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THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND

MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

Digitized by the Internet Arciiive

in 2007 witii funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

littp://www.arcliive.org/details/daysofdeerstalkiOOscrorich

DEDICATION TO THR FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS.

TO

HER GRACE

THE DUCHESS OF ATHOLL.

My deah Duchess,

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

A 2

IV DEDICATION.

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

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^
November, 1838.

PREFACE

THE THIRD EDITION.

In sending this third edition to the press, I have added
but little : some account, however, will be found of rifle-
shooting with a conical ball, invented by Mr. Lancaster ;
as for the properties of gun-cotton, at present so much
talked of, I have merely made an extract from the Athe-
najum, for the accuracy of which I am not responsible —
far from it.

I have been able, through the courtesy of the chief
proprietor, to give a more accurate and circumstantial
account of the Island of Jura, than that which is to be
found in former editions of this work.

The stones of the lithographic plates having been injured
by the numerous impressions taken from them, I have
supplied their place with woodcuts : and that these might
be executed in the best manner, I applied to Mr. Haghe
to reduce the lithographs, and to draw them on blocks.
He was so obliging as to comply with my request ; and u

A 3

VI PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

when I mention that the blocks, with one exception only,
were cut by Mr. Williams, I trust it will be considered
that in both cases I have done all in my power to make
the plates as acceptable as possible to the public, for whose
generous reception of this work, I feel so sensibly flattered
and indebted.

THE AUTHOR.

13. Belgrave Square y
November, 1846.

PREFACE

THE FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS.

" 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 encountered
in one of our most distinguished reviews. They ring still
in my ears, and fill me with apprehension 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 jiotice,''' written in very legible characters,
and take warning accordingly.

Literature? — Heaven help us ! — 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 AthoU have en-
abled me to enter into all the details that are connected
with deer-stalking. That it is a chase which throws 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

A 4

Vlll PREFACE TO THE

of the deer, his picturesque and noble appearance, his sa-
gacity, and the skilful generalship which can alone ensure
success in the pursuit of him, keep the mind in a constant
state of pleasurable excitement.

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, de-
pended on his skill in hunting. In exploring unknown
regions for the advancement of science, or cast, as men
may be, on a desolate shore, how necessary, how indis-
pensable, is a knowledge of the huntsman's craft for the
actual preservation of existence ? And yet, in such travels
as I have read, I have never seen this craft fully 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 Atholl, 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 calculated to illus-
trate 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 self-possession ;
their courage and noble bearing ; the bay ; the method in
which they are prepared for being taken home ; and many
particulars relating to their natural history and habits.

I have attempted also to illustrate all the essential
points that occur in stalking deer, both in slow and quick

FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS. IX

time, and to describe all the various turns and accidents of
the chase drawn from actual experience. This, I thought,
could be best done by the recital of moderate sport, since
a long catalogue of deer, killed in succession on the same
day, unaccompanied by some striking or unusual incident,
would only be a tedious repetition of events similar to
each other. In practice, however, I did my best, as fine
venison was always in request. If my success was occa-
sionally very considerable, 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 Atholl left oiF shooting^ for the
season, I generally took out Peter Fraser with me, who
was then at liberty. He is a very clever fellow in his
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 friend Peter has a
good deal of character about him, and is in a regular
descent of servitude to the house of Atholl, and an in-
habitant 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 ma-
noeuvring. Charlie Crerar at that time presided over the
grouse moors : he is now the head forester in Atholl, and
well deserves to be so. Charlie and myself, however,
have had some good days together in bygone times.

To the courtesy of the noblemen and gentlemen pro-

X PREFACE TO THE

prietoi*s of the various magnificent deer forests in Scotland,
I am indebted for the short descriptions I have given of
them, and they are inserted nearly as I received 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 together wholly by myself;
with that I am pretty conversant, 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 of, 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 picturesque de-
scription of the novel amusement of deer coursing. I am
myself unacquainted with the distinguishing characteristics
of the ancient Scotch and Irish greyhound ; but there are
still many magnificent dogs in the possession 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, from the
Hon. Henry T. Liddell, which appear to me to be exqui-
sitely beautiful. Mr. D'Israeli likewise has ornamented
my pages with some beautiful lines, paraphrased from a
translation from the Gaelic, most obligingly sent to me by
the Marquis of Breadalbane.

To my accomplished friend Mr. Skene, of Rubislaw, I
am under very great obligations, not only for some valuable

FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS. XI

communications from himself, but also for other intelligence
which I have obtained by his means, and through his in-
fluence.

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 detached places,
where I thought they would be most eiFective, and I beg
to offer my best thanks for them.

To my old friend Mr. John Crerar*, the king of
sportsmen and good fellows, I owe a long-standing debt
of gratitude, not only for past instructions in the art of
deer-stalking, and the various nice points and subtleties
it embraces, but also for other observations which he has
lately communicated to me regarding the habits of the

* ]\Ir. John Crer«r (for thus his nunie ought to have been spelt)
entered the Duke of AtholFs service in 1776. He was an honest,
faithful, and most attached adherent, of astonishingly 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 attaining his ninetieth year, and as a token for their affection
for him, and their admiration of the skill and ardour which he so long
displayed in all manly games. Robert Crerar, one of his sons, is a
wine-merchant in Swallow-street, and his cellars rejoice in the best
Scotch whiskey. Charlie Crerar, another of his sons, is now head
forester in Atholl.

xn PREFACE TO THE

deer, and sundry matters, which T wished to authenticate
from the best authority.

A word or two I should add about the language I have
put into the mouths of the hillmen. It is neither the
Highland nor Lowland dialect, but such, I believe, as is
spoken in Perthshire. The English, which the natives of
this country have, is daily improving by their intercourse
with sportsmen and their followers from 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 publications ; 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 De-
monology. 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 by his brother Mr.
Thomas Landseer, with that mastery which has made his
name so eminent. The figures and animals in the litho-
graphs 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

FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS. Xlll

points to page 88., for the whole of which, as well as for
the landscape part, in every subject introduced, the author
alone is responsible. The small vignette likewise, engraved
on wood, and the view " East from Blair 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 recollections
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 pro-
spective of the plates has also been considerably heightened
by the novel introduction of a blue tint, an invention ori-
ginating entirely with Mr. Harding himself, 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 myself.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Descriptive character of the red deer. — Royal harts. — Shedding and
renewal of the horns. — Weight of deer. — Donald Mac Kay's deer-
trap. — Rutting season. — Combats of stags. — Deer stalked while
fighting. — 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-stalk-
ing ---.._---- Page 1

CHAP. II.

Start from Blair Castle. — Rruar Lodge. — A comrade joins. — Ascent
of Ben Dairg. — Ptarmigans. — Forest scenery. — Spirit-stirring
interest. — A hart discovered. — Manoeuvring. — Wading a burn.

— Getting 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 discovered. — Plan
and manoeuvring. — Alarm and movements of the deer. — An inju-
dicious shot. — A successful one. — A deer-hound slipped. — Bay.

— Strange adventure. — A wild huntsman. — Encounter with a
bear. — Loss of a huge salmon. — The Gown-cromb of Badenoch,
and his story -_----__ .43

CHAP. IIL

Forests of Badenoch, their rights, and divisions. — Legend of Prince
Charles. — Cluny Macpherson. — Adventure with a wolf — Mac-
pherson of Braekally, — Children lost on a moor. — Sportsmen
benighted. — ^Witchcraft. — Uncomfortable position. — Eraser's cairn.

XVI CONTENTS.

— Boundaries of Gawick. — Fate of Walter Cumming. — Wrath of
a fairy. — Destructive avalanche. — Convivial resolution. — Ar-
rival at Bruar Lodge during the night-storm - Page 103

CHAP. IV.

Necessary qualifications for a deer-stalker. — Curious attitudes re-
quired. — Sleep almost superfluous. — Advantages of baldness. —
Self-possession indispensable. — Abstinence from drinking, and re-
strictions in food. — Gormandizer's pastime. — Royal diversion. —
Sportsman'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. — John
Selwyn. — Wilson, the historian. — Glengarry - - - 125

CHAP. V.

Rifle practice. — Newly invented rifle-ball. — Gun-cotton - 149

CHAP. VI.

A Scotch mist. — Visions of auld lang syne. — Retrospect. — The mist
clears. — How to carry the spare rifles. — Storm in the mountains.

— Sportsmen struck by a thunderbolt. — Willie Robertson's lament.

— Macintyre's death. — Deer seen on the move. — Vamped-
up courage. — Making a dash. — Unexpected success. — Dogs
fighting 150

CHAP. VII.

The forest of Atholl. — Probable number of deer, and their size. —
Cumyn's cairn. — Highland vengeance. — Fatal accident. — Prin-
cipal glens. — Glen Tilt. — Marble quarries. — Roe deer. — Lakes
and lodges. — Merry foresters. — Forest Song. — Cuirn-Marnick,
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. — Cumming's death. — Belief
in witchcraft. — M. G. Lewis's legendary tale of the Witch of Ben-
y-gloe 172

CONTENTS. XVll

CHAP. VIII.

Deer drive to Glen Tilt. — Anticipated sport. — The deer-stalker's
rhymes. — The start from Bruar Lodge. — Combat of stags. —
Cautious exploring. — Stalking the great Braemar hart. — The shot
and bay. — Preparation for driving 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 209

CHAP. IX.

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 hospitallity. — Rival poachers in Atholl.

— Adventure in Glen Tilt. — Rob Doun. — Curious trial for mur-
der. — A polyglot ghost. — Ghost no lawyer _ _ - 243

CHAP. X.

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 aphoca.

— The drive begins. — Shots and untoward accident. — Corrie's
sagacity and night watch. — The coup d'essai. — Past deeds. —
Eagles killed by a boy. — Driving the herd. — Legend of Eraser's
Cairn. — The Lord of Lovat's Raid. — Strong taint of deer. —
Nervous excitement. — Ambuscade at the wood. — Noble sport. —
The old Blair pony. — Return to the castle - _ _ 277

CHAP. XT.

Original Scotch greyhound. — Fingal and his retinue. — Bran and
Thorp. — Their death — The lurcher. — Glengarry's dogs. — Of

a

XVlll CONTENTS.

blooding deer-hounds. — Four-footed Hannibal. — Sir William
St. Clair's dogs Page 311

CHAP. XII.

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

— Peter Fraser's humanity. — His penmanship. — The lament. —
The moor 322

CHAP. xni.

Dogs of ancient Britain. — Irish dogs sent to Rome. — Early Scottish
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 dimen-
sions 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 338

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. — Tra-
ditions of Fingal. — Slaughter of a wild boar. — Dermid and Grana.
— Angus Baillie. — The humble garron - - - - 365

Forests and Deer-haunts in Ross-shire. — Gairloch. — Balnagown
Forest. — Easter Ross, Calrossie, and Coigach. — Isles of Harris
and Lewis 383

Account of Coul. — Uncouth fire-arms 388

Forest of AppUcross. — The Laird's sport - - - - 391

Forest of Glengarry. — Sagacity of a blood-hound. — Wild work 393

The Duke of Gordon's Deer Forests. — Glenfeshie. — Gawick. —
Glenfiddich. — Glenmore, &c. 396

CONTENTS. XIX

Forest of Incercauld, formerly royal. — "Weight of deer, &c. Page 399

Forest of Marr. — Wild boar and rein-deer. — Battue of the olden

time 404

Forest of CorricJiibah. — Number and condition of deer. — Mode of
killing them. — Translations from the Gaelic poetry of Duncan
Macintyre. — Spring in Bendouran. — Lament for the dell of
mist 409

Forest of Glenartney. — Boundaries. — Weight of deer, &c. - 418

The Forest of Jura. — Description of Tarbet. — Deer crossing to
Islay, &c. 420

The Isle of Skye, and North Uish. — Number of deer. — Method of
killing them, &c. 425

Loch Ftivcj and Dalness. — Tradition concerning a white hind. — Ad-
venture and disastrous death of a poacher, &c. - - - 425

APPENDIX.
Highest Hills in the Forest of AthoU 429

LIST OF PLATES.

1. Frontispiece. — Fighting Harts. — A Forest Joust, "j

By Edwin Landseer

2. Title- Vignette. — Group of Dogs. — Buscar, a

Highland Deer-hound, of the 07^iginal breed, be-
longing to Mr. Mac Neill : a Fox-hound, Blood-
hound, and Greyhound — from crosses of which
the modern deer-hound is obtained — and a Ter-
rier. By Edwin Landseer

3. The Stag's Horns To face page

4. Getting a Quiet Shot

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

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

7.
8.
9.

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Fisherman and Deer -----

Left behind in a Dubious Position - - -

Lifting the Deer out of a Burn - - -

South Front of Blair Castle - - - -

The Witch of Ben-y-gloe - - - -

Coming in for a Shot - - - - -

Shots from Cairn-cherie - - - - -

Preparing the Deer for being left on the Moor -

To precede
\ the printed
Title.

4

58

62

90

124

144

170

172

200

220

288

332

THE

ART OF DEER-STALKING.

CHAPTER I.

OF THE NATURE AND HABITS OF THE RED DEER.

I am a hart by Greekes surnamed so,
Because my head doth with their tearmes 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 learne the perfect trade
Of venerie, and therewith all would know
What properties and virtues nature made
In me poor hart (O harmlesse hart !) to grow.
Let him give hear to skilfull Trystram's lore
To Phoebus, Fowylloux, and many more.*

" Cervus Elaphus, cornibus ramosis, teretihus, recurvatis^''
— 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, I had mentioned, in the

♦ The Noble Art of Venerie (translated from the French), p. 39.

B

2 DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTER

first edition of this work that they are 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 Gardens, 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 pro-
minent, the ears approaching to a circular form, the tail
longer, and the arm more muscular than in our northern
stags ; when old, the hair immediately next to the 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
Elapho'ides) with those of North Britain, though it ap-
proaches nearer to them than those above mentioned; it
has one short brow antler alone, never more : two or three
points at the extremity of each beam, and possibly some-
times more ; its ears are large, and its eyes less prominent
than is usual with the race.

OF RED DEEK. 6

The Barbary or African deer also ( Cervus Mauritanicus)
is still more at variance with our stags than the hart of
Asia: he has large ears, very muscular arms, and is
altogether shorter in the legs; 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 under-
neath.

The horns vaiy 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 Atlioll

4 DESCllIPTIVE 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 Stag g art ; at ^yq, a
Stag ; and at six, a warrantable Stag, He may afterwards
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 % 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 ;
a Spire, brow and uprights; a Staggart, brow, tray, and

* The term hart is probably taken from tbe 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.

J The second antler, being shorter than the brow one, is of little or
no service in the bay. The terms are probably corrupted from bis,
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 considerably 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.

viziTEt.r.T A\n CO., pniNTFns.

OF RED DEEK. 9

uprights; a five-year old, brow, bay, and tray; two on
top, that is, a crocket on one horn, and an upright on the
other. A ivarraritable 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 hoofs 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 tlie 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 jojnt 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 harbour or bed ;
where he rolls himself, his soiling 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.

We read, also, of the hart royal -proclaimed, Manwood
mentions a fact, which he found on record in the Castle
of Nottingham : it Is dated in the time of Richard I., who

B 3

C SOTAL UAKTS.

InTii^ lYHised a hart in the forest of Sherwood, pursued
yn fts fitf* as Bamsdak in Yorkshire, where the aniuial
foikd and escaped his hounds. The king in gratitude for
the divsTBioD he had received, ordered him to be im-
me&ldy proclaimed at Tickill, and at all the neigh-
bourii^ towns the purport of which was to forbid any
Qtte ta molest him, that he mi^t hare £ree liberty to
letnni tohis foiest.

** Some goallemai, in the time of Henry III., haying
destroyed a white hart, which had given the king much
£v«rsiim (and which had probably been proclaimed), his
nj^esty lud a heavy fine npcm thdr lands, an acknow-
ledgment of which was paid into the exdiequer so late as
the r^ of Queen Eliiabeth.''*

Hvtchuas, in Ids History of Dorsetshire, says^, - It is

prndtotUsday.^'t

Deer cast thdr homs amraatty; and, if we are to
befiev« BvSmi, th^e horns are nothii^ bat a redundant
and sapcdfaiOQS oiganic nooiishiiieBl, which could not be
rvhaastedin tsxfUM&ig and sn^portiii^ the animal body:
the oUest harts aked them first, about the b^innii]^ of
April; ^ yov^ger o^es follow in anoceBsioii, aooorfiig
to tlwir age aidL coii£tioik The skeddb^ of tiie honia
cjUBlmma till the beg^mung of June; bat deer of a year
old win cany them till Ai^ii^ or September. The new
their foil growth in three mmiths, and appear
cadiTS after the ddoMB are dked. T1u»tliestag
his hoKBS aboot as Vm^ ob tke Und eazries her
&w% whacb is fa^ mttaths. It is not veiy loi^ aoee
a kaitM voder Ott dose observanoe of a foroBter, wl^dst

SHEDDING OF HORNS. 7

ill tlie act of shedding 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
surprise, 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 ex-
pressed 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 remarkable 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 cat 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. Itris not, however, credible that all
those which are missing are disposed of 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

B 4

8 RENEWAL OF HORNS.

with a thick sort of leaden-coloured skin, which remains
on them till the deer are in good condition ; it then begins
to fall 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 disappears 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 par-
ticular object of the sportsman. The new horns are very
sensitive, and the harts at this time avoid bringing them
into collision with any substance.

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 full 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 con-
firmed to me by John Crerar, who has been sixty years in
the forest of Atholl. But I have seen a stag in the pos-
session of Mr. Herring, dealer in animals, which underwent
this operation, and not only lost his horns subsequent to it,
but was supplied 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
horns at all.

I myself have often observed, that if a hart has one of

FOSSIL HORNS. 9

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 themselves
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 country, —
that immense 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, — 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
* Vide Lyell's Geology, vol ii. p. 259,

10 DEGENERACY OF HIGHLAND DEER.

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 shep-
herds ; 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 murrain 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 un-
sheltered 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 pasture and manage-
ment.

If we look at the difference in size and weight of two
three-year-old beasts, the one belonging to a good, and the
other to a bad farmer, we shall find that difference to
amount to nearly double. The first animal is well fed for
the sake of the calf, both 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 com-
mencement of winter. Thus it is with the deer.

WOOD DEER nEAVIER. 11

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
staffs in size and condition. The late Duke of Atholl
killed a hart that had been feeding for four seasons in the
woods of Dunk eld, 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 have 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
Woburn, 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 Ioav 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 offal was taken out : now,
allowing six stone six pounds for the gralloch (computing
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

12 WEIGHT OF DEER.

stone, Dutch, sinking the offiil ; 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 offal, 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 farmer, 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
off 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, though he was bitterly vexed
at having walked forty mortal miles for nothing.

On his arrival at his little farm, 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 barn, 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

DONALD McKay's deek-trap. 13

barn, and barred it in with sticks and fir roots, in sucli 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 barn door giving eastward : he then threw the
door wide open, and tied a long rope of hair to it, the end
of which he took in at the only window that was behind
the dwellino; 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 barn 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, and began eating the corn.
The stags soon followed ; and some of them had great
difficulty in getting their antlers through the narrow door.

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, travelling 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 afford to give them straw whilst I came to
report the affair to your lordship."

14 RUTTING SEASON.

Not a little incredulous, Lord Reay despatched 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 condi-
tion 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 back-
ward 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 conse-
quent 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 and
frosty the commencement at 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 naturalists have ima-
gined.

In this state of rutting they are rank, and wholly unfit

COMBATS OF STAGS. 15

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 distin-
guished. 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 ter-
minate fatally. When a master hart has collected a
number of hinds, another will endeavour to take them
from him : they fight till one of them, feeling himself
worsted, will run in circles round the hinds, being unwil-
ling 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 continues a considerable time ; and nothing can
be more 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 Voutrance, 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 w^ould 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 low^er
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.

16 DEER STALKED WHILE FIGHTING.

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 dis-
tance 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 Cairn-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 tlieir
notice. Whilst 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 gradually 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 oif at full
speed, but all too late for his escape, for my ball struck
him dead on the spot. His antagonists, 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

RUTTING OF HARTS. 17

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 strug-
gling 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 herd
of hinds, at times fighting, 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 have long wiry
coats of a lighter cast of colour, and are wholly without fat,
and in every resi)ect 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 INIr. John Crerar, who has followed deer in the
forest of AtlioU for sixty years, nor any other individual
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 con-

c

IS CALVING OF HINDS.

cealed 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 often done. It lies like a
doo-, with its nose to its tail. The hind, however, although
she separates herself from the young fawn, does not lose
sight of its welfare, but remains at a distance to the wind-
ward, 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 fawn 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 its dam, for ever so small a space
before you found 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
difficulty, 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
rapidly before the hart you are aiming at, that they often.

HABITS OF RED DEER. 19

like Polonius, get that which was ment 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 fat, 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 deceived.
They come into season when the harts go out.

Deer, except in certain embarrassed situations, always
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 security, for they
can smell the least taint in the air at an almost incredible
distance. On this account they are fond of lying in open
corries, where the swells of winds come occasionally 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 pri-
vileged to enjoy their ease, and impose the duty of
keeping guard upon the hinds and upon their juniors.

c 2

20 HABITS OF RED DEER.

In the perforinaiice of this task the hinds are the most
vio^ilant, and when deer are driven they almost always
take the lead. When, however, the herd is strongly beset
on all sides, and great boldness and decision 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 obstacles. In ordinary cases,
however, he is of a most ungallant and selfish disposition ;
for, when he apprehends danger from the rifle, he will
rake away the hinds with his horns, and get in the midst
of them, keeping his antlers as low as possible.

There is 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 springing 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 adver-
sary, 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 con-
fused, 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
have raced away, without a shot being fired.

When a stag is closely pursued by dogs, and feels that

THE BAY. 2t

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. 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. Sometimes he will stand
upon a rock in the midst of the river, making a most ma-
jestic 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 (meaning
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 outran it at first
seldom succeed in bringing it to bay a second time. The
doers exhaust themselves 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

c 3

22 WOUNDED STAG.

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 such a thing named,
or alluded to in any way, by the hill-men 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 one of the most
mortifying circumstances in the chase is the utter impos-
sibility 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
— gentlemanlike 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, how-
ever, the well-known author of some delightful and in-
structive 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.

SAGACITY OF DEER. 23

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 then 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 discover the object of the park-
keepers. They see the riders and the hounds pressing on
the traces of the devoted animal, and that where he runs
thither will the enemy follow : thus a sense of self-pre-
servation 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 separate 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
sagacity, and do not naturally reject a comrade in distress.
There is an opinion amongst many, founded upon tra-
dition, that the deer attains to a very extraordinary old age,
amounting to some hundreds of years : '* Longa et cervina
senectus^'' saith Juvenal. The ground and authority of
this conceit, according to Sir Thomas Browne, " was first
hieroglyphical, the Egyptians expressing longevity by this
animal; but they often erected such emblems upon un-
certainties, and convincible falsities ; 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 iEneas feasted his followers with venison, yet
Aristotle affirms that neither deer nor boar were to be

C 4

24 LONGEVITY OF DEEK.

found in Africa : and how far 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 ^lian,
the Egyptians reckoned at no less than seven hundred."

Setting aside the absurd story of the stag taken by
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 answer ; and, after con-
sulting 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 par-
ticular mark ; so that this deer (allowing the mark to have
been authentic) must have been 150 years old, and miglit
have been 180. The horns, which are preserved by the
present Glengarry, 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.

LONGEVITY OF DEER. 25

indeed, seems to be most probable) that, as the old fo-
rester's mark was evidently known to the hill-men, some of
his successors might have imitated it, without the sanction
or knowledge of their chief.

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 ^vis coin, avis eich ;
Tri avis eich, hvis duine ;
Tri avis duine, avis feidh ;
Tri kvis feidh, Jlvis firean ;
Tri kVis 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 venture
to mention that, according to tradition. Captain Mac-
donald, of Tulloch, 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 father knew her an
equal length of time before him; and his grandflither
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 Eannoch 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.

* Communicated by Mi*. Macgregor.

26 LONGEVITY OF DEER.

A very large stag was known for 200 years in the Mo-
na-lia, a range of mountains lying between Badenoch and
Inverness. He was always seen alone, keeping the open
plains, so that he was unapproachable. He was easily dis-
tinguished from all others by his immense proportions.

About the year 1777, Angus Macdonald, after stalking
for five hours, got within shot of Damh-mor-a-Yonalia,
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 Gar-
viemore, 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, was 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

LONGEVITY OF DEER. 27

8cen, in the mountains of Thuringia, a stag of stupendous
height and dimensions, whose great age is quite 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, men-
tions, amongst other beasta of the chase of the first c\u»s,
the buck, the doc, the bear, the reindeer, the elk, and the
spytard ; which latter, he himself informs us, is a hart of
one hundred years old: these ho calb "beasta of sweet
flight."

On the other hand, " Aristotle, drawing an argument
from tlic increment and gestation of deer, (I quote from
Sir Thomas Browne,) comes to the conclusion, that they
arc not such as afford an argument of long life : and these
(saith Scaligcr, his translator) are good mediums, con-
junctively 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, arrivcth at his stature
in about six years, and remaineth above ten months in the
womb; so the camel, that liveth 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,
bcarcth its young above a year, and arrivcth unto per-
fection at twenty. On the contrary, the sheep and goat,

28 LONGEVITY OF DEER.

which live but eight or ten years, go but five months, and
attain to their perfection at two years : and the like pro-
portion is observable in cats, hares, 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 pro-
portional allowance, to much more than thirty.

" 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, notwithstanding, will happen, as we are
informed, between twenty 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 argu-
ment against longevity ; and notwithstanding the extreme
respect I bear to marvellous traditions, (always, I tliink.

DEER FORESEE STORMS. 29

better attested in proportion as they are marvellous,) 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 Kichmond
Park was the Naphill stag, turned out there by command
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 information 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 far as it goes, and not as determin-
ing the longevity of deer in a wilder state, and under more
general circumstances.

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 accidents of
this nature. These were in Glen ^lark: eleven were
killed by one fall, and twenty-one by another : the snow

30 DEER-STALKING TACTICS.

in its descent carried the deer along with it, into the glen
and across the burn, aud 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 following 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 preci2)ice that
rugged nature is continually opposing to them, in any
other manner than in rank and file. If they did they
must separate, and lose the wind, which is not their
system.

They do not run well up hill when fat, but they will

CONSTRUCTION OF FEET OF DEER. 31

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
E. 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 impressed 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 examined, 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 virtues
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 pro-
ceeding 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 Dictamus ; 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 :

32 FLESH OF THE KED DEER.

the liver, the heart, the tripe, the feet, and the white pud-
dings, should not be neglected. The skin itself is manu-
factured 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 condition 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 figure at the table. But in
the estimation of all the numerous guests it has been my
good fortune 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 neglected.
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 mountains, 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
venison (and who was no mean judge of the merits of a
plat de resistance), attesting its excellence. Thus I 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

DEFENSIVE POWERS OF THE RED DEER. 33

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 Atholl. Once indeed he incurred 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 endeavour 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 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 recounted to me by the late Duke of Atholl. 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 sprang forward with his head down (the
dog still hanging to his ear), and was rushing to the attack ;

D

34 DEFENSIVE POWERS OF THE HED DEER.

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 stand 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, where he lay danger-
ously ill for some time, but at length recovered." I have
heard also that when the Duke of Bedford 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 Nolle Art of
Venerie) " of an emperor, named Batels, who had done
great deeds of chivalrie in his country, and yet was never-
theless 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.

FURIOUS ATTACK BY A RED DEER. 35

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 Taymouth
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, however, 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.

The deer, however, had other intentions ; for as soon as
the carriage moved quicker, he increased his pace also,
and came 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 astonishment and no little
alarm of the occupants of the carriage, he charged the
off-side horse, plunging his long brow 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

D 2

36 DEEK-IIUNTING

nelghbounng 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 carriage, and only
survived two or three hours. The stag was shortly
afterwards killed.

Of the various modes practised for pursuing and killing
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 employ-
ed to aid in driving the deer to the spots, where the pit-
fall, 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 province
being surrounded by the marshalled peasantry of a prince
or noble, and forced by the gradual narrowing of the circle
to some central spot for promiscuous slaughter. Similar
princely hattues 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 permitted 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 Atholl, in the year 1563," of which Barclay, in
his Defence of Monarchical Government, gives the follow-
ing particulars : —

OF QUEEN MARY. 37

'' The Earl of AthoU prepared for her Majesty's reception
by sending out about two thousand Highlanders to gather
the deer from Mar, Badenoch, Murray, and Atholl, to the
district he had previously appointed. It occupied the
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 nobility, 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 at-
tentive to tlieir leader, and upon her pointing it out to the
Earl of Atholl, who knew the nature of the animal well,
having been accustomed to it from his youth, he told her
that they might all come to be frightened 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 necessary for every one of us to provide
for the safety of your Majesty, and for our own : all the
rest of those deer would infallibly come with him as thick
as possibly they could, and make their way over our bodies
to the mountain 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

D 3

38 DEER-IIUNTING OF QUEEN MARY.

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 instantly followed.

" They were surrounded on that side by a line of High-
landers ; but well did these men know the power of this
close 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
them, and with great dexterity headed and turned a de-
tachment in the rear; against these the Queen's stag-
hounds and those of the nobility were loosed, and a suc-
cessful 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 fact throughout
(which I very much doubt), it would be curious to know
in what manner these 2000 men proceeded, and how they
consumed several weeks in brino^ino^ down 2000 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 perhaps fires throughout
the line, to keep the deer in during the dark nights, at

INTRODUCTION OF FIRE-ARMS. 39

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 2000 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 suflScient 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.

When the country was partially covered with wood, the
forests were driven, and the sportsmen occupied 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 amusement of deer-
stalking.

