UC-NRLF 2 mo THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID A SHORT TOUR IN SUTHERLAND Loch Assynt. Vol. i. Frontispiece.] A TOUR IN SUTHEELANDSHIEE WITH EXTEACTS FROM THE FIELD-BOOKS OF A SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST BY CHARLES ST. JOHN, ESQ. AUTHOR OF ' WILD SPORTS AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS ' SECOND EDITION WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE FAUNA OF SUTHERLAND BY J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, F.Z.S., ETC., AND T. E. BUCKLEY, B.A., F.Z.S., ETC. IN TWO VOLS.-VOL. I. EDINBUEGH: DAVID DOUGLAS 1884 Printed bv R. & R. CLARK, Edinburgh. TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OP SUTHEELAND ARE (WITH PERMISSION) RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR HIS GRACE'S MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT CHARLES ST. JOHN. January 1849. IRS62845 PEEFACE TO FIRST EDITION. IT is with real diffidence that I offer these volumes to the public. I am induced to do so by the wishes of many of my friends and companions in the woods and fields, who, having received with indulgence my former volume on Highland Sports, have persuaded me to launch another barque laden with a similar cargo of odds and ends. That it should have as favourable a voyage as its predecessor is more than I can venture to hope. If, however, these pages serve to entertain for a few hours any of my fellow- lovers of nature, or if any whose occupations in life are of a graver and more laborious kind, find relaxation and amusement in their < perusal, my object is fully gained. viii PREFACE. I do not fear the criticism of the learned ; my flight is far too humble to obtain even their censure : nor do I aim at instructing any of my readers, but solely at amusing them. The scientific naturalist must excuse my errors of description and my want of skill : but thus far, and thus far only, I can venture to say a good word in favour of my rough notes — that they are the result of actual and personal observation, and not of hearsay or second-hand information ; and that, therefore, some reliance may be placed in them. The present volumes consist of extracts from a Journal, written during a wandering excursion through Sutherlandshire, one of the most interesting counties in Scotland, and one of the least known ; of a series of field -notes for each month in the year, written during my residence in the pleasant land of Moray ; and of a few miscellaneous PREFACE. IX chapters on matters of interest to the sports- man. Such as they are, I offer them to the public, trusting that they will receive them as the off-hand thoughts and observations of one who is more accustomed to the hill- side than to the study — to the gun than to the pen. [January 1849.] PREFATORY NOTE. THE second edition of Mr. Charles St. John's TOUT in Sutherland is almost an exact reprint of the original, as published in 1849. Instead of altering the text or adding fresh notes so as to bring the book up to the requirements of the day, the editor considered that it would be better to leave the work as the author wrote it, and to supplement the volumes by an entirely new chapter on the Fauna of the district. In carrying out this plan he was so fortunate as to secure the hearty co-operation of Mr. Buckley and Mr. Harvie- Brown, who have been careful students of the natural history of Sutherlandshire for the last seventeen years ; the results of their experience, written from accumulated notes kept during these years, are given in the Appendix. In addition to the authorities consulted, a list of which will be Wnd on pp. 292-3 of vol. ii., " They have VOL. i. b Xll PREFATORY NOTE. received most able and willing assistance from numerous friends and correspondents either resi- dent in, or closely connected with, the county of Sutherland ; and they beg to express their thanks to Mr. Houstoun of Kintradwell, Dr. Joass of Golspie, Sheriff Mackenzie, and Mr. Hill of Helms- dale, for many valuable communications respecting the Fauna of the east and south-east districts ; to Mr. Crawford of Tongue for lists and notes from the north ; and to Mr. L. M'lver and Mr. Mur- doch Kerr for Fish lists from Scourie and Loch Inver. From the Messrs. Peach, and from Mr. Mackay, Portnacon, they have received most ample lists and notes on Fish of the north coast of the county of Caithness and of the Moray Firth. Mr. Mackay's notes were received too late, and were too long to print in extenso, but they hope to make a fuller use of these at a future date. From the west they