gars (15), with confections and drugs for their desert. 
And the halls and chambers were prepared with costly 
bedding, vessels, and napry, according for a king ; so 
that he wanted none of his orders more than he had 
been at home in his own palace. The king remained 
in this wilderness at the hunting the space of three days 
and three nights, and his company, as I have shown. 
I heard men say it cost the Earl of Athole every day in 
expenses a thousand pounds. 

" The ambassador of the pope seeing this great ban- 
quet and triumph which was made in a wilderness where 
there was no town near by twenty miles, thought it a 
great marvel that such a thing could be in Scotland, 
considering how bleak and barren it was thought by 
other countries, and that there should be such honesty 
and policy in it, and especially in the Highland where 
there was but wood and wilderness. But most of all, 
this ambassador marvelled to see when the king departed, 
and all his men took their leave, t^ie Highlandmen set 
all this &ir place on fire, that the king and the ambas- 
sador might see it. 

^* Then the ambassador said to the king, < I marvel, 
sir, that you should thole (16) yon fair place to be burnt 
that your Grace hath been so well lodged in I ' Then 



14 •• Baxters," Bakers. 

15 " Potingars," Cooks who prepared herbs. 

16 *' Thole/* To bear with, not to oppose. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



KILMAVONAIO BEER. 189 

the king answered the ambassador, and said, ^ It is the 
use of our Highlandmen, though they be never so well 
.lodged, to burn their lodgings when they depart/ This 
being done, the king returned to Dunkeld that night. 
1 heard say that the king at that time in the bounds of 
.Athole and Stratheme, slew thirty score of harts and 
hjmde, with other small beasts, as roe and roebuck, wolf 
and fox, and wild cats.'' 

In the description of the Badenoch country I have 
recounted a story of Walter Gumming, who was killed 
by a fidl firom his horse the day previous to an uifamous 
exhibition which he meditated* The story is given pre- 
cisely according to the belief of that district I have 
since received more particulars of that event from the 
Atholl country, and from a source wholly imconnected 
with the previous one. The Badenoch authority says 
that Gumming was absent on some business in Atholl. 

The tradition there is that he was attempting to make 
a road between Blair, Atholl, and Badenoch. And the 
cause of his undertaking so enterprising a work is thus 
given, though probably his real reason was of a pre* 
datory nature : — 

Gumming and his wife (who were from Ruthven, or 
Ruairm, in Badenoch,) were passsing through Atholl, 
and on their arrival at Kilmavonaig, they went to a 
public-house to take some refreshment. On their en- 
trance they called for some beer, which was then the 
chief drink of the Highlands ; and being exceedingly 
pleased with it, were anxious to know where the several 
ingredients could be procured. The landlord^ who, like 
Boni&ce,.was loud in commendation of his own beer, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



190 WITCHB0. 

told them he received the unalt from Perth, amid ite 
iirtfter {rem AMnehearlain (a small rivulet which nws 
"Ibrough Kilmavmiaig)) whioh is the best kaowii forbeec. 

Oaraming thai resolv«d in his own mind in whdt 
imasiner^he might get the«ame Jngredients frann Bade* 
>noch cp^er the palChl^ds 'bills which lie between the 'two 
t^euntries ; as there wais no vetdlL it seemed tedious, najt, 
almost impossible to procure a ready and continued 
fitrpply. Upon surveymg the ground, he thoaght it 
might be prac^cable to make -a road, and he 'resolved 
upon the arduous undertaking. He drew a line irom 
Kibnavonaig through the woods of Craig Urrard, crossed 
the Bruar by Rieohlachrie, and so4>n almost in a straight 
line till it reached Gaig in Badenoch. He hired men, 
"and made a road as far as Cum-na-ieur, where the work 
"Was terminated in the following singular manner-: — 

There was a man at Ard-Ohaith «t Moolin named 
Mac«-Connoig, whose wife was a witch, and she resolved, 
with the assistance of another witch who lived in Croc 
fiarrodh, a smallvillage near her, to put a stop to Cum* 
tning's Road by their infernal magic ; they metamor^ 
phosed themselves into the form of eagles; for those 
who are in familiar alliance with Clootie obtain from 
•him the power of transformation. The Atholl tradition 
says, ^ it is not known whether Gumming ever injured 
them, or whether they bore him any malice or ill will." 
But the Badenoch history declares that these eagles were 
the transformed mothers of the girls whom he had com- 
manded to reap stark naked on the following day. 

Whatever they were, however, they took their flight 
till they came to Cumming's workmen, and by some 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Ml.'rtn? TO wirrcHcftArr. 191 

tfhHM tk^y dbpers^ tk^ Iri^, Snfd put tb^ fiat^es 
Md^bx^ to flight, till they "we^ driven over a great 
{NPecipice^ which wa* thence 'caHed Ouitt-na^fetir, Bt 
tiie Gart*8 Pt-e^ipice. 

Gumming, affrighted at 'ihe4satlt8trdphe^ tocfk to flight 
tftid^gkUop^off, pursued by the two winged witches; 
ftie did not, however, acquit himself so well ^ Tarn 
O^StOmter, for his body was 4oFn from his horse by the 
'^gles, the fleithstpipipediol^ and nothing remained in 
(|he atirrup but one of his legs. The horse stopped for 
It space 'On the banks 6f the TarfP; and the ^^)ot wheve 
lie paused is still called Lechois (otie foot)« 

f%U8 ^rmii}ated,according to tradition, the extravfir>- 
•g^t 4speeolation with wbich Cumming was to supply 
Saden^h with KtliHavonaig beer; the length lie pro«- 
ceeded with his work may be ^easily disowned at the 
^t^esent day ; no person doubts thtft ^liiere was 'a road. 

The belief hi witches^ fiiirie^ and other super- 
totoval pdweirs has vety muc^ decreased of late years 
in Sisotliknd ; %ut it iis a greiit mistake to consider 
k as wholly extirpated. Those Who come in contact 
with passing strangers will naLurally be reluctant to 
confess any superstition for fear of being derided; 
but such as live in the country, and have free inter- 
course with the cottagers, well know with what deep 
reverence they relate such stories as these. They have 
descended from their ancestors, and they regard them 
as part of their creed. In a family in Atholl where there 
is now an old man residing, many of the long winter 
nights are spent in telling stories about ghosts, fairies, 
witches, warlocks, &c which are solemnly listened 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



192 WITCH OF BEN-Y-GLOB. 

and most religiously believed; and should any one of 
the company attempt to discredit these stories, or to try 
to account for them on natural principles, the hoary sage 
would treat such incredulity with ridicule^ and regard 
the person as a most infatuated sceptic. 

There is great talk of a witch that still haunts Ben-yr 
gloe. She is represented as of a very mischievous and 
malevolent disposition, driving cattle into morassed, 
where they perish, and riding the forest horses by 
night till covered with mire and sweat they drop down 
from fatigue and exhaustion* She has the power of 
taking the shape of an eagle, raven, hind, or any other 
animal that may suit her purpose. She destroys bridges, 
and allures people to the margin of the flood, by ex*- 
hibiting a semblance of floating treasures, which they 
lose their lives in grasping at. 

This very formidable person, in conjunction with the 
hunt given to James the Fifth, gave rise to the following 
legendary tale, which was given me in manuscript at 
Blair. It was written by the late M. G. Lewis during 
his visit there, and I am not aware that it has ever ap 
peared in print : — 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THB 



WITCH OF BEN-Y-GLOE. 



Bt 



THE LATE M. G. LEWIS. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 






\ 



■<i- 




riiR wiTCM oy flVN ' c.i."K 



^mm 


b ^ 


^ 






.1 . 


--V 


K- - 


/>T«/r<V 


^ «/ .'Wt^llwuwmVf 


Digitized by VjOOQ^C 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TH£ 



WITCH OF BEN-Y-GLOR 



I CALL thee I I charm thee t wing hither thy way I 
By the laws below that the fiends obey ! 
By the groans which shall rise at the Judgment-day, 
I call thee ! I charm thee ! wing hither thy way I 

She heard him on her mount of stone, 
Where on snakes alive she was feeding alone ; 
And straight her limbs she anointed all 
With basilisk's blood and viper's gall. 

But seeing, before away she sped 
Tliat her snakes halC-eaten, were not yet dead. 
She crush'd their heads with fiendish spite, 
But had not the mercy to kill them quite. 

Oh ! then she mounted the back of the blast. 
And sail'd o'er woods and waters fast ; 
She stopped on a rock awhile to rest, 
And she throttled the young in an eagle's nest. 

o 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



196 THE WOFUL WIGHT. 

And now again her flight she takes 

O'er rocks and muirs — o'er hills and lakes : 

She saw below her the harvest swell. 

And she groanM to see that it promised so well. 

She stops for a moment to curse the grain. 
Then away on the wind she hurries amain ; 
Now she flies high — now she flies low — 
And she lights on the summit of huge Ben-y-gloe. 

Thither had calPd her a woful wight 
With many a spell and mystic rite ; 
But when he saw the witch appear, 
That woful wight he quiver'd with fear. 

" Wofiil wight, now tell me true, 

^< What hast thou summon'd me hither to do ? 

" Woful wight, thy answer make ; 

" I must be gone ere morning break." 

" My son was a robber so stout and so bold — 
" Lo, where he lies pale, bloody, and cold ; — 
** Revenge 1 revenge I ask of thee ; 
'< Oh I grant that Lord AthoU as cold may be. 

" AthoU's earl, whose cup I bear, 

** Slew this morn my son so fair ; 

" Though a robber he was, he was dear to me, — 

•• So revenge ! revenge I ask of thee." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE THREE SPELLS. 197 

^ Now, wofiil wight, my counsel take, 
" And AtholPs blood thy wrath shall slake : 
^^ To work him harm three spells I know ; 
**' But more than three I may not show. 

" These herbs of maddening power must feed 
" Ere dawn of day his favourite steed; 
^^ Then soon as Lord AthoU shall touch the reins^ 
<^ Shall the steed dash out his master's brains. 

^^ And if any one hears and dares betray, 
" My secret ere St. Andrew's Day, 
" I 'II drink his blood, and crack each bone^ 
^ And turn the strings of his heart to stone. 

*' This cup did fiends at midnight make 

** By the heat of the burning brimstone lake ; 

** In this Lord Atholl's liquor pour, 

** And if once he drinks, he '11 never drink more. 

" And if any one hears and dares betray 
" My secret ere St. Andrew's Day, 
^' I'll drink his blood, and crack each bone, 
^^ And turn the strings of his heart to stone. 

** And should your foe these spells evade, 
" Then be the third and last essay'd ; 
" Nor doubt I'll glut your vengeful spite 
" With blood, ere ends to-morrow night. 

o 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



198 KING JAME8 AND HIS COURT. 

" For I'll hide you in Lord Athoira rooin> 

^\ And wrap your form in magic gloom ; 

<^ Till near his bed you can softly creep, 

*^ When your dirk may stab him while buried in sleep. 

'^ And if any one hears and dares betray 
^^ My secret ere Su Andrew's Day, 
'< I'll drink his blood, and crack each bone» 
^ And turn the strings of bis heart to stone*" 

Sighing with sorrow, and burning with rage^ 

All this had heard Lord AthoU's page; 

Who, curious had foUow'd the woful wight 

When he sought the mountain's snow«crown'd beigbu 

Home he sped with heavy cheer, 
<^ Oh how shall I save my master dear I 
'^ Oh how shall I manage the truth to tell» 
" Yet avoid myself the beldame's spell ! " 

Thus mourned the page till broke the moniy 
But he sprang from bed when he heard the horn. 
The jolly horn which loud and clear, 
Summon'd King Jamie to cliase the deer* 

For now two days with Lord AthoU had been 
King Jamie the Fifth, and his mother the Queen ; 
With lords and with ladies, a goodly show. 
And all were lodged on Ben-y-gloe. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SWEET wrtLIE THE PAGE. 19^ 

And there to welcome gaests so great, 
Lord Atholl had built a palace of state. 
And all without *t was cover'd with green. 
And all within with silken sheen. 



And there were all fashions^ of exquisite hre, 
And tanks full of delicate fish were there; 
And the King an(^ hb nobles had all as good 
As had they been still at proud Holyrood. 

Each day that King Jamie had poss'^ on bis groands 
Had cost Lord Atholl a thousand pounds ; 
Yet order'd Lord Atholl (his splendour was such), 
That the third should cost full thrice as much. 

Hie Earl, he rose with the morning light. 
And soon he met with the woiiil wight, 
Who proffer'd a draught of cordial power, 
To cheer his heart ere he Idl his bower. 

Sweet Willie the page was at hand — the bowl 
He knew, and terror seized his soul; 
For he saw the Earl accept the gift. 
And soon to his lips the cordial lift. 

But ere they touch'd the goblet^s side. 
Sweet Willie the page, « Hold ! hold f " he cried ; 
" And before you drink, to the Virgin pray 
" That her blessing may fell on your sport to-day." 

o 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



200 A BAP 9HOT. 

The Earl then he sank on his bended knee^ 
** Mother of Grod, now hear," pray'd he ; 
But scarce the words his lips could pass, 
When in fragments flew the mystic glass. 

Started Lord AthoU in fear and surprise; 

On the woful wight he fix'd his eyes ; 

But his doubts to clear he may not stay» 

For the monarch was mounted, and eall'd him away. 

" Sweet Willie, run, sweet Willie^ speed, 
" And bid them bring my favourite steed.** 
His mouth all foam, his eyes all flame, 
Snorting and prancing the black steed came. 

But ere on his back Lord Atholl could bound. 
He heard sweet Willie's bowstring sound ; 
Whizzing flew the trusty dart, 
Nor stopp'd ere it pierced the black steed's heart. 

Lord AthoU, his face was black with rage; 
He struck to the earth sweet Willie the page* 
<< Now pardon, dear master," did Willie exclaim, 
'^ I shot at an eagle^.and err'd in my aim." 

Again Lord Atholl smote him sore. 

And bade him see his f^ce no more. 

Till the Queen-mother pray'd him his wrath to assuage. 

And forced him to pardon sweet Willie the page. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ENGLISH FORAY. 201 

Gay was tbe chase — all hearts were light. 
Save Willie^S} who dreaded the coining of night ; 
Gay was the feast, and gay each guest, 
Save Willie, whose soul sad thoughts oppress'd 

When he heard his master laugh with glee. 
Ah ! little his danger he knows, thought he, 
When he saw him wine in his goblet pour, 
He wept lest his lord should never drink more. 

But hark ! what horn so loud doth blow. 

That it shakes the green palace of Ben-y-gloe ; 

At the gate now stops a herald his steed. 

And towards the King's table he passes with speed. 

'* To horse. King Jamie I to horse and away I 
** For the English are coming in martial array ; 
^* Your lands thqr waste, yoiu- people they slay, 
'^ Then to horse. King Jamie, to horse and away I '' 

Upstarted King Jamie^ and summoned his Court — 
^^ Thou hast shown me, Earl, right princely sport ; 
*^ But what thou hast heard the herald tell, 
f* G}mmand8 me this momeD.t to bid thee fiurewelL 

** But thou, Lord Atholl, till mom must wait, 
^* Then marshal your vassals, and follow me straight. 
" Mount ! mount ! my nobles, for I '11 away, 
*^ Though dark be the night, nor wait for day." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



209 BURNING OY THE PALACE. 

King Jamie is gone through mist and ghxun. 
And the Earl now seeks that hxal room. 
Where the Witch, with blood to ghat his spite^ 
Already had hid the wofiil wight. 

But when on the lock was the Earl's hand laid, 
<< Alas I that the King/' sweet Willie thus saic^ 
'* Exposed to the dangers of darkness should gov 
<< But if J were Lord AthoU it should not be so; 

** For rather of these towers I 'd make 

*< A bonfire for my sovereign's sake; 

** Which, spreading wide its friendly lights 

<* Should guide him safe thxou^ die dangers of nights" 



Lord AthoU^ his head was hot with wine^ 
He heard and adopted sweet Willie's design ; 
He bade his vassals the Palace forsake. 
And each in his hand a firebrand take.. 

And he burnt the palace so stately and fidr, 

With hangings so rich and pictures so rare;^ 

And with vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, 

And swift through the chambers the Ixright flames rtdl'dl 

But hark I who shrieks in pain and fright? 

The fire has seized on the woful wight, 

Who close in his master's room did lie, 

And whom none had wam'd from the flames to fly. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SWEET Willie's reward. 208 

And lo ! while his life the miscreant ends, 
On a colamn of smoke what fiend ascends ? 
'T is the Witch, who in curses vents her ire, 
As scorched she flies firom the raging fire. 

All vieVd the Witch in strange surprise, 
But what she was could none devise. 
Till St. Andrew's Day had come and flown, 
Then made sweet Willie the secret known. 

And he told, how thrice he had managed to save 
His Lord, when he stood on the brink of the Orave ; 
And he told how his Lord had paid him with blows 
For snatching his life from deadly foes. 

Lord AthoU, he gave sweet Willie his hand, 
And he gave him gold, and he gave him land. 
And he gave him a wife, who was fit to be queen, 
'T was his lovely daughter Gallantine. 

Now if lords and if ladies are curious to know 
What became of the witch when she left Ben-y-gloe, 
'T is right to inform them, for fear of mistakes. 
That home she went, and finishM her snakes. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



205 



CHAPTER VIL 

** Te shall be wt at such a tryst. 

That hart and hind shall oome to your fyst** 

Squ^ oflowe Degre* 

The lord of the forest bad now determined upon having 
a grand deer-drive to Glen Tilt, and Lightfoot was 
invited to make one of the party; thus, in a short time* 
this fortunate sportsman had an opportunity. of seeing 
every variety and description of this interesting chase. 
That the show of deer might be as ample as possible. 
Tortoise had instructions to commence his cast at the 
remote parts of the forest, kill what he could, and get 
forward as many deer as he was able: he therefore 
despatched all his men to Bruar Lodge over night, that 
they might be fresh and ready for the morrow's sport ; 
a time was fixed for his meeting the foresters from 
Glen Tilt on Stoin-a-cro, when he and his men were to 
take the command of the right wing of the drive. 

This animating sport was always enjoyed by anti-* 
cipation ; and you might easily read in the happy coun« 
tenances of the guests at Blair, that something highly 
pleasurable and exciting was about to take place. When 
John Crerar and the foresters were summoned to the 
corridor over-night, curiosity rose to the highest pitch. 
Something positively awful was going on — was Glen 
Croinie to be driven, and would any one be suffered to 
go with the drivers ? This great mystery was seldom 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



206 DEER OEIVINO. 

solved over night; nor could it be so with certainty, as 
a change of wind must necessarily cause a change of 
operations. But on the destined morning each sports 
man had clear and distinct instructions, and his proper 
station allotted to him ; some of the old ones, however, 
who were knowing as to the currents of the air, and ac- 
quainted with the passes, were apt to finesse a little, and 
ingratiate themselves into the most favourable positions. 
These gentlemen might be se^, at the dawn of day^. 
walking about the castle, and noting the precise direction 
of the clouds. 

Modem hunting-parties in Olen Tilt, altiiough not 
on 80 extensive a scale as those in days of yore» when 
nobles went forth with all their retinue, and the whole 
scene had as much the appearance of a military display 
as of a hunting excursion, were yet of a liberal, exciting, 
and lordly character. Parties of hill- men were sent forth, 
at a stated time, to form a semicircular line on the 
mountains, and press the deer down the crags into Glen 
Tilt, which they usually crossed, and then went forward, 
reeking and steaming, up the heights of Ben-y^loe. 

There were several stations in the gl^i, in which the 
various sportsmen were concealed, and from these no 
one was permitted to stir till the deer had fairly passed 
them. These drives took place only when the wind was 
fiivourable, and at such a time it was pretty easy to cal- 
culate at what hour the deer would come in sight. 

It was not unusual for the drivers to collect a herd of 
five or six hundred head ; and, occasionally, when they 
came down into the glen, broke into parcels, and turned 
back upon the drivers, the scene was splendid and ani* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by 



Google 



• •••• 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ANTICIPATCD SPORT. 207 

mated, and the firing became very general ; after the 
shots, dogs were turned loose, for the chance of bringing 
some of the fiit sluggards to bay, and an excellent one 
it was. 

Sportsmen, whose discretion and forbearance could 
be relied upon, were occasionally sent with the drivers, 
one at eacb wing, but it was their duty to consult the 
general sport, and not to get forward and fire, unless 
deer broke fidrly out, lest thqr should turn the whole 
herd. 

A scene so full of novel interest caused many a flut- 
tering heart on the previous day, and many a feverish 
dream at night. Visions of deer, perhaps, came and 
vanished amidst broken slumbers; then the restless 
sleeper was lost and bewildered amongst mountains and 
torrents ; then came a sudden start, as if falling from a 
precipice; lasdy, and, oh, worst of all I an attempt to pull 
the trigger at a monstrous hart, without being able to 
efiect the explosion of the rifle. 

At length the shades of night pa^ away, and the 
morning breaks forth &ir and beautiful. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



208 



THE DEER-STALKER'S RHYMES. 
By the Hon. H. T. Liddell^ 

Awake and be stirring, — the daylight ^s appearing. 
The wind 's in the south, and the mountains are clearing} 
A thousand wild harts in the forest are feeding, 
And many a hart before night shall lie bleeding. 

Make ready both rifles — the old afid the new — ^ 
And sharpen the edge of the rusted skene-dhu ! 
Let your telescopes gleam in the rising sun ; 
We'll have need of them all ere the day 's work be done* 

The laddie was off before light to Glen Ti\U 
And Fascally's laird has just tied on his kilt ; 
And Peter and Charlie are waiting below 
The cloud-mantled summits of huge Ben-y*gloe. 

Then spur on your ponies, and haste to the slaughter, 
Where the Tilt and the Tarff mix their eddying water } 
The ravens have spied us, and croak as they wheel 
O'er the antler'd heads of their destined meaL 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THR DEER DISCOVERED. 209 

Now brace up your sinews, give play to your lungs. 
Keep open your eyes, and keep silent your tongues ; 
And follow with cautious and stealthy tread 
The forester's footsteps wherever they lead. 

Here pause we a moment, while yonder slope 
He surveys with the balanced telescope : 
By heavens ! he sees them — just under the hill 
The pride of the forest lie browsing and stiD. 

" Yon moss must be past ere we gain our shot, — 
The hillock above is the fatal spot*" 
So near has he reckoned — that, as we crawl by, 
Lo ! the points of their horns on the line of the sky* 

We have traversed the flat, and we lurk behind 
A rock, to recover our nerve and our wind: — 
Hist ! the calves are belling ; and, snuffing the air, 
Two jealous old hinds to the front repair. 

See the herd is alarmed, and o'er the height 
llie leading hinds have advanced into sight : 
'< Hold ! hold your hand till the antlers appear. 
For the heaviest harts are still in the rear.'* 

Crack, crack ! go the rifles, — for either shot 
A noble hart, bleeding, sinks on the spot ; 
The third ball has miss'd, — but the hindmost stag 
Was struck By the fourth as he topped the crag. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



&10 THE* BAY. 

" Uncouple the lurchers !" — right onward they ifly, 
With out-stretching limb, and with fire-flashing eye : 
On the track of his blood they are winging their way ; 
They gain on hia traces, -«- he stands at bay I 

Magnificent creature I to reach thee I strain 
Through forest and glen, over mountain and plain ; 
Yet, now thou art fallen, thy fate I deplore, 
And lament that the reign of thy greatness is o'er. 

Where now is that courage, late bounding so high. 
That acuteness of scent, and that brilliance of eye ; 
That fleetness of foot, which, out-speeding the wind, 
Has so often left death and destruction behind. 



Thine heart's blood is streaming, thy vigour gone by, 
Thy fleet foot is palsied, and glazed is thine eye : — 
The last hard convulsion of death has come o'er thee, — 
Magnificent creature ! who would not deplore thee ? 

Coir-na-Minghie has rung to the rifle's first crack, 
And the heights of Cairn^chlamain shall echo it back ; 
Glen Croinie's wild caverns the yelling shall hear 
Of the blood- hound that traces the fugitive deer. 

By the gods, 't is a gallant beginning: — Hurra ! 
Diana has smiled on the hunters to-day F 
In the sports of the morning come, goddess, and share. 
And Bacchus shall welcome thee homeward to Blair. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



STABT FROM BRUAR LODG£. 211 

The first who started for the sport were Tortoise and 
his men, of whom Jamieson was the chief — a fine^ 
straight^ sinewy, weU-fiivoured man he was, with as good 
wind, as cool judgment, and as quick an eye for deer as 
any man on the hills. They had slept, as had been 
noted, at Bruar Lodge^ about nine miles north of Blair, 
that they might begin at the outskirts of the preserved 
part of the forest. As soon as the morning mist was 
dispersed, they were breathing the fresh air on the 
summit of Ben Dairg, sitting upon the red stones, and 
prying with their glasses into every part of the vast 
forest that lay expanded before them, — more especially 
and minutely examining those places that were under 
the wind, the warm corries, and the best pastures. They 
had hitherto seen nothing but hinds ; but, as such gear 
only spoil sport, they took care to give them their wind, 
and send them out north, that they might at once get 
rid of them. 

It was now &r on towards the rutting season; and, as 
the partjr advanced, and looked over the Elrich, they 
saw a parcel of hinds with a master hart, who had made 
this very Turkish collection for his sole individual gra- 
tification ; these were to be kept, as they were obtained, 
by the strong antler. Like the Athenians in their pros- 
perity, these martial fellows acknowledged no law but 
that of force. 

Whilst the hart was walking proudly with the hinds, 
a hoarse roar comes over the ridge of the hill ; it is the 
menace of war — nearer and louder it falls upon the 
ear; and, lo I the angry rival appears on the sky-line. 
He halts upon a projecting crag, swelling, jutting out 

p 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



212 COMBAT OF STAOB. 

his neck, and drawing himself up to his full proportions* 
Having now screwed up his courage to the sticking* 
place, he turns aside, and winds down the moss, bellow- 
ing and tossing abroad the heather with his anders, his 
wrath seeming to increase as he moves onwards; his 
dauntless adversary sends back a loud defiance, and 
rushes forth to meet him in fair combat. The hinds 
wheel their ranks, and stand, with curious gaze and 
erect ears, to witness the joust, — and now the combatants 
meet brow to brow, butting and goring each other with 
great fury, till at length their antlers are &irly locked 
together. After s»me violent struggles they extricate 
themselves; and, being well matched, and quite ex- 
hausted, both sink upon their knees, and rest a space in 
that posture, still antler to antler. Somewhat revived 
by this brief cessation, they set to again, till the intruder, 
being at length forced backwards to the edge of a pre- 
cipice, and feeling himself worsted, turns quickly asidcy 
and fairly t^kes to flight, but runs in circles round the 
hinds, as reluctant to leave them. The victor follows 
close at his heels, goring him in the haunches ; ever as 
he is touched he starts aside^ till at length, beaten and 
jaded, he fairly gives up the contest, and gallops awayj 
still hotly pursued. 

Whilst this chase after the fugitive was continuing, in 
comes another hart from the opposite quarter; but no 
sooner had the victor heard his bellowing, than he re- 
turned to secure his hinds, and quickly drove this gay 
gentleman away, who took to his heels incontinently, 
being a beast of no mark or likelihood. * 

* This law of " detttrjbriiori" is an admirable provision of nature 
for keeping the stock from degenerating. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CAUTIOUS EXPLORING. 213 

After this amusing spectacle was over, these deer, 
being of no service to the drive, were suffered to go into 
Glen Dirie. 

The party, now having ascended to the summit of 
Coir^na-miseach, crept forward cautiously behind a ridge 
of ground, and got a view of that immense basin called 
the Culreach. Instantly, as they looked below, there was 
a whisper of caution ; they crawled back on their hands 
and knees, sunk the hill again, and posted themselves on 
safe ground. They had seen the deer, which were 
scattered up and down the hill sides, some grazing, 
others basking in the morning sunbeam, fat and lazy, 
whilst the jealous hinds were so disposed as to prevent 
any sudden inroad upon their position. Some of them 
kept to the wind, and others were continually looking 
towards those points from which they could not profit 
by it 

Jamieson now went back to take a minute inspection 
of the whole herd. He soon returned with an ex-^ 
pression of eager excitement, — "There are several good 
harts," he said, << in the herd on the eastern &ce of the 
hill ; but," added he, " there is a small parcel below 
us, and, as sure as deid, the great Braemar hart is 
among them — there is him and a small hart and five 
hinds a' the gither, and I'm thinking that he is so high 
up on the face o' the hill, that he may be pit over, and 
ye may hae a chance at him at last." 

^^ Capital news, Thomas, and a glorious thing it will 
be if it should turn out so, for he is a hart of a thousand ; 
but are you sure it is the muckle deer after all ? The 
Braemar hart, who has foiled us twice, has a very sleek 

F 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



214 THE GREAT BRAEMAR HART. 

body, with high horns, not widely spread, and only 
eight points* You should know him well — are you 
sure it is him?" 

<*I could pick him out from aw the harts in the forest, 
and gie evidence against him, for he is a wary beast, 
and we have had sair work wi' him, he has led us mony 
a mile!" 

Dispositions were now made for getting the herd for- 
ward into Glen Croinie ; this was easily done, though it 
took up some time, for it was necessary to place a man 
towards the east, and another to the north, the sportsmen 
remaining on the western hill. These men soon arrived 
at their stations, and came forward at the concerted 
moment, working well together. So distant were they, 
that they could scarcely be discerned through the teles- 
cope. The herd soon took the alarm, and began to put 
themselves in motion. They drew closer together, the 
hinds gazed around them, and the harts, rising up from 
their lair, tossed up their antlers, and stood erect in 
their fall proportion. As the hill-men advanced slowly 
and cautiously, the deer closed, and went forward lei- 
surely; they then made a halt on the face of the hill, 
and formed into a beautiful group ; but, as the drivers 
persevered, they drew out into a long string, and werft 
at an easy pace up the steep towards Glen Croinie ; ar- 
rived at the summit, they mended their pace, and each 
deer galloped over the scalp of the hill as if all the rifles 
of Atholl were at his heels, so that, in a few moments 
more, the whole herd were fairly in the glen. 

There never had been the slightest doubt of the suc- 
cess of this operation : all Tortoise's anxiety leaned 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



STALKING THE GREAT DEER. 215 

towards the small parcel which contained the great 
Braemar deer. When the general alarm took place 
these stood and gazed like the rest, and advanced some 
way as if to join them ; till at length, when they made 
off, the proud leader stopped for a space, tossed up his 
antlers, and, disdaining to follow the servile herd, turned 
up the western face of the hill where Tortoise was 
lying: as he went forward the rifleman advanced also, 
preserving the wind, and just keeping sight of the points 
of his horns from over the brow of the hill. 

The hill-men, seeing the favourable course he was 
likely to take, did their utmost to make him persevere 
in it. Every thing looked propitious ; but still it was 
uncertain whether he would come out from the hollow 
at a favourable point of the hill, or go over the easy 
swell, where it would be impossible, from the nature of 
the ground, to come within distance of him ; indeed, he 
seemed inclined to do the latter. What an anxious 
moment was this for the rifleman ! who can tell what 
hopes, and what dire apprehensions shot rapidly across 
his mind, when he saw the pride of the forest almost 
within his reach? forward he came, bounding and pitch- 
ing up the hill, casting his broad shadow on the green- 
sward and followed closely by his companions. As yet, 
his course is dubious ; — now he bears more to the west, 
and races along, as it seems, rather in sport than in fear ; 
— by heavens I he nears the rifleman : — on for jour life 
and make your push ! With bent body, but with rapid 
steps. Tortoise ducked down, slipped suddenly back be- 
hind the eminence, and then went forward at the top of 
his speed. The horns, which he never lost sight of, are 

p 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



216 THE SHOT. 

seen approaching the hill-top — down again crouched 
the rifleman for a moment, till the course of the deer 
was decided; then another swift movement below the 
hill brought him within distance, just as the magnificent 
fellow had passed the summit, and was descending into 
the opposite glen. 

Tortoise's breast had been in a tumult, but it was 
lulled in a moment — 

** Che sue virtuti acoolse, 
Tutte in quel punto, ed in guardia al cor le mise." 

He stopped suddenly, like a bolt that had hit the 
mark ; — stood firm — clapped his rifle rapidly to his 
shoulder, and fired just as the hart was disappearing 
from his view. 

" Habet, — he has it — he has it, Jamieson ; I heard 
the smack of the ball true enough.'' 

** Hun*a, he lags behind! Now then, let go Tai-flF; 
quick — quick, Sandy; lose not a moment; quick, for 
your life, man ; we cannot wait till he falls out : come 
here, Jamieson : I and my men must join the general 
drive, or the deer will break out ; so take you one of the 
rifles, and finish that fine fellow as he goes to bay in 
Glen Mark : you will have no time to return, so do not 
attempt to come back up Sroin-a-cro or Caim-Mamoch ; 
you will be more useful in the glen by keeping the deer 
in on that side. You can come in at Auk-mark-moor. 
Away with you." 

And away went the stout hill-man, bounding over 
moss and hillock, till in a few minutes he sunk down 
from the view. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by 



Google 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE BAY. 217 

<' Hark ! I hear the baying of the hound : now it 
dies away : — Do you hear it now, Sandy ? " 

<' No, I did not ; I heard naething but the corbie." 

" Look with your glass, then, whilst I load." 

^< Hey I what a sight; I never kent the like of it 
afore." 

" Why, what do you see^ man ? " 

^ Why, sure the deer is chasing TarfF all owr the 
moss, and Tarff is rinnin awa joost a-head o' him; — 
I never kent the like. Now the hart stops — ^now 
Tarff is at him again : ah, take care Tarff! — Now 
the deer has beaten him aff, and is rinnin after him 
again." 

<^ I see it all myself, Sandy, with the glass ; and I see, 
too, that one dog, be he what he may, can never manage 
that deer ; so let go Derig, for he has heard the bay, and 
will soon be up with him.'* And so, indeed, he was : 
glen and mountain now resounded with the raging of 
the deep-mouthed hounds, till at length the vexed 
quarry broke down the river Mark, and then, turning 
aside and skirting the Brae, stood before a huge mass of 
rock that was anchored on the mountain side: thus 
posted, he boldly faced his antagonists. Thrice did the 
ferocious Derig spring aloft in the air, and fly ravenously 
at his throat, and thrice was he driven back with un- 
mitigated fury. Maddening with rage, the fine animal 
rushed forward, raking and stabbing with his antlers, 
and gave chase, in his turn, to his enemies. It was a 
novel sight to see the noble beast act on the offensive. 
The war^ when it ceased on the side of the stag, was 
again renewed by the hounds, who, although wounded 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



218 PREPARE TO START THE DEER. 

and bleeding, ever returned stoutly to the charge. In 
vain was the rifle at hand, for the dogs were ever 
springing at the throat, in the way of the ball» And 
now, see, the bay is again broken, and away they go, 
right up the steeps of Ben-y*venie. 

" Here we can tarry no longer, for the Duke's men 
are approaching ; but it matters not, for Jamieson will 
inevitably bring that noble fellow down, though he will 
give him some trouble, and perhaps occasion the death 
of my good hounds. 

*< Well, Peter Fraser, here you are at last : when are 
we to start the deer ? " 

*^ At one o'clock exactly ; and aw the men are round 
towards the east, under Charlie Crerar's command : then 
there's George Ritchie the fidcDer at Cairn*y-chlamain ; 
and Macpherson will gang doon Glen Croinie. The 
Duke trusts to you and yer men to pit ower the deer 
from the wast" 

'< Well, Peter, this is all as it should be, and the left 
wing cannot be under better command than that of 
Charlie Crerar ; for, besides being a very clever fellow, 
he is as active as the beasts themselves, and always zea- 
lous to do his duty : a great regard I have for him, for 
he was my first instructor, and many a pleasant day we 
have had together in by-gone times. As for the main 
body of the deer breaking on our side, we will so deal 
with them, that they shall not have that crime to answer 
for; if a few harts alone take such a &ncy$ my nature is 
not so cruel as to balk them of their intent, since in 
that case I shall get a shot or two without prejudice to 
the general sport ; if therefore this should happen, we 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DALNACARDOCH CHAMOIS. 219 

will conduct ourselves with liberality, and suffer them to 
take their own pleasure without let or hindrance : and 
now, whilst we are waiting here, you may as well tell me 
what sport there has been at Dalnaspiedel." 

<* I didna hear aething anent the moor-fowl at Dal- 
naspiedel, but I heard that the English gentlemen killed 
five deer at Dalnacardoch." 

^* Five deer I Deer at Dalnacardoch? How could they 
possibly come into deer in such ground as that? — What 
clever fellows they must be I " 

^< And deevan chiels they were sure eneuch, for they 
got intill them without fashing themselves much aboot 
the matter ; but the gentlemen, some gait or anither, 
had not studied nature, so that when they brought hame 
the beasties, the gude mon at the inn cud no agree \^ i' 
them in opinion, though he is a very ceevil mon too ; 
for Sandy said that the five deer were five goats, whilst 
the gentlemen said that the five goats were five deer; 
but, sure eneuch, they had all beards, were wee beasties» 
and smelt like goats all over/' 

" Well, Peter, and how did all this end ? " 

*^ Why at last^ then, they (that 's the deeivstalkers) 
began to think that Sandy was richt, and that the deer 
were goats ; so they behaved very handsome, and gave 
the &rmer a hande o' siller for their day's sport, being 
sorry for the mistake they had made : and it 's mare the 
pity they didna prove to be deer; but it's no that easy 
to turn the like of an old goat into a fine hart'' 

*< Well, Peter, I do not think that the sport was so 
bad after all; for I believe that the chamois, in chase of 
which the Swiss risk their lives, and are out for days to- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



220 A FRENCH SPORTSMAN. 

gether on mountains of eternal ice and snow, is little 
better than a great goat after all." 

^^ I didna hear of sic a beast mysel ; but I ken, by 
yer honour's account, he is no worth the speering at" 

The moment had now arrived for starting the deer ; 
and the signal was given, that every one might go on in 
good order, and act according to the movements of the 
quarry. Macpherson, who wa^to go down Glen Croinie, 
was instructed to keep in the rear till the deer were on 
the eastern face of the hill above the glen ; — prudently 
did he hold back, for they were endeavouring to break 
out on the west : Tortoise and his men, however, turned 
them without difficulty ; and, after some hard running 
and considerable manceuvering, they took precisely the 
desired direction. 

But the drive, upon the whole, did not proceed with 
the usual alacrity ; there was a sportsman (so called by 
courtesy) upon whose pace the hill-men on the east 
waited, and it was unfortunately a slow one ; he had 
several shots, which were so injudiciously taken, that 
the success of the general sport seemed to be in 
jeopardy : the deer, I believe, were in none at all. 

" Why, now, Peter, what on earth can that apparition 
be ? Take your glass, and see what like it is." 

<< I see the mon plain eneuch, for it is na wraith ; 
but I can no joost say what like he is, for I never kent 
the like o' him afore; he's na Scotchman, and he has na 
the tread of an English, for he aye gangs forrat on his 
toes wi' a wee bit jerk. Haw, haw, haw, I never saw 
sic a dress on the hills: do tak a gliff o' him through 
the prospect^ yer honour." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE AMBUSCADE. 221 

*^ Ah, I see him, Peter, and I guess he is a French- 
man; but^ with all his capering, he is as slow as a soldier 
marking time. Merciful he is, evidendy, for not a beast 
has he touched as &r as I can see. Surely he must be 
firing with blank cartridge; but the deer are going 
right in spite of him, so 1 hope he enjoys himself; but, 
at any rate, if he spoils sport in one way, I am sure he 
shows enough in another. I wonder what he thinks he 
is doing ? " 

And now the stately herd began to crown the sum- 
mits, and were soon descried from the glen, hanging on 
the sky*line in long array. Those in the van, gaze 
steadily on all sides, — onward move the others in suc- 
cession, their horns and bodies looming large against 
the sky. Heavens I what a noble sight ; how beautiful, 
how picturesque I See how they wind down the crags, 
with slow, and measured steps ; now hidden, and now re^ 
appearing firom behind impending masses of rock ; now 
the prudent leader halts his forces, and closes up. his 
files ; those in advance are scrutinising the glen, whilst 
the rear-guard, wary and circumspect, are watching the 
motions of the distant and persevering drivers. As the 
men come forward in a vast semicircle, the herd begin to 
mend their pace, — calves, hinds, and harts, come bel- 
ling along, and wind down the oblique paths of the steep, 
putting in motion innumerable loose stones, that fall 
clattering over the crags. 

The glen wore the appearance of utter solitude ; but 
the sportsmen were lying in ambush in various parts of 
it, under the impending banks of the Tilt, behind 
fragments of rock, or in some cleft or position which 
screened them from the gaze of the deer. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



222 TH£ SKIRMISH. 

And now how many bosoms were throbbing at diis 
splendid spectacle, and what fitful changes from hope to 
despair agitated individual sportsmen, as the herd ap- 
proached or deviated from their particular position I 

Beset upon their flanks and upon their i*ear, and 
seeing no obstruction in the wild forest before them, 
after long and deep misgivings, they take their desperate 
resolution ; down they sweep in gallant array, — dash 
furiously across the meadow, and plunge right into the 
flashing waters of the Tilt Hark how their hoofs clatter 
on its stony channel ! Onward they rush, — the moss^ 
stained waters flying around them, and are fast gaining 
the opposite bank. 

Their course being thus decidedly taken, the lurking 
riflemen spring up at once, like Clan Alpine's warriors, 
and rush forward on all sides. 

Those who were fortunate enough to be near the spot 
of crossing had fair chances ; for though some of the 
herd were cut off and turned back to the west, yet so 
long a string passed across the glen, that they had time 
to fire, and load, and fire again. 