The destruction of the woods, and the substitution of
the gun 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 Glas-
nabhean (meaning the mountain match-lock gun), was
obtained by Angus Baillie of Uppat, one of the most
noted of the Sutherhmd foresters of whom we have any

D 4

40 MODERN METHODS

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 Glasnahhean* 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 following century, more
serviceable, but still very rude guns, having the barrel
attached to the stock by iron hoops, were introduced
generally into Sutherland. 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 shots without giving much
alarm.

The sport aiforded 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 sovereign prince and wealthy noble ;
and this branch of the " Arte of Yenerie " was reduced by
rule and method almost to a science, and pursued in a

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

OF DEEU-HUNTING. 41

stately and magnificent 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
liis 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 offering 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, wdien they find themselves pursued by 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 diflScult thing for men alone to drive them
down wind.

In the following pages I confine myself to a description
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 the stag in such a beautiful manner, tried as
he is under every variety of incident, that I have always

42 ADVICE TO DEER-STALKERS.

considered it as creating a deeper and more absorbing
interest. Those sportsmen, therefore, who agree with me,
will not be surprised 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 fre-
quent a disturbance, so comprehensive as this, would make
the deer forsake the ground.

43

CHAP. 11.

" As he came down by Merriemas,
And in the benty line,
There has he espied a deer lying
Aneath a bush of ling."

Minstrelsy of the Border.

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

" Rather farther on, I'm thinking, Peter ; so take away
the rifles, balls 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 far out on the tops of the hills ; so we
will leave Blair as soon as possible, breakfast 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 Lodge, 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.

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

44 deer-stalkers' start.

'' No, faith, to do you justice, your memory never fails
you there ; and you take care to refresh it pretty often.
So off 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 sports-
man 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 shoes, 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 hands. To be dependent on others in
these matters is exceedingly youthful : 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 left the silent
castle, and away he went, winding his rugged course
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 scattered about
in nature's careless haste, hanging in graceful forms, and
glittering with the falling dewdrop.

Now and then a roe sprang up from the bracken, in the
secret glades of the wood, and vanished instantly with a

MORNING HIDE. 45

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 do 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 moun-
tain tops, with their light trains flickering behind, the
effect of which did not excite his mind powerfully, and
awaken it to the most pleasurable sensations.

" These are thy glorious works, Parent of good ! "

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 around him ; not 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 sail to the north.
The wind then continued favourable; burn after burn 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 chim-
neys ; 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
what hunger is (would they were fewer !). Were I called
upon off-hand to name a few individuals particularly tor-
tured by fixmine, why then I should say Franklin, Rich-
ardson, Ross, and the deer-stalker, who has ridden over
moor and mountain, from Blair to Bruar Lodge, before

46 BRUAR LODGE.

sunrise, conscientiously putting the dcer-stiilkcr 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, notwithstanding 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 Atholl second only in magnitude to
Ben-y-gloe, Ben Dairg, or the red mountain, stands do-
minant. 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 tenements, facing
each other, encompassed by a wall, so as to form a small
court between them : one of these buildinors serves for the
master, and the other for his servants. There is, besides,
a lodging-place for the hill men, rather frail in structure,
and a dog-kennel of the same picturesque character. Close
by stands a black stack of peats. Down winds the river
Bruar through the glen, sometimes 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

BRUAR LODGE. 47

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
excursion 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 pont volant. Some distance up the glen,
towards the east, a lofty cataract falls from the mountain
side, whose waters find 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 cul-de-sac.

On these hills grouse are most abundant; and when
they are not shrouded in mist, there cannot be a more de-
lightful 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 favour of the lord of
the forest, Bruar Lodge* was his occasional domicile.
With all its apertures he loved it dearly ; and it may be
doubted whether any monarch ever entered a palace, or
any lady a ball-room, with more absolute delight than he
was wont to enter this lonely abode. What though the

* 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, 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.

48 A COMRADE JOINS.

winds would revel freely in it, and heave up tlie little
carpet with an unceasing undulation, still the table cloth
was tolerably tranquil, for the weight of the meal made it
retain its station ! What, though the parlour bell in the
passage would ring incessantly during the night, even when
the doors were closed, stimulated by the gentle violence
of the wind : it was an ^olian harp to him ! 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 !

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 country ;
and how did you and your sheltie get across it ? "

** Country ! 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 BrilannicB patet ; — nulla jam ultra
gens, nihil nisi Jiuctus 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 breakfast

MOUNTAIN APPETITES. 49-

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 endurance. What
a rascally hill that is at the head of the pass ! my pony
slid down it on his hocks, carrying forward with him a
rattling mass of stones and rubbish, that now forms a talus,
which, under ordinary circumstances, ought to have been
the work of ages.

What was despatched 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 con-
trary, we always feel inclined to inculcate the doctrine of
abstinence ; but then we cannot very decently 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

£

50 ASCENT OF BEN DAI KG.

use mine whenever you feel inclined to do so. I will
explain the abstruse science to you, and all the meaning of
our operations as clearly as I can, and I hope that 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 from 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 uncomfortable
stones."

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

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

THE DEER HOUNDS. 51

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 Corrie 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 running 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
overcame the first ascent ; when, turning to the 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 ground here was strewed over with the
bones of calves (fawns), lambs, and moorfowl, which had
Allien 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, wdiich 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

£ 2

52 PTARMIGANS.

chaos of granite blocks. There was a sort of "ah* 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 ptar-
migans ; 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."

" 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 mountain is distin-
guished by some particular name, * nullum sine nomine
saxum ; ' and there are numerous subdivisions which indi-
cate 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, every thing bears the original impress 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

WILD SCENERY OF THE FOREST. 53

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 sublime 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
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 his scant food on the mountain tops, or wan-
dering in solitude through the birch groves, or cooling
himself in the streams, he gives grace, character, 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 freedom
that made me look back with something like contempt
upon the tame and hedgebound 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

E 3

54: EXCITEMENT PECULIAR TO DEER-STALKING.

the enthusiasm 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 from 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 exercised,
the clever creature will inevitably defeat you : it is quite
an affair 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 skirmishing.*
You will find that almost every step we take has a
meaning in it ; we shall creep along crafty 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 individual I

* It is 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.

A HART DISCOVERED. 55

have met on this side of the Tay seems to be perfectly-
wild about. Why, what a primitive country is this ; are
there any buffaloes 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 your-
self 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."

Tortoise and Peter Fraser now laid down their rifles on
the heather, put their caps in their pockets, 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 steadily poised
upon it. — " Well, Peter, I can see nothing but those
eternal hinds on the Mcalowr, 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 hundred
yards of him, and that is near enough in all conscience. —

* So the hill men call a telescope.
E 4

56 MANCEUVRING TO APPROACH.

Here, Liglitfoot, look at the fine fellow : pull off your 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 in, the burn which is opposite his lair. — Well,
now I will tell you :

" 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 for-
ward 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 of the hill ; but
if we start them, and they go on belling, the hart will
follow them, whether he sees us or not. Get your wind
he cannot.

" Well, Lightfoot, you have come on capitally ; and
have hitherto been able to walk like a man, with your face
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 faithfully to comply with my in-
structions ; 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

WINDING THROUGH A BOG. 57

his leg 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 ghost. If your
back aches in supportably, you may lie down and die, that
is permitted; 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
rae! do not raise up your hair with your fingers in that
manner. I assure you, my good fellow, that just at present
it would be much more becoming to be bald, or to wear
your hair like King Otho.

" Maclarcn, you will remain here, and watch the deer
when I have fired. Sandy, follow you at a proper distance
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, tlu'ough the deep seams of the bog, and again
right up the middle of the burn, winding their cautious
course according to the inequalities of the ground. Occa-
sionally 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 favourable.
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 explored the bog in a parallel
direction, working his way Hke a mole, whilst the others
remained prostrate. Keturning all wet and bemired,
his long serious face indicated a failure. This dangerous
passage then was to be attempted, since there was no

58 WADING A BURN.

better means of approach. Tortoise, in low whispers,
airain 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
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 wreathe himself alonj^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 curiosity
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,

GETTING A QUIET SHOT. 59

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 ad-
mirably. In fact, the water was not so deep as it ap-
peared to be, being scarcely over the hips. They proceeded
in this manner about twenty yards, when, the ground
being more favourable, 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 necessary
to diverge into the moss. In breathless expectation 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 strait 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 succeeded ; 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

60 DOGS SLIPPED AT A WOUNDED DEER.

burns ; and all this one brief moment might render futile,
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
above the hole in the bog; no more. Eraser looked
anxious, 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 position of
the hart's body ; then, making a slight ticking noise, up
sprang the deer; as instantly the shot was fired, and
crack 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 out in the sun to
dry. I never saw so base a shot."

"Hush, hush! — 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
the hill."

" Let go both of them ; it will be a fine chance for the

THE PURSUIT. 61

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 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
burn of auld Heclan, and then come forwards towards
Glen Decry if you do not sec 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 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 nae thing 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

62 DEER AT BAY IN A MOUNTAIN CATARACT.

at one leap went plumb down to the abyss below ; the
rocks closed in upon his flanks, and tliere 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
furiously; one rush of the stag would have sent them
down into the chasm; and in their fury they seemed
wholly unconscious of their danger. 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 ex-
citing, for the dogs where wholly at his mercy, and, as
he menaced with his antlers, they retreated backwards
within an inch of instant dissolution.

"For Mercy'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 inevitably 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

DEER AT BAY IN A T 0 1-; P t-- ,v t

DANGEROUS TOSITION OF THE DOGS. 63

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 at length
thoroughly roused, he fought at last fearlessly and inde-
pendently. Whenever the deer turned his antlers aside to
gore Tarif, Derig seized the moment to fly at his throat ;
but the motions of the 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 exertion ; at length
he probably found some slight bearing for the claws of
his hind feet, and, to the inexpressible relief of every one.

64 THE DEATH.

he once more recovered his footing, 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,
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 as 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 cautiously
on the ledge of the rock, and began to take out the huge
creature, two at his fore legs, and two at his hind quar-
ters, 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 I 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 Elrich, 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
hole in his shoulder large enough to put his fist in."

" Will ye never forget that, then ? But yer honour

bemaillet's theory. 65

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 ? "

"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 ! To be plain with
you, however, I did not much relish gliding up the burn,
trout fashion, not being gifted with fins. And now I am
more than ever averse from Demaillet's theory, who con-
ceived the globe to have been covered with water for
many thousand years, and that, when the waters retreated,
the inhabitants of the sea became terrestrial 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 ho
sees this fine fellow. You got on most capitally."

" 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 ! 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

F

G6 ANOTHER ROUND OF WHISKEY.

birds called partridges, where the action of the 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
rery 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 ! "

Lightfoot felt his haunches as desired, and asserted
that they were enormously fat, 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 wath 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 complained
of being blown in going up the Meal-owr, I must tell
you that there are some tracts of ground that are believed
to be so much under the power of enchantment, that he

CRUEL DEATH OF A DEER-HOUND. 67

who passes over any one of them would infallibly faint
if he did not use something for the support 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 Derig had ! It reminds me of
an event which happened in Sutherland in the Dirrie-
more Forest.

" A high-couraged 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 slop-
ing but very steep precipice, and alighted on a narrow
shelf formed by a projecting piece of rock ; in fact, pre-
cisely 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 prac-
ticable passage by which he could escape from his terrible
position. The rocks opposed an insuperable obstruction
from above, and the precipice menaced certain death be-
low. 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 im-
possible for him to afford, kept up a continual howling for
succour during day and night. He continued to linger in
his frightful prison for several dfiys, 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 to save him, for the ground

F 2

66 OEIGIN OF PEAT BOGS.

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 Icedat''
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
and you see how useful its black channels proved in con-
cealing us. I think its present state better for a sports-
man than its original one ; for, doubtless, it was formerly
covered with trees ; and the change has 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 growth 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
quantity of turpentine they contain. The eminent au-

MIRED IN A BOG. 69

thor I have quoted says, also, ' It is curious to reflect that
considerable tracts have by these accidents been perma-
nently sterilised, and that during a period when civilisation
has been making a great progress, large areas of Europe
have been rendered less capable of administering 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 tliem more poetical too, or, at least, more
interesting. Hallo ! by Jove I'm in for it."

" What rashness ! you should never put your foot in
such a place as that, particularly when you are detracting
from tlie 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 Fraser, touching his bonnet.) " 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
ever so bad, however, you may tread in perfect safety
whenever you see stones lying about it."

F 3

70 ANTISEPTIC PROPERTY OF PEAT.

" 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 that 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 centuries, 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 myself 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 Blair, for all
our best ground is to come. See, we are to go up this
hill which leads to Cairn-Cherie ; it will conduct us to the
top of yonder grey summit, called Ben-y-venie, and there
* Ly ell's Geology.

ASCENT OF BEN-Y-VENIE. 71

we sliall have a fine command over all the 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) undeceived
me. A hundred yards of such a steep is, as FalstafF says,
Uhree score and ten miles to me.' But by Jove I'll 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 each other, and all masking themselves
as much as possible behind knolls and blocks of gneiss or
granite, under cover of which they repeatedly examined
the country with their glasses. Had the fate of a whole
army been dependant upon discovering and circumventing
an ambuscade, no better tact or caution could have been
observed. And now they had just gained such an ascen-
dency 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, for the ground w^as so pre-
cipitous, 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
line ; and all lay down in the heather except Tortoise and

F 4

72 A HERD DISCOVERED.

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, as made it perfectly
beautiful to a sportsman. These, indeed, 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. They 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 bonniest of
the lot : haud weel to them. Sir, if you have a chance."

" Never fear. Ah, now I see them. You said nothing
about the hinds, 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 born for mischief.

'^ Hist, hist ! Maclaren, come you here. Take the glass

73

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 difficult 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
thouglitful 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 1 shall try to pit them intill your ground
at ony gait. That beast will be unco kittle to dale with.
Ye'U be patient. Sir, and gie me time."

" If they do not come it will not be for lack of skill, or
good will on your part, Mac ; for a more clever, or willing
man never trode 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 ! Why then that's joost the ither
whiskey."

74 THE GAEL'S PRO VI DEN Ci:.

"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 honour."
" 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 presuming
to interrupt the jargon of so consummate a 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 exquisite plan may be. You
don't mean to say that you can get near deer in such an
open country as this ?

" That is as it may be : we shall have to wait here
about forty minutes, when I will disclose and illustrate ;
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 moun-

GLEN MARK. 75

tain, 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 w^ild tract of
country that lay around them.

^- We are now," says he, " on Ben-y-venie, which mean
the middle hill, or if you delight more in its other appel-
lation, 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 Craggan-breach, Sroin-a-chro, and
Cairn-Marnach. And this deep glen to the east is Glen-
IVIark. 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 ]\lark : listen attentively, and you will hear a
a liiint, 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 birchwood ; after which it begins its
ceaseless toil, — it rushes headlong into the Tilt, — for ever
doomed to striiojn^le with still more turbulent waters.

76 PATIENCE IN KEQUEST.

" 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 Avill 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 ? "

" He has louped the burn, 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 far more beautiful and exciting 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

hillman's man(EUVres. 77

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 arc
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 impatient,
my good fellow ; I will not be chary of instruction when
time shall serve. — Why, Peter, what the deuce is Macla-
ren about ? will he never get behind the hill ? are we to
be kept here all day ? "

"Why sure ye '11 no be expectin' he'll be there the
noo : he canna win that far 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 incompreliensible 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 hyajna 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 morality :
he loved it, he said, though he did not practise it. But I

78 THE HERD TAKE ALARM.

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 shew 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 as the most magnani-
mous 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 DoUond's best it is — stay,
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 ? — By Hercules, 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.

ALL GOING RIGHT. 79

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 accommodate 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 ! but we may rouse them yet.
Yes, they are alarmed, or, more properly speaking, sus-
picious. 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, 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.

80 SAGACITY OF THE DEER.

he slipped back cannily behind the hill, 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.

" 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 exa-
mine 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

MOVEMENTS OF THE DEER. 81

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 march, like a retreating army, with their front and
rear guard !"

" Beautiful ! and with such measured steps : so stately
winding down that horrid rocky precipice, which 1 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-
mination ; 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
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 he came sufficiently forward, 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

G

82 DECIDED COURSE TAKEN.

tumbling, in such perilous places as would have endangered
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 himself, could
have put these reasoning animals into any state of con-
fusion ; for, being too distant from the tumult to be
under any apprehension of immediate danger, they con-
tinued to be perfectly deliberate in all their movements :
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
that no time was to be lost. Tortoise pressed his friend's
arm : —

" Now, then, or never ! Creep back quickly, and pre-
pare for action ; for, by Heme the hunter ! they are
coming — low, low, for your life ! We must get on to 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 ! 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

DISAPPOINTMENT. 83

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 gradually 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 exclamations,
uttered, as was meet, sotto voce : —

" Death and destruction ! they are turning away. Oh !
what a fine cliance lost : they were coming up so beauti-
fully ! 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 : — Guai a voi, anime prave !

" Come along your best pace, Harry, for the hinds 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

G 2

84 CHANGE OF TACTICS.

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 continued
to go, he persisted no longer in the same direction, which
would only have given the deer a fresh start, and hurried
them on to an 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 direc-
tion ; 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 fact,
he 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 persisted in
their course. His spirit, however, was unbroken ; 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

LIGHTFOOT IN TROUBLE. 85

dizzy, picked up their legs like cats, and went down pretty
fast : having once begun the descent, indeed, it was not very
easy to stop, so headlong was the steep.

And here I am sorry to be obliged to relate a circum-
stance 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 companion ;
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 tliere in time to take them as they passed down
over the boll of it, still preserving the wind. Arrived, at
length, at this desired spot, breathless, flushed, and co-
vered with perspiration, they crept forward and wormed
themselves through tlie heather, till, from behind 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 Fraser'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, Ijut I see him the noo ! a' that's him,

G 3

86 THE CRAGS OF BEN-Y-VENIE.

high up in the crags. Lord, Lord ! what shall we do ?
It is an unco' fashions 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 preservation of his exist-
ence. In vain did the herald keep beckoning and sawing
the air with his bonnet, still advancing to the rescue. Our
hero found his head swimming, and very wisely gave up
the upright position, and made his way on his hands and
knees, as best befitted his unhappy condition. 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,
kud 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 ; but, 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, w^hich was suffered 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

AN INJUDICIOUS SHOT. 87

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 w^oe 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 bottom. 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.

Davy came forward with the dogs at the well-known
sound, followed by Lightfoot ; the whole party then lay
quietly down in 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
into 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 pursuit
of him, his wounded part stiffens, and he seeks case 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

G 4

88 LONDON BOOTS V. SCOTCH BROGUES.

you will have no better chance with him than with his
companions.

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

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

" I must reply as Master Dull, the constable, did to the
erudite Holofernes, — ^ '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 should
have given up a fair chance had I waited^ without con-
ferring any benefit upon you."

"Ay, food for eagles I might have been. All fair,
all fair ; — 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 that 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 heart-broken."

" And heartily glad am I that you are found again ;
without bruises, you intimate, I may not say, but with-

THE WOUNDED DEER. 89

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.
O'er moss and muir with them to gang.' *

' By the foot of Pharaoh ! ' 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
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 leaving
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 dwelling on
the moor.' "

" And now I am resolutely determined never to fire
at a deer again, — no, never whilst I live. It is a bar-
barous and inhuman practice ; the act of a savage, and
ought to be punished by branding, hanging, or at least

* Galloway's Poems.

00 CLEAN SHOTS.

by transportation for life. There {flings down his rifle)
— lie there, thou villain ! ' hie cestus artemque repono,'' "

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

" By Jupiter ! so vs^e 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."

" Did I brak a ramrod since last Tuesday ? "

" Indeed you did not, my good fellow ; you only
rendered 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 me-
chanically, 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 onward 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 tlie ^younded deer: — he

A DEER-HOUND SLIPPED. 91

has it! — Percy scents it too, and pulls down the leash,
straining his nose to the ground; — do look at the eager
fellow !

" He is 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 en-
during speed, and so' on to the Tilt, where they expected
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
Frascr, who seemed as much at a loss as themselves ; still
they kept running on, and at length 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 burn and cataract, it died away, and was
lost: again it was renewed: 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 far distant: they gained upon it; and soon the
truth broke upon them, and filled them with astonish-
ment. Could it have been believed that amongst the
lonely woods of Glen Tilt, reserved alone for ducal sports,
— sacred as the harem ; ay here neither stranger nor traveller
were permitted to put a foot unbidden ; in a country where

92 THE BAY BROKEN.

the chase, and its customs, and its laws, were so well re-
cognised 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 for-
ward. High above the rest rose the guttural sounds of
the iracund forester.

In the midst of this tumult the hart broke bay, laboured
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 hunts-
man with whoop and halloo, dashing over knoll and rock,
through bog and through burn, till he fairly vanished from
the view.

" Contremuit nemus, et silvse intonuere profundae,"

" 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 fut is there, too, — ye'll ha' seen it
yoursel, sir."*

* These impressions actually exist at present, quite perfect, in the
place alluded to.

STRANGE ADVENTURE. 93

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 party took to be
supernatural.

At length the stag was quite exhausted, and stood again
at bay in the midst of the rushing waters. Always fore-
most, 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 from a distance, — the
ball whizzled 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 affair into their own
hands.

When protracted torments, however acute, terminate in
complete success, it is astonishing how suddenly all pre-
conceived anger cuds with them. Considunt venti ftigi-
untque nuhes. Thus it was with Tortoise ; and when he saw
the open, happy countenance of the English stranger, who
accosted him as if he had performed the most service-

94 A WILD HUNTSMAN.

able feat in the world, he could not forbear laughing out-
right.

" Fine sport, sir," said the wild huntsman ; — "glorious
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 pro-
tracted the good sport so long ; for owing to your very
valorous exertion we have pursued that noble fellow 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 ; so that, perhaps,
I may say, ' Sono ancK io cacciatore.^ "

" You may say so, indeed, if it so pleases you."

All were now intent upon the deer, which was a first-
rate one: he had few points to his horns, being one of
those originally marked out by the Stalkers as the fattest ;
he was beautifully cleaned, and all the operations being
carefully 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, factus ad
unguem, and a magnificent walker, and at once recognised
by the hill-men as the painter who came to Blair two
years before, and took Macintyre, with the Duke's per-
mission, as his guide to Bremar forest. Now, Macintyre
was one of the stoutest walkers in Atholl; no step Avas

NORWEGIAN SPORT. 95

lighter or more clastic up the mountain, — none steadier
or more iron-like when he bounded down the steep: to
him was given strength, activity, and endurance 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 slip-
ped a few stones into his knapsack, he was beat the w^hole
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 : —

He had walked over Norway on a sketching tour, and
once joined a party of Norsemen who were ringing the
bear. He carried no fire-arms, he said, like the rest of
the party, always preferring close combat; — nothing but
his sketching stool. This, when produced, was found to
be a circular piece of heavy oak timber, divided into three
parts, fitting closely, so as to unite, and riveted together
in the centre ; but when detached by a sort of twist, the
extremities were spread, — the lower ones forming feet,
and the upper ones a seat, by hitching some sort of
sacking on their points. The tiling is a sketching stool
in common use, — his only differed from others by being
made of the most solid oak, so that in good hands it was a
very effective weajion ; and it was with this that he had
been attacking the stag.

" I was on skidor," said he, " which you know is a sort
of long wooden skait, that enables you to get over the

96 ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAK.

snow at a quick pace, rather unmanageable, liovvever, 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 a Voutrance. 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 frontis. 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 dissented from my conduct. He seemed
much given to apathy — indeed I never saw a more
phlegmatic animal ; 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 you, upon my
credit, I never felt more uncomfortable in my life ; but the
Norwegians, 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
tussel 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 eifects for a con-
siderable time afterwards.

" But really your Norwegian is always too hasty with
his weapons. As a second instance of what I say, I must
tell you that I w^ent with one of these barbarous hunts-
men in quest of a salmon. Day after day, and week after

LOSS OF A HUGE SALMON. 97

week, did I toil without success ; believe me, sir, in all
that time I never saw a fin. At last the long-desired mo-
ment came, — I hooked a prodigious monster ; 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 jormungandr, 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 to the channel in bare water; the offi-
cious Norwegian immediately tucked a large iron* 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 ter-
minate 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 grace.

" 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.
After various manoeuvres on his part (which I would fain
hope I defeated 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,
, * Called in Scotland, a Cleick.

H

98 A WOKD OF ADVICE.

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 for the salmon, I never
saw or heard of him again."

Ay ! 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,
you had better endeavour to take the management into
your own hands, and not suffer the snake or salmon, as
it may be, 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 op-
posite bank with so long a line as you appear to have had,
he will not become your property — never shall you re-
joice over his tinselled sides as he lies glittering on the
pebbles. Some water-elf (for such, I am told, there are in
Norway) never fails 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

SHADES OF OSSIAN'S HEROES. 99

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 Lapitha3 :
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
of Ossian's heroes. His horns stab fiercely, and when
attacked, he is altogether 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-stalkers so far out of their cast, that the
day's sport was considered as ended. So the whiskey-

H 2

100 THE GOWN-CROMB OF BADENOCH.

bottle went round, and all were gossiping together like
brothers.

The Highlander, who accompanied the stranger as his
guide, was a well-known good companion, pretty consider-
ably 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 overtake him.

There was a great deal of merriment between the
Atholl men and this Highlander, who was the Gown-
cromb * or blacksmith, of some village in Badenoch. 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 mull ; but you must not steal
the duke's deer, mon" —

" Hout-tout ! Ye're a trou 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 Atholl, if
they could be transferred to your wild country ? "

" And are there na bonny braes and birks in Bad -
enoch ? 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'll prove, frae his ain Bible, ony day he likes,

* This term has reference to the stoophi^ position of a smith. I
■ have spelt it as it is pronounced, but I have seen it written Gowcrom.

TH1E GAELIC EDEN. 101

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 o' the
Lios-mor 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 ! 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
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 Atholl 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 Lios-mor ; an' altho' nae figs
grow noo, there's mony a bony Jiag runs yet o'er the
braes o' both Badenoch and Lochaber. It was fiags'
skins, an' no fig blades that they made claes o'. Flag, I
maun tell you, is Lochaber Gaelic for a deer to this
day ; an' 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

H 3

103 ADAM A HIGHLANDER.

in their ain hair, an' here we stand shame-faced 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
minister says they spoke Hebrew ; and fat's Hebrew
but Gaelic, the warst o' Gaelic, let alane Welsh Gaelic?"

" Well done, Mac ; success to you and your Gaelic ! "

" Success to me an' my Gaelic ! I tell ye that the
Hieland Society, or Gaelic Society, or a' the societies in
the world, canna ca' again my Gaelic! nor the name or
origin o' the first dress worn by man, for —

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

" We would require proof for this, Mac."
" Proof, mon ! 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 aither o' the twa,
may Shemus 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 : l^
them contradic me fa can,^^

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

103

CHAP. III.

" The sun went down behind the hill,
The moor grew dim and stern,
And soon an utter darkness fell
O'er mountain, rock, and burn."

The party now separated, the artist being bound for
Blair. Tortoise and his friend struck across the hills
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 hlack 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 determined enough to throw

H 4

104 FOREST OF BADENOCH.

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 afterwards ; for a tenant of Mr. Skene, whose
house was close to the water, was awakened one clear
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
descried 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 success; 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
from memory, was most obligingly given to me by Cluny
Macpherson, chief of Clanchattan, a very celebrated and
accomplished gentleman and sportsman. Thus then it
runs : —

ITS DIVISIONS. 105

" 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 Banffshire, and
terminated at Ben-nevis, 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, Drum-
nachder ; sixthly Benalder, including Farrow ; and, lastly,
Lochtreig, which extended from the Badenoch march to
Ben-nevis : 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, Gaick about thirty,
Drumnachder twenty-five, Benalder fifty, and Lochtreig
sixty ; in all about two hundred and twenty square miles.

" The whole of this vast track was not solely appropriated
for breeding deer, for tenants were allowed to erect shiel-
ings on the confines of the forest, and their cattle were per-
mitted to pasture as far as they chose 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
* Spelt also Gawickj and Gaig.

106 DEER IN BADENOCH.

proprietors, who held in fee from the Gordon family, to
make encroachments, and in course of time to acquire a
property to which they had not the smallest legal title.

" In other respects, rights were more rigidly adhered
to ; for the old forest laws, which were exceedingly severe,
were enforced to the utmost in this district ; mutilation,
and even death were resorted to. It is upon record, that
Donald of Keppoch hanged one of his own clan, in order
to appease Cluny Macpherson for depredations 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 condition.

" No alteration took place in these forests till after the
Kebellion 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 than
between two and three hundred. The deer in this forest
are small, and chiefly hinds ; 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-

LEGENDS OF PRINCE CHARLES. 107

chattan; 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 Breadalbane's forest is not far distant, they wiU,
no doubt, accumulate rapidly under such excellent ma-
nagement.

" This forest lies on the north-west side of Loch Erroch,
and contains an area of from thirty to thirty-five square
miles : the position is in a south-west direction ; the boun-
dary on that side is the small river Alder ; on the north-
west it is limited by Beallach-na-dhu (the 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-a-Bhea (the Loch of the Birchen Gap). So much for
the boundaries, extent, and character of this celebrated
domain.

" The 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
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 vermin ; but there he was treated with kindness
and hospitality; and during the period of his stay he
made considerable progress in the Gaelic language. Cluny
Macpherson and Lochiel, faithful, high-minded, and loyal.

108 CLUNY MACPHERSON.

were his constant companions ; and they were attended by
a few trusty Highlanders, who carried to him every ne-
cessary, and many of the luxuries of life.

" Cluny had generally the charge of this forest in olden
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 eflected
their escape ; one alone suffered, 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 secret
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 support.