have received very valuable assistance and practical aid from Mr. John Sutherland, and Mr. John Munro of Inch- nadamph, both being men well acquainted with the birds of the district. Dr. Day — than whom they could not have any better authority — has most kindly looked over and revised their list PREFATORY NOTE. Xlll of Fishes. Nor can they omit mention of the keepers, shepherds, and ghillies, everywhere throughout the county, too numerous to mention by name, who have so often given them a helping hand, without which many a pleasant and successful nesting expedition would have proved a failure." The only other additions to the volumes are Capt. H. C. St. John's brief recollections of his boyhood ; and the vignette illustrations from the author's sketch-books, which have been carefully drawn and engraved by Mr. John Adam, Edinburgh. June 1884. KECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR BY CAPTAIN H. C. ST. JOHN. I HAVE been asked to jot down some few reminis- cences of my father. I was only eighteen when he died, and as I had been to sea for four years, my recollections of him are almost those of a child. I remember him — a slight, active man, of middle height, wiry and strong, with a handsome, animated face, blue eyes, and a singularly sweet smile. He became bald early, which showed to advantage the intellectually -formed head. In disposition he was calm and collected, and I never remember him violently excited about anything. When young, I have always heard he was gay, mixing a great deal in society ; but my own recollections of him are as a thoroughly domestic man, devoted to his children, natural history, and sport. Perhaps he was rather too indulgent a father, for we boys had little difficulty XVI RECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR. in getting extra holidays, and this rather too frequently for our progress up the ladder of learning. In one way these holidays were not wasted ; they were almost always spent with him on some long wild ramble, or shooting excursion, which he made valuable and instructive by his conversation, teaching us to observe carefully all we saw in nature. In the winter evenings he taught us drawing and chess, so graphically described by Mr. Innes in his memoir of my father. A first-rate sportsman, an excellent shot, and fond of making a good bag for home use or for friends, yet he had no delight in killing, and thoroughly disliked battue-shooting. His chief pleasure was in watching and noting the habits of all creatures ferce naturce — as his books show. I shall never forget those happy young days, when trotting in my kilt by his side, or left in the path or track by which the roe-deer would leave the wood, while he went round with the dogs to drive them to where he had placed me. In this way I killed my first deer — a feat my father was as proud of as I was. The love of natural history fostered in us has always been of good service to my brothers and RECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR. XV11 myself ; never have I visited any part of the world, however wanting in general amusements, without being able to find continual interest and pleasure. Of all our many Scotch homes, Invererne was, I think, my father's favourite ; it was charmingly situated, close to the river Findhorn and the large bay of that name. The wild sandhills, and the equally wild stretch of coast, made an excellent locality for the naturalist and sportsman. About a mile and a half from the mouth of the river it divides (or did so in those days), forming an island in the fork, the habitat of rabbits and all kinds of wild-fowl. Here an almost fatal accident occurred. One day, after refusing to let my brother and myself fish in the river, he took us to the island ferreting. In the course of the afternoon, without the least warning, we saw the river " coming down/' like a great brown wall, ten feet high, sweeping everything before it. We had barely time to reach the highest point, for in a few seconds the island, barring a dozen square yards on which we stood, was a seething mass of water several feet deep. If we boys had been fishing nothing could have saved us. My father often spoke of this providential escape, as he did XV111 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR. not anticipate the rise of the river, and had no reason for refusing our request. At all our homes we had a varied menagerie of the tamest and most intelligent of pets. He had great power and influence over animals ; and his dogs, from being his constant companions, were remarkable for