Many riflemen came in, breathless, from more distant 
stations ; some in time, and others all too late. Several 
shots were fired in distance, and out of distance, with 
various success ; and the skirmish for a short space was 
pretty brisk on all sides. The herd having fiurly 
crossed the rocky channel of the Tilt, scampered away 
at a prodigious rate, and went forward, reeking and 
steaming, right up the face of the great mountain. 

** Quick, quick, uncouple the lurchers/* 

The dogs spring from the leash, strive and press for* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THB SLAUGHTER. 223 

wards; but are half-blown before they come up with 
them* The herd now collect into a dense mass, each 
deer wedging himself into It as he finds he is the par- 
ticular object of attack. Not a single hart fell out; and 
the hounds at length returned, with slinking countenances 
and drooping sterds, — lolling out their tongues, they 
lie panting on the greensward. 

The sport however had been excellent; the Duke of 
AthoU (always the most skilful and successful of the 
party) kiDed three first-rate harts ; our firiend Lightfoot 
two, decidedly; two more were killed, as your rustic 
grammarian has it, somewhat promiscuously; and the 
old sportsmen also did considerable execution, selecting 
their harts with great tact. Moreover there were slain 
three hinds, that nobody would own to, and an exceed- 
ingly promising young fawn, repudiated also by all. * 
The French Count, whom we noticed on the mountains, 
distinguished himself in his own particular manner ; but 
his high achievements well merit a separate history; 
and that they shall have. 

And now let us go back to Tortoise, and see if he 
was idle all this time. No, not so; for a few harts and 
hinds broke over to the west, and as the general sport 
was already secured, he used his pleasure with them. 
He had only two rifles, the third having been given to 
Jamieson to kill the deer at bay ; he came well into them, 

* It was considered a disgrace, as has been elsewhere intimated, 
to kill hinds and fawns ; a stranger, not aware of this, wrote to 
thank the late Duke of Gordon for a day's deer-shooting in 
Gawick ; intimating how happy his Grace would be to hear of his 
success, for that he had wounded a hind, and killed an exceedingly 
promising young fawn. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



224 SHOT AT THE BLACK DEER. 

and^ at the first shot, slew a noble hart; but there wa» 
another in the parcel still superior, which had been 
running on the opposite side : as the men got forward, 
the little herd came sweeping round over the open 
ground, towards Clashtyne, describing the segment of 8 
circle. 

" Lord I Lord I that black deer * : hey, what a deer I 
There, there, that black deer I Ou, he is ower fer." 

The words were scarcely out of Peter Eraser's mouth, 
ere the shot resounded through the hills. The hart 
was running swiftly, at about one hundred and fifty 
yards' distance, or " by 'r Lady," somewhat more, but 
quite clear, and the ball seemed to smack against the 
centre of his body, 

*^ Sandy, Sandy, thedoegs, thedoegs — quick, quick, 
mon ! Lord, will ye never come forrat ? Let go Shu« 
loch. Here, Shuloch, Shuloch." 

Away went the gallant old hound upon his traces. 

" And now he is safe enough ; and we will leave him 
to Jamieson, who will meet with him at bay, as he comes 
down Glen Mark, where he will assuredly go. So leave 
Sandy to gralloch, and bleed the other deer; and let us 
keep on down the hill, in case the great herd should be 
turned, and endeavour to come back over Auk-mark* 
moor. They went over the ridge, however, in beautifiil 
style, their backs all reddening in the sunshine; and 
they must, and will, cross the glen if every one keeps 
concealed till the right moment. Hark, I hear a shot ! 
Another, and another, — glorious I Come along, Peter, 
skim down the mountain like a swallow : surely some of 

* Black from rolling in the mire. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE PARTY ASSEMBLED. 225 

the herd will turn back upon us. There^ there — 
Charlie Crerar is running like an ostrich. Ah, Charlie, 
Charlie, it wonna do ; they are fidrly past you, and will 
pass us too, but not without a shot.'' 

One rifle, in fact, was discharged by Tortoise as they 
swept by, and one more hart lay plunging in the 
heather. 

'^ Now, then, let go Percy and Douglas after the 
others; and we shall send down a deer or two to the 
Tilt, which will make a noble day's sport 

** Bravo, Percy, bravo I See, he has taken out one 
harty and Douglas another ; they are sinking the hill, 
right down to the Tilt. Sit down whilst I load, and 
listen to the bay. I hear it sure enough now; it is 
Percy's bay. * How he makes the valley ring ; I should 
know his deep tongue from a thousand. He must be 
just above the marble quarry. Hark I that is his death- 
shot, and from the Dtike ; for no one else would fire at 
a deer at bay whilst his Grace was in the glen. We 
shall soon know this, for a few minutes will bring us 
within sight." 

And now, as they bounded down the brae, the whole 
line of carriages, gillies, and sportsmen, broke full upon 
their view. That glen, heretofore so still and silent, 
awoke at once into life and animation. A large party 
had collected round Marble Lodge, and made a most 
picturesque appearance. Here a successful sportsman 
cam^ triumphantly galloping upon a mountain pony . 
and, far in his rear, riding at a dejected pace, loitered 

* Percy and Douglas are at present in the possession of the 
Ifarquis of Breadalbane. 

Q 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



226 THE LAST HART BROUOHT TO BAY. 

some unhappy wight, whose balls had been somewhat too 
busy with the heather. The wild gillies, soiled and 
heated with toil, were running to and fro in their blue 
bonnets and plaided kilts, some leading the good deer- 
hounds in the leash, with panting sides and flagging 
stems ; others, with fresh dogs, trotting lightly along, 
and looking up the mountain to the right and left, with 
keen gaze and half elevated ears. Nobles and kerns 
were mixed, and talking together with that good fel« 
lowship and equality, which a common interest in an 
animated pursuit so generally and so happily occasions. 
Or, if there was any ascendency (always setting aside the 
Lord of the Forest), it was vested in John Crerar ; so 
true it is, that <^ it is place that lessens and sets off." 
He was the Belarius, to whom the noble sportsmen 
looked up with deference and respect 

Three stout ponies, with redundant manes and shaggy 
coats, came slowly winding down the glen, each with a 
magnificent deer corded oh his back. Tortoise had 
gone rapidly forward, with afresh dog and a hill-man, in 
quest of Douglas and the deer : &intly he has heard the 
bay ; now it peals louder and louder, as he rounds the 
wooded promontory. 

<^ Now, speed, speed thee^ Sandy; quick to the Duke^ 
and tell him we have a noble hart at bay ; this torrent 
and these clif& he himself cannot gain, but say I will 
break the bay, and get him down to the Tilt, where he 
shall surely die the death. Off with you, lose not a 
moment, for time presses. Nay, never go round by the 
bridge, man, — the river, though swollen, is still fordable 
here, and will not wet you above your waist; plunge 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ARRIVAL OF A REINFORCEMENT. 227 

through at once^ Well done^ stout Sandy, you bear 
yourself like a true man." 

Time» indeed, was waning fest, for it was long since 
the birchenJeayes had trembled and glittered in the 
sunbeams, and the golden splendour, which so lately 
slept upon the mountain-top, had already died away, 
consigning it to its own stern and rugged nature. The 
lur was coming up the glen, dank and chill ; hill, brae^ 
wood, and precipice were beginning to mingle in one 
universal melancholy mass. 

The hart had got into the river Mark, just above the 
«pot where it comes brawling into the Tilt; it was one 
of those deep chasms where the sunbeam never enters ; 
in most places the rocks dropped steep, smooth, and 
shelving down to the flood. There were huge blocks of 
granite in the channel, and it seemed wonderful how the 
vexed cmimal could have got into the dark chasm in 
which he stood. But there he was — the torrent at his 
feet, and the long bony arm of a blasted birch stretched 
over him. Douglas stood baying at the point of a rock 
above, venting his vain wrath, and making stoops as if 
he would plunge down from that ^^ bad eminence^ " but 
sensible of his danger, he as often drew back ; various 
were the attempts he made to come in at some other 
place, but still he was obliged to return to his first po- 
sition. Tortoise now came up with Croinie ; — she was 
a most sagacious animal, and it was her custom to do 
the thing as coolly as possible, always running before 
the deer till she came to a convenient part oi the river, 
when she turned in and headed him. This method she 

Q 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



228 THE BAT BROKEN. 

took in the present instance, and was soon swimming 
before his antlers. 

But the stout animal would probably have remained 
immovable in his position till the hound perished with 
cold and &tigue, had he seen no other enemies. Indeed, 
he seemed to hold both dogs in thorough contempt; but 
when Tortoise stood before him, for a moment he raised 
up his stately crest, and waved his broad antlers to the 
right and left, gazing restlessly around him, then plunged 
at once down the torrent, trampled upon the hound, and 
bounded out far below, gaining the open birch*copse 
that skirted the banks of the Tilt. The hounds kept 
on their course, following him through all his windings: 
arrived at length at the steep banks of the river, with 
one brave bound he gains the centre of the stream; and 
there he stands majestic, and firm, and in ready act 
to do battle. The hounds dash after him as best they 
may; fain would they attack him, but in vain they 
stretch their powerless limbs : lightly does the hart re- 
gard them, as they are swept to and fro by the rapids, 
and can scarcely hold their own. But when he finds 
the taint in the air, and discovers sterner foes, he looks 
forward to the free mountains before him ; and again* 
breasting the flood, strives every nerve to gain the 
heights of Ben-y-gloe. But, alas, it may not be, Douglas 
and Croinie come fast upon his traces; and, after a 
rapid wheel, he plunges again into the Tilt, and stops 
not, rests not, but down, down he goes, through pool 
and over ^^ataract, swimming, wading, and rushing 
onward through the divided waters. The dogs, close 
upon him, are borne down at times by the weight of 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE DEATH-SHOT. 229 

the flood, but rise up again to the surifiBU^ey undaunted 
and eager in the pursuit. 

At length, and almost at the departure of daylight, 
the Duke comes forward with his good rifle ; one shot 
from that unerring hand, an echo dying away through 
the mountains, and see the fleet limbs fall powerless, and 
the dun carcass goes floating down the stream, well- 
ing out the life-blood. The current bears it onward 
rapidly, jostling against the rocks, and wheeling in the 
eddies. In dash the kilted foresters in gallant style, 
stemming the flood, and stretching forth their arms in 
yain ; their daring was perilous, girt round and opprest 
as they were with the waters ; but still the deer bore 
past them, always just beyond their reach. 

But who is this coming forward with the ropes and 
grappling-hooks ? Who but the excellent and trusty 
McMillan *, mounted on his Sheltie, " and charming 
the glen with fair feats of horsemanship." Gently now, 
my feathered Mercury, I pray and beseech you not to 
swerve so undecidedly to the north and to the south, but 
resolve me at once towards which point of the compass 
you mean to make jour summerset ; for your pony, 
mark me, is a recusant, and, sooth to say, I never saw 
any animal less solicitous of another, than that beastie is 

* John M'Millan entered the Duke of Atholl's service, in 1791, 
as assistant-fisherman to Duncan Kennedy ; when Duncan died he 
became the principal fisherman. He was a powerfiil man, and a 
most valuable and attached servant ; but never could acquire skill 
in the ways of the deer. He rode so awkwardly that he seldom 
mounted a pony without getting a fall. He was unfortunately 
drowned in the Tay, near his own house, January 7. 1836, at the 
age of 71 years. 

Q 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



230 THE GREAT BRAEMAR HART FINISHED. 

of his rider. There now, — hope you're not hurt 
Pick him up, Charlie, and take on the grappling-hooks 
to yon pool; you will get the hart out easily there» for he 
will sweep round in the cheek of the stream. 

Out he was taken triumphantly, and there he lay on 
the greensward, hausy and sleek, ^^ the admired of all 
admirers.'' Some praised his beautiful form, and held 
up his wide*8preading antlers; whilst others (not ob- 
livious of currant-jelly) b^an to handle him after the 
fashion of Parson TruUiber. Certain it is he enjoyed 
great posthumous fame. 

But here comes Jamieson, hurried and heated with 
toil. — ^^ Well, Thomas *, have you finished that great 

devil? "t 

" Yes, I got him on Ben-y-venie, where he went last 

to bay. But both dogs are wounded: Tarfi^not much; 

but Derig, you see, is stabbed badly in four places; and 

I doubt he may not recover.'' 

<< Ah, poor fellow, what terrible wounds he has in his 

chest and loins ; that in his side is not so bad, for I see 

the horn has only passed between his skin and his ribs. 

Well, my brave Derig, you shall go home in the cart;, 

and be carefully looked after. And the great black deer, 

Jamieson, that Shuloch took into Glen Mark; did you 

get him?" 

* The author has kept the horns of this deer, which are splin- 
tered at the points by coming in contact with the rocks when the 
dogs escaped from the thrust. 

•f Thomas Jamieson lived formerly at Abbotsford, and came into 
the author^s service many years ago with Sir Walter Scott's per- 
mission: he now acts as principal gamekeeper ; and is in every way 
a most valuable servant. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A CARPET KNIOHT. 231 

*^. Quite easy; he was shot through the body, and 
made but a poor bay/' 

^< Capital ; we have made clean work of it, then, at 
last.'* 

" Joy, joy to you, Ughtfoot; they say you have killed 
two first-rate harts; what a happy mortal you must be I 
But do, pray, tell me who that smart foreigner is who so 
nearly spoiled all our sport." 

** Most readily will I give you his history, partly col- 
lected from the hill-men, and partly from my own ob- 
servation ; for when his grand affair took place I heard 
and saw all.'' 

'^ He is a French noble, who has had the merit of 
bringing himself into notice as a famous shot ; not, as 
I conceive^ from any feats of skill that he has actually 
performed, but simply from his excellent «{n disant quali- 
ties. He is, as you see, beautifully equipped; that, 
indeed, no one can deny; dressed, too, in the most 
elaborate style. See how knowingly his rifle is slung in 
the German fashion. I assure you that, what with his 
gay good humour, and foreign singularity, he has 
attracted a considerable degree of observation. < His 
discourse is sweet and voluble;' but aged ears by no 
means ^ played truant with his tales ; ' for John Crerar 
and the older sportsmen discovered properties in him 
quite adequate, they said, to destroy the sport of a whole 
season. What was to be done ? If he remained in the 
glen, it was imperative on him to be totally silent : sing- 
ing French airs was out of the question. The deer, 
said the Duke, were not to be had as in the time of 
Orpheus ; on the contrary, it was more becoming to be 

Q 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



282 CONDOLING WITH A VICTIM. 

mute, and to lie concealed like Marius in the marshes 
of Minturnae^ and somewhat better. But it seemed 
quite evident that nothing short of the combined powers 
of laudanum and a strait-waistcoat could effect any 
restraint upon our gentleman. These were not at hand, 
and, if they had been so, it might perhaps have b^n 
thought somewhat inhospitable to have used them ; so 
that idea was dropped at once. In this dilemma it was 
deemed advisable to send him up with the drivers, to 
plague you: in short, it was resolved that he should 
evacuate the glen. He started joyfully, for he was a 
famous walker — out of all sight the best in France; in- 
deed no one of any nation was equal to him. But the 
hill-men asserted that this was not his particular walking 
day; so that, I am told, he soon became most deplorably 
exhausted^ and, according to all accounts, delayed the 
drive at least an hour or so. Fortune bounteously 
gave him many fair shots; but, alas, what she distributed 
with one hand, she took away with the other ; for he 
missed them clean every one." 

" Mais dest etannant cehz. I who never make the miss! ** 
" Perhaps your honour forgot to put in the baal." 
. ** Ah I voilcL ce que (fest, vous Favez trouvcy men ami. 
Le moyen de tuer sans balle I Now, then, I put in the 
powder of canon, and there goes de balle upon the top 
of it — m<yrt de ma vie I I now kill all the stag in 
Scodand, expect a leetle, and you shall surproise 
much.*' 

He was a bad prophet, for he still went on, missing 
as before, amongst winking hill-men and grinning gillies. 
At length, hpwever, the sun of his glory (which bad 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE COUNT BRINGS DOWN A STAG. 2Sd 

been so long eclipsed) shone forth in amazing splendour. 
^' Fortune," says Fluellen, ^* is painted upon a wlieel, to 
signify to you (which is the moral of it) that she is turn- 
ing and inconstant, and mutabilities and variations:" and 
the turn was now in the Count's fayour, for she directed 
his unwilling rifle right towards the middle of a herd of 
deer, which stood ^^ Thick as the autumnal leaves that 
strew the brooks of Vallombrosa.'* Every Uiing was 
propitious : circumstance, situation, and effect ; for he 
was descending the mountain in full View of our whole 
assemblage of sportsmen. A fine stag, in the midst of 
the herd, fell to the crack of his rifle. ^^ Hah, hah ! " 
forward ran the Count, and sat upon the prostrate deer 
triumphing. ^^ Hi biefij man ami, votu Aes mart done I 
Mai je /his totffours des coups s6rs. Ah I pauvre enfant I '' 
He then patted the sides of the animal in pure wanton- 
ness, and looked east, west, north, and south for applause, 
the happiest of the happy ; finally he extracted a Mosaic 
snuff-box from his pocket, and, with an air that nature 
has denied to all save the French nation, he held a 
pinch to the deer^s nose: ^^ Prends, man ami, prendsdoncJ^ 
This operation had scarcely been performed, when the 
hart, who had only been stunned, or perhaps shot through 
the loins, sprang up suddenly, overturned the Count, ran 
fairly away, and was never seen again. 

" jlrrke-toij traiire, arrete, mm. enfant. • Ah, ^est un 
enfxnt perdu! AUez done h tous Us diablesJ* 

Thus ended the Count's chasse. Every body was very 
dorry, and nobody laughed, of course ; as for me, by my 
troth, I will never follow Frenchman's fashion in deer- 
stalking. 



Digitized by VjOOQ IC , 



234 A MUSICAL SPORTSMAN^ 

<* Capital I ottr Parisiaa friend beats the Italian gen- 
tleman, who exhibited in the forest of Glengarry, all to 
fits; though this latter noUe was also of a joyous tum^ 
and a complete contemner of Harpocrates* He was 
posted, as I have heard, at a deer-drive in one of the 
best passes, with strict injunctions as to concealment; 
unfortunately, he made a sl^ht mistake between the 
letter and spirit of the law. It is true ha hid his own 
person very skilfully, but placed his bonnet aloft on a 
birch branch (the weather being hot), in rather a com- 
manding situation s at length, feeling somewhat solitary, 
he began to awaken the echoes by singing Italian airs -— 

'' Eurydice, the woods, Eurydice, the floods, 
Eniydice die rocks and hoUow mountains ning.** 

It is needless to tell you that his Excellency had what is 
termed ^^ a blank day/' 

Although a numerous herd of deer had been brought 
down, something had evidently gone wrong towards the 
east. The Count had for some time the merit of this 
failure; indeed, if he did not totally spoil the driven it 
was not his fault. There was another hero, however, 
who shared the honours with him. It was evident that 
a large parcel of deer, which oug^ to have come down, 
had got the wind of some Gne on the moor ; the point 
and manner of their starting was mariced by the hUI- 
men, and two of than, su^ecting foul play, went forward 
to examine the ground. One of these men hdd a 
lurcher in the leash. After exploring the moor for 
some time^ they came to a deep ravine. Still they saw 
no one. But, in following its course a little way, the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CHASE AFT£R A POACHER. QS5 

lurcher hdd back, stretched forth his neck, and gave a 
low growL At this unequivocal sign, one of the men 
dambered down, and discovered a hind that was newly 
killed ; and as he was advancing under a projecting mass 
of rock, out bolted a kilted man with a gun in his hand : 
hot pursuit immediately commenced. The poacher went 
right up the chasm, down which fell a considerable quan- 
tity of wafer ; the njan, who had ascended, followed af&er 
him, whilst the other who held the dog remained at top^ 
ready to cap him when he came out. The pursuit was 
close and hot; the poacher cutting out good work; the 
pace^ however (owing to the nature of the ground), was 
a bad one in itself. But who can make rapid way up a 
stony cataract ? They scrambled and splashed, and fell 
forward on their hands, and cut their shins, climbing 
over masses of rock that were Ijring in the channel, and 
jumping from them into the water-course, till, at length, 
the Duke's man got hold of the delinquent's foot as he 
was just springing from a rock above him* 

<^ Haud him fiist, Donald, mon— dinpa louse him — 
dinna let him gang awa at ony gait." 

*< Na fear of aw. The de*il a mon ever got frae me 
when it aioce came to dose grips." 

He was completely mistaken^ however, for the fugitive 
slipped out his foot, and left his shoe only prisoner, 
which the wrathful bill-man sent at his head, accom- 
panied by some thundering Chtelic anathema. And now 
the poacher dropped his gun ; perhaps he meant it as a 
lure, like the fabled golden apple; or, perhaps, it was 
done to &vour his speed. However this may be, he 
certainly made much better play without it. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



236 CAPTURE OF THE POACHER. 

When Donald, who was on the banks of the ravine, 
saw how things were going on, he took the advantage of 
the even ground, headed him, and then came down into 
the chasm in front of him, so that our worthy friend 
was placed between two fires. 

Thus have I seen two cunning terriers hem in a 
poaching fox: they rage and press closely upon him, 
whilst the woods and mountains ring mMi their shrill 
clamour. Meanwhile the insulted beast, fixed in a position 
from which he sees no escape, bears his brush against 
a rock) shows his white teeth, and commences gallant 
defensive warfare. Not so our hero; he thought little 
of deeds of arms ; — of fine and imprisonment mud). 
The spectre turnkey was before him, and ugly visions 
of high grated walls and solitary dungeons made him 
desperate. With the vault of Grimaldi he seized hold of 
an impending branch of birch, swung himself aloft by 
strength of arm, and fairly escaped from the abyss, 
leaving his enemies gazing up from below. He got a 
capital start, for the hill-men could not extricate them- 
selves with the same alacrity. 

The bay being now broken, they had a beautiful race 
over the moor; but the light-limbed foresters gained 
ground; the fugitive's pace became worse and worse; 
he laboured and floundered, and was at length seized, 
all breathless and exhausted. 

" Why, how dare the like of ye to come intill his 
Grace's forest, and steal his deer; ye shall pay the lawin, 
mon?" 

" Houte-toute ! I 'm na thief ava*; it's joost for my 
ain diversion ; but ye hae bin owr muckle wi' the Soutli- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A QUIET SHOT. 237 

rong ; and the like o' thae chiels aye ca' liftin, steal- 
ing/' 

^<I think I ha' heard that afore/' says Donald. 
^ What I my friend the Gown-cromb of Badenoch ? will 
no the Lias-mor, or great Garden o' Eden content the 
mon? must he come staukin, and felling the deer in the 
braes o'AthoU?" 

The notorious blacksmith was soon taken down to 
Glen Tilt, and brought in presence of the Duke of 
AthoU: after a sharp remonstrance, his Grace asked 
him whether he would go to Perth gaol for three months, 
or stand a shot from his rifle at a hundred paces. 

The man said he would stand the shot 

"Very well; — John Crerar, step out a hundred 
yards." 

The ground was measured. 

" Now post the man with his front right towards me, 
and give me my best rifle, John." 

The gun was given, and raised slowly, whilst the hill- 
men stood by in a group in breathless suspense ; the 
direction of their eyes changing alternately from his 
Grace to the man. A long and steady aim was taken — 
it was an awful moment, but the blacksmith neither 
flinched nor stirred ; at length the cap of the rifle only 
exploded. 

" Pshaw ! Give me another rifle, John, and take care 
that it be better loaded." 

The second rifle missed fire also, as well it might, it 
having been of course arranged that there should be no 
charge in it. 

** Well, you are a lucky fellow, for I see your time is 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



238 GRANTING A FAVOUR. 

not yet comew Oive the man his fill of whiskey, John ; 
he does not lack courage : but mark me, Master Grown* 
trromb, if ever you come after my deer again, my rifle 
will not miss fire ; and if it does, the gaol at Perth is 
large enough to hold you, and all the poachers in Ba- 
denoch, though ye are a numerous progeny." 

« I wunna say that I will gang entirely wi'out my 
sport, for I canna aye be wanting venison; but yer 
Grace shall never find me in yer forest again. There's 
mony a stoot hart in Glenfiddick, and mony a yell hind 
in the pine woods of Braemar ; let alone Gaigand Glen 
Feshie; and I will leave the braes of AthoU for yer 
Grace to tak yer pleasure in, and never fash them more 
since ye request the favour.** 

Thus ended a deer hunt, fit for the recreation of King 
Jamie; and although stags were not sl«n by hundreds, 
as Lesley has chronicled, or by scores, as the water poet 
has recounted — both of which accounts I hold to be 
gross exaggerations — yet the sport probably was quite 
as ample in proportion to the numbers engaged in it, 
and the small space of time that was occupied in bringing 
down the deer. 

Hie glen, too, as in times of yore, was graced by the 
presence of many a fair and noble dame who had been 
waiting the termination of the drive in the mountain 
lodges ; indeed it is recorded that ladies of high station 
have not only felt a great inclination towards this noble 
sport, but have actually engaged in it 

" Her Majesty*' (Queen Elizabeth), says a courtier, 
writing to Sir Robert Sidney, " is well and exceUently 
disposed to hunting ; for every second day she is on 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TERMINATION OF THE SPORT. 289 

horseback, and continaes the sport long." At this time 
she was in her seventy-seventh year, and was then at 
her palace at Oatlands.* 

The party now proceeded to the hospitable halls of 
Blair; where we will leave them, amidst cultivated so- 
ciety and high-bom beauty, 

^ To fight thdr battles o*er again. 
And thrice to sUjr the slain." 



* There are various other notices of the ddi^^t this Queen took 
in the direnion of killing the stag. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



240 
CHAPTER VIII. 

OF POACHERS AND FREE-BOOTERS. 

«( Donald Caird can wire a maukin* ; 
Kens the wiles o' dun deer-staukin' ; 
Listers kippers, makes a shift 
To shoot a moor-fowl in a drift. 
Water-bailiffi, rangers, keepers, 
He can wauk while they are sleepers ; 
Nor for bountith or reward. 
Dare you mell wi* Donald Caird.** 

Sir W. Scott. 

The passion for hunting wild animals is probably one of 
the most powerful affections of the mind where it has 
once taken root. It is the recreation of nobles and of 
kings — the solace of the gentry — and the allurement 
of the paradise of wild nations. After death, the Indian 
of the West believes that he shall ascend the Rocky 
Mountains, ^' and there among crags, and snows, and 
tumbling torrents; and after many moons of painful 
toil, he will reach the summit, from whence he will have 
a view over the land of souls ; there he will see the 
happy hunting grounds, with the spirits of the brave 
and the good living in tents in the green meadows, by 
bright running streams ; or hunting the herds of buffiilo, 
and elks, and deer, which have been slain on earth." * 

If we look back to remote periods in our own country 
we shall find that the most severe laws — mutilation, and 

* Adventures of Captain Bonnerille, by W. Irring, Esq. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FOREST CONTRACTS. 241 

even the penalty of death itself, have not had sufficient 
terrors to arrest the course of unlawful depredators. 
Deer-killing by poachers was formerly carried on to 
such an extent, that the proprietors of forests found it 
necessary to combine, in order to protect their mutual 
interests. In the Collectanea de rebus Albanicis of the 
lona Club, there is a contract, dated November 3. 1628, 
between several of the principal Highland lairds ^^ for 
the preservation of deer and roe on their respective 
estates, and the punishment of trespassers ; " mutually 
binding themselves to respect each other's forests, and 
cause them to be respected by their retainers, under 
special penalties, according to the rank of the person 
transgressing : a hundred merks for a gentleman, with 
forfeiture of the hagbute or bow ; 40Z. for a tenant; and 
in case of a common man, ^' his bodie to be punishit 
according as pleises the superior of the forest: ane 
witness sufficient" They appear to have had a sort of 
jury trial of poachers. 

There are several old acts of the Scottish parliament 
^' anent steOors of hart, hynd, roe and doe, to be punishit 
as thift, and anent shuitteries at thanie ; quhilk is ap- 
pointed to be punishit with death, and escheit of their 
gudes moveable.** These laws have been reckoned bar- 
barous, but they are not more severe than those which, in 
former times, were in force against sheep-stealers, taking 
likewise into consideration, that sheep are of infinitely less 
value than deer. If it be true that deer wander from one 
forest to another, so that no laird can claim a certain pro- 
perty in them, it is also obvious that the common poacher 
can have no right in any case, and must steal from some 

R 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



242 WANDERIMO POACHERS. 

one or another. The claim can rest with the landed pro* 
prietorsonly. It is a Ikir give and take business, accord*- 
ing to the direction of the wind; your third man, how* 
ever, steps in, and, I am inclined to think, enjoys the 
sport much more than those who are privileged to fellow 
it. In the History of Badenoch, it is mentioned that 
Cluny Macpherson deprived a man of his arm, and of 
one of his eyes, who killed deer afterwards in this muti- 
lated condition. I do not mean to defend the lawless 
proceedings of poachers, but I cannot help confessing 
that there is something so adventurous and so full of 
picturesque character in these rough fellows — so much 
skill exhibited by them, and such endurance of climate 
and fetigue^ as may, in some degree, be admitted as ex- 
tenuating qualities ; and I would not, as Shakspeare's 
townclerk says, ^^ condemn them to everlasting redemptimi 
for this:" I would simply transport them to the wilds of 
America, where they could enjoy their sport without in- 
jury to any one, and we might carry on a trade of fors 
and skins with such free trappers. 

Deer poaching is carried on in two distinct methods* 
In the one case, by a man who belongs more or less to 
the spot, and who hovers about the moors, watching the 
keepers, and seizing his opportunity ; and in the other, 
by gangs of marauders who go from forest to forest, as 
the wind serves, and act in concert : these latter men 
take possession of some deserted bothy, or even of the 
shooting lodges, if they are left unoccupied* There was 
a bothy on TariFside so frequented by them, that it was 
thought necessary to pull it down altogether. These 
poachers commence their operations chiefly at the ter« 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



fiMGLISH VAOABOMDB. 243 

minatton of the regular season, so that the harts are en- 
tirely rank and useless. The yeld hinds, howe^er^ come 
in at that period, and are very fine venison ; and ail the 
otlier hinds make the best possible soup, and are very 
good hillman's eating, though they are totally devoid of 
fat 

Such poachers as go about in gangs, are rough pictu^ 
resque-looking fellows, able to face any weather ; and 
they act, as I have said, in concert. Being a strong 
ferce, they can remove the deer which they kill, without 
much inconvenience, and can readily dispose of it in the 
country. During the time of their depredations, they 
subsist upon what is not saleable ; and with this, and 
their whiskey and tobacco, they must pass a very 
pleasant wandering life. It is extremely difficult for 
keepers to apprehend these foragers, as all of them 
have glasses, and cannot easily be surprised in the open 
ooontry. The best way is to attack the bothy by night, 
and a fine animating scene it would be. I do not think 
that the men would endeavour to save themselves by the 
commission of murder. They have still a high reverence 
for their chieftains, which would restrain them (rom com- 
mitting bloody excesses upon their lawful agents. In 
the Highlands one never hears of such ruffians as infest 
the preserves in England; men who screw up their cou- 
rage at the beer-houses, asserting with imprecations that 
they will shoot any keeper rather than be taken. A 
vicious set they are, bringing up their femilies in idle- 
ness and profligacy ; proceeding from crime to crime, 
till at last, their career ends either on the gallows, or in 
transportation. I have fined and imprisoned scores of 

R 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



244 ADVENTURE AT FELAAR. 

these vagabonds, some of them two or three times over, 
and I never yet heard of one that was reclaimed. They 
are absolute thieves; for there can be no sport in taking 
a hare out of a wire, or shooting a pheasant on his perch 
by night. 

Your Gael, on the contrary, has a fine rough sort of 
sense of honour about him — peculiar enough, to be sure 
— thus, ** the man who refused thirty thousand pounds 
for betraying his prince, was hanged at last for stealing 
a cow.^ It was not long since a poacher was taken in 
the forest of Braemar : having some good points in his 
character, the nobleman who rents the ground very ge- 
nerously told him, that if he would, promise never to 
poach again in that district, his gun, which had been 
taken from him, should be restored, and he himself 
should be set at liberty. He very coolly replied that he 
wished to have an hour to consider of the matter ; at 
the expiration of that time he stepped forward and said, 
<^ Ye may tak' ray gun and me too, for I will no gie 
the promise.** 

Occasionally some superstitious dread will do more 
to prevent deer-stealing, than the most rigid legal 
enactments. An instance having such a tendency, oc- 
curred some years ago in the forest of AthoU. 

There is a shooting-lodge built at Felaar, which, lying 
between the AthoU and Braemar country, has often 
afforded a warm night's rest to travellers overtaken by 
darkness in that bleak and rugged country ; when left 
unoccupied, it has fi*equently been taken possession of 
by poachers. Two such characters arrived there, some 
few years ago, after a pretty successfiil foray, and finding 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



HIGHLAND VAMPIRE. 245 

the door resist their efTortSi they broke open the window; 
and thus having gained admittance, they kindled a fire, 
and began to consider themselves quite at home. Their 
first object was to prepare their supper, but having no 
water in the house, one of them undertook to fetch some ; 
for this purpose he was obliged to get out of the window. 
Having put forth his legs first, he was resting his arms 
on the window-sill, with his face fronted to the interior 
of the cottage. Whilst in this position, he began to 
scream with all his might, roaring out that some fiend 
had hold of his leg, and was tearing it and sucking his 
blood. At length, by a violent struggle, he extricated 
himself, and gained the ground, still in great fright and 
pain. In searching round he could see neither man nor 
beast, nor any living thing. But he very gravely asserted 
that he saw some white objects and some faint blue 
lights at a distance, which continually shifted their situ- 
ations, and at length vanished entirely. 

Having procured water, he did not venture to return 
through the window ; but the door was broken open by 
the united efforts of himself and his companion. They 
spent the night in a state of superstitious alarm, nor 
could they on the following morn discover the track of 
man or beast about the place; their own footsteps alone 
were visible. The injury remained for a considerable 
period ; the man, indeed, bore the marks of it all his 
life, as many people now living at Blair can testify. 
This occurrence, remaining unaccounted for, had such 
an effect, that no poacher took up his quarters at Felaar 
Cottage in after times. 

R 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



246 PETER BRECK. 

Men of this description usually set forth at night when 
the keepers have retired, that they may be on the desired 
ground betimes in the morning ; thus they gain some 
hours upon them. If the wind serves, their first ma- 
noeuvre is to get the deer out of the forest, which is very 
easily done; and when they have them there, they keep 
them as long as they can ; but, unless they go clear away 
to another forest, they generally return by a circuit with 
a side wind at night The only method to defeat these 
lawless proceedings, is to throw up peat bothys near the 
outskirts of the forest at proper intervals, and place 
keepers in them. Such men must be constant in their 
residence, or the poachers will exchange places with 
them. 

I will now relate a story which shows that the keepers 
themselves had not in former times a very nice perception 
of equity : — 

In the montli of July, 1783, the late Duke of Atholl 
summoned his three principal foresters, John Crerar, 
Moon, and Peter Robertson, and promised a handsome 
reward to him who should kill the fattest hart within 
the allotted period of two days, which was meant as a 
present to the king (George III.). Crerar and Moon 
set forward on the following morning before day-break, 
each attended by a hUlman, and provided with a horse. 
Not so, Peter Robertson, better known by the name of 
Peter Breck (from his being pitted with the small-pox). 
He had revolved a scheme in his mind which required 
privacy and craft worthy of the best times of Johnny 
Armstrong. A sort of raid it was, or lifting from his 
neighbours' grounds, that is to say, from the lands of 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PETER brec&'b backsliding. 247 

Gaig.* These lands were at the time possessed by Ste^^* 
art of Qarth (the late General Stewart's father), and 
another gentleman ; they k^t their sheep in Gaig all 
the summer, and during the harvest, and on a low farm 
in the winter and spring. Alexander Mac Dougall 
and Archibald Mac Dermid were shepherds in Gaig for 
many years; and they had taken a fawnf, which they 
tamed, and brought up with two milch cows that were 
pastured in Gaig all the summer ; and at the time 1 am 
now treating of, this pet hart was five years old* He 
was taken to the low farm daring winter and spring, 
and generally lodged every night in the bam ; they fed 
him upon oats, hay, barley, or peas in the straw, of 
which latter provender he was extravagantly fond. By 
these means he became enormously fat, and of a tower* 
ing size, so that he probably exceeded in weight any 
hart in the forest of AtholL Now Peter Breck was 
mindful of this bonny beast, and had often turned the 
tail of his eye upon him ; but his virtue, or, it may 
be, the manner in which the animal was guarded, had 
hitherto borne him out against all temptations. That 
virtue^ however, so impregnable when little was to be 
gained, began to succumb before the promised reward. 
Great allowances must be made for our friend Breck's 
backsliding, for lifting was not quite disgraceful in those 
days; besides the animal was fat, stupendous in size, 
and, in short, altogether undeniable. So Peter took his 
sheltie and attendant, slunk away cannily in the gloam- 
ing, proceeded up Glenbruar, and arrived, at the grey 

* Spelt also Gswick. 

f Calf is the proper term, but both are used. 
B 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



248 TRAP BAITED WITH WHISKEY. 

dawn of day, at the shepherd^s lodge at Gaig. He had 
previously left his attendant and his horse and gun a 
considerable distance above the lodge, at a place called 
Gargaig. He soon roused the shepherds from their 
slumbers, and, pretending to be very drunk, laid himself 
down upon one of the beds they had quitted. This was 
all very natural, for Peter had no great character for 
sobriety ; loud and deep did he snore — never, surely, 
was sleep so sound. 

' And now, as he was lying dormant, as it seemed, 
what should the shepherds see but the black neck of 
a whiskey bottle peeping out from one of his pockets. 
Why should they not tak' it ? What for noo? the mon 
was fou already, and could na want mair. Out it 
came, then, and was soon despatched. The said bottle 
was then filled with water, and returned to the place 
from whence they extracted it. Breck then turned 
restlessly on his other side, when, lo I the neck of an- 
other bottle delighted the eyes of the fortunate herds- 
men ; this was treated precisely in the same manner as 
the first had been, for Breck*s snoring was awfiil, and 
they were safe enough from interruption. As soon as 
this second bottle had been filled with water and re- 
placed in the pocket, Peter thought proper to awake. 
The shepherds now having drunk a bottle of whiskey 
each, had little inclination to go to the hill ; so they 
made a fire, and began to cook some victuals ; Breck 
joined them as they were eating, and told them he could 
help them to some good whiskey, which he had in his 
pocket : this they thought it prudent to decline, saying 
it was too early to drink ; but little suspecting that he 
had been watching all their motions. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE OAIG PET STOLEN. 249 

Both the herdsmen soon became heavy, and feeling 
inclined to sleep, the one threw himself on the bed, and 
the other slept on his seat by the fireside. Breck having 
thus far accomplished his object, stole out of the bothy, 
and seeing the cows and the stag browsing in the plain 
below, he drove them slowly to Gargaig, where he had 
left his rifle, horse^ and attendant The stag followed 
the cows, as he was accustomed to do ; and now being 
fairly at too great a distance from the lodge for his shot 
to be heard, he levelled, and despatched the hart most 
deliberately. No time was lost in cording it on the 
horse, and off he went homewards as fast as he could ; 
but the horse, although a good Highland garron, had 
such difficult in carrying his heavy burthen, that they 
were obliged to rest at Glenbruar, and it was dusk before 
they reached the castle of Blair. 

Brock's arrival made no small sensation ; the Duke 
hastened out to see what he had brought home, and 
being surprised at the great size of the animal, which 
was brought to the portal of the castle, asked where 
he had the goo^ fortune to kill it. "Not on your 
Grace's grounds," was the reply. — " Where then ? " 
inquired the Duke. ^^On the Inverness-shire hills,'' 
replied Breck: "I have had this hart in my eye for 
years, and have seen him frequently, but never in the 
company of any other deer." On being weighed, he was 
found to be nineteen stone, Dutch weight, without the 
gralloch. 

Breck got the reward, somewhat to the mortification 
of Moon and of Crerar, who were better men. The 
truth, however, soon broke out, and his competitors lost 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



250 POACHEES* ADVEMTURE. 

no time in reporting to the Duke that Breck had stolen 
the Gaig pet His grace sent for hini» and demanded 
if it were true that he had stolen it. Breck denied the 
theft lustily ; — he ^ cud na say ' but that it was the 
Gaig pet, but declared that he had got it from the 
shepherds for a Scotch pint of whiskey, which is about 
two quarts. The Duke expressing his surprise that 
they should part witli it for such a trifle, Breck explained 
to his Grace, that the shepherds were aware that he 
(Breck) knew that they had got the stag, when a fawn, 
in the AthoU forest ; as well aa that they frequently 
poached both deer and moor-fowl there ; so that, under 
these considerations, they gave up the pet £or the Scotch 
pinL Peter, however, had still to reckon with the 
shepherds ; but he held their attack lightly, and told 
them, that they were repaid tenfold by their depreda- 
tions on the AthoU forest* thanked them for the care 
they had taken of his fawn, and advised them never to 
steal an honest man's whiskey again, taking advantage 
of his being asleep. 

In the year 1773, two poachers set forth from the 
Braemar country in quest of deer; the weather had been 
lowering for some time, and when they arrived at Tar£F 
Side, they were overtaken by a snow storm ; it was not, 
however, severe ; and when it cleared up, the wind being 
north, they soon got a parcel of deer out of the forest of 
AthoU: these made a long start, as they always do when 
the wind is in that quarter; thus the men had them 
quite away from the preserved part of the forest, and in 
a situation where they were not likely to be interfered 
with. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DESOLATE SITUATION. 251 

After considarable manoeuvring, which occupied the 
greater part of the day, they wounded a hind, and 
traced her a long distance by her blood-drops on the 
snow. In the mean time, as the day drew near a close» 
the wind rose, and the snow-blast returned with greater 
violence; and having been intent on following the traces 
of the wounded deer, they had wandered about till they 
were completely lost. In this condition they heaped 
up a few stones and turfs, and having their plaids, and 
some oat-cake and whiskey with them, passed the night 
without any very serious inconvenience* 

The dawn brought no alleviation to their anxiety; the 
winds howled, and the snow fell, so that no outline of 
mountain or landmark could be seen* It was now no 
longer a question of killing deer, but of saving their 
lives. The wind, which continued north, was their only 
guide, and by turning their backs upon it, they avoided 
the brunt of the storm, and had hopes of reaching Glen 
Tilt or the strath of the Tay. The snow had drifted 
in such masses, that they were unable to pursue any 
decided line, and it was so deep in all places where the 
wind had not acted upon it, that their advance was very 
slow and laborious. 

