compromise with the poachers, by allowing them to kill grouse as long as
they do not touch the deer; others, who are grouse-shooters, let them
kill the deer to save their birds. I have known an instance where a
prosecution was stopped by the aggrieved party being quietly made to
understand, that if it was carried on, a score of lads from the hills
would shoot over his ground for the rest of the season."
Utterly devoid of pluck must the said aggrieved party have been! Had he
carried on the prosecution firmly, and given notice to the authorities
of the audacious and impudent threat, with the names of the parties who
conveyed it, not a trigger would have been drawn upon his ground, or a
head of game destroyed. If the lessees of shooting-grounds are idiots
enough to enter into any such compromise, they will of course find
abundance of poachers to take advantage of it. Every shepherd on the
property will take regularly to the hill; for by such an arrangement the
market is virtually thrown open, and absolute impunity is promised. But
we venture to say that there is not one instance on record where a
Highland proprietor, of Scottish birth and breeding, has condescended to
make any such terms--indeed, we should like to see the ruffian who would
venture openly to propose them.
As to Mr St John's assertion, that "in Edinburgh there are numbers of
men who work as porters, &c., during the winter, and poach in the
Highlands during the autumn," we can assure him that he is labouring
under a total delusion. A more respectable set of men in their way than
the Edinburgh chairmen, is not to be found on the face of the civilised
globe. Not a man of those excellent creatures, who periodically play at
drafts at the corners of Hanover and Castle Street, ever went out in an
illicit manner to the moors: nor shall we except from this vindication
our old acquaintances at the Tron. Their worst vices are a strong
predilection for snuff and whisky; otherwise they are nearly faultless,
and they run beautifully in harness between the springy shafts of a
sedan. If they ever set foot upon the heather, it is in the capacity of
gillies, for which service they receive excellent wages, and capital
hands they are for looking after the comforts of the dogs. Does Mr St
John mean to insinuate that the twin stalwart tylers of the lodge
Canongate Kilwinning--whose fine features are so similar that it is
almost impossible to distinguish them--go out systematically in autumn
to the Highlands for the purpose of poaching? Why, to our own
knowledge, they are both most praiseworthy fathers of families,
exemplary husbands, well to do in the world, and, were they to die
to-morrow, there would not be a drop of black-cock's blood upon their
souls. Like testimony could we bear in favour of a hundred others, whom
you might trust with untold gold, not to speak of a wilderness of hares;
but to any one who knows them, it is unnecessary to plead further in the
cause of the caddies.
We fear, therefore, that in this particular of Highland poaching, Mr St
John has been slightly humbugged; and we cannot help thinking, that in
this work of mystification, his prime favourite and hero, Mr Ronald, has
had no inconsiderable share. As to the feats of this handsome desperado,
as related by himself, we accept them with a mental reservation.
Notwithstanding the acknowledged fact that the Grants existed
simultaneously with the sons of Anak, we doubt extremely whether any one
individual of that clan, or of any other, could, more especially when in
bed, and fatigued with a long day's exertion, overcome five sturdy
assailants. If so, the fellow would make money by hiring a caravan, and
exhibiting himself as a peripatetic Hercules: or, if such an exhibition
should be deemed derogatory to a poaching outlaw, he might enter the
pugilistic or wrestling ring, with the certainty of walking the course.
The man who, without taking the trouble to rise out of bed, could put
two big hulking Highlanders under him, breaking the ribs of one of them,
and keeping them down with one knee, and who in that posture could
successfully foil the attack of other three, is an ugly customer, and we
venture to say that his match is not to be found within the four seas of
Great Britain. The story of his tearing down the rafter, bestowing
breakfast upon his opponents, and afterwards pitching the keeper
deliberately into the burn, is so eminently apocryphal, that we cannot
help wondering at Mr St John for honouring it with a place in his pages.