their sagacity. The " College," our Elgin home, rejoiced in a great walled garden of about four acres. In one part was a grass plot, where my father kept trained Peregrine falcons, which he used to fly after the fashion of bygone days, and much amusement it afforded him and us boys. The art of training and flying hawks was taught us by our dear old friend Mr. John Hancock, the celebrated naturalist. My father was fond of flowers, and the lighter kinds of gardening, budding, pruning, etc. He must have been a very even-tempered man. I cannot remember a single instance of his being angry or irritable. When out shooting with him once, he caught sight of a poacher, who, on being run down, threatened to shoot my father. Giving me his gun to hold, he very quickly took the gun from the poacher, whom he simply made pro- mise not to trespass again, and allowed him to go RECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR. xix home. This was all done in the coolest manner, without anger, and with very few words. When at Invererne he was often warned by Dr. Allan (then at Torres, since well known in London) that he was ruining his constitution by over-exposure to cold and wet, particularly in duck -shooting during the winter; but no one anticipated that fatal results were so soon to be developed. At the time of his seizure my father was alone at the "College" (the rest of the family being at the sea-side). He then occupied an unused room — the proverbial haunted room which belongs to most Scotch houses. Something very strange seems to have happened to him in this room, but what I know not, as he never would speak of it. The next day he went out shooting in company with Major Campbell, and was suddenly seized with loss of power in the left side — paralysis. Strange to say, the only other time my father was in company with that gentleman he met with a very nasty accident : A dying roe-deer kicked the hunting -knife into his foot, inflicting a deep wound, severing the tendon of the big toe, which was stiff ever after. XX RECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR. My poor father never regained power after his first attack, and became a confirmed invalid. He bore this terrible affliction for two long years with wonderful resignation and patience. The enforced idleness was particularly trying to one so active in mind and body ; and yet, I believe, he never lost his cheerfulness. I left England for China in January 1855 ; and in October 1856 my father died, at the early age of forty-six. March 10, 1884. CONTENTS. A SHORT TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CHAPTER I. Sutherlandshire ; its Wild -birds not sufficiently known — Our Start and Conveyance — Kyle of Sutherland — "Woods of Rosehall ; old Keeper there ; his recollection of me — Oykel Inn — Altnagalcanach ; Origin of Name ; Fishing at — Con- veying Boat to Loch Urigil — Wild-geese and Divers on the Loch — Large Trout of these Lakes — Drive to Inchnadamph — Value of rare Eggs — Heronry — Peregrine Falcon and Buzzards' Nests — Climbing over the Rocks . Page 1 CHAPTER II. Inn at Inchnadamph — Liberal System of the Duke of Suther- land— Facility of Travelling — Beauty of Country — Loch Assynt — Nest of Osprey — Large Spring of Water — Water- ousel — Dense Mist — Wild Country near Kylesku — Coun- try between Kylesku and Scowrie — Nest of Osprey ; curious position of — Eagle . 18 CHAPTER III. Inn at Scowrie — Another Osprey 's Nest — The old Osprey s — Eggs of — The River Laxford — Inn of Rhiconnich — Drive to Durness — Beauty of Scenery — Drive round Loch Erriboll — XXll CONTENTS. Glenmore — Loch Maddie — Crows — Gray Geese; time of breeding— Old Nest of Osprey — Stag in the Loch — Fox- hound — Black - throated Divers — Aultnaharrow — Loch Laighal — Squall of Wind ' . . . . Page 29 CHAPTER IV. Return to Sutherland — Travelling from Edinburgh — Skye Terrier ; peculiarities of — Lairg — Loch Shin — River Shin — Reserve of the English — Mr. Young's Experiments re- specting Salmon ; Anecdotes of Salmon — Manner of Spawn- ing ; Food of Salmon — Drive to Aultnaharrow — Curlews, etc. — Loch Naver — Phalaropes — Widgeon — Green - shank, etc «•'... . 45 CHAPTER V. Length of Day — Sedge Warbler — Different Birds near Loch Naver — Ben Cleebrick — Rain — Loch Maddie — Frost — Ben Laighal — Foxes— Sheep Killing — Catching Wild-ducks — Peregrine Falcon ; manner of catching their Young — Golden Eagles — Tongue — Fine Scenery of Bay of Tongue and Islands — Wild-cat— Seals . 