The small stock of provisions which they took out 
with them was exhausted ; the wind got more into the 
east — a change they were not aware of — so that in 
turning their backs upon it, they travelled towards the 
west instead of towards the south, as they fancied they 
were doing. 

At length, when night was setting in, they saw a deep 
and unknown glen of joyless aspect before them ; they 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



252 A HIGHLAND WITCH. 

descended into it, to avoid the bleak winds of the 
summits, and had proposed to put up a few stones and 
turfs for shelter during the dark hours. Whilst they 
were looking for a convenient spot, to their great relief 
they discovered a shieling, deserted, as they imagined, 
as buildings in such remote places usually are in the 
winter. What, then, was their surprise, when, upon ap- 
proaching the door, it was at once opened, even without 
their knocking. A woman presented herself, of a wild 
and haggard aspect ; told them she had been expecting 
them, and that their supper and beds were ready. Even 
so they found it — the pot was boiling, and bannocks 
and oat-cake were placed upon the table, and also two 
plates, for the expected guests. There was something 
so extraordinary about this old woman, that it operated 
as a sort of fascination, and the men's eyes were con- 
tinually turned upon her. She had large features, long 
lank hair, and small grey eyes, deeply sunk, and con- 
veying a striking expression of vice and cunning; she 
halted on one leg, and chaunted a wild song, in an un- 
known language, while she was pouring out the kail. 

Tired and exhausted as the men were, the whole 
thing appeared to their superstitious imaginations so 
much like witchcraft, that, although half famished, they 
could scarcely bring themselves to eat Fear came upon 
them, when she waved her long sinewy arms, and darkly 
hinted that she had power over the winds and the storm, 
muttering at intervals some unintelligible sentences; 
then at once holding up a rope, with three knots tied in 
it. " If," quoth she, " I louse the first, there shall 
blaw a fair wind, such as the deer stalker may wish; if 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SUPERSTITIOUS POACHERS. 253 

I loose the second, a stronger blast shall sweep o'er the 
hills ; and if I louse the third, sic a s^orm will brack out 
as neither man or beast can thole ; and the blast shall 
youle down the corries and the glens, and the pines shall 
fa' crashin' into the torrents, and this bare arm shall 
guide the course o' tlie storm, as I sit on my throne of 
Caim-Gower, on the tap of Ben-y-gloe. Weel did ye 
ken ray po'er the day, when the wind was cauld and 
deidly, and all was dimmed in snaw, — and ye see that 
ye was expectit here, and ye hae brought nae venison ; 
but if ye mean to thrive, ye maun place a fat hart, or a 
yeld hind in the braes of Atholl, by Eraser's Cairn, at 
midnight, the first Monday in every month, while the 
season lasts, — the laird's ghaist will no middle wi' it. 
If ye neglect this my bidding, foul will befall ye, and the 
fate of Walter of Rhuairm shall o'ertake ye ; ye shall 
surely perish on the waste ; the raven shall croak your 
dirge ; and your banes shall be pickit by the eagle." 

Awed, superstitious, and depressed as they were by 
fatigue, the poachers were not backward in giving the 
promise, though it is not very probable that they ever 
performed it. They passed the night in deep sleep, and 
it was late before they rose from their beds of heather, 
when they asserted that their hostess had vanished. 

The snow storm having ceased, they found their way 
into the track which led to Blair, and got into the strath 
of the Tay. This is supposed to have been the last time 
that the witch of Ben-y-gloe held converse with mortal 
man; but those who were less given to superstition, 
believed that the woman had been expecting her own 
friends, who were probably also poachers detained by the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



254 freebooter's life. 

storm, and that she had made use of the above artifices 
in order to obtain venison. 

Chisholm's Cave, in Carn-Vadiio, in the Ben Klibreck 
forest, in Sutherland, derives its name from a freebooter, 
who passed his life in caverns, poaching and living upon 
pilli^. His early history cannot be traced satisfiu^torily ; 
but it is probable that he became a recluse in conse- 
quence of having committed some atrocious crime; and 
that he selected the retired cave at the back of Klibreck, 
from his love of a forest life. He was not a native of 
Sutherland, nor had he, whilst there, been guilty of any 
heinous crime ; but he scrupled not to make frequent 
nocturnal visits to the inhabited parts of Strathnaver, 
and, on such occasions, to carry off to his caverns, com, 
and such other necessaries as were not to be procured 
around his desolate abode. 

The large cave, which bears his name, is an extensive 
winding cavity, or rather a succession of open spaces 
or holes of unusual size, such as Brobdignag rabbits 
might be supposed to haunt. In this dismal labyrinth, 
Chisholm lived many years ; it is said he kept two cows 
underground, and left venison in lieu of the hay and 
grain which he plundered in the cultivated strath. 

This sort of bartering gave little offence ; nay, sotne 
were gratified by it, for Chisholm was dreaded as a 
lawless man, whom it was dangerous to anger or molest : 
they considered that a person who could live in thegloomy 
holes under Carn-Vaduc, must be in the service of 
the powers of darkness, and that it was not safe or 
canny to interfere with him. Even the foresters used 
to shun him, though he was never known to offer per- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



JOHN MORE. 255 

ftonal Tiolence. He lived so much apart from the rest of 
mankind, and was so seldom seen, that his dress and 
appearance became latterly a matter of doubt, and the 
manner and time of his death was never known. He 
either removed privately from the country, or expired 
in one of the remote chambers of the cavern, which no 
person was hardy enough to explore. 

A similar system of free living was adopted by a man 
named John More, who lived in Durness about the 
same time, and rented a small farm near the Dirrie-more. 
He neither had, nor cared to have, permission to kill 
deer and game; but his whole time was devoted to 
poaching, and his wild mode of life rendered him an 
uncouth but tolerated plunderer of the forest. 

Donald Lord Reay happening to pass near John 
More's residence one summer morning, determined to 
call and endeavour to reclaim him from his lawless pro- 
pensities. He left his attendants at some distance, that 
he might ensure confidence on the part of his rude host. 
He found John at home, and told him that he called to 
get some breakfast. John was evidently proud of this 
visit, and pleased with the frank manner in which he 
was accosted, having been usually threatened by those 
in authority with imprisonment and the gallows. 

*^ Come in, Donald," said John, in Gaelic, " and sit 
on my stool, and you will get to eat what cost me some 
trouble in collecting,^' 

His IcNxIship entered the hut, and was soon seated in 
a dismal comer; but John opened a wooden shutter 
that had filled up a hole in the wall, through which 
day-light entered, and revealed a tall black-looking box, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



256 poacher's fare. 

which was the only article in the house that could be 
used as a table. John bustled about widi great activity^ 
and, to his lordship's surprise, pulled out from the box 
two or three beautifully white dinner napkins. One 
of them was placed on the top of the box as a table clotby 
and the other spread on his lordship's knees. The fire, 
which glimmered in the centre of the room, was then 
roused, and made to bum more freely. This proceeding 
denoted that John had some provisions to cook; — ^from a 
dark mysterious recess he drew forth a fine gilse, already 
split open and ready for being dressed. By means of 
two long wooden spigots, which skewered the fish, and 
the points of which were stuck into the earthen hearth, 
the gilse was placed before the burning peats, and turned 
occasionally. Soon after a suspicious-looking piece of 
meat was placed over the embers; and when all was 
cooked, John placed it upon the box before his chiefs 
saying — " John More's fattest dish is ready : '* — ad- 
ding, that the salmon * was from one of his lordship's 
rivers, and the meat the breast of a deer. Lord Reay 
asked for a knife and some salt; but John replied — 
*' that teeth and hands were of little use, if they could 
not master dead fish and flesh; that the deer seasoned 
their flesh with salt on the hill, whilst the herring could 
not do so in the sea ; and that the salmon, like the 
Durness butter, was better without salt." 

John produced, also, some smuggled brandy; and 
pressed his lordship to eat and drink heartily, making 
many remarks on the manliness of eating a good break** 
fast. 

* A gilse 18 supposed to be a young salmon. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SUTHERLAND MONSTER. 257 

The chief thought this a good opportunity to endea- 
wwiT to make a proper impression upon his lawless host; 
and, after having been handsomely regaled by plunder 
from his own forest, determined to act with such gene- 
rosity towards More as yrould keep him within reason- 
able bounds in future. 

" I am well pleased, John (said he), that although 
you invade the property of others, you do not conceal 
the truth, and that you have freely given me the best 
entertainment that your depredations on my property 
have enabled you to bestow. I will, therefore, allow you 
to go occasionally to Fionavon in search of a deer, if you 
will engage not to interfere with deer or any sort of game 
in any other part of my forest." 

More could never tolerate any restraint, and his 
answer was begun almost before Lord Reay had finished 
his handsome offer. 

" Donald (said he), you may put Fionavon in your 
paunch, — for wherever the deer are, there will John 
More be found." 

This conversation was in Gaelic, in which language 
the peculiar phraseology is more piquant than can be 
rendered in English. 

Donald Mac Currochy Mac-Ean-More, who lived 
latterly at Hope, was another very noted poacher, in 
Sutherland. Numerous anecdotes are told of this man ; 
but they refer rather to the great enormities he was in 
the habit of committing, than to his lighter trespasses 
amongst the deer. His acts of violence and injustice 
were so unusual and savage as to render him an object 
of universal abhorrence. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



258 A PRIEST IN DANGER. 

His family name was Macleod. He deliberately 
murdered his nephew, that he might possess himself of 
the adjoining lands of Eddrachilles ; and he afterwards 
put to death several of his friends, whose revenge he an- 
ticipated. He was an expert archer ; — so ruthless a 
villain, and so ready to slay any one that offended him, 
— and, indeed, every one whom he could attack, whether 
friend or foe, that, at a period when the law was quite 
inoperative in the remote corners of the Highlands, he 
became the terror of the entire country. The greater 
part of his time was spent in the Dirrie-more forest, 
where he was very successful with his long bow. 

His nephew, when attacked by him, took refuge in a 
straw-covered hut, in an island on an inland loch ; but 
Mac Currochy tied burning pitch and tow to the head 
of an arrow, and firing it into the roof,, set the place in 
flames. The young man endeavoured to escape by 
swimming, but an arrow from the ruffian's bow pierced 
his heart just as he was reaching the shore. 

Mac Currochy's shieling was without a door or win- 
dow, and he entered by a hole in the roof, from which 
he would occasionally take a shot at a passing traveller. 
It is reported of him, that when walking with his son, 
a mere boy, on the banks of the river Hope, they saw a 
neighbouring priest on the opposite side of the river ; 
young Mac Currochy exclaimed, — 

" O, daddy, give me your bow that I may bring down 
the priest." 

" He is at too great a distance from you," said the 
father, " and you would get us into trouble, if you 
attempted to kill him without succeeding." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



HIGHLAND ROBIN HOOD. 259 

The priest, unconscious of his danger, approached 
nearer the river, and seated himself on a projecting 
stone. 

«* Now, daddy," said the youngster, " give me the 
bow, as I am certain I can hit him.'* 

But the old man, still doubtful of his son's success, 
and expecting to obtain a nearer aim, refused this second 
request also. When the priest moved off, the boy in- 
sisted upon being permitted to shoot at the stone upon 
which he had been sitting; and having hit it with an 
arrow the very first trial, Mac Currochy complained 
bitterly of his want of judgment, in having resisted his 
son's desire, and d— d himself " for vexing the boy's 
spirit." 

Mac Currochy was master of a gun, which, along with 
his bow, he is said to have thrown into a deep cavity 
amongst the loose blocks of stone on the side of Craig- 
na-garbat, which forms a shoulder of Ben-Hope, when 
he felt himself dying. Many attempts have been made 
by the neighbouring inhabitants to discover these relics, 
but without success. 

This ruthless villain was buried in a hole in the wall 
of Durness church, by his own direction, to baulk the 
threat of an old woman, who told him, when he was 
dying, that she should soon have the pleasure of dancmg 
over his grave. There is a inide monument over his 
resting-place, on which a grotesque figure of Donald is 
cut, in which he is represented as drawing his bow and 
killing a deer. There is also an inscription, bearing 
date 1623, the year of his death. It runs as follows : — 

s 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



260 '0UR-NA-K£LI0. 

** Donald Makmarchor 
Hier lyis lo, vas il to his 
Friend, Var to his Fo : 
True to his Maister in Veird 
And Vo." 

Which was probably meant to pass as a rhime, thus, — 

Donald M'Marchow here lies low, 
Was ill to his friend, war (worse) to his foe; 
True to his master in word and vow, 
(Or in weal and woe). 

Several of the forest anecdotes in Sutherland refer 
to a person known by the name of Our-na-Kelig, who 
resided in the parish of Loth, and who appears to have 
been not only a most successful and constant hunter of 
deer, but also a most stout and valiant clansman. His 
history is involved in considerable mystery, but his 
memory does not appear to have been tarnished with 
any thing like secret assassination, or other serious 
crime. His proper name is unknown ; that of Our-na- 
Kelig, by which alone he is referred to in tradition, is» 
I am told, descriptive of the grey or light colour of his 
dress, and of his being a great eater of cod fish, or 
often engaged in catching it. 

In a bloody skirmish between some Strathnaver 
men arid those of the eastern coast of Sutherland, at 
Drumderg, in Glen Loth, Our-na-Kelig engaged one of 
the Strathnaver men, whose two sons also were present. 
He always laid about him with a two-handed sword, 
swinging it around with great fury, and letting it fall 
on his adversary with irresistible violence ; giving such 
a stroke as Ariosto describes, when he says ^^ Cola un 
fendente : " Anglice, — " lets fall a cleaver." With 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OUR-NA-KELIO. 261 

this formidable weapon he soon despatched the Strath- 
naver man, — whether or not he divided him from head 
to foot into two equal parts, tradition does not say ; but 
it relates that the sons of the slain roan rushed instantly 
on the victor with desperate rage, but only to meet the 
death of their father. 

The Strathnaver men were defeated ; and the fame 
previously acquired by Our-na-Kelig, as a formidable 
swordsman, was prodigiously increased by the slaughter 
of three powerful men in open combat. 

Soon after this onslaught, Our-na-Kelig went into 
the Ben Ormin forest to kill himself some venison, as 
he was wont to do, without being very particular about 
the laws of property. 

Sufficed him ; the simple plan, 
That they should take who have the power, 
And they should keep who can." 

He bent the best and stiffest bow in the country — 
killed a deer when he was hungry, and would devour a 
whole limb of it, hastily roasted between two peat fires, 
lighted for the purpose oa the open heath. Well — he 
set forth in quest of venison, nor had he been out long 
before he wounded a hart, and sent his dog after him. 
The chase led him far away over the hills, and he was 
overtaken by a heavy snow storm ; benumbed with cold, 
and weary with floundering in the drift, his only hope 
for preserving his life consisted, perhaps, in being able 
to reach one of the shielings in Strathnaver. After long 
and painful toil, — his life-blood chilled, and in a state 
of dreadful exhaustion, — - he arrived after nightfall at a 

s 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



262 THE widow's hospitality. 

small bothy during one of the most bitter blasts of the 
storm; — far different now in plight than on that me- 
morable day when he signalised himself in combat, he 
humbly sued for shelter. The shieling was inhabited 
only by a woman and her daughter, who, being intimi- 
dated, refused his request. He earnestly answered that 
he was so worn out by struggling against the storm, that 
he could go no farther, and that he must shortly perish, if 
refused admittance ; the poor woman's kind heart got the 
better of her fears, and she removed the fastenings of the 
door; then, as it was driven inwards by the violence of the 
wind, and as the snow beat upon her care-worn &ce, she 
said in Graelic, whilst the tear stood in her eye, — 

*^ That on such a night as this she could not refuse 
admission into her bothy even to Our-na-Kelig himself, 
should he be wandering on the moor, although he had 
slain her good man and her two brave sons, and left her 
ill to do in the world, and desolate." 

Our-na-Kelig was not personally known to this poor 
widow; and having obtained admittance and shelter, 
forbore to distress her feelings by revealing his name to 
one who had so much reason to dread and detest him. 
He ate of her meal, and restored his benumbed limbs 
before her peat fire ; and it may be that his heart smote 
him as he felt his vigour returning, and cast his eyes 
upon his wretched preserver. He parted firom her next 
morning with expressions of gratitude ; and upon his 
return home, sent her five bolls of meal from his rich 
corn farm in the parish of Loth, and continued the same 
gratuity to her annually during her life. 

A white hind roamed over the district of Loch Etive 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



AN UNTOWARD SHOT. 263 

in the year 1622, and soon after disappeared. An ani- 
mal varying so much from its common species gave rise 
to saperstitious stories ; and a tradition was handed down 
that, should a white hind again appear, death by violence 
would enme. A few years ago (I have not received the 
precise date) another white hind did make her appear- 
ance, and created a great sensation on account of the 
above tradition. In the depth of the winter of that year, 
a few determined poachers went forth, when the wild 
wilderness of mountains was covered with snow, and 
the bums ran sluggishly through their icy barriers* 
In such a dead season the keepers might well be sup- 
posed to be absent from the hills. The lawless band, 
having arrived at their station, made their dispositions 
for driving and killing the deer. They toiled up the 
rugged steeps, and, having taken possession of the fa- 
vourite passes, sent forth their practised scouts to put 
the herd to them : these men communicated with the 
others, as is usual, by means of signab. The day wore 
away without any successful result : at length, as it drew 
to a dose, and the fading light gave a dubious appear- 
ance to the form of things, one of the drivers who was 
advancing from behind an eminence, and who had 
urged the deer forward, brought his head above the 
sky line, and held up his arms as a signal that the herd . 
was below. This fatal sign doomed him to death ; — 
his companion in the pass, as night was just closing in, 
mistaking this figure for the head and horns of a stag, 
fired with fatal precision, and shot the unfortunate 
poacher in the head. As the whole party were engaged 
in an unlawful act, they sought to conceal the miserable 

s 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



264 ATHOLL POACHERS. 

manner in which the poor fellow came by his death ; so 
they cast the body over the high and precipitous rocks, 
by which means it was so mangled that their account of 
the accident^ by a fall from an eminence, was very ge- 
nerally believed ; the sister of the sufferer, however, in 
laying out the body, discovered the shot^wound in the 
head, and hinted that all was not right. But as all the 
party had been engaged in poaching, and as the fatal 
occurrence was, at all events, an accident, in which re- 
tributive justice was in no way concerned, the afiair 
was hushed up, and is known, even at this day, but to 
a few. This hind does not seem to have been a real 
legitimate witch of the good old school, for independent 
of this superstition, I have heard of nothing supernatural 
in which she had any concern. She was lately found 
dead in Glen-Etive ; and Mr. CampbeU of Monzie has 
obligingly sent me a piece of her skin, which is pure 
white, without mixture or blemish. 

The following account will prove the extent to which 
poaching was occasionally carried on, even in the face of 
honest and vigilant keepers. 

One of the most notorious poachers in Atholl forest, 
in former days, was D— S .* He resided in 
the district, and is still living. He kept his masons 
upon venison whilst they were building his house in 1812, 
and subsisted his family on the same diet^ 

This D S J accompanied by C— — R 

and A O , went forth on a poaching excursion 

in the forest of Atholl, when they knew that the regular 

* Some of these worthies being still in existence, their names are 
partly suppressed according to promise. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



AN UNWELCOME MESSENGER. 265 

foresten were upon distant doty. After having killed 

two or three deer, which C— R , as being the 

least skilful shot of the party, was left to gralloch, night 
came on, and they boldly made for the lodge of 
Ridorrach.* Early the next morning the wind was to 
the nortbf and they saw a long string of deer coming 
forward towards Ben Derig; judging from this that 
some one was coming up the glen, they shifted their 
quarters without loss of time, crossed the Bruar, and 
from an eminence on the wegt of the river, with the 
help of their glasses, they spied Donald M acbeath, the 
forester, who lived down the glen, at Richlachrie, and 
who was coming up the water side. 

Having the advantage of the ground, and the wind 
being north, this did not impede their operations, and 

by one o'clock D S had shot two hinds. In 

the midst of this success they saw three men (who had 
probably been stalking them for some time) running to- 
wards them at full speed. They immediately took to 
flight, but having their guns and other encumbrances 
with them, whilst their pursuers were empty handed, 
they lost ground rapidly. Thus they were reduced to 
the predicament either of surrendering or giving battle. 
Things being in this state, O-^— e motioned to them 
with his hand to keep back, and told them that if they 
did not mind his voice, he would send a stronger and a 
more unwelcome messenger to them. They paid no 

heed to this menace; and O e, actually putting his 

cowardly threat into execution, levelled his piece and 

* 1 am not quite clear as to the accuracy of this name, being 
4inacquainted with it myself. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



266 ADVENTURE IN OLEN TILT. 

fired. The ball struck tlie snow at the feet of one of 
the party. 

S and R , his comrades, were thtinderstruck 

at this mad act of O e, and peaceably awaited the 

coming up of the other party, who proved to be poachers 
like themselves. The man fired at was outrageous, and 
he had good reason to be so ; but after various threats on 
one side, and submission on the other, matters at length 
took a pacific turn. 

These poachers who had given chase, finding that 
others of the fraternity were before them, and were 
putting a complete obstacle to their success, hid their 
guns, and endeavoured, by passing for keepers, to drive 
them out of the forest. The finesse, as has been seen, 
wanted but little of ending in bloodshed. 

When men went forth singly on these unlawiul ex- 
cursions, they were sometimes placed in considerable 
difficulties for want of efficient assistance. A poacher 
had very lately a desperate struggle in Glen Tilt, the 
particulars of which I mention as they came from his 
own mouth, for he was never discovered. 

He set off in the evening, that he might be on a deer 
cast by the grey of the morning : whilst it was dark he 
descried the horns of a deer in a hollow very near him ; 
he had small shot only in his gun, and was in such a po- 
sition, that he could not change the charge without 
danger of disturbing the stag. He crept, however, so 
close to him, that when he sprung on his legs, he fell to 
the shot. Not a little surprised, the poacher threw 
down his gun, dashed forward, and seized his victim by 
the hind leg ; but it was no easy matter to hold him* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DESPEEATE STRUGGLE. 267 

In this struggle the man kept his grip firmly, whilst the 
deer dragged him at a tearing pace amongst the large 
stones and birch hags, till he was all over bruises, his 
1^ severely lacerated, and his clothes torn to shreds; 
his bonnet and plaid had entirely disappeared. 

He now contrived to get hold of his knife, but it 
dropped in the struggle ; and as the deer still sustained 
its vigour, he had much ado to keep hold of the limb 
even with both his hands. The darkness became deeper 
as the animal tore and strained forward, through the 
skirts of a birch wood, and both repeatedly fell together. 

Breaking forth again into the open moor, he found 
his weight was beginning to tell on the energy of the 
stag, so that he had power to swing him from side to side, 
till at length, just as they were re-entering the wood, 
this determined bull-dog of a fellow fairly laid him on 
his broadside, and with such force that the crash seemed 
to stun him. 

Stripped almost naked as the man was, his shirt and 
kilt torn to tatters, and his hose and brogues nearly 
gone^ he still contrived, by means of his garters and shot 
belt, to secure the deer, by binding his hind leg to a 
birch tree. Having accomplished this with great dif- 
ficulty, he returned for his gun, and thus at length 
secured his victim. 

If that vast tract of land in the extreme north, de- 
signated as " Lord Reay's country," has produced some 
wild and ferocious characters, it has likewise tempered 
its romantic district by giving birth to a man of no or- 
dinary celebrity. Rob Doun, or brown Robert, was 
bom in the heart of it, at Durness, in the year 1714; 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



268 ROB OOUN. 

and although a distinguished bard in his time, would 
probably have sunk into oblivion had he not fortunately 
been rescued from it by a publication of his Poems, and 
an Essay, prefixed to them, by the Rev. Dr. Mackay, 
minister of Laggan. Rob could neither write nor read; 
nor was he much of a philosopher : there ' were no 
academic groves in the wild land of his fathers. *^ But 
the habits of oral recitation were in vigour all about 
him," and being, by nature, endowed with a rich 
fancy, and a retentive memory, his mind was stored 
with romantic legends and superstitions, which, perhaps, 
abound more in that district than in any other part of 
Scotland. 

The following account of this northern bard I have 
extracted from the Quarterly Review for July, 1831, 
with some variation, however, for the sake of com* 
pression : — 

^^His witty sayings, his satires, his elegies, and, above 
all, his love songs, had begun to make him famous not 
only in his native glen, but wherever the herdsmen of 
a thousand hills could carry a stanza or an anecdote. 
Donald Lord Reay, a true-hearted chief, resident con- 
stantly amidst his * children,' and participating in all 
their affections, presently claimed for himself the care 
of the rising bard of Mackay ; and Rob was invested 
with the office of boman^ or head cattle keeper, an em- 
ployment which, at that time, carried with it abundance 
of respect in the eyes of his fellow-mountaineers. 

^^ Rob was an inveterate deer-stalker : from earliest 
youth it had been his delight to spend days, nights, and 
even weeks among the wilclernesses, in pursuit of this 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A POET-POACHER. 269 

spirit-stirring diversion ; and, among prouder titles to 
distinction, his kinsmen honoured him as a marksman 
of the first order, and a proficient in the mountain 
chase. In his boyish days no one had ever dreamt of 
restraining indulgences of this kind ; and though now 
law had been added to law, and regulation to regulation, 
' honest theft is the spoil of the wild deer ' continued to 
be a proverb in every mouth, and even the boman of 
Lord Reay was a constant trespasser; often had he nar- 
rowly escaped the arm of the law, and yet nothing seemed 
capable of converting him from his darling error." 

" He was more than once," says the writer of his 
memoirs, ^* detected in the forbidden act, and in due 
time summoned before the sheriff-substitute, when, in 
event of sufficient evidence, the issue must have been 
banishment to the colonies, in terms of the statute. 
An anecdote on this occasion, strongly characteristic of 
the bard, has been lately related to us by his still sur- 
viving daughter. He set out to attend the court early 
in the morning, attended by a neighbour, one of his 
wonted hunting companions. The prospect of trans- 
portation pressed heavily on his friend's spirit ; but the 
bard remained seemingly quite tranquil. Not so his 
wife, who, with lamentations and tears, could not be 
prevented from accompanying her husband a part of 
the way. The bard would not, even now, part with his 
favourite rifle, but shouldered it at departing with his 
wonted glee. ^ It was,' said his daughter, in reciting 
this anecdote in the Gaelic tongue, ' Bha gunna caol, 
dubh, fada, mallaicht aige,' that is, a slender, black, 
long, wicked gun which he had. They had not pro- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



270 ROB DOUN. 

ceeded beyond a mile from home when they came full 
upon a small herd of deer. Rob was not to be restrained. 
He fired, and shot two of them dead upon the spot. His 
wife^ before in extreme consternation, was not now to 
be pacified. She imagined that her husband had just 
sealed his doom. He beseeched her to be silent. ' Go 
home/ said he, * and send for them ; if I return not, you 
shall have more need for them ; ' but, saluting her, he 
added, in kindlier terms, ^fear not, it shall go hard with 
me if I am not soon with you again to have my share/ 
The truth was, that, though threatened by the authori- 
ties, there was scarcely one of the country gentlemen 
who would not have gone any length to protect the 
bard from the violence of the law." 

This action, and some satirical ballads written by our 
bard, created a coolness between Rob Doun and his 
chief; but he obtained protection afterwards in the family 
of Colonel Mackay. 

I conclude this notice with a short extract from one 
of his translated songs, written after a long absence 
from the object of his love, who eventually proved faith- 
less : — '^ the home-sickness it expresses appears to be 
almost as much that of the deer-stalker, as of the loving 



*' Ohy for th6 day for tturning my face homeward, 
That I may see the maiden of beauty : — 
Joyful will it be to me to be with thee» 
Fair girl with the long heavy locks ! 

.*' Choice of all places for deer-hunting 
Are the brindled rock and the ridge ! 
How sweet at evening, to be dragging the slain deer 
Downwards along die Piper's Cairn ! 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CURIOUS TRIAL FOR MURDER. 271 

** Easy is my bed, — it is easy ; 

But it isDot to sleep that I incline : 
The wind whistles northwards, northwards. 
And my thoughts move with it.*' 

To this account of poachers and freebooters, already 
I fear too long} I venture only to add a notice of a very 
singular trial which took place at Edinburgh, on the 
10th of June, 1754. 

Duncan Terig, alias Clerk, and Alexander Bain Mac- 
donald, both notorious poachers, and reputed freebooters, 
were indicted at the instance of his Majesty's advocate, 
for the murder of Arthur Davies, sergeant in General 
Guise's regiment of foot, in the year 1749. The trial, 
though not of an unprecedented nature, involves a very 
curious point of evidence, and was printed in 1831, at 
the expense of Sir Walter Scott, and presented by him 
to the members of the Bannatyne Club. Its circulation 
being thus limited, I am glad of an opportunity of 
inserting Sir Walter's remarks upon it, which are pro- 
bably novel to the majority of the public. 

" The cause of this trial," says Sir Walter, " bloody 
and sad enough in its own nature, was one of the acts of 
violence which were the natural consequences of the civil 
war in 1745. 

** It was about three years after the battle of CuUoden, 
that this poor man. Sergeant Davies, was quartered, 
with a small military party, in an uncommonly wild part 
of the Highlands, near the country of the Farquharsons, 
as it is called, and adjacent to that which is now the pro- 
perty of the Ikirl of Fife. A more waste tract of moun- 
tain and bog, rocks and ravines, extending from Dubrach 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



272 SERGEANT DAVIES. 

to Glenshee, without habitations of any kind, until you 
reach Glen-Ciunie, is scarcely to be met with in Scot- 
land. A more fit locality, therefore, for a deed of mur- 
der could hardly be pointed out, nor one which could 
tend more to agitate superstitious feelings. The hill of 
Christie, on which the murder was actually committed^ 
is a local name, which is probably known in the country, 
though the editor has been unable to discover it more 
specially, but it certainly forms part of the ridge to 
which the general description, applies. Davies was at^ 
tached to the country where he had his residence, by the 
great plenty of sport which it afforded ; and when des- 
patched upon duty across these mountains, he usually 
went at some distance from his men, and followed his 
game, without regarding the hints thrown out about 
danger from the country people. To this he was exposed, 
not only from his being entrusted with the odious office 
of depriving the people of their arms and national dress, 
but still more, from his usually carrying about with him 
a stock of money and valuables, considerable for the 
time and period, and enough of itself to be a temptation 
to his murder. 

" On the 28th day of September the sergeant set 
forth, along with a party which was to communicate 
with a separate party of English soldiers at Glenshee ; 
but when Davies's men came to the place of rendezvous, 
their commander was not with them, and the privates 
could only say that they had heard the report of his gun 
after he had parted from them on his solitary sport. In 
short. Sergeant Arthur Davies was seen no more in this 
life, and his remains were long sought for in vain. At 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



POLYGLOT GHOST. 273 

length a native of the country, named M*Pherson, made 
it known to more than one person, that the spirit of the 
unfortunate huntsman had appeared to him, and told him 
he had been murdered by two Highlanders, natives of 
the country, named Duncan Terig, alias Clerk, and 
Alexander Bane Macdonald. Proofs accumulated; and 
a person was even found to bear witness, that lying in 
concealment upon the hill of Christie (the spot where 
poorDavies was killed), he and another man, now dead, 
saw the crime committed with their own eyes. A girl, 
whom Clerk afterwards married, was nearly at the same 
time seen in possession of two valuable rings, which the 
sergeant used to have about his person. Lasdy, the 
counsel and agents of the prisoners were convinced of 
their guilt* Yet, notwithstanding all these suspicious 
circumstances, the panels were ultimately acquitted by 
the jury, 

" This was chiefly owing to the ridicule thrown upon 
the story by the incident of the ghost, which was en- 
hanced seemingly, if not in reality, by the ghost-seer 
stating the spirit to have spoken as good Gaelic as he 
had ever heard in Lochaber. 

" ' Pretty well,* answered Mr. Macintosh, * for the 
ghost of an English sergeant ! ' This was, indeed, no 
sound jest, for there was nothing more ridiculous in a 
ghost speaking a language which he did not understand 
when in the body, than there was in his appearing at all. 
But still the counsel had a right to seize upon whatever 
could benefit his client ; and there is no doubt that this 
observation rendered the evidence of the spectre yet 
more ridiculous ; in short, it is probable that the ghost of 

T 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



274 GHOST NO LAWYER. 

Sergeant Davies, had he actually been to devise how to 
prevent these two men from being executed for his own 
murder, could hardly have contrived a better mode than 
by the apparition in the manner which was sworn to. 

'^ The most rational supposition seems to be, that the 
crime had come to M^Pherson's (the ghost-seer) know- 
ledge, by ordinary means> of which there is some evi- 
dence ; but desiring to have a reason for communicating 
it, which could not be objected to by the people of the 
country, he had invented this machinery of the ghost, 
whose commands, according to Highland belief, were 
not to be disobeyed. If such were his motives, his 
legend, though it seemed to set his own tongue at liberty 
upon the subject, yet impressed on his evidence the fate 
of Cassandra's prophecies, that, however true, it should 
not have the fortune to be believed.'* • 

* The trial of these meo is curious and interesting^ but too long 
for insertion in these pages. I have, however, ventured to copy out 
the evidence of the two ghost-seers, which contains the chief points 
in it, and to insert them in an appendix. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



•275 



CHAPTER IX. 

*< What if a gentleman without bis recreations?" 

Cornish Cofnftbf. 

** Jamieson desires me to tell you, sir, that there are 
three fine harts feeding on the swell of Ben Derig, high 
above the cottage, and he thinks you had better get up, 
for it is five o'clock." 

" A goodly warning, John; make ready our breakfast 
immediately, and let the hill-men swallow theirs as 
quickly as possible. I will call Mr. Lightfoot myself 

" What ho I hillo, hillo, comrade ! Up, up, and be 
stirring!" 

" Eh ! — what — where — when ? comest thou to 
draw Priam's curtains in the dead of night? " 

" Night I now by him who sits on high Olympus, 

* Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund mom 
Sits tiptoe on the misty mountain's top.' 

There are twenty harts cropping the heather bells on 
the Red Mountain, just above the lodge. 

' Falsely luxurious will not man awake ! ' " 

" Oh, as for that, you see, l*m quite alive ; — yaw — 
yaw ! — confoundedly stiff though : I do not think that 

T 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



276 ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DAY. 

arquebusade of yours is genuine. But you'll give me 
time to put on my clothes, won't you? and although you 
dispense with sleep, I pray you not to dispense with 
breakfast I always eat before I go out ; my father and 
mother did so before me. Now here I am, you see, 

fresh as a just give me a helping hand will you, my 

good friend ? thank you : — now then, on goes my best 
jacket; for this day I mean to do ^ a deed of mighty 
note.* *• 

" Bravo ! up with you then, my good fellow, quanta 
primA : in the mean time I will go out and examine the 
three harts." 

" Three I — three harts ! why thou said'st twenty, 
ere now ! " 

" Ay, in buckram : twenty deer, you know, will 
rouse your somnolent man sooner than three : there is 
a great charm in numbers." 

Tortoise clapped on his bonnet, and marched forth 
with his telescope, all unclad as he was, save in slippers 
and dressing-gown. The harts were perused, and found 
prodigious of course. A brief toilette — a breakfast short, 
sharp, and decisive, and perhaps a caulker, as the Ettrick 
Shepherd has it 

All now were ready and about to start, when a hill- 
man came panting in with a letter from the Duke of 
AthoU containing instructions for Tortoise to bring 
down as many deer as he could, and to be at the Green" 
Knows at three o'clock, mentioning where he and his 
parties would be posted, and saying that his men would 
keep them in on the west after they had passed a certain 
point In the mean time. Tortoise and his friend were 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A TICKLISH SITUATION. 277 

to kill what they could. This was pleasant news. Tliey 
had a long day before them, and plenty of time for all 
operations both private and public. 

Now if truth were told, the harts above mentioned 
were on the round even swell of the hill, where it was 
judged very difficult, if not impossible, to come within 
distance of them : ^^ But say nothing of this, Jamieson, 
we must do our best. We will not throw a damp over 
the chance." 

A stony burn comes down from the mountains near 
Bruar Lodge, which has hollowed out a deep chasm be- 
tween two hills. The eye of no living thing can com- 
mand this narrow pass from the heights above. Up this 
water-course the party proceeded, over fragments of 
rock, through the streams, and little linns, directing their 
steps towards the east, it being judged best to endeavour 
to come in by a side wind from that quarter. They 
continued to ascend the burn for a long time, happy 
when the disposition of the ground permitted them to 
step out for a space on the heather. At length they 
gained the ascent, and from a black bog, which they had 
entered, discovered with their glasses that the deer were 
still in the same situation. A death-like silence took 
place : the ground was examined minutely. Then the 
glasses were closed, and deep thought sat on the 
countenances of the sportsmen. The bog which had 
hitherto been their cover, terminated long, long before 
they could get within any reasonable distance of the deer, 
who were, moreover, in a commanding situation. I'he 
men had observed a ridge of high heather, insufficient, 
they judged) to conceal them ; that, however, must be 

T 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



278 SERPENTINE MOVEMENTS. 

tried as their only chance : the dogs were left in the 
bog, Lightfoot's rifle was given to Jamieson, and they 
crept cautiously out of the hole, where they had been 
skulking. Their caps they put in their pockets, and 
began to wreathe themselves through the heather like 
serpents. The ground was dry, but the operation was 
tedious, and even painful, so that they took occasional 
moments of rest. They dared not raise their heads ever 
so little out of the dewy heather, which they shaved so 
closely that there was scarcely a waistcoat button left in 
the party. They strove with their feet, and clawed 
with their hands, still making but slow progress. At 
length their hearts throbbed with nervous excitement^ 
for they were fairly within a hundred yards of a long 
shot. For a space they rested to ease their limbs, and 
gain steadiness, still lying extended like corpses. Tortoise 
whispered, " Now then be calm, and when we come 
within distance, take the hart to the right, — he is the 
best ; a little further and our task is done." 

Twenty yards forwarder they gained in security; 
another ten with the same success ; — they were getting 
nearer and nearer every moment, and their hearts trem- 
bled. There was a little knoll, or small rise of ground, 
before them, where the heather grew in larger tufts, and 
this point once gained (of which there was every pro- 
bability), they would be within reasonable distance of as 
fine harts, they roundly asserted, as any in the forest ; 
so onward they still crawled, with pain and &tigue. 

But if deer-stalking, or any other species of sporting, 
were of easy achievement, what would become of all 
those delightful changes that animate us in the chase ? 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DISAPPOINTMENT. 279 

no longer would our boeoms throb with hope, or sink 
from an apprehension of fiiilure ; we should keep '* die 
even tenor of our way," tame in pursuit of the quarry ; 
and, as Captain Bobadil has it, ^* too respectful of na- 
ture's fair lineamentB." Plans well laid and executed, — 
difficulties overcome by skill, by labour, and perse- 
verance,— these are the events that flatter our self-com- 
placency, and give the highest zest to the sportsman. 

It is the desire to evince this skill, and surmount these 
difficulties, that carries the ardent deer-stalker through 
bog, through burn, up hill, and down precipice ; creep- 
ing, wading, running, or lying ; heedless alike of mire, 
waters, and fatigue : but still with all his caution, even 
with the most consummate generalship, and in the very 
tumult of expected success, -^ 



■ medio de fonte leponim, 



Surgit amari aliquid quod in ipsis floribus angat." 

And if ever a bitter thing did happen, if ever the cha- 
lice were dashed from the lips, it was at the critical 
moment when we left our sportsmen just within shot of 
the deer. 

"Tears of compassion tremble on our eyelids "whilst 
we are obliged to recount, that an old chuckling moor- 
cock sprung from those very bunches of heather, which 
they vainly thought their haven. 

Oh Puck ! Puck ! why didst thou place that officious 
bird in that particular spot, to scare away the deer ? was 
there no other place in all this wide forest where he could 
set his breast? A thousand, ten thousand there are 
where surely he might have been as happy ; it was a 

T 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



280 WHITE KID GLOVES. 

chance as one to a million : see what a pickle we are in; 
mark what we have done, what endured! But thou 
delightest in mischief, and art grinning, I know, thou im- 
pious little elf, and maledetto che ta sia, wert never better 
pleased in all thy life. The deer, thus warned, broke 
over the hill, and the moor-cock went darting away, 
turning himself sideways to catch the gale with his wing, 
chuckling, and rejoicing, as it were, in his free flight 
and the success of his mischief. ^^ Now may a dart from 
Murdock's quiver pierce thy side before night I " 

^' Well it was not our fault, that is some comfort, there 
was no kid glove in the matter; an allusion you will 
better understand when I tell you that a celebrated 
sportsman, after having made a very long and laborious 
circuit to come into a quiet shot^ destroyed his chance^ 
when on the very verge of attaining it, by a slight eleva- 
tion of one of his hands which was decked with a white 
kid glove: it is marvellous how such a piece of furniture 
found its way into a Scotch forest ; and one is tempted 
to exclaim in the words of Mrs. Siddons, — ' How gat it 
there?'''* 

The sportsmen arose, and put the best countenance 
they could upon the matter, which, sooth to say, was no 
better than a very doleful one, deadened as their hearts 
were by disappointment. The deer, however, had not 
seen them, and were still in the ground before them. 