" When Cluny Macpherson resolved upon departing to
France, on account of the share he had in the affair of
1745, he called upon a gentleman with whom he was
intimate, and who was a noted deer stalker (Mr. Mac-
donald of Tulloch), 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

CLUNY MACPHERSON. 109

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 imme-
diately died thereafter.*

" I must now tell you of an adventure that happened to
Mr. Macpherson of Braekaely, when he had the charge of
the forest of Benalder. He sallied forth one morning, as
he was wont, in quest of venison, accompanied by his
servant. In the course of their travel they found a wolf-
den (a wolf being at that time by no means a rarity in
the forest). Macpherson asked his servant whether he
would prefer going into the den to destroy the cubs, or re-
main outside and guard against the approach of the old ones.
The servant, preferring what appeared to be 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
* Account of Strathspey, apud Macfarlane's MSS.

110 MACPHERSON OF BRAEKAELY.

he see, than he took to his heels, incontinently, without even
warning his master of the danger. Macpherson, however,
being an active resolute 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 Dalenluncart, a little distance off. They accordingly
proceeded to this bothy, and it was quite dark by the time
they reached it.

" Macpherson, on putting his hand on the bed to
procure dry heather for lighting a pipe, discovered a dead
body ; and without taking any notice of the circumstance
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, Macpherson 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 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 dismay, dark and deserted, his
master having set off homewards so soon as he had
started for the powder-horn. Terrified beyond measure
at this second event, he proceeded 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

CHILDREN LOST ON A MOOR. Ill

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 ago. 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 confi-
dently 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 circumstance
of both ears being cut off, which gives her an appearance
too remarkable to be mistaken.

" * White she was as lily of June,
And beauteous as the silver moon,
When out of sight the clouds are driven,
And she is left alone in heaven.'

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

112 SPORTSMEN BENIGHTED.

become of him, — whether he has been killed, died a
natural 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 as-
certained 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 w^e might have made our way tolerably well, but
that black cloud has completely mystified 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.

" Ye mun gang cannily, sir, an dinnaipit 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 was na lang
syne Sandy Macgregor, him that drives the cattle, lost
his bonny cow, — the milk had been takken afore by some
inveesible hand, or may- be by the evil eye, and then the
* Vide p. 7. Chap. I. on the Nature and Habits of Red Deer.

UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION. 113

beast was gone a-the-gither. For twa clays 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 wun 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 aff,
and wrapped himsel in it, mony strange things would he
have heard that nicht on the moor. AYha 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 falling back of a
muckle salmon, when he attempts to spring up the falls of
the Garry.

" Sandy, mon, I'm thinking ye're got intill the bum."

" 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

H4 UNCOMFOKTABLE POSITION.

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 fairly 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
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 un-
practised 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

fraser's cairn. 115

Highlander went firmly and safely through with his
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 Bewcastle 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 daytime ; 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 Fraser's cairn, and the Lord of
Lo vat'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 fairly 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 ? "

" 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,'
♦ Creak. t Tear.

I 2

116 BOUNDARIES OF GAWICK.

on the north and east by Glentromy and Corrybran,
and on the west by the Glentruim and Drumnachter
hills.

" In the centre of Gawick there is a plain about eight
miles long, and in this plain there are three lakes —
Lochandellich, Loch Bhroddid, 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 from 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 fall from his horse
in the forest of Gawick ; he was the son, I believe, of
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

WALTER OF GAWICK'S FATE, 117

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.

"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

I 3

us WRATH OF A FAIRY.

at once to be fairies ; one of them had a hank of green
yarn 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 on 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
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.

DESTRUCTIVE AVALANCHE. 119

" 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 ma-
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 a considerable
distance. * This melancholy event took place at the dis-
tance of thirteen miles from the residence of the hunting
party. Their friends were naturally alarmed for their
safety, when the drifting storm of wind and snow had
closed up the roads and passes of the mountains ; and every
hour's delay in their return brought a new accession to

♦ The following account is extracted from the Edinburgh Review
of this book, in April, 1840. My gratitude is due to the reviewer for
the very indulgent and flattering treatment I have met with at hie
hands, both on this and on a subsequent occasion. — Author.

I 4

120 RAGING TEMPEST.

their fears. A strong party, furnished with the necessary
implements, penetrated through the snowy barrier that
obstructed their path, and after surmounting great hard-
ships, they succeeded in disinterring their friends from their
icy graves. But even in this district, where the truth of
this account was known, superstition has wove round it
her mystic embroidery, and the story " of the hapless
deer-stalkers of Gaick" became henceforth a legendary
tale. When the late amiable and accomplished Lord
Webb Seymour and our distinguished philosopher Pro-
fessor Playfair were surveying the mineralogical struc-
ture of Shehallien, they were accompanied by an old
man as their guide, who was a schoolmaster in the neigh-
bourhood; and while they were walking before their
horses up the road, on the northern declivity of Kannoch,
Avithin sight of the mountain above Gaick, he gave the
following version of the preceding story, adding, ' There
was nae the like seen in a' Scotland.'

"' It was in the night, I think, of the 14th of February,
1799, that there came on a dreadful storm of wind and
drifting snow from the south-east, which was felt very
severely in most parts of Scotland. On the preceding
day Captain Macpherson, attended by three other men,
had gone out a deer-shooting in that extensive tract of
mountains which lies to the west of Dalnacardoch. They
did not return in the evening, and nothing was heard of
them. The next day, as soon as the storm had abated,
people were sent out in quest of them. After a long
search, the bodies were found in a lifeless state, lying among
the ruins of a hothy (a temporary hut) in which it should
seem Captain Macpherson and his party had taken refuge.

VIOLENT DEATH. 121

The bothy had been destroyed by the tempest in a very
astonishing manner. It had been built partly of stone,
and partly of strong wooden uprights driven into the
ground ; it was not merely blown down, but quite torn to
pieces : large stones, which had formed part of the walls,
were found at the distance of one or two hundred yards
from the site of the building ; and the wooden uprights
appeared to have been rent asunder by a force that had
twisted them off, as in breaking a tough stick. From the
circumstances in which the bodies were found, it appeared
that the men were retiring to rest at the time the calamity
came upon them. One of the bodies, indeed, was found
at a distance of many yards from the bothy ; another of
the men was found upon the place where the bothy had
stood, with one stocking off, as if he had been undressing :
Captain Macpherson was lying without his clothes upon
the wretched bed which the bothy had afforded — his
face to the ground and his knees drawn up. To all ap-
pearance the destruction had been quite sudden ; yet the
situation of the building was such as promised security
against the utmost violence of the wind ; it stood in a
narrow recess *, at the foot of a mountain, whose preci-
pitous and lofty declivities sheltered it on every side ex-
cepting the front, and here, too, a hill rose before it,
though with a more gradual slope. This extraordinary
wreck of a building so situated led the common people
to ascribe it to a supernatural Power. It was recollected,
by some who had been out shooting with Captain Macpher-
son about a month before, that while they were resting at

* This situation pretty clearly indicates that the building was de-
stroyed by an avalanche. — Author.

122 MYSTERIOUS ANXIETY.

this bothy, a shepherd lad had come to the door and in

quired for Captain M , and that the Captain went out

with the shepherd, and they walked away together, leaving
the rest of the party in the bothy. After a time. Captain

M returned alone. He said nothing of what had

passed between him and the lad, but looked very grave
and thoughtful, and from that time there was observed to
be a mysterious anxiety hanging about him. It was re-
membered that one evening after dusk, when Captain
Macpherson was in the bothy, some of the party that were
standing saw a fire blazing on the top of the hill which
rises in front of it. They were much surprised to see a fire
in such a solitary place, and at such a time, and set out to
inquire into the cause of it ; but when they reached the top
of the hill, there was no fire to be seen ! It was recollected,
too, that on the day before the fatal night. Captain Macpher-
son had shown a singular obstinacy in going forth upon
his expedition. No representations of the inclemency of
the weather, or of the dangers he would be exposed to,
could restrain him. He said he must go, and was resolved

to go. Captain M 's character was not spared, in order

to give probability to these fancies ; it was popularly, but
very unjustly, reported, that he was rapacious and cruel ;
that he had got money by procuring recruits from the
Highlands, an unpopular mode of acquiring wealth ; and as
these recruits were said to be from Atholl, it was the
opinion of the less superstitious Highlanders, that the
party was murdered by the Atholl men.'

" This interesting story was communicated by Lord
Webb Seymour to Sir Walter Scott, who published it as
an ' example of those accompaniments of the rude popular

OPINION OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 123

legend possessing points of interest, of nature, and of
effect, which though irreconcilable with sober truth, carry
with them something which the mind is not averse from
believing ; something, in short, of plausibility, which, let
the poet or romancer do their very best, they find it im-
possible to attain to.' Sir Walter adds as his opinion,
' that the feeling of superstitious awe, annexed to the
catastrophe contained in this interesting narrative, could
not have been improved by any circumstances of additional
horror which a poet could have invented ; that the inci-
dents, and gloomy simplicity of the narrative are much
more striking than they could have been rendered by the
most glowing description ; and that the old Highland school-
master, the outline of whose talc is so judiciously preserved
by the narrator, was a better medium for communicating
such a tale, than would have been the form of Ossian,
could he have risen from the dead on purpose.' "

"But a more modern — a more wide-spreading calamity,
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 distance
below, about the size of a half-grown glow-worm, shines

* In allusion to the late Duke of Gordon.

124 CONVIVIAL RESOLUTION.

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 exceedingly."

"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, twink-
ling, and vainly contending with the rain and wind. The
door at the end of the little passage opened upon 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 spilla in Avignone."

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

^

THE FISHERMAN AND DKER.

KLI.V AM) rO , PRIMEI'.S.

125

CHAP. IV.

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

" O, this life

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

Cymbeline.

I WAS SO impatient to get on the moor, and to plunge at
once, as it were, in medias res, 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 gi'catest 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, except-
ing, perhaps, those of Geoffrey 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

126 CURIOUS ATTITUDES REQUIRED.

was knock-kneed to a deformity. Set before me a man
that is long from his hip downAvard, 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. Great Jove, 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 swear by Atalanta, and 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 burn, ventre a terre, like that
insinuating animal the eel, — accomplished he should be in

SLEEP ALMOST SUPERFLUOUS. 127

skilfully squeezing his clothes after this operation, to make
all comfortable. Strong and pliant in the ancle, 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 positions ; — thus, if his legs are
devoid of the faculty of breaking, so much the better, —
he has an evident advantage 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 current; 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 has any
tact, or sense of the picturesque, it is presumed he will
fall backwards,) he should raise his rifle aloft 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 au 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 paltry subterfuge;
neither should he permit himself to be drowned, because
we have an affection for him, and moreover it is very
cowardly to die.

As for sleep, he should be almost a stranger to it,
activity 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

128 ADVANTAGES OF BALDNESS.

niggardly in this matter, we will allow him to doze occa-
sionally 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 poeticall}^ treated of; but we value not grace in our
shooting jacket, and infinitely prefer seeing our man, like
Dante's Frati, " che non hanno coperchio piloso al capo ; "
because the greater the distance from the eye to the
extreme point of the head, so much the quicker will the
deer discover their enemy, than he will discover them.
His pinnacle or predominant, therefore, should not be or-
namented 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
aftair 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 of 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

SELF-POSSESSION INDISPENSABLE. 129

must have felt a sense of buoyancy and freedom that it
would be difficult to describe. Astride upon the monstrous
crocodile, Mr. Waterton 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 condemn
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
does his fisherman, to the philosopher's half pint of claret ;

K

130 ABSTINENCE FKOM DRINKING.

but if he exceed it, 'tis at his own peril. Wine and poetry-
go joyously together. Bacchus and Apollo were aye boon
companions ; but I never heard 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 ricketty. You 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
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 spontaneous combustion.

The best part of a bottle of champagne may be allowed
at dinner: this is not only venial but salutary. A few
tumblers of brandy and soda-water are greatly to be
commended, for they are cooling. Whiskey cannot rea-
sonably be objected to, for it is an absolute necessary, and
does not come under the head of intemperance, but rather,
as Dogberry says, or ought to say, " it comes by nature."
Ginger-beer I hold to be a dropsical, insufficient, 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-
man's hand begins to betray a want of fixed purpose and
resolution ; it does, as it were, vibrate considerably. Under

RESTRICTIONS IN FOOD. 131

these circumstances the balls are apt to take many un-
toward 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 untoward day.

Having thus somewhat stinted my rifleman in his pota-
tions, it may possibly be inferred that I allow him to make
up for such abstinence in the article of substantial food.
This is a great mistake; I permit him to do no such
thing ; and most particularly do I restrict him at break-
fast.

Should a deer-stalker eat and stuff? — should he pamper
the inward man? Shade of Abernethy forbid! He
should go forth light and shapy as a gazelle; to restrict
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 concern 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
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 confer a
\)enefit by moistening the outward man. But here I must

K 2

132 gormandizer's pastime.

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 ! Oh, no : I
say again in no manner, and by no means, will I permit
him to exceed. After very slender fare 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 apo-
plexies. Every body will tell you how well you look ; so
let out your waistcoats 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 burns 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,
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

ROYAL DIVERSION. J 33

husbands, and the most excellent of friends — in short, or-
naments to society ; much more valuable members 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 wholesome advice ? Well,
then, we admire your spirit, which soars so high above
your corporal capacity, and since you are so determined,
we will 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 Highness's musicians placed; and a crossbow, 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 Alder-
man 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

* Nicoll's Progresses, vol. ii.
K 3

134 sportsman's philosophy.

idea that danger Avas 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 I "

And now a word of advice to your well qualified sports-
man— 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 the 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- worm limbs, and be thankful that you
have fire and shelter. Sit you down with your arm 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. Kead 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 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 how to manage it, I
dare say), but by skilful inference, that you are, out of

GEORGE RITCHIE THE FIDDLER. 135

sight, the best shot in . Great Britain ; pass round the
whiskey, and you may be certain of a ready acquiescence.

Then when the night closes in, you may call in George
Ritchie, the fiddler and wit, if be 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, and were a most
admirable deer-driver to the lord of the 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, instead of coming in behind
my 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
thee ; yet I kent well enough what was going on, George,
by the movement 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
attitudes, 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 recom-
mend thy presence to get up a Highland reel in a stormy-
evening.

I must now revert to you few, O happy mortals, " 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 indis-
pensable as it is, will not set you up entirely. You must

K 4

136 CRAFTY MOVEMENTS.

have extreme caution in certain si^tuations, and at the same
time, prompt decision and execution: boldness also, amount-
ing to rashness in others; always, indeed, a happy
mixture of the two in the same movement ; — 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 motion.
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 channel of a burn, just keeping
sight of the points of their horns; stooping or rising,
moderating or increasing his pace according to circum-
stances, 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 ; 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

CURRENTS OF AIR. 137

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 disposition of
the ground ; there are corries so situated that the swells of
wind come occasionally from various quarters, 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 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 connection between the two glens before you
cross the one in question.

It is impossible to describe the various nice points and
shifting of the air that may occur in the course of the day ;
they can only be understood by long practice and observ-
ation ; and observe, my good friend, that the most extreme
caution is indispensable as to this point; for without

138 CHANGE OF SYSTEM POSSIBLE.

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 beseech 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 command 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
Athol, 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 unfavourable — 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.

When there is a long line of deer on foot, in running
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 fatigued, it would not be prudent to do so at
any rate, as in that case the fattest 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

PASSING DIFFICULT GROUND. 139

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 greensward, 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. Sometimes 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
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

140 RANGE OF THE RIFLE.

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 dis-
tance 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 shot,
he must keep his rifle more in advance. The exact degree
(as he well knows) will depend upon the pace and remote-
ness 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 eleva-
tion in your sights when deer are running ; the best way.

SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF DEER. 141

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, consequently 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 concealment that the rugged nature of the ground
aiFords 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 the line of
the barrel, but crosses it, and has a downward tendency,
whilst the barrel perseveres in a more horizontal direction :
and this is the doctrine of elevated sights.

You will 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

142 LONG PKACTICE NECESSARY.

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 his 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 knowledge of
the ground and habits of the animal. As an instance of
this, one of the best shots in a rifle regiment was appointed
some 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 in-
struction in the craft, he was only able to kill one hart
during two years of apprenticeship, and at length resigned
his situation in despair. Novices, therefore, have ne-
cessarily 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

A tyro's distress. 143

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 apprehension.
Meanwhile the deer-stalker goes on at a persevering killing
pace, saying, " This way, this way, sir ; " and never look-
ing 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 breath-
less sportsman to shoot, always running forward himself,
and placing his proper body (to say nothing of his flowing
kilt) precisely in a mathematical 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 I In getting
a quiet shot, things may possibly be managed better, 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 pow^erful to make a good drag of him, you
may admonish him in a friendly way, by a mesmeric in-
sinuation 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 any thing but the most cordial kind-
ness, — his zeal and fidelity in favour of those whom he

144 OVERWHELMING KINDNESS.

has the charge of is his great object ; he means to take
care of you as if you were his only son, — the remaining
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, perhaps, 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 perfectly convinced that you are enjoying the highest
degree of human felicity, unbroken in wind, and unde-
cayed in strength.

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

JOHN SELWYN. 145

trial of wind and endurance, your well-built sinewy native
will generally be found to be the best man.

In times of yore, however, we Sassenachs have produced
huntsmen able and skilful in killinoj the stagj. Not to
mention the feats of Kobin Hood and Little John, or the
other unlicensed deer-slayers "of merrie Sherwood," we
are told that, "In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, John
Selsvyn, under keeper at the park at Oatlands, in Surrey,
was extremely famous for his strength, agility, and skill in
horsemanship ; specimens of which he exhibited before the
Queen at a grand stag hunt at that park ; where, at-
tending, 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 effort of the affrighted 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 won-
derful to be chronicled on his monument, which is still to
be seen in the chancel of the church of Walton upon
Thames, in the county of Surrey. He is there repre-
sented 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 jockeyship, by Merlin
Sylvester, the Wild, as mentioned by Geoffry of Mon-
mouth.

* Antiquarian Repertory.
L

146 MERLIN SYLVESTER, THE WILD.

*^ Merlin had fled to the forest in a state of distraction ;
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. Accordingly, he
collected all the stags and lesser game in the neighbour-
hood, and having seated himself upon a hart, drove the
herd before him to the capital of Cumberland, where
Guendolen resided ; but her lover's curiosity leading him
to inspect too nearly this extraordinary cavalcade. Merlin's
rage was awakened, and he slew him with the stroke of an
antler 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 gentlemen 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 occasion to some who did not know mee, to
speak as if I had falne for fear ; which being told mee, I

MOCK HEROISM. 147

left the stagg and followed that gentleman, who first spake
it ; but I found him of that cold temper, that it seems his
words made an escape from him, as by his denial and re-
pentance it appeared.

" But this made niee more violent in pursuit of the stagg,
to recover my reputation ; and I happened to be the only
horseman in, when the dogs sett him up at bay, and ap-
proaching 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 sword I cut his ham-strings,
and then got upon its 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 you 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
tolcdo, as Master Matthew has it, into the point of junc-
tion between the head and neck, precisely in the same
manner in which the Laps kill their domesticated 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 historian.
♦ Quoted in the notes to the " Lady of the Lake."
L 2

148 GLENGARRY.

We blame not his caution. We are circumspect ourselves.
But we object to his bragging, — most decidedly object to
it. The whole affair was a paltry one. Thy histories, great
shade, I never read : — they may live like the great pyra-
mids, or go 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 Glendulachan.
Setting at nought the red glance of his eye, and un-
appalled by his tremendous means of defence, in rushed the
gallant chief full at his front, and buried the sharp skene-
dhu in his chest.

149

CHAP. V.

" He would have clapt in the clowt at twelve score and carried you
a fore-hand shaft a fourteen and fourteen and a half, that it would
have done a man's heart good to see." — Henry IV.

It is of course a paramount consideration that the deer-
stalker should be provided with very accurate rifles.
Every sportsman has his favourite maker, and there are
many excellent ones ; but without making any invidious
comparison, I shall confine myself to mentioning some
well-authenticated rifle shooting, by Mr. Lancaster, with
one of his own guns : and I cannot do this better than
by copying the account of it from the Times newspaper,
which I have ascertiiined to be in every respect most
correct: —

EXPERIMENTS AT WOOLWICH.

*' Lieutenant-Colonel Dundas, C.B. ; Lieutenant-Colonel
Wylde, C. B. ; Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers, Assistant
Director General of Artillery ; Captain Palliscr, Captain
Wingfield, Captain Cockburn, Captain Bonn, Captain
Dcrinzy, Captain Gilbert, and a number of officers of the
Royal Artillery, Colonel Hawker, the celebrated author
in connexion with sporting pieces; Lord Glenlyon, *

♦ NowDukeof Atholl.
I. 3

150 EXPERIMENTS WITH RIFLE-BALLS.

Equerry to his Royal Highness Prince Albert, and
numerous scientific gentlemen, assembled in the Marshes
at Woolwich yesterday to witness experiments with a
rifle-ball one ounce and three quarters in weight formed
in the shape of a sugar-loaf, which was found to carry
1,200 yards with decided effect, as at that distance it
perforated a target of wood two inches thick, and some of
the balls were dug out of the ground from a depth of
several inches, after having passed through the target.
Mr. Lancaster, and his son, from previous experiments, had
ascertained that the formation of a ball of the same shape
as a sugar-loaf gave it a great advantage over balls of a
spherical form, as it requires less windage than a circular
ball, which loses a great part of its force by revolving on
its own axis during its progressive motion. This was
clearly illustrated during the experiments carried on
yesterday by Mr. Lancaster, jun., who at 1,200 yards
distance, not only demonstrated that he conld carry his
balls from a rifle more than four calibres less in bore than
the common musket, but also that the velocity was so
great that the sugar-loaf shaped ball perforated a two-inch
board and sank into the earth of the mound without in the
least degree altering its shape, merely showing a very
small fluted abrasion on its tapering part, made by the
different degrees of hardness in the grain of the wood.
The day was very unfavourable for experiments with balls
at long ranges, owing to the strong breeze which prevailed,
but the result exceeded the most sanguine expectations of
those present, and surprised many, who had before con-
sidered what was accomplished to be impracticable. Fifty-
seven rounds were fired during the experiments, several of

MR. LANCASTER. 151

them too low in the first instance, as the parties at the
range signalled where they entered the mound after rico-
cheting, instead of their first range. Mr. Lancaster, jun.,
found this out, and had the target removed to a more
eligible position, when, out of eighteen rounds fired, ten
entered the target. As a proof of the excellent aim at the
long range used, it may be mentioned that he hit the
target three times in succession, and on no occasion out of
the fifty- seven rounds were any of the balls above twelve
or fifteen feet east or west of the target, but by far the
greater majority within from one foot to one yard of the
object against which they were directed. The experiments
with a rifle-ball of the form alluded to have been so satis-
factory, that Mr. Lancaster contemplates making experi-
ments with others, made to be fired from six-pounder
guns ; and if the same power and range is attained with
them, the principle will be found an immense saving and
of great advantage to the service." — From the Times of
26th June, 1846.

This is a very faithful account of very wonderful shoot-
ing at 1,200 yards, a distance which, I confess, I had no
conception of. Let us now see what Mr. Lancaster per-
formed at 300 yards ; in a letter from him now before me,
he says, " I shot a match last year (1845) for Mr. Graham,
at 300 yards, firing from the shoulder without a rest, he
backing me to hit a bull's eye eight inches diameter six
times out of nine. I hit it six times following, and aver-
aged three bull's eyes in five shots, during the last forty-
five rounds. In fact, I have done more at oOO yards with

L 4

152 SUGAR-LOAF BALL.

the cone, than I ever did, or saw done, at 200 yards with
a spherical ball."

" A rough sketch of form of ball. From A to B the ball
^-\ is cylindrical ; the base of ball a segment

/ \ of circle, with slight projections, c and D,

/ \ to fit 2-grooved rifles ; although it may be

applicable to either 2-grooved or many-
grooved rifles.

" Our method of rifling," continues Mr.
Lancaster, " is to diminish the rotatory
motion of the hall in the following manner : the old method
adopted the standard of one revolution of ball in every
thirty inches of its progress ; we find that one revolution in
(11 feet 1 incli) eleven feet is sufficient to ensure the
highest accuracy with the advantages of diminished recoil
and friction, consequently greater range, added to which
our form of ball, nearly a pure cycloid, has done marvels
for the science of rifle-shooting."

The one revolution of the ball in eleven feet is ascer-
tained in the following manner ; — Mr. Lancaster's rifle
barrel is two feet ten inches long (which reminds me of
Cooper's Indian, long carabine) ; deduct one inch for the
patent breech, which leaves two feet nine inches length of
barrel for the direction of the ball. In that length there
is one fourth of a complete revolution ; that is, there is a
spiral of one fourth turn in the length of the barrel. Mul-
tiply the length by four, it follows that the ball effects one
complete revolution in eleven feet. The barrel is sixteen
bore. The round ball weighs one ounce ; the conical one,
one ounce and three-fourths. Its superior weight, as well
as form, are the elements of its success, as you make no

schonbein's gun-cotton. 153

allowance for wind, which is a paramount advantage. I
shall only add, that Mr. Lancaster's shooting appears to
me to be perfectly miraculous, and certainly better than
any I have heard authentically verified before.

There is now almost a daily paragraph in every news-
paper about a new explosive material, called Gun- Cotton,
made, I believe, only by dipping cotton in a mixture of
nitric and sulphuric acids, with some simple ulterior
process. — The following account, taken from the Athe-
n?eum of October 17th, 1846, seems to be the best: —

" We had the oj)portunity of witnessing, a few days ago,
a scries of highly interesting experiments made with the
above cotton, — principally in order to test its relative force
and efficiency as compared with gunpowder. These were
carried on in the grounds of Mr. Barron, at Stanmore,
under the immediate superintendence of Professor Schon-
bein himself. In our present ignorance of the constituents
of the gun-cotton, it would be rash to speculate on its
ultimate use in a commercial point of view, — since that
must depend on its cost as compared with that of gun-
powder : but there is no doubt of its being an extraordinary
motive agent, — possessing fiir greater force than an equal
weight of gunpowder. Previously to trying its powers
with fire-arms, the Professor made several experiments to
show its explosive properties and perfect combustion. He
placed some gun-cotton upon a heap of the strongest and
most easily ignited sporting gunpowder. The cotton was
then fired by heated platinum wire ; and, although there
were innumerable points of contact between the cotton and

154 EXPERIMENTS WITH GUN-COTTON.

the powder, the former exploded so instantaneously as to
leave the gunpowder unexploded. The gun-cotton explodes
at about 400° of Fahrenheit; with a vividness of flame
which is perfectly dazzling — leaving scarcely any residue
behind. It has been stated that no smoke is emitted : —
this is erroneous. A slight smoke, or rather vapour, is
thrown off; but it disappears so soon as to occasion no
inconvenience. After repeated explosions of the cotton,
the room in which the experiments were conducted was
perfectly clear.

" It is difficult to over-estimate the advantages attendant
upon the use of the gun-cotton in mines ; since the smoke
proceeding from the coarse gunpowder used for blasting
purposes occasions so much annoyance and injury to the
health of the miners. The experiments in blasting tried in
the Cornwall mines a short time ago, were most satisfactory
and conclusive in favour of the gun-cotton. Another of
its strange qualities consists in its not being deteriorated
by damp or wet. Some gun-cotton which had been
steeped in water for sixty hours, and dried by exposure to
the air, exploded with the same facility, and as instan-
taneously, as cotton which had not been wetted. Professor
Schonbein stated that immersion in water for two months
has not impaired its explosive qualities in the slightest
degree.

" The experiments with fowling-pieces and rifles were
highly interesting and satisfactory. A gun charged with
thirty grains of prepared cotton propelled an equal charge
of shot with greater force and precision, at a distance of
forty yards, than was done by the same gun loaded with a
hundred and twenty grains of gunpowder. A rifle charged

EXPERIMENTS WITH GUN-COTTON. 155

with fifty-four and a half grains of gunpowder sent a ball
through seven boards half an inch in thickness, at a distance
of forty yards : the same rifle, charged with forty grains
of gun-cotton propelled the ball into the eighth board.
Another rifle, which had been used for elephant shooting,
and consequently carried a much larger ball, charged with
forty grains of gun-cotton, propelled the ball through eight
boards, at a distance of ninety yards. In no case was the
discharge accompanied by a greater recoil than usual ; and
the reports were not louder than those accompanying the
discharge of guns and rifles loaded with gunpowder. We
understand that a hundred weight of the gun-cotton is on
its way from Basle to Woolwich ; having been ordered by
Government with the view of testing its applicability to
heavy ordnance. Professor Schonbein states that the
manufacture of the gun-cotton is unattended by risk ; and
that it can be effected in the small space of eight hours, and
at a less cost than gunpowder. If these statements shall
turn out to be correct, the adoption of the gun-cotton will
follow as a matter of course." — Athenceum, October 17th.

The efficacy and use of this ingenious discovery will be
tested, I suppose, before these pages are presented to the
Public ; I shall only say that " as one respectful of nature's
fair lineaments," I should politely decline loading either
shot gun, rifle, or cannon with a detonating material — and
such the cotton in question is ascertained to be; of the
two, I should prefer that my enemies should load, with
the premature intention of firing at me.

156

CHAP. VI.

" Stay, huntsman, stay ; a lurid gloom
liangs threatening o'er your head ;
The rain comes lashing o'er the moor,
The thunderbolt is sped.

" And mirk and mirker grows the hill,
And fiercer sweeps the blast ;
The heavens declare His wondrous power
Who made the mountains fast. "

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 Yale of
Tay, and went twisting ^nd 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 re-
signation. 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 morning 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 abom-
inably disagreeable. As he strode up Ben Derig nothing
went right. — " Davy, you are always striking the dogs
with the spare ramrod. How the deuce can you be so

A SCOTCH MIST. 157

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-pooof rifle-cases at home."

" No, I have them all with me."

'*Well, I did you wrong to suppose so, for I 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
tell with what an intent gaze the rifleman's eyes were
fixed upon the space below hun. At times the heather
there grew evidently clearer ; then it was distinctly seen.