64 CHAPTER VI. Ferry from Tongue — Difficulties of our Start — Seals — Shep- herds, etc. — Emigration — Heilam Inn — Storm — River Hope — Drive to Durness — Cave — Rock-pigeons — Inn at Rhiconnich — Search for Osprey's Nest — Swimming to Nest — Loch of the Eagle-fisher — Stalking the Osprey — Row up the Bay— Loss of Fishing-line— Scowrie— Island of Handa — Innumerable Birds, etc. 77 CONTENTS. XXlll CHAPTER VII. Another Osprey's Nest ; Variety of Eggs — Golden Eagle ; Manner of Hunting ; decrease of — Egg Collectors — Mr. Hancock's Collection — Nests of Eagles ; Animals killed by — The Mountain Hare— Fishing of Osprey . Page 105 CHAPTER VIII. County of Sutherland ; Variety of Climate and Soil — List of Birds ; of Hawks ; Owls ; of the smaller Land Birds ; of the Crow Tribe ; Pigeons, etc. . . . . . 117 CHAPTER IX. List continued — Game Birds ; Destruction of by Shepherds — Plovers — Sandpipers and Snipes, etc. — Water-fowl ; Swans, Geese, varieties of Ducks, Grebes, Terns, Gulls, etc. — De- crease of many kinds of birds — Egg-dealers . . 133 CHAPTER X. Deer-hounds — Deer-forest in Sutherlandshire — Effect of the Forests on Deer — The Stag casting his Horns — Hinds and Calves — Courage of the Hind — Poaching Shepherds — Value of Horns — Fighting of Stags — Highland Forester — Breed of Deer-hounds . 144 CHAPTER XI. Agriculture in Sutherlandshire — Facilities of reaching the County — Caledonian Canal — Travelling in Sutherland — Inns, excellent management of — Lairg — Tongue — Durness — Scowrie ' — Inchnadamph — Inveran — Conclusion of Sutherlandshire . 159 XXIV CONTENTS. FIELD-NOTES FOE THE YEAR CHAPTER XII. JANUARY. Wood - pigeons — Feeding of Widgeon and Mallards — Wild - fowl — Water-rail — Wild-duck Shooting — Change of colour in Trout . Page 169 CHAPTER XIII. FEBRUARY. Change of colour in Stoats— Affection of Otters for their young — Eoe-hunting — Attachment of Birds to their Mates — Food of Fieldfares during Snow — Widgeon — Wild-fowl shooting at Spynie — Incidents in Shooting — Winged Swan — Cats — Food of Wild-geese — Brent Goose . . . . 178 CHAPTER XIV. MARCH. Wild-swans — Loch of Spynie ; Wild-fowl on it — Pochard — Carrion Crows — Death of Wild -swan — Domestication of Wild-fowl ; flavour of— Arrival of Geese . . . 193 CHAPTER XV. APRIL. Field-mice — Brent Geese — Arrival of ; Migratory Birds — In- stinct of Crows in Feeding — Instinct _of Thrushes — Disap- pointments in Shooting Wild-geese — Death of White-fronted Geese — Shetland Pony — Heronry — Anecdote of Roebuck — Wild-duck's Nest . 205 CONTENTS. XXV CHAPTER XVI. MAY. Nests of Birds — Cross -bills, etc. — Lateness of Season — Bean- geese — Partridge's Nest — Northern Diver — Coot's Nest — Teal and her Young — Wren's Nest — Badgers ; cunning of ; anecdote of — Aurora Borealis ; sound made by . Page 221 CHAPTER XVII. JUNE. Trout -fishing — Sea -trout in the Findhorn — Breeding -place of Black -headed Gulls — Salmon - fishing — Gray Crows — Hair "Worms — Fishing — Cromarty — Goats — The Peregrine Falcon 232 CHAPTER XVIII. JULY. Shore Birds; arrival of — Foxes — Herring, and Herring-fish- ing; Birds, etc., feeding on them — Herring -fishing in Suther- land — A Sharper— Numbers of Flounders — Young Wild- fowl— Roe ; habits of — Midges — Angling — Floods in the Findhorn — Prophecy of a Woman — Escape of a Shep- herd .- 247 CHAPTER XIX. AUGUST. Golden Plover — Ring - dottrel — Migratory * Birds — Butterflies — Crabs ; their manner of casting their shells — The Sea Angler — The Deal Fish — Habits of Woodcocks — A pet IJpe — Grouse - shootings and Grouse — Wild - fowl 266 XXVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. SEPTEMBER. The 1st of September— Partridge-shooting — Migratory Birds — Grouse - shooting in September — Widgeon — Jack - snipes ; Breeding-places of — Landrail — White variety of the Eagle — Sea-trout fisher — Stag's Horns— Deer-stalking — Cunning of Deer — Disappointed in getting a Shot . . Page 283 LIST OF PAGE ILLUSTEATIONS. LOCH ASSYNT ...... Frontispiece. LOCH URIGIL . . . . . . To face page 9 OSPREY'S NEST ...... , , 29 VIEW OF WHITEN HEAD .... ,, 77 LOCH NEAR RHICONNICH . . . . ,, 105 WILD SWANS 193 A SHORT TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CHAPTEE I. Sutherlandshire ; its Wild -birds not sufficiently known — Our Start and Conveyance — Kyle of Sutherland — Woods of Rosehall ; old Keeper there ; his recollection of me — Oykel Inn — Altnagalcanach ; Origin of Name ; Fishing at — Con- veying Boat to Loch Urigil — Wild Geese and Divers on the Loch — Large Trout of these Lakes — Drive to Inchnadamph — Value of rare Eggs — Heronry — Peregrine Falcon and Buzzards' Nests— Climbing over