* I do not voach for the tale, but it is said that Mrs. Siddons^ 
hearing a story about a French official who was locked up in his 
bureau, being rather in an absent mood, fancied that he had been 
thrust into a chest of drawers, and exclaimed, with great pathos, 
•* Poor gentleman ! how gat he there? ** 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CONTEST OF SKILL. 281 

Id fact, when they came over the hill, they saw them 
looking back jealously in the moss below. 

" There is no coming down upon them from the hill, ** 
said Tortoise. 

^^ They will na bide there lang," said Jamieson. 

" They are magnificent creatures," said Lightfoot. 
. ^^ Shall I lowze a doeg ? " said Maclaren. 

*^ No, that may spcHl the drive, for there is no saying 
where a cold hart may go to bay : but stay you here; 
we will take a long round, and endeavour to get into the 
burn. Give us twenty minutes, and then try to coax 
them across, as near yon curve of the stream as you can. 
If they move forward we will do so too ; so keep the 
glass upon us, and do your best according to circum- 
stances. — Now look at your watch." 

A long round, and a sharp persevering pace, brought 
them to the destined spot within the allotted time; 
having walked for a space with bent bodies, they, sat 
themselves down on a grey stone under the bank of the 
stream. Maclaren now began his game; entertaining 
enough it was to see the contest of skill between him and 
the harts : the continual shiftings of the Gael, however, 
at length gave them a slight turn towards the east, and 
lliey appeared to be coming in a good accommodating 
direction. But whether they got a blink of the men in 
the bum, or found ground more to their liking, they at 
length kept full to the wind, and went straight south. 
The moss-troopers had not as yet been able to come 
forward on account of the wind: but now that the 
course of the deer was obviously determined upon, they 
made the best of their way under cover of the banks and 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



282 SECOND ESCAPE OF DEER. 

bogs. All too late they were: for the harts crossed the 
bum out of distance^ but at a slow pace, as they saw not 
the men. 

Maclaren now got as well round to the west as tune 
would permit him to do: but it was not this manoeuvre 
that made them again bear a point to the east, for they 
held him particularly cheap; it was rather the sight of a 
few hinds that had been disturbed from under the 
crescent of Ben-Dairg, and were bearing away towards 
Cairn-cherie.—* These they meant to join. 

" This way, this way, Harry, come along, we'll have 
them yet." So saying they strove through the deep 
channels of the peat moss, cowering low, and. cutting 
off the angle with all speed, till they got fairly within 
shot 

Now there is one point in deer-stalkii^ that is the 
most provoking and tantalising thing in the world; and 
as it happens pretty often, so it occurred in the present 
instance. The riflemen, I said, were within distance: 
so indeed they were ; but the harts skulked up a deep 
channel in the moss in such a way that nothing but the 
points of their horns were to be seen. It was in vain to 
run after so small a parcel ; that would only give them a 
rapid start, and set them clean away at once. Thus not 
a shot was fired, and fortunately no one committed 
suicide. 

The harts now joined the hinds, and all went slowly 
up the western face of Cairn-cherie* 

As soon as riiey were all fairly settled in their new 
position, a fresh reconnoissance took place — the deer 
had so taken up their ground that they were not within 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



MEW MANOBUYRES* 283 

shot eith^ from the top or base of the hill, each of 
which points the riflemen could have gained unseen by 
them. The party went forward to the foot of the hill. 

^ Noble fellows 1 cunning devils I what b to be done 
now? "said Lightfoot, ^^Do you think we shall kill them 
all ? Can you bring us near them in fine style ; cannot 
we come down upon them from the rocks above, and 
put them all to sudden death ? " 

^^ To sudden flight we may easily : but know that 
there is no place in the whole forest so ticklish as this ; 
the ground, on the summit, is so varied with high rocks, 
flats, and hollows, that currents and swells of air pass 
in almost all directions, and the difficulty will be to get 
near the deer, and keep the wind: but I know the ground 
well; ay, every inch of it, quite as well as my own 
cabin at Bruar." 

" Ay, ye're wed acquent with it, for the beastis ha* 
bin oVr canny for ye whiles amang thae rocks." 

^^ Hush, hush, my good fellow, no tales." 

^^ Na, I canna but say that ye ha' had good sport there 
too, but sure ye'el no be forgettin the big hai't that gat 
a gliff o'ye, and skelped awa through the moss, joost 
as ye war thinkin to pit yer baal intill him ; perhaps 
Mr. Lightfoot would like to hear something anent it." 

^^ No, no, Maclaren, I know he would not ; let by- 
ganes be by-ganes. So now tell me, what is your advice?'* 

^^ Why, I wud ha ye advised to gang round to the east, 
^nd to lave me at the fiit o' the hill ; ye can win to 
the tap in ten minutes, and when ye are there, I can 
pit owr the deer. But ye mun be caimy, and ye mun 
aye throw out wee bits of tow, for the wind is unco 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



284 HOW TO CLIMB A HILL. 

kittle among the rocks ; ye'el bear in mind the muckle 
hart — him that ran awa sae brawly frae ye, without 
skaith, when yer honor thoucht to hae takkin his gral- 
loch, and said something anent his tallow, and white 
puddins, and the fat on his haunches." 

" You advise well, Maclaren, and your discourse is 
voluble; sweet I may not say, since the latter part of 
it falls somewhat unseemly on my ear. Now look at 
your watch, give us a quarter of an hour ; start the 
deer to the moment, as quietly as possible, they will be 
ready enough to come, without compulsion." 

" So here is another of your boggy steeps — antiseptic 
no doubt; but I will not be buried in them to try their 
properties : I shall get up capitally." 

" Not if you proceed in that manner, I assure you. 
This hill is too steep to walk heel and toe ; your st}'le 
is not mechanical : see what a lever you are making use 
of; just stick the side of one foot horizontally against 
the hill, and bring up your other underneath it, keep- 
ing the same foot always uppermost as I do : see now 
how compact you go without labour, almost without ex- 
ertion, and certainly without the aid of your hands, 
which you were using before." 

^^ Capital ! so I do. Can you also give me any receipt 
for running ? " 

'^ Oply, as I said before, to go as compact as possible ; 
all swinging of the arms, and kicking of the legs behind, 
is so much unnecessary motion, which impedes your pro- 
gress, worries the whole body, and distresses your wind. 
But a truce to conversation, however agreeable to me t 
we must now proceed in silence." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



GOOD SPORT. 285 

Now had they passed the moss, and attained the rocks 
on the summit, and were sitting down behind a large 
block of granite; they laid the rifles on the ground, 
pulled off their caps, and wiped their foreheads. — Tor- 
toise held his watch in his hand ; it wanted five minutes 
of the time for starting the deer. Again and again be 
looked at the slow progress of the minute-band : it was 
just on the point ; it has passed it ; the deer then must 
be in motion ; a short space he gave them, to get for- 
ward, that he might be secure of the wind; then, snatch- 
ing up a rifle in one hand, Jamieson following him with 
another, he waved his hand to Lightfoot, got quickly 
forward, and clambered up a rock, where all posted 
themselves aloft. 

They had not been in this commanding position five 
seconds before the deer came racing below them over 
the naked ground, at an easy distance. When Light- 
foot saw the hinds, who were leading, he was in the act 
of raising his rifle, but his arm was immediately arrested 
by Tortoise, who continued to hold it with a significant 
look, but in silence. Now came one of the wonderful 
harts ; he was a stupendous animal, very sleek in his 
coat, and had royal antlers ; that is to say, three points 
on each horn. " Take him," said Tortoise, letting go his 
friend's arm ; " and fire well forward." 

The old rocks of Cairn-cherie rang to the rifle sound; 
the deer slackened his pace, and then stood still. ' This 
shot had scarcely been fired, before another monster 
came in view — Tortoise levelled ; the fatal trigger was 
pulled, — the hart catched his side, stood for a space, 
and then went slowly on with the rest Tlie third hart 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



286 TWO STAGS KILLED. 

swerved a Ihtle below the hill, and never came within 
distance. 

^^ Joy to you, my friend, your deer is safe enough, and 
so is mine I hope. Lie still, for Heaven's sake, give 
him time, or you will spoil all; he is sick — he is dyingl" 

The poor fellow stood for a short space, with his fore- 
legs extended ; his knees then bent a little : his head 
rose and fell alternately for a few moments ; his whole 
frame quivered, — and down he sank to eternal rest. The 
pangs of death were brief, but very painful to witness. 
They now went forward, and the knife was plunged into 
him, when his blood gushed out in torrents. A man 
was left to gralloch him. Lightfoot could not be torn 
away from the dun beauty: the hill-man, as he gralloched 
the deer, and drank the whiskey, swore there never was 
such a deer seen in the forest; he grew larger and 
larger at every quaigh-full, and there was no saying to 
what a portentous size he might have arrived, had not 
the flask been fairly drunk out. 

The rest of the party went slowly forward, till at 
length they saw the other wounded hart lying in a bog. 
He was extended, and kept his head as low as possible; 
it was apparent, then, that he was not only alive, but 
had his senses about him. Tortoise crept cautiously up 
and sent a ball through the back of his head — as deadly 
a shot as can be made. 

The smile of joy danced on every countenance^ bat 
chiefly on thine, O Lightfoot ; the warm current came 
tingling through your veins ; there was a buoyancy of 
spirit and an air of success about you that proclaimed 
you> to yourself at least, a king — a hero — a demigod ! 
Hercules was a pretty fellow ; so was Theseus ; so was 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by VjOOQIC 



• • •• • 












Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CLOSE COMBAT. 287 

Pirtthous; but, althoi^ the j subdued Tarious monsters, 
they probably never killed so fine a stag in all their 
lives. , Happy, thrice happy mortal ! happier far than 
Candide, when he met Miss Cunegonde amongst the 
Turks, or (to make a more apt comparison) than our 
own Phidias *, when he killed two woodcocks at one shot. 
Thou shouldst have died that moment, my own hero ; 
alas, why did you survive, to pace over geometrical en- 
closures in pursuit of pigmy game? But bear thy 
fiMSulties meekly, whilst the deer are being gralloched, 
and the black flag is hung on the bonny antler to scare 
away the raven. 

** Now, Tortoise, I really think that Macrobius, and 
the rest of Virgil's commentators, are senseless goupies ; 
for I am ready to maintain, in spite of them all, that the 
slaying of such a magnificent animal as this was a very 
fit cause for the Latin war — 

' Cervus erat forma praestanti, et cornibus ingens ' 

{handlinff the kams aU t/ie while). But why did you 
throw away a charge upon your wounded deer, who 
was lying extended in the bog, and at your mercy? 
I should have preferred dose combat, like our friend 
the artist ; I would have got across him, and seized him 
by the horns.*' 

^ In which case you would have had a charming ride, 
like the late Olengarry, or like the forester of the pre- 

* Who has not heard of Sir Francis Chantrey's skill with his gun 
and his fishing-rod ? The above incident occurred at a great battue, 
at Holkham ; and the whole party saluted Sir Francis on the oc- 
casion with solemn deference, each individual passing before him in 
succession, and making his obeisance. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



288 A RIDE ON A STAG. 

sent chief of Clanchattan, who, in passing last summer * 
through the forest of Stramashie, near Loch Laggan, 
descried the horns of a stag above the heather at some 
distance ; and taking advantage of the cover of a gi*ey 
stone on the lee-side of the animal's lair, crept cau- 
tiously up to him, whilst he was apparently asleep. He 
had no rifle, but opened his deer-knife, which he placed 
between his teeth that his hands might be free, and then 
threw himself suddenly upon the stag ; up started the 
astonished beast, and sprung forward with Donald on 
his back, who grasped him with might and main by the 
horns, to keep his seat in a sportsmanlike manner. No 
easy matter, I trow, for the animal made right down the 
rugged side of a hill with headlong speed, to a stream 
in the glen below, and dashed through it, still bear- 
ing his anxious rider with the knife in his mouthy 
which he had neither time nor ability to use. When, 
however, this gallant pair reached the opposite side of 
the glen, and the deer began to breast the hill and relax 
his speed, Donald was enabled so far to collect his be* 
wildered senses as to get hold of his knife ; and he abso- 
lutely contrived to plunge it into his throat. The deer 
fell forward in the death struggle, and Donald made a 
summerset of course. In consequence of this extraor- 
dinary feat, the man has been dubbed by the people 
with a new and appropriate name in Gaelic, which my 
authority (Mr. Skene) told me he could not pretend 
either to write or to pronounce. This was dexterous 
work ; but there are innumerable examples of the spirit 
and determination of Scottish sportsmen : and whilst the 

♦ The euramer of 1837. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



REMARKABLE PROWESS. 289 

deer are being gralloched, I may as well mention an 
adventure that happened to a very celebrated and en- 
thusiastic deer-stalker, whose name I am not i^t liberty 
to mention. 

<^ Whilst hunting lately in the island of Jura with his 
deer-hounds (for he seldom carried a rifle), he came 
rather suddenly upon three magnificent stags ; he slipped 
his three dogs upon them, and what is very singular, and 
proves their spirit, each of them took a separate deer, 
and they all went in different directions. After a long 
and arduous pursuit over the rough hills of Jura, the 
stalker * at length got sight of one of the deer standing at 
bay in some long heather, in a deep hollow: he appeared 
to be quite exhausted ; and the dog Oscar, one of the 
most powerful and intrepid of the breed, was lying within 
a few yards of him, apparently done out As soon, 
however, as his master shouted his name, the gallant 
brute sprung at the stag's throat, and a desperate battle 
ensued, in which the dog was tossed three times in the 
air before his owner could get quite up ; and was thus 
severely wounded. 

** When the sportsman, who had only a little herd-boy 
with him, reached the arena, the stag, without attempt- 
ing to make off, thrust at them right and left, whirling 
round and round to defeat every attempt to grapple 
with him ; the boy had his leg severely lacerated, when 
the deer-stalker, who is a most muscular and powerful 
man, dashed in, and seized the animal by the horns. 
The contest was desperate and doubtful ; at length they 

* It is necessary to b^i^good stalker in order to lay on the dogs 
properly. 

U 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



290 CONTEST WITH A PHOCA. 

both came to the ground, when the hunting^knife 
finished the contest 

<^ This same gentleman, whilst shooting sea-fowl, 
amongst the rocks of Colonsay, perceived a large seal 
basking on the shore ; he drew cautiously towards the 
spot, and gave him the contents of his fowling-piece, 
when the seal scuffled over the rocks, in his way to his 
element. Our enthusiastic sportsman sprung £rom the 
boat, and, grappling with the slippery brute just as he 
had reached the water, plunged headlong with him into 
the sea, where a singular conflict ensued, sometimes 
under water and sometimes in view, before the people in 
the boat could manage to get hold of either of the com- 
batants; at length, however, they succeeded in dragging 
both the young laird and his fat friend into the boat^ to 
the great merriment and relief of his companions, — to 
whose remonstrances he only answered, • D — ^n the 
brute I Did he think to give me the go-by ? ' 

'< Mr. Skene, who told me this anecdote, was himself 
the prototype of Sir Walter Scott's story of Highland 
Hector's contest with the phoca, in the Antiquary; 
having related to him on the spot an encounter which 
he had with seals in descending the rocks at Dunotter, 
in his passage to a creek, fix>m whence he proposed to 
make a sketch of the castle.^' 

During this relation the hill-man stripped off his grey 
jacket, bared his sinewy arm, and went through the 
necessary operations of bleeding and gralloching. Every 
movement, every finesse was exultingly run over ; — the 
dogs fought ; the men laughed and drank; and were as 
cordial as success and right good Loch Rannoch could 
make them. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



POSITION OF THE DEER DRIVERS. 291 

^' Bat the day wears apace ; we must now separate 
our forces, and if we forget not our cunnings we will 
sweep these glens and mountains, and put down such an 
army of deer as shall give free exercise to the rifles 
from Blair; their voUejring shall scare the roe in his 
secret glade, and visions of the magnificent herd shall 
again warm the imagination of the Southron in his 
festive halls, and great shall be the boast of those who 
were present on St. Crispin's Day." 

** Heyday ! Why you affect to be Ossianic to-day ! 
And, upon my word, what with the mountain air and 
scenery, and the heroic deed I have just done, I tread 
the heather with something of the feeling of a descendant 
of Fingal myself. But, allons, cater we now for the ge- 
neral sport ; and here shall end our stalking ; here on 
the old rocks of Caim-cherie, never to be forgotten, 
till we depart to where Tullus and Ancus have gone 
before us.** 

The party now began to occupy their posts. The 
riflemen remained on the middle hill; Maclaren was 
sent across by the Craggan« Breach to Sroin-archro, 
and Sandy Macintosh to Ben-y-chait. All came for- 
ward at the signal, which was the exposure of some 
man's shirt, by means of unbuttoning his waistcoat; a 
luminous mark, that could be readily discerned through 
the telescope^ which each man carried with him, placed in 
a leathern case and slung in a belt across his shoulders. 

The sport now about to take place, as far as driving 
went, was very similar to that practised in a deer- 
drive to Glen Tilt; but in the termination it differed 
materially ; for instead of running the gauntlet as the 

u 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



292 THE DRIVE BEGINS. 

deer did at Glen Tilt, and passing freely onward to 
the heights of Ben-y-gloe, they were, in this instance, to 
be pressed on to the pine wood, that formed the barrier 
between the mountain slope and the cultivated strath of 
the Tay. This wood was held by them JEt place of refuge ; 
and when they gained it, the sport was understood to be 
terminated, though a hart or two might occasionally 
be killed after their entrance into it. These woods ar 
fenced on the moor-side by a stone dike, and behind 
this dike some of the parties tliat came from Blair were 
posted ; so that the little army of deer were thus placed 
between two fires — that is to say, between the rifles of 
the sportsmen who brought them down from the moun- 
tains, and those who opposed their passage into the 
wood : thus beset, in front and rear, and at their flanks, 
all their sagacity was called forth; and their movements 
being more varied, were by so much the more interest- 
ing. The difficult point was, for those who placed 
themselves in front of the driven deer, to avoid giving 
them their wind prematurely, which might be managed 
by keeping at first to the east and west (the, wind being 
south), and drawing towards the centre when time 
served. 

Let us now see what the hill-men were about. 

After a lapse of about forty minutes the men ha<^ 
arrived at the stations above mentioned, and the signal 
was given for starting. There were groups of deer both 
in Glen Mark and Glen Dirie — hinds, calves, and a few 
harts: very little management was required to get 
these forward, as they naturally, and readily, went up 
wind ; which was all that was required of them. So 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SHOTS, AND UNTOWARD ACCIDENT. 293 

they were urged forward, and driven out of the glens, 
with shouting and hurling of stones, which bounded 
down the precipices with repeated echo to the vast 
depths below. Still, as the men came onward, the deer 
joined their forces, formed, looked back calmly, and, 
as usual, scrutinised every part of the ground on their 
flanks, and on their rear. Tortoise had given up all 
thoughts of manoeuvring any more for himself and his 
friend ; but as he did not seek sport, so he was deter- 
mined not to shun it if it were thrust upon him. And 
fortune (who seldom does things by halves) now placed 
another of her favours in his way. Whether or not he 
benefited by the chance will be seen in the sequel. 

Thus then it was : a few hinds and calves, with a 
good hart amongst them, came rapidly over the shank 
of the hill which he and Lightfbot were descending. 
The hart was generally masked by the hinds ; but as 
their paces were unequal, he was sometimes exposed for 
a moment. Both sportsmen suddenly clapped up the 
rifles to their shoulders : the point was too nice a one 
for ceremony. The &tal sound of Lightfoot's was first 
borne along the moor — fatal did I say ? fatal to what ? 
Alas, to the hind that was coming up in the rear of the 
hart; down she dropped, and her maternal cares ceased 
for ever. In the mean time Tortoise kept holding per- 
tinaciously where the hart was, keeping his gun well 
forward ; half of him at length was clear, the trigger was 
instantly pulled, and the ball took effect ; but the wounded 
stag went on behind the others, and the men couched 
down upon the heather blossom. 

And now happened one of those untoward accidents 
u 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



294 corbie's sagacity. 

that will sometimes occur in spite of ordinary precaution. 
The dogs had been brought forward for the stricken 
deer ; and Corrie, who had a small greyhound^ike head, 
slipped himself from the leash, and away he went on the 
traces of the deer. Nothing could be more agonising, 
for th^re was every probability that he would put 
the main herd out of the cast, and disappoint all the 
parties at the wood. But come what might, the keen 
hound was gone forth, and no earthly power could 
arrest him. 

The small parcel that had been fired at joined the 
great herd, full in Corrie's view; and all disappeared 
for a while in the hollow of a deep ravine, with the dog 
at their traces. But they soon reappeared on the op- 
posite brae, Corrie being still dose upon them : every 
man was absolutely in despair. He forced them into a 
compact mass, ran furiously at their rear, then to one 
flank and then to the other ; and ever as he came on, the 
outward deer endeavoured to wedge themselves into the 
mass out of reach of his horrid fangs. 

There was now no doubt but that the drive would be 
spoiled. Many were the denunciations against the ap- 
palled leashman ; his death*wi^rrant was made out, for 
he was to have no more whiskey, which was precisely the 
same thing to him. 

But, lo ! when all were sinking with apprehension, 
af&irs took an almost miraculous turn : after the hound 
had forced the herd in the manner described, missing 
the taint of the blood, he suddenly turned back firom 
them, and camefeathering along, making beautiful casts 
to the right and left ; returning now to the bum which 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DOO WATCHING THE DEAD DEEIU 295 

he had before passed, he picked up the lost scent of the 
blood, and ran rapidly down its mazes. Soon the 
wounded deer sprang up, and went heavily before him 
down the stream ; out at once leaped the cunning dog 
upon the banks, headed him by about a hundred yards, 
and then came back in his front, and held him resolutely 
to bay. It was a way he had of shortening the busi- 
ness. 

This happy termination was an inexpressible relief to 
all. Tortoise went forward alone, creeping up cautiously 
by a side-wind, and finished him by a shot through his 
head. When the men returned to the hind, they saw 
the eagle sweep down from the clouds, and wheeling 
orer fien-y-venie^ descend in all his expanse of wing, 
and perch himself upon the blasted branch of a birch 
stump that overhung a rock in the declivity. There the 
huge bird sat the whole time the deer was being cleaned, 
gloating over the operations, and eager for the bloody 
repast As soon as the animal should be left on the 
lonely moor, he thought to cower over him, uttering his 
shrill shrieks, and to plunge his beak into the eyes, and 
pick them from their sockets. But the foul bird shall 
be baulked of his prey.. The sagacious Corrie shall 
protect him ; Corrie, who will never leave a dead deer 
without compulsion, but will coil himself up by his side, 
and watch by him during the chill blasts of a northern 
night, guarding him till the hill-man comes in the 
morning to cord him on his sheltie ; then the good dog 
will onCe more lick over his dun sides, shake his tail, 
fawn upon the hilLman, and escort him home to the 
slaughter-house. Corrie would do all this as well as 

u 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



296 THE COUP d'essai. 

the rest of his litter; nay, if he were slipped on the 
moor, he would go back alone to the last deer that was 
killed, although it were many miles distant, and protect 
it through the night from the fox, the wild cat^ the 
eagle, or the raven.* 

All now good-humouredly tried to make out the hind 
a yeld one ; but it would not do ; she evidently, gave 
suck, and was also singularly lean. 

" Never mind, Lightfoot; she richly deserved her 
&te; for it was a wicked deed to place herself where 
she did. So pray be comforted." 

*^ No, no, it will not do. The Badenoch fairy's speech 
rings in my earsi saying, or seeming to say, * O Light- 
foot, Lightfoot, thou hast this day slain the only maid in 
Doune/" 

" Never mind, these things occur to us all ; the hart 
Had a very narrow escape from your ball. You heard 
our friend from the south brag the other day how nearly 
he had killed a deer ; and when you asked him in what 
manner, he replied that his ball struck the spot where 
the deer had been lying the day before. You were 
much nearer than this, you know. It was no bad shot 
after all, and will be of infinite service to' you as an 
instruction to take your aim more forward in future. I 
began my career nearly in the same way, and learned 
a good lesson from it" 

" Then the first deer you killed was a hind ? Well, 
that's some comfort, however." 

* A beautiful painting, by Mr. Edwin Landseer, of this sagacious 
dog, thus engaged, will be in the recollection of many. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PAST DEEDS. 297 

<< No, I mistake ; not the first. My c<nq> d^essai was 
at a hart I set o£F from Blair Castle with the Duke of 
Atholl for Forest Lodge at twenty minutes past three 
o'clock in the morning. There were no deer feeding 
in the glen ; so we break&sted, and I began fishing for 
salmon. After a time, whilst very intent on my cast, 
I heard a noise above me, and, looking round, I saw a 
stag running at full speed along the slope of the hill, 
with two lurchers at his heels. Quickly did I clamber 
up the rocks. John Crerar was in the road with a rifle ; 
and, as he was in the act of raising it to his shoulder, in 
I came behind, took it firom his hand, fired, and hit the 
deer through the jaw. The poor chop-fallen fellow then 
went to bay, where I finished him ; but, to speak the 
truth, he was altogether as lean, ragged, and shabby 
a beast as I ever saw. If I was not ashamed of him, I 
am a soused gurnet." 

(Maclareny touching his hat) ^^ Ye held at better 
game afterwards atween the shank of Ben-y^Kihait and 
the Elrich, when Charlie Crerar was with ye. Ye '11 
mind when ye creepit up to four harts to tak' a quiet 
shot ; ye got within a lang distance, and tuk the first 
deer with his braedside towards ye as he was feeding 
and lying as ye were yoursel all alang in the heather, 
and the baal passed through his heart And then ye 
jumpit up, and kilt other twa, ane after the ither, as 
they were skelping awa', and thus we got three beastis 
out of four. They say ye steppit the ground after- 
wards, and that the first deer stud one hunderd and 
forty yards frae ye. The last must have been an awfu' 
distance." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



298 EAGLES KILLED BY ▲ BOY. 

<^ Ay, Peter; a true bill that More by token that 
my fingers tingle yet with recollection of the hear^ 
Highland grip that Charlie gave me when he saw the 
deed ; for he's a fine shot and a dear lover of the sport 
himself. But if we boast thus of our past deeds, we 
shall be thought to have lost all hope of equalling them 
in future.*' 

While thus speaking, Tortoise had been watching the 
villain eagle. How easily, thought he, I could stqp thy 
murderous career for ever ? ** Now, Jamieson, could I 
come in upon that beastie by sinking the hill, going 
round by the west, and coming up the hollow by a side^ 
wind, whilst his keen eye is fixed upon you and the 
deer ; but the day is far on, and we must be true to our 
time; and yet it grieves me, for these eagles are very 
difficult of approach, even by the most skilful sportsman, 
and it is very seldom one has such a good opportuni^. 
Idstances of success, however, sometimes occur ; and 
the most extraordinary one I ever heard of was related 
to me by my friend Mr. Skene of Rubislaw. Listen to 
it^ Harry. 

<< Whilst staying with his relation at Abergeldie, he 
met a herd-boy coming down the avenue^ labouring 
under the burthen of what appeared to be some weighty 
animal, trailing on the ground behind him, and held 
by a leg over each shoulder; he concluded it was a 
roe-deer, but found on coming up that the boy (who 
was only thirteen years old) had got two magnificent 
eagles, which he held by the necks over his shoulders, 
and seemed ready to drop from fiettigue. 

** It appeared that young Donald's indignation had been 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DRIVING A LARGE HERD. 299 

roused by having fiuled a few days before in his attempts 
to defend a lamb which was carried off in spite of him; 
and many others of his flock had shared the same fate* 
Meditating mortal revenge, he got possession of his 
&ther's gun by stealth; and marking the eagles to their 
eyry, in Lachnagan, he hid himself on a rock near the 
nesty and remained there all night. 

** At break of day the male eagle k^t hovering about 
the nest, and the boy took a deliberate aim, and brought 
him to the ground. The female soared aloft, and stooped 
after her mate for some time, but out of distance from 
the boy, who, from fear, dared not venture from his 
hiding place, as his prey still struggled amongst the 
stones at some little distance from him ; at length the 
female eagle flew off, but soon returned with a lamb 
in her talons for the supply of her young brood. In the 
mean while the determined little rogue had reloaded, 
and watching his time warily, took another shot, and 
with such skill and effect, that the female fell prostrate 
and quivering beside her mate ; but the poor lamb was 
killed. Mr. Skene added, that he measured the birds 
at the time, but has mislaid the note of the measure ; 
he well remembers, however, Abergeldie's observation 
that they were the largest birds he had ever seen ; and 
most noble animals they certainly were." 

The whole herd of deer were now belling, and going 
lazily up Caim-dairg-mor ; and there they stopped 
crowning the hill, and looming large on the sky line. 
In such vast numbers had they collected, that you might 
have fancied yourself with Vaillant in the great hunting 
grounds of Africa. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



800 LEGEND OF FRASER's- CAIRN. 

The hill-man tx> the west had shifted his. position 
much farther to that quarter ; and the men were so dis- 
posed, that the deer were kept on the middle hill in a 
straight line with Blair, with the stalkers in their rear. 
Thus all promised well hitherto. Tedious it would be 
to recount the shiftings of the men, which kept the deer 
in the right course.- They were all similiar to each 
other, and the process was a very simple one. When the 
herd attempted to swerve from the desired direction, the 
men, who were far distant on the opposite hills, had 
little else to do than to show themselves in a line, so as 
to oppose their passage, dodging with them, and taking 
care not to hurry or press upon them rashly. Had they 
come too near, the herd would have swept past them in 
a moment. 

" We must now keep back,'* said Tortoise, " for the 
deer are examining the ground on the west, and are in 
170 hurry to advance. During this slow operation, I 
may as well give you the history of Eraser's Cairn, 
which we passed the other night, when Peter was so 
valiant about the laird's ghost." 

*^ Tradition informs us that Lord Fraser of Lovat 
made a raid into the Atholl country, and harried it on 
his return. This raid was of so ruthless a character, 
that it was probably executed in revenge for a similar 
irruption made by the Atholl men on his own demesnes. 
On the Lord of Lovat's return with his plunder, one 
Donald Fraser, a clansman, who had acted a conspicuous 
part in the whole business, asked the lord if he did not 
swear, before going out, that he would leave neither 
horse, cow, sheep, or cattle, or even cocks and hens, in 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LORD LOVAT's raid. 801 

the Atholl country. ^ Ye ha done brawly,' said he < and 
muckle gear ha' we gotten ; but yon cock that I heard 
crowing in the toon below us seems to say that the aith 
is no that completely kept/ 

'< Lord Lovat demanded if it were a dunghill cock 
that he heard, or a muir fowl ; and upon hearing that 
it was the former, he replied, ^ This must not be ; it is 
against the aith I made ere I set out : get thee doon to 
the toon, Donald, with a party, and put the beastie to 
death/ 

^^ Donald did as he was commanded; but upon his 
arrival, the Atholl men, having had time to assemble, 
attacked his party, and all were soon slaughtered, except 
Donald Fraser himself, who was a powerful man, and 
fought lustily. He was, however, shortly overpowered 
by numbers ; and they proceeded to bind his hands be- 
hind his back, that they might make use of him as a 
giiide to conduct them to the spot where the Lord of 
Lovat was awaiting the return of his men. 

" Donald, however, by a sudden and violent exertion, 
contrived to extricate himself from their clutches, and 
to get a start over the moor; but beiiig encumbered 
with the cords, which were still about him, was almost 
instantly overtaken and slain. 

" A party of the Atholl men then clad themselves in 
the tartans of the men they had' killed; and easily 
making out the track (for the day was now dawning), 
followed their invaders in a right line, whilst their chief 
force was kept out of sight in the rear. They soon dis- 
covered the Erasers on a swell of the moor before them, 
but not on the highest point of the ground. They 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



302 THE DRIVE CONTINUES. 

seemed to be regaling themselves with their bootjy whilst 
their horses were grazing around them. 

** The AthoU men now sent their main force to the 
westward by the river Bruar, with instructions for them 
to come over the hill in the rear of their foes, and fall 
upon them at a concerted signal. The smaller party, 
exactly similar in number to those that the Lord of 
Lovat had sent forth to kill the cock, clad in their tar- 
tans, were mistaken for his own men, till of a sudden 
the wild whoop and whistle peculiar to the dan in their 
onsets discovered the fatal truth. The jfoes came upon 
them at once in their front and rear, and a hot conflict 
ensued. The Lord of Lovat, who was a heavy man, was 
slain whilst calling for bis horse. Very few escaped the 
slaughter, and the AthoU men returned victorious with 
the reclaimed booty. The Frasers were buried on the 
spot where the cairn now stands which bears their 
name ; and the coimtry people, who dare approach it in 
the dead of night, assert that they often hear the spirit 
of Lord Lovat calling for his horse — his horse 1 ** 

The deer were now urged on in beautiful style from 
the Beg of Cairn Dairg. It was like the passage of a 
little army as their files drew on ; some were lost in the 
hollows — re-appearing, and again sinking out of sight 
amidst the mazes of the moor. Nothing could be more 
picturesque than their undulating course;— •nothing 
more gratifying than to reckon the horns marked firmly 
on the sky line as they passed over the summits. 

One hart there was amongst the rest that might be 
known firom a million. His horns were very white, and 
his body had a tendency to mouse colour ; — sleek and 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



STRONG TAINT OP DEER. 803 

dainty he was all over. It was the third hart which had 
escaped the rifles on Cairn Cherie. 

Stop, caitiff, traitor ! -— but you may fall yet ^^ 



' Nescis, heu perdite, nescis 



Quern fugias ; bostes incurris dum ftigia hostem.'* 

It was now the appointed time when the parties were 
expected in the wood. It was ascertained by their 
glasses that the Duke's men were properly stationed on 
Crag Urrard; the drivers therefore continued to get 
forward the herd, which had collected and rested awhile : 
now they crowned the scalp of Meal-Remahr, and went 
streaming down into the vast basin of Corrie-crombie. 
Many there were who remained on the hill as sentinels; 
these, however, Joined the rest as Tortoise came on. 
Maclaren, who was on the east, had been strengthened 
by a force judiciously placed by John Crerar ; and the 
craft now devolved upon these men. Tortoise and his 
friend, not daring to come forward, lay down on the 
heather stumps, conversing in scarcely audible whispers. 

** They will pass over Na-Shean-Tulichean, or the 
green knows which you see before you: how easily 
could we have them by getting a little forward I But it 
must not be; here we will abide: — only this; when 
the great herd have fairly passed over the knows, should 
some fatigued beast bring up the rear, < to stop too 
fearful^ and too fat to go,' we shall do no mischief if we 
get on and salute him with our rifles." 

" Hist, hist I by heavens they are coming I how 
strong they smell ! * They must be very near; I hear 

• A large herd of deer may be smelt at a very considerable dis- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



304 NERVOUS EXCITEMENT. 

their trampling. Heaven bless you, keep down ! low — 
low : do not peep ; you will ruin us for ever. . Your 
mouth in the heather, if you please: — close,— close; 
even to suffocation,'* whispered he. " Pray pardon me, 
my excellent friend;" and he pressed Lightfoot's face 
gently into the bog with all possible courtesy. 

At this moment the deer began to hesitate ; to look 
again around them, and to consult their leaders before 
thiey determined upon their course. 

The lying concealed in expectation of a doubtful 
event, and almost within reach of the deer, is one of the 
most nervous situations imaginable. In running with 
them there are various things to distract your attention : 
caution to preserve the wind ; prudence to keep your 
limbs entire in going at the top of your speed down 
rocky declivities, or amongst large stones concealed in 
the long ling. Even in creeping for a quiet shot, you 
are naturally somewhat engaged in ejecting the mud 
from your mouth, deeming it, perhaps, misplaced, un- 
pleasant, or unwholesome. There is also a sensation 
when the water enters your shirt breast, which, although 
not novel to a veteran, may be termed somewhat in- 
teresting. Thus the care bestowed upon your outward 
man diminishes in some degree the agitation of your 



tance, particularly after they have been much driven. The writer of 
these pages has often been governed in his movements by their 
taint, when they have been below him amongst the steep crags, over 
which he could not descend to look, for fear of not being able to 
recover his ground in time, and thus losing the command of the 
hill. The taint, though of a different nature, is fully as strong as 
that of the ground in which sheep have been folded. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



STALKING THE REAR DEER. 305 

mind ; but really when you are lying prostrate, in ex- 
pectation of the deer passing without any eiFort of your 
own, — when you hear the trampling, the rush, and the 
belling, and all this under doubtful auspices, you must 
be the most odious of all stoics if your pulse beats 
evenly. We are agitated in such a case — tremendously 
agitated, we own: our heart trembles within us; our 
breath comes short; and the whole goddess Diana 
possesses us. Let those who have cold blood pride 
themselves on it when they need, and where they need 
— not now. 

See the noble herd are come in view ! Na-Shean- 
Tulichean never bore upon his green swells a prouder 
burthen. The antlers rise and sink over its heights ; 
the hinds and calves pass belling along, whilst we 
(practising, at least for once in our lives, the virtue of 
forbearance) feel all the torments that the &bled and 
thirsty sinner felt as he caught at the flying waters. 
Yes, the &ble may be told of us, and that somewhat to 
our credit. 

And now the great bulk of the herd had passed over 
the knows, and were out of sight; still they came on 
in numbers; but ever as they passed the antlers grew 
scarcer and scarcer. Tortoise pressed the arm of 
his companion in silence; at length he removed his 
hand. 

" Now, then, all is safe ; follow me." 

He sank out of sight over the hill to the west with 
rapid foot and bent body, and then came in more south- 
wards, within shot of the tail deer, when both sportsmen 
knelt down on the heather. As the lynds came on, an 

X 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



806 AMBUSCADE AT THE WOOD. 

anxious look was sent to the rear in hopes to descry the 
points of an approaching antler. At length the horns 
actually did appear ; and Lightfooti all trembling with 
eagerness, was clapping his rifle to his shoddert when 
Tortoise .stayed him, gently whispering in his ear, 
<< A worthless beastie, my good fellow; let him pass; 
remember the four-year old — the enormous monster — 
the hand credo : this is a twin to him." But nothing 
better came on — nought but rubbish. So not a shot 
was fired. 

They now gave the deer a little time to get on, and 
then peeped through the heather tops at the slope of 
the green knows. There they saw the vast herd below 
them, which had kept increasing their forces as they 
passed the lower grounds. There might be some four 
or five hundred of them altogether. 

The deer now began to form into a more compact 
body. Some looked back, some towards the slaps in 
the dike, others to the east and west. Now they drew 
up on an eminence to the east : they longed for the 
security of the woods, but were afraid to venture. 
Sometimes they were about to break to the west, some- 
times on the opposite quarter ; but at every point they 
met with opposition. At these critical moments various 
were the pushes made by the sportsmen in the rear to 
each flank of the green knows, in accordance with tlieir 
motions. Still as they ran they were concealed under 
the rising ground. Pressed on their flanks, and alarmed 
on their rear, the woods seemed the only refuge for 
the herd ; and a long string of harts and hinds raced 
away within shot of the stone dike that bounded them ; 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE GALLANT LEADER. 307 

the rest of the body lingered behind, as if to ascertain 
how the experiment would succeed* 

Now began the din of arms : two rifle shots echoed 
through the hollow woods, and two noble harts bit the 
dust. '* That must be the Duke's deed : it is his Grace's 
usual station ; besides it was done so cleverly." Other 
shots followed, more or less successful, which turned the 
leaders, and those that came up in the rear sprung high 
in the air over their fallen comrades, wheeled back, and 
all again assembled on the flat ground. They now knew 
that they were beset on all sides, and soon came to a 
decision. The hinds had hitherto taken the lead ; but, 
pressed as they now were, a more undaunted chief took 
the command. Stem and determined, a magnificent 
hart stepped forth from the mnks^ and stood singly for 
a space in all his vast proportion : he towered above 
the herd, as the Satan of Tasso above the infernal 
host — 

'* Si la gran fronte» e le gran corna estolle.'^ 

For a few moments he shifted his gaze from man to 
man ; then he made a desperate charge, followed by the 
rest of the body. It was evident now, that they were 
breaking out on the west ; they all swept round behind 
a low rise of ground in that quarter *, at the top of tlieir 
speed. 

** Now then, Harry, run low, and do your besl." 

* This swell of ground is very low, and not far from the wood, 
and insufficient to mask the deer entirely, I often thought it might 
be possible to use it to advantage, and now tried it for the first 
time. 

X 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



308 NOBLE SPORT. 

Down he and Tortoise came upon them, and arrived . 
just in time for the middle of the herd. Two fine harts 
fell to their rifles. And again, as they raced by the peat 
stacks, another party fired upon them ; and they came 
so close to the hill-men, that they flung their. sticks at 
them, and had they not given way, would have trampled 
tliem to the earth. They now broke back over the 
moor, and were no longer thought of. It would have 
required much skill and many hours to get the wind of 
them again. 

" Well, this is a noble day's sport ; but you must say 
nothing about the hind at the castle, Maclaren. To be 
sure she will be seen to-morrow at the slaughter-house^ 
and no doubt she will have companions of the same 
gender; but sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. 
And indeed it is of no consequence, for she will make 
soup fit for the supper of Lucullus, — if you know who 
he was, Peter ? " 

" No, I do not ? — was he a Badenoch man ? " 

" Not exactly ; nor had he Badenoch cooks, that 
ever I heard of." 

