Of course, the moor was larger than I needed for my own personal use,
and according to the fashion of the time I proposed to get others to
join me, so I looked out for a couple of guns to share expenses.
It was proposed that the moor should be shot in three parties of one
gun each. There was no difficulty in those days in getting guns to
join, but it is very difficult now. I take it, that before the passing
of the Ground Game Act there was more English shooting of a moderate
character, and, so to speak, men were educated to shoot, and naturally
were desirous of trying their hands on grouse; besides, the shooting
squires are not so well to do throughout the country as they were
before the depression in land.
I advertised in the _Field_ on a Saturday, and before Monday was over
a gentleman in Berkshire had been straight to my place in Shropshire
and arranged for one gun, and the other was fixed before the end of the
week. Very nice, cheery, gentlemenly men they both were. Mr. C. and Mr.
D. were my colleagues.
My wife, my sister-in-law, and the children, accompanied us in August;
we had a sleeping saloon as far as Helmsdale, the then terminus of
Northern Railways.
That night we stopped at Ross's Hotel. Helmsdale was the only entrance
by road into Caithness, and Ross's the only hotel, so the capacity of
Ross's rooms was the gauge of the traffic. The Countess of Caithness
had our rooms the night before, and they were booked for somebody else
the night after us.
The next day Ross posted us in a _char-a-banc_ the thirty-two miles to
Dalnawillan, stopping to lunch and bait horses at Dunbeath; the luggage
had gone on before in two carts.
The drive to Dunbeath was lovely over the Ord and past Berriedale, the
Duke of Portland's place.
At Dunbeath after lunch the party walked down to the sea to look at
the rocks and fishing boats, and we all enjoyed it thoroughly; after
this break there was a sixteen mile drive across the moorland, passing
Braemore and Glutt Lodges on the left.
There being no railway we made arrangements with the Glutt party, and
engaged with a carrier to bring letters, supplies, &c., from Dunbeath
and take back game bags, empties, &c., the following day. We were
quite as well off, in fact, better than if we had been fidgetted with
railway, post-office, and telegraph at our elbow.
Things went well with us, the shooting was excellent, the Chullacan and
Backlas beats were especially full of birds that season. At Chullacan
was a very primitive farmhouse with a small cooking place, and a room
for us to serve as sitting-room and bedroom. The farmer's room was at
the other end of the house, and in his case the smoke found its way
through the hole in the roof. At this place we lodged twice for two
nights, each time when we shot the beats on that side. We were pretty
cramped, making up three small beds at night; the morning bath we took
by standing outside the house in a state of nature while the gillies
douched us with pails of cold spring water.
The first time that we went over on the three days shooting, I made
forty-two, forty, and forty-five brace to my own shoulder, and on our
return we enjoyed the comfort of a day's lazy rest amongst the comforts
of Dalnawillan Lodge. We were all very happy, my two chums in raptures,
and insisting on engaging their guns for the next season.
Man proposes, God disposes.
Bag. Dalnawillan and Rumsdale.
Grouse 1098 brace.
Sundries 67-1/2 "
The birds were healthy in a way when we left, but did not look well in
plumage. It had been a wet draggly summer, and that partly accounted
for it; but before leaving we saw a few very seedy birds on our
Dunbeath march.
Dunbar had been very busy all the season for the Duke of Sutherland.
At that time the shootings and fishings of the Helmsdale Strath were
divided into three great lumps of ground:
Sir John Karslake the upper end, say about 60,000 acres.
Mr. Hadwen, the middle, say about 60,000 "
Mr. Meredith, the bottom end, say about 60,000 "