Did you ever see a badger, Scrip? That, we suspect, is the vestibule of
one of them at which you are snuffing and scraping; but you have no
chance of getting at him, for there he is lying deep beneath the rock;
and, to say the truth, game as you are, we would rather keep you intact
from the perils of his powerful jaw. He is, we agree with Mr St John, an
ancient and respectable quadruped, by far too much maligned in this
wicked age; and--were it for no other reason than the inimitable
adaptation of his hair for shaving-brushes--we should sincerely regret
his extinction in the British isles. We like the chivalry with which our
author undertakes the defence of any libelled and persecuted animal, and
in no instance is he more happy than in his oration in favour of the
injured badger. Like Harry Bertram, he is not ashamed "of caring about a
brock."
"Notwithstanding the persecutions and indignities that he is unjustly
doomed to suffer, I maintain that he is far more respectable in his
habits than we generally consider him to be. 'Dirty as a badger,'
'stinking as a badger,' are two sayings often repeated, but quite
inapplicable to him. As far as we can learn of the domestic economy of
this animal when in a state of nature, he is remarkable for his
cleanliness--his extensive burrows are always kept perfectly clean, and
free from all offensive smell; no filth is ever found about his abode;
every thing likely to offend his olfactory nerves is carefully removed.
I, once, in the north of Scotland, fell in with a perfect colony of
badgers; they had taken up their abode in an unfrequented range of
wooded rocks, and appeared to have been little interrupted in their
possession of them. The footpaths to and from their numerous holes were
beaten quite hard; and what is remarkable and worthy of note, they had
different small pits dug at a certain distance from their abodes, which
were evidently used as receptacles for all offensive filth; every other
part of their colony was perfectly clean. A solitary badger's hole,
which I once had dug out, during the winter season, presented a curious
picture of his domestic and military arrangements--a hard and long job
it was for two men to achieve, the passage here and there turned in a
sharp angle round some projecting corners of rock, which he evidently
makes use of when attacked, as points of defence, making a stand at any
of these angles, where a dog could not scratch to enlarge the aperture,
and fighting from behind his stone buttress. After tracing out a long
winding passage, the workmen came to two branches in the hole, each
leading to good-sized chambers: in one of these was stored a
considerable quantity of dried grass, rolled up into balls as large as a
man's fist, and evidently intended for food; in the other chamber there
was a bed of soft dry grass and leaves--the sole inhabitant was a
peculiarly large old dog-badger. Besides coarse grasses, their food
consists of various roots; amongst others, I have frequently found about
their hole the bulb of the common wild blue hyacinth. Fruit of all kinds
and esculent vegetables form his repast, and I fear that he must plead
guilty to devouring any small animal that may come in his way, alive or
dead; though not being adapted for the chase, or even for any very
skilful strategy of war, I do not suppose that he can do much in
catching an unwounded bird or beast. Eggs are his delight, and a
partridge's nest with seventeen or eighteen eggs must afford him a fine
meal, particularly if he can surprise and kill the hen-bird also; snails
and worms which he finds above ground during his nocturnal rambles, are
likewise included in his bill of fare. I was one summer evening walking
home from fishing in Loch Ness, and having occasion to fasten up some
part of my tackle, and also expecting to meet my keeper, I sat down on
the shore of the loch. I remained some time, enjoying the lovely
prospect: the perfectly clear and unruffled loch lay before me,
reflecting the northern shore in its quiet water. The opposite banks
consisted, in some parts, of bright greensward, sloping to the water's
edge, and studded with some of the most beautiful birch-trees in
Scotland; several of the trees spreading out like the oak, and with
their ragged and ancient-looking bark resembling the cork-tree of
Spain--others drooping and weeping over the edge of the water in the
most lady-like and elegant manner. Parts of the loch were edged in by
old lichen-covered rocks; while farther on a magnificent scaur of red
stone rose perpendicularly from the water's edge to a very great height.