the Rocks. AMONGST the thousands of scenery-hunters and tourists there are very few who have ever made an excursion through the county of Sutherland, although it is a district as interesting as any in Europe, both for its magnificent and varied scenery, including sea, mountain, valley, and lake, and also as containing many rare subjects interesting to the naturalist and botanist. There are many birds and plants to be found in the wilder parts of this county which are scarcely to be seen else- where in Britain. The naturalist may here observe VOL. I. B 2 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. I. closely the eagle, the osprey, the wild-goose, and many other birds, whose habits are little known, but who in this region breed and rear their young in comparative security. The wild -cat, marten ca.t, fox, etc., though seldom seen by daylight, are still tolerably nume- rous where the ground is not kept for grouse- shooting. In the latter case, however, traps and poison have pretty well destroyed these and all other carnivorous animals. In the spring of 1848 I made an excursion through some part of the county of Sutherland, which I shall endeavour to describe, in the hope of inducing others to follow my example, being confident that whoever does so will find himself amply repaid for his trouble. My object in making the journey was to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the north coast, to see and observe the breeding habits and localities of many of the rarer birds of Britain, and to ascer- tain the fact of some of these birds rearing then- young in Scotland, which, from the contradictory and uncertain statements of many naturalists, seemed to be a matter of great doubt. Not being a collector of eggs or birds myself, I had no wish to destroy more of my feathered friends than sufficed to prove their identity, and to procure a few CH. I. OUR START AND CONVEYANCE. 3 specimens for a gentleman who is as great a lover of nature as myself, and a far more scientific one. Our start from Bonar Bridge was a most amus- ing affair, not only to ourselves, but also to all the inhabitants of that small but beautifully situated village. The vehicle which we travelled in was a small and lightly built flat-bottomed boat, made of larch, and mounted on wheels. It was constructed to ship and unship in half a minute. By simply unscrewing two bolts, it could be taken off its wheels and launched into the water. Being on springs, it made a very easy carriage, and was large enough to hold four persons, with plenty of space for luggage. On the present occasion our party consisted of a friend of mine, Mr. J., who (although for many years a wanderer over Swit- zerland and many parts of Europe) had never been through the wilder and more mountainous regions of Scotland; Mr. Dunbar, whose assistance was of much use as a naturalist and interpreter amongst the shepherds and others who spoke more Gaelic than English ; myself, and Leo, my retriever. Having adjusted the harness, traces, etc., of the boat to my horse (a stout Highland " garron "), we started at an early hour, trusting to the chapter of accidents and the pace of our horse as to where we should sleep that night, but determined to make 4 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. I. out as many miles as we could, or in other words to advance as far as possible into the mountainous part of Sutherlandshire. Bonar Bridge is situ- ated on what is called the Kyle of Sutherland, a narrow estuary formed by the confluence of the Shin, Oykel, Casselis, and Anak rivers, all of which streams, a short distance above Bonar Bridge, meet the salt water of the Dornoch Firth. In winter this water abounds with wild-fowl, but now (May 14) all these birds had gone to their breeding-places with the exception of a solitary godwit or two, who seemed to have been left behind the rest of their comrades, this bird not breeding in Scotland. The woods about Eosehall,or rather that portion of them which the axe has spared, used to abound in many kinds of interesting hawks, and also in marten and wild-cats, but keepers and trapping combined seem to have entirely swept all these animals away. I looked in vain for buzzards on a high rock which some few years back was invariably tenanted by them, but it seemed that they had long since been destroyed. As I passed through the remains of the woods too I caught a glimpse here and there of passes where different stags had fallen to my rifle, and many a happy day spent in the greenwood was recalled to my recollection, with all its accom- panying incidents. I called on the old Highland €H. I. OLD KEEPER AT ROSEHALL. 