The parties now met, and exchanged greetings and 
congratulations. There were six first-rate harts slain 
at the wood, and two lesser harts and two hinds at the 
peat stacks. The Duke of Atholl's deer (he had shot 
three in all) were the largest; for he had ever a quick 
eye, and an amazing tact in selecting his quarry. One 
of these was lying on the moor unable to rise, but still 
alive. It proved to be the large mouse-coloured hart, 
which had escaped the stalkers at Cairn Cherie, and 
whose fate had been prophesied. A hill-man, unaccus- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE OLD BLAIR PONY. 309 

tomed to treat with such dangerous animals, went up to 
him and seized him by the horns without ceremony. 
An evil deed it was for him ; for the stag, tossing up his 
head^ cut him with one of his brow antlers between the 
eyes, dividing the flesh up his forehead, and giving him 
a frightful wound. The poor fellow ran up to the Duke, 
and saying, " Yon was an unco' crabbed beast,*' fell 
senseless at his feet. He soon recovered himself, 
however, and was kindly administered unto, — the men 
deluging his wound with whiskey, which]]they esteem 
a sovereign remedy for all evils under the sun. 

Ponies had been kept in readiness to take home the 
deer; they were a hardy race, redundant in mane and 
tail, and contemners of the bridle. Amongst these was 
one known by the name of the " Old Blair Pony," who 
had always the honour of bringing home the Duke's 
deer. It was an office he delighted in ; and he was 
wont to evince his sense of pleasure by rubbing his 
muzzle in the blood, and by towzling the beast, as 
Squire Western has it. 

Two or three sportsmen discharged their rifles at the 
gillies' bonnets, at the distance of a hundred paces, the 
gillies wisely pulling them off^ and planting them in the 
heather, and not standing the shot themselves, as did 
the Gown-cromb of Badenoch. The light infantry gal- 
loped home on their ponies ; then followed the shelties, 
each with a hart corded on his back, with the head and 
horns uppermost : these were attended by a group of 
hill-men and gillies, in their kilts and plaided tartans ; 
some urging on the ponies with Gaelic admonitions, 
others holding the rough lurcher in the leash, and 

X 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



310 RETURN TO THE CASTLE. 

tugging him back rudely as he tried to get a lick of the 
blood-stained deer. Thus they passed merrily through 
the storm*beaten forest, winding over the bridges, the 
dark torrent of the Banavie brawling and toiling below 
them. 

May they enjoy the right good cheer and merry 
dance that always awaited them at the castle ! 

Eight harts slain at the wood, and two at Cairn 
Cherie. By the rood, it was a sufficient work ; though 
the sport had occasioniJly been much more ample.* 

* It may appear, perhaps, that in the account of this day's drive 
and the former one, the lion's share of the sport is g^ven to the 
stalker. It must be remembered, however, that those who go round 
with the drivers have necessarily the greatest number of chances. 
Hence Tortoise's success. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



311 



CHAPTER X. 



« Syr, yf you be on huntynge found, 
I shall you gyve a good greyhounde, 

That U dunne as a doo ; 
For as I am a trewe gentylwoman. 
There never was deer that he at ran. 
That myght y scape him fro\" 

SiK EoLAKoajr. — Metrical Romance, 



The best sort of dog for chasing the deer would un- 
questionably be the original Scotch or Irish greyhound ; 
but of this noble animal I shall myself say nothing, 
being enabled through the kindness of Mr. Macneill of 
Colonsay to introduce amongst these pages a dissertation 
on their race and qualities, put together by him with 
great research and ability, and accompanied by a recital 
of a day's deer coursing in the island of Jura. All 
accounts I have received from Scotland represent these 
dogs as very scarce at the present day ; and I am in- 
formed that in Sutherland the last of the race in that 
particular district was a very powerful animal belonging 
to the late Mr. Gordon of Achness. He was killed by a 
stag about forty years ago, who transfixed him with the 
antlers against a rock, leaving three deadly wounds on 
his body. 

The traditions of that country have handed down 
stories to us, that prove the great estimation which 

X 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



312 FINGAL AND HIS RETINUE. 

dogs were held in at very remote periods. One of these 
tradition&i which was current ages before Macpherson's 
publication, runs as follows : — 

Fingal agreed to hunt in the forest of Sledale, in 
company with the Sutherland chief, his contemporary, for 
the purpose of trying the comparative merits of their 
dogs. Fingal brought his celebrated dog Bran to Su« 
therland, in order to compete with an equally famous 
dog belonging to the Sutherland chief, and the only one 
in the country supposed to be any match for him. The 
approaching contest between these fine animals created 
great interest. White-breasted Bran was superior to 
the whole of Fingal's other dogs, even to the " surly 
strength of Luah." But the Sutherland dog, known by 
the full sounding name of Pharpf was incomparably die 
best and the most powerful dog that ever eyed a deer in 
his master's forests. 

When Fingal arrived in the forest with his retinue 
and dogs, he was saluted with a welcome that may be 
translated thus : — 

" With your nine great dogs. 
With your nine smaller, game-starting dogs, 
With your nine spears — 
Unwieldy weapons ! 

And with your nine grey sharp-edged swords, 
Famous were you in the foremost fight" 

The Sutherland chief also made a conspicuous figure 
with his followers, and his dogs and weapons for the 
chase. Of the two rival dogs, Bran and PJiorpy the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



BRAN AND PHORP. 313 

following descriptions have still survived amongst some 
of the oldest people in Sutherland. Bran is thus repre- 
sented : — 

" The hind leg like a hook or bent bow, 
The breast like that of a garron *, 
The ear like a leaf." 

Such would Fingal, the chief of heroes, select from 
amongst the young of his hunting dogs. 

Phorp was black in colour, and his points are thus 
described : — 

'* Two yellow feet, such as Bran had ; 
Two black eyes. 
And a white breast; 
A badk narrow and &ir. 
As required for hunting; 
And two erect ears of a dark brown red." 

Towards the close of the day, after some severe runs, 
which, however, still left the comparative merits of the 
two dogs a subject of hot dispute. Bran ajxd Phorp were 
brought front to front to prove their courage ; and they 
were no sooner untied, than they sprang at each other, 
and fought desperately. Phorp seemed about to overcome 
Braxii when his master, the Sutherland chief, unwilling 
that eitlier of them should be killed, called out, ^^ Let 
each of us take away his dog." Fingal objected to this 

* A,8tout gelding. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



314 THEIR DEATH. 

whereupon the Sutherland chief said with a taunt^ that 
<^ it was now eiddent that tfa^ Fingalians did not possess 
a dog that could match with PhcrpJ* 

Angered and mortified, Fingal immediately extended 
^^ his venomous paw," as it is called (for the tradition re- 
presents him as possessing si£pernaturat power), and with 
one hand he seized Phorp hy the neck, and with the 
other, which was a charmed and destructive one, ha tore 
out the brave animal's heart. 

Thb adventure occurred at a pUce near the march, 
between the parishes of Clyne and Kildonan, still called 
Leck-na-con, the Stone of the Dogs, there having been 
placed a large stone on the spot where they fought. 
The ground over which Fingal and the Sutherland chief 
hunted that day is called Dirrie-leck-con. Bran suffered 
so severely in the fight that he died in Gl^ Loth before 
leaving the forest, and was buried there. A huge cairn 
was heaped over him, which still remains, and is known 
by the name of Cairn-bran.* 

Not being in possession of any of the celebrated race 
of the original Scotch greyhound, whidi are now, in- 
deed, very rare, and finding that all the dogs in the 
forest of AthoU were miserably degenerate, I bred 
some litters from a foxhound and a greyhound, the fox- 
hound being the fiitiiier. This cross answered perfectly : 
indeed, I was previously advis^ that it would do so by 
Mr. John Crerar, who, after having tried various crosses 

* Mr. Grant of Corrymonyy in his work on the Oael, relates a 
tradition somewhat similar to the abo?e, and which may have been 
drawn from the same sources ; but it differs from it in stating that 
Bran was the victor, and in the omission of his death. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PERCY AND DOUGLAS. 315 

for sixty years, found this incomparably the best. 
Neither of these animals themselves would have an- 
swered ; for the greyhound cannot stand the weadier, 
and wants courage to that degree, that most of them 
will turn from a fox when they come up to him, and see 
his grin, and feel his sharp teeth ; nay they will scarcely 
go through a hedge in pursuit of a hare till after some 
practice. Besides, they have no nose, and run entirely 
by sight; so that when the hart dashes into a deep moss 
or ravine, the chase is over, and the dog stops, and 
stares about him like a bom idiot as he is. 

The foxhound is equally objectionable; he has not 
sufficient speed, gives tongue, and hunts too much by 
scent : in this way he spreads alarm through the forest ; 
and if you turn him loose, he will amuse himself all day 
long, and you will probably see him no more till he 
comes home at night to his kennel. 

All these objections are obviated by the cross between 
the two. You get the speed of the greyhound^ with just 
enough of the nose of the foxhound to answer your pur- 
pose. Courage you have in perfection, for most dogs 
so bred will &ce any thing ; neither craggy precipices, 
nor rapid streams, will check their course; they run mute^ 
and when they are put upon the scent of the hart, they 
will follow it till they come up to him; and, again, when 
he is out of view, they will carry on the scent, recover 
him, and beat the best greyhound to fits: I mean, of 
course^ on forest ground. 

The present Marquis of Breadalbane had two dogs 
of this description, Percy and Douglas, which were bred 
by me. As they were my very best upon scent, I gave 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



316 glengarry's dogs. 

the late Duke of AthoU the use of them every season, 
to bring cold harts * to bay, in which they were won- 
derfully successful ; for if they were fairly laid on, no 
hart could escape them. They are now nine or ten 
years old f ; and his Lordship informs me they are still 
able to bring the stoutest hart in his forest to bay, and 
are altogether perfect. 

These dogs, in point of shape, resemble the grey- 
hound ; but they are larger in the bone, and shorter in 
the leg : some of them, when in slow action, carry their 
tails over their backs, like the pure foxhound. Their 
dash in making a cast is most beautiful ; and they stand 
all sorts of rough weather. 

As the above is, I think, the best cross that can 
possibly be obtained for the modern method of deer- 
stalking, so it should be strictly adhered to: I mean 
that, when you wish to add to your kennel, you must 
take the cross in its originality, and not continue to 
breed from the produce first obtained; for if you do this, 
you will soon see such alarming monsters staring around 
you, as the warlike Daunia never nourished in her 
woods and thickets, or as cannot even be surpassed by 
the sculptured ones at the villa of Prince Palagonia, 
near the shores of Palermo. 

llie late celebrated sportsman. Glengarry, crossed 
occasionally with a bloodhound instead of a foxhound : 
his famous dog Hector was probably bred in this way ; 
and I believe Maida, the dog he presented to Sir 
Walter Scott, had also a distant cross of the bloodhound 

* A cold hart means one that has not been wounded, 
t Anno 1838. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FATAL RUSH OF A HART. 317 

in him. Two of these small bloodhounds he generously 
gave to me, though he was chary of the breed ; but they 
ran away from my kennel, and were unfortunately lost 

A cross with the bull-dog was once tried in the 
forest of Atholl, to give courage ; but the produce, was 
slow, as might have been expected ; and the thing was 
overdone, for they were all killed by attacking the deer 
in front High-couraged dogs, indeed, of every breed, 
are subject to accidents : they get wounded, and even 
killed by the harts ; are maimed for life, or meet their 
death by falling over precipices in their reckless pursuit, 
particularly in rounding a corner. 

It is very seldom that the deer themselves suffer 
from precipitous falls, being well acquainted with their 
ground, and studious in selecting it Once, however, 
when I was out, it happened that a hart, being wounded 
by me, and chased by one of my hounds, came to a very 
high and steep declivity by the river Mark, not far from 
Glen Tilt. Being pressed closely by the dog, he went 
down it upon his hind quarters, preserving his position 
in the rush in a most wonderful manner, at a time when 
I expected he must have fallen headlong, and met with 
inevitable and instant death. The dog just saved himself 
in the scramble, and had barely power to draw back, 
pausing for a moment at the edge of the precipice, 
with his fore legs extended, and horror in his looks. 
The hart was not dead, though terribly mangled. I 
got to him with difficulty, by going some little distance 
round, and swinging down from rock to rock by means 
of the impending birches. 

For my own sport I seldom turned my dogs loose after 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



318 SLIPPING OF DEER-HOUNDS. 

cold harts^ only doing so when I was endeavouring to 
bring such to bay for the Duke of AtHolPs sport. Thus 
being put upon the scent of wounded deer only, they 
stuck to the blood. 

The hill-man or gillie who leads the dogs should be a 
very steady clever fellow, and, moreover, a strong roan ; 
for the dogs are so eager and powerful^ that he who has 
them in the leash is frequently pulled head over heels^ 
when he runs. down hill with them. All their tackle 
should be strong, and regularly inspected every morning, 
lest the dogs should break loose, disturb the cast, and 
ruin your sport for the day. Guard against all careless- 
ness of this sort. 

The dogs should be led about a hundred yards be- 
hind the deer-stalker; and the leash-man should stop 
when he stops, and stalk him as he stalks the deer. 
Should the herd come in sight, he had better get them 
to lie down in a hole if possible, and put his handker- 
chief over their eyes, or they will be apt to struggle or 
whine, and do irreparable mischief. After the shots are 
fired, it is the man's duty to run up with them in the 
leash, some few degrees quicker than the American ves- 
sel, which was unsuccessfully chased by a flash of light- 
ning. He then gives them up to the forester, who 
lays one of them on, if there is occasion ; one good dog 
being quite sufficient to bring a wounded hart to bay. 

It may sometimes be requisite to slip a dog imme- 
diately : for instance, if a hart is shot through the loins 
he will fall prostrate, spring up again suddenly, and baf- 
fle a good dog afterwards. There are certain other cases 
also when despatch is necessary ; but, generally speaking. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OF BLOODING DEER-HOUNDS. 819 

H wiS be prud^it to take time ; and the party bad much 
better lie down in the heather, and keep an eye on the 
wounded deer through the telescope. If he is slightly 
wounded, it is of no use to send a dog after him at all, 
unless he is alone; for he will get into the middle of the 
herd, and keep there with enduring pertinacity; and 
the thing will just end by your losing him, and bring- 
ing a singularly lean hind to bay ; throwing away, by a 
moderate computation, two or three precious hours, 
and with them, perhaps, your remaining chance of sport 
for the day : but, on the contrary, if he is badly wounded, 
and you do not press him on, he will gradually get worse 
and worse, and fall out from the parcel, when you will 
have him safe enough. The forester should then pass 
the track or taint of the herd, and either lay the dog on 
the scent, or put him in sight of the quarry, and he will 
soon bring it to bay, if he is worthy of his ancestors. 
But I have touched upon this subject before. 

Some sportsmen are accustomed to give their dogs 
portions of the deer's liver when he is gralloched 5 but, 
after having blooded them once or twice, to enter them, 
I do not think the custom should be continued, a dog's 
love for sport being independent of eating ; for pointers 
will hunt gallantly all day long, and they are never per- 
mitted to touch their game, nor even to run after it 
Harriers, likewise, will persevere from morning till 
night, and yet the hare is always preserved for the table, 
if possible, — most particularly in a subscription pack. 

My objection to the system lies principally in the two 
following reasons : the first is, that a dog can never run 
a second chase properly after having been so fed ; the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



320 FOUR-FOOTED HANNIBAL. 

second, that when he has a deer in a wounded and dying 
state^ he is apt to help himself from the haunches before 
you have time to come up. A lurcher once damaged 
my sport in this villanous manner. I had wounded a 
d^er which came out unexpectedly from Glen Croinie^ 
against my wind, during a heavy mist. A dog be- 
longing, to the Duke was slipped and laid on the scent. 
For a long time, we could neither hear nor discover 
the bay : at length we came suddenly upon it, if bay it 
might be called. The dog had taken steaks from the 
living haunches, after the fashion of Abyssinia, and was 
already amazingly turgid. His name was Hannibal. 

*' Expende Annibalem, quot librae in duce summo 
Invenies.** 

I gave him a pretty considerable drubbing for this 
his luxurious propensity ; but even under the lash, it was 
sometime ere 

" La bocca sollevd dal fiero pasto 
Quel peccator." 

After this perpetration, I changed his name, by a very 
easy transition, from Hannibal to Cannibal ; but Hanni- 
bal or Cannibal, I never suffered him to pass the Scotch 
alps with me a second time. 

There is an interesting story mentiooed in the notes 
of the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," taken from a manu- 
script " History of the Family of St. Clair," which is so 
apposite to this subject, that I cannot forbear transcrib- 
ing it* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SIR WILLIAM ST. CLAIR's DOQS. ^321 

It seems to prove that the chief reliance for sport waa 
formerly placed in the dog8> who were accustomed to 
pull down and kill deer without any aid from the hunts* 
men ; and that nobles^ and even kings, prided themselves 
upon the fleetness and courage of tlieir hounds. 

^^ King Robert Bruce," says Augustin Hay (canon 
of St. G^n^vieve), " in following the chase upon the 
Pentland Hills, had often started ^ a white faunch deer,' 
which had always escaped from his hounds ; and he asked 
his nobles, who were assembled around him, whether 
any of them had dogs which they thought might be more 
successful. No courtier would affirm that his hounds 
were fleeter than those of the king, until Sir William 
St Clair of Roslin unceremoniously said, that he would 
wager his head that his two favourite dogs * Help ' and 
* Hold ' would kill the deer before she could cross the 
march-bum. The king instantly caught at the unwary 
offer, and betted the forest of Pentland- Moor against 
the life of Sir William St. Clair. All the hounds were 
tied up, except a few ratches, or slow hounds, to put up 
the deer; while Sir William St. Clair, posting himself 
in the best situation for slipping his dogs, prayed devoutly 
to Christ, the blessed Virgin, and St. Katherine. The 
de^r was shortly after roused, and the dogs slipped, Sir 
William following on a gallant steed to cheer them. 
The hind, however, reached the middle of the brook, 
upon which the hunter threw himself from his horse in 
despair. At this critical moment, however. Hold stopped 
her in the brook; and Help coming up, turned her back 
and killed her on Sir William's side. The king, descend- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



322 MONUMENT IN ROSLIN <31AF£L. 

ing from the hill, embraced Sir William, and bestowed 
on him the lands of Kirkton, Logaafaouse, ^arooraig, 
&c^ in free forestrie." 

The tomb of this Sir William St. Clair, on which he 
appears sculptured in armour, with a greyhound at bis 
feet, is still to be seen in Roslin chapeL 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



323 



CHAPTER XI. 

" Fajpwell to the If ighlands, &reir^ to the north, 
Xhe birthplace of Talour, the country of worth : 
Wherever I wender> wherever I rove, 
The hilli of the Hi^hliuKls £ir ever I love." 

A. M^oposj^hO" 

I HAVE elsewhere observed, that I have forborne to re* 
count my most successful days on the hills, as not always 
being fraught with any very marked interest ; I now, 
however, proceed to relate the events of one auspicious 
day, which, as it was my last, so it was, perhaps, my best. 
It will prove that the method of stalking deer in quick 
time, where the forest is sufficiently extensive to admit 
of such sport, is frequently accompanied by the most 
abundant results. Three or four skilful attendants you 
must have for this purpose : one to assist you in stalk- 
ing and carrying the spare rifles; two more to coax 
the deer towards you, that is, one on either flank, at 
vast distances ; and another to hpld the dogs. This is 
generally a sufficient force for the Forest of AthoU; but 
a fifUi man would be useful in a west wind, to leave at 
the mouths of the glens, and keep the deer from going 
north, which they are apt to do at such a time. 

The Duke of Atholl and the shooting parties had all 
left Blair, and the occupation of the forest was indul- 
gently given to the writer of these pages, accompanied 
with the most pleasant of all commissions ; namely, that 
of an injunction to kill as many harts as possible, and to 

Y 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



324 AUTUMNAL BLASTS. 

take possession of Forest Lodge, the best situation for 
sport in the whole domain. Captain Stewart* of Murthly, 
an active and skilful deer-stalker, had permission to take 
two or three days' diversion from his quarters at Blair ; 
but, as better sport might be expected in Glen Tilt, 
Tortoise took the liberty of asking him to repair to 
Forest Lodge, and he came accordingly. It was ar- 
ranged over-night, that the Captain should take the cast 
east of Glen Croinie, which had not been disturbed for 
a long time, and that his friend should occupy the ground 
on the west of it. 

The season for deer-shooting was now nearly termi- 
nated, and the brightness of the autumnal days had suf- 
fered some diminution. The sun withdraws its beams 
from the secluded Glen of the Tilt early in the evening, 
and returns only in partial gleams, till the day is 
spread in full splendour on the summits. Thus the air 
there is dank and chill; the leaves soon fall from the old 
weather-beaten birches, and here and there they already 
stood amongst the grey rocks, in all the nakedness of 
winter. Some, in more sheltered spots, perhaps, retained 
their leaves longer, half withered as they were, and 
shivering in the bitterness of the blast. The weather 
was soon expected to break up, and the silence of the 
great waste to be followed by the howling of the storm 
and the roaring of the cataract. 

It was in this dubious season that our sportsmen were 
stationed in Glen Tilt : as they pass the night in the 
comfortable teiit beds, the peats just expiring on the 
hearthstone, they hear, amid broken slumbers, the wind 

♦ Now come to the baronetcy by the death of his brother. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SULLEN FUEL. 825 

rushing along in fitfiil gusts, and the rain drops striking 
fiercely against the panes of the casement ; shortly, per- 
haps, they cease ; the moon flashes out for awhile, and 
her light strikes clear against the furniture of the little 
chamber: then the black clouds hurry along, blot out her 
orb, and leave the cottage and glen in darkness and in 
mystery: thus the night wanes; and amid these con- 
tentions of nature, the blustering waters of the Tilt sound 
loud and continuous : their voice may be somewhat smo- 
thered for the moment by the noise of the wind; but, in 
proportion as that abates, the eternal roar of the tor- 
rent swells forth again in all its turbulence. 

At length the morning began to dawn, and Tortoise 
went forth and paced about the Lodge, that he might 
endeavour to satisfy himself as to the weather. The 
wind was still fair; but the air was raw and wintry, and 
a thick vapour rested upon the mountain ranges. Well, 
that might pass away: — and now for the morning meaL 
Who can tell how often the bellows was applied to the 
sullen fuel, and how reluctant the peats were to confess 
the slightest capacity for a flare-up ? At length, after 
much coaxing and perseverance, behold a faint ignition; 
thus things began to brighten, and breakfast was soon 
Jjut upon the table, warm and redundant But the less 
we say about the viands the belter; we are rather shy of 
inentioning such things in detail. We should despair, 
indeed, of making ourselves understood as to the extent 
to which the principle of eating may be carried on by 
the minions of the mountain. 

. We may be allowed to hint our opinion, however^ that 
those were rational times, when maids of honour drank 

Y 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



326 THE SPORT BEGINS. 

ale and ate chines of beef at sunrise, with true feminine 
alacrity. Well, let this pass. Our temptations were ve- 
hement we own ; but we do not say we indulged them ; 
and, having before discussed this subject, it does not be^ 
come us to resume it We are already on oat sbcMesy 
replete or empty, it matters not. 

And now the ponies plant their feet heavily, and go 
winding and tugging up the mountain. Cdptain Stewart 
strikes off with his men to the right. ^ Good sport to 
you. Captain, and a steady hand?'' 

Tortoise aspires at once to reach the nearest skyline; 
the bogs soon become deep, and the pony is sedtback to 
the regions below. Onward he strides on fodt, less^ing 
to the sight by degrees, till he is dimly seen from the glen, 
and soon entirely lost in the mountain mist As no ope- 
rations can be carried on during such an ittipediment ta 
the view, the party sit down in a little hollow near the 
summits, where a small bum creeps lasily thtt>ugh thtf 
mosses. But the vapours rise speedily, and form into 
small clouds, that begin to dapple the distant mountain 
peaks : onward move the party cheerily } the day pro* 
mises fairly: the wind is propitious: Care with her hollow 
eyes sails scowling through the vapour^ and leaves ofiir 
rifleman with the comfortable prospect of » fidr field 
for operations. 

The sport began unexpectedly ; fot m few deer, thsf 
could not be seen during the mist, broke out sud« 
denly from a hollow towards the east, at the back of 
the 6rianan-M oir, and raced away towards Caim<H$hl»* 
main. They were at an awful distance; bot, ds the 
course of the leading ones was decided^ and the tail ones 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER-STALKER DISTRESSED. 927 

in the hollair Were cut of sight of the rifleman, he made 
a daah feorward^ and thus gained considerably upon the 
spot of their eroesing; so that when these latter began to 
appear^ he took a krtig shot at a hart, which was evi- 
dentliy struck by the balL 

" NeVer heed hini^ Peter ; forward^ forward^ man." 

^^ Why, sure then, we mun stop and tak tent o' the 
deer!" 

^^ No, no ; no such thing. Here, M aclaren, quick man, 
take Percy; run forward^ and hold the deer at bay. 
Come along, Peter, more deer will join them, and we 
shall have them again as they come out of the mouth 
ofOlenCfdiiiie." 

Away they dashed at the top of their speed, at least 
Tortoise most assuredly did so; but as he made ^^gallant 
show and promise of his mettle, so, like a deceitful jade, 
he sank in the trial." What, dead beat I he whom Maga 
in former times, and in her flattering mood, extolled 
for feats on river, mountain, lake, and moor ; he dead 
beat? Alas ! yes, most certainly, most undeniably so, and 
blowing like a grampus. The way was short : but what 
will not pace efiect ? Some how or another, however, 
he held on without being much the worse for it. 

Thus he contrived to reach the mouth of the glen in 
piteous plight^ and something in the attitude of the 
Austrian spread eagle, just as the tail deer were sinking 
the hill down to the culreach. A shot was fired, and it 
was fortunately a dean one : a fine stag fell dead on the 
spot. 

<^ Now halt, my good feUows, and let us watch the 

deef." 

Y 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



328 A SHARP WALK. 

They saw them sweep down the hollow, and pasa 
over the hill to the west, and then lost them for some 
time in the glen below: at length they crossed the river 
Mark and re-appeared, ascending the opposite mountain 
just south of Cairn-cherie ; slowly did they climb the 
brae; and being completely tired, lay down on the moss 
some way up the hill. 

" Very well, gentlemen, we will talk to you by and 
bye." 

^^ Now, Eraser, whilst Sandy is gralloching this deer,, 
do you go and seek the bay of the other." 
• Nor was this trouble a toilsome one, for Percy held at 
him in the moss under the grey stones of Caim-Chla-« 
main ; and a ball was soon sent through his head. 

^^ Now, then, take up the rifles, lose no time, and 
follow me, Peter." 

" Why, what can we do? thae beastis are in sight o' 
aw the glen, and we can no pass the Mark burn at ony 
gait" 

'^ It will be a long round, and a toilsome one ; but 
you did not get your bonny wife you know, Peter, by 
means of a faint heart. Here, Maclaren, do you remain 
on this brae (they had advanced some way), and when 
with your glass you see us fairly above the deer, wait 
for our signal ; we will draw breath a space before we 
give it But when you do see it, put the deer over to 
us in your very best style. Now, Fraser, hard work ais 
it is, this is our only chance ; but you are never tiredy 
blown or daunted ; it is no use to go back towards the 
east, the ground is all disturbed there i so we must take 
a long round by Coir-na-minghie, and cross the low^ 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LYING IN AMBUSH. 829 

ground out of sight, where we can go up Cairn-cherie^ 
and get above them, and then let them look to them-» 
selves." 

All this was done at their best pace i after a long, I 
will not say a toilsome circuit — the excitement they felt 
rendering them insensible to fatigue, — a close approx- 
imation to the fatal spot was gained. They had the 
deer below them, that was certain ; but it was necessary 
to ascertain their precise situation before they were 
Started, and not to lose sight of the points of their horns 
whilst they were running, otherwise a complete failure 
might be anticipated. For in such a case they might 
come out behind the sportsman whilst he was running 
forward, get his wind, bolt out of the cast, and thus be 
lost to him for the day ; or they might cross the ground 
out of distance, or go straight forward out of sight. 
Success in short, in such case, would depend upon mere 
accident; so the proper tact was observed; they kept 
well behind them, and peeped and crawled for some 
time, till they discovered a hind. She was lying down 
in the moss, shaking her head, and flapping her ears, as 
if to keep off the flies. Every now and then she looked 
up, and gazed about her with expanded nostrils, as if to 
search for some taint in the air. She was evidently the 
leader of the parcel, and the harts were sure to wait 
upon her movements. 

' Tortoise, Peter Fraser, and Thomas Jamieson now 
crept back, and went on a little till they got to some 
ground, under cover of which they were able to proceed 
in a more comfortable attitude ; they then got on cau- 
tiously to the south-west, and after some curious wind-' 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



880 THE FATAL SPOT REACHED. 

ingS) and c^ttain dabbling)^ in bogs and water-coursesy 
they laid themselires down prostrate in the heather, 
through bunches of which they had a glimi»e of the 
6auiioiis sentineh Jamieson, who prudently lagged be- 
biild^ was then motioned to give the signal, which wiaa 
the exhibition of his diirt by the unbuttoning of hia 
widstGoat, an object discoverable by the glass at a very 
considerable distance^ 

No sooner had the signal been observed by Mao* 
laaren^ who it will be recollected was on the opposite 
mountain^ than he rose up and came forward in the 
direction of the herd ; as he advanced slowly, the hind 
stood up, and the horns of the stags below her b^an to 
appear to the sportsmen one after the other, and pre** 
sented a most tantalising spectacle. These fine fellows 
were at a very considerable distance, but the rifleman 
completely commanded their position. 

After a little shifting and advancing on the part of 
Maclaren, and continued gazing and observation on the 
side of the deer, the latter b^;an to draw forward a little» 
but soon halted, as if to ascertain whether a retreat was 
absolutely necessary ; having at length judged it to be 
so, they moved on leisurely with a few binds in fixmt 
to a notch in the hill, where the ascent was the least 
fatiguing to them; the hinds sank into this hollow, went 
forward up it, and were lost sight of in a few moments. 
The rest of the herd followed them ; the sportsmen 
then rose up warily, and got forward also by a semi- 
circular movement, running under cover of rocks and 
moss-hags, with sufficient rapidity, to bring them within 
distance as the deer crossed in front c^ them. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TRE HERD IN JEOPAamT. 331 

They arrived just in the nick of tinie» and found th^ni« 
selves about a hundred yards from the herd as it swept 
by. The bodies of the harts were a fair and inviting 
mark, though their legs were hid» -^ the selection was 
promptly made, and two firstr^rate sti^ fell dead upon 
the spot ; the third ball also had evidently hit the mark. 
Away ran Peter Fraser^ whilst Jamieson loaded the 
riflesy and just glancing at the two victims as he passed 
them, peeped over the next ridge of the hill, when he 
suddenly tossed his arms alofl, like Gilpin Homer, and 
pranced forward to a third deer which lay dead beyond 
him. 

It takes up a considerable time to clean three deer 
and prepare them properly, so that during this opera^ 
tion the herd had leisure and opportunity to get fotward 
and sdeet their own ground, which they did, by going 
into glen Dirie, and Inoving along the steep stony tracks 
on the western face of Ben*y*venie. 

^^ Here, Sandy, another glass of Loch Rannoch^ the 
Doch-an-dorroch, ye ken ; off with it So now go up 
Ben-y-chait, taking care to cross the glen out of sight 
of the deer, and to keep them from the west. We will 
go forward right up Ben*y-Tenie." 

Sandy Macintosh was a capital fellow of the antelope 
sortf and put out his long legs nimbly^ so that he was 
quickly oil his ground, as also was the rifleman* The 
deer were soon discovered winding among the crags 
below : and keen Sandy was so alert and judicious in 
his motions, that he kept them on that precipitous side 
of the mountain. 

^< By heavens, he has turned them up our hill again. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



332 PETER FRASER's HUMANITY. 

and they are coming up the steeps at the old place ! 
Forward, forward, run low, low; we shall have them 
again to a certainty." 

He did indeed have them with a witness, and came 
right up with a string of them, running immediately 
below him at an easy distance. Go which way they 
chose they could not now escape him; a vast hollow 
of the hill side lay beneath, fully exposed to his view ; 
so he stood on the commanding crags, without the 
slightest attempt at concealment, and fired two shots in 
rapid succession. One hart fell dead on the spot, and 
another went away wounded. 

" Murder, murder I O Lord, murder ! Hand yer 
bond ; baud yer bond ; we can no tak' tent o' au thae 
deer." 

• And Peter Fraser held the third rifle with a firm grip,, 
and refused to give it up. But a sharp tug or two, and 
a sudden and unexpected twist from Tortoise, sooa 
released it from his grasp. * 

" Aweel, aweel ; baud to yon muckle deer then, awa 
to the wast. There, there {pointinff)" 

Down be dropped instantly to the rifle; and away 
went Tortoise after the wounded stag. A dog was 
properly sb'pped, who ran a beautiful chase all down the 
steeps of Ben-y-venie towards the river Mark. There 
the helpless animal stood at bay, and received his death- 

* The immediate attendant on the deerstalker holds the spartf 
rifles, and gives them one after the other to the sportsman, as he 
fires them in succession. The gunstocks got much battered in 
Tortoise's service, as he generally flung down each rifl^e as soon a^ 
be had discharged it •— rock or moss, it took its chance. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Peter's penmanship. 833 

shot He fell in a secluded spot, below some rocks and 
birch trees, where he was gralloched and washed out; 
his head was turned back on his shoulder, according to 
custom, and peats were put upon it to keep his eyes 
from the great bird ; nor did they neglect to tie the 
black flag on his horns, which, waving in the night-air, 
might scare away the raven, and baulk him of his prey. 

The herd passed forward, and Tortoise held his glass 
to them, but discontinued the pursuit, although they 
were still before him in his cast. 

The events of this day may be summed up in the 
words of Peter Fraser, which I extract from a letter 
written by him, now lying before me, and which he 
sent to Dunkeld, for the purpose of communicating this 
remarkable day's sport. 

" The deer went on to Beinn-a- Weadhounedh *, and 
oefore we loas done with the aforesaid hill, Mr. S 
had his day's sport finished — eight fine harts. This 
was done early in the afternoon ; and he wished to 
carry on further, but I got him advised to go home to 
Forest Lodge." f 

* The Ckielic appellation for Beo-y-yenie. 

t The Duke of AthoU was so liberal in his presents of venison, 
and his hospitality so great, that no supply I was ever able to 
afford him could exceed bis desires, so that he rejoiced in a day of 
this description, and would listen to the details with great interest. 
Some apology would otherwise be necessary for my slaughter on 
this and other days nearly similar to it. The chief point consists in 
selecting the best harts, and passing by the inferior ones. This 
was held to be the test of a good sportsman. In grouse-shooting, 
except I was enjoined to do otherwise^ I always limited my sport to 
twenty brace a day, though in a good season I think I could have 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



334 THE LAMENT. 

This was ray last day in the forest of Atholi. The 
scene, alas, soon changed, and mourning followed on 
its rear. In the midst of joy comes sorrow*- the dark, 
the inevitable doud, which had been almost impercep- 
tibly gathering, at length burst over us. Tlie solemn 
bell of the old Cathedral struck duly, and the sound 
bore the lament through the hollow woods and glens, 
and fell heavily upon our hearts ; the waters rolled on, 
^nd the pines waved their green heads, but all was void 
and desolate. That intellectual light, which shone on 
the vast domain, — which, acting on a Roman scale^ gave 
employment and a maintenance to thousands, — which 
spanned the broad waters of the Tay with a magnificent 
bridge, and s|Nread immense forests over wastes here- 
tofore unproductive — which was evermore successfully 
exerted for the happiness of family, friends, and de- 
pendants, and the prosperity of the country at large — 
that light — that master-mind, was suddenly withdrawn 
from us, and the kindest heart that ever warmed human 
bosom ceased to beat. Sorrow sat brooding in the hails 
of the great ; and the rough Highlander, as he walked 
silently in the gloom of the glen, paused, and drew his 
sleeve across his eyes, as he thought on his departed 
chief. 

The bitterness of that hour is now past, and a new 
dawn breaks over the mountains. The gallant young 



killed four or five times that number ; but I never had any pleasure 
in destroying game for which there was no immediate demand. 
Peter Fraser has been lately made head forester in Atholi, and 
Charlie Crerar taken into the service of the Duke of Buccleuch. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 




Digitized by 



Google 



•• • •• •• 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TH£ CHIEFTAIN. 335 

heir returns to his native hills and floods, radiant with 
youth and promise ; his people accept the omen. 

Proceed, noble chieftain, and fulfil your great duties 
like him who is gathered te the tomb of his fathers ; and 
may his mantle sit gracefully on you. May happiness 
and the well-earned love of your dependants wait upon 
your footsteps ; thus the glpry shall shine on your browis, 
and depart not from the balls pf your ancestors. 



Tu Marcellus eris • 



' Si qu& Fata aspera rumpas, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



9S6 SPRING TIME*. 



THE MOORS. 

By the Hon. T. H. Liddell. 

The moors, the moors, the bonny brown moors, 
Shining and fresh with April showers ! 

When the wild birds sing 

The return of spring. 

And the gorse and the broom 

Shed the rich perfume 

Of their golden bloom, 
'T is a joy to revisit the bonny brown moors. 
Aloft in the air floats the white sea-mew, 
And pipes his shrill whistle the grey curlew ; 
And the peewit gambols around her nest, 
And the heath-cock crows on the mountain's crest; 
And freely gushes the dark brown rill, 
In cadence sweet from the lonely hill ; 
Where, mingling her song with the torrent's din, 
As it bubbles and foams in the rocky linn. 
Twitters and plunges the water-crow 
In the pool where the trout are springing below ; 
And the lambs in the sun-shine leap and play 
By their bleating dams on the grassy brae, 
With a withered thorn for their trysting place. 
To mark the goal where their foot-prints trace 
The narrow course of their sportive race. 
Oh ! know ye the region iii spring more fair 
Than the banks and the glens of the moorland bare? 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SUMMER. AUTUMN. 387 

The moors ! the moors I the fragrant moors I 
When the heather breaks forth into purple flowers I 

When the blazing Sun 

Through the Crab hath run, 

And the Lion's wrath 

Inflames his path, 
What garden can vie with the glowing moors I 
The light clouds seem in mid- air to rest 
On the dappled mountain's misty breast. 
And living things bask in the noon-tide ray, 
That lights up the summer's glorious day ; 
Nor a sough of wind, nor a sound is heard. 
Save the faint shrill chirp of some lonely bird — 
Save the raven's croak, or the buzzard's cry, 
Or the wild bee's choral minstrelsy. 
Or the tinkling bell of the drowsy flock. 
Where they lie in the shade of. the caverned rock : 
But when the last hues of declining day 
Are melted and lost in the twilight grey. 
And the stars peep forth, and the full-orbed moon 
Serenely looks down from her highest noon. 
And the rippling water reflects her light 
Where the birch and the pine-tree deepen the night: 
Oh ! who but must own his proud spirit subdued 
By the calm of the desert solitude ; 
So balmy, so silent, so solemnly fair. 
As if some blest spirit were riding the air, 
And might commune with man on the moorland bare ! 

The moors I the moors I the joyous moors ! 
When Autumn displays her golden stores : 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



888 WINTER. — THE CORONACH. 

When the morniog's breath 

Blows across the heath, 

And the fern waves wide 

On the mountain's side, 

'T is gladness to ride 
At the peep of dawn o'er the dewy moors ! 
For the sportsmen have mounted the topmost crags. 
And the fleet dogs bound o'er the mossj hags, 
And the mist clears off, as the lagging sun 
With his first ray gleams on the glancing gun, 
And the startled grouse, and the black coek spring 
At the well-known report on whirring wing. 
Or wander we north, where the dun deer go 
Unrestrained o'er the summits of huge Ben-y-gloe ; . 
And Glen Tilt, and Glen Bruar re-echo the sound 
Of the hart held to bay by the deep-mouthed blood*^ 

hound, 
And the eagle stoops down from Schechallien to claim. 
With the fox and the raven, his share of the game. 
But a cloud hath o'ershadowed the forest and waste. 
And the Angel of Death on the whirlwind hath pass'd, 
And the coronach rings on the mountains of Blair, 
For the Lord of the woods and the moorlands bare. 

The moors I the moors ! the desolate moors ! 

When the mist thickens round, and the tempest roars I 

When the monarch of storm 

Rears his giant form 

On some rock-built throne 

That he claims for his own, 
1 o survey the wild war on tlie desolate moors ! 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SNOW STORMS) AND TEMPESTS. 339 

For the winds are let loose, arid the sound is gone forth 

To awaken the troops of the frozen north ! 

And the lightning, and hailstone, and hurricane fly. 

At a wave of his arm through die dark rolling sky ; 

And his footsteps are trampling the fog and the cloud. 

That envelop the earth in a funeral shroud ; 

And the sheep and the shepherd lie buried below 

The wide-spreading folds of his mantle of snow ; 

And the breath of his nostrils encumbers the wood ; 

And his fetters of crystal arrest the flood ; 

And he binds in its fall the cataract, 

And makes level the gulfs of the mountain tract ; 

Till his work is complete, — and a dread repose 

Broods over a boundless waste of snows; 

And the wild winds bewail in whispers drear 

The decay and death of the by-gone year. 



z 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



340 



CHAPTER XII. 

A DESCRIPTION OF THE HIGHLAND DEERHOUND, WITH 
AN ACCOUNT OF A DAY^S DEER-COURSING IN THE 
ISLAND OF JURA. 

[Communicated by Archibald Macneill, Esq., of Colonsay.] 

« Canis venaticus, celerrimus, audacissimusque non solum in feras sed 
in hostes etiam latronesque pnesertimy si dominum ductoremve injuria 
offici cernat, aut in eos concitetur.**— Bobcb. 

It is not a little remarkable that the species of dog 
which has been longest in use in this country for the 
purposes of the chase, should be that which is least 
known to the present generation of naturalists and 
sportsmen. While we are presented with delineations 
and descriptions of every race of dog, from the mastiff 
down to the pug, we find no writer of the present day 
who speaks with any degree of certainty as to the size, 
colour, or appearance of the deerhound, once so highly 
prized, and for a great period of the history of this 
country, the only dog fitted for the sports of the field. 
One would naturally have thought that the gigantic, 
picturesque, and graceful form of this animal (the 
constant attendant of nobility), would have insured for 
the present generation a faithful description of its ap- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DOGS OF ANCIENT BRITAIN. 341 

pearance and habits, but it is to be feared that none such 
has been transmitted to us, and that to the effusions of 
the bards, and traditionary tales of former days, we are 
chiefly indebted for any idea of the perfection to which 
this breed at one time attained in this country. 