So clearly was every object on the opposite shore reflected in the lake
below, that it was difficult, nay impossible, to distinguish where the
water ended and the land commenced--the shadow from the reality. The sun
was already set, but its rays still illuminated the sky. It is said that
from the sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step;--and I was
just then startled from my reverie by a kind of grunt close to me, and
the apparition of a small waddling grey animal, who was busily employed
in hunting about the grass and stones at the edge of the loch; presently
another, and another, appeared in a little grassy glade which ran down
to the water's edge, till at last I saw seven of them busily at work
within a few yards of me, all coming from one direction. It at first
struck me that they were some farmer's pigs taking a distant ramble, but
I shortly saw that they were badgers, come from their fastnesses rather
earlier than usual, tempted by the quiet evening, and by a heavy summer
shower that was just over, and which had brought out an infinity of
large black snails and worms, on which the badgers were feeding with
good appetite. As I was dressed in grey and sitting on a grey rock, they
did not see me, but waddled about, sometimes close to me; only now and
then as they crossed my track they showed a slight uneasiness, smelling
the ground, and grunting gently. Presently a very large one, which I
took to be the mother of the rest, stood motionless for a moment
listening with great attention, and then giving a loud grunt, which
seemed perfectly understood by the others, she scuttled away, followed
by the whole lot. I was soon joined by my attendant, whose approach they
had heard long before my less acute ears gave me warning of his coming.
In trapping other vermin in these woods, we constantly caught
badgers--sometimes several were found in the traps; I always regretted
this, as my keeper was most unwilling to spare their lives, and I fancy
seldom did so. His arguments were tolerably cogent, I must confess. When
I tried to persuade him that they were quite harmless, he answered me by
asking--'Then why, sir, have they got such teeth, if they don't live,
like a dog or fox, on flesh?--and why do they get caught so often in
traps baited with rabbits?' I could not but admit that they had most
carnivorous-looking teeth, and well adapted to act on the offensive as
well as defensive, or to crunch the bones of any young hare, rabbit, or
pheasant that came in their way."
But now we have reached the moors, and for the next few hours we shall
follow out the Wild Sports for ourselves. Ian, let loose the dogs.
Oh, pleasant--pleasant and cool are the waters of the mountain well! It
is now past noonday, and we shall call a halt for a while. Donald, let
us see what is in that bag. Twelve brace and a half of grouse, three
blackcock, a leash of snipes, two ditto of golden plovers, three hares,
and the mallard that we raised from the rushes. Quite enough, we think,
for any rational sportsman's recreation, howbeit we have a few hours yet
before us. Somewhere, we think, in the other bag, there should be a cold
fowl, or some such kickshaw, with, if we mistake not, a vision of beef,
and a certain pewter flask.--Thank you. Now, let us all down by the side
of the spring, and to luncheon with what appetite we may.
Are there any deer on these hills, Ian? But seldom. Occasionally a
straggler may come over from one of the upper forests, but there are too
many sheep about; and the deer, though they will herd sometimes with
black cattle, have a rooted antipathy to the others. No sight is finer
than that of a stag surrounded by his hinds; but it is late in the year
that the spectacle becomes most imposing, and we would have given
something to have been present with Mr St John on the following
occasion:--
"The red deer had just commenced what is called by the Highlanders
roaring, _i. e._ uttering their loud cries of defiance to rival stags,
and of warning to their rival mistresses.
"There had been seen, and reported to me, a particularly large and fine
antlered stag, whose branching honours I wished to transfer from the
mountain side to the walls of my own hall. Donald and myself
accordingly, one fine morning, early in October, started before daybreak
for a distant part of the mountain, where we expected to find him; and
we resolved to pass the night at a shepherd's house far up in the hills,
if we found that our chase led us too far from home to return the same
evening.
"Long was our walk that day before we saw horn or hoof; many a likely
burn and corrie did we search in vain. The shepherds had been scouring
the hills the day before for their sheep, to divide those which were to
winter in the low ground from those which were to remain on the hills.
However, the day was fine and frosty, and we were in the midst of some
of the most magnificent scenery in Scotland; so that I, at least, was
not much distressed at our want of luck. Poor Donald, who had not the
same enjoyment in the beauty of the scene, unless it were enlivened by a
herd of deer here and there, began to grumble and lament our hard fate;
particularly as towards evening wild masses of cloud began to sweep up
the glens and along the sides of the mountain, and every now and then a
storm of cold rain and sleet added to the discomfort of our position.
There was, however, something so very desolate and wild in the scene and
the day, that, wrapt in my plaid, I stalked slowly on, enjoying the
whole thing as much as if the elements had been in better temper, and
the Goddess of Hunting propitious.