5 keeper who was then my attendant, and found him exactly on the same spot where I had seen him twelve years ago, winking at the morning sun in a manner peculiar to owls and inhabitants of cottages full of peat smoke. I doubted his recog- nising me after so many years, but was much gratified at the pleasure and readiness with which he did so, and at the vivid recollection which he had of the corrie in which " my honour " had shot my first stag under his guidance and tuition — his tender inquiry too after my rifle, " the likes of which never put down a deer in the country." I returned the compliment by begging to be shown my old acquaintance, " the double-barrel," a most venerable flint gun, with singularly eccentric and unreachable triggers, which no forefinger but his own could ever pull. This ancient gun, however, in his hands had laid low many an antlered head. Though he affected to despise all new inventions, I had a recollection of his always preferring a shot with one of my percussion guns to the uncertain chance of his own flint and steel. Many an old story connected with stag and corrie, shealing and whisky bottle, the old fellow called to my recol- lection ; and I really saw with regret the last of his weather-beaten face, as he bowed and gesticu- lated to me as long as we continued in sight. I 6 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. I. am afraid that my companions must have thought me a bore for a few miles, as I pointed out, with an interest which they could scarcely feel, rock and glen, the scenes of former chaces of deer, or even of the death of otter or wild-cat. At Oykel Inn, some twenty miles from our start- ing-place, we stopped for an hour or two to rest our horse, and to try a cast in the river ; but bright and clear as it was, with very little water in the stream, we had no success. At certain times of the fishing season there is no better river than the Oykel. May, however, is rather too early. Eleven miles farther on we came to a small inn, at a place called Altnagalcanach, — a most difficult and unpronounceable Gaelic name, and one which I cannot be sure of spelling right. The meaning of it is the " Burn of the Deceiver." The origin of the name, as it was told me, is amusing and characteristic enough. The place is situated in a part of Eoss-shire which intrudes into the adjoin- ing county of Sutherland in a very unceremonious manner, the cause of which was as follows : — In a dispute between the respective proprietors of that part of Eoss-shire and Sutherlandshire, the marches were to be determined by reference to an old inhabitant, who, being either by clanship or bribery in the interest of the Eoss-shire laird, came CH. I. FISHING AT ALTNAGALCANACH. 7 to this spot to decide the question with the soles of his shoes filled with earth from the interior of Eoss-shire, the wily old fellow by this means saving himself all scruples of conscience when he swore most positively that he stood on Eoss-shire ground. Standing on Eoss-shire ground in this manner, he pointed out a boundary most convenient to his employer, the Eoss-shire laird. So ran the tale as it was told me ; and unde derivatur the name of Altnagalcanach, which it still holds. Close to the door of the inn is a fine loch, in which are great numbers of small trout and char, and also plenty of the large lake-trout, or Salmo ferox. We fished for an hour or two, and caught a good dish of trout and one char ; a very unusual occurrence, as the char rarely rises to the fly, ex- cepting in one or two favoured localities. Indeed I have caught hundreds of trout with the fly in lochs swarming with char without ever catching one of the latter. Though not much accustomed to travellers, the good wife of the inn put its up comfortably enough. We had clean beds, and good tea, eggs, and cream, which, with the excel- lent trout that we had taken, made us quite com- fortable. The only thing wanting was hay (corn they had in plenty) ; but I soon remedied that want by shackling the horse's fore-legs with a 8 . TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. I. couple of dog-straps, and turning him loose in the short sweet grass by the edge of the lake. On the following morning, at the instigation of one of our party, who was very anxious to procure some eggs of the black-throated diver (Colymbus arcticus), we started for Loch Urigil, a lake about two miles from the inn, Our first step was to launch our boat in the lake, close to the door ; and