158 VISIONS OF AULD LANG SYNE.

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 certainly can-
not 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 ungues, 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 birthplace 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 : • —

Was it thy form, Fingal, that on the cloud
Strode on as the autumnal gust blew loud,
Deep'ning amid these rocks and glens forlorn ?
Was it the echo of thy distant horn ?

RETROSPECT. 159

Or heard 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 thy horn ;

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

'Twas not, oh Ossian ! thy sad minstrelsy.

Heard o'er the mountains as the dead pass'd by ;

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

Where strode the awful chiefs 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 !

Break off — break off. Gone, 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 forward
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.

* A river in the pass.

t Massacre by the soldiers of William III.

1

160 THE MIST CLEARS GLORIOUSLY.

The everlasting mist 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
with 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 de-
solate shores of the ultima Thule!

" But it will clear ! I see it is clearing. Mark how the
mist is gathering together, and forming in more compact
masses. Now it begins to rise ; 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 !

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

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

" Will I ? you shall see. Out with your bottle, my
good fellow : but I do you wrong, for I see it has been
constantly in your hands. I only hope that it has a better
smack with it than the mountain dew we have been in-
haling 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 salu-
brious ; 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 discreetly dealt with, just as you deal
with it, gentlemen."

" It is all this, sure eneuch ; and I have often thought,

QUALITIES OF WHISKEY. 161

yer honour, that the gauger 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 Christian.
As for government whiskey, it is poor unlialesome stuff,
and I wish the gangers 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
say est 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 Dol-
lond's best it is, but you see there's a blear on it. And
now let us start, for the glens are lit up, the 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 drinking out of every burn.
Carry the rifles with their muzzles to the rear, and then
you 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
nac 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 trigger, and
somehow or anither, she banged aff; so I cou'd na help it."

" Nothing can be more evident, Sandy ; but only just

M

162 THREATENING WEATHER.

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 supposed 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 didn't hear
aething anent it ; but as the neb of the rifle is 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 traversed
without any appearance of deer, in spite of the 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 gliiF 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 ! They wunna bide there lang."

The clouds were now advancing in dark volumes, with
their hard masses rent, as it were, from top to bottom : the
thunder travelled sullenly amongst the distant chain of
mountains ; darker and darker still grew the huge form of
Ben-y-gloe ; slowly, determined, but still onward came the

STORM IN THE MOUNTAINS. 163

solemn mass ; for a while it seemed to rest behind the
heights of Cairn-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 lashing
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 Sche-
halien.

" I ken this Beg is no fit place for Christian men in the
fire-flaught. The day is mischancy, and sure as deith
something will happen, for I heard the lament sung yester-
day 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 Eraser was on his left, — Maclaren
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

M 2

164 SPORTSMEN STRUCK BY A THUNDERBOLT.

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 w^as 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. Then
came down the rear storm in one continuous sheet of
water, and soon the awful voice died away in distant mur-
murs. The weather gleam began faintly 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 fair
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 burns. Those burns 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

WILLIE KOBERTSON's LAMENT. 165

the nicht : and do you no ken that yon point from which
the storm came, is Cairn-na-gour, and that it was frae
that vera tapmost 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 Lochaber,
Inverness, and 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 aff on his way hame ;
he followed and o'ertook him, and found him soiTOwful,
and the tears falling from his e'en. He 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

M 3

166 macintyre's death.

a custom, I believe, which all the old foresters have ob-
served. I was near hearing poor gallant Macintyre sing
his : you may remember when he was lying ill at Forest
Lodge, and I had my quarters there, how, in the midst of
his 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 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 Blair, 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 sorrowfully, and said, ' An' if that's like Mac-
intyre, 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 Fraser {touching his cap), " That would be shame-
fu' waste, yer honour; Macintyre himsel aye poured it
intill his weem, and I'm thinking his ghaist would like to

DEER SEEN ON THE MOVE. 167

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 Eannoch." ( Then laying his arm upon Tor-
toise), " Hist, hist, sir ; some fashous body has disturbit
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 far awa
to rin intill them at ony gait ; but your Honor gangs wi'
lang strides doon the brae, and ye 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 altogether
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 break honest hill-men's legs, and yours are
all arrcd with the fire-flaught, you know, Peter. But we
will not heed a sprained ancle 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 pro-
bably 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 unfavourable 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

M 4

168 WEATHER AGAIN UNPROPITIOUS.

slowly shifting their ground to get under the hill to the
leeward, for they did not look back to the point from
which they came, or show any jealousy ; neither were
they in any hurry, but walked slowly, stopping occasion-
ally to feed. During this tedious time the rain fell heavily,
and came trickling through the bonnets of the recumbents.
Could they have been posted in concealment one short
half-mile nearer, all this they would have borne patiently,
as they had borne 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 homeward,
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 coronach 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.

MAKING A DASH. 169

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 around 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 over our storm-beaten cheeks ; we vamped up
our wet courage, and were determined to await the event.

Long, very long, did the party remain under the wrath
of Jupiter Pluvius; 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 more 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 till 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 sprung upon or twisted their ankles
between as it happened ; for such a swinging pace down
hill precluded their arresting their steps for a moment.

170 UNEXPECTED SUCCESS.

Soon they come to the great declivity, and look anxiously
to the opposite steeps of the Banavie. The deer were not
going up : they had them below them ; but the descent
was long, and they might still be baulked. 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 upon
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 off with
the rest as well as ever.

Nothing could surpass the joy of the party at this
almost 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.

172

CHAP. VII.

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 ! "

Minstrelsy of the Border.

The celebrated forest of Atholl comprehends a vast tract
of moor and mountain, extending, by hill-man's compu-
tation, from the north-east point, joining Aberdeenshire, 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, Mr. John Crerar
thinks cannot be less than eighteen miles ; but it diminishes
in breadth at the extremities. It measures 135,451 im-
perial acres.

The following table will show how it is divided and
appropriated : —

8 S

DESCRIPTION OF ATHOLL FOREST.
Contents of the Atholl Deer Forest, Sfc,

173

Imperial

Measure.

Names.

Forest Ground.

Grouse Ground,

Acres.

Acres.

1. Glenfernate -

-

10,720-15387

2. Fealar and Tarff -

10,089-46760

11,350-65105

3. Glentilt, Benygloe,

and Loch Valligan

26,484-85245

5,044-73380

4. Riechlachrie and

Benychatt -

10,089-46760

5. Glenbruar -

5,044-73380

7,567-10070

6. Glen-Crombie and

Kyrachan -

-

7,567-10070

7. Aldvoulin and Cluns

-

8,828-28415

8. Dalnacardoch and

Wood Sheal

-

6,936-50897

9. Dalnaspidal and

Mealnaletroch -

• —

18,287-16000

10. Bohespick and

Strathtummel

Total -

-

7,440-98235

51,708-52145

'83,742-58959

T^* 1 r Forest Ground - 51,708-5211 1^.^ AK^ ha*
^^^^^ 1 Grouse Ground - 83^42-589 j ^3^'4^^^^^-

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 cultivated grounds
and woods of Blair. Deer, however, are occasionally to
be found beyond these limits — particularly 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.

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

174 PROBABLE NUMBER OF DEER.

All this vast tract is reserved exclusively for deer, with
a slight exception as to Glen Tilt, where sheep are occa-
sionally 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 a
hundred ; 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 numerous than the harts, as none but yeld hinds are
killed 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 — ay, and
old ones too, sometimes.

SIZE OF ATHOLL DEER. 175

It is thought that the harts in AthoU Forest are inferior
n point of size to those in other districts ; and from the
fv eight of stags killed elsewhere, an account of which has
3een sent to me, I am forced to come to the same
jonclusion. As the pastures are excellent almost every-
tvhere, and particularly rich on the north brae of Ben-y-
tIoc, this inferiority in point of size cannot be attributed
bo the incapacity of the ground to produce larger animals,
Et 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 par-
ticipated 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 off,
to the number of 100 or 130, 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 Atholl,
where they were continually driven, and kept in a state of
perpetual alarm. It is evident that no animal could
arrive at its proper dimensions under such harassing cir-
cumstances.

But many people were deceived as to the actual size of
the Atholl harts, from the custom of reckoning at Blair by
Dutch weight, whilst others used the imperial. Now 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

176 cumyn's cairn.

other respects the most favourable that can be Imagined
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 Een-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 circumference,
and it contains twenty-four corries ; these corries, 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 EarPof Badenoch, and M'Intosh 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 his envy
and cupidity, and he resolved to strip his neighbour of his
opulence. He surrounded M'Intosh's castle of Tomafour,
situated about a mile from his own castle of Blair Atholl,
and in the silence of midnight massacred the whole family.
Near M'Intosh's seat lived an old man who held a piece of

HIGHLAND VENGEANCE. 177

and of him, for which he only paid the rent of a bonnet
early ; and he always got his master's bonnet back again.
Dhis man was the first who entered the castle after the
aurder, and casting liis eyes round on the scene of death,
3rtunately discovered an infant sleeping in its cradle.
le carried away the child to its nearest relative, Campbell
f Achnabreck, in Argyleshire, and there the boy was
urturcd, unconscious of the melancholy story of his
arents. It was judged prudent to conceal his birth for
ome time, as the Cumyns were a powerful race, whom it
las perilous to offend. The boy grew, and became an
xcellent bowman ; his aged conductor used to go occa-
lonally to see him, and perceiving his dexterity in hitting
lie mark, said one day, ' The grey breast of the man who
illed your father is broader than that target.' This led
3 a recital of the whole transaction. Even the young
jaird burned for revenge ; and he succeeded in obtaining

select band of clansmen to share in his feelings. They
^ent to Cumyn's castle, and assailed him with a shower of
rrows. His followers were scattered, and the guilty
hief fled to Loch Rannoch, Glen Firnat, and thence to
rlen Tilt, hotly pursued by his injured adversary. At
mgth, as he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his
)rehead, he was struck with an arrow, and fell by the side
f a small lake at the foot of Ben-y-gloe, where a cairn
as raised to perpetuate his crime and its punishment.

The above story is yet current in the country, and the
3mains of M'Intosh's castle may still be seen. There is
rock in the Tilt called Mcintosh's Chair, where he held
is court, his people standing round him ; happily he could
nly do so when the water was very low, as he hung a man

N ^

178 FATAL ACCIDENT.

every time. It is still a bye-word in the country that " It
is not every day Mcintosh can hold his court."

A fatal accident happened at Craigantsuidh, near Poll
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 re-
plied 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 turf, and other missiles,
till he was provoked to go out and see from what direction
they were thrown. On his going out they ceased ; but
the moment he re-entered, they began again with such in-
creased violence that he would have been stoned to death
had he not left the house.

The country people attributed this attack to the omis-
sion of leaving the door of the hut open to give a free
passage to the departing spirit. People will form their

PRINCIPAL GLENS OP ATHOLL FOREST. 179

iwii conclusions on this and similar stories. I mention
hem as evidence of the superstitious feeling that still per-
vades some secluded spots in the north.

In the year 1804, one Duncan E-obinson had a narrow
scape from the fall of an avalanche on Ben-y-gloe, but
more fortunate than Macgregor) he saw the impending
nass of snow tottering above him, and threw himself under

rock that was providentially by his side ; the vast volume
>assed over him, and his life was thus spared ; but his dog
►crished.

The principal glens in that part of the forest, which is
et apart for deer, are the celebrated Glen Tilt, Glen
>oinie *, Glen Mark, Glen Dirie, and Glen Bruar, — all
caring the names of the rivers that run through them ;
nd all which rivers (save the Tilt) run from north to
outh nearly in a parallel direction.

The Dirie falls into the Mark ; the Mark rushes into
be Tilt ; and the waters of the Bruar lose themselves in
liose of the Garry. The Garry itself may also be con-
idercd as within the precincts of the forest. Towards the
orth is the Tarff, which runs nearly from west to east
rith a bearing towards the south ; and it falls into the
?ilt at the head of the glen. The Croinie also falls into
ae same river. There is likewise a lesser stream, called

Auld Banavie," on the western side of the forest, which
[ins beneath Craig Urrard ; the latter part of its course
I full of wild and picturesque character ; it is swallowed
p in the waters of the Garry.

Salmon come up the Tilt in full waters, and are taken
ith the fly ; and all the other rivers are so full of small

* This is usually pronounced Glen Crinie.
N 2

180 SCENERY OF GLEN TILT.

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 through dreary mosses and
come winding down the glens sometimes in comparative
tranquillity, and at others bursting and rooting up every
thing about them ; the mighty force with which they
descend may be read in the vast rocks and fragments of
wreck which they heap up as monuments of their power.

Supplied by such numerous forces, the Tilt becomes
powerful in its infancy. Born 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-gloe, its bed begins to ex-
pand, and the waters pass down in a freer course ; still
however they come racing and flashing along with over-
whelming violence.

A little lower its wrath is tempered with all the orna-
ment that art and nature can bestow. First of all a few
straggling trees deck its margin; then groups of birch
stand airy and light, displaying their glossy stems upon
the knolls, or shelving down the sides of the great moun-
tain, 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.

SCENERY OF GLEN TILT. 181

The pass itself is barred in by the grim mountains that
leave their dun backs about it and send down many a
orrent from their riven ribs. A good road winds along
he braes, catching and losing the waters as it pierces the
^loom of the woods, or breaks forth into light and expanse.
Picturesque bridges are thrown across the river, and every
hing has been done that consummate judgment could
ifFect to temper the wild scene with beauty and conve-
lience ; to temper, but not to destroy it ; that indeed, if
advisable, were almost beyond the power of man. Stern
.nd indomitable as the wrath of Achilles, the Tilt ever
lolds its mood, and comes raging on, wheeling in eddies,
ushing in cataracts, or spreading into pools, bearing along
71th. it at times huge fragments of rock that form uncouth
slands in its channel, upon which the stricken deer stands
lominant at bay; still ceaseless it races onward fretting
,nd foaming, till at length its mad career is arrested in the
2SS turbulent waters of the Garry.

After the storm this river speaks in a voice of thunder,
nd queUs every noise around it ; but when the winds are
ushed, and the weather gleam streaks the sky from afar,
nd the rain drops glitter in the sunshine, some sylvan
ounds may occasionally be heard — the solitary croak of
he raven's voice as he sits boding on the crags, the distant
ellow of the hart, or the scream of the eagle falling
lintly on the ear from the skies above.

In a grey day the mountains around are stern and dark,
nd there is gloom all up the glen ; so that when the eye
ravels to the small opening at the distant gorge, you look
ut at the bright liffht of heaven as from the mouth of a
avern.

N 3

182 MARBLE QUARRIES.

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 tremble 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
opened 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 blocks
take a good polish ; and they surpass in beauty all analo-
gous subjects of British origin. The transportation of
such a heavy material, however, is not easy, as the Tay
is not navigable above Perth.

There is also a beautiful yellow marble to be obtained,
which is mottled with white ; as likewise a coarse sort of
white marble polluted with grey streaks.

In the forest there are four mineral springs : I am not
aware that they have been analysed, but many an in-
cautious hill -man can attest their eflScacy. One of them
issues at the side of Loch Mark, one at Dualdan, north
from Felaar House, and two at the top of the burn, at
Inverslanie. The two last are named Duke James's
Wells.

ROE DEER. 183

There are a great many roe deer in the forest, which
feed chiefly in the woods, or on the moor immediately
adjoining them, but are never seen far out on the hills.
They do not unite in herds, but live in separate families.
In favourable seasons, about one roe out of five or six wiU
produce two fawns.* As a singular proof of their attach-
ment to their young, I here transcribe an occurrence that
has been obligingly sent me by my eminent friend, Sir
David Brewster.

'•' Near Belleville, in Inverness-shire, there is a finely
wooded range of rocks, containing Borlam'sf Cave; the
haunt of the last Highland cateran, who was proprietor of
Belleville. In cutting a path to this cave, one of the
party of Highland labourers, whom I took with me for
that purpose, asked me if I had seen the spaning (weaning)
tree of the roe deer, and pointed out one close by us,
which, but for this notification, would have fallen under
the axe. This tree was a small birch that stood nearly in
the middle of a regular oval ring, formed 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 engaged in this
sport, and I have myself seen and shown to others the
footmarks of the old and young deer in different parts of

* Various writers make the proportion of twins much greater, but
this is T^Ir. John Crerar's calculation.

t Tradition says, that, whilst this ruthless villain was in the act of
burying a man whom he had robbed and murdered, he was discovered
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.

N 4

184 LAKES.

the ring round the bh'ch 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 hollow, one above the other, most firmly united
in the following singular manner : — The horns of the
uppermost one were twisted in the skin behind the shoul-
ders of the one beneath, and those of the latter were
twisted in a similar manner in the shoulders 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 Mali-
gan, 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 enlarged.
It is constructed without affectation of ornament, and
consists of two tenements united by a stone screen sur-
mounted by stag's horns, and in which there is an archway
for carriages to pass.* One of these tenements serves for
the lord of the forest and his friends, and the other for
his retinue. The 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

* This part of the building, I am told, has been re-constructed in
a diflferent manner by the late tenant, the Duke of Buccleugh.

MERRY FORESTERS. 185

a space. So it is, however, that 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 Atholl, 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 : —

ON SEEING LORD CATHCART ARRIVE AT BLAIR
ONE MORNING EARLY.

O, Campbell*, man, I muckle dread

That we shall have a tramp ;
The Commander m Chieff so soon a stcar,

I fear we must flit our camp.

But if to Felaar we do march oif.

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.

* Campbell was cook in the Atholl family upwards of sixty years ;
but for several years before he died acted as hill-cook only.

t Lord Cathcart was commander of the forces in Scotland at that
time.'

186 FOREST SONG.

When at Felaar we do arrive,

How pleasing 't is to see
At night the harts and birds come home

In dozens twa or three.

John Crerar he spies out the harts,

My Lord Duke does shoot them ;
Curly * he does bring them home,

And Campbell he does cook them.

Tho' Campbell carries nothing there

But just a pan and brander ;
He can soon cook 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 man to drink his share.

Lang life to you, Campbell,

To stear about 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 he '11 no be blate.

* 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.

BEN DAIRG. 187

Such a regiment of Highland men,

The Duke and Lord Cathcart ;
I am convinced they would defy

The devil and Buonaparte.

Ben Dairg, or Derig, as 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 Blair ;
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 haimt 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.

The south side of this mountain forms a vast crescent,
the horns lying west and east.

I must not omit to mention more particularly another
mountain which lies between Glen Mark and Glen Croinic :
it is called Cuirn-Marnich : cuirn is the plural of cairn,
and marnich of maronach : — " The cairns of the Braemar
people." These cairns are sixteen in number, and were
raised by the Atholl men to commemorate a victory they
obtained over the Braemar people, whom they here over-
took and slew to the number of sixteen, as they were
returning home with plunder from their country. Tra-
dition says little about this foray, which, indeed, was but
upon 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 was by stealth and
stratagem.

This they are still proud of. Alexander Gon, from

188 LAST EXECUTION AT BLAIR.

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, "Kemember, lads, who have the Cuirn Marnich."
This effectually silenced the banterers.

Turning from such lawless proceedings 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
latter at Dalnachie ; both in Glen Tilt. Macintosh had
also a bothy at Coirrerennich on Ben-y-gloe, where he
oocasionally 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 skiandubh ; and going to
the gilly'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 mur-
der of his master. When Stewart heard that the gilly
had escaped with life, and that the murder was discovered,
he fled to Lord Beay's country in Sutherland, which had

ARREST OF A MURDERER. 189

the privilege in those days of protecting criminals from
justice.

In the mean time the Earl of Atholl 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 instruc-
tions 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-
tain day, they agreed to surround the house where the
ceremony was to take place, pretty 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
out 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 in-
volving the murderer with the sort of horrid consequence
that was attached in those days to the most daring delin-
quents. An obelisk was placed on the spot where the
execution took place, by Duke James, in 1735; and the
mound is still called " The Hangman's Mount."

190 PALACE IN THE FOREST.

The forest of Atholl 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 King's Cairn, &c.

The lord of Atholl Forest has the privilege of hunting
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.

In Piscottie there is a description of an entertainment
given to royalty by the third Earl of Atholl, which, how-
ever well known, is of so splendid and unusual a character,
and so directly to the purpose, that I cannot, I think,
omit it with propriety.

" In 1529, King James the Fifth passed to the High-
lands to hunt in Atliole, and took with him his mother
Margaret, Queen of Scotland, and an ambassador of the
pope, who was in Scotland for the time. The Earl of
Athole hearing of the King's coming made great provision
for him in all things pertaining to a prince ; that he was
well served and eased with all things necessary to his
estate, as he had been in his own palace of Edinburgh.
For I heard say this noble Earl gart make a curious
palace to the King, to his mother, and to the ambassador,
where they were so honourably eased and lodged, as they
had been in England, France, Italy, or Spain, concerning
the time, and equivalent for their hunting and pastime ;
which was builded in the midst of a fair meadow, a fair

PALACE IN THE FOREST. 191

palace of green timber, wind (1) with green birks (2) that
were green both under and above, which was fashioned in
four quarters, and in every quarter and nutre thereof a
great round, as it had been a block-house, which was
lofted and geisted the space of three house-heights (3) ;
the floors laid with green scharets (4) and spreats (5),
med warts (6) and flowers, that no man knew whereon he
zeid (7) but as he had been in a garden. Further, there
were two great rounds in ilk side of the gate, and a great
portcullies of tree falling down with the manner of a
barrace (8), with a draw-bridge, and a great stank of
water of sixteen feet deep, and thirty feet of breadth : and
also the palace within 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-royal at home. Further, this earl gart make
such provision for the king, and his mother, and the
ambassador, that they had all manner of meats, drinks,
and delicates, that were to be gotten at that time in
all Scotland, either in burgh or land; that is to say all
kind of drink, as ale, beer, wine, both white and claret.

1 " Wind," Wound, or bound.

2 " Birks," Birch trees.

3 " Three house-heights," Three stories high.

4 " Scharets," Green turfs.

5 " Spreats," Rushes.

6 " Medwarts," Meadow-sweet.

7 " Zeid," Sat.

8 " Barrace," Barrier, an outwork at the gate of a castle.

9 " Airths," Quarter of the heaven ; point of the compass.

192 HIGHLAND CHEEK.

malvasy (10), muskadel, hippocras, and aquivitai. Further
there was of meats, wheat bread, maimbread and ginger-
bread ; with fleshes, beef, mutton, lamb, veal, venison, goose,
grice (ll)j capon, coney, cran, swan, partridge, plover,
duck, drake, brisset cock (12), and pawnies (13), black
cock, muirfowl, and capercailies. And also the stanks
that were round about the palace were full of all delicate
fish, as salmonds, trouts, pearches, pikes, eels, and all other
kinds of delicate fish that could be gotten in fresh water,
and all ready for the banquet ; syne were there proper
stewards, 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 At hole every day in expenses a
thousand pounds.

" The ambassador of the pope seeing this great banquet
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.

10 " Malvasy," Malmsey wine.

11" Grice, or Gyrce," A young wild boar.

12 " Brisset Cock," Turkey.

13 "Pawnies," Peacock.

14 " Baxters," Bakers.

15 " Potingars," Cooks who prepared herbs.

BURNING OF THE PALACE. 193

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 mar-
velled to see when the king departed, and all his men
took their leave, the Highlandmen set all this fair place on
fire, that the king and the ambassador 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 has been so well lodged in ! ' Then 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. I heard say
that the king, at that time in the bounds of Atholl and
Stratherne, slew thirty score of harts and hynde, 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 fall from his horse the day previous to an infamous
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 unconnected 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

16 " Thole," To bear with, not to oppose.
O

194 KILMAVONAIG BEER.

givciij though probably his real reason was of a predatory-
nature : —

Gumming and his wife (who were from Ruthven, or
Kuairm, in Badenoch,) were passing through Atholl, and
on their arrival at Kilmavonaig, they went to a public-
house to take some refreshment. On their entrance 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 Boniface, was loud in
commendation of his own beer, told them he received the
malt from Perth, and the water from Aldnehearlain (a
small rivulet which runs through Kilmavonaig), which is
the best known for beer.

Gumming then resolved in his own mind in what
manner he might get the same ingredients from Badenoch
over the pathless hills which lie between the two countries ;
as there was no road it seemed tedious, nay, almost im-
possible, to procure a ready and continued supply. Upon
surveying the ground, he thought it might be practicable
to make a road, and he resolved upon the arduous
undertaking. He drew a line from Kilmavonaig through
the woods of Craig Urrard, crossed the Bruar by
Riechlachrie, and so on almost in a straight line till it
reached Gaig in Badenoch. He hired men, and made a
road as far as Gum-na-feur, where the work was termi-
nated in the following singular manner : —

There was a man at Ard-Ghaith at Moulin named
Mac-Gonoig, whose wife was a witch, and she resolved,
with the assistance of another witch who lived in Groc
Barrodh, a small village near her, to put a stop to Gumming's

WITCHES. 195

Road by their infernal magic; they metamorphosed
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 commanded 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
charm they dispersed the men, and put the horses and
oxen to flight, till they were driven over a great precipice,
which was thence called Cum-na-feur, or the Cart's
Precipice.

Cumming, affrighted at the catastrophe, took to flight and
galloped off", pursued by the two winged witches : he did
not, however, acquit himself so well as Tam O'Shanter,
for his body was torn from his horse by the eagles, the
flesh stripped off*, and nothing remained in the stirrup but
one of liis legs. The horse stopped for a space on the
banks of the Tarff"; and the spot where he paused is still
called Lechois (one foot).

Thus terminated, according to tradition, the extravagant
speculation with which Cumming was to supply Badenoch
with Kilmavonalg beer ; the length he proceeded with his
work may be easily discerned at the present day; no
person doubts that there was a road.

The belief in witches, fairies, and other supernatural
powers has very much decreased of late years in Scotland ;
but it is a great mistake to consider it as wholly extirpated.

o 2

196 BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT.

Those who come in contact with passing strangers will
naturally be reluctant to confess any superstition for fear
of being derided ; but such as live in the country, and
have free intercourse 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 AthoU, 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 to,
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-y-
gloe. She is represented as of a very mischievous and
malevolent disposition, driving cattle into morasses, 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 exhibiting 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 : —

WITCH OF BEN-Y-GLOE.

THE LATE M. G. LEWIS.

o 3

THE

WITCH OF BEN-Y-GLOE.

I CALL thee ! I charm thee ! 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 I charm thee ! wing hither thy way !

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.
That her snakes half-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 4

200 TITE WOFUL WIGHT.

And now again her flight she takes

O'er rocks and muirs — o'er hills and lakes :

She saw below the harvest swell.

And she groan'd 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 call'd 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.

" Woful wight, now tell me true,

" What hast thou summon'd me hither to do ?

"Woful wight, thy answer make ;

'*I must begone ere morning break."

" My son was a robber so stout and so bold —
" Lo, where he lies pale, bloody, and cold ; —
" Revenge ! revenge I ask of thee j
" Oh ! grant that Lord Atholl as cold may be.

" Atholl'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."

THE WrrCl-I OF BEN-Y-C4L0E.

VUKltl.l-^ ANO CO., IfilMtllS.

THE THREE SPELLS. 201

" Now, woful wight, my counsel take,
" And Atholl's 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 Atholl 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'll 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'll 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.

202 KING JAMES AND HIS COURT.

" For I 'Jl hide you in Lord Atholl's room,

" 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 St. Andrew's Day,
*' I'll drink his blood, and crack each bone,
'* And turn the strings of his heart to stone."

Sighing with sorrow, and burning with rage.

All this had heard Lord Atholl's page ;

Who, curious, had follow'd the woful wight

When he sought the mountain's snow-crown'd height.

Home he sped with heavy cheer,
■ " Oh how shall I save my master dear !
" Oh how shall I manage the truth to tell,
" Yet avoid myself the beldame's spell ! "

Thus mourn'd the page till broke the morn,
But he sprang from bed when he heard the horn.
The jolly horn, which, loud and clear,
Summon'd King Jamie to chase 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.

SWEET WILLIE THE PAGE. 203

And there to welcome guests so great.
Lord Atholl had built a palace of state.
And all without it was cover'd with green.
And all within with silken sheen.

And there were all fashions of exquisite fare.
And tanks full of delicate fish were there ;
And the King and his nobles had all as good
As had they been still at proud Holyrood.

Each day that King Jamie had pass'd on his grounds
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.

The Earl he rose with the morning light,
And soon he met with the woful wight.
Who profFer'd a draught of cordial power.
To cheer his heart ere he left 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 ! " he cried ;

" And before you drink, to the Virgin pray

" That her blessing may fall on your sport to-day."

204 A BAD SHOT.

The Earl then he sank on his bended knee,
" Mother of God, now hear," pray'd he ;
But scarce the words his lips could pass.
When in fragments flew the mystic glass.

Started Lord Atholl in fear and surprise ;

On the woful wight he fixed his eyes ;

But his doubts to clear he may not stay.

For the monarch was mounted, and called 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 Atholl 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 face no more.

Till the Queen-mother prayed him his wrath to assuage,

And forced him to pardon sweet Willie the page.

ENGLISH FORAY. g05

Gay was the chase — all hearts were light,
Save Willie's, who dreaded the coming 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 ! to horse and away !
" For the English are coming in martial array ;
" Your lands they waste, your people they slay,
" Then to horse, King Jamie, to horse and away ! "

Upstarted King Jamie, and summon'd his Court —
" Thou hast shown me. Earl, right princely sport ;
"But what thou hast heard the herald tell,
" Commands me this moment to bid thee farewell.

" But thou. Lord Atholl, till morn 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."

206 BURNING OF THE PALACE.

King Jamie is gone through mist and gloom,
And the Earl now seeks that fatal room.
Where the Witch with blood to glut his spite.
Already had hid the woful wight.

But when on the lock was the Earl's hand laid,
" Alas ! that the King," sweet Willie thus said,
" Exposed to the dangers of darkness should go !
" But if / were Lord Atholl, 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 light,

" Should guide him safe through the dangers of night."

Lord Atholl his head was hot with wine.
He heard and adopted sweet Willie's design ;
He bade his \'assals the Palace forsake.
And each in his hand a firebrand take.