"We came in the afternoon to a rocky burn, along the course of which was
our line of march. To the left rose an interminable-looking mountain,
over the sides of which was scattered a wilderness of grey rock and
stone, sometimes forming immense precipices, and in other places
degenerating into large tracts of loose and water-worn grey shingle,
apparently collected and heaped together by the winter floods. Great
masses of rock were scattered about, resting on their angles, and
looking as if the wind, which was blowing a perfect gale, would hurl
them down on us.
"Amongst all this dreary waste of rock and stone, there were large
patches of bright green pasture, and rushes on the level spots, formed
by the damming up of the springs and mountain streams.
"Stretching away to our right was a great expanse of brown heather and
swampy ground, dotted with innumerable pools of black-looking water. The
horizon on every side was shut out by the approaching masses of rain and
drift. The clouds closed round us, and the rain began to fall in
straight hard torrents; at the same time, however, completely allaying
the wind.
"'Well, well,' said Donald, 'I just dinna ken what to do.' Even I began
to think that we might as well have remained at home; but, putting the
best face on the matter, we got under a projecting bank of the burn, and
took out our provision of oatcake and cold grouse, and having demolished
that, and made a considerable vacuum in the whisky flask, I lit my
cigar, and meditated on the vanity of human pursuits in general, and of
deer-stalking in particular, while dreamy visions of balls, operas, and
the last pair of blue eyes that I had sworn everlasting allegiance to,
passed before me.
"Donald was employed in the more useful employment of bobbing for burn
trout with a line and hook he had produced out of his bonnet--that
wonderful blue bonnet, which, like the bag in the fairy tale, contains
any thing and every thing which is required at a moment's notice. His
bait was the worms which in a somewhat sulky mood he kicked out of
their damp homes about the edge of the burn. Presently the ring-ousel
began to whistle on the hill-side, and the cock-grouse to crow in the
valley below us. Roused by these omens of better weather, I looked out
from our shelter and saw the face of the sun struggling to show itself
through the masses of cloud, while the rain fell in larger but more
scattered drops. In a quarter of an hour the clouds were rapidly
disappearing, and the face of the hill as quickly opening to our view.
We remained under shelter a few minutes longer, when suddenly, as if by
magic, or like the lifting of the curtain at a theatre, the whole hill
was perfectly clear from clouds, and looked more bright and splendidly
beautiful than any thing I had ever seen. No symptoms were left of the
rain, excepting the drops on the heather, which shone like diamonds in
the evening sun. The masses of rock came out in every degree of light
and shade, from dazzling white to the darkest purple, streaked here and
there with the overpourings of the swollen rills and springs, which
danced and leapt from rock to rock, and from crag to crag, looking like
streams of silver.
"'How beautiful!' was both my inward and outward exclamation. 'Deed it's
not just so dour as it was,' said Donald; 'but, the Lord guide us! look
at yon,' he continued, fixing his eye on a distant slope, at the same
time slowly winding up his line and pouching his trout, of which he had
caught a goodly number. 'Tak your perspective, sir, and look there,' he
added, pointing with his chin. I accordingly took my perspective, as he
always called my pocket-telescope, and saw a long line of deer winding
from amongst the broken granite in single file down towards us. They
kept advancing one after the other, and had a most singular appearance
as their line followed the undulations of the ground. They came slowly
on, to the number of more than sixty (all hinds, not a horn amongst
them), till they arrived at a piece of table-land four or five hundred
yards from us, when they spread about to feed, occasionally shaking off
the raindrops from their hides, much in the same manner as a dog does on
coming out of the water.
"'They are no that canny,' said Donald. '_Nous verrons_,' said I.
'What's your wull?' was his answer; 'I'm no understanding Latin, though
my wife has a cousin who is a placed minister.' 'Why, Donald, I meant to
say that we shall soon see whether they are canny or not: a rifle-ball
is a sure remedy for all witchcraft.' Certainly there was something
rather startling in the way they all suddenly appeared as it were from
the bowels of the mountain, and the deliberate, unconcerned manner in
which they set to work feeding like so many tame cattle.