having crossed this piece of water, we dragged the boat out again, and, mounting it on our shoulders, carried it across the hill to the other lake. Little, however, had we reckoned on the distance we had to go. " How far is the lake from here ?" was our inquiry on leaving the water-side. " Oh, just over yonder brae," was the answer of the innkeeper, as he pointed to a height a few hundred yards off. " How far do you say ?" " Just a wee bit." But that weary " wee bit " of the innkeeper's ! Many an anathema was poured on the head of our guide before we had got the boat fairly afloat in Loch Urigil. Once there, however, our cares were soon forgotten. My friend put his fishing-rod together ; while I, accompanied by Mr. Dunbar, went off in the boat to the islands on the lake, in View from Loch Urigil. Vol. i. p. 9.] CH. I. DIVERS AND WILD GEESE. 9 order to see what birds were breeding there. We first made for a small island covered with the brightest green foliage that I ever saw, which, how- ever, turned out to be nothing but the wild leek. The nature of the plant was most unpleasantly forced upon my observation by the very strong scent the leaves produced when trodden upon. There were three of these beautiful birds (the black-throated diver) on the loch, but no eggs. On some of the other islands were a number of wild-geese (Anser ferus), the original kind from which our common domestic goose is derived. They had two or three nests on one island, but we found no eggs. Their nests were large and quite exposed, consisting of a large mass of down, kept together by coarse grass and herbage. The old birds, when disturbed, flew off the island, some of them alighting on the loch, and others on the short green grass about the edge of the water, where they commenced grazing after the manner of tame geese. Having procured one or two specimens of the black- throated diver, I landed, and sat down to enjoy the magnificent scenery and all its accompaniments. The peewit, redshank, curlew, and golden plover kept up a constant warfare of clamour against me for some time, till, 'finding that I did not molest them, they gradually returned to their domestic 10 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. I. occupations. All these birds had probably eggs near the spot. After a short time they ran and walked about fearlessly, quite regardless of my being so near them ; while the lively and restless little dunlin ran almost over my feet without fear, as I sat near the edge of the loch. The mountains of Corgach and Assynt, some of which I could see from Loch Urigil, are of a very striking and peculiar form, standing out boldly and independently from the lower hills that surrounded them. Occasionally a curlew would come wheeling over my head, uttering its loud cry of alarm and warning, something between a whistle and a scream ; but he soon sailed back to his mate on the sloping moss that covered the hill-side near the lake. A beautiful cock grouse came down within a few yards of me, and picked about amongst the stones at the edge of the water, occasionally stopping as if to exhibit himself as he stood erect with his bright- red comb raised to its utmost height. When at last he saw me, instead of seeming alarmed, he rose and alighted again on a small hillock only a few feet farther off, and stood there some minutes watch- ing me closely, and then flew off, crowing a short distance up the heather. The gray geese seemed in constant motion, sometimes feeding and some- times flying after each other in pairs with loud cries. CH. 1. TROUT OF LOCH URIGIL. 11 After waiting some time about the edge of the loch I rejoined my companions, and we again re- newed our portage of the boat over that weary hilL I had left a line with several hooks baited with small trout in the lake near the inn, and on return- ing found a salmo ferox which weighed something above two pounds on it. While taking in the line a monster trout ran at the fish already caught, and, notwithstanding its size, nearly swallowed it, leav- ing the marks of his teeth in the shape of deep cuts across the middle of the two-pound trout. I should like to have seen the fish at closer quarters who made an attack on such a goodly-sized bait, as he must have been a perfect fresh- water shark. There can be no doubt that in some of these lakes, where the water is deep and the food plentiful, these trout must grow to a size not yet ascertained. None of these lakes have ever been properly fished. A few days' trolling can never be depended on as a proof of the size of the fish in them, more