And he burnt the palace so stately and fair.

With hangings so rich and pictures so rare ;

And with vessels of silver, and vessels of gold.

And swift through the chambers the bright flames roll'd.

But hark ! 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 warn'd from the flames to fly.

SWEET Willie's reward. 207

And lo ! while his life the miscreant ends.
On a column of smoke what fiend ascends ?
'Tis the Witch, who in curses vents her ire.
As scorch'd she flies from the raging fire.

All view'd 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 Grave ;
And he told how his Lord had paid him with blows
For snatching his life from deadly foes.

Lord Atholl, 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, —
'Twas his lovely daughter Gallantine.

Now if lords and if ladies are curious to know
What became of the witch when she left Ben-y-gloc,
'Tis right to inform them, for fear of mistakes.
That home she went, and finish'd her snakes.

209

CHAP. VIII.

" Ye shall be set at such a tryst,
That hart and hind shall come to your fyst."

S<piycr oflowe Degre.

The lord of the forest had 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 tliis 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 Sroin-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 antici-
pation ; 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

p

210 DEER DRIVING.

with the drivers ? This great mystery was seldom 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 sportsman 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 acquainted with the
passes, were apt to finesse a little, and ingratiate them-
selves into the most favourable positions. These gentle-
men might be seen, at the dawn of day, walking about
the castle, and noting the precise direction of the clouds.

Modern hunting-parties in Glen Tilt, although not on
so 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-gloe.

There were several stations in the glen, 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 favour-
able, and at such a time it was pretty easy to calculate 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-

ANTICIPATED SPORT. 211

mated, and the firing became very general; after the
shots, dogs were turned loose, for the chance of bringing
some of the fat 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 each wing, but it was their duty to consult the general
sport, and not to get forward and fire, unless deer broke
fairly out, lest they should turn the whole herd.

A scene so full of novel interest caused many a fluttering
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 ; lastly, and, oh,
worst of all ! an attempt to pull the trigger at a monstrous
hart, without being able to eftcct the explosion of the rifle.

At length the shades of night pass away, and the
morning breaks forth fair and beautiful.

P 2

212

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 and 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 Tilt,
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.

THE DEER DISCOVERED. 213

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 still.

" Yon moss must be pass'd ere we gain our shot, —
The hillock above is the fatal spot."
So near has he reckon'd — that, as we crawl by,
Lo ! the points of their horns on the line of the sky.

We have traversal 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 alarm'd, and o'er the height
The 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 topp'd the crag.

p 3

214 THE BAY.

" Uncouple the lurchers ! " — right onward they fly.
With outstretching limb, and with fire-flashing eye :
On the track of his blood thjey are winging their way ;
They gain on his traces, — he stands at bay !

Magnificent creature ! 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 !
In the sports of the morning come, goddess, and share,
And Bacchus shall welcome thee homeward to Blair.

START FROM BRUAR LODGE. 215

The first who started for the sport were Tortoise and
his men, of whom Jamieson was the chief — a fine, straight,
sinewy, well-favoured 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 far on towards the rutting season; and,
as the party 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 gratifi-
cation; 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 hiU ; it is the
menace of war — nearer and louder it falls upon the ear ;
and, lo ! the angry rival appears on the sky-line. He
halts upon a projecting crag, swelling, jutting out his
neck, and drawing himself up to his full proportions

p 4.

216 COMBAT or STAGS.

Having now screwed up his courage to the sticking-place,
he turns aside, and winds down the moss, bellowing and
tossing abroad the heather with his antlers, 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 fairly locked together. After
some violent struggles they extricate themselves; and,
being well matched, and quite exhausted, 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 back-
wards to the edge of a precipice, and feeling himself
worsted, turns quickly aside, and fairly takes 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 away, stiU 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 returned
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.*

After this amusing spectacle was over, these deer, being

* This law of " detur fortiori " is an admirable provision of nature
for keeping the stock from degenerating.

CAUTIOUS EXPLORING. 217

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 hiU 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
ujwn 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 expression of
eager excitement, — " There are several good harts," he
said, " in the herd on the eastern face 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 Brae-
mar hart, who has foiled us twice, has a very sleek body
with high horns, not widely spread, and only eight points.
You should know him well — are you sure it is him ? "

218 THE GREAT BRAEMAR HART.

" 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 mo-
ment, working well together. So distant were they, that
they could scarcely be discerned through the telescope.
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 full pro-
portion. As the hill-men advanced slowly and cautiously,
the deer closed, and went forward leisurely; 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 went at an easy pace up the
steep towards Glen Croinie ; arrived 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 success
of this operation: all Tortoise's anxiety leaned 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

STALKING THE GREAT DEER. 219

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 rifle-
man 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 pitching up the hill, casting his
broad shadow on the greensward, 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! he nears the rifle-
man : — on for your life, and make your push ! With bent
body, but with rapid steps. Tortoise ducked down, slipped
suddenly back behind the eminence, and then went for-
ward at the top of his speed. The horns, which he never
lost sight of, are 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 de-
scending into the opposite glen.

220 THE SHOT.

Tortoise's breast had been in a tumult, but it was lulled
in a moment —

" Che sue virtuti accolse,
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."

" Hurra, he lags behind ! Now then, let go Tarfi";
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 Cairn-Marnoch ; 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.

" Hark ! I hear the baying of tlie 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 ! what a sight ; I never kent the like of it
afore."

" Why, what do you see, man ? "

" Why, sure the deer is chacing TariF all owr the moss.

THE DAY. 221

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 unmitigated 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 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 in-
evitably bring that noble fellow down, though he will give
him some trouble, and perhaps occasion the death of my
good hounds.

222 PREPARE TO START THE DEER.

" Well, Peter Frazer, 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 fiddler at Cairn-y-clilamain ;
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 zealous 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 fancy, 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 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 Dalnas-
piedel, but I heard that the English gentlemen killed five
deer at Dalnacardoch."

" Five deer ! Deer at Dalnacardoch ? How could they
possibly come into deer in such ground as that ? — What
clever fellows they must be ! "

DALNACARDOCII DEER. 223

" And cleevan chicls they were sure encuch, 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 wi' them
in opinion, though he is a very ceevil mon too ; for Sandy
said that the ^ve deer were five goats, whilst the gentle-
men said that the five goats were five deer ; but sure
cneuch, 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 deer-stalkers)
began to think that Sandy was richt, and that the deer
were goats ; so they behaved very handsome, and gave
the farmer a hantle 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 together 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 was 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

224 A FRENCH SPORTSMAN.

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 manoeuvering, 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 no 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."

" Ah, I see him, Peter, and I guess he is a Frenchman ;
but, with all his capering, he is as slow as a soldier
marking time. Merciful he is, evidently, for not a beast
has he touched as far as I can see. Surely he must be
firing with blank cartridge ; but the deer are going right
in spite of him, so I 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 summits,

THE AMBUSCADE. 225

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 succession, their horns
and bodies looming large against the sky. Heavens !
what a noble sight ; how beautiful, how picturesque !
See how they wind down the crags, with slow, and
measured steps ; now hidden, and now re- appearing from
behind impending masses of rock ; now the prudent leader
halts his forces, and closes up his files ; those in advance
are scrutinizing 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 belling 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.

And now how many bosoms were throbbing at this
splendid spectacle, and what fitful changes from hope to
despair agitated individual sportsmen, as the herd ap-
proached or deviated from their particular position !

Beset upon their flanks and upon their rear, 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

Q

226 THE SKIRMISH.

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 fairly 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-
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 particular
object of attack. Not a single hart fell out ; and the
hounds at length returned, with slinking countenances
and drooping sterns, — 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) killed three first-rate harts ; our friend Lightfoot
two, decidedly ; two more were killed, as your rustic

THE SLAUGHTER. 227

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 exceedingly
promising young fawn repudiated also by all. * The
French Count whom we noticed on the mountains, dis-
tinguished 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, and, at
the first shot, slew a noble hart ; but there was 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 a circle.

" Lord ! Lord ! that black deer f : hey, what a deer !
There, there, that black deer ! Ou, he is ower far."

The words where 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,

* 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.

t Black from rolling in the mire.

Q 2

228 SHOT AT THE BLACK DEEK.

and the ball seemed to smack against the centre of his
body.

** Sandy, Sandy, the doegs, the doegs — quick, quick,
mon I Lord, will ye never come forrat ? Let go Shuloch.
Here, Shuloch, Shuloch."

Away went the gallant old hound upon his traces.

'' And now he is safe enoilgh; 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 beautiful 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! Come along, Peter, skim down the
mountain like a swallow: surely some of the herd will
turn back upon us. There, there — Charlie Crerar is
running like an ostrich. Ah, Charlie, Charlie, it wonna
do ; they are fairly 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 ! See, he has taken out one
hart, 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

THE PARTY ASSEMBLED. 229

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 ! that is his death-shot,
and from the Duke ; 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
came, triumphantly galloping upon a mountain pony ; and,
far in his rear, riding at a dejected pace, loitered 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 sterns ; 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 fellowship 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 younger
sportsmen looked up with defei'ence and respect.

* Percy and Douglas are at prdfifent in the possession of the Mai'quis
of Breadalbane.

Q a

230 THE LAST HART BROUGHT TO BAY.

Three stout ponies, with redundant manes and shaggy
coats, came slowly winding down the glen, each with a
magnificent deer corded on his back. Tortoise had gone
rapidly forward, with a fresh dog and a hill-man, in quest
of Douglas and the deer : faintly 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 cliffs 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 through at once.
Well done, stout Sandy, you bear yourself like a true
man."

Time, indeed, was waning fast, for it was long since the
birchen leaves 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 air 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
spot where it comes brawling into the Tilt ; it was one of
those deep chasms where the sunbeam never enters; in
most places the rocks dipped steep, smooth, shelving
down to the flood. There were huge blocks of granite in
the channel, and it seemed wonderful how the vexed

ARRIVAL OF A REINFORCEMENT. 231

animal 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 position. 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 of the river, when she turned in and headed him.
This method she 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 fatigue, 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 ae best they may ; fain would
they attack him, but in vain they stretch their powerless

Q 4

232 DESPERATE PURSUIT.

limbs : lightly does the hart regard 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 dis-
covers 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 cataract, swimming, wading, and
rushing onward through the divided waters. The dogs,
close upon him, are borne down at times by the weight of
the flood, but rise up again to the surface, 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, welling 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 vain ; 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

* John M'Millan entered the Duke of Atholl's service, in 1791, as
assistant-fisherman to Duncan Kennedy; when Duncan died he be-

THE GREAT BRAEMAB HART FINISHED. 233

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 your 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 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, bausy and sleek, " the admired of all ad-
mirers." Some praised his beautiful form, and held up
his wide-spreading antlers ; whilst others (not oblivious of
currant-jelly) began to handle him after the fashion of
Parson TruUiber. Certain it is he enjoyed great posthu-
mous 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

came the principal fisherman. He was a powerful 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.

* The author has kept the horns of this deer, which are splintered
at the points by coming in contact with the rocks when the dogs
escaped from the thrust.

I 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.

234 A CARPET KNIGHT.

bay. But both dogs are wounded : Tarff 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?"

" 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, Lightfoot ; they say you have killed
two first-rate harts ; what a happy mortal you must be !
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 alt"

'' 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 per-
formed, but simply from his excellent soi disant qualities.
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 ; '

CONDOLING WITH A VICTIM. 235

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 : singing French airs was out of the question.
The deer, said the Duke, were not to be had as in the
time of Orhpcus ; on the contrary, it was more becoming
to be 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 re-
straint upon our gentleman. These were not at hand,
and, if they had been so, it might perhaps have been
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 c'est etonnant cela, I who never make the miss ! "
" Perhaps your honour forgot to put in the baal."
''Ah! voild ce que c'est, vous Vavez trouve, mon ami.

236 THE COUNT BRINGS DOWN A STAG.

Le moyen de tuer sans balle I Now, then, I put in the
powder of cannon, and there goes de balle upon the top
of it — mort de ma vie I I now kill all the stag in Scot-
land, 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, however, the sun of his glorj (which had been
so long eclipsed) shone forth in amazing splendour. " For-
tune," says Fluellen, " is painted upon a wheel, to signify
to you (which is the moral of it) that she is turning and
inconstant, and mutabilities and variations : " and the turn
was now in the Count's favour, for she directed his un-
willing rifle right towards the middle of a herd of deer,
which stood "thick as the autumnal leaves that strew
the brooks of Vallombrosa." Every thing 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. " He
Men, mon ami, vous etes mort done ! Moijefais toujour s des
coups surs. Ah ! pauvre enfant ! " He then patted the
sides of the animal in pure wantonness, 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, mon ami, prends doncP This operation had
scarcely been performed, when the hart, who had only
been stunned, or perhaps shot through the loins, sprang up

A MUSICAL SPORTSMAN. 237

suddenly, overturned the Count, ran fairly away, and was
never seen again.

^^ Arrete-toi, traitre, arrete, mon enfant. Ah, c'est un
enfant perdu ! Allez done a tons les diables"

Thus ended the Count's chasse. Everybody was very
sorry, and nobody laughed, of course ; as for me, by my
troth, I will never follow Frenchman's fashion in deer
stalking.

" Capital ! our Parisian friend beats the Italian gentle-
man, who exhibited in the forest of Glengarry, all to fits ;
though this latter noble was also of a joyous turn, 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 slight mistake between the letter and spirit of
the law. It is true he hid his own person very skilfully,
but placed his bonnet aloft on a birch branch (the weather
being hot), in rather a commanding situation ; at length,
feeling somewhat solitary, he began to awaken the echoes
by singing Italian airs — — -

" Eurydice, the woods, Eurydice, the floods,
Eurydice the rocks and hollow mountains rung."

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 drive, it
was not his fault. There was another hero, however, who
shared the honours with him. It was evident that a large

238 CHASE AFTER A POACHER.

parcel of deer, which ought to have come down, had got
the wind of some one on the moor ; the point and manner
of their starting was marked by the hill -men, and two of
them, suspecting foul play, went forward to examine the
ground. One of these men held 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 lurcher held back, stretched
forth his neck, and gave a low growl. At this unequivocal
sign, one of the men clambered 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 com-
menced. The poacher went right up the chasm, down
which fell a considerable quantity of water ; the man, who
had descended, followed after 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 lying 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.

"Hand him fast, Donald, mon — dinna louse him —
dinna let him gangawa at ony gait."

"Na fear of aw. The de'il a mon ever got frae me
when it aince came to close grips."

He was completely mistaken, however, for the fugitive

CAPTURE OF THE POACHER. 239

slipped out his foot, and left bis shoe only prisoner, which
the wrathful hill-man sent at his head, accompanied by-
some thundering Gaelic 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 favour his
speed. However this may be, he certainly made much
better play without it.

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 with 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 defen-
sive warfare. Not so our hero; he thought little of
deeds of arms ; — of fine and imprisonment much. 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 themselves 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

240 A QUIET SHOT.

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 joostfor my ain
diversion ; but ye hae bin owr muckle wi' the Southrons ;
and the like o' thae chiels aye ca' liftin, stealing."

" I think I ha' heard that afore," says Donald. " What !
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 Atholl:
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."

GRANTING A FAVOUR. 241

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
not yet come. Give the man his fill of whiskey, John ;
he does not lack courage : but mark me. Master Gown-
cromb, 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 Badenoch,
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 Gaig and Glen Feshie ; and
I will leave the braes of AthoU for yer Grace to take 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 slain 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.

The 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.

242 TERMINATION OF THE SPORT.

"Her Majesty" (Queen Elizabeth), says a courtier,
writing to Sir Robert Sidney, "is well and excellently
disposed to hunting; for every second day she is on
horseback, and continues 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-born beauty,

" To fight their battles o'er again,
And thrice to slay the slain."

* There are various other notices of the delight this Queen took in
the diversion of killing the stag.

243

CHAP. IX

OF rOACHEUS AND FEEE-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-bailiffs, rangers, keepers.
He can wauk while they are sleepers ;
Nor for bountith or reward.
Dare you mell wi' Donald Caird."

SiE 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 buffalo, and elks, and deer, which have been
slain on earth."*

If we look back to remote periods in our own country,

* Adveatures of Captain Bonneville, by W. Irving, Esq.
R 2

244 FOREST CONTKACTS.

we shall find that the most severe laws — mutilation, and
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 steilors of hart, hynd, roe and doe, to be punishit
as thift, and anent shuitteries at thame; 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 ie also obvious that the common poacher
can have no right in any case, and must steal from some

"WANDERING POACHERS. 245

one or another. The claim can rest with the landed pro-
prietors only. It is a fair give and take business, accord-
ing to the direction of the wind ; your third man, however,
steps in, and, I am inclined to think, enjoys the sport
much more than those who are privileged to follow 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 mutilated condi-
tion. I do not mean to defend the lawless proceedings of
poachers, but I cannot help confessing that there is some-
thing so adventurous and so full of picturesque character
in tliese rough fellows — so much skill exhibited by them>
and such endurance of climate and fatigue, as may, in some
degree, be admitted as extenuating qualities ; and I would
not, as Shakspeare's townclerk says, " condemn them to
everlasting redemption for this : " I would simply transport
them to the wilds of America, where they could enjoy
their sport without injury to any one, and we might carry
on a trade of furs 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
TarfF side so frequented by them, that it was thought
necessary to pull it down altogether. These poachers
commence their operations chiefly at the termination of
the regular season, so that the harts are entirely rank and

R 3

246 ENGLISH VAGABONDS.

useless. The yeld hinds, however, come in at that period,
and are very fine venison ; and all the other 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 force,
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 country. 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 from committing 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 courage at the beer-houses, asserting with impre-
cations that they will shoot any keeper rather than be
taken. A vicious set they are, bringing up their families
in idleness 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
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

ADVENTURES AT FELAAK. 247

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 cha-
racter, the nobleman who rents the ground very gene-
rously 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' my 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 occurred 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 frequently been taken possession of by
poachers. Two such characters arrived there, some few
years ago, after a pretty successful foray, and finding the
door resist their efforts, 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

R 4

248 HIGHLAND VAMPIRE.

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 situations, 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 vi-
sible. 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.

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 manoeuvre is
to get the deer out of the forest, which is very easily done;

PETER BRECK. 249

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 pro-
ceedings, is to throw up peat bothy s 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 month 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 hillman, 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 re-
volved 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 Gaig. * These lands were
at the time possessed by Stewart of Garth (the late Ge-
neral Stewart's father), and another gentleman ; they kept
their sheep in Gaig all the summer, and during the har-
vest, and on a low farm in the winter and spring. Alex-
ander Mac Dougall and Archibald Mac Dermid were
* Spelt also Gawick.

250 PETER BKECK's BACKSLIDING.

shepherds in Gaig for many years ; and they had taken a
fawn*, which they tamed, and brought up with two milch
cows that were pastured in Gaig all the summer ; and at
the time I am now treating of, this pet hart was five years
old. He was taken to the low farm during winter and
spring, and generally lodged every night in the barn ; 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 towering
size, so that he probably exceeded in weight any hart in the
forest of AthoU. 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, stu-
pendous in size, and, in short, altogether undeniable. So
Peter took his sheltie and attendant, slunk away cannily
in the gloaming, proceeded up Glenbruar, and arrived, at
the grey 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 so-

* Calf is tlie proper term, but both are used.

TRAP BAITED AVITH WHISKEY. 251

briety ; 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 ex-
tracted it. Breck then turned restlessly on his other side,
when, lo ! the neck of another bottle delighted the eyes of
the fortunate herdsmen ; this was treated precisely in the
same manner as the first had been, for Breck's snoring
was awful, and they were safe enough from interrup-
tion. As soon as this second bottle had been filled with
water and replaced 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.

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

252 THE GAIG PET STOLEN.

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 delibe-
rately. No time was lost in cording it on the horse, and
off he went homeward as fast as he could ; but the horse,
although a good Highland garron, had such difficulty in
carrying his heavy burden, that they were obliged to rest
at Glenbruar, and it was dusk before they reached the
castle of Blair.

Breck'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 good 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 no time
in reporting to the Duke that Breck had stolen the Gaig
pet. His Grace sent for him 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 with it for such a trifle,
Breck explained to his Grace, that the shepherds were

POACIIEU'S ADVENTURE. 253

aware that he (Breck) knew that they had got the stag,
when a fawn, in the Atholl forest ; as well as that they
frequently poached both deer and moor-fowl there; so
that, under these considerations, they gave up the pet for
a Scotch pint. 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 depredations
on the Atholl 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 TarfF
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
Atholl : 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.

After considerable 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-

254 DESOLATE SITUATION.

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
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 approaching 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 theip
supper and beds were ready. Even so they found it — the

A HIGHLAND WITCH. 255

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 continually turned upon her.
She had large features, long lank hair, and small grey
eyes, deeply sunk, and conveying a striking expression of
vice and cunning ; she halted on one leg, and chaunted a
wild song, in an unknown language, w^hile 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 I louse the second, a
stronger blast shall sweep o'er the hills ; and if I louse the
third, sic a storm will brack out as neither man nor 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' the storm, as I
sit on my throne of Cairn-Gower, or the tap of Ben-y-
gloe. Weel did ye ken my 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 Fraser's

256 SUPERSTITIOUS POACHERS.

Cairn, at midnight, the first Monday in every month,
while the season lasts, — the laird's ghaist will no meddle
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, be-
lieved that the woman had been expecting her own friends,
who were probably also poachers detained by the storm,
and that she had made use of the above artifices in order
to obtain venison.

Chisholm's Cave, in Carn-Vaduc, in the Ben Klibreck
forest, in Sutherland, derives its name from a freebooter,
who passed his life in caverns, poaching and living upon
pillage. His early history cannot be traced satisfactorily ;
but it is probable that he became a recluse in consequence
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

'freebooter's life. 257

the inhabited parts of Strathnaver, and, on such occa-
sions, to carry off to his caverns, corn, and such other ne-
cessaries 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 bo
supposed to haunt. In this dismal labyrinth, Ciiishohn
lived many years; it is said he kept two cows under-
ground, 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, some
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 the gloomy
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 personal violence.
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 cham-
bers 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

s

258 JOHN MORE.

his wild mode of life rendered him an uncouth but to-
lerated 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 propensities.
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 lordship entered the hut, and was soon seated in a
dismal corner ; 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, which was
the only article in the house that could be used as a table.
John bustled about with great activity, and, to his lord-
ship'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 cloth, 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
burn 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

259

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 chief, saying — "John More's
fattest dish is ready:" — adding, 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 breakfast.

The chief thought this a good opportunity to endea-
vour 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 generosity
towards More as would keep him within reasonable 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 enter-
tainment 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."

* A gilse is supposed to be a young salmon,
s 2

260 SUTHERLAND MONSTER.

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.

His family name was Macleod. He deliberately mur-
dered 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 anticipated.
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

A PKIEST IN DANGER. 261

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 window,
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 neighbour-
ing 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
attenjpted to kill him without succeeding."

The priest, unconscious of his danger, approached
nearer the river, and seated himself on a projectmg 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 tnis second
request also. When the priest moved off, the boy insisted
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

s 3

262 OUR-NA-KELIG.

amongst the loose blocks of stone on the side of Craig-na-
garbet, 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 o*^
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 dancing over his
grave. There is a rude 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 : —

" 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 rhyme, 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

OUR-NA-KELIG. 263

unknown; that of Our-na-Kellg, 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
and those of the eastern coast of Sutherland, at Drum-
derg, 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 adver-
sary with irresistible violence ; giving such a stroke
as Ariosto describes, when he says " Cala un fendente : "
Anglice, — "lets fall a cleaver." With this formidable
weapon he soon despatched the Strathnaver 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 man 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
w^ont to do, without being very particular about the laws
of property.

" The good old rule

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

s 4

264 THE widow's hospitality.

whole limb of it, hastily roasted between two peat fires,
lighted for the purpose on 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
small bothy during one of the most bitter blasts of the
storm ; — fjir 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 face, she
said in Gaelic, whilst the tear stood in her eye, —

" That on such a night as this she could not refuse ad-
mission 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, for-

THE WHITE HIND. 265

bore 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 from her next morning
with expressions of gratitude ; and upon his return home,
sent her five bolls of meal from his ricli 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
in the year 1622, and soon after disappeared. An animal
varying so much from its common species gave rise to
superstitious stories ; and a tradition was handed down
that, should a white hind again appear, death hy violence
would ensue. 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
burns ran sluggishly through their icy barriers. In such
a dead season the keepers might well be supposed 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 favourite passes, sent forth
their practised scouts to put the herd to them : these men
communicated with the others, as is usual, by means of
signals. The day wore away without any successful re-
sult : at length, as it drew to a close, and the fading light

266 AN UNTOWARD SHOT.

gave a dubious appearance 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
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 gene-
rally believed; the sister of the sufferer, however, in
laying out the body, discovered a 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 retributive justice
was in no way concerned, the affair 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.
Campbell 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 AthoU forest, in

ATHOLL POACHEUS. 267

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 , accompanied by C R

and A O , went forth on a poaching excursion

in the forest of Atholl, when they knew that the regular
foresters were upon distant duty. 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.f
Early the next morning the wind was to the north, 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
west of the river, with the help of their glasses, they spied
Donald Macbeath, 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

* Some of these worthies being still in existence, their names are
partly suppressed, according to promise.

f I am hot quite clear as to the accuracy of this name, being unac-
quainted with the place myself.

268 ADVENTURE IN GLEN TILT.

ground rapidly. Thus they were reduced to the pre-
dicament 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 un-
welcome messenger to them. They paid no heed to this

menace ; and O e, actually putting his cowardly

threat into execution, levelled his piece and fired. The
ball struck the snow at the feet of one of the party.

S and R , his comrades, were thunderstruck

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 unlawful 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 ;

DESPERATE STRUGGLE. 269

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. 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 legs 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 liold 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 deter-
mined 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 difficulty, he returned
for his gun, and thus at length secured his victim.

If that vast tract of land in the extreme north, dcsio;-

270 ROB DOUN.

nated as " Lord Reay's country," has produced some wild
and ferocious characters, it has likewise tempered its ro-
mantic district by giving birth to a man of no ordinary
celebrity. Rob Doun, or brown Robert, was born in the
heart of it, at Durness, in the year 1714 ; 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 ex-
tracted from the Quarterly Review for July, 1831, with
some variation, however, for the sake of compression : —

" 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. Do-
nald Lord Reay, a true-hearted chief, resident constantly
amidst his 'children,' and participating in all their affec-
tions, presently claimed for himself the care of the rising
bard of Mackay ; and Rob was invested with the oflSce of
homan, or head cattle keeper, — an employment which, at
that time, carried with it abundance of respect in the eyes
of his fellow-mountaineers.

A POET-POACHER. 271

"Rob was an inveterate deer-stalker: from earliest
youth it had been his delight to spend days, nights, and
even weeks among the wildernesses, in pursuit of this
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 homan of Lord lieay was a
constant trespasser ; often had he narrowly escaped the
arm of the law, and yet nothing seemed capable of con-
verting 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 surviving 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 transportation 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.

272 ROB DOUN.

fada, mallaicht alge/ that is, a slender, black, long, wicked
gun which he had. They had not proceeded beyond a
mile from home when they came full upon a small herd of
deer. Rob w^as not to be restrained. He fired, and shot
two of them dead upon the spot. His wife, before in
extrem econsternation, 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 authorities, 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 faithless: —
"the home-sickness it expresses appears to be almost as
much that of the deer-stalker, as of the loving swain."

" Oh, for the day for turning 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 the Piper's Cairn !

CURIOUS TRIAL FOR MURDER. 273

Easy is my bed, — it is easy ;

But it is not 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 probably 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 Culloden,
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 property of
the Earl of Fife. A more waste tract of mountain and
bog, rocks and ravines, extending from Dubrach to Glenshee,

T

274 SERJEANT DAVIES.

without habitations of any kind, until you reach Glen-
Clunie, is scarcely to be met with in Scotland. A more
fit locality, therefore, for a deed of murder 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 attached to the country where he
had his residence, by the great plenty of sport which it
afforded; and when despatched 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, con-
siderable for the time and period, and enough of itself to
be a temptation to his murder.

"On the 28th 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 com-
mander 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 length
a native of the country, named M'Pherson, made it

POLYGLOT GHOST. 275

known to more than one person, that the spirit of the un-
fortunate 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 poor Davies 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. Lastly, 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 enhanced
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
Sergeant Davies, had he actually been to devise how to
prevent these two men from being executed for his own

T 2

276 GHOST NO LAWYER.

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 evidence;
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 im-
pressed 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 men is curious and interesting, but too long for
insertion in these pages.

277

CHAP. X.

" What is a gentleman without his recreations ?"

Cornish Comedy.

" 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 I — what — where — when ? comest thou to draw
Priam's curtains in the dead of night?"

" Night ! now by him who sits on high Olympus,

' Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund morn
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, I'm quite alive; — yaw — •
yaw ! — confoundedly stiff though : I do not think that
arquebusade of yours is genuine. But you'll give me
time to put on my clothes, won't you ? and although you

T 3

278 ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DAY.

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! — three harts ! why, thou said'st twenty, ere

now

t"

^' Ay, in buckram : twenty deer, you know, Avill 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 pro-
digious 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 Atholl
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 to kill what they
could. This was pleasant news. They had a long day
before them, and plenty of time for all operations both
private and public.

A TICKLISH SITUATION. 279

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
between 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 con-
tinued 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 situ-
ation. 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. The men had observed a ridge of high heather,
insufficient, they judged, to conceal them; that, however,
must be 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

R 4

280 SERPENTINE MOVEMENTS.

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 ex-
tended like corpses. Tortoise whispered, *^Now then
be calm, and when we come within distance, take the hart
to the right, — lie 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 trembled.
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 probability),
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 fatigue.

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 ? no longer
would our bosoms throb with hope, or sink from an appre-
hension of failure ; we should keep " the even tenor of our
way," tame in pursuit of the quarry; and, as Captain
Bobadil has it, " too respectful of nature's fair lineaments."