"We had but a short distance to stalk. I kept the course of a small
stream which led through the middle of the herd; Donald followed me with
my gun. We crept up till we reckoned that we must be within an easy
shot, and then, looking most cautiously through the crevices and cuts in
the bank, I saw that we were in the very centre of the herd: many of the
deer were within twenty or thirty yards, and all feeding quietly and
unconscious of any danger. Amongst the nearest to me was a remarkably
large hind, which we had before observed as being the leader and biggest
of the herd, I made a sign to Donald that I would shoot her, and left
him to take what he liked of the flock after I fired.
"Taking a deliberate and cool aim at her shoulder, I pulled the trigger;
but, alas! the wet had got between the cap and nipple-end. All that
followed was a harmless snap: the deer heard it, and, starting from
their food, rushed together in a confused heap, as if to give Donald a
fair chance at the entire flock, a kind of shot he rather rejoiced in.
Before I could get a dry cap on my gun, snap, snap, went both his
barrels; and when I looked up, it was but to see the whole herd quietly
trotting up the hill, out of shot, but apparently not very much
frightened, as they had not seen us, or found out exactly where the
sound came from. 'We are just twa fules, begging your honour's pardon,
and only fit to weave hose by the ingle,' said Donald. I could not
contradict him. The mischief was done; so we had nothing for it but to
wipe out our guns as well as we could, and proceed on our wandering. We
followed the probable line of the deers' march, and before night saw
them in a distant valley feeding again quite unconcernedly.
"'Hark! what is that?' said I, as a hollow roar like an angry bull was
heard not far from us. 'Kep down, kep down,' said Donald, suiting the
action to the word, and pressing me down with his hand; 'it's just a big
staig.' All the hinds looked up, and, following the direction of their
heads, we saw an immense hart coming over the brow of the hill three
hundred yards from us. He might easily have seen us, but seemed too
intent on the hinds to think of any thing else. On the height of the
hill he halted, and, stretching out his neck and lowering his head,
bellowed again. He then rushed down the hill like a mad beast: when
half-way down he was answered from a distance by another stag. He
instantly halted, and, looking in that direction, roared repeatedly,
while we could see in the evening air, which had become cold and frosty,
his breath coming out of his nostrils like smoke. Presently he was
answered by another and another stag, and the whole distance seemed
alive with them. A more unearthly noise I never heard, as it echoed and
re-echoed through the rocky glens that surrounded us.
"The setting sun threw a strong light on the first comer, casting a kind
of yellow glare on his horns and head, while his body was in deep shade,
giving him a most singular appearance, particularly when combined with
his hoarse and strange bellowing. As the evening closed in, their cries
became almost incessant, while here and there we heard the clash of
horns as two rival stags met and fought a few rounds together. None,
however, seemed inclined to try their strength with the large hart who
had first appeared. The last time we saw him, in the gloom of the
evening, he was rolling in a small pool of water, with several of the
hinds standing quietly round him; while the smaller stags kept passing
to and fro near the hinds, but afraid to approach too close to their
watchful rival, who was always ready to jump up and dash at any of them
who ventured within a certain distance of his seraglio. 'Donald,' I
whispered, 'I would not have lost this sight for a hundred pounds.'
'Deed no, its grand,' said he. 'In all my travels on the hill I never
saw the like.' Indeed it is very seldom that chances combine to enable a
deer-stalker to quietly look on at such a strange meeting of deer as we
had witnessed that evening. But night was coming on, and though the moon
was clear and full, we did not like to start off for the shepherd's
house, through the swamps and swollen burns among which we should have
had to pass; nor did we forget that our road would be through the valley
where all this congregation of deer were. So after consulting, we turned
off to leeward to bivouac amongst the rocks at the back of the hill, at
a sufficient distance from the deer not to disturb them by our necessary
occupation of cooking the trout, which our evening meal was to consist
of. Having hunted out some of the driest of the fir-roots which were in
abundance near us, we soon made a bright fire out of view of the deer,
and, after eating some fish, and drying our clothes pretty well, we
found a snug corner in the rocks, where, wrapped up in our plaids and
covered with heather, we arranged ourselves to sleep.