par- ticularly as we all know that the larger a trout is the less inclined is he to take any bait. I will leave it for others to judge of the size of a trout that could nearly swallow one of his own species weighing considerably above two pounds. During our drive to Inchnadamph in the after- noon we had a fine view of Benmore of Assynt, and 12 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. I. numerous other magnificent mountains, gray and dreary, and with but little vegetation of any kind, although along the edges of the lakes and streams there is always a certain width of bright green herbage, where the sheep at this season find plenty of good grazing. The long ranges of cliff-like rocks near Inchnadamph are very splendid in their height and shape, and are frequented by buzzards, ravens, gray crows, and a pair of peregrine falcons. Not- withstanding all these enemies the ring-ousel sings from every green corner of the rocks, while wheat- ears (safer perhaps from their smaller size and their habit of dodging under the stones) are extremely numerous everywhere along the road side. At Inchnadamph we arrived ]ate in the evening, and found a comfortable, clean inn, an obliging land- lord, and all the accompaniments that one could wish to refresh both mind and body (I am afraid that the former is sadly dependent on the latter), at the end of rather a hard and long day's work, for we had been actively employed from daylight. The black-throated diver (Colymlus arcticus) is a peculiarly beautiful and singularly marked bird. Though generally rare, in certain localities which happen to be adapted to its habits this bird is not unfrequently to be found during the breeding season. It invariably breeds on some small, flat CH. I. BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 13 island in an inland lake ; it prefers, and indeed is seldom found except in, lakes which lie in a flat or open part of the country, and which have shallows and grassy creeks, as it feeds more on frogs, leeches, and similar productions of such places than on the trout that frequent the more stony and deeper parts of the lake. Apparently from the position of its legs and feet, this diver cannot walk on land, and therefore places her eggs within a very few feet of the water's edge on a flat island where it can reach them by a kind of waddling, seal-like motion. I never found above two eggs in a nest, and do not believe that they ever lay more, although I have been told of three having been procured. The egg is of a long and regular oval form, and large ; the colour is a fine rich brown green with darker spots. This bird appears to have great difficulty in rising from the water on a calm day, and sometimes nothing will induce it to fly, although when once on wing it flies strong and high. When two or more are in company I have never seen them rise ; they appear then to trust more to diving for safety; but when a black-throated diver is alone he will frequently take to flight most unexpectedly and leave the loch altogether. Unluckily, the very great beauty of its plumage, and the rarity and difficulty of procuring it, make this interesting bird 14 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. 1. an object of pursuit amongst bird-stuffers and col- lectors, and this, combined with the price offered for its eggs by egg collectors, will soon entirely extirpate it from all its present breeding-places. The cry of this diver is loud, peculiar, and mournful, and it has acquired the local name of rain-goose among the Highlanders, owing to its habit of uttering its croaking call with great per- severance before rain or stormy weather. Its other local and Gaelic names signify the loch hen, and the great loch hen, in distinction to the red-throated diver, which is also frequently found in this county. The latter bird (Colymlus septentrionalis) is much commoner, and is neither so large nor handsome a bird as the former. It is also distinguished readily by the light brownish red neck. The red-throated diver breeds often near small pools and lochs, and lays its eggs more frequently on the shore of the mainland surrounding the loch than on an island. It is not so shy a bird as the black-throated diver, but not being so much valued by collectors, has, I hope, a chance of existing some time yet as an inhabitant of Britain during the breeding season. I found that all the shepherds, gamekeepers, and others in this remote part of the kingdom had already ascertained the value of the eggs of this and other rare birds, and were as eager to search