DISAPPOINTMENT. 281

Plans well laid and executed, — difficulties overcome by-
skill, by labour, and perseverance, — these are the events
that flatter our self-complacency, 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 ; creeping,
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 leporum,

Surgit amari aliquid quod in ipsis floribus angat."

And if ever a bitter thing did happen, if ever the chalice
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 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 impious little elf,
and maledetto die tu sia, wert never better pleased in all
thy life. The deer, thus warned, broke over the hill, and the

282 WHITE KID GLOVES.

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 ! "

" Well it was not our fault, that is some comfort, there
was no kid glove in the matter ; an allusion you wiU. 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 elevation 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. In
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.

* I do not vouch 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 gentle-
man ! Jiow gat he there f "

CONTEST OF SKILL. 283

" Shall I lowze a doeg ? " said Maclaren.

" No, that may spoil 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 circumstances. —
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 they
appeared to be coming in a good accommodating direction.
But whether they got a blink of the men in the burn, 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 bogs. All too
late they were : for the harts crossed the burn out of
distance, but at a slow pace, as they saw not the men.

Maclaren now got as well round to the west as time
would permit him to do : but it was not this manceuvre
that made them again bear a point to the east, for they
held him particularly cheap ; it was rather the sight of a

284 SECOND ESCAPE OF DEER.

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-stalking that is the most
provoking and tantalizing 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 they 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 shot
either 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 ! cunning devils ! what is 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

NEW MANCEUVRES. 285

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, yeVe weel acquent with it, for the beastis ha' bin
owV canny for ye whiles amang thae rocks."

" Hushj 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 hart that gat a
gliff o'ye, and skelped avva through the moss, joost as ye
war thinkin to pit yer baal intill him ; perhaps Mr. Light-
foot 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,
and to lave me at the fut o' the hill ; ye can win to the
tap in ten minutes, and when ye are there, I can pit ovvr
the deer. But ye mun be canny, and ye mun aye throw
out wee bits of tow, for the wind is unco kittle among the
rocks ; ye'el bear in mind the muckle hart — him that
ran awa sac brawly frae ye, without skaith, when yer
honor thoucht to hae takkin his gralloch, and said some-
thing 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

286 HOW TO CLIMB A HILL.

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 style 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, keeping the same
foot always uppermost as I do : see now how compact
you go without labour, almost without exertion, 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 ? "

" Only, 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 :
we must now proceed in silence."

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. — Tortoise held his
watch in his hand ; it wanted five minutes of the time for
starting the deer. Again and again he looked at the slow
progress of the minute-hand : 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 forward, that he might be

GOOD SPORT. 287

secure of the wind ; then, snatching 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 Lightfoot saw
the hinds, who were leading, he was in the act of raising
his rifle, but his ann 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. The third hart swerved a
little 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 dying ! "

The poor feUow 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.

288 TWO STAGS KILLED.

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, but
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 ! Her-
cules was a pretty fellow ; so was Theseus ; so was
Pirithous; but, although they subdued various 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

* 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 Holkam ; and the whole party saluted Sir Francis on the occasion
with solemn deference, each individual passing before him in succession,
and making his obeisance.

CLOSE COMBAT. 289

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 enclosures in pursuit of pigmy
game ? But bear thy fiiculties 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 form& praestanti, et cornibus ingens '

(handling the horns all the 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 close 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 Glengarry, or like the forester of the present
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 grey stone on the lee-
side of the animal's lair, crept cautiously 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

* The summer of 1837.
U

290 A RIDE ON A STAG.

forward with Donald on his back, who grasped 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
bearing his anxious rider with the knife in his mouth,
which he had neither time nor ability to use. When,
however, this gallant jmir 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 bewildered
senses as to get hold of his knife ; and he absolutely con-
trived 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 extraordinary feat, the
man has been dubbed by the people w^ith a new and ap-
propriate name in Gaelic, which my authority (Mr. Skene)
told me he could not pretend either to write or to pro-
nounce^ This was dexterous work; but there are innu-
merable examples of the spirit and determination of
Scottish sportsmen : and whilst the deer are being gral-
loched, I may as well mention an adventure that happened
to a very celebrated and enthusiastic deer-stalker, whose
name I am not at 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

* It is necessary to be a good stalker in order to lay on the dogs
properly.

REMARKABLE PROWESS. 291

got siglit of one of the deer standing at bay in some long
heather, in a deep hollow : he appeared to be quite ex-
hausted ; 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 attempting
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 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 from 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 combatants : at length,
however, they succeeded in dragging both the young laird
and his fat friend into the boat, to the great merriment and

u 2

292 CONTEST WITH A PHOCA.

relief of his companions, — to whose remonstrances he only-
answered, ' D — n the brute ! 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
ralated to him on the spot an encounter which he had with
seals in descending the rocks at Dunotter, in his passage
to a creek, from 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 ne-
cessary 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.

"But the day wears apace; we must now separate our
forces, and if we forget not our cunning, 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 volleying 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
FingaJ myself. But, allons, cater we now for the ge-

POSITION OF THE DEER DRIVERS. 293

neral sport ; and here shall end our stalking ; here on the
old rocks of Cairn-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-a-chro, and Sandy
Macintosh to Ben-y-chait. All came forward 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 deer did at Glen
Tilt, and j asking 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 a 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 are fenced on the
moor-side by a stone dike, and behind this dike some of
the parties that 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 mountains, and those who
opposed their passage into the w^ood : thus beset, in front
and rear, and at their flanks, all their sagacity was called

U3

294 THE DRIVE BEGINS.

forth; and their movements being more varied, were by
so much the more interesting. 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 had
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 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 determined 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 Lightfoot were descending. The hart
was generally masked by the hinds ; but as their paces

corrie's sagacity. 295

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 fatal 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 pertinaciously 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
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-like head, slipped
himself from the leash, and away he went on the traces
of the deer. Nothing could be more agonising, for there
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 opposite
brae, Corrie being still close 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

u 4

296 EAGLE HOVERING ROUND BEN-Y-VENIE.

deer endeavoured to wedge themselves into the mass out
of reach of his horrid fangs.

Tliere was now no doubt but that the drive would be
spoiled. Many were the denunciations against the ap-
palled leashman ; his death-warrant was made out, for he
was to have no more whiskey, which was precisely the
same thing to him.

But, lo I when all were sinking with apprehension,
affairs 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 from them,
and came feathering along, making beautiful casts to the
right and left : returning now to the burn which 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 business.

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 over
Ben-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

DOG WATCHING THE DEAD DEER. 297

thought to cower over hhn, 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 hill-man, and escort him home to the
slaughter-house. Corrie would do all this as well as 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 fate ;
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 ears, saying, or seeming to say, * O Lightfoot,
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

* A beautiful painting, by Mr. Edwin Landseer, of this sagacious
dog, thus engaged, will be in the recollection of many.

298

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 foward 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."

" No, I mistake ; not the first. My coup d'essai was at
a hart. I set off from Blair Castle with the Duke of
AthoU for Forest Lodge at twenty minutes past tliree
o'clock in the morning. There were no deer feeding in
the glen ; so we breakfasted, and I began fishing for sal-
mon. 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 from 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.

(^Maclaren, touching his hat.) *' Ye held at better game
afterwards atween the shank of Ben-y-chait and the Elrich,
when Charlie Crerar was with ye. Ye'll mind when ye
creepit up to four harts to tak' a quiet shot ; ye got with-
in a lang distance, and tuk the first deer with his braedside
towards ye as he was feeding and lying as ye were yoursel

PAST DEEDS. 299

all alaiig 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 afterwards, and that the first deer stud one hunderd
and forty yards frae ye. The last must have been an awfu'
distance."

" Ay, Peter ; a true bill that. More by token that my
fingers tingle yet with recollection of the hearty Highland
grip that Charlie gave me when he saw the deed ; for he 's
a fine shot and a dear lover of the sport liimself. 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 stop thy
murderous career for ever ! " Now, Jaraieson, could I
come in upon that beastie by sinking the hill, going round
by the west, and coming up the hollow by a sidewind,
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 oportunity. Instances
of success, however, sometimes occur : and the most ex-
traordinary 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

300 EAGLES KILLED BY A BOY.

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
fatigue.

" It appeared that young Donald's indignation had been
roused by having failed a few days before in his attempts
to defend a lamb which was carried oiF in spite of him ;
and many others of his flock had shared the same fate.
Meditating mortal revenge, he got possession of his father's
gun by stealth; and marking the eagles to their eyry, in
Lachnagan, he hid himself on a rock near the nest, and
remained there all night.

" At break of day the male eagle kept 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 deter-
mined 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

LEGEND OF ERASERS' CAIRN. 301

lazily up Cairn-dairg-mor ; and there they stopped crown-
ing 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.

The hill-man to the west had shifted his position much
farther to that quarter ; and the men were so disposed,
that the deer were kept on the middle hill in a straight line
with Blair, with the stalkers in their rear. Thus all pro-
mised well hitherto. Tedious it would be to recount the
shiftings of the men, which kept the deer in the right
course. They were all similar 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 no
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,

302

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 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 behind
his back, that they might make use of him as a guide 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 being 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

THE DRIVE CONTINUES. 303

kept out of sight in the rear. They soon discovered the
Frasers on a swell of the moor before them, but not on
the highest point of the ground. They seemed to be re-
galing themselves with their booty, whilst their horses
were g-razino; around them.

" The Atholl 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 tartans, were
mistaken for his own men, till of a sudden the wild whoop
and whistle peculiar to the clan in their onsets discovered
the fatal truth. The foes 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 his horse. Very few escaped the slaughter, and the
Atholl 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 country
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!"

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.

304 THE GREEN KNOWS.

One hart there was amongst the rest that might be
known from a million. His horns were very white, and
his body had a tendency to mouse colour; — sleek and
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 ; Ifostes incurris dum fugis 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 Corri-crombie. Many there
were who remained on the hill as sentinels ; these, how-
ever, joined the rest as Tortoise came on. Maclaren, who
was on the east, had been strengthened by a force ju-
diciously 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 ! 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."

NERVOUS EXCITEMENT. 305

^' Hist, hist ! by heavens they are coming ! how strong
they smell ! * They must be very near ; I hear their
trampling. 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," whis«
pered 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
they 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 imaofinable. 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, unpleasant, 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 interesting. Thus the care bestowed upon your

* A large herd of deer may be smelt at a very considerable distance,
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.

X

306 STALKING THE REAR DEER.

outward man diminishes in some degree the agitation of
your mind; but really when you are lying prostrate, in
expectation of the deer passing without any effort 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 fabled and thirsty sinner felt as
he caught at the flying waters. Yes, the fable 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 hinds came on, an
anxious look was sent to the rear in hopes to descry the
points of an approaching antler. At length the horns ac-

AMBUSCADE AT THE WOOD. 307

tually did appear; and Lightfoot, all trembling with
eagerness, was clapping his rifle to his shoulder, when
Tortoise stayed him, gently whispering in his ear, " A
worthless beastie, my good fellow ; let him pass ; remem-
ber the four-year old — the enormous monster — the haud
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 HyQ 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, sometimes 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 their 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 ; 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

X 2

308 THE GALLANT LEADER.

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. Stern and
determined, a magnificent hart stepped forth from the ranks,
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 coma estoUe."
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 their speed.
" Now then, Harry, run low, and do your best."
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 tlie 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 them 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.

* 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.

NOBLE SPORT. 309

"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 con-
gratulations. There were six first-rate harts slain at the
wood, and two lesser harts and two hinds at the peat stacks.
The Duke of AthoU'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 prophe-
sied. A hill-man, unaccustomed 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

X 3

310 THE OLD BLAIR PONY.

deer; they were a hardy race, redundant in mane and
tall, 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 galloped
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 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 toilino; 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 occasionally 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 given to the stalker.
It must be remembered, however, that those who go round with the
drivers have necessarily the greatest nuinber of chances. Hence Tor-
toise's success.

311

CHAP. XL

" Syr, yf you be on huntynge found,
I shall you gyve a good greyhounde,

That is 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'."

SiE Eglamoke. — 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 re-
ceived from Scotland represent these dogs as very scarce
at the present day ; and I am informed that in Sutherland
the last of the lace 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 dogs were
held in at very remote periods. One of these traditions,

X 4

312 FINGAL AND HIS RETINUE.

which was current ages before Macpherson's publication,
runs as follows : —

Fingal agreed to hunt in the forest of Sledale, in com-
pany with the Sutherland chief, his contemporary, for the
purpose of trying the comparative merits of their dogs.
Fingal brought his celebrated dog Bran to Sutherland, 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
Phorp, was incomparably the 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 trans-
lated 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 Phorp, the following
descriptions have still survived amongst some of the oldest
people in Sutherland. Bran is thus represented : —

BRAN AND PHORP. 313

** 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 back narrow and fair.
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 and 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
Bran, when his master, the Sutherland chief, unwilling
that either of them should be killed, called out, " Let each
of us take away his dog." Fingal objected to this; where-
upon the Sutherland chief said with a taunt, that " it was
now evident that the Fingalians did not possess a dog that
could match with Phorp^''

Angered and mortified, Fingal immediately extended
" his venomous paw," as it is called (for the tradition re-

* A stout gelding.

314 THEIR DEATH.

presents him as possessing supernatural power), and with
one hand he seized Phorp by the neck, and with the other,
which was a charmed and destructive one, he tore out the
brave animal's heart.

This adventure occurred at a place 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 Glen 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, which are now, indeed,
very rare, and finding that all the dogs in the forest of
Atholl were miserably degenerate, I bred some litters
from a foxhound and a greyhound, the foxhound being the
father. This cross answered perfectly : indeed I was
previously advised that it would do so by Mr. John Crerar,
who, after having tried various crosses for sixty years,
found this incomparably the best. Neither of these
animals themselves would have answered ; for the grey-
hound cannot stand the weather, 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

* Mr. Grant of Corrymony, in his work on the Gael, relates a tra-
dition somewhat similar to the above, 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.

PERCY AND DOUGLAS. 315

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 born idiot as he is.

The foxhound is equally objectionable ; he has not suffi-
cient 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 puri)ose.
Courage you have in perfection, for most dogs so bred will
face 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 the
late Duke of Atholl the use of them every season, to bring
cold harts* to bay, in which they were wonderfully suc-
cessful; for if they were fairly laid on, no hart could
escape them. They are now nine or ten years old f ; and

* A cold hart means one that has not been wounded,
t Anno 1838.

316 glengarry's dogs.

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 greyhound ;
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.

The late celebrated sportsman. Glengarry, crossed occa-
sionally 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 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 AthoU, 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-courage dogs, indeed, of every breed are subject to

FATAL RUSH OF A HAFwT. 317

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
cold harts, only doing so when I was endeavouring to
bring such to bay for the Duke of Atholl's 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 man;
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

318 SLIPPING OF DEER-HOUNDS.

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 carelessness of
this sort.

The dogs should be led about a hundred yards behind
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 handkerchief 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 vessel, which was unsuccess-
fully chased by a flash of lightning. 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 immediately :
for instance, if a hart is shot through the loins he will fall
prostrate, spring up again suddenly, and baffle a good dog
afterwards. There are certain other cases also when
despatch is necessary ; but, generally speaking, it will
be prudent to take time ; and the party had 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 bringing a singularly
lean hind to bay : throwing away, by a moderate compu-
tation, two or three precious hours, and with them, perhaps.

OF BLOODING DEER-HOUNDS. 319

your remaining chance of sport for the day : but on the
contrary, if he is baldly wounded, and you do not press
him on, he will graduUy 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 ; 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 permitted 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
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 deer
which came out unexpectedly from Glen Croinie, against
my wind, during a heavy mist. A dog belonging 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

320 SIR WILLIAM ST. CLAIR'S DOGS.

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 libras 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 soUevb dal fiero pasto
Quel peccator."

After this perpetration, I changed his name, by a very
easy transition, from Hannibal to Cannibal ; but, Hannibal
or Cannibal, I never suffered him to pass the Scotch alps
with me a second time.

There is an interesting story mentioned in the notes of
the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," taken from a manuscript
" History of the Family of St. Clair," which is so apposite
to this subject, that I cannot forbear transcribing it.

It seems to prove that the chief reliance for sport was
formerly placed in the dogs, who were accustomed to pull
down and kill deer without any aid from the huntsmen ;
and that nobles, and even kings, prided themselves upon
the fleetness and courage of their hounds.

" King Robert Bruce," says Augustin Hay (canon of
St. Genevieve), "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

MONUMENT IN ROSLIN CHAPEL. 321

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-burn. 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 deer 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,
descending from the hill, embraced Sir William, and be-
stowed on him the lands of Kirkton, Loganhouse, Earne-
craig, &c., in free forestrie."

The tomb of this Sir William St. Clair, on which he
appears sculptured in armour, with a greyhound at his
feet, is still to be seen in Roslin chapel.

322

CHAP. XII.

" Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the north,
The birthplace of valour, the country of worth :
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love."

A. Macdonald.

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 stalking 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 hold the dogs. This is generally a sufficient force for
the Forest of Atholl ; but a fifth 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 indulgently
given to the writer of these pages, accompanied with the

AUTUMNAL BLASTS. 32S

most pleasant of all commissions; namely, that of an
injunction to kill as many harts as possible, and to 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 arranged 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 terminated,
and the brightness of the autumnal days had suffered
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 tent 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.

Y 2

S24 SULLEN FUEL.

rushing along in fitful 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 contentions
of nature, the blustering waters of the Tilt sound loud and
continuous : their voice may be somewhat smothered for
the moment by the noise of the wind ; but, in proportion
as that abates, the eternal roar of the torrent 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 put
upon the table, warm and redundant. But the less we
say about the viands the better ; we are rather shy of
mentioning 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 in such
a salubrious climate.

We may be allowed to hint our opinion, however, that
those were rational times, when maids of honour drank ale

THE SPOUT BEGINS. 325

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 our shelties,
replete or empty, it matters not.

And now the ponies plant their feet heavily, and go
winding and tugging up the mountain. Captain 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 sky line ;
the bogs soon become deep, and the pony is sent back to
the regions below. Onward he strides on foot, lessening
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 impediment to
the view, the party sit down in a little hollow near the
summits, where a small burn creeps lazily through the
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 promises
fairly : the wind is propitious : Care with her hollow eyes
sails scowling through the vapour, and leaves our rifleman
with the comfortable prospect of a fair field for operations.

The sport began unexpectedly ; for a few deer, that
could not be seen during the mist, broke out suddenly
from a hollow towards the east, at the back of the Grianan-
Moir, and raced away towards Cairn-chlamain. They
were at an awful distance ; but, as the course of the leading
ones was decided, and the tail ones in the hollow were
out of sight of the rifleman, he made a dash forward, and

Y 3

326 DEER-STALKER DISTRESSED.

thus gained considerably upon the spot of their crossing ;
so that when these latter began to appear, he took a long
shot at a hart, which was evidently struck by the ball.

" Never heed him, Peter ; forward, forward, man."

"Why, sure then, we mun stop and tak tent o' the
deer!"

" No, no ; no such thing. Here, Maclaren, 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 of
Glen Croinie."

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 ! 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 effect ? 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 Aus-
trian spread eagle, just as the tail deer were sinking the
hill down to the culreach. A shot was fired, and it was
fortunately a clean one : a fine stag fell dead on the spot.

" Now halt, my good fellows, and let us watch the deer."

They saw them sweep down the hollow, and pass 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

A SHARP WALK. 327

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, Fraser, 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-chlamain ;
and a ball was soon sent through his head.

" Now, then, take up the rifles, lose no time, and follow
me, Peter."

" Wliy, what can we do ? thae beastis are insight o'aw
the glen, and we can no pass the Mark bum 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 as it is, this is our only
chance ; but you are never tired, blown or daunted ; it is
no use to go back towards the east, the ground is all
disturbed there ; so we must take a long round by Coir-na-
minghie, and cross the low ground out of sight, where we
can go up Cairn-cherie, and get above them, and then let
them look to themselves."

All this was done at their best pace : after a long, I
will not say a toilsome circuit, — the excitement they felt
rendering them insensible to fatigue, — a close approxima-

Y 4

328 LYING IN AMBUSH.

tlon 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 an-
ticipated. 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 oft' 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 cautiously to the
south-west, and after some curious windings, and certain
dabblings in bogs and water-courses, they laid themselves
down prostrate in the heather, through bunches of which
they had a glimpse of the cautious sentinel. Jamieson,
who prudently lagged behind, was then motioned to give
the signal, which was the exhibition of his shirt by the un-
buttoning of his waistcoat, an object discoverable by the
glass at a very considerable distance.

THE FATAL SPOT REACHED. 329

No sooner had the signal been observed by Maclaren,
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 began to appear to the sports-
men one after the other, and presented 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 began 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 hinds in front 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 semicircular
movement, running under cover of rocks and moss-hags,
with sufficient rapidity to bring them within distance as
the deer crossed in front of them.

They arrived just in the nick of time, and found them-
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 first-rate stags fell dead upon the spot; the
third ball also had evidently hit the mark. Away ran
Peter Fraser, whilst Jamieson loaded the rifles, and just
glancing at the two victims as he passed them, peeped over

330 THE HEKD IN JEOPARDY.

the next ridge of the hill, when he suddenly tossed his arms
aloft, like Gilpin Horner, 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 operation the
herd had leisure and opportunity to get forward and select
their own ground, which they did, by going into glen
Dirie, and moving 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-venie."

Sandy Mackintosh was a capital fellow of the antelope
sort, and put out his long legs nimbly, so that he was
quickly on 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 moun-
tain.

" See, see, he has turned them up our hill again, 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

PETER FRASER'S HUMANITY. 331

fired two shots in rapid succession. One hart fell dead on
the spot, and another went away wounded.

" Murder, murder ! O Lord, murder ! Hand yer hond ;
hand yer hond ; 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, soon released
it from his grasp.*

" Aweel, aweel ; haud to yon muckle deer then, awa to
the wast. There, there (j)ointing),^^

Down he dropped instantly to the rifle ; and away went
Tortoise after the wounded stag. A dog was properly
slipped, 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 deathshot. 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

* The immediate attendant on the deer-stalker holds the spare
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 rifle as soon as he had dis-
charged it — rock or moss, it took its chance.

332

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-Weadhouncdh *, and

before we was 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

This was my last day in the forest of Atholl. The
scene, alas, soon changed, and mourning followed on its
rear. In the midst of joy comes sorrow — the dark, the
inevitable cloud, which had been almost imperceptibly
gathering, at length burst over us. The 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, and the
pines waved their green heads, but all was void and de-

* The Gaelic appellation for Ben-y-venie.

f The Duke of Atholl 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 his 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 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 Atholl, and Charlie Crerar taken into the service of
the Duke of Buccleuch.

THE CHIEFTAIN. 333

solatc. That intellectual light, which shone on the vast
domain, — which, acting on a Roman scale, gave employ-
ment and a maintenance to thousands, — which spanned
the broad waters of the Tay with a magnificent bridge,
and spread immense forests over wastes heretofore un-
productive— which was evermore successfully exerted for
the happiness of family, friends, and dependants, 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 halls 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 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 to 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 foot-
steps; thus the glory shall shine on your brows, and
depart not from the halls of your ancestors.

Tu Marcellus eris ."

334 SPRING TIME.

THE MOOES.

By the Hon. T. II. 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 sunshine 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 in spring more fair
Than the banks and the glens of the moorland bare ?

SUMMER. — AUTUMN. 335

The moors ! the moors ! the fragrant moors !
When the heather breaks forth into purple flowers !
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 !
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 ! the joyous moors I
When Autumn displays her golden stores :

336 WINTER. — THE CORONACH.

When the morning'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 mossy 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 cock 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 bloodhound.
And the eagle stoops down from Schehallien 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 ! the moors ! the desolate moors !
When the mist thickens round, and the tempest roars !
When the monarch of storm

Rears his giant form
On some rock-built throne
That he claims for his own.
To survey the wild war on the desolate moors I

SNOW STORMS AND TEMPESTS. 337

For the winds are let loose, and 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 the dark rolling sky ;

And his footsteps are trampling the fog and the cloud,

That envelope 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.

338

CHAR XIII.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE HIGHLAND DEERHOUND, WITH
AN ACCOUNT OP A DAY'S DEER-COURSING IN THE
ISLAND OF JURA.

[Communicated by Archibald Macneill, Esq., of Colonsay.]

" Canis venaticus, celerrlmus, audacissimusque non solum in feras
Bed in hostes etiam latronesque praBsertim, si dominum ductoremve
injuria offici cernat, aut in eos concitetur." — Boece.

It is not a little remarkable that the species of dog wliich
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 joresent generation a faithful description
of its appearance and habits ; but it is to be feared that
none such has been transmitted to us, and that to the

DOGS OF ANCIENT BRITAIN. 339

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 modem 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
extinct.

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 dcerhound, 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 kingdom.

That dogs resembling the greyhounds of the present 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 England, 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.

Nemcsianus gives the following description of these

dogs : —

" Sit cruribus altis,
Sit rigidis, multamque gerat sub pectore lato
Costarum sub fine decenter prona carinam,
Quae sensini rursus sicca se colligat alvo,
z 2

340 IKISH DOGS SENT TO ROME.

Renibus ampla satis validis, deductaque coxas,
Cuique nimis moUes fluitent in cursibus aures."

And again he says, —

" Divisa Britannia mittit
Veloces, nostrique orbis venatibus, aptos."*

From the same authorities we learn that the mastiffs of
England were highly prized by the Roman emperors, and
were used by them for the combats of the amphitheatre.

It also appears from 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 w^olfdog 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 Gra^cus,
whilst others, as Jn. Caius, derives it from gret, 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 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

EARLY SCOTTISH DOGS. 341

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 sculp-
ture 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 century.

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 in-
troduced in full pursuit of deer.

z 3

342 SCULPTURED STONES AT MEIGLE.

Among the Anglo-Saxons, with whom the wild boar,
the wolf, 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 testimonials
of his rank ; and, in the ancient pipe-rolls, payments
appear to have been often made in these valuable animals.

In the 11th century, so greatly were greyhounds in

DOGS OF THE OLDEN TIME. 343

estimation, that, by the forest laws of Canute the Great,
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 greyhounds
of the present day, which are bred solely for speed, and
have, by modern 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 deer-
hound 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 deerhound,
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 than in
England ; and as from the rugged and uncultivated 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

z 4

344 THE MIOL cut.

known in these countries was the same, viz. the Celtic one
of Miol chuy 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 descrip-
tion 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 chu
Suil mar airneag, cluas mar dhuileig,
Uchd mar ghearran, speir mar choran,
Meadh' leathan, an cliabh leabhar,
'San t-alt cuil fad bho'n cheann ; "

which may be translated thus : —

An eye of sloe, with ear not low,
With 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, which, he
informs us, were furnished him by Henry St. Clair, Dean
of Glasgow.

These drawings are said to represent the three different
species of dogs mentioned by Boece, in his History of
Scotland, published 1526, of which the deerhound is one.
This drawing, though a rudely executed woodcut, is full
of character, and coincides with the descriptions whicli
have reached us of this dog.

* 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.
e^k"?)— Author.

THE MASTIFF AND GREYHOUND. 345

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 following 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 chii,
given by the Highlanders and Irish to the deerhound.

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
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 greyhounds in a laund," — smce it will be

346 RECREATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.

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 account by the translator of the " Noble Art of
Venerie and Hunting," published in London in 1611.

Of the courage of the ancient deerhound 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 bull-
fight in the bear garden, is conclusive. He says, " The
bulls (meaning the bull-dogs) did exceeding 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 Kemesian, the English greyhound of the 15th
century, the Irish wolf dog, and the Highland deerhound,
w^e 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 Moil chit was the one generally used for
this species of dog over a great portion of the country, we
have strong reasons to conclude 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

DOGS OF EPIRUS. 347

of dogs has been known in this country for many centuries,
and for a greater period of time than any other sort ; in-
deed, 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 : — " The 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 mastiff. 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
peaceable disposition."

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, tliat
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 exceed-
ingly rare.*

* My friend, Mr. Skene, is possessed of an ancient and curious map
of the world, in which the ert, or elk, is represented as characterising
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

348 IRISH WOLF DOG.

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.

BufFon, as we have already seen, informs us, that the
only one he ever saw was much larger than a mastiff, and
when sittinoj was about five feet hio;h.

Goldsmith, in his account of the species of dog known
in Ireland in his time under the name of Irish wolf dog,
represents him as being rather 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.

Judging also from the drawing of Lord Altamount's
dogs, given by Mr. Lambert, and from the measurements
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 backs, heavy bodies,
smooth hair, straight hocks, drooping tails, and party
colour ; but were in all probability a remnant of the old
Irish bloodhound, which was frequently used for tracking
wolves, and which at a later period might have been mis-
taken for a species then in that country nearly, if not
altogether, extinct.

To these vague accounts, however, little weight can

represented with very broad palmated horns, more like those of the
moose deer, or the extinct Cervus euryceros^ whose remains are found
in the bogs of Ireland and the Isle of Man, than the true elk. This
serves to connect the Miol chii of Ireland and the Highlands still more
closely with the Albanian deer dog. — Author.

PROPORTIONS or A DEERHOUND. 349

be attached, and the only real criterion by which we can
form a notion of the perfection to which this breed for-
merly attained, is from the small remnant that we now
possess.

In 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 deer-
hounds are to be met with.

It is difficult, without a great variety of measurements,
to determine the exact size of a dog, or to give an accurate
idea of its proportions : though a good general idea may
be formed, by giving the height at the shoulder, as mea-
sured with a slide, the girth round the chest, and the
weight of the dog, together with a few descriptive remarks
reojardino; 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.

350 DEER DOGS OF COLONSAY.

elegance, and dignity ; all these qualities are possessed by
this dooj in a verv hijrh degiree, and all of them (with the
exception of the two latter) are called eminently into ex-
ertion 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 bloodhound no quality
was gained but that of smell, while the speed and size
were diminished ; and with the Pyrenean wolf-dog, though
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 bloodhound was Sir Walter
Scott's dog, bred and presented to him by Glengarry.