From modern writers we hear nothing further than 
that such a race of dogs at one time existed in Ireland, 
that they were of a gigantic size, and that they are now 
extmct 

One great obstacle in the way of investigating the 
history of this dog has arisen from the different appel- 
lations given to it, according to the fancy of the natives 
in different parts of the country, of Irish wolfdog 
Irish greyhound. Highland deerhound, and Scotch 
greyhound. 

But for these apparently distinctive designations, suf- 
ficient information would probably have been recorded 
regarding a breed of dogs really the same, and in such 
general use throughout the different parts of the king- 
dom. 

The dogs resembling the greyhounds of the pre- 
sent day were known in this country as early as the 
third century we have ample proof from the writings 
of Roman authors, and in particular, from the works of 
Nemesianus and Gratius. In his Cynegeticon Gratius 
mentions two distinct breeds of dogs as natives of Eng- 
land, the one termed Molossus, which is supposed to 
have been the mastiff, and the other Vertraha, which, 
from the description, seems to correspond, in many 
points, with the greyhounds at present in use in this 
country. 

z 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



342 IRISH OOQS SENT TO ROME. 

Nemestanus gives the following description of these 
dogs : — 

** Sit cniribus altis. 
Sit rigidU, multamque gerat sub pectore lato 
Costarum sub fine decenter prona carinaniy 
Quse sensim rursus sicci se coUigat alvo, 
Renibus ampla satis validis, deductaque coxas, 
Cuique nimis molles fluitent in cursibus aures." 

And again he says, — 

" Divisa Britannia mittit 
Veloces, nostrique orbis venatibus aptos.*' 

From the same authorities we l^arn that the mastiffi of 
England were highly prized by the Roman emperors, 
and were used by them for the combats of the amphi- 
theatre. 

It also appears firom Symmachus, that in the fourth 
century a number of dogs of a great size were sent in 
iron cages from Ireland to Rome, which were probably 
used for the same purposes; and as the mastiff was 
purely an English dog, it is not improbable that the 
dogs so sent were greyhounds, particularly as we learn, 
from the authority of Evelyn and others, that the Irish 
wolfdog was used for the fights of the bear garden. 

How and when this species of dog came to be deno- 
minated greyhound is a point on which naturalists are 
not agreed. Some derive the appellation grey from 
Grascus, whilst others, as Jn. Caius, derives it from yre^, 
or great. Without pretending to determine this point, 
it may be suggested, as not improbable, that the name 
is derived from the colour (which is still the prevailing 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



EARLY SCOTTISH DOGS. $48 

one of these dogs in the remote districts of Scotland), 
particularly as we find them described as Cu-lia^ or grey 
dog. 

Whatever may have been the origin of the name, there 
is little doubt as to the antiquity of a species of dog in 
this country bearing a great resemblance in many points 
to the greyhound of the present day, and passing under 
that name, though evidently a larger, nobler, and more 
courageous animal. 

Among the oldest Scotch authorities are some sculp- 
tured stones in the church-yard of Meigle, a village of 
Perthshire. These stones represent in relief the figures 
of several dogs, which bear so strong a resemblance to 
the Highland deerhound, as to leave no doubt that they 
are intended to represent this species. The date of this 
sculpture is considered by antiquaries, and in particular 
by Chalmers, to have been previous to the introduction 
of Christianity, and as early at least as the ninth cen- 
tury. 

These, though probably the earliest, are by no means 
the only stones on which representations are given of 
these dogs. On many others of great antiquity to be 
met with in different parts of the country hunting scenes 
are represented, in which the same species of dogs are 
introduced in full pursuit of deer. 



z 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



344 SCULPTURED STONES AT MEIOLE. 





Among the Anglo-Saxons, with whom the wild boar, 
the wol^ and the hart were constant objects of sport, no 
dogs were so highly prized as the original race of grey- 
hounds. 

When a nobleman travelled, he never went without 
these dogs. The hawk he bore on his wrist, and the 
greyhounds who ran before him, were certain testimo- 
nials of his rank ; and, in the ancient pipe-rolls, pay- 



Digitized by 



Google 



DOOS OF THE OLDEN TIME. 345 

ments appear to have been often made in these valuable 
animals. 

In the 11th century, so greatly were greyhounds in 
estimation, that by the forest laws of Canute the Oreat^ 
no person under the rank of a gentleman was allowed 
to keep one. 

At this period, and until after the Norman conquest, 
the chase was always pursued on foot; the Normans 
having been the first to introduce the mode of following 
their game on horseback. 

It is obvious from the rough and uncultivated state of 
the country, and the nature of the game which was then 
the object of the chase (viz., deer of all sorts, wolves, 
and foxes), that the dogs then used would be of a larger, 
fiercer, and more shaggy description than the grey- 
hounds of the present day, which are bred solely for 
speed, and have by modem culture and experimental 
crosses, been rendered, in all probability a swifter 
animal, and better suited for coursing the hare in a 
level country. 

As cultivation increased, the game for which the 
deerhound was particularly suited gradually diminished, 
and the improvement in agriculture in England being 
more rapid than in the sister kingdoms, the diminution 
of deer and wolves was proportionally great. The deer- 
hound, consequently, in that country, degenerated from 
want of attention to its peculiar characteristics, and 
gradually merged into the greyhound of the present 
day. 

In Scotland, Ireland and Wales, red deer continued 
to be the objects of the chase till a much later period 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



840 THE MIOL-CHU. 

than in England ; and as from the rugged and uncalti- 
vated state of these countries the game could only be 
followed on foot^ it was necessary to use that species of 
dog which would enable the sportsman to view and enjoy 
the chase. 

At an early period, the name by which these dogs were 
known in these countries was the same, via. the Celtic 
one of Miol cAt^ which signifies a dog for the pursuit of 
wild animals, though this term is now applied generally 
to all dogs of the greyhound species.* The following 
description of the miol-chu has been handed down for 
generations, and is quite as minute, and at least as old, 
as the well known one of the book of St Alban's : — 

" Sud mar thaghadh Fionn a cbik 
Suil mar airneag, cluas mar dhuileig, 
Uchd mar ghearran, speir mar choran, 
Meadh* leathan, an cliabh leabhar, 
'San t-alt cuil fed bho'n cheann ;" 

which may be translated thus : — 

An eye of sloe, with ear not low, 
VTith horse's breast, and depth of chest. 
With breadth of loin, and curve in groin. 
And nape set far behind the head : 
Such were the dogs that Fingal bred. 

Gesner, in his history of quadrupeds, published in 
1560, gives drawings of three species of Scottish dogs, 

* I am informed from Scotland, that a tradition still prevails 
among the Highlanders, of a much larger species of deer than the 
present having formerly existed in their hills, which they called 
"miol." (qu.elk?)— JT.iy. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE MASTIFF AND GREyHOUND. 347 

which, he informs us, were furnished him by Henry St* 
Clair, Dean of Glasgow. 

These drawings are said to represent the thi^ dif- 
ferent species of dogs mentioned by Boece, in his 
History of Scotland, published 1526, of which the deer- 
hound is one. This drawing, though a rudely executed 
woodcut, is full of character, and coincides with the 
descriptions which have reached us of this dog. 

Of the dog known in Ireland under the name of the 
Irish greyhound, Holinshed, in his ^^ Description of 
Ireland and the Irish,'' written in 1586, has the fol- 
lowing notice, — " They are not without wolves, and 
greyhounds to hunt them, bigger of bone and lim than 
a colt;" and, in a frontispiece to Sir James Ware's 
" History of Ireland," an allegorical representation is 
given of a passage from the venerable Bede, in which 
two dogs are introduced, bearing so strong a resemblance 
to that given by Gesner, as to leave no doubt that they 
are the same species. 

The mastiff and the greyhound both appear, from the 
old Welsh laws, to have been used from a very early 
period by that people, and were termed by them, the 
former Gellgi, and the latter Milgi, which latter is evi- 
dently the same word with the appellation of Miol chu, 
given by the Highlanders and Irish to the deer- 
hound. 

Of the mode of hunting and using these dogs, we 
have descriptions by William Barclay, as far back as 
1563, by Taylor, the water poet, and by others. 

The term Irish is applied to the Highland dogs, as 
every thing Celtic (not excepting the language) was 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



348 RECREATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

designated in England, probably in consequence of 
Ireland being, at that period, better known to the 
English than Scotland. This is, however, a proof of 
the similarity of the dogs, and also that they were not 
then in use in England in the same perfection. Nor is 
this supposition inconsistent with the account given by 
Sir John Nicol, of Queen Elizabeth's amusements at 
Cowdrey Park, in 1595, — "Then rode her Grace to 
Cowdrey to dinner, and about six of the clock in the 
evening, sawe sixteen bucks pulled down with grey- 
hounds in a laund," — since it will be observed, from 
the use of the term "bucks," that these deer were fallow; 
and probably, the course was paled in, as appears to 
have been usual on such occasions, from a minute ac- 
count by the translator of the " Noble Art of Venerie 
and Hunting,'' published in London in 1611. 

Of the courage of the ancient deer-hound there can be 
little doubt from the nature of the game for which he 
was used, but if any proof were wanting, an incident 
mentioned by Evelyn in his Diary, in 1670, when present 
at a bullfight in the bear garden, is conclusive. He 
says, " The bulls (meaning the bull-dogs did exceed- 
ing well, but the Irish wolf dog exceeded, which was 
a tall greyhound^ a stately creature indeed, who beat a 
cruele mastiff." 

Here then is further proof that the Irish wolf dog was 
a greyhound, and there can be little doubt that it is the 
same dog that ^ we find mentioned under the name of 
" the Irish greyhound." 

Comparing, therefore, the descriptions given of the 
Vertraha of Nemesian, the English greyhound of the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DOGS OF EPIRUS. 349 

15th century, the Irish wolf dog, and the Highland 
deerhound, we find a strong similarity ; and when it 
is recollected, that the game for which they were all 
used was the same, and that the term miol chi was the 
one generally used for this species of dog over a great 
portion of the country, we have strong reasons to con- 
clude that they were one and the same kind, the more 
particularly as we find the Irish wolf dog described as a 
greyhound, and the Highland deerhound as an Irish 
greyhound; and find that the drawings which have 
reached us of the Scotch and Irish dogs, bear so strong 
a resemblance to each other. 

From the above authorities, it is obvious that this 
race of dogs has been known in this country for many 
centuries, and for a greater period of time than any 
other sort; indeed, it is the opinion of most naturalists, 
and, among others, of Buffon, that they are an original 
race, and natives of Britain. On this subject he has the 
following remarks : — " Tlie Irish greyhounds are of a 
very ancient race, and still exist (though their number 
is small) in their original climate : they were called 
by the ancients, dogs of Epirus, and Albanian dogs. 
Pliny has narrated, in the most elegant and energetic 
terms, a combat between one of these dogs, first with a 
lion, and then with an elephant : they are much larger 
than the mastiflT. In France they are so rare, that I 
never saw above one of them, which appeared when 
sitting to be about five feet high, and resembled in 
figure the Danish dog, but greatly exceeded him in 
stature. He was totally white, and of a mild and peace- 
able disposition." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



350 IRISH WOLF DOG. 

In corroboration of Buffon's theory, that the dogs of 
Epirus and Albania are the same with the Highland 
deer-hound, it may be remarked as not a little singular, 
that the dogs at present in use on the mountains of 
Macedonia, for the purpose of deer coursing, are similar 
in figure, colour, disposition, and in the texture of their 
hair, to those used in this country. They are only to 
be found in the possession of the nobility, and are with 
them also exceedingly rare.* 

The exact size to which the deerhound once attained 
in this country, it is now difficult, from the contradictory 
accounts that have reached us, to determine. 

BuiFon, as we have already seen, informs us, that the 
only one he ever saw, was much larger than a mastiff, 
and when sitting was about five feet high. 

Goldsmith, in his account of the species of d(^ known 
in Ireland in his time, under the name of Irish wolfdog^ 
represents him as being father kept for show than for 
use, there being neither wolves nor any other formidable 
beast of prey in Ireland that seem to require so powerful 
an antagonist. 



* My friend, Mr. Skene, is possessed of an ancient and curious 
map of the world, in which the ert, or elk, is represented as charac- 
terising the Transylvanian Forest ; and near it is a representation of 
*^ Canes fortiores," or the great Albanian dog, which these northern 
tribes are reported to have used to drag their carriages, as well as 
to hunt the bear, wolf, and elk. The animal given as the elk, in 
the map, is represented with very broad palmated horns, more like 
those of the moose deer, or the extinct Cervtu ewyceros^ whose re- 
mains are found in the bogs of Ireland and the Isle of Man, than 
the true elk. Thb serves to connect the miol-chd of Ireland and 
the Highlands still more closely with the Albanian deer dog. — W,8, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



PnOPORTIONS OF A DEERHOUND. 351 

Judging also from the drawing of Lord Altamount's 
dogs, given by Mr. Lambert, and from the measure- 
ments taken by him, in 1790, it is evident that these 
wolf-dogs, as they are called, bore no resemblance 
whatever to the Irish greyhound, as described by 
Holinshed, with which also they hunted wolves, as is 
apparent from their broad pendulous ears, hanging lips, 
hollow backis, heavy bodies, smooth hair, straight hocks, 
drooping tails, and party colour ; but were in all pro- 
bability a remnant of the old Irish blood-hoimd, which 
was frequently used for tracking wolves, and which at a 
later period might have been mistaken for a species 
then in that country nearly, if not altogether, extinct. 

To these vague accounts, however, little weight can 
be attached, and the only real criterion by which we 
can form a notion of the perfection to which this breed 
formerly attained, is from the small remnant that we now 



la Ireland at the present day (we speak from the 
most accurate information) not a vestige of this breed is 
to be met with. 

To England the same remarks may be applied. In 
Wales some of this breed may still exist, although no 
evidence of the fact has reached us. In Scotland (from 
a perfect knowledge of every specimen of the breed) we 
know that very few, perhaps not above a dozen, pure 
deerhounds are to be met with. 

It is difficult, without a great variety of measure- 
ments, to determine the exact size of a dog, or to give 
an accurate idea of its proportions ; though a good ge- 
neral idea may be formed, by giving the height at the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



352 FAILURE OF CROSSES IN BREEDING. 

shoulder, as measured with a slide, the girth round the 
chest, and the weight of the dog, together with a few 
descriptive remarks regarding him. 

Applying, therefore, the above rules to such of this 
race as we have seen, and allowing for the degeneracy 
which must have taken place in this breed throughout 
the country (arising from diminution in number, neglect 
in crossing, selection, and feeding,) these dogs may 
probably have, at a remoter period, averaged in height 
thirty inches, in girth thirty-four inches, and in weight 
100 lbs. 

Notwithstanding the degeneracy above alluded to, 
none of the canine race present at this day such a 
combination of qualities as the Highland deerhound, — 
speed, strength, size, endurance, courage, perseverance, 
sagacity, docility, elegance, and dignity; all these 
qualities are possessed by this dog in a very high degree, 
and all of them (with the exception of the two latter) 
are called eminently into exertion in pursuit of the 
game, for which he is so well calculated. Every attempt 
to improve this race by a cross with any other species 
has utterly failed. Such has been the result of the 
attempts made with the bull-dog, the blood-hound, and 
the Pyrenean wolf-dog; by the cross with the bull-dog 
courage was gained, but speed, strength, weight, and 
that roughness which is necessary for the protection of 
the feet in a rocky mountainous country, was lost In 
the cross with the blood-hound no quality was gained 
but that of smell, while the speed and size were 
diminished; and with the Pyrenean wolf-dog, though 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER DOOS OF COLONSAT. 353 

weight was in some cases gained, yet this was of no avail, 
as speed and courage were both lost 

All these crosses were found totally unfit for the pur- 
pose of deer coursing^ as was effectually proved by the 
late Glengarry, who made many attempts to perpetuate 
this sport. Of the cross with the blood-hound was Sir 
Walter Scott's dog, bred and presented to him by 
Glengarry. 

The finest, I believe, and apparently the purest spe- 
cimens of the deerhound now to be met with, are those 
in the possession of Captain McNeill, the younger, of 
Colonsay, of which he has in particular two dogs, 
Buskar and Bran, and two bitches, Runa and Cavack. 

These dogs, though all more or less related to each 
other, vary somewhat in colour, two being of a pale 
yellow, and two of a sandy Ted ; and vary also in the 
length and quality of the hair. 

There is one peculiarity common to all, viz. that the 
tips of their ears, eyes, and muzzles, are black, and that 
in all other parts they are each of one uniform colour, a 
never-failing accompaniment of purity of breed. 

In their running points they bear a great similarity 
to a well-bred greyhound; and, though somewhat coarser, 
are supposed (from the trials which have been made) to 
be quite as swift Their principal difierence in shape 
from the common greyhound consists in a greater height 
of shoulder, thickness of neck, size of head and muzzle, 
and coarseness of bone. They are much more sagacious 
than the common greyhound, and in disposition are 
more playful and attached, but much bolder and fiercer 
when roused. 

A A 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



854 DIMENSIONS OF BUSKAR. 

The foUowing are the dimensions of Buskar *, taken 
in August, 1836 : — 

Height at shoulder - - 28 inches 
* Girth of chest - 32 

Weight in running condition 6^1bs. 

This dog is of a pale yellow, and appears to be re^ 
markably pure in his breeding, not only from his shape 
and colour, but from the strength and wiry elasticity of his 
hair, which by Highlanders is thought to be a criterion 
of breeding. 

Though the dogs now described are of a yellow or 
reddish colour, yet there are in the districts of BadfH 
noch and Lochaber, some of a dark grey, which are 
considered pure ; indeed it is believed that this was at 
one time the prevailing colour in the Highlands of 
Scotland. Besides the difference of colour, there seems 
to be a decided difference in the texture of the hair 
between the yellow and grey dog ; that of the grey dog 
being much softer and more woolly. The latter also 
seem to be less lively, and do not exhibit such a deve- 
lopment of muscle, particularly on the back and loins, 
and have a tendency to cat hams. 

There is a striking peculiarity in the deerhound, viz. 
the difference in size between the male and female^ which 
is more remarkable than in any other of the varieties of 
the canine race. 

* The principal dog in Mr. Cdwin Landseer*B beautiful vignette^ 
opposite to the frontispiece of this work, is taken from a sketch of 
this celebrated animal, but does not, I think, give the tdea of quite 
so much bone and muscle as belongs to the original.— ^ IK. S. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER-COURSERS* EXPEDITION FROM COLONSAT. 865 

The following are the dimensions of a full-^own stag 
taken from actual measurement: — 









Ft. In. 


Height at shoulder 


a » 


- 


3 


Hi 


Girth at shoulder 


- 


• 


4 


7f 


Height from top of head 


to the fore foot 


- 


5 


6 


Length of antler 


- 


- 


2 


6 


Extreme height from the 


top of the antlers 


to 






the ground 


- 


- 


7 


10 


Weight as he fell 308lbs. 











When we consider the above measurements, it is not 
a matter of surprise that few dogs, if any, should be 
found, who are; capable, single handed, of pulling down 
an animal of such size, strength, and activity. 

Deer-coursing, the noblest of all the Highland sports, 
has long been a favourite amusement with the inhiU[)it- 
ants of the north and west of Scotland; and though 
fallen into disuse of late years, it is still exercised in 
some parts of the country. For the following account 
of the mode in which it is now practised we are indebted 
to one of the few sportsmen, who have had the good 
fortune to enjoy (of late years at least) the pleasures of 
this exciting sport. 

It was on the evening of the 11th of August, 1835, 
that a party, consisting of six sportsmen, a boat's crew 
of seven men, with piper, deer-stalker, and two deer* 
hounds, set out from Colonsay, and landed on a beach 
on the north and precipitous coast of Captain McNeill's 
property in the island of Jura, and having clambered 
up a broken and rocky bank to the foot of a precipice 

A A 2 



Digitized by VjOOQ IC 



356 CAVERN SCENE. 

which overhung the sea, they entered by a gradual 
slope into a spacious and picturesque cave, the mouth of 
which could not be discovered from below. Their first 
care was to kindle a fire, the smoke of which rose in 
a straight column to the roof, and crept along almost 
imperceptibly to the opening, from which it made its 
escape. Preparations were then made for a repast, one 
of the sailors officiating as cook. His knowledge of 
the science of gastronomy was not great, but with the 
aid of the King of Oude, &c. &c., he contrived to set 
before us a dish which would have done honour to a 
greater artiste, and to which our good appetites enabled 
us to do ample justice. Our repast concluded with the 
never-failing accompaniment of whiskey toddy; after 
which, all were anxious for repose, that they might be 
on the alert by break of day. 

By the side of the fire a couch was spread of dried 
ferns and heather, such as fair Ellen provided for King 
James ; but though our attendant was neither young 
nor of the fair sex, we had the advantage over royalty 
in one respect, being provided with a good stock of 
blankets, a comfort not at all to be despised in such a 
situation. 

At a little distance the sails were spread for the boat- 
men, and further ofi^, in a recess of the cave, the dogs 
were fastened to a stone large enough to have secured 
even those of Fingal, where a bed of dry ferns was laid 
for them. 

The different picturesque groups, and the deep gloom 
of the cavern, illuminated only by the fitful blaze of the 
wood fire, presented a subject worthy the study of a 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WILD SCENERY IN JURA. 357 

Rembrandt, while the sullen roar of the waves as they 
dashed against the rocks below, and were re-echoed in 
the cave, gave a wildness and grandeur to the scene, 
that was romantic and impressive. 

Having betaken ourselves to our resting-place, sleep 
gradually stole over the whole party, and it was only at 
break of day that the lively air of ** Hey Johnny Cope," 
blown from the pipes of Duncan M'Carmick, aroused 
us from our slumbers. 

In a moment each sprang from his couch of heather; 
and not forgetting to give instructions for the prepara^ 
tion of breakfast (and in particular, that the a la blaze 
should be again put in requisition), we descended to a 
stream, which runs through the valley at the foot of the 
cave, to perform our ablutions, and having refreshed 
ourselves with a dip in the sea, returned to breakfast 
even at that early hour, with no want of appetite. Our 
morning meal was soon over ; Buskar and Bran were 
got in readiness, and the whole party issued forth full 
of expectation ; indeed, so eager were the dogs, that 
though they had not tasted food from the forenoon of 
the previous day, they would not look at the cake 
which was offered them, and Buskar, when pressed, at 
length took the cake in his teeth, and impatiently threw 
it from him. 

From the lofty situation of the mouth of the cave, the 
view was most extensive and picturesque. To the right 
the Atlantic rolled beneath us, from whose bosom the 
sun had just emerged; before us lay a wide extended 
heath, from which the mists of the morning had with- 
drawn, though they still concealed from our view the 

A A 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



358 £XPLORlNG TU£ MOOR. 

picturesque tops of the mountains by which it was 
bounded* A beautiful valley stretched to the left, di- 
vided down the centre by a deep ravine^ through which 
a mountain stream flowed and emptied itself into the 
sea immediately below us, while over our heads hung 
a precipitous ridge of rocks. All was, as Johnson has 
expressed it, ^* rudeness, silence, and solitude." There 
was no trace of the habitation of man ; not a sound was 
to be heard, except the murmur of the waters, and occa- 
sionally the wild note of some sea-bird as it flitted from 
rock to rock. 

Before leaving our commanding situation, it was 
deemed prucfent to scrutinise narrowly with our tele- 
scopes the ground before us, particularly those beds of 
fern, so frequent in these moors, in which the stags, 
having pastured all night, generally secrete themselves 
on the approach of day, leaving nothing visible but their 
light grey heads and horns, which, without the aid of a 
glass, it is impossible to distinguish. 

Having satisfied ourselves that there wei'e none within 
our view, the next point to be considered was the di- 
rection of the wind, and the nature of the ground through 
which we were to pass. 

The direction in which we should proceed being 
agreed upon, Finlay, (than whom a better deer-stalker 
never trod the heath) set out about fifty yards in advance, 
provided with a telescope ; while the rest of the party 
followed slowly and silently with the dogs in slips. We 
had thus proceeded up a rocky ^en for some miles, gra- 
' dually ascending from the sea, when the stalker descried 
(without the aid of his glass) a stag about a mile ofl. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



8TAO DISCOVERED. 359 

He immediately prostrated himself on the ground, and 
in a second the whole party lay flat on the heath ; for 
even at that great distance we might have been disco* 
vered by the deer. Finlay then returned, crawling along 
the ground, to the spot where we were lying, and directed 
us to creep back for a short distance until we were out 
of sight. As yet, the rest of the party had seen nothing 
of the stag, and although the stalker pointed steadily 
in the direction in which he was, not one of the party 
could discover him with the naked eye; but Buskar, 
who had hitherto followed quietly, now commenced a 
low whining noise, and with ears erect, gazed steadily 
at the spot where tlie deer was lying. On taking the 
glass, we were soon satisfied of the correctness of the 
stalker's vision, for we could distinctly perceive a fine 
stag lying on the side of the valley to our lef^ quietly 
chewing the cud, and looking round in all directions. 
We immediately retreated, and following our guide, got 
into the channel of a mountain stream, which (though 
the stag was in a situation that commanded the greater 
part of the valley) enabled us, from its depth and 
windings, to approach towards him until we should be 
screened by some intei-vming rocks. 

We then left the channel of the stream, and finding 
that we could proceed no further in that direction with- 
out being observed or scented by the deer, whose power 
of smell is most acute, we turned to the left, and keeping 
the lowest ground, proceeded some way up the side 
of the valley on which he lay, when Finlay informed 
us that we should soon be again in sight ; and that in 
order to keep ourselves concealed, it was necessary to 

A A 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



360 STALKING UP TO THE DEER. 

throw ourselves on our faces, and creep through some 
rushes that lay before us. This we did, following each 
other in a line, and closely observing the motions of our 
guide, for the distance of 100 yards, until a rising ground 
intervening between us and the deer, permitted us to 
regain an upright posture. Having gained this point, 
Finlay thought it necessary to take another view of the 
deer, in case he might have changed his position, and 
thus, perhaps, be brought into sight of us when we least 
expected it: it was proper also to ascertain whether or 
not there were any deer in his neighbourhood, who might 
be disturbed by our approach, and communicate their 
alarm to him. For this purpose, unbonneted, his hair 
having been cut close for the occasion, he slowly as- 
cended the rising ground betwixt us and the deer, look- 
ing at every step to the right and to the left, and raising 
himself as if by inches, with his head thrown back so as 
to bring his eyes to as high a level as possible. Having, 
at length, caught a view of the deer's horns, he satisfied 
himself that he had not moved, and having sunk down 
as gradually and slowly as he rose, that he might not by 
any sudden movement attract the attention of the deer, 
he returned to us, and again led the way; and, after per- 
forming a very considerable circuit, moving sometimes 
forwards, and sometimes backwards, we at length ar- 
rived at the back of a hillock, on the opposite side of 
which, he informed us in a whisper, that the deer was 
lying, and that, from the spot where we then stood, he 
was not distant 100 yards. Most of the party seemed 
inclined to doubt this information, for they verily be- 
lieved that the deer was at least half a mile to the right ; 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE DEER STARTED. 361 

but Finlay's organ of locality was so visibly and strongly 
developed, and his practice in deer-stalking so great, 
that the doubts of the party were suppressed, if not alto- 
gether removed. Buskar, however, soon put the matter 
beyond question, for raising his head, he bounded for- 
wards, and almost escaped from the person who held 
him. No time was to be lost: the whole party imme- 
diately moved forward in silent and breathless expect- 
ation, with the .dogs in front, straining in the slips ; and 
on our reaching the top of the hillock, we got a full view 
of the noble stag, who having heard our footsteps, had 
sprung to his legs, and was staring us full in the face 
at the distance of about sixty yards. 

The dogs were slipped ; a general halloo burst from 
the whole party, and the stag wheeling round, set off at 
full speed with Buskar and Bran straining after him. 

The brown figure of the deer, with his noble antlers 
laid back, contrasted with the light colour of the dogs 
stretching along the dark heath, presented one of the 
most ejcciting scenes that it is possible to imagine. 

The deer's first attempt was to gain some rising 
ground to the left of the spot where we stood, and 
rather behind us ; but, being closely pursued by the dogs 
he soon found that his only safety was in speed; and (as 
a deer does not run well up hill, nor like a roe, straight 
down hill), on the dogs approaching him, he turned, 
and almost retraced his footsteps, taking, however, a 
steeper line of descent than the one by which he 
ascended* Here the chase became most interesting ; the 
dogs pressed him hard, and the deer, getting confused, 
found himself suddenly on the brink of a small precipice. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



362 THS COURSE. 

of about fourteen feet in height^ from the bottom of 
which there sloped a rugged mass of stones. He paused 
for a moment, as if afraid to take the leap, but the dogs 
were so close that he had no alternative. 

At this time the party were not above 150 yards 
distant, and most anxiously waited the result, fearing, 
from the niggedness of the ground below, that the deer 
would not survive the leap. They were, however, soon 
relieved from their anxiety ; for though he took the leap, 
he did so more cunningly than gallantly, dropping him- 
self in the most singular manner, so that his hind legs 
first reached the broken rocks below: nor were the 
dogs long in following him ; Buskar sprang first, and, 
extraordinary to relate, did not lose his legs ; Bran fol- 
lowed, and, on reaching the ground, performed a com- 
plete summerset ; he soon, however, recovered his legs ; 
and the chase was continued in an oblique direction 
down the side of a most rugged and rocky brae, the deer 
apparendy more fresh and nimble than ever, jumping 
through the rocks like a goat, and the dogs well up, 
though occasionally receiving the most fearful falls* 

From the high position in which we were placed, the 
chase was visible for nearly half a mile. When some 
rising ground intercepted <9ur view, we made with all 
speed for a higher point, and, on reaching it, we could 
perceive that the dogs, having got upon smooth ground, 
had gained on the deer, who was still going at speed, 
and were close up with him. Bran was then leading, 
and in a few seconds was at his heels, and immediately 
seized his hock with such violence of grasp, as seemed 
in a great measure to paralyse the limb, for the deer's 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TH£ D££R PULLED DOWN. 363 

Speed was immediately checked. Buskar was not far 
behind, for soon afterwards passing Bran, he seized the 
deer by the neck* Notwithstanding the weight of the 
two dogs wliich were hanging to him, having the assist* 
ance of the slope of the ground, he continued dragging 
them along at a most extraordinary rate (in defiance of 
their utmost exertions to detain him), and succeeded 
more than once in kicking Bran oiF. But he became at 
length exhausted; the dogs succeeded in pulling him 
down, and, though he made several attempts to rise, he 
never completely regained his legs. 

On coming up, we found him perfectly dead, with 
the joints of both his fore legs dislocated at the knee, 
his throat perforated, and his chest and flanks much 
lacerated. 

As the ground was perfectly smooth for a consider- 
able distance round the place where he fell, and not in 
any degree swampy, it is difficult to account for the 
dislocation of his knees, unless it happened during his 
struggles to rise. Buskar was perfectly exhausted, and 
had lain down, shaking from head to foot much like a 
broken down horse ; but on our approaching the deer, 
he rose, walked round him with a determined growl, and 
would scarcely permit us to come near him. He had 
not, however, received any cut or injury ; while Bran 
showed several bruises, nearly a square inch having been 
taken off the front of his fore leg, so that the bone was 
visible, and a piece of burnt heather had passed quite 
through his foot. 

Nothing could exceed the determined courage dis- 
played by both dogs, particularly by Buskar, throughout 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



364 SPEED AND BOTTOM OF DEERUOUNDS, 

the chase, and espeeially in preserving his hold, though 
dragged by the deer in a most violent manner. This, 
however, is but one of the many feats of this fine dog, 
He was pupped in autumn, 1832, and before he was a 
year old killed a full-grown hind single-handed. 

The deer was carried to the nearest stream, which 
was at no great distance, for the purpose of being 
washed; which ceremony being performed, we sat down 
to lunch in great spirits with the result of our day's 
sport ; and having concluded with a bumper to the suc- 
cess of our next chasse^ our only remaining duty was to 
convey our deer to the cave, a distance of two miles, by 
the nearest way through the moor. The stag weighed 
upwards of seventeen stone, but our stout Highlanders, 
by relieving each other alternately, carried it this dis- 
tance in the space of a little more than an hour. We 
then took boat, and in a couple of hours were again on 
shore in Colonsay. 

The speed of a deer may be estimated as nearly equal 
to that of a hare, though in coursing the latter, from its 
turnings and windings, more speed is probably required 
than in coursing the former ; but, on the other hand, if 
a dog is in any degree blown when he reaches a deer, 
he cannot preserve his hold, nor recover it if it is once 
lost ; indeed, it is only from his superior speed and bot- 
tom that a dog can continue to preserve his hold, and 
thus by degrees to exhaust the deer, till at length he is 
enabled to pull him down. 

This great power of endurance is only to be found 
in a thorough-bred greyhound ; of the original sort ; 
for even though a cross-bred dog might succeed in 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



LAYING ON OF A DOO. 365 

&stening on a deer, he seldom has the speed or en- 
durance necessary for preserving his hold ; and should 
he receive a fall, will, in all probability, suffer much more 
than a greyhound, whose elasticity of form is better 
calculated to endure such shocks. 

Perhaps the greatest advantage possessed by supe- 
riority of speed is, Uiat the dog runs less risk of injury ; 
for so long as the deer has the power of movement, he 
will not turn round, or attempt to defend himself with 
his horns, but endeavours to fly from his pursuers until 
they have fastened on him, and are enabled, by seizing 
some vital part, to pull him down ; whereas a cross-bred 
dog, who has not sufficient speed for a deer, and succeeds 
only in running him down by the nose (and that after a 
long chase), at length finds the deer at bay with his back 
against some rock ; in this situation no dog can possibly 
attack a deer with the slightest chance of success. In fact, 
so skilfully does he use his horns in defence, and with 
such fury does he rush upon the dogs, that none can get 
to close quarters with him without the certainty of in- 
stant death : in this position, indeed, he could, without 
difficulty, destroy a whole pack. When running ob- 
liquely down a hill (which is a deer's forte) no dog can 
equal him, particularly if the ground is rough and stony ; 
and, in such a situation, a dog, without great roughness 
of feet, is perfectly useless. It is therefore advisable 
not to let loose a dog at a deer in a lofty situation, as 
the ground is generally most rugged near the tops of 
the hills, and the dogs run a great risk of being injured. 
On the other hand, in low and level grounds, a dog is 
an overmatch for a deer in S|)eed, and, as the deer 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



366 DECAY OF RAOC. 

generally attempts to make for the high grounds for 
security, and is a bad runner up hill, the dog has a 
decided advantage when slipped at a deer in such a 
situation. 

It must be a subject of regret to the sportaman and 
naturalist that this noble race of dogs b &st dying 
away» and will, in the course of a few years, inevitably 
become extinct, unless some extraordinary exertions are 
made on the part of those who are still possessed of the 
few that remain. 

Should they once be lost, it is difficult to ims/pne , 
how any race of dogs can again be produced possessing 
such a combination of qualities. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



A 

SHORT ACCOUNT 

OF 

THE PRINCIPAL FORESTS 

AND 

DEER HAUNTS 

IN 

SCOTLAND. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FORESTS OF SCOTLAND. 



THE SUTHERLAND FORESTS. 

[Chiefly from the cominunication of Mr. Taylor.] 

The bounds of the Sutherland forests have been much 
limited of late years, as a necessary consequence of the 
improved system of sheep farming which has universally 
taken place. 

Recurring to former days, the two largest and most 
important of these forests were the Dirrie-Chatt and the 
Dirrie-More. 

The Dirrie-Chatt, or the forest of Sutherland proper, 
was, according to its ancient boundaries, a very exten- 
sive, varied, and celebrated hunting forest ; it extended 
parallel with the eastern coast of Sutherland, and at a 
short distance from it, and it included the interior parts 
of the county towards the west and north, until it joined 
the Dirrie-More, and thence passed in an easterly 
direction to Caithness, along the old boundary with 
Strathnaver. 

An elevated tract of ground from Ben-Leod, near the 
confines of Assynt, runs eastward through the centre of 
the county of Sutherland to Ben-Griam-Beg, and from 

B B 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



370 FOREST OF dirrie-chatt; 

thence to the heights of Knockfin, at the march between 
Sutherland and Caithness ; and this natural feature of 
the interior of the country was, with some slight vari- 
ations, the northern boundary of the Dirrie-Chatt. 
This central ridge is marked by mountains, with inter- 
vals of table land ; and the rains that fall on these high 
and continuous summits, find their way in streams or 
torrents in different directions to the east, or to the 
north coasts of the county : part of these waters form 
the sources of the rivers that pass into the Grerman 
Ocean ; and the remainder, the sources of others that 
enter the Ocean, along the north coast of Sutherland, 
from the river Hope to the confines of Caithness. 

These were considered the ancient boundaries, but 
others somewhat different were adjusted, when Lord 
Reay was proprietor of Edrachilles. 

Ben Klibreck, which rises to an elevation of 3,200 
feet, is situated to the north of this ridge, and forms the 
dominant object in the scenery. Although one of its 
shoulders separates Loch Naver from the romantic and 
lonely waters of Loch Veallach and Loch Corr, part of 
the grounds on the east side of these two lakes, as well 
as the wild solitudes between them and the mountain, 
were not comprehended within the Dirrie-Chatt, because 
the waters of Corrie-na*farn, and of the two lochs, all 
fall into the river Naver, by the river Meallart Ben 
Klibreck, and the romantic features around it, formed 
of themselves a separate and celebrated forest. 

From the southern base of Ben Klibreck, above 
Strath Baggestie, the boundary of the Dirrie-Chatt 
proceeded to a place called Garslary, and passing close 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ITS BOUNDARIES. 371 

to Craigna-lochan, kept along the eastern side of Loch 
Veallach and Loch Corr, including within the Ben 
Ormin forest the finely wooded side of Loch Orr, 
called Tugarve, one of the most favourite harbours for 
deer in that romantic district, covered, as it is, with 
thriving natural birch wood, for an extent of about six 
miles. Corrie-na-farn, and an outskirt of Truderscaig, 
originally followed the Klibreck forest, although the 
Ben Ormin foresters hunted without opposition on the 
shores of Loch Corr. 

From the north end of Loch Corr, the boundary of 
the Dirrie-Chatt followed the river Meallart, which 
flows from that loch; making a sharp angle at Truders- 
caig, it then proceeded to the north of the loch of that 
name, including Holmaderry, the whole of which is 
within the Ben Ormin forest ; from thence it went on 
in a direction nearly parallel to the river Naver, as far 
as the Ravigil rocks. Within these bounds is the cele- 
brated mountain Ben Ormin, in former times the spot 
selected and preserved for the exclusive hunting of the 
earls of Sutherland. 

Ben Ormin is 2,500 feet high, and between its lumpish 
shoulders, called Craig-More and Craig-Dhu, lies what 
was formerly one of the most celebrated deer passes in 
the north of Scotland. From the Ravigil rocks, the 
boundary passed into Ben Maedie, including the whole 
of Ben-Griam-More, and, continuing along the summit 
of Ben-Griam-Beg, proceeded towards the Beallach- 
More, leading into Caithness at the height of Knockfin. 
The hilly ridge that separates Caithness from Suther- 
land is strongly defined, and forms the eastern bound- 

BB 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



872 FOREST OF dirrie-more; 

ary of the Dirrie-Chatt from the heights of Knockfin 
to the bold headland of the Ord. 

From the head of the Ord, the southern line of march 
of the Dirrie-Chatt followed the mountain belt that 
skirts the low cultivated land along the coast as far as 
Craig-More, near the mouth of the river Fleet; and 
thence it proceeded westward by the side of the valley 
of the Fleet, and along the hilly ground north of Rhine, 
and of Lairg Church, as far as Loch Shin; passing 
still westward along the whole extent of this lake to 
Corry-Kinloch, and thence to Ben-Leod, where the 
description of the boundaries of the Dirrie-Chatt com- 
menced. 

Such were the ancient boundaries of this extensive 
forest, which stretched from Ben-Leod to the Ord of 
Caithness, a distance of aboiit fifty miles. Its breadth 
varied from ten to thirty miles. It comprehended within 
its limits the following five minor forests, which had 
their "separate annals and traditions: — 

1. The forest of Ben-Griam, 

2. The forest of Sledale, 

3. The forest of Ben- Horn, 

4. The forest of Ben-Ormin, 

5. The forest of Ben-Hee. 

The great forest of Dirrie-More differs essentially in 
its scenery from all the other forests in Scotland ; less 
in extent than the Dirrie-Chatt, which adjoins it, all its 
parts are broken and disjointed in a singularly wild and 
abrupt manner ; and so uniform is this character, that 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ITS CHARACTER AND BOUNDARIES. 373 

any one section of the interior solitudes of the Dirrie- 
More would afford a correct counterpart of all the other 
features of this wilderness of mountains. 

Rocky and precipitous masses, separated by ballochs 
or narrow passes ; deep and desolate glens, with vast 
masses of mountain wrecks resting their bulk on the 
level ; streams oozing through beds of moss ; torrents 
rushing down the steep ravines; black lakes, highland 
tarns, and deep morasses : — these are, in comprehen- 
sive terms, the characteristic objects that force them- 
selves into notice throughout the extensive range of the 
Dirrie-More. 