The finest, I believe, and apparently the purest speci-
mens of the deerhound now to be met with, are those in
the possession of Captain M'Neill the younger, of Colonsay,
of w^hich he has in particular two dogs. Busker 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 red ; and vary also in the
length and quality of the hair.

There is one peculiarity common to all, viz. that the

DIMENSIONS OF BUSCAK, 351

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 difference 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.

The following are the dimensions of Buskar *, taken in
August 1836: —

Height at shoulder - - 28 inches
Girth of chest - - - 32
Weight in running condition, 85lbs.

This dog is of a pale yellow, and appears to be remark-
ably 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 Badenoch
and Lochaber, some of a dark grey, which are considered
pure ; indeed it is believed that this was at one time the

* The principal dog in Mr. Edwin Landseer's 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 idea of quite so
much bone and muscle as belongs to the original. — Author.

352 DIMENSIONS OF A FULL-GROWN STAG.

prevailing colour in the Highlands of Scotland. Besides
the difference of colour, there seems to be a decided dif-
ference 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 development 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 following are the dimensions of a full-grown stag
taken from actual measurement : —

Ft. In.
Height at shoulder - - - -311J

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 inhabitants
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

DEEIl-COURSERS' EXPEDITION FROM COLONSAY. 353

which it is now practised wc 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 M'Neill's property in the
island of Jura, and having clambered up a broken and
rocky bank to the foot of a precipice which overhung the
sea, they entered by a gradual slope into a spacious and
picturesque cave, the mouth of which could not be dis-
covered 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.

A A

354 WILD SCENERY IN JURA.

At a little distance the sails were spread for the boatmen,
and further off, 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 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 preparation
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.

EXPLORING THE MOOR. 355

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 withdrawn,
though they still concealed from our view the picturesque
tops of the mountains by which it was bounded. A
beautiful valley stretched to the left, divided 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 occasionally the wild note of some sea-
bird as it flitted from rock to rock.

Before leaving our commanding situation, it was deemed
prudent to scrutinise narrowly with our telescopes 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 were 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, F inlay (than whom a better deer-stalker never trod
the heath) set out at about fifty yards in advance, provided

A A 2

356 STAG DISCOVERED.

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 glen for some miles, gradually
ascending from the sea, when the stalker descried (without
the aid of his glass) a stag about a mile off. He im-
mediately 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 discovered 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 the
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 left, quietly chewing the cud, and
looking round in all directions. We immediately retreated,
and following our guide, got into the channel of a moun-
tain 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 intervening rocks.

We then left the channel of the stream, and finding
that we could proceed no further in that direction without
being observed or scented by the deer, whose power of
smell is most acute, we turned to the left, and keeping the

STALKING UP TO THE DEER. 357

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 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 up-
right 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 ascended the rising ground betwixt
us and the deer, looking 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 performing a very considerable circuit,
moving sometimes forwards, and sometimes backwards, we
at length arrived 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,

A A 3

358 THE DEER STALKED.

he was not distant 100 yards. Most of the party seemed
inclined to doubt this mformation, for they verily believed
that the deer was at least half a mile to the right ; but
Finlay's organ of locality was so visibly and strongly de-
veloped, and his practice in deer-stalking so great, that
the doubts of the party were suppressed, if not altogether
removed. Buskar, however, soon put the matter beyond
question, for raising his head, he bounded fonvards, and
almost escaped from the person who held him. No time
was to be lost: the whole party immediately moved
forward in silent and breathless expectation, 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
exciting 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

THE COURSE. 359

most interesting ; the dogs pressed him hard, and the deer,
getting confused, found himself suddenly on the brink of a
small precipice, 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
ruggedness 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 himself 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 followed, and, on reaching the
ground, performed a complete summerset ; he soon, how-
ever, recovered his legs ; and the chase was continued in
an oblique direction down the side of a most rugged and
rocky brae, the deer apparently 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 our 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

A A 4

360 THE DEER PULLED DOWN.

hock with such violence of grasp, as seemed in a great
measure to paralyse the limb, for the deer's 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 which
were hanging to him, having the assistance 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 off. 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 considerable
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 displayed
by both dogs, particularly by Buskar, throughout the chase.

SPEED AND BOTTOM OF DEERIIOUNDS. 361

and especially 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 success 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 alter-
nately, carried it this distance 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 bottom 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 fastening on a
deer, he seldom has the speed or endurance necessary for

362 LAYING ON OF A DOG.

preserving his hold ; and should he receive a fall, will, in
all probability, suiFer much more than a greyhound, whose
elasticity of form is better calculated to endure such
shocks.

Perhaps the greatest advantage possessed by superiority
of speed is, that 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 instant
death : in this position, indeed, he could, without difficulty,
destroy a whole pack. When running obliquely down a
hill (which is a deer's forte) no dog can equal him, parti-
cularly 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 speed,
and, as the deer generally attempts to make for the high
grounds for security, and is a bad runner up hill, the dog

DECAY OF RACE. 363

has a decided advantage when slipped at a deer in such a
situation.

It must be a subject of regret to the sportsman and na-
turalist that this noble race of dogs is fast 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 imagine how
any race of dogs can again be produced possessing such a
combination of qualities.

A

SHORT ACCOUNT

OP

THE PRINCIPAL FORESTS

AHD

DEER HAUNTS

IN

SCOTLAND. I

FORESTS OF SCOTLAND.

THE SUTHERLAND FORESTS.

[Chiefly from the communication of Mr. Tayix)K.]

The bounds of the Sutherland forests have been much
limited of late years, as a necessary consequence of the
improved system of sheep fixrming 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 extensive,
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
thence to the heights of Knockfin, at the march between

368 FOREST OF DIRRIE-CHATT ;

Sutherland and Caithness ; and this natural feature of the
interior of the country was, with some slight variations,
the northern boundary of the Dirrie-Chatt. This central
ridge is marked by mountains, with intervals 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 German 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 Keay
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 domi-
nant object in the scenery. Although one of its shoulders
separates Loch Naver from the romantic and lonely waters
of Loch Yeallach 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 com-
prehended within the Dirrie-Chatt, because the waters of
Carrie-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 to Craigna-
lochan, kept along the eastern side of Loch Veallach and

ITS BOUNDARIES. 369

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-fam, 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 Truderscaig, 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 celebrated 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-
Griara-Beg, proceeded towards the Beallach-More, leading
into Caithness at the height of Knockfin. The hilly ridge
that separates Caithness from Sutherland is strongly de-
fined, and forms the eastern boundary 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

B B

370 FOREST OF DIRKIE-MORE ;

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 commenced.

Such were the ancient boundaries of this extensive forest,
which stretched from Ben-Leod to the Ord of Caithness,
a distance of about 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 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.

Bocky and precipitous masses, separated by ballocks or
narrow passes ; deep and desolate glens, with vast masses

ITS CHARACTER AND BOUNDARIES. 371

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 comprehensive terms, the charac-
teristic objects that force themselves 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-Hope, 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 Dirrie-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 ballock leading to Loch-Eriboll.

The east side of Loch-EriboU, 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 Loch-Merkland to
Ben-Leod,

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

B B 2

372 NUMBER OF DEER.

they had distmct 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 Sutherland,
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 3,000.
The introduction of sheep farms, and other causes, have
materially lessened that number, if, indeed, it was a correct
one. So that the harts, hinds, and calves, of all ages,
taken collectively, do not, probably, at present, exceed the
number of 1,500. The calculations of the foresters would
lessen that number, and the statements of the shepherds
would increase it, their respective interests being diame-
trically opposite.

Hunts were occasionally upon a grand scale in this as

DEER DIKES. 373

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 se-
lected 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 con-
tracted 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 extremity 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 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 tlic deer, the slaughter must have been considerable, as
it is probable that spearmen and bowmen occasionally
leaped from their boats into the waters ; the commotion of

B B 3

374 DEER DRIVEN INTO THE SEA.

the waves, the shouting, and the rude melee must have
exhibited a scene little inferior in wildness of character to
the Indian mode of hunting on the Ked 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 Caithness, as it is 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 diiFerent places, 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 dis-
appearance of the pine forests deprived them of retreat
and shelter. The last survivors of this rabid race were
destroyed at Achumore, in A&synt, in Halladalc, and in
Glen-Loth.

The death of the last wolf and her cubs, on the eastern
coast of Sutherland, was attended with remarkable circum-
stances. Some ravages had been committed among the
flocks, and the howl had been heard in the dead of nicrht,
at a time when it was supposed the villanous race was

WOLVES IN SUTHERLAND. 375

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 neighbour-
hood of Glen-Loth, which he fancied had not been suffi-
ciently attended to before. He was accompanied 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 destroying wolves and other pre-
datory animals : forming his own conjectures, he proceeded
at once to the wild and rugged ground that 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 reason to think might lead to a larger opening or
cavern below, wliich the wolf might use as his den.
Stones were now thrown down, and other 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 narrow passage
into a small cavern, which was evidently a wolf's 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
duhious of the event, the voice oF the poor boys came up

B B 4

376 THE LAST WOLF.

hollow and anxious from below, 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, evidently 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 animal's 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 their imminent
peril, the stout hunter kept a firm grip of the wolf's 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 tliis
singular struggle, which passed in silence, — for the wolf
was mute, and the hunter, either from the engrossing
nature of his exertions, or from his unwillingness to alarm
tlie boys, spake not a word at the commencement of the
conflict, —his son within the cave, findino; the liijht ex-
eluded from above for so long a space, asked in Gaelic,
and in an abrupt tone, " Father, what is keeping the liglit
from us?" — "If the root of the tail breaks," replied he,

HER DEATH. 377

"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 attempted to turn and face her foe,
but the hole was too narrow to allow of this ; and when
Poison saw his 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.*

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 con-
nected with traditionary legends. The conflict of Drum-
derg was fought in it. Cairn-Bran stands there, the place
where Fingal's dog, Bran, was buried, and the holy waters
of Tobcr 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

♦ 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 introduces 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 : a sow or boar also
invai'iably 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 BufTon,
" never howls under correction like a dog, but defends himself in
silence, and dies as hard as he lived."

378 TRADITIONS OF FINGAL.

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.

Dermid, says one of these traditions, was beloved by
the wife of one of his friends, but he honourably repelled
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 assist-
ance 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,

DERMID AND GKANA. 379

aud with iQipunity, 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 dex-
terously sprinkled poison over the bristles, and these
having punctured Dermid's skin, whilst measuring the
length of the boar, the poison took effect, and caused his
instant death.

Grana, another female devoted to Dermid, was present,
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.

The boar was hurled down the side of Ben-Loyal, and
buried close to a mountain stream that runs between 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
and 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

* Another version of the Bas Dhiarmid, or the Death of Dermid,
has been given by Mr. Grant.

380 ANGUS BAILLIE.

whole host of Caithness freebooters, with the gun, called
Glasnahkean, at that time a novel and dreaded engine of
destruction. Baillie was likewise renowned for his dex-
terity 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 superiors,
talked boastingly of his pre-eminence over the Sutherland
foresters, either at open feats, or in executing 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 forester, than your old
shaggy garron can, as an animal, be compared to the finest
an tiered stag on the hills."

A day was fixed for their competition, and Baillie ac-
companied the stranger to Ben-Ormin.

He thought himself a stronger man than his blustering
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 dis-
tress his opponent. He was, moreover, learned in tradi-
tions, and had heard in what manner a Danish giant was
said to have been captured by a man of diminutive 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

THE HUMBLE GARROJs\ 381

was desired to enter first with many terms of courtesy,
and as soon as he stepped upon the slippery surface 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
liis tumbling propensity, 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 free and
exposed, nothing more ; and thus Master Bobadil, or Ro-
domonte, if you please, exhibited a pretty fair specimen of
an Egyptian mummy, or an Italian bambino.

In what manner the man in durance delivered his senti-
ments 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 he 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 obtained 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 formerly
upon an extended scale ; there may still be seen the ruins
of two very large hunting lodges of the description which

382 THE STOUT MEN OF SUTHERLAND.

Pennant mentions, in the Strath of Helraesdale, 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 coun-
try ; more, much more could I add, did my limits allow of
it, for the assistance which has been so obligingly con-
ferred upon me, and which I have acknowledged 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 dely te
much in that exercise, which makes them hardened to en-
dure travell and labour."

STKATPI-CONAN. 383

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FORESTS AND
DEER-HAUNTS IN ROSS-SHIRE.

The extensive estate of Lord Lovat, which ranges west-
wards from his residence of Beaufort Castle, near Beauly,
forms the northern boundary of Inverness shire, for along
distance dividing it from the county of Ross ; and having
long been the abode of deer, the appropriation 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-Co nan, 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 Strath- Conan was long held in unenvi-
able 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 possibly ere
long have passed away ; but the deer-stalker, who is made
aware that the scene of Mr. James Baillie Eraser's tale of

384 APPLECROSS AND GAIRLOCH.

the " Highland Smugglers " is laid in the Lovat forest,
and adjacent recesses of Strath-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 undying charms.

To the west of Strath-Conan lie the two great districts
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, indeed, inaccessible,
— thus affording to the deer a secure retreat; while the
fine valleys of the west, which lie between the hills, offer
abundant pasture. In this part of Ross-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 Flower-
dale, 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, makes it,
including, as it does, the magnificent Loch-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.
One of the luckiest shots which the writer remembers, was
made here, in 1832, by the Honourable Edwin Lascelles,

* A separate description of Applecross will be given in the fol-
lowing pages.

BALNAGOAVN FOREST. 385

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 from
Dingwall, at the head of the Firth of Cromarty, by Ach-
nasheen 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 bo so, while tlie old Balnagown, or
Freevater forest, which forms its centre, exists. Groin-
yard 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 perhaps
as sure a place for the sport, if kept clear of sheep, as any
in Scotland. Coul*, the residence of Sir George Mac-
kenzie, Bart., and Brahan Castle, the residence of the
family of Seaforth, both within seven miles of Dingwall,
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 shooting. 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 Bal-
nagown forest, or Freevater, i. 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 tracts, where
the experienced deer-stalker looks with increasing expecta-

* A separate notice of the beautiful possessions of Coul will follow
this general account of the deer-haunts in Ross-shire.

C C

386 EASTER ROSS, CALROSSIE, AND COIGACH.

tion 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 num-
bers of the deer in neighbouring 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 Foulls, 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 Hoss, which
are in the neighbourhood of Balnagown Castle, and Cal-
rossie ; and though they may wander, in many instances,
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, cares 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 property
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; intending to
build a lodge there, at Rhidorach, a situation of much
natural beauty.

ISLES OF LEWIS AND HARRIS. 387

The isles of Lewis and Harris contain a large number
of deer; and in the former Sir Frederick Johnstone,
Bart., who rents the game, has, together with his friends,
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 perhaps
for raising their food than that of man.

c c 2

388 UNCOUTH FIREARMS.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF COUL.

[Obligingly communicated by Sir George Stuart Mackenzie, Bart,
the Proprietor.]

There are few country residences so favourably situated
for sport as Coul. Between breakfast and dinner time
you may have amusement with every kind of game, except
ptarmigan, which are too remote. I have myself, 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 supposed that the in-
troduction 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 appearance, 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 construction ; and many a gun that had made
a noise during the civil wars and rebellions was turned
against the stately rangers of the mountains. Nay, in

STRONG EXCITEMENT. 389

more modern times, muskets that had graced the shoulders
of volunteers 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 dimi-
nished ; and to this I attribute the very rapid increase of
the deer. The attention of English sportsmen was called
to them, and the protection since given has, in some dis-
tricts, 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 tinkel; 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 reconnoitring, 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.

The hill of Tor-Achilty, close to the beautiful residence
of Coul, abounds with deer. It is finely variedj and there

c c 3

390 AMIABLE CONSOLATION.

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 ex-
pended 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.

THE SANCTUARY. 391

FOREST OF APPLECROSS.

The forest of Applecross lies in Ross-shire, and is com-
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 Vaan, Cairn-Derg, Coir-nan-a-rog, 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, Beninhorronaid (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 delight
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 orna-
mental, but valuable for their produce. Loch Coir-Atta-

c c 4

392 THE laird's sport.

dale, 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 contain. The hills
in this fine district are strikingly picturesque, and nothing
can surpass the beauty of the strath of Applecross.

The deer forest was established about seventy years ago ;
the quantity of deer it contains at present cannot well be
ascertained, but it has been represented to me as very
great. They are scattered over their favourite 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 the 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 occurrence. They use the rough stag-hound, or
lurcher of the country, for 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, I 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.

AN IMMENSE STAG. 393

THE FOREST OF GLENGARRY.

The Glengarry forest is situated in Inverness-shire, and is
about seven miles long from east to west. On the 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 whole 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 comparatively 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
proprietor, another of the weight of twenty-four stone five

* By the hill, I believe, is meant the general mountain range which
rises from the Strath.

394 SAGACITY OF A BLOODHOUND.

pounds, both weighed after the grallock had been taken
out. The latter deer had previously been wounded in the
shoulder by the same gentleman about ten days before the
last decisive bhot, 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. Formerly 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 9 He
tried various crosses, particularly with a small bloodhound ;
and their capacity of follow^ing a cold scent is said to have
been so wonderful, that one of them actually pursued a
wounded deer for the space of three days, the hunters at
nightfall stopping at the last distinct 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 by
the antlers of the stag at bay, or fell over precipices in
turning a sharp corner during the heat of the chase.

* 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.

WILD WORK. 395

With what romantic ardour the late Glengarry fol-
lowed up the exciting amusement of deer-stalking, 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 skene-dhu, and, though often in peril, was
ever successful. Stout-hearted and enthusiastic 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 adventurous and a gallant spirit, and was a
true son of the mountains.

396 GLENFESHIE.

THE DUKE OF GORDON'S DEER FORESTS.

In page 105. will be found an account of the former pos-
sessions 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 received
them from another quarter: should there be any discre-
pancy between the two accounts, the changes above men-
tioned, 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 Atholl, 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 purchased
from the Duke of Gordon by Mr. Macpherson of Invereshie
and Ballindalloch. It has been pastured by cattle and
sheep since 1752.

GAICK. — DRUMAUCHTAR. 397

GAICK,

in the parish of Kingussie and county of Inverness, is
bounded on the south and west by the forest of Atholl, 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 occa-
sionally found in them, ascending by the water of Iromic
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 Invertruim, 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 Radcliffe, Bart.,
who strictly preserves it as a deer forest, and has an excel-
lent shooting 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 AthoU, on the
west by the Duke of AtholPs and Sir Neill Menzies's pro-
perties, and on the north and east by the lands of Glen-
truim 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 pasture to
Lachlan Macpherson in 1773. In 1829 it was purchased
from the Gordon trustees, along with the lands of Glen-
truim, by Major Ewen Macpherson, of the H. E. I. S. and

398 GLENMORE, ETC. ETC.

is occupied as a sheep-walk and grouse shooting range.
Beinalder is now the property of Ewen Macphcrson, 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 Kichmond con-
templates restoring it to a deer forest. It adjoins the
forest of Marr.

GLENBUILY,
adjoining Glenavon, 3396 acres.

GLENFIDDICH,
parish of Mortlach, county of Banff, 5522 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.

INVEUCAULD. 399

THE FOREST OF INVERCAULD.

The Invercauld forest is situated in the parish of Braemar,
and county of Aberdeen. Lord Byron's 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 In-
vercauld is nearly in the centre of the sport, and may be
said to be surrounded by the forest ; as through 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 cir-
cumference is forty-two miles, and it contains 22,186
acres. Within this extent you find every description

* The height of Loch-na-Garbh, according to the proprietor, is
3824 feet ; that of Beinn-a-bourd, 4039. Beinn-avon 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.

400 FORMERLY A ROYAL FOREST.

of ground, from the bold rocky mountains 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 joining with the Atholl forest, which
latter is contiguous to Gawick, forms altogether a greater
extent of connected surface, kept expressly for deer, than
is to be found elsewhere in Britain. A glen joining the
Ivercauld forest, on the east of Loch-na-Garbh, called
Glen G elder, has lately been reserved for deer by Sir
Kobert Gordon, which, from the increased extent of ground
and protection it affords them, must prove an advantage
to poth 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

* 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 hayne 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 instrument meit
and convenient for the distruction of the deir and the murefowlis ; or
with aixis, sawis, or any uther instrument or work-lume for cutting

EFFECT OF CHANGES OF WIND. 401

there are still the remains of Kindroghit Castle on the
Invercauld 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 cast, or in bad weather, hun-
dreds of stags and hinds immediately come back; and
in winter and spring the woods are always full of them.
The roc 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 belonging
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
deer, particularly the stags, frequent great part of it until
the sheep return in summer. It extends to 112,760 acres,

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 generallie, &c. : term and stabill to hold, &c. at
Falkland, the 11 day of Jully, the year of God 1™ V Ixxxiv. yeiris."

D D

402 CLEVER TEURIEES.

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
trout (which are of a red colour, resembling those of Loch
Leven), 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. Such grey-
hounds as are in use are descendants of the Glengarry
breed, and have been lately crossed with the common

WEIGHT OF BRAEMAR DEER. 403

foxhound, and also with the bloodhound: but still the
foresters prefer the 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 AthoU 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
inside) 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,
althougli of a princely extent in point of length, is rather narrow for
urgino^ the chase in a cross wind.

D D 2

404 BOUNDARIES, STREAMS, ETC.

THE FOREST OF MARK.

The forest of Marr, in the county of Aberdeen, consists
of four contiguous glens on the north bank of the Dee,
with their various branches and ramifications, viz., Glen-
quoich, Glenluie, 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 the forest may average 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 Baynock ; 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 Dery and Luibeg; the Dee into the Garchery
and Guirachan ; and the Guildy into the Davie and the
burn of the Cuirn. The only lakes worth mentioning are

DEER-STALKING IN MARK. 405

Loch Eatachan on the east shoulder of Bein-muirdhui and
Loch-nastirtar in Glenguisachan.

The principal mountains beginning on the east are Bein
aboard, Beinachuirn, Beinavrear, Beinamean, Cairngorum,
Bein Murdhui, Cairnavaim, Breriach, Carmtoid, Bein-
avrottan, Cairn-nealler, and Scarrach ; — they are all com-
posed of granite ; and the general character of their surface
is dry and rocky for a considerable way down their sides ;
but there are many valleys or corries around their bases
containing good rich hill pasture ; and in the low parts of
the different glens ore haughs of rich natural grass, which,
in Glenluic and Glenquoich, are well sheltered by very
extensive tracts of natural pine wood : there is also a con-
siderable 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 stone imperial, and there have been instances of
some of the largest weighing twenty stone.

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, tJiough the sport is of a less brilliant
description.

D D 3

406 WILD BOAK AND KEIN-DEEK.

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 answer 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 sub-
stitute. Kein-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 ^lajesty,
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 remaininnr trees in Braemar are the last of the old

DEER-HUKT IN 1618, 407

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 Penny-
lesse Pilgrimage," relating to a great hunt given by the
Earlof Marrin 1618.

" I thank my good Lord Erskine (says the poet) ; hee
commanded that I should alwayes bee lodged in hia
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 aquaevitaj.

" 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 pur-
vey ers to victual our campe, which consisted of fourteen
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 a heard) to such or

D D 4

408 BATTUE OF THE OLDEN TIME.

8uch a place as the noblemen shall appoint them ; then when
the day is come, the lords and gentlemen of their com-
panies doe ride or go to the said places, sometimes wading
up to the middles 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, w^hich they carry with them,
wee can heare now and then a harquebusse or musket goe
oiF, which they doe seldom discharge in vaine : then after
we had stayed three houres, or thereabouts, we might per-
ceive 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 way-
laid 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 fat 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 such baking, boyling, resting,
and stewing, as if cook Kuffian had been there to have
scalded the devill in his feathers."

GATHERING IN OF THE DEER. 409

THE FOREST OF CORKICHIBAH.

The forest of Corricliibah, or the Black Mount, is
situated in the district of Glenorchj, 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 con-
tinued 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 district 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 Corrichibah kept clear from sheep, than these
deer gathered in ; and the number now in Lord Bread-
albane's forest cannot be computed at less than 1,500.
The extent of ground strictly kept for deer is about 35,000
acres. It extends on the north side from the western

410 NUMBER AND CONDITION OF DEER.

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
remarkably 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 Tulla ; 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 Ly-
doch. 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 which the deer of this forest
are usually found.

The stags of the Black Mount exceed those of most of
the neighbouring forests in point of weight, and may be

MODE OF TAKING DEER. 411

estimated at an average of from sixteen to seventeen stone,
imperial, sinking the ofFal ; and they are frequently found
to weigh eighteen, nineteen, and even twenty-one stone,
having two or three inches of fat on the haunches. Their
heads likewise are large in proportion, heing 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 thai
part of the Pliglilands, and that it has equally extensive
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 precipitous, 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 difficult in most parts
of the 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, 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 2 2d day of Feb-
ruary, anno 1622."

412 GAELIC POETRY.

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 pro-
ducing 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 ob-
tained 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 celebrated
pen of Mr. D'Israeli, jun.

413

SPRING IN BENDOURAN.

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 I

11.

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 pos-
sesses the faculty of making known by strange sounds the approach
of a storm, when, as they express it, " The spirit of the mountain
shrieks."

414 THE WILD DEER OF THE MOUNTAIN.

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 snuiFs the desert wind ;
While by their side confiding roves
The spring-born oiFspring 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 : —
Thou hast no sire, or brother.

That watches with a face
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

O'er trembling stag and quivering doe
Conceals thee in her forest gloom,
And saves from an untimely doom.

bendouran's children. 415

IV.

Now roaming free : — for on the wind

No sound of danger flies :
The fawn 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 !

416

A POETICAL TRANSLATION

OF A PART OF

"CUMHA CHORIE CHEATHARCH;"

OR,

THE LAMENT FOR THE DELL OF MIST.

BY A HIGHLAND GENTLEMAN.

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.

THE FOREST RESTORED. 4V

The dell sliull 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.

T. E

418 BOUNDARIES, BURNS, ETC.

THE FOREST OF GLENARTNEY.

The. forest of Glenartney, the property of Lord Willoughby
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 hundred 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 eastwards 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 Strathgien 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 Ducho-
ran burn, until it receives many tributaries from the west
and other mountain streams from the south, which rise in
the hills above Doune, Dumblane, &c. 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 inconsiderable ; but in the

WEIGHT OF DEKR IN GLENARTNEY. 419

stormy season it rushes with great turbulence into the
Earn, and has been known to bring down sheep and ex-
hausted 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-Scarnaich, 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 from 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.

" The nature of the ground (says Donald Cameron, the
old forester) is good and healthy, interspersed with heath
and rasheSy 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 E 2

420 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 remains 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 pre-
tend 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 computed to be about thirty-
five miles in length, averaging in breadth from five to eight
miles, and containing, perhaps, 100,000 acres ; the whole,
including the forest, belongs to Mr. Colin Campbell, with
the exception of two very considerable farms, probably
above 12,000 acres, which are the property of Mr. Mac
Neill the younger, of Colonsay. With the exception of a
few patches of arable land on the east coast, the island
consists of one mountainous range extending throughout
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 precipi-

HIGH PASTURE. 421

tous, 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 considerable way from
their tops no verdure is to be seen ; in fact, they consist
chiefly of masses of loose stone. Their height is about
2,500 feet above the level of the sea, which washes their
base. The view from the top of these hills is very ex-
tensive, for, when the atmosphere 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 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 inhabitants (scarcely a thousand souls),
they are seldom disturbed, 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.

£ £ 3

422 PROPRIETORS OF JURA.

The district of Tarbert, beginning at the north of the
loch of that name, as far as the gulf of Corrivrechan, 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 excellent,
the ground favourable, and the winters are mild.

The noble family of Argyle were at one time the
superiors or crown vassals of the whole island, except the
two farms belonging to Mr. Mac Neill of Colonsay, al-
ready referred to.

The Cawdor family held the property of the larger
portion of the island under the family of Argyle ; and it
then passed by purchase, upwards of a century ago, into
the hands of Mr. Campbell of Shawfield, whose family
held it only a few years, when it was acquired by the
family of Jura, to be held under Shawfield and his suc-
cessors, for payment of a feu duty or ground rent of about
551. and four deer out of the forest annually.

In the original grant of that part of the island which
was ceded by the Argyle to the Cawdor family, there was
reserved to the Dukes of Argyle and theh- children, a right
to hunt in the forest ; and in the sub-grant of the same
lands to the family of Mr. Colin Campbell by Shawfield,
a similar right was reserved to him and his successors.

The only other part of this estate which is held under
Mr. Campbell of Islay, as the successor of Shawfield, is
the district of Tarbert ; and the condition of the tenure is,
that the present possessor and his successors shall deliver
to him and his successors six thousand oysters, annuidly,

DEER CROSSING AN ARM OF THE SEA. 423

I)rovided they can be found upon the scalps or shores of
that part of the island. There is no feu duty or ground
rent payable for Tarbert, and no right of hunting reserved
in the title deeds of that estate in favour of any party
whatever.

Thus the Argyle family are still the superiors or crown
vassals of all those portions of the island which belonged
for a few years to the predecessor of Mr. Campbell of
Islay ; the family of Mr. Colin Campbell held these lands
by sub-feu or sub -grant from the Islay family, upon the
tenures already explained.

In regard to the other portions of the island, both the
property and superiority belong to the family of Mr.
Colin Campbell, the superiority of these lands having been
sold by the Argyle family to his ancestors. He now
therefore holds these portions by free tenure directly under
the crown, without reservation or condition in favour of
any party.

I may add that long before either the Cawdor or Shaw-
field families had any part of this estate, the ancestors of
the present Jura were in possession of a great part of it,
under wadsets granted by the Argyle ; and being near
cadets of that house, they represented for many years the
Argyle family as bailies, foresters, and chamberlains of the
island.