Every part of this forest is destitute of wood, except 
the west side of Ben-Hopei the sides of Stack, and the 
shores of Loch-More, which are partly covered with 
brushwood. It was not thus, however, in former times. 
The boundaries of the Dlrrie-More extended from Ben- 
Leod to the head of Glen-Dhu; thence to the head of 
Loch-Laxford, the head of Loch-Inchard, and by the 
Gualin, and the deep valley beyond it, to the head of 
the bay of Durness, and then on by the balloch leading 
to Loch-EriboU. 

The east side of Loch-Eriboll, with Ben-Hutig and 
the Moin, as far as Strathmelness, formed part of the 
forest; and from the head of the bay of Tongue the 
boundary went by Loch-Loyal, including Ben-Loyal, 
and then turned westward to the end of Loch-Maedie ; 
from whence it proceeded near the foot of the high 
ground to the westward, until it reached Ben-Hee, and 
thence, by the march of Ben-Hee forest, it passed by 
I^ch-Merkland to Ben-Leod. 
B B 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



374 NUMBER OF DEER. 

The extreme length of this range from north to 
south is about thirty miles, and its general breadth is 
about twenty; but near both extremities it does not 
exceed ten miles. Several mountains stand dominant 
within the above boundaries, and give their names to 
three forests, which are included within the general 
range, although they had distinct divisions, and were 
under the charge of separate foresters. The names of 
these forests are, — 

1. The forest of Ben- Hope, 

2. The forest of Fionaven, 

3. The forest of Arkle or Stack. 

The altitude of these mountains, from which the above 
forests derive their names, will give some idea of the 
character of the country. Ben- Hope is 3,061 feet high ; 
Fionaven, 3,015; Ben-Spionnue, in the same forest, 
2,566. The mountains of Arkle and Stack I have no 
measure of, but believe they are of no great height. 

There are three minor detached forests in Suther- 
land, which are not included in the great ones of the 
Dirrie-Chatt and the Dirrie-More : — 

1. The Parph, 

2. The forest of Klibreck, 

3. The Dirrie-Meanach. 

The number of deer that wander over the vast forests 
of Sutherland cannot well be ascertained. About thirty 
years ago an opinion prevailed that it amounted to 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER DIKES. 375 

3,000. The introduction of sheep farms, and other 
causes, have materially lessened that number, if, indeed, 
it was a correct on6. So that the harts, hinds, and 
calves, of all ages, taken collectively, do not, probably, 
at present, exceed the number of 1,500. The calcu- 
lations of the foresters would lessen that number, and 
the statements of the shepherds would increase it, their 
respective interests being diametrically opposite. 

Hunts were occasionally upon a grand scale in this 
as well as in other forests in Scotland, when the deer 
were collected by scouts, and driven to certain passes. 
One of these was along the side of Craig- More, one of 
the most prominent summits of Ben-Ormin, where there 
is a station still, called " the Earl's Seat,'* and farther 
on there is another, called " Angus Baillie's Seat," 
having been selected by a forester of that name. There 
are also the remains of several ancient hunting lodges, 
which were chiefly constructed on the islands in the 
freshwater lakes. 

There seem to have been two modes of killing deer 
in the Sutherland district, quite peculiar to the country 
— one was the erection of an enclosure, called Garru, 
na-bhiu (the deer dikes) : it was formed of two opposite 
rough stone walls, about a quarter of a mile in length, 
and 100 yards apart at one end, this distance being 
gradually contracted to a narrow opening at the other. 
The deer having been driven in at the wide end in 
numbers, could not get into the moor at the narrow ex- 
tremity without great delay, and thus became an easy 
prey to the sportsmen. The other method alluded to 
was formerly practised at two extreme points of the 

B B 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



376 DEER DRIVEN INTO THE SEA. 

Sutherland forests. A strong force of men collected 
them in herds near the sea-coast, urged them forwards, 
and, at length, forced them down the cliffs and crags, 
and drove them into the water. Boats were concealed 
amid the rocks, which were put in motion at the proper 
time, and the deer were attacked with such weapons as 
were then in use, for I speak of a period previous to the 
introduction of fire-arms. In this defenceless position 
of the deer, the slaughter must have been considerable, 
as it is probable that spearmen and bowmen occasion- 
ally leaped from their boats into the waters ; the com- 
motion of the waves, the shouting, and the rude mel^ 
must have exhibited a scene little inferior in wildness 
of character to the Indian mode of hunting on the 
Red Lake. 

Sir Robert Gordon states that this mode of hunting 
was practised at the Pharo Head (the present Cape 
Wrath), and adds, " There is another part in Sutherland, 
in the parish of Loth, called Shletadell (Sledale), where 
there are red deer ; a pleasant place for hunting with 
grew hounds: here also, sometymes, they drive the deer 
into the South Sea, and so do kill them." The second 
place thus alluded to must have been the Ord of Caith- 
ness, as it b the only part of Sledale forest where such 
singular means could be put in execution. 

Besides sports of this animating description, the chase 
of the wolf was followed, in former times, with consider- 
able ardour. Some traditionary notices there are of 
the destruction of the last wolves seen in Sutherland, 
consisting of four old ones and some whelps, which were 
killed about the same time, at three different places, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WOLVES IN SUTHERLAND. 377 

widely distant from each other, and as late as between 
the years of 1690 and 1700. Indeed, some of these 
detested prowlers continued to ravage the Northern 
Highlands, till the disappearance of the pine forests 
deprived them of retreat and shelter. The last survivors 
of this rabid race were destroyed at Achumore, in 
Assynt, in Halladale, and in Glen- Loth. 

The death of the last wolf and her cubs, on the 
eastern coast of Sutherland, was attended with remark- 
able circumstances. Some ravages had been committed 
among the flocks, and the how) had been heard in the 
dead pf night, at a time when it was supposed the vil- 
lanous race was extinct. The inhabitants turned out 
in a body, and very carefully scoured the whole country ; 
carefully, but not successfully, for, after a very laborious 
search, no wolf could be found, and the party broke up. 

A few days afterwards a man, by the name of Poison, 
who resided at Wester Helmesdale, followed up the 
search, by minutely examining the wild recesses in the 
neighbourhood of Glen-Loth, which he fancied had not 
been suflSciently attended to before. He was accom- 
panied only by two young lads, one of them his son, 
and the other an active herd boy. Poison was an old 
hunter, and had much experience in tracing and de- 
stroying wolves and other predatory animals : forming 
his own conjectures, he proceeded at once to the wild 
and rugged ground tliat surrounds the rocky mountain 
gully which forms the channel of the burn of Sledale. 
Here, after a minute investigation, he discovered a 
narrow fissure in the midst of a confused mass of large 
fragments of rock, which, upon examination, he had 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



378 THE LAST WOLF. 

reason to think might lead to a larger opening or cavern 
below, which the wolf might use as his den. Stones 
were now thrown down, and othfer means resorted to, 
to rouse any animal that might be lurking within. 
Nothing formidable appearing, the two lads contrived 
to squeeze themselves through the fissure, that they 
might examine the interior, whilst Poison kept guard 
on the outside. The boys descended through the nar- 
row passage into a small cavern, which was evidently a 
wolPs den, for the ground was covered with bones and 
horns of animals, feathers, and egg-shells, and the dark 
space was somewhat enlivened by five or six active wolf 
cubs. Not a little dubious of the event, the voice of 
the poor boys came up hollow and anxious from be- 
low, communicating this intelligence. Poison at once 
desired them to do their best, and to destroy the cubs. 
Soon after he heard the feeble howling of the whelps, 
as they were attacked below, and saw almost at the 
same time, to his great horror, a full-grown wolf, evi- 
dently the dam, raging furiously at the cries of her 
young, and now close upon the mouth of the cavern, 
which she had approached unobserved among the rocky 
inequalities of the place. She attempted to leap down, 
at one bound, from the spot where she was first seen : 
in this emergency, Poison instinctively threw himself 
forward on the wolf, and succeeded in catching a firm 
hold of the animaPs long and bushy tail, just as the fore 
part of the body was within the narrow entrance of the 
cavern. He had, unluckily, placed his gun against a 
rock when aiding the boys in their descent, and could 
not now reach it. Without apprising the lads below of 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



HER DEATH. 379 

their imminent peril, the stout hunter kept a firm grip of 
the wolPs tail, which he wound round his left arm ; and 
although the maddened brute scrambled and twisted, 
and strove with all her might, to force herself down to 
the rescue of her cubs, Poison was just able, with the 
exertion of all his strength, to keep her from going 
forward. In the midst of this singular struggle, which 
passed in silence, — for the wolf was mute, and the 
hunter, either from the engrossing nature of his ex- 
ertions, or from his unwillingness to alarm the boys, 
spake not a word at the commencement of the con- 
flict, — his son within the cave, finding the light 
excluded from above for so long a space^ asked in 
Gaelic, and in an abrupt tone, *' Father, what is 
keeping the light firom us?" — " If the root of the 
tail breaks,'' replied he, " you will soon know that." 
Before long, however, the man contrived to get hold of 
his hunting knife, and stabbed the wolf in the most vital 
parts he could reach. The enraged animal now at- 
tempted to turn and face her foe, but the hole was too 
narrow to allow of this ; and when Poison saw bis danger 
he squeezed her forward, keeping her jammed in, whilst 
he repeated his stabs as rapidly as he could, until the 
animal, being mortally wounded, was easily dragged 
back and finished. * 

* Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, has a story somewhat similar to 
this, which probably he got from the Sutherland drovers ; but, in 
his desire to change the circumstances, and make the tale his own, 
he has fallen into an error which lessens its probability. He intro- 
duces a wild boar as the animal held back by the tail, and not a 
wolf, although the tail of that animal is proverbially short, and of 
slender dimensions, and could hardly be grasped firmly by the hand : 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



380 TRADITIONS OF FINGAL. 

These were the last wolves killed in Sutherland, and 
the den was between Craig- Rhadich and Craig- Voakie, 
by the narrow Glen of Loth, a place replete with objects 
connected with traditionary l^ends. The conflict of 
Drumderg was fought in it. Cairn-Bran stands there, 
the place where FingaPs dog. Bran, was buried, and 
the holy waters of Tober Massan rise from its mosses, 
which are supposed to have cured many diseases. The 
upright stones of Carriken-Chligh also stand there, 
which, as the name denotes, mark the graves of great 
men. Nor must we neglect to mention that stone, of 
many tons weight, called Clach-macmeas, hurled to this 
spot from a distance of some miles by a young giant of 
the tender age of two months. 

It is well known to all who are aware of the Mac- 
pherson controversy, that poetical notices of Fingal and 
his warriors have descended by oral tradition, from an 
unknown age to the present generation, amongst persons 
unable to read or write, and that such traditions are 
scattered over the whole extent of the Highlands. They 
are recollected only in fragments, and, even in this 
broken condition, are known but to a few of the oldest 
inhabitants, who imbibed them in their infancy. 

a sow or boar also invariably roars out most lustily when seized 
or obstructed, and hence the person in Hogg's cavern must have 
known from such sounds the cause of obstruction of the light 
without further inquiry. In Poison's exploit, which was a true 
one, he had the advantage of grasping the long and rough tail of the 
wolf; and he wounded an animal that dies without complaining as 
a sow does, and which, according to Buffon, " never howls under 
correction like a dog, but defends himself in silence, and dies as 
hard as he lived.*' 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



SLAUGHTER OF A WILD BOAR. 381 

Dermidi says one of these traditions, was beloved by 
the wife of one of his friends, but he honourably re- 
pelled her advances. Whilst travelling with Fingal's 
party through the forest of Ben- Hope, she accidentally 
splashed herself with some muddy water; and being 
piqued at the slight she had met with, ^' Behold," said 
she, ** the foul water of the bog has more spirit than 
Dermid." This taunt rankled in his bosom, and made 
him reckless of danger. 

The party soon afterwards roused a wild boar, who 
was of such large dimensions, and of so fierce an aspect, 
that none of them dared to encounter him singly. 
Dermid rushed alone upon the furious brute, and, with 
the assistance of his dogs, transfixed him with his spear. 
" Loud roared the boar in the midst of his rocks and 
woods," but Dermid alone had the fame of his slaughter. 

In those days it was a test of innocence, if a person 
suspected of crime, measured with his bare legs and 
feet, and with impunity, the bristled back of a dead 
boar, proceeding from the tail to the head, against the 
sharp points of the bristles. To this ordeal Dermid 
cheerfully agreed to submit, to satisfy his friends that 
he had never injured any of them. But some invidious 
person dexterously sprinkled poison over the bristles, 
and these having punctured Dermid's skin, whilst mea- 
suring the length of the boar, the poison took effect, and 
caused his instant death. * 

Grana, another female devoted to Dermid, was pre- 
sent, and in her grief and despair, resolved not to 
survive her lover ; and throwing herself on the point of 
his sword, fell lifeless on his body. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



382 DERM1D AND ORANA. 

The boar was hurled down the side of Ben-Loyal, 
and buried close to a mountain stream that runs be^ 
tween two of the scors or pinnacles of Ben-Loyal, still 
called Aultn-Torc (the Burn of the Boar) ; and the 
hapless Dermid and his devoted Grana were buried in 
one grave, and under some trees that grew near the spot 

There lies the grey cairn at this present day, still held 
in reverence by the natives : one person alone ventured 
to despoil the trees, but misery and misfortune befell him 
€md his family.* 

Angus Baillie, of Uppat, was one of the most noted 
foresters in Sutherland, of whom we have any correct 
account : he signalised himself in many of the conflicts 
which were of common occurrence in former times, and 
particularly in a rocky pass, on the banks of the Black- 
water, where he and two of his companions defeated a 
whole host of Caithness freebooters, with the gun, 
called Glamabhean, at that time a novel and dreaded 
engine of destruction. Baillie was likewise renowned 
for his dexterity as a bowman and deer-stalker, and thus 
excited the jealousy of one of the midland foresters, who 
went down to Sutherland to compete with him. 

This stranger, being recommended to Baillie's supe- 
riors, talked boastingly of his pre-eminence over the 
Sutherland foresters, either at open feats, or in execul>- 
ing cunning devices for overcoming an opponent. Nay, 
he said he could kill more deer than Baillie on his own 
ground, and finished his rodomontade by saying to his 
face, ^^You can no more be compared to me, as a 

* Another version of the Bos Dhiarmid, or the Death of Dermid, 
has been given by Mr. Grant. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



ANGUS BAILLI£. 383 

forester, than your old shaggy garron can, as an 
animal, be compared to the finest antlered stag on the 
hills." 

A day was fixed for their competition, and Baillie 
accompanied the stranger to Ben-Ormin. 

He thought himself a stronger man than his bluster- 
ing visitor, and was determined to vindicate his slighted 
prowess by making the challenger appear as ridiculous 
as his boasting had been offensive : little recked he of 
the consequences. 

Now this, our Sutherland man, had no aversion to 
any awkward trick or gambol, by means of which he 
could distress his opponent. He was, moreover, learned 
in traditions, and had heard in what manner a Danish 
giant was said to have been captured by a man of di- 
minutive size; he, therefore, privately directed one of 
his men to kill a deer, and to spread the fresh skin of 
the animal immediately within his bothy, with the inner 
side uppermost. When Baillie and his challenger arrived 
at the door, the latter was desired to enter first with 
many terms of courtesy, and as soon as he stepped upon 
the slippery sur&ce of the fresh hide, his heels tripped 
up, and down he came upon his back. Whether or not 
Angus lent him a helping hand in his tumbling pro- 
pensity, tradition does not say; but I should rather 
think he did, for the fall was so heavy, that before he 
could recover himself, the said Angus Baillie, of Uppat, 
rolled the skin round him, and bound him in it with 
some cords he had provided for the purpose. He was 
sufficiently kind and considerate to leave his head fxee 
and exposed, nothing more ; and thus Master Bubadil, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



384 THE HUMBLE GARRON. 

or Rodomonte, if you please, exhibited a pretty fair 
specimen of an Egyptian mummy, or an Italian bam- 
bino. ^ 

In what manner tlie man iif durance delivered his 
sentiments on this touching occasion, tradition does not 
inform us. But, as he could not walk in this plight, 
Baillie, with mock humanity, carried him to Dunrobin 
Castle on his shoulders, where he had previously been 
taunting and boasting ; nay, more, when be approached 
that fair pile, he was complaisant enough to give him his 
full honours, by tying a large branching pair of antlers 
to his shaggy head. The stout porter having then ob- 
tained an interview with his superior, exclaimed, with 
mock solemnity, — 

" A wise man is known by the truth of his prophecy, 
and here I, the humble garron, am carrying home the 
horned stag that wandered into strange ground." The 
stranger was liberated by the gentlemen present, and 
very prudently marched home with the least possible 
delay. 

Hunting parties in the Sutherland forests were form- 
erly upon an extended scale ; there may still be seen 
the ruins of two very large hunting lodges of the de- 
scription which Pennant mentions, in the Strath of 
Helmesdale, the stones of which now form huge cairns : 
one of these, near Cayn, appears to have been 108 feet 
long and 26 feet broad ; and the other, which is at 
Saliscraggy, measures 174 feet in length and 26 in 
breadth, and is situated on a very pleasant bank of the 
river Helmesdale, near the old Strath road. 

But I have lingered a long while in this romantic 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE STOUT MEN OF SUTHERLAN D. 385 

country ; more, much more could I add, did my limits 
allow of it, for the assistance which has been so oblig- 
ingly conferred upon me, and which I have acknow- 
ledged in the preface to these pages, has been most able 
and ample ; but I must now conclude, adding only, in 
the words of Sir Robert Gordon, ^^The bodies and 
mynds of the people of this province (Sutherland) are 
indued with extraordinarie abilities of nature ; they are 
great hunters and do delyte much in that exercise, 
which makes them hardened to endure travell and 
labour." 



c c 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



886 STEATH-CONAN. 



SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FORESTS AND 
DEEB-HAUNTS IN ROSS-SHIRK 



T»E extensive estate of Lord Lovat, which ranges 
westwards from his residence of Beaufort Castle, near 
Beauly, forms the northern boundary of Inverness-shire, 
for a long distance dividing it from the county of Ross; 
and having long been the abode of deer, the appropri- 
ation of a large space to their exclusive possession has 
established a good forest, which the judicious care of 
the noble proprietor, himself a first-rate shot, and good 
stalker, will continue to improve. With the boundaries 
of the Chisholm country I am not acquainted. 

The wild country of Strath-Conan, on which we enter 
to the north, is the commencement of the county of 
Ross, through the whole of the highland parts of which, 
with little exception, as well as through the adjoining 
wilds of Sutherland, it would be difficult to find any 
district not more or less tenanted by the red deer. 

The division of Stratli-Conan was long held in un- 
enviable notoriety, as the main stronghold of the illicit 
distiller in the north of Scotland, a celebrity which it 
has only lost in recent years. The memory of this might 
pqjBsibly ere long have passed away ; but the deer-stalker, 
who is made aware that the scene of Mr. James Baillie 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



APPLBCROSS AND OAIBLOCM. 387 

Fraa^s tale of the << Highland Smugglers'* is laid in the 
Lovat forest, and adjacent recesses of Stratb-Conan» 
will hardly forget it. To the lovers of romantic fictions 
connected with scenes of Nature, and to all those whose 
spirit is excited by the deep interest which patriotism 
and tradition have thrown around the *^ land of the 
mountain and the flood/' these volumes will possess un^- 
dying charms. 

To the west of Strath-Conan lie the two great dis* 
tricts of Applecross * and Gairloch, containing a vast 
extent of the most rugged mountain scenery. A great 
part of it is, of course, utterly unimproveable, and, in* 
deed, inaccessible^ *-^ thus af&rding to th^ deer a secure 
retreat ; while the fine valleys of the west, which lie be^ 
tween the hills, offer abundant pasture^ In this part of 
Boss-shire the deer are abundant ; and the thorough 
knowledge of the sport and unerring rifles of Sir Francis 
Mackenzie, of Gairloch, and his brothers, have brought 
in many a noble stag to Flowerdale, the picturesque 
residence of his family. The singular beauty of this 
place, which is a small glen, or opening, among the 
wildest hills, crowded with trees and shrubs of the 
richest foliage, and decked on one side by the silvery 
sand and bright waters of the north-west coast, make it, 
including, as it does, the magnificent I^ch-Maree in its 
neighbourhood, an object well worthy of the traveller's 
toil. 

Deer-stalking is here, however, a truly laborious sport, 
and requires more than ordinary skill and perseverance. 

* A separate description of Applecross will Ue given in the fol- 
lowing pages. 

cc 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



S88 BALNAGOWN FOREST. 

One of the luckiest shots which the writer remembers, 
was made here, in 1832, by the Honourable Edwin 
Lascelles, who brought down a stag, in full trot, at 312 
yards, being his first essay in the sport 

We next cross the long valley which extends ifrom 
Dingwall, at the head of the Firth of Cromarty, by 
Achnasheen and Loch-Maree, to the west coast, and 
enter upon the heart of Ross-shire, no part of which is 
without deer, nor likely to be so, while the old Balna- 
gown, or Freevater forest, which forms its centre, exists. 
Groinyard has its deer, so has Achnasheen, and, the hills 
near Loch-Luichart; and the comparatively small forest 
of Fannich, lately a part of the Cromarty estate, is per- 
haps as sure a place for the sport, if kept clear of sheep, 
as any in Scotland. Coul *, the residence of Sir George 
Mackenzie, Bart., and Brahan Castle, the residence of 
the family of Seaforth, both within seven miles of Ding- 
wall, are seldom without deer in their woods ; and these 
noble denizens of the forest may frequently form part 
of a day's sport at either of these places, with pheasants, 
partridges, &c., and all the variety of low country shoot- 
ing. It is almost needless to add, that driving is the 
mode in practice here, — the thick cover precluding 
stalking, except in rare instances. 

Crossing all these large ranges of hills we enter the 
Balnagown forest, or Freevater, «. e. the forest of Walter, 
one of the chiefs of that ancient house. 

The mountains in this district are very lofty, and 
abound on their summits with those broken mossy 

* A separate notice of the beautiful possessions of Coul will fol- 
low this general account of the deer-haunts in Ross-shire. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



EASTER ROSS, CALROSSIE^ AND CX>IGACH. 389 

tracts, where the experienced deer-stalker looks with 
increasing expectation for his game. It is much to be 
regretted that hardly any part of this fine forest is kept 
properly clear of sheep ; though this is doubtless one 
cause of the increasing numbers of the deer in neigh- 
bouring places. 

They are accordingly found in Loch-Broom, on the 
estates of Castle Leod, Sir Hugh Munro of Foulis, 
Munro of Novar, and Davidson of Tulloch, in sufficient 
numbers to make the pursuit of them a constant sport. 

The estate of Foulis, comprising the greater part of 
the lofty range of Ben-Weavis, should perhaps be more 
specially mentioned, as capable of being made, by the 
exclusion of sheep, a sure resort for red deer. 

From the Freevater forest the deer have long since 
straggled into the large fir woods in Easter Ross, which 
are in the neighbourhood of Balnagown Castle, and 
Calrossie ; and though they may wander, in many in- 
stances, between these woods and their original forest, 
they have now completely established themselves there, 
dwelling and feeding amid much interruption from the 
proximity of population, for which, however, experience 
has shown that the red deer, in the shelter of his woods, 
care but little. 

To the west of the Freevater forest there remains of 
Ross, or rather of Cromartyshire, the wild district of 
Coigach, a part of the Cromarty estate, and the pro- 
perty of the Honourable Mrs. Hay Mackenzie; and the 
deer-stalker, who loves the sport in perfection, will be 
glad to learn that the son of this lady has devoted a 
considerable part of Coigach as a forest for the deer ; 

cc 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



390 ISLES OF LEWIS AND HARRIS* 

intending to build a lodge there) at Rhldorach, a situ- 
ation of much natural beauty. 

The isles of Lewis and Harris contain a large number 
of deer ; and in the former Sir Frederick Johnstone, 
Bart) who rents thegame^ hfts, together with his friendd, 
done great execution ; but these deer, I am told, are in- 
ferior in size, existing, as they do, in an ungenial and 
unproductive country, though the climate is fitter per- 
haps for raising their food than that of nian. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



UKCOUTU riREARJiS. S91 



A SHORT ACCOUNT OF COUL. 

[Obligingly communicated by Sir Geoige Stuart ^Mackenzie, Bart, 
the Proprietor.] 



THBEEarefew country residences so favourably situated 
for f^rt as Coul. Between breakfast and dinner time 
you may have amusement with every kind of game^ 
except ptarmigan, which are too remote. I have my-- 
sel^ says the proprietor, brought in a couple of salmon, 
and a stag has been shot, both within an hour after 
leaving the house. The increase in the numbers of red 
and roe deer has been remarkable. Twenty years ago, 
it was a rare thing to meet with either. It was sup- 
posed that the introduction of sheep had driven them 
away ; but though this may have been one great cause, 
it was neither the sheep, nor the shepherds, nor their 
dogS) that occasioned the extreme scarcity, but the great 
extent to which poaching was carried--** every Highlander 
having formerly been in possession of a gun of some 
sort or another. At the residence of Coul there are 
still preserved some pieces of strange and uncouth ap- 
pearance, which have at various times been employed 
on this service. Many of them have Spanish barrels, 
perhaps relics of the Armada; some are of French con- 
struction ; and many a gun that had made a noise during 
the civil wars and rebellions was turned against the 

c c 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



392 STRONG EXCITEMENT. 

Stately rangers of the mountains. Nay, in more modern 
times, muskets that had graced the shoulders of volun- 
teers of our own day, by some means or another, had 
escaped being restored to the Armoury of the Tower of 
London, and remained for efficient ball practice, as well 
as for sending showers of small shot amongst grouse and 
black game. In proportion to the increase of sheep 
farming, the numbers of Highland sportsmen were 
diminished ; and to this I attribute the recent very rapid 
increase of the deer. The attention of English sports- 
men was called to them, and the protection since given 
has, in some districts, rendered them a nuisance to the 
farmers. 

There are several districts in Ross-shire where deer 
are stalked : but at Coul they carry on the war by what 
is called a tinckel ; which, in practice, signifies a drive 
towards particular spots or passes. The scenery is very 
beautiful ; and to some points where the guns are usually 
stationed, the access is so easy that ladies may witness 
the sport. It is a very fine sight, says Sir George, to see 
a herd emerge from one part of the wood and scour the 
open space; sometimes occupying a knoll and recon- 
noitering, and then dividing into parties, and making 
for other shelter. Their movements are so exciting, 
that killing the creatures is not always thought* of; and 
the sportsmen sometimes become so nervous, that they 
mistake distance, and either miss a near shot, or do not 
fire at all. Again, a deer has been known to run a-muck 
along some hundred yards of an opening in the wood, 
and to receive five balls before he fell ; thus many are 
lost, which retire to thickets when wounded, where 
they die. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



AMIABLE CONSOLATION. 393 

The hill of Tor-Achilty, close to the beautiful re- 
sidence of Couly abounds with deer. It is finely varied, 
and there is a small lonely lake at its foot ; the hills 
around are covered with birch and oak trees for miles, 
and deer are found on all of them. Two rivers meet at 
the base of the hills, and the herds are thus in a manner 
confined, so that their haunts and ways are perfectly 
known. Occasionally, though the passes be well watched, 
not a shot will be fired ; and, at other times, much 
powder and ball is expended in vain. Yet there is 
always some consolation — the deer were seen, — had a 
slight change of position been made, a shot would have 
been got — and so forth. 

Fallow deer are in a wild state in the vicinity of the 
mansion, and they are sometimes seen in the more 
distant woods. A good many years ago part of the 
fence of Lord Seaforth's deer park gave way, and all his 
Lordship's deer escaped to the woods. They are not, 
however, dispersed to any great distance. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



394 THE SANCTUARY. 



FOREST OF APPLECROSS. 



Th£ forefit of Appleoros* lies in Rosft-shire^ and is oom^ 
prehended in a circuit of great extent ; its boundaries 
may be traced passing from the north to the east, and so 
on to the south and south-west, from Inverbain round by 
Loch Loundy, Beinn Yaan, Cairn-Derg, Coir-nan-a«4*ag) 
Coir-na ba, Coir Scammadale, to Solchmore, or Red 
River, a distance of fifty miles : then again completing 
the circle, by proceeding from the south-west towards 
the north and east, and passing from Red River, Benin- 
horornaid (or Fairy Bridge), Avy Broch Coir, Bhuo« 
chroch, Garry Vaul^ Coir Glass, Craikvein, to Loch 
Gannich, a further distance of forty miles* 

The Sanctuary, Coir-Attadale, from north-west to 
south-east, is six miles long, and there are various warm 
and fertile corries in all directions, which the deer de- 
light in. Ault-More, or the Big Burn, is picturesquely 
wooded ; and, as well as Ault-Beg, or the Little Burn, 
is a favourite retreat of the denizens of the forest. The 
mosses are everywhere remarkably fertile, and contain 
innumerable lochs; even the highest hills afford good 
pasture, and are scattered over with the sea-daisy and 
other plants. The corries and burn sides are still more 
rich and verdant. 

The numerous lochs in this forest are not only oma- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE laird's sport. 395 

mental, but valuable for their produce. Loch. Coir- 
Attadale, which empties itself by means of the excellent 
fishing river of Applecross, is stocked both with loch 
and sea trout. Loch Gannich, Loch Na-Creig, and 
Loch Na-long, are likewise amply furnished with the 
same delicacies^ and many of the smaller lakes derive 
their names from the size and quality of the fish which 
they containi The hiUs in this fine district tu*e strikingly 
picturesque, and nothing can surpass the beauty of the 
strath of Applecross. 

The deer foi^st was established about seventy years 
ago ; ihe quantity of deer it contains at present cannot 
well be asdertained, but it has been represented to me 
as very great* They are scattered over their ftivourite 
hill sides in such numbers, that when put in motion, and 
scampering away, they give a character and animation 
to the scenery quite in keeping with the magnitude of 
tlie objects around them. 

The anecdotes, which have been obligingly sent me 
relating to the sports in this forest, are such only as are 
of usual occu)*rence. They use the rough stag-hound, 
or lurcher of the country, fof wounded deer. 

I have received no general account of the weight of 
these deer ; but, judging from the size of others on the 
western coast, t am inclined to estimate it at a high 
rate^ particularly as it is recorded that Thomas, the 
first laird of Applecross of that name, killed two stags 
a few years before his death, that had been destroying 
the corn a short distance from the mansion-house, whose 
weight was sixty pounds the quarter. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



396 AN IMMENSE STAG, 



THE FOREST OF GLENGARRY. 



The Glengarry forest is situated in Inverness-sbirey 
and is about seven miles long from east to west On 
tbe north it is bounded by Glen Loing, and on the south 
by the ridge of the hill.* Part of the ground consists of 
good pasture, with rich meadow land on the banks of 
the river ; on the northern part there is long heather 
and reed, and near the top of the ridges, much sweet 
grass, of which the deer are particularly fond. The 
whqle of this extent has been preserved from sheep for 
about forty-six years, and is still retained as a forest, 
generally known by the name of " Eisnich." Stags, 
however, are not found in it in great numbers, except 
in the rutting season. The late Glengarry preserved 
the greater part of this ground as a "Sanctuary," never 
permitting any one to hunt in it, even in pursuit of a 
wounded deer ; thus, when the game was disturbed on 
the neighbouring hills, they made towards this spot as 
their refuge. The pasture being good, the climate com- 
paratively mild, and the snow never lying long on 
the ground, are circumstances so favourable, that the 
deer attain to a large size. The late Glengarry killed 
a hart, which weighed twenty -six stone, and the present 

* By the hill, I believe, is meant the general mountain range 
which rises from the Strath. 



Digitized by Google 



SAGACITY OF A BLOOD-HOUND. 397 

proprietor, another of the weight of twenty-four stone 
five pounds, both weighed after the gralloch had been 
taken out The latter deer had previously been woun- 
ded in the shoulder by the same gentleman about ten 
days before the last decisive shot, by which occurrence 
he was somewhat wasted. 

The mode of killing deer at present practised in this 
forest is such as would naturally be used in any other 
ground of a similar nature. They are stalked on the 
hills, and in the lower ground the woods are driven, 
whilst the passes are occupied by the rifle-men. For- 
merly there were grand hunts, when the herd was driven 
into lake Dulachan by a strong cordon of men, and the 
slaughter took place in its waters. 

The late Glengarry, amongst other things, was cele- 
brated for the excellence of his deer-hounds: who, 
indeed, has not heard of the remarkable feats of Hector f 
He tried various crosses, particularly with a small blood- 
hound; and their capacity of following a cold scent is 
said to liave been so wonderful, that one of tliem 
actually pursued a wounded deer for the space of three 
days, the hunters at nightfall stopping at the last dis- 
tinct impression of the deer's hoof, and covering it with 
stones ; when the stones were removed at daylight, the 
hound was put upon the scent, and went forward as 
keenly as ever.* 

Many of Glengarry's dogs met the fate common to 
all high-couraged ones, and were occasionally wounded 

* It must be borne in mind that a wounded deer would not 
hurry on unless closely pressed, so that the scent was not so stale 
as would appear from this account. 



Digitized by 



Google 



398 WILD WORK. 

by itie antlers of the stag at bay^ or fell oyer preeipices 
in turning a sharp corner during the heat of the chase. 
With what romantic ardour the late Glengarry foU 
lowed up the exciting amusemait of deernstalkin^ is 
well known throughout Scotland* He would go forth 
in his kilt, and remain on the hills for a week together, 
sleeping in the open air. When the stag was at bay, he 
would sometimes have a close engagement with him, 
using his gun-stock, or skem^ndhu, and, though often in 
peril, was ever successful. Stout-hearted and enthiK 
siastic as he was, nothing could obstruct his course: 
when his dogs once held a stag at bay in an island in 
Loch Garry, no boat being at hand, he placed a knife in 
his handkerchief, which he bound round his head, swam 
lustily through the waters, and completed his victory. 
This was wild sport, indeed; but he had an adven- 
turous and a gallant spirit, and was a true son of the 
mountains* 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



QLENFE8HIE. 899 



THE DUKE OF GORDON'S DEER FORESTS- 



In page 104. will be found an account of the former 
possessions of the Earls of Huntley ; but as some changes 
of consequence have taken place in latter times, perhaps 
it may be as well to note the more modern measurement 
and divisions of this wild tract, precisely as I have re- 
ceived them from another quarter : should there be any 
discrepancy between the two accounts, the changes above 
mentioned, and the difference between computed and 
actual measure^ will easily account for it. 

GLENFESHIE, 

in the parish of Kingussie and county of Inverness, is 
bounded on the south and south-east by the forests of 
Marr and AthoU, on the west by the forest of Gaick, 
and on the south by the estate of Invereshie. By survey 
in 1770, it contained 13,706 Scots acres. It was let 
in 1752 to Mr. Macpherson of Invereshie, and continued 
to be rented by that family until 1812, when it was pur- 
chased from the Duke of Gordon by Mr. Macpherson 
of Invereshie and Ballindalloch. It has been pastured 
by cattle and sheep since 1752. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



400 GAICK. DRUMAUCHTAIl. 

GAICK, 

in the parish of Kingussie and county of Inverness, 
is bounded on the south and west by the forest of 
AthoU, on the east by the forest of Felaar, and the 
estate of Invereshie, and on the north by the lands of 
Invertruim, Ruthven, Noid, Phoness, and Glentruim. 
It contains three lakes stocked with char and large trout, 
and salmon are occasionally found in them, ascending 
by the water of Iromie from the Spey. By survey in 
1770, it contained 10,777 acres. It was let in 1782 as 
a sheep-walk to Robert Stewart of Garth for nineteen 
years. In 1804 it was let to Col. Gordon of Inver- 
truim, who occupied it as a grazing till 1814, when the 
Marquis of Huntley got it from his father as a deer 
forest. In 1830 it was purchased by Mr. Macpherson 
Grant, of Ballindalloch, from the Gordon trustees, and 
it is now left to Sir Joseph Radclifie, Bart., who strictly 
preserves it as a deer forest, and has an excellent shoot* 
ing lodge near the centre of the range. 

DRUMAUCHTAR, 

in the parish of Kingussie and county of Inverness, is 
bounded on the south by the west forest of Atholl, on 
the west by the Duke of Atholl's and Sir Neill Menzies's 
properties, and on the north and east by the lands of 
Glentruim and Cluny. By survey in 1770, it contained 
5782 Scots acres, exclusive of Beinalder, which forms a 
part of it, and contains 14,927 acres. It was let for pas- 
ture to Lachlan Macpherson in 1773. In 1829 it was 
purchased from the Gordon trustees, along with the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OLE N MORE, ETC. ETC 401 

lands of Glentrium, by Major Ewen Macpherson, of the 
H. £. I. S. and is occupied as a sheep-walk and grouse 
shooting range. Beinalder is now the property of Ewen 
Macpherson, Esq. of Cluny, and has recently been let 
to the Marquis of Abercorn as a deer forest. 

GLENMORE, 
in the parish of Kincardine and county of Inverness, 
containing 10,173 acres, was formerly a great pine forest. 
It is bounded on the south by the forests of Glenavon 
and Marr. It is used now for pasturage. Cairngorm 
forms part of this forest. 

GLENAVON, 

in the parish of Kirkmichael, county of Banff, contains 
22,086 Scots acres. Since 1773 it has been occupied as 
a grazing, but it is said that the Duke of Richmond 
contemplates restoring it to a deer forest. It adjoins 
the forest of Marr. 

GLENBUILY, 
adjoining Glenavon, 3396 acres. 

GLENFIDDICH, 

parish of Mortlach, county of Banff, 5622 acres, is pos- 
sessed by the Duke of Richmond as a deer forest, and 
has always been retained as such by the Gordon family. 

Of all these ancient forests, the last and Gaick are the 
only ones now strictly preserved for deer ; the others 
are pastured by black cattle, or sheep, and are therefore 
only partially stocked with the nobler animals. 

D D 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



402 INVERCAULD. 



THE FOREST OF INVERCAULD. 



Th£ Invercauld forest is situated in the parish of 
Braemar, and county of Aberdeen. Lord Byron'« famed 
Loch-na-Garbh * is on the extreme east point, and Bein- 
a-bour, and Beinavon guards it on the west and north. 
The river Dee divides it, flowing from west to east, and 
its numerous small tributaries afford abundance of the 
finest water for the animals grazing within the range. 
The house of Invercauld is nearly in the centre of the 
sport, and may be said to be surrounded by the forest ; 
as throu^ the spring and winter months the deer may 
daily be seen browsing about almost within gun-shot of it» 
and the destruction they do to the numerous plantations 
shows they are at no great distance during the rest of 
the year. With a glass they can be viewed at any time 
from the windows on the hills around. The extreme 
length of this forest from east to west is eighteen miles; 
the breadth varies from two to five; it is equal to thirty- 
four square miles; the circumference is forty-two miles, 
and it contains 22,186 acres. Within this extent you find 

* The height of Loch-na^-Garbh, according to the proprietor, is 
3824 feet ; that of Beinn-a-bourd 4039. Beian^von has 3967; 
and Beinn-a-muich-dui, in the Marr forest, is represented by him as 
the highest mountain in Scotland, being 20 feet higher than Ben- 
Nevis. The wild character of the country may be easily divined from 
these majestic features. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



FORMERLY A ROYAL FOREST. 403 

every description of ground, from the bold rocky moun- 
tains of 4000 feet in height (on which have been 
found many stones of the topaz and beryl kind), 
to the table land of the district 1100 feet above 
the level of the sea. The pasture varies from the 
finest natural grasses to the lichen and pure white or 
grey fog on the summit of the hills; but the heather and 
ling predominate,, and these latter are from time to time 
renewed by burning. With abundant shelter from the 
woods and plantations, and such excellent pasture, no 
situation can be more favourable for the protection of 
deer. The junction with the Marr Lodge forest on the 
west increases greatly the value of both ; that again join« 
ing with the AthoU forest, which latter is contiguous 
to Gawick, forms altogetlier a greater extent of connected 
sur&ce, kept expressly for deer, than is to be found 
elsewhere in Britain. A glen joining the Invercauld 
forest, on the eastof Loch-na-Garbh, called Glen Gelder, 
has lately been reserved for deer by Sir Robert Gordon, 
which, from the increased extent of ground, and pro- 
tection it affords them, must prove an advantage to both 
parties. There is no tradition how long this range has 
been under deer ; it has always been considered part of 
the Royal Forest of the old Scottish kings*, and tliere 

• There is a letter under the privy seal of James VI., appointing 
Donald Farquharson of Braemar, keeper of the King's forests of 
Braemar, Cromar, and Strath-dee, dated 1584, " with power to him 
his deputis, and servandis, for quhome he sal be holdin to answer to 
cause hayoe the said wodis, forestis, and mureis ; and to serche, 
seik, tak, and apprehend all and quholsumevir personis hantand, or 
repairand tharin with bowis, culveringis, nettis, or any uther instru- 
ment melt and convenient for the distruction of the deir and the 

D D 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



404 EFFECT OF CHANGES OP WIND. 

are still the remains of Kindroghit Castle on the Inver- 
cauld property, used by Malcolm Canmore as a hunting 
seat, of which mention is made in the notes to Sir Walter 
Scott's " Marmion.'* It does not exceed twenty years 
since the sheep and other animals were finally cleared 
off the hills to the west, where it joins the Marr Lodge 
forest. About 4200 acres are in wood, the greater 
part of which, on the east side, called the Ballochbui, 
consists of indigenous pine, many centuries old, and of 
great size. There are several hundred hinds which never 
leave these woods or their vicinity ; but it is difficult to 
estimate the number of deer belonging to Invercauld, 
as it is constantly fluctuating with a change of wind. In 
summer the prevailing west wind frequently takes the 
greater part of the stags to the Marr Lodge forest ; but 
when the wind returns to the east, or in bad weather, 
hundreds of stags and hinds immediately come back ; 
and in winter and spring the woods are always full of 
them. The roe deer at all times abound in these woods. 
There are no lochs worthy of note in the forest, but 
there are several in the adjoining grouse ground belong- 
ing to Invercauld, the greater part of which is let in dif- 
ferent shooting quarters, and all under sheep: when the 
latter are removed from the hills to winter pastures, the 



murefowlis ; or with aixis, sawis, or any uther instrument or work- 
lume for cutting or destroying of wood ; and to tak the same in for 
thame and intromit thairwith to his awin use : and to present thair 
personis to the justice, shiref, or any other ordinar juge to be 
punisheit conforme to the lawis of this realme and generalUe» &c. : 
term and stabill to hold, &c. at Falkland, the U day of Jully, the 
year of God 1°* V Ixxxiv. yeiris." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



CLEVER TERRIERS. 405 

deer, particularly the stags, frequent great part of it until 
the sheep return in summer. It extends to 1 12,760 acres, 
surrounding the forest on the north and south, which 
when added to it, makes a total of 134,946 acres, equal 
to 210 square miles, and is 108 miles in circumference* 
The names of the principal lochs are Lochbalader, above 
a mile in length. Loch Kenlader, Loch-nau-eau, famous 
for its trouts (which are of a red colour, resembling those 
of Loch ]>ven), Loch Brotichan, and part of Loch 
Muich, which is the largest, being above two miles long. 
The old method of stalking the deer against the wind 
is the one generally practised in all this district: it is not 
always easily done, owing to the numerous eddies which 
are met with among the hills ; and thus it allows great 
scope for the knowing forester in displaying his tact, and 
in bringing the sportsman within shot of his object. In 
the Ballochbui, the deer are frequently, more especially 
in cold or windy weather, to be seen within shot of the 
drives : and both stags and hinds have been often killed 
by Mr. Farquharson from a carriage or a pony. The 
deer are seldom driven, and never hunted with dogs, 
unless to bring down a wounded animal. The foresters 
have small terriers properly trained to keep by them 
when stalking, and these will track a wounded deer to a 
great distance without giving tongue, and have been 
known to find one after two nights and a day had elapsed. 
They answer every purpose, as they bring the sportsman 
within a second shot without being perceived, whilst 
greyhounds, when the object is out of view, cannot follow 
the scent properly ; so that where the ground is stony, 
or in the woods, they are almost always unsuccessful. 
D D 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



406 WEIGHT OF BRAEMAR D£ER« 

Such greyhounds as are in use are descendants of the 
Glengarry breed, and have been lately crossed with the 
common foxhound, and also with the bloodhound : but 
still the foresters prefer tlie terriers, which are of a very 
sagacious nature, and were brought originally from 
Ross-shire.* 

The Braemar deer are allowed to be quite different 
from those of the Atholl forest ; they stand higher, and 
are in general of a greater weight The stags average 
from fourteen to sixteen stone when gralloched, but occa- 
sionally far exceed that, and have weighed (with the in- 
side) as much as twenty-five stone of fourteen pounds to 
the stone. The hinds seldom exceed eleven stone. The 
number generally killed at Invercauld in the course of 
the year is about thirty or forty stags, and twenty 
hinds. 