Deer have been known to cross of their own accord
to Islay, a distance of about a mile ; and, in particular,
six hinds and one hart did so a few years ago, and re-
turned again to Jura. This was probably in the rutting
season, and thus the hart seems to have taken a pretty

E E 4

424 WEIGHT OF STAGS IN JLIIA.

effectual mode of securing to himself peaceable posscsbioii
of his little seraglio.

The stags in this forest grow to a large size, and have
been repeatedly killed of eighteen stone weight without
the intestines. The present chief of Islay killed a hart of
seventeen stone and a half Tron* weight, and in full
season, whose horns 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 ; accurately
speaking, perhaps, it may be a trifle more, but it is little in use.

DEEli IN BAD PLIGHT. 4.25

THE ISLE OF SKYE, AND NOKTH UISH.

There are about 230 deer in the Isle of Skye, which are
the property of Lord Macdonald ; they range over hia
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 100.

426 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 tills arrangement his forest will march with Lord
Breadalbane'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 connection 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 unacquainted ; my omission
to mention such (if, indeed, such do exist) will not, I
trust, be imputed to my sense of their implied want of
consequence, but rather to the real cause, namely, that of
"pure ignorance on my part."

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

THE HIGHEST HILLS IN THE FOREST OF ATHOLL

Glastullich.

Benuirn.

Cairnanree.

Malnaspionach.

Cairn Dairg.

Gailcharn.

Cairn na-Gour.

Argiotvane.

Cairnicklechahii.

Ben Veg.

Ben Voiiriclj.

Cairn Lia.

Cairn Torkie.

Malvourich.

Garorune.

Top of Carrie Chnstail.

Felar Forest.

Heirs Hill.

The King's Cairn.

The Red Cairn.
The White Cairn.

Den-y-Gloe Forest.

Goat's Hill.

Little Hill.
Boar's Hill.
Grey Cairn.
The Boar's Cairn.

The Castle Hill.

Sligemoch.

Monlia.

Conaloeh.

^laltenail.

Benchroam.

Craig croachie.

Grennach.

South Side of Tnrff.

The Grey Hill.

The Gathering Knoll.
The Crooked Hill.
The Hanging Rock.

430

HIGHEST HILLS

Cairnchlamain.

Sroin a Chro.

Cairn-Maronach, or Cuirn-Marnich.

Glas Mai.

Ben-y-Venie.

Ben Chat.

Mallour.

Cairn Cherrie.

Elerick.

Ben derig,

Torr.

Ben Toaskernich.

Crciir na Hellier.

The Glsad's Cairn.

Braemar Cairns.
Grey Knoll.
The Middle Hill.
Hill of the Cat.
Dun-coloured Knoll.

The Red Hill.

The Toad's Hill.
The Eatrle's Rock.

Fiddlers Cairn.

North Side of Tarff.
Corrie na Craig.
Malcrapan Laagh.
Malna Cairn.
Mackaranoch.
Scarsach.
Malduchlach.
Malcuirn.

Corrie Stock Guise.
Cairnan Illair.
Driniliafeaheaskichan.
Mai Glashea.
Mai Corrie Vreak.
Mai Corriechraggach.
Mai dubh na Glashea.
Ben Vreak.
Sligernoch.
Corrie crom na damk.
Druim Corrie na Rislechan.
Druini na feachanouer.
Drium Minagag.
Uchg na Clasair.

The Knoll of the Calves.
The Knoll of the Cairn.

The Knoll of the Blackstone.
Knoll of the Cairn.

Mai cham corrie.
Sroin feachon.

Glen Garry Forest,

IN THE FOREST OF ATIIOLL. 431

Driiim Kirrichon.

Mai oner.

Sroin a clilerick.

Mai voulin.

Mai Vraminie.

Sroin Glasechorrie.

Vi chosach.

Sroin Craig an L(k-1i.

Dune.

Cricharickrior.

Medher.

Glaish Mai East.

Glaish Mai West.

Monadh Lia.

Vuiunach.

Corrie Mac Slice.

Craig Chursech.

South Side of Inverness Road.

Mackrannoch.

Tork, or The Duke of Atholl's Boar.

Mai Corrie Vackie.

Mai dourune.

Ben Derig, toj) of Corrie Lunnie.

Carkel Lock garry.

Mai na Letirch.

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 same
manner; many of them, indeed, are so corrupted, that their \ery
meaning is lost : this, perhaps, may have in a great measure origiiiated
from the uncomplying pronunciation of strangers. Thus they write
Ben-derig, Ben Derg, and Ben dairg In this dilemma I have thought
it best to make use of the name most generally received.

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THE PULPIT AND IN THE DESK. Preached at Totnes, August 9th.
By J, TRACEY, M.A., Vicar of Townstal and St. Saviour's, Dartmouth.

COXTSECRATIOXr SERAXOITS.

1. GOD'S HOUSE. Preached at St. Luke's Chapel, Tideford, July 31.

By JOSEPH LOSCOMBE RICHARDS, D.D., Rector of Exeter College, Oxford.

2. THE LOVE OF THE CHURCH OF GOD AND OF HIS

EARTHLY SANCTUARY. Preached at Stoke Damerel, August Ist.
By W. WOODIS HARVEY, M.A., Rector of Truro.

BY MR. MURRAY.

THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH'S LETTERS AND

DESPATCHES, from 1702 to 1712. By SIR GEORGE MURRAY, G.C.B.
Portrait. Vols I. to III. 8vo. 20^. each.

•' Exhibits in a striking degree the prudence, foresight, and patience of Marlborough, and throws
a new light upon his character, raising him higher than he stoodheiOTe."— Spectator .

" The character of Marlborough will be much enhanced and exalted by this publication, and the
grasp of his intellect proven to be far more extended than has hitherto been allowed even by favour-
able WTiters."— Literary Gazette.

" Military men should read these volumes with peculiar interest— Marlborough's mind is in
them." — Examiner.

"This collection is rich in material, and will be foimd a valuable acquisition to the military history
of our country."— iVai-ai and Military Gazette.

" These letters unfold the secret spring of some events which hitherto ranked among the disputed
if not the imsolved problems of our anBaia."—Athenceum.

*^* Vols. IV. ^ v., completing the Work, are just ready.

CORRESPONDENCE OF RICHARD HILL, ENVOY

TO THE COURT OF SAVOY DURING THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE.
2 Vols. 8vo, 2&S.

" Mr. nill's Correspondence, though not set forth with any such view, is a supplement to the
• Marlborough Despatches,* and a needful explanation of them on some material points." —
Examiner.

" These Letters are eminently acceptable for their elucidation of history. A thousand particulars
of the Ten Years of Glory which brightened Anne's reign, will be found in this sterling publication."—
Literary Gazette.

LYELL'S JOURNAL OF A GEOLOGIST IN NORTH

AMERICA. Maps and Plates. 2 Vols, post 8vo. 2ls.

««"\Ve regard the work as one of the best books of travels that has appeared for some years : the
matter well selected ; the style easy, iinished, and endowed with a quiet animation ; the manner
straightforward, off-hand and courteous though conclusive, like that of a man of the world ; whilst,
perhaps, as a consequence of all this, the narrative is rapid, rather inducing a wish for more than
a sense of weariness." — Spectator.

" Mr. Lyell visited America not merely as a man of science or a philosopher, but as a man of sense
and of the world, eminently imbued with qualifications to constitute him an astute observer of nature,
whether displayed in the forms of landscape scenery, or unfolded by the conditions of his fellow-men."
—Literary Gazette.

"Although 80 many works have been written on America, not any of these have been the produc-
tions of men of science, and this is a feature which gives peculiar interest to the volumes before us.
Few have gone to America resolved to observe its state of society and its institutions, as necessary
results of certain circumstances acting on man, and prepared to point out the relation of cause and
effect in the spirit of philanthropy and love of truth. The object of Mr. Lyell does not appear to have
been so much the study of the inhabitants and institutions, as the solid earth on which they rest ;
nevertheless, his observations and remarks on the former are not few, and are not wanting in that
candour and freedom from prejudice, which make us regret that they are not more numerous." —
Athenceiim.

BARROW'S MEMOIRS OF THE NAVAL WORTHIES

OF QUEEN ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 8vo. 145.

" Mr. Barrow has in this nationally interesting volume laid before us concise but sufficient descrip-
tions of the state of the navy from the time of Henry VIII., and of the progress made under its gallant
leaders, whose undertakings and adventures follow the general view." — Literary Gazette.

*' Mr. Barrow is industrious, earnest in his task, and agreeable in his manner ; he has a hearty
sympathy with his subject, sees what he does see clearly, and infuses a species of vitality into his
nArraiiye."— Spectator.

4 WORKS PUBLISHED DURING THE SEASON,

DARWIN'S NATURALIST'S VOYAGE ROUND THE

WORLD. Second Edition, with Additions and Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 7s. Qd.

" Looking at the general mass of Mr. Darwin's results, I cannot help considering his voyage round
the world as one of the most important events for geology which has occurred for many years," —
President of the Geological Society.

" Upon the merits of Mr. Darwin's volimie there can he no two opinions. It is up to the science of
the day, and in some instances beyond it. There are, indeed, no illustrations to the book, but we find
ample materials for deep thinking ; we have the vivid description that fills the mind's-eye with
brighter pictures than painter can present, and the charm arising from the freshness of heart which
is thrown over these virgin pages of a strong intellectual man, and an acute and deep observer. It is
not to the scientific alone that Mr. Darwin's volume will prove interesting. The general reader will
find in it a fund of amusement and instruction. Mr. Darwin is a first-rate landscape painter with his
pen, and even the dreariest solitudes are made to teem with interest," — Quarterly Review.

"Mr. Murray could scarcely have chosen a better work than that of Mr. Darwin for his ' Home and
Colonial Library.' It is an inexhaustible mine of observations and anecdotes of the Natural History
of the South American continent, written with the intelligence of a quick-sighted observer, and the
tone of a gentleman."— Dr. Lindley's Gardeners' Chronicle.

LAPPENBERG'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND UNDER

THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGS. 2 Vols. 8vo. 21s.

" This book will be found to supply a defect in our historic literature. We have had nothing with
such claims to accuracy in respect of chronological criticism ; and in none other of our books is pre-
served, in such useful and accessible shape, the German portion of Anglo-Saxon History." — Examiner.

" A very important book. It comes from a high historical school." — Christian Remembrancer.

" The most striking characteristic of this work is, the pertinacious industry of the author. Every
available source of information has been explored, from the classical historians, geographers, and
philosophers, the Northern Sagas and the German Chronicles, to the works on Anglo-Saxon times
published by English antiquarians. In this respect Lappenberg's History is without a rival."—
Spectator.

SIDNEY'S LIFE OF GENERAL LORD HILL,

LATE COMMANDER OF THE FORCES. Portrait. 8vo. 125.

•' The more accurately the facts and true circumstances of the Wellington Campaigns become known,
deeper and more widely spread must be the wonder they excite. The life of Lord Hill has, in this view,
an important value ; but, independently of that, and of the enduring interest of his memorable achieve-
ments, the work possesses, in the development of his personal character, a further, and, we even think,
its greatest, charm. There is as yet no military memoir which we should so gladly place in the hands
of a youthful soldier ; and we are certain it will prove a well-read, universal, and long remaining
favourite." — Dublin Urdversity Magazine.

LORD ROBERTSON'S LEAVES FROM A JOURNAL,

AND OTHER FRAGMENTS IN VERSE. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6rf.
•« The author imites to strong feeling for the sublimity and the grandeur of what he beheld, the
power of expressing his sensations in vigorous and poetic diction. He sees and feels as a scholar
and a poet, and as a scholar and a poet he expresses himself. Some of his lines are very beautiful :
they are polished without labour, and energetic without efl'ort. A manly cast of thought distin-
guishes his reflections, and he is exempt from the puerilities and aflfectation of a mere maker of verses.
A good deal can be learnt from this book. It teaches as well as pleases the reader."— Times, Sept. 5th.

HAWKSTONE. A Tale of and for England in the

YEAR 184—. 2 Vols. Fcap. 8vo. 12s.
" A tale of more profound and sustained interest we have never met. The skill with which incident
after incident is made to sustain the attention, and with which moral and religious truths of the
highest moment are interwoven without efifort or affectation ; the rich and exhaustless variety of
thought and imagery and diction, which afiFords a continual relief and enjoyment ; the exquisite
beauty of its descriptions ; the force and grandeur of its tragic incidents ; and the high philosophy
which breathes in every page and brings out such a noble moral throughout— all appear to us to place
this work on so high an elevation that we should not find it easy to point to any work of fiction cha-
racterised by so great a combination of exoellencieB."— English Review, April, 1845,

BY MR. MURRAY.

A HAND-BOOK FOR
TRAVELLERS in SPAIN and READERS at HOME.

By RICHARD FORD, Esq. Maps. Post 8vo.

" The best English book, beyond comparison, that ever has appeared for the illustration, not merely
of the general topography and local curiosities, but of the national character and manners of Spain—
her arts, antiquities, peculiarities of every conceivable class— appeai-s in the modest guise of a red
pocket volume. We have no doubt that the work includes a capital hand-book—but it is not, in fact,
to be tried at all by that standard. If the extraneous disquisitions were printed by themselves, we
should have before us a first-rate library book ; and it is in this light chiefly that we shall regard it
henceforth." — Quarterly Review, June, 1845.

" The book gives the completest and fullest idea of the country we havo met, in the compactest
fotm."— Spectator .

EASTLAKE'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATIONAL

GALLERY ; IN A LETTER TO SIR ROBERT PEEL. 8vo. 1*.

MRS. JAMESON'S HAND-BOOK TO THE PUBLIC

PICTURE GALLERIES IN AND NEAR LONDON; WITH CRITICAL,

HISTORICAL, AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. A New Edition. Post

8vo. 10*.

" I venture to suggest that a more complete catalogue than that which is at present sold in the
rooms by authority is especially wanted. ♦ * * I conceive that a much Fur.LBR view of thb facts

RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF EACH ARTIST AND THE PICTURE ITSELF, AND ITS SUBJECT, WOUld be de-
sirable."—£a*«afcc'l LetUr to Sir Robert Peel.

WAKEFIELD'S ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

FROM 1839 TO 1844. 2 Vols. 8vo. 285.

" The most complete and continuous history of British Colonization in New Zealand which has ap-
peared. Perhaps we could not give a better idea of the work than by stating that, notwithstanding
our surfeit of New Zealand books and papers, we have perused it with a sense of freshness and
perfect novelty."— Spectator.

" A book full of flowing, vigotous, hearty life, and written with manliness and purpose."— Examiner.

NEALE ON THE LAWS RELATING TO FEASTS

AND FASTS. Fcap. 8vo. 9*. 6d.

" A minute and accurate detail of the present state of the English law relating to seasons conse-
crated to religious observances. The author has displayed a very remarkable degree of industry and
research."— Ox/orrf Herald.

' ' A learned and an agreeable exposition of a very curious subject, which possesses additional interest
just now, from the religious movement that is abroad." — Spectator.

" An indispensable book of reference for the student of our Church history in relation to the regu-
lations of the State, and an excellent handmaid to 'Nelson on Fasts and YestiwaXa." "—British
Mnpazine.

" An able essay ; and will become, we should think, a i&sX-hook.''— Christian Remembrancer.

6 WORKS PUBLISHED DURING THE SEASON.

DR. SMITH'S SCHOOL DICTIONARY OF GREEK

AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. With 200 Woodcuts. Square 12mo. 10*. 6d.

" Though this work has been drawn up chiefly for the use of the lower forms in our public schools,
the wants of another class of persons have also been consulted. It is believed that the work will be
found to be of no small assistance to those who have not studied the Greek and Roman writers, but
who frequently need information on many points connected with Greek and Roman Antiquities. Care
has been taken not to presume too much on the knowledge of the reader; and it is therefore hoped,
that most of the articles may be read with advantage and profit by persons who are imacquainted with
the classical writers."— Prc/ace.

" Designed for the use of schools, or those individuals who are not classical scholars, but who con-
tinually feel the want of information upon many points connected with Greek and Roman Antiquities.
It is neat in its compression, and ample in its information."— -5j3ec<a<or.

" This little work is drawn up in a clear and concise style, and weeded of all those references and
speculative matters which tend so much to confuse the student who is not far advanced. It is
abundantly illustrated with the woodcuts of the larger edition, and is altogether a most valuable addi-
tion to our school and college literature."— Cambridge Chronicle.

MURCHISON'S GEOLOGY OF CHELTENHAM AND

ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. Map and Plates. Second Edition. 8vo. 8s. 6d.

*^* This Work is now republished in a greatly enlarged form, illustrated with a
Geological Map and Section ; thirteen Lithographed Plates of Fossils, several Woodcuts,
and an Appendix of all the Fossil Remains hitherto discovered in the various Strata of the
District ; and in which nearly Six Hundred Fossils are tabulated, and Sixty-seven new
Species are described.

THE PRACTICAL GEOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE

OF IRELAND. By GEORGE WILKINSON, Esq. Plates and Woodcuts.
Royal 8vo. 28*.
*' The value of scientific knowledge, when applied to practical purposes, is strikingly shown in this
curious and useful volume."— Spectator.

" The work is one which must be perused with profit by every architect and engineer."— J'rce-
man's Journal.

THE OXFORD ENGLISH PRIZE ESSAY FOR 1845,

DELIVERED by SAMUEL LUCAS, B.A., Queen's College. 8vo. 26. 6d

" This English Essay is a fine specimen of the improved spirit now prevailing in historical inves-
tigations."— Times, June 5.

" Every well-reasoned contribution to the philosophy of history is not only welcome but important,
and in this category we think, with full justice, I\Ir. Lucas's Prize Essay may be placed. Every page
contains evidence of extensive reading and deliberate consideration." — Morning Chronicle.

FISHER'S ELEMENTS OF GEOMETRY FOR NAVAL

SCHOOLS. Published by OaoER of the Lords of the Admiralty.

ISmo. 2s.

THE HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY,

Published Monthly j post 8vo, price 2s. 6d. each,

DESIGNED TO FURNISH THE HIGHEST LITERATURE OP THE DAY, CONSISTING OF NEW

WORKS AND REPRINtS OF POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, AT THE

LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE.

The following Works have already appea/red, and have received universal commendation.

BORROWS BIBLE IN SPAIN.

" As a book of adventures— the most extraor(lii)EU7 one which has appeared for a long time
past,'*-' Quarterly Review.

II.

BISHOP HEBER'S JOURNAL IN INDIA.

" The most perfectly charming book we ever read."— Examiner.
III.

IRBY AND MANGLES' TRAVELS IN THE EAST.

" One of the most interesting and popular works of the present century ."—Aberdeen Journal.

IV.

DRINKWATER'S SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR.

" A book so replete with interest and icformation as to be truly a legend of the United Services
of its day." — United Service Magazine.

HAY'S MOROCCO AND THE MOORS

.68 are singularly graph
«rith them, and listens to
witli wild beasts."— CAc/^cnAam Chronicle.

These Sketches are singularly graphic and interesting. The Author rides among the wild
people, encamps with them, and listens to the strange tales of mighty robbers or daring exploits

LETTERS FROM THE SHORES OF THE BALTIC.

" A series of charming descriptions ; the style full of ease and freshness."— JS*amtner.

VII.

THE AMBER WITCH.

«' If it be a fiction, it is worthy— we can give no higher praise— of De FoQ."— Quarterly Review.

VIII.

SOUTHEY'S CROMAVELL AND BUNYAN.

" Models of what biography ought to be ; embracing all the facts in the lives of their respective
subjects."— I>uWm Freeman's JovrnaU

g MR. MURRAY'S HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY.

IX.

NEW SOUTH WALES. Br MRS. MEREDITH.

" Mrs. Meredith is a pleasant unaffected writer; and the book derives interest from being a
lady's view of New South Wales.'* — Spectator.

X.

BARROW'S LIFE OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

" The interesting: and instructive volume with which Mr. Barrow has enriched our biographical
liieT&tare."— Edinburgh Review.

XI.

FATHER RIPA'S RESIDENCE IN CHINA.

" The combined singularity of the facts, and the mode of narration, render this as interesting
a work as ' Bohrow's Bible in Spais.'"— Spectator.

XII.

LEWIS'S LIFE IN THE WEST INDIES.

" These highly amusing stories of actual Jamaica life."— Quarterly Review.

" I would give many a sugar cane,
Mat Lewis were alive again."— B^ron.

XIII.

SIR JOHN MALCOLM'S SKETCHES OF PERSIA.

" New and important views of the Persians as a nation are here presented with all the interest,
without the tendency to caricature, of our amusing friend Hajji Baba.."— Quarterly Review.

XIV.

ALGIERS— ABD-EL-KADER— AND THE ARABS.

" A narrative more romantic, or of more absorbing interest, we have seldom met."— Northern
Whig.

XV.

WASHINGTON IRVING'S BRACEBRIDGE HALL.

*' The most charming work ever written by Washington Irving.*'— Cambridge Chronicle.

XVI.

DARWIN'S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

" Mr. Darwin is a first-rate landscape painter, and the dreariest solitudes are made to teem with
Interest."— QMor/er/y Review.

In Preparation.

THE FALL OF THE JESUITS.
LIFE OF THE GREAT CONDfe. By LORD MAHON.

ALBEMARLE STREET,
September, 1845.

WOEKS IN THE PRESS.

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, ILLUMINATED WITH

ORNAMENTAL BORDERS, INITIALS, AND HISTORICAL ILLUSTRA-
TIONS FROM THE OLD MASTERS.

This Edition contains : —
300 Ornamental Borders, Scrolls, Head-pieces, and Vignettes.
700 Original and Ornamental Initials.

8 Illuminated Titles to the various portions of the Ritual.

4 Illustrations of the Services of the Church, designed by Horsley, Warren, &c.
40 Historical Wood Illustrations from the Old Masters, engraved under thb

SUPF-RINTENDENCE OF LoUIS GruNER.

One Volume 8vo, handsomely bound, (to be ready in October).

THE LIVES OF THE LORD CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS

OF THE GREAT SEAL OF ENGLAND, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
TILL THE REIGN OF GEORGE IV. By JOHN, LORD CAMPBELL,
A.M., F.R.S.E. 3 Vols. 8vo.

THE LETTERS AND DESPATCHES OF THE GREAT DUKE

OF MARLBOROUGH, from 1702 to 1712, recently discovered at Woodstock.
By SIR GEORGE MURRAY. 8vo., Vols. IV. and V., (completing the work).

LIFE OF THE RIGHT HON. HENRY ADDINGTON, FIRST

VISCOUNT SIDMOUTH ; comprising his Lordship's Correspondence with many

of the MOST EMINENT POLITICAL CHARACTERS OF HIS TiME. By his SoN-IN-LaW, the

Hon. and Very Reverend GEORGE PELLEW, D.D., Dean of Norwich. From
Papers consigned to Trustees for the purpose, by the Deceased. 3 Vols. 8vo.

HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL STATES OF EUROPE, from

THE Pfjice of Utrecht. By LORD JOHN RUSSELL, M.P. A New Edition
Post Bvo.

LIFE OF THE GREAT CONDE. By Lord Mahon, M.P. Post 8vo.
(To le Published \st of November and December).

10 MR. MURRAY'S WORKS IN THE PRESS.

SKETCHES OF THE HISTOEY OF CHRISTIAN ART. By

LORD LINDSAY, Author of "Letters on Egypt and the Holy Land."
Post 8vo.

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY & RESEARCH, in the SOUTHERN

AND ANTARCTIC SEAS. By CAPTAIN SIR JAMES CLARK ROSS, KNT.,
R.N. With Plates and Maps. 2 Vols. 8vo.

THE JOURNALS OF THE LATE SIR HUDSON LOWE, relating

chiefly to the DETENTION OF NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. With Notices
of Public Affairs in the Mediterranean from 1792 to 1812 ; the Liberation War in
Germany (1813), the Campaign in France (1814), and the Political and Military
Transactions in the Netherlands preceding the Campaign of Waterloo. By HIS
SON, HUDSON LOWE, ESQ. 3 Vols. 8vo.

A HISTORY OF GREECE. I. Legendary Greece. 2. Grecian-
history TO THE REIGN OF PISISTRATUS AT ATHENS. By
GEORGE GROTE, ESQ. 2 Vols. 8vo.

" Endeavour to become acquainted with Mr. Grote, who is engaged on a Greek History -,
he, too, will receive you well if you take him my regards. If you become better acquainted
with him, it is worth your while to obtain the proof sheets of his work, in order to trans-
late it. I expect a great deal from this production, and I will get you a publisher here."
~-Niebuhr, the Historian, to Professor Lieber, in 1827.

THE LIFE OF HORACE, PREFIXED TO A NEW EDITION

OF THE WORKS OF HORACE. By REV. H. H. MILMAN. With Notes,
and Polychromatic and other Illustrations ; with Views of the Localities ;
Vignettes from Antique Sculptures, Vases, Gems, &c., beautifully printed in 2 Vols,
post 8vo.

LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D., including a Journal of his
TOUR TO THE HEBRIDES. By JAMES BOSWELL. Edited by the RIGHT
HON. JOHN WILSON CROKER. A new Ediiion, revised and corrected
by the Editor. Portrait. Beautifully printed in One Volume, royal 8vo.

THE GEOLOGY OF RUSSIA IN EUROPE AND THE URAL

MOUNTAINS. By R. I. MURCHISON, ESQ., Pres. R.G.S., M. ED. DE
VERNEUIL, and COUNT VON KEYSERLING.

This work is the first systematic attempt to apply modern Geology to a region nearly
as large as all those parts of Europe previously described ; and the extending the classi-
fication established in the British Isles over Eastern Europe into Asia, is the most
extensive appeal to Nature yet made, in relation to vast countries hitherto most ob-
scurely known.

With Geological Maps, Sections, Views, and more than Sixty elaborately executed
Plates of Fossils. 2 Vols, royal 4to.

MR. MURRAY'S WORKS IN THE PRESS. 11

LIFE OF LORD CHANCELLOR ELDON, with Selections from

HIS Correspondence and his Anecdote-book. By HORACE TWISS, ESQ.
Third Edition. 8vo.

CATHOLIC SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THE ERRORS, COR-
RUPTIONS, AND NOVELTIES OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. Selected
from the Works of Eminent Divines. By REV. JAMES BROGDEN, M.A.,
Trinity College, Cambridge. 5 Vols. 8vo.

A HISTORY OF ROME FOR SCHOOLS. By A Lady. On the

Plan of Mrs. MARKHAM'S HISTORIES OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
With Woodcuts. 12mo.

A NEW CLASSICAL DICTIONARY FOR SCHOOLS. Being
AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROPER NAMES, BIOGRAPHICAL, MYTHO-
LOGICAL, and GEOGRAPHICAL, that occur in Greek and Roman Writers.
By WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D. One Volume, 8to.

MY KNITTING BOOK. Second Series. By Miss Lambert,

Authoress of " The Handbook of Needlework," ** Church Needlework," « My Crot-
cket Sampler," &c. Royal 16mo.

ELEMENTS OF ALGEBRA FOR SCHOOLS. By REV. GEORGE

FISHER, Greenwich Hospital. Published by order of the Lords of the Admiralty.
Uniform with the ** Elements of Greometry." ISmo.

THE MUCK MANUAL FOR FARMERS: A PRACTICAL
TREATISE ON THE NATURE AND VALUE OF MANURES. A New

Edition, entirely Re-written, with many Additions, and a Glossary of Terms used in
Agricultural Chemistry. By FREDERIC FALKNER, ESQ. Fcap. 8vo.

A CORRECT REPORT OF THE DEBATE IN THE HOUSE

OF COMMONS on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of June, on the STATE OF NEW
ZEALAND, and the CASE OF THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY. 8vo.

LETTERS FROM THE BYE- WAYS OF ITALY. By Colonel

and Mrs. STISTED. With Plates. Post 8vo.

12 MR. MURRAY'S WORKS IN THE PRESS.

THE CITIES AND CEMETERIES OF ETRURIA. Being an

Account of two Journeys made for the purpose of investigating the existing remains of
Etruscan civilization, and intended to serve as a Guide to the Local Antiquities of
Etruria. By GEORGE DENNIS, ESQ. With Maps and Illustrations. 8vo.

RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON at ST. HELENA, DURING

THE FIRST THREE YEARS OP HIS CAPTIVITY. By MRS. ABEL.
A new Editiouy with Plates. Post 8vo.

GIBBON'S. HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF

THE ROMAN EMPIRE. By REV. H. H. MILMAN, Minister of St. Mar-
garet's, and Prebendary of Westminster. A New Edition, thoroughly revised.
With Maps. 6 Vols. 8vo.

GERMAN FAIRY STORIES; A New Selection. By JOHN

EDWARD TAYLOR. With Illustrations. Fcap. Svo.

A FEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LITERATURE OF THE

FINE ARTS — On various Subjects connected with the History and Practice of
Painting, Sculpture, &r. By CHARLES LOCKE EASTLAKE, R.A., Editor of
" Kugler's Handbook of Italian Painting/' Svo.

LEGENDS OF SAINTS AND MARTYRS. Their LIVES, ACTS,

CHARACTERS, ATTRIBUTES, and EMBLEMS ; as Illustrated by Art, from the
earliest Ages of Christianity to the present Time. By MRS. JAMESON, with
numerous Etchings by the Author, and Woodcuts. Post Svo.

REMARKABLE GERMAN CRIMINAL TRIALS. Translated from

RITTER VON FEUERBACH, one of the most distinguished of the GERMAN
JURISTS. Post Svo.

KUGLER'S HAND-BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF PAINTING.

THE GERMAN, FLEMISH, AND DUTCH SCHOOLS.

Translated by A Lady ; Edited, with Notes, by SIR EDMUND HEAD, BART.

Post Svo.

HISTORY OF THE FALL OF THE JESUITS. Post Svo.

BRAOBCST AMD BTANI , rBIHTBmi, WHITXFSIAXa.

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