* Probably because they made less disturbance in the forest, 
which, although of a princely extent in point of length, is rather 
narrow for urging the chase in a cross wind. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



BOUNDARIES, STREAMS, ETC. 407 



THE FOREST OF MARK. 



The forest of Marr, in the county of Aberdeen, con- 
sists of four contiguous glens on the north bank of the 
Dee, with their various branches and ramifications, viz., 
Glenquoich, Gleniuie, Glendee, and Glenguildy. . 

The extent must, in a great measure, be guessed at, 
it never having been regularly surveyed ; but as far as 
can be ascertained from the opinion of those who know 
the ground well, and have had the best opportunity of 
judging, it is thought the length of tlie forest may ave- 
rage fifteen miles, and the breadth eight, which would 
give an area of about 60,000 acres. The bearing of the 
extreme length runs nearly east and west. It is bounded 
on the north by Glenavon in Banffshire, and the hills of 
Rothiemurcus and Glenfeshie in Inverness-shire; on the 
west, by part of the forest of AthoU and the glen of Bay- 
nock; on the south by the river Dee ; and on the east 
by part of the forest of Invercauld. The whole is in the 
county of Aberdeen. The principal rivers and streams 
are the Dee, the Quoich, the Luie, and the Guildy. The 
Quoich branches at the top and runs into the Bechan and 
Duglin burns; the Luie into the Derry and Luibeg; 
the Dee into the Garchery and Guirachan ; and the 
Guildy into the Davie and the burn of the Cuirn. The 
D I) 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



408 DEER-STALKING IN MARK. 

only lakes worth mentioning are Loch Eatachan on the 
east shoulder of Bein-muirdhui and Loch-nastirtar in 
Glenguisachan. 

The principal mountains beginning on theeastare Bein- 
aboard, Beinachuirn, Beinavrear, Beinamean, Cairngo- 
rum, Bein Murdhui, Cairnavaim^ Breriach, Carmtoul, 
Beinavrottan, Cairn-nealler, and Scarrach ; — they are 
all composed of granite ; and the general character of 
their surface is dry and rocky for a considerable way 
down their sides ; but there are many vallies or corries 
around their bases containing good rich hill pasture; 
and in the low parts of the different glens are haughs of 
rich natural grass, which, in Glenluie and Glenquoich, 
are well sheltered by very extensive tracts of natural 
pine wood : there is also a considerable proportion of 
mossy ground interspersed over the whole. 

The Glenluie was cleared of sheep and cattle, &c., 
and turned into a forest upwards of sixty years ago, and 
the other glens at different and more recent periods. 

The number of deer in the forest must vary to a great 
extent according to circumstances; but it is supposed that 
there may be a regular stock of about three thousand. 

The weight of the best stags may run from fourteen 
to eighteen stones imperial, and there have been instances 
of some of the largest weighing twenty stones. 

In this forest the deer are for the most part killed by 
stalking, and getting quiet shots^ and not by driving them 
to passes, or coursing them with dogs, except when 
wounded.* 

* The little disturbance, which this method occasions to the 
forest, keeps the deer from wandering, though the sport is of a le^ 
brilliant description. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



WILD BOAR AND REIN-DEER. 409 

The breed of deer hounds chiefly in use is the rough 
wire-haired Scotch or Irish greyhound. 

The present Earl of Fife, has tried many spirited ex- 
periments by the introduction of different animals into 
this celebrated forest. He brought over capercalies from 
the north, and they increased to the number of twelve ; 
but when the place was let, and the birds were removed, 
they soon died. He has now procured two more old 
ones; and has succeeded, I am told, in rearing up 
another brood. The wild boar also was introduced at 
the advice of the Margrave of Anspach, who was at Marr 
Lodge for a fortnight, but the experiment did not an- 
swer for want of acorns, which are their principal food ; 
if these animals, however, were turned out young, the 
ant hills, which abound in the forest, might probably be 
an efficient substitute. Rein-deer were also introduced 
by his lordship, but they all died, notwithstanding one 
of them was turned out on the summits, which are 
covered with dry moss, on which, it was supposed, they 
would be able to subsist. In spite of these failures, Lord 
Fife wished to see if the chamois would live in his alpine 
domains, and he imported five of these animals from 
Switzerland : his late majesty, however, having expressed 
a wish to have them at Windsor, they were accordingly 
sent there, where they produced young ones. A wooden 
tower was built for them, and they raced up and down 
it as if they had been amongst their native rocks. They 
died from having eaten some poisonous herb, so that, on 
all accounts, it is very much to be regretted that they 
were not sent originally to the Marr Forest. 

The remaining trees in Braemar are the last of the 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



410 DEER HUNT IN 1618. 

old Scotch pine-forests : their leaves are of a very dark 
green as compared with the common Scotch fir. 

I wish the communications I have had the honour of 
receiving from the Earl of Fife had enabled me to give 
a more detailed account of this magnificent country, and 
the traditions which belong to it. Unfortunately I have 
it not in my power to supply any further information^ 
and shall therefore close this account with an extract 
from a work of Taylor, the Water Poet, entitled " The 
Pennylesse Pilgrimage," relating to a great hunt given 
by the Earl of Marr in 1618. 

" I thank my good Lord Erskine (says the poet) ; 
hee commanded that I should alwayes bee lodged in his 
lodging, the kitchen being alwayes on the side of a 
banke, many kettles and pots boyling, and many spits 
turning and winding with great variety of cheere, as 
venison baked, sodden, rost, and stu'de; beef, mutton, 
goates, kid, hares, fish, salmon, pigeons, hens, capons, 
chickens, partridge, moorcoots, heathcocks, caperkillies, 
and termagents ; good ale, sacke, white and claret, tent 
(or Allegant), and most potent aqusevita^. 

<' All these, and more than these, we had continually 
in superfluous abundance, caught by faulconers, fowlers, 
fishers, and brought by my lord's (Mar) tenants and 
purveyers to victual our campe, which consisted of four- 
teen or fifteen hundred men and horses. 

" The manner of the hunting is this : — five or six 
hundred men doe rise early in the morning, and they 
doe disperse themselves divers wayes, and seven, eight, 
or ten miles compass they doe bring or chase in the 
deer in many heards (two, three, or four hundred in 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



BATTUE OF TBE OLDEN TIME. 411 

a heard) to such or such a place as the noblemen 
shall appoint them; then when the day is come, the 
lords and gentlemen of their companies doe ride or go 
to the said places, sometimes wading up to the mid- 
dles through bournes and rivers ; and then they being 
come to the place, doe lye down on the ground till 
those foresaid scouts, which are called the tinckell, do 
bring down the deer ; but as the proverb says of a bad 
cooke, so these Tinckell men doe lick their own fingers; 
for besides their bows and arrows, which they carry 
with them, wee can heare now and then a barquebusse 
or musket goe off, which they doe seldom discharge in 
vaine : then after we had stayed three hbures, or there- 
abouts, we might perceive the deer appeare on the hills 
round about us (their heads making a shew like a wood), 
which being followed close by the Tinckell, are chased 
down into the valley where wee lay ; then all the valley 
on each side being waylaid with a hundred couple of 
strong Irish greyhounds, they are let loose as occasion 
serves upon the hearde of deere, that with dogs, gunnes, 
arrowes, durks, and daggers, in the space of two houres, 
fourscore &t deere were slaine^ which after are disposed 
of some one way and some another, twenty or thirty 
miles; and more than enough left for us to make merrey 
withall at our rendevouse. Being come to our lodgings, 
there was sueh baking, boyling, rosting, and stewing, 
as if cook Ruffian had been there to have scalded the 
devill in his feathers." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



412 GATHERING IN OF THE DEER. 



THE FOREST OF CORRICHIBAH. 



The forest of Corrichibah, or the Black Mount, is 
situated in the district of Glenorchy, in Argyllshire. 

It appears from the Black Book (an old manuscript at 
Taymouth), and from other documents, to have been 
kept as a deer forest from a very early period, till about 
the time when, by the introduction of sheep on the 
Highland hills, the value of mountain pasture became 
considerably increased. At that period it ceased to be 
used as a forest, and was turned into sheep farms, in 
which state it continued till the year 1820, when it was 
again converted into a forest by the present Marquis of 
Breadalbane. 

The number of deer was at that time very small 
indeed, and these were scattered over a very wide dis- 
trict of country ; namely, from the western extremity of 
Loch Rannoch to the head of Loch Etive on one side, 
and from Glencoe to Ben Aulder and Loch Eroch on 
the other ; at this time it is not supposed that the stock 
of deer could have exceeded one hundred head. No 
sooner, however, was a part of Ck)rrichibah kept clear 
from sheep, than these deer gathered in; and the number 
now in Lord Breadalbane's forest cannot be computed 
at less than 1,500. The extent of ground strictly kept 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



NUMBER AND CONDITION OF DEER. 413 

for deer is about 35,000 acres. It extends on the north 
side from the western extremity of Loch Lydoch by 
the king's house in Rannoch, to Dalness in Glen Etive; 
and on the south side from the confines of the county 
of Perth, by Loch TuUa, and the river Urchay, to Corri 
Vicar and Glenketland. The ground is peculiarly 
adapted for deer, being rocky and steep, and the hills 
are varied with numerous corries. The rocks are mostly 
granite and porphyry. The grass is remarkable fine, 
and the sheep of the Black Mount were greatly esteemed 
in the Glasgow market. 

The highest hills in the forest are Ben Toag, which 
rises on the north side of Loch TuUa^; Stoupgyers, or 
the Hill of Goats ; Clachlig, or the Stony Face ; Sroin- 
na-forseran, or the Forester's Nose; Mealvourie, and 
the Craish, which rises on the south side of Glen Etive* 
There is a considerable extent of low ground, about 
nine miles in length by five or six in breadth, extending 
from the bases of the hills on the east side as far as Loch 
Lydoch. In this low ground there is a continued 
chain of small lochs called the Bah Lochs, in which 
there are several small wooded islands ; into these the 
deer are very fond of going. This low ground is of 
very great service to the forest, both as it affords good 
wintering and very early grass in the spring ; for at 
that period of the year the deer may be seen standing in 
the water picking rushes and grass which grow at the 
sides of the river and lochs. This early grass is of 
immense importance to them, and, combined with the 
strong hill pasture, is one of the causes of the excellent 
condition in ^hich the deer of this forest are usually 
found. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



414 MODE OF TAKING DEER. 

The stags of the Black Mount exceed those of most 
o{ the neighbouring forests in point of wei^t, and may 
be estimated at an average of from sixteen to seventeen 
stones, imperial, sinking the offiJ; and they are frequently 
found to weigh eighteen, nineteen, and even twenty-one 
stones, having two or three inches of fat on the haunches. 
Their heads likewise are large in proportion, being of 
a much more vigorous growth than those of the Atholl 
or the Marr deer. One of the great advantages of the 
Black Mount forest is, that it forms the summit level of 
that part of the Highlands, and that it has equally ex- 
tensive grounds on each side, both east and west ; so that 
from whatever quarter the wind may blow, or from 
whatever side the deer may be disturbed, they seldom 
leave its bounds, but feed over either to the one side or 
the other. The hills being extremely rocky and preci- 
pitous, and there being only certain places by which the 
deer can pass from one corrie to another, the mode of 
killing by driving them is pretty certain. Stalking is 
very diflScult in most parts of tlte forest, owing to the 
very steep and rugged nature of the ground. It may be 
mentioned, as a proof of this, that some poachers who 
were pursuing deer in the forest in the winter some 
years ago lost one of their companions, who was killed 
by falling over a rock. 

This forest, like many others, has immemorially been 
believed to possess its white hind ; to which, among 
other evidence, the following extract refers, from the 
old family manuscript at Taymouth, called the Black 
Book: — 

** Upon the thettene day of February, anno 1622, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



GAELIC POETRY. 415 

the king's majesty send John Skandebar, Englishman, 
with other twa Englishmen in his company, to see ane 
quhyt hynd that was in Corrichiba, upon the 22d day 
of February, anno 1622." 

In reference to this old story it may be mentioned 
that at this day there is a very light coloured deer in 
this forest, which all the foresters speak of as the white 
deer. 

If " Lord Reay*s country " can boast of having given 
birth to the celebrated poet Rob Doun, the precincts of 
the ^^ Black Mount " are not perhaps less famous for 
producing a bard who flourished in those rude regions 
about fifty or sixty years ago. His name is Duncan 
Macintyre; some translations from his poems have 
obligingly been obtained and transmitted to me by the 
present Marquis of Breadalbane. 

Thus I have it in my power to give a specimen of the 
beautiful imagery of one of these translations from the 
Gaelic, rendered in a more modern garb by the cele- 
brated pen of Mr. D'Israeli, jun. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



416 



SPRING IN BENDOURAN. 



I. 

Thy groves and glens, Bendouran, ring 

With the chorus of the spring : 

The blackcock chuckles in thy woods — 

The trout are glancing in thy floods — 

The bees about thy braes so fair, 

Are humming in the sunny air ; 

Each sight most glad, each sound most sweet, 

Amid the sylvan pastures meet ; 

With the bloom of balmy May, 

Thy grassy wilderness is gay ! 

n. . 

And lo ! along the forest glade 

From out yon ancient pine wood's shade, — 

Proud in their ruddy robes of state, 

The new-born boon of spring. 
With antlered head and eye elate, 

And feet that scarcely fling 

* The inhabitants of the west still suppose that this mountain 
possesses the faculty of making known by strange sounds the 
approach of a storm, when, as they express it, ** The spirit of the 
mountain shrieks." 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



THE WILD DEER OF THE MOUNTAIN. 417 

A shadow on the downy grass. 

That breathes its fragrance as they pass, — 

Troop forth the regal deer : 
Each stately hart, each slender hind, 
Stares and snuffs the desert wind; 
While by their side confiding roves 
The spring-bom offspring of their loves — 
The delicate and playful fawn, 
Dappled like the rosy dawn, 

And sportive in its fear ! 



III. 

The mountain is thy mother. 

Thou wild secluded race : — 
TTiou hast no sire, or brother. 

That watches with a &ce 
Of half such fondness o'er thy life 
Of blended solitude and strife. 
As yon high majestic form 

That feeds thee on its grassy breast. 
Or guards thee from the bursting storm 

By the rude shelter of its crest ; -^ 
Or — when thy startled senses feel 

The presence of the unseen foe. 
And dreams of anguish wildly steal 

0*er trembling stag, and quivering doe - 
Conceals thee in her forest's gloom, 
And saves from an untimely doom. 

E £ 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



418 bendouran's children. 



IV. 

Now roaming free : — for on the wind 

No sound of danger flies : 
The &wn may frolic with the hind. 

Nor fear a fell surprise ; 
Or — where some knoll its verdant head 

To clustering sunbeams shows. 
In graceful groups the herd may spread, 

And circling round, repose* 
Thus the deer their vigils keep 
Basking on Bendouran's steep I 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



419 



A POETICAL TRANSLATION 



OF A rA>T or 



"CUMHA CHORIE CHEATHARCH;" 

OK, 

THE LAMENT FOR THE DELL OF MIST, 
BY A HIGHLAND 0£NTLEMAN. 



A TRODDEN waste each mountain side, ' 
Whence flowed the fountain's crystal tide : 
No more the grassy meads are seen, 
The lovely spots of living green : 
No primrose blows the silken foil ; 
No herb — no floweret decks the soil 
Where lay and rose the lovely hind; 
Where oft she skipped and snuffed the wind. 
That hill seems now, its glory fled. 
Bare as the stance of busy trade ; 
Nor is the antlered monarch found — 
No more he leaps with lively bound — 
No more the hunter climbs the hill 
To urge the forest chase with skill ; 
But if there come a brighter day 
To spoil the stranger of his prey, 
E E 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



420 THE FOREST RESTORED. 

The dell shall shine in native pride, 
Shall bloom and spread its glories wide ; 
The stag's majestic form shall rise 
Where towers yon mountain to the skies; 
The roe-deer rest in shelt'ring wood — 
The trout dart lively through the flood — 
The hind the gentle fawn shall rear — 
The hills in loveliness appear ; 
Each long-lost beauty bloom again 
When moves the stranger from the glen. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



BOUNDARIES, BURNS, ETC 421 



THE FOREST OF GLENARTNEY. 



• The forest of Glenartney, the property of Lord Wil- 
loughby d'Eresby, is situated in a mountainous district 
of the same name in the parish of Comrie, and county 
of Perth, and contains about two thousand eight hun- 
dred Scotch acres. In olden time, and even as late as 
1746, it was of very considerable extent; but since that 
period it has been greatly reduced, and, indeed, in some 
measure relinquished as to forest purposes. It is bounded 
on the north by the Glengoinan burn, which flows east- 
wards into the glen that derives its name from it ; and 
afterwards taking a northerly course empties itself into 
the river Earn. On the east it is bounded by the 
Aultglass burn, which has its source in the mountains 
above Glengoinan, and is tributary to the Ruchill river. 
The Strathglen burn bounds it on the west, takes a 
southerly direction, and empties itself into the Ruchill, 
which forms the south boundary of the forest. The 
Ruchill itself rises near the high mountain of Benvoir- 
lich, about three miles west from the forest of Glenartney, 
and flows towards the south under the name of the 
Duchoran bum, until it receives many tributaries from 
the west and other mountain streams from the south, 

E £ 3 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



422 WEIGHT OF DEEB IN OLENARTNET. 

which rise in the hills above Doune, Dumblane, 8cc. 
Thus supplied, it becomes a formidable river, and takes 
the name of Ruchill (as I understand) from its rough 
and rocky channel. In dry weather its waters are in- 
considerable ; but in the stormy season it rushes with 
great turbulence into the Earn, and has been known 
to bring down sheep and exhausted deer along with its 
wreck. 

There are no lakes in this forest. The chief hills are 
as follow : — Sroin-na-Cabar, Coir-na-Maville, Ban-dhu- 
Boan-na-Scamaich, Sroin-na-Broileag, Stuic-na-Cabuic, 
Beinn-Dearg, and Sroin-na-Hellurie. There is a sanc- 
tuary, or deer-preserve, in the centre of the forest, 
which declines on the south, but is steep on the west, 
north, and east. 

The grounds are stocked with about one hundred 
black cattle in the winter, and one hundred and fifty 
during the summer. The sheep were removed about 
seven years ago, as they were found to feed upon the 
best deer pasture, and as the shepherds disturbed the 
stags with their dogs. There are perhaps fi-om seven 
hundred to one thousand deer in the forest. About 
fifty yeld hinds and forty stags are killed annually, which 
appears to me to be a liberal proportion. As the deer 
are fed in the winter with corn and hay, they attain to 
a considerable size. What are called good deer weigh, 
when gralloched, from thirteen to fifteen stone, and 
some reach even to seventeen and eighteen stone. In 
this forest they use both greyhounds and colly dogs for 
bringing wounded deer to bay ; but they seem to prefer 
the latter. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



OLD FORESTER. 428 

** The nature of the ground (says Donald Cameron, 
the old forester) is good and healthy, interspersed with 
heath and rashes, and natural grass, and is beautiful to 
the eye of the traveller/' Donald has been in the forest 
for thirty-five years, and has had the chief management 
of it nearly the whole of that period. 



£ E 4 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



424 DESCRIPTION OF JURA. 



THE FOREST OF JURA. 



So common were red deer throughout Scotland, that 
there are few, even of the Hebrides, in which their re- 
mains are not to be found; and in many of these islands, 
to this day, they still exist in considerable numbers. Of 
the latter are Jura, Mull, Skye, and the long island 
which includes Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist» 
and Benbecula. 

Whether Buchanan's derivation of the name Jura, 
from the Gothic word Deira, a stag, be correct, we do 
not pretend to say, but certain it is that in none of the 
Hebrides (in proportion to the extent) are deer to be 
found in such numbers. This island is about thirty 
miles in length, and five in breadth, and, with the ex- 
ception of a few patches of arable land on the east coast, 
consists of one mountainous range extending through- 
out its whole length. By much the most lofty of this 
range are the Paps of Jura, which are situated towards 
the southern end of it. They are four in number, and 
rise from the sea on the western side, which is rugged 
and precipitous, and the resort of eagles and birds of 
prey of all sorts. The form of these hills is perfectly 
conical, and their elevation so abrupt, that for a consi- 
derable way from their tops no verdure is to be seen ; 
in fact, they consist chiefly of masses of loose stone. 
Their height is about 2,600 feet above the level of the 
sea, which washes their base. The view from the top 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



RICH PASTURE. 435 

of these hills is very extensive^ for, when the atmo- 
sphere is clear, the Isle of Man and the Isle of Skye 
are both visible. This island is surrounded by strong 
tides ; on the south is the rapid stream of the sound 
of Islay; and on the north the famous whirlpool of 
Corrivrechan. The island belongs to two proprietors, 
Mr. Colin Campbell of Jura, and Captain Mac Neill the 
younger of Colonsay, whose brother has favoured me 
with a relation of the mode of deer-coursing practised 
in Jura, and already recounted in these pages. The 
stock consists almost entirely of sheep. The number of 
deer are estimated at about five hundred. .They have 
the whole range of the island, and thus wander from one 
end of it to the other. As there are but few inha- 
bitants (scarcely a thousand souls), they are seldom dis- 
turbed, and have of late years greatly increased. 

From the contiguity of the sea, snow seldom lies for 
any length of time on these islands; and as the deer often 
frequent the shore, and are excessively fond of the sea 
ware, on which they feed even in summer, they are 
never altogether deprived of food, and are, consequently, 
much better able to endure the rigours of winter than 
those in a more inland situation. 

The pasture in many of the valleys which intersect the 
island is very rich ; and though there is but little brush- 
wood, yet, from the excellence of the soil, great beds of 
fern are to be met with, growing to the height of six feet, 
in which the deer take refuge from the flies and the heat 
of the sun. 

The district of Tarbert, beginning at the north of the 
loch of that name, as far as the gulf of Corrivrechan, 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



426 DEER CROSSING AN ARM OF THE SEA. 

is the part of the island most suitable to deer; the 
Paps are the next in estimation. 

If Tarbert were cleared of sheep, and a few forest 
deer turned out for a cross, it would probably prove one 
of the finest forests in Scotland, since the pasture is ex- 
cellent, the ground favourable, and the winters are mild 

When the great grandfather of the present chief of 
Islay sold the island of Jura, he reserved certain forest 
rights as well as others relating to the fisheries, and sti- 
pulated for a payment of six fat harts annually, and also 
for ten thousand oysters, as feu-duty for the holding. 
The chief of Islay has also a right of shooting over the 
island of Jura and of taking with him such assistance as 
he may require. Deer, however, have been known to 
save him this short voyage, and to cross of their own ac- 
cord to Islay, a distance of about a mile ; and, in particu- 
lar, six hinds and one hart did so a few years ago, and 
returned again to Jura. This was probably in the rut- 
ting season, and thus the hart seems to have taken a 
pretty effectual mode of securing to himself peaceable 
possession of his little seraglio. 

The stags in this forest grow to a large size, and have 
been repeatedly killed of eighteen stones weight without 
the intestines. The present chief of Islay killed a hart of 
seventeen stones and a half Tron • weight, and in full 
season, whose honis were only sixteen inches from the 
points to the crown of the head. 

* Tron weight is nearly the same as Dutch, viz. seventeen ounces 
and a half to the pound, and sixteen pounds to the stone ; accu- 
rately speaking, perhaps, it may be a trifle more, but it is little in 
use. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DEER IN BAD PLIGHT. 427 



THE ISLE OF SKYE, AND NORTH UISH. 



There are about 230 deer in the Isle of Skye, which 
are the property of Lord Macdonald; they range over 
his forest near to Sconsar, and wander occasionally into 
the grounds of Macleod of Macleod, the other proprietor 
of the island. This herd has been represented to me as 
being in very bad plight, the full-grown stags not ex- 
ceeding ten or twelve in number. 

Lord Macdonald has also deer in North Uish which 
cannot well be got at, or followed without the assistance 
of boats, the island being almost entirely flat, and inter*- 
sected by arms of the sea in all directions, so that there 
are no two miles of continuous land, and the deer, when 
pursued, immediately take to the water. Their number 
here is about iOO. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



428 THE WHITE HIND. 



LOCH ETIVE AND DALNESS. 



Mr. Campbell of Monzie, whose property is situated 
at the head of Loch Etive, is forming a forest there, and 
has joined to his own lands (by lease) the old forest of 
Dalness, of which he is the hereditary keeper, but from 
which the deer have, of late years, been almost entirely 
expelled. By this arrangement his forest will match 
with Lord Bredalbane's for an extent of about six miles. 
Mention has already been made of a white hind referred 
to in the old family manuscript at Taymouth, called the 
Black Book, which existed in and near the forest of 
Corrichibah in the year 1622, and previously. This was 
probably the same animal which tradition relates to have 
been seen about the same time in the vicinity of Loch 
Etive, as was mentioned in a preceding chapter in con- 
nection with a story of a deed of violence perpetrated 
among the poachers of the district 

I now conclude the catalogue and description of 
the forests and principal deer-haunts in the north. 
There may be others with which I am imacquainted ; 
my omission to mention such (if, indeed, such do exist) 
will not, I trust, be imputed to my sense of their im- 
plied want of consequence, but rather to the real cause, 
namely, that of " pure ignorance on my part.*' 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



APPENDIX. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



APPENDIX. 



THE HIGHEST HILLS VH THE FOREST OF ATHOLL. 





Felar Forest. 


GlastnUich. 




Benuini. 


HeU's Hill. 


Cainuuiree. 


The King's Cairn. 


Malnaspionach. 




Cairn Dairg. 


The Red Cairn. 


GailchaTD. 


The White Cairn. 




Ben y Gloe Forest. 


Curn na-Gour. 


Goat's Hill. 


Argiotvane. 




Cairnicklechalm. 




Ben Veg. 


Little Hill 


Ben Vourich. 


Boar's Hill. 


Cairn Lia. 


Grey Cairn. 


Cairn Torkie. 


The Boar's Cairn. 


Malvourich. 








Top of Carrie Chastail. The Castle Hill. 




South side of Tarff. 


Sligemocb. 




Monlia. 


The Grey Hill. 



Digitized by 



Google 



432 



HIGHEST HILLS 



Conalocb. 

Maltenail. 

BenchroaiD. 

Craig croachie. 

Grennach. 

Cairnchlainain. 

Sroin a Chro. 

Cairn-Maronach, or Cuirn-Mar- 

nich. 
OlasMal. 
Ben-y-Venie. 
Ben Chat. 
MaUour. 
Cairn Cherrie. 
Elerick. 
Ben derig. 
Torr. 

Ben Toaskemicb. 
Creig na Hellier. 



The Gathering Knoll. 
The Crooked Hill. 
The Hanging Rock. 

The Glead'8 Cairn. 



Braemar Cairns. 
Grey Knoll. 
The Middle Hill. 
Hill of the Cat. 
Dun-coloured Knoll. 



The Red Hill. 

The Toad's Hill. 
The Eagle's Rock. 



North side of Tarff. 



Corrie na Craig. 

Malcrapan Laagh. 

BfaLda Cairn. 

Mackaranoch. 

Scarsach. 

Malduchlach. 

Malcuim. 

Corrie Stock Guise. 

Caiman Illair. 

Drimliafeaheaskichan. 

Mai Glashea. 

Mai Corrie Vreak. 

Mai Corriechraggach. 

Mai dubh na Glashea. 

Ben Vreak. 

Sligemoch. 

Corrie crom na damk. 

Drium Corrie na Rislecban. 



The Knoll of the Calves. 
The Knoll of the Cairn. 



The Knoll of the Blackstone. 
Elnoll of the Cairn. 



Fiddlers Cairn. 



Digitized by 



Google 



IN THE FOREST OP ATHOLL. 433 



Druim na feachanouer. 
Druim Minagag. 
Uchg na Clasair. 



Glen Garry Forest. 

Mai cham corrie. 

Sroin feacbon. 

Druim Kirrichon. 

Mai ouer. 

Sroin a chlerick. 

Mai Youlin. 

Mai Vrammie. 

Sroin Glasecborrie. 

Vi chosach. 

Sroin Craig an Loch. 

Dune- 

Cricharickrior. 

Medher. 

Glaish Mai East. 

Glaish Mai West. 

Monadh Lia. 

Vuinnach. 

Corrie Mac Shee. 

CraJ2 Cbursech. 

South Side of Inverness Hood. 

Mackrannoch. 

Tork, or The Duke of Atholl's Boar. 

Mai Corrie Vackie. 

Mai dourune. 

Ben Derig, top of Corrie Lunnie. 

Carkel Lock garry. 

Mai na Letirdi. 

Mona baan. 

Carkel.* 



* I have given these names in the most correct local orthography 
I could obtain, but no two people spell all of them precisely in the 

F F 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



434 HIGHEST HILLS IN THE FOREST OF ATHOLL. 

same manner ; many of them, indeed, are so corrupted, that their 
very meaning is lost : this, perhaps, may have in a great measure 
originated from the uncomplying pronunciation of straiten. Thus 
they write Ben-derig, Ben Dei^, and Ben dairg. In this dilemma I 
have thought it best to make use of the name most generally re- 
ceived 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



485 



Evidence relating to the Trial of Duncan Tbrig, a/tVw 
Clerk, and Alexander Bain Macdonald, for t/ie 
Murder of Sergeant Da vies. 

Alexander M*Pherson, alias M*Gillas, in Inverey, being 
solemnly sworn, purged of malice and partial council and 
interrogate, aged twenty -six years, unmarried, deposes, that 
in summer, 1750, he found lying in a moss bank on the hill 
of Christie, a human body, — at least, the bones of a human 
body, — of which the flesh was mostly consumed, and he be- 
lieved it to be the body of Sergeant Davies, because it was 
reported in the country that he had been murdered on that 
hill the year before ; that when he first found this body, there 
was a bit of blue cloth upon it pretty entire, which he took 
to be what is called English cloth ; he also found the hair of 
the deceased, which was of a dark mouse colour, and tied 
about with a black ribbon ; that he also observed some pieces 
of a striped stuff; and also found lying there a pair of brogues, 
which had been made with latches for buckles, which had 
been cut away by a knife ; that he, by help of his staff, 
brought out the body, and laid it upon plain ground, in doing 
whereof, some of the bones were separated one from another ; 
deposes, that for some days he was in doubt what to do, but 
meeting with John Grawar in the moss, he told John what 
he had found, and John bid him tell nothing of it, otherwise 
he would complain of the deponent to John Shaw of Dal- 
downie, upon which the deponent resolved to prevent 
Grawar's complaint, and go and tell Daldownie of it himself; 
and which having accordingly done, Daldownie desired him 
to conceal the matter^ and go and bury the body privately, 

F F 2 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



436 EVIDENCE RELATING TO THE 

as it would not be carried to a kirk unkent, and that the same 
might hurt the country, being under the suspicion of being 
a rebel country ; deposes, that some few days thereafter, he 
acquainted Donald Farquharson, the preceding witness, of 
his having seen the body of a dead man in the hill, which he 
took to be the body of Sergeant Davies ; that Farquharson 
at first doubted the truth of his information, till the depo- 
nent told him that a few nights before, when he was in bed, 
a vision appeared to him, as of a man clad in blue, who told 
the deponent, " I am Sergeant Davies ; " but that before he 
told him so, the deponent had taken the said vision at first 
appearance to be a real living man, a brother of Donald Far- 
quharson ; that the deponent rose from his bed, and followed 
him to the door, and then it was, as has been told, that he 
said he was Sergeant Davies, who had been murdered in the 
Hill of Christie, nearly about a year before, and desired the 
deponent to go to the place he pointed at, where he would 
find his bones ; and that he might go to Donald Farquharson, 
and take his assistance to the burying of him ; that upon 
giving Donald Farquharson this information, Donald went 
along with him, and finding the bones as he had informed 
Donald, and having then buried them with the help of a 
spade, which he, the deponent had along with him ; and for 
putting what is above deposed upon out of doubt, deposes, 
that the above vision was the occasion of his going by him- 
self to see the dead body ; and which he did before he 
either spoke to John Grawar, Daldownie, or any other 
body ; and further deposes, that while he was in bed, 
another night, after he had first seen the body by himself, 
but had not buried it, the vision again appeared naked, and 
minded him to bury the body ; and after that he spoke to the 
other folks above mentioned, and at last complied, and buried 
the bones above mentioned : deposes, that upon the vision's 
first appearance to the deponent in his bed, and after going 
out of the door and being told by it (the vision) that 
he was Sergeant Davies, the deponent asked him who it was 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TRIAL OF TERIG AND MACDONALD. iSI 

that had murdered him> to which it made this answer^ ^- that 
if the deponent had not asked him, he might have told 
him, but as he had asked him, he said he either could not, or 
would not, but which of the two expressions the deponent 
cannot say ; but at the second time the vision made its ap- 
pearance to him, the deponent renewed the same question, 
and then the vision answered, that it was the two men now 
in the panel who had murdered him ; and being further in- 
terrogated in what manner the vision disappeared from him 
first and last, deposes, that after the short interviews above 
mentioned, the vision at both times disappeared and vanished 
out of his sight in the twinkling of an eye ; and that in de- 
scribing the panels by the vision above mentioned^ as his 
murderers, his words were Duncan Clerk and Alexander 
Macdonald ; deposes, that the conversation betwixt the de- 
ponent and the vision was in the Irish language : deposes, 
that several times in the harvest before the Martinmas, after 
seeing the said vision, he was applied to by Duncan Clerk, 
the panel, then to enter home to his service at that time, 
which accordingly he did, and staid in his service just a year ; 
and he being on the hill together with Duncan Clerk, 
spying a young cow, desired the deponent to shoot it ; and 
though Duncan did not bid him carry it home after it should 
be shot, yet the deponent understood that to be the purpose, 
when Duncan desired him to shoot it^ and which the depo- 
nent refused to do, adding, that it was such thoughts as these 
were in his liead when he murdered Sergeant Davies ; upon 
which some angry expressions happened between Duncan 
and the deponent ; but when the deponent insisted upon it 
that he could not deny the murder, Duncan fell calm, and 
desired the deponent to say nothing of that matter, and that 
he would be a brother to him, and give him every thing he 
stood in need of, and particularly would help him to stock a 
farm when he took one. At the time of deposing, the depo- 
nent exhibited a paper, which is marked on the back by the 
Lord Examiner, the deponent averring that he cannot write ; 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



488 EVIDENCE RELATING TO TBB 

ttud deposee^ thai the taid paper was pot into hit hands by 
the said Duncan Clerk, irfao at the tiiae told him it was a 
preminm of twentj pounds Scots to hold his tongue of what 
he knew of Sergeant Davies : deposes^ thai while the depo« 
nent was in the panel Clerk's service* and about Lanuous, 
nSlf he showed to the deponent a long green silk purse, and 
that he showed, also^ to the deponent the contents which 
were in it, namely, sixteen guineas in gold, and some silver ; 
and being interrogate what was the occasion of showing this 
purse and money to the deponent, deposes-^ it was one of two 
which he does not remember —^ either he had come from 
Aberdeen with money, which he had got for his wool, or was 
going to Badenoch to buy sheep ; deposes, that he saw upon 
the finger of Elizabeth Downie, the panel Duncan Clerk's 
wife, a yellow ring, which she told him was gold, with a 
plate on the outside of it in the form of a seal, and that he 
saw it on her finger six or eight weeks before her marriage ; 
and that after her marriage, she having one day taken it off 
her finger, he saw upon the inside of it a stamp, but what 
that stamp is he does not know ; and being interrogate, de- 
poses, that he had a suspicion that this ring was Sergeant 
Davies's ring, having heard it reported in the country that 
Sergeant Davies had such a ring upon hb finger when he was 
murdered, but does not remember his having told his suspi- 
cion to any body ; and being further interrogate, deposes, 
that since the panel Dui^can's imprisonment, the deponent 
was solicited by Donald Clerk, the panel Duncan's brother^ 
to conceal what he knew when he came to give evidence ; 
but this was after his having first solicited the deponent to 
leave the country, that he might not give evidence, and upon 
the deponent's saying he offered him nothing to leave the 
country with ; but then it was that Donald proposed his not 
giving true evidence, adding, that of every penny Donald 
was worth, the deponent should have the half ; and being in- 
terrogated, at the desire of the jury, if ever he had asked 
payment of the twenty pounds contained in the above -men- 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



TRIAL OF TKRIO AMD IfACDOKALD. 499 

tioned piiper produced by him, depotet, that he once did, 
•hord J after the term of payment, to whieh Duncan answered 
that it would be aa well to let it lie in his handa» with which 
he was satisfied ; and that he nerer asked pajrment of the an- 
nual rent ; and being further interrogate, deposes, that before 
the deponent went home to the panel's service, at Martinmas, 
1750, it was well known and reported in the country that 
the bones of the dead body found upon the above-mentioned 
hill had been buried by the deponent and Donald Farquhar- 
son, as also was the story of the vision or apparition, whereof 
the deponent had told Donald Farquharson ; and being inter- 
rogate for the panel, deposes, that he not only told the story 
of the vision, or apparition, to Donald Farquharson, as above 
mentioned, but that he also told it to John Grawar and Dal- 
downie before he mentioned it to Donald Farquharson ; de- 
poses, that there were folks living with him at the shelling, 
when the vision appeared to him as above, but that he told 
it to none of them ; and adds that Isabel M'Hardie, in 
Inverey, a woman then in the sheiling with him, has told him 
since, that she saw such a vision as the deponent has above 
described, and has told him herself so much ; and upon the 
panel's interrogatory, deposes, that upon the vision's appear- 
ing to him, it described the place where he would find the 
bones so exactly, that he went within a yard of the place 
where they lay upon his first going out : and this is the 
truth, as he shall answer to God ; and deposes he cannot 
write. 

(Signed) Ja. Ferguson. 



Isabel M ^Hardie, of Inverey, also gave solemn evidence 
of her having seen the apparition, having deposed <^ that 
one night, about four years ago, when she was lying at one 
end of the sheiling, and Alexander Macpherson, who was 
then her servant, lying in the other, she saw something naked 
come in at the door, whidi £cighted her so much^ that she 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



440 EVIDENCE RELATING TO THE TRIAL, ETC. 

drew the dothes over her head ; that when it appeared, it 
came in a bowing posture ; and that next morning she sflked 
Macpherson what it was that had troubled them the night 
before, to which he answered, she might be easy, for that 
it would not trouble them any more." 



THE END. 



London : 

Printed by A. Spottuwoodx, 

New- Street- Square. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



^v: . 



• • 



^N^StClpN DEPARTMENT 

loanperIodI 
HOME USE 



6.mor.th loons may be rec « 

Ppn..woli ong* ""-ho'aes may I QW 



•. M- 




FORWNO.DD6,40m, 



3/78 6eRKEL£Y,CA 94720 ^ 



0W 



■v^ . 



; X 



^ % 



fvil70181 



SK'J^I 



Vt 1990/ 



USE 
I 



THE UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNU UBRARY 



UUS 



lI;J^'"<f'-Eyi-ieRARiEs 




iMi i 



'I'lifWiiniJI 




